tv review - Sketching Details (Page 3)

The Outer Limits: S1E02 “The Hundred Days of the Dragon”

The Outer Limits series continues at The Avocado with “The Hundred Days of the Dragon.” I want to be able to say more about the episode, but the blatant racism really gets in my way. Everything I discuss in detail happens in the first 15 minutes of the episode; the rest is tainted by the increasing

Film

The Outer Limits: S1E01 "The Galaxy Being"

Today is the debut of the new series at The Avocado. We’re going to review the entirety of The Outer Limits, episode by episode. I’m excited to take this one on. I’m more familiar with the 90s reboot of the series than the original, and any excuse to go in on dark sci-fi is a good excuse for me. Up

Reviews

Talentless Nana Review (TV Series, 2020)

Talentless Nana is a horror anime about a group of children tasked with developing their newfound superpowers to defeat the Enemies of Humanity and save the world. Then the series changes entirely after the first 20 minutes of the first episode to something far more disturbing.

Film

The Best Masters of Horror and Fear Itself Episodes

Now that I’ve officially reached the end of my Masters of Horror [https://the-avocado.org/tag/masters-of-horror/] and Fear Itself [https://the-avocado.org/tag/fear-itself/] recap/review series at The Avocado, I want to dig a little further into the series as a whole. I don’t mean the drama surroundi

Film

Fear Itself: S1E13 "The Circle"

After 39 episodes and 39 weeks, we’ve reached the end of our Masters of Horror and Fear Itself series at The Avocado. It’s a bittersweet feeling to let go of this show, as that original season of Masters of Horror really felt like it could have run for years like The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limit

Film

Fear Itself: S1E12 "Echoes"

We’re almost at the end of the Masters of Horror/Fear Itself review series at The Avocado. Today’s focus is the penultimate episode “Echoes” from director Rupert Wainwright and screenwriter Sean Hood. Would it shock you to find out that I really liked a time-skipping horror story with similar storyt

Film

Fear Itself: S1E11 "The Spirit Box"

The new Fear Itself review is up at The Avocado. This week’s topic is Rob Schmidt’s The Spirit Box. This paranormal thriller is Schmidt’s second entry in the series after the Masters of Horror episode Right to Die. Two teenage girls accidentally uncover a murder while holding a séance on Halloween n

Film

Fear Itself: S1E10 "Chance"

The new Fear Itself review is up at The Avocado. This week, we’re looking at John Dahl’s thriller episode Chance. A man named Chance accidentally releases his identical but opposite doppelganger into the world after a deal at an antiques store goes wrong. Read the full review at The Avocado [https:/

Film

Fear Itself: S1E09 "Something With Bite"

The new Fear Itself review is up at The Avocado. This week, we’re looking at Ernest Dickerson’s second go at the franchise: Something with Bite. This over the top werewolf transformation comedy is a bright spot in the series. You can read the full review at The Avocado.

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Fear Itself: S1E09 "Skin & Bones"

Up next on our Fear Itself review series at The Avocado is Skin & Bones. Multi-hyphenate filmmaker Larry Fessenden’s body horror is the last episode of the show to air on TV; the rest of the series got dumped on the backend of NBC’s website. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to celebrate one of

Film

Fear Itself: S1E07 "Community"

Our Fear Itself series continues over at The Avocado with Mary Harron’s Community. This is the kind of horror I’m really drawn to. I like deep dive psychological horror with style and great performances. It also gives me the chance to discuss gender bias in horror filmmaking. Not so fun fact: this i

Film

Fear Itself: S1E06 "New Year's Day"

The Fear Itself series continues at The Avocado with Darren Lynn Bousman’s New Year’s Day. Do you remember when Bousman was the new “it” director in horror? I do. What a glorious time for incredible theatrical, grotesque, and absurd horror films. He used the success of his participation

Film

Fear Itself: S1E05 "Eater"

We continue our Fear Itself series over at The Avocado with Stuart Gordon’s Eater. This is arguably the best episode of Fear Itself and one of the best episodes in the entire Masters of Horror/Fear Itself series. You can read the full review over at The Avocado [https://the-avocado.org/2020/11/25/fe

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Fear Itself: S1E04 "In Sickness and In Health"

The Fear Itself review series continues at The Avocado with In Sickness and In Health. This is the episode I dreaded writing about the most because of the director/writer combination. Just know that the screenwriter on this episode made this long after committing his crimes against a child that land

Books/Print

Spookier Times Episode 4: Gothic versus Ghost Stories, the Gothic Epistolary, and The Turn of the Screw

In this episode of Spookier Times, we take a deep dive into Henry James' The Turn of the Screw. We look at its genre, its modern adaptations, the use of epistolary structure in Gothic Literature, and some of the best adaptations of James' classic Gothic/ghost story.

Film

Fear Itself: S1E02 "Spooked"

The new article is up at The Avocado. Our subject is Brad Anderson’s “Spooked,” a beautifully styled paranormal thriller about a corrupt police detective being haunted by a suspect he killed. Shame the story doesn’t hold up to Anderson’s particularly over the top brand of psychological horror. You c

Reviews

NOS4A2 Season 1 Review (TV Series, 2020) #31DaysofHorror

NOS4A2 is a fascinating property to explore. The novel by Joe Hill is one of the strangest horror novels I’ve ever encountered. Joe Hill writes brutal weird fiction and this novel is among his strangest. It’s a cross-country and cross-dimension horror story about a monstrous man known as the Charlie

Film

Fear Itself: S1E01 "The Sacrifice" #31DaysofHorror

We’re starting our new recap series at The Avocado today with the unoffical third season of Masters of Horror. Fear Itself aired for one season, and actually, the second half of the show was pushed to the NBC website rather than be aired on TV. Here’s our review of S1E01 “The Sacrifice” from directo

Reviews

A Discovery of Witches Review (TV Series, 2019) #31DaysofHorror

A Discovery of Witches is an urban fantasy/romance/horror series about witches, vampires, and demons in academia. Dr. Diana Bishop is a historian specializing in the history of alchemy. She is also a non-practicing witch who doesn’t always have control over her powers. She takes a position at Oxford

Film

Masters of Horror S2E13: "Dream Cruise" #31DaysofHorror

We’ve finally reached the series finale of Masters of Horror in our review/recap series at The Avocado. Norio Tsuruta’s Dream Cruise is one of the most unique episodes of the second season, which is largely filled with far more adventurous titles than the first season. For one thing, he filmed it as

Reviews

The Boulet Brothers' Dragula: Resurrection Review (TV, 2020) #31DaysofHorror

The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Resurrection is a Halloween special. Seven previous contestants who did not take the crown compete in a pageant to win $20000 and a guaranteed spot to compete on season four. Due to pandemic and quarantine, the contestants competed near their homes with the help of the

Reviews

JU-ON: Origins Review (TV Series, 2020) #31DaysofHorror

JU-ON: Origins is a six episode horror TV series intended for the most hardened horror fans. The scares are hard. The subject matter is hard. The tone is bleak and the actions are incredibly brutal.

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Masters of Horror: S2E12 "The Washingtonians"

This week in our Masters of Horror review series at The Avocado, we take a look at Peter Medak’s The Washingtonians. This adventure/horror story adapted from a story by Bentley Little is a very different kind of episode. You can read the full review here [https://the-avocado.org/2020/10/14/masters-o

Reviews

Death Note Review (TV Series, 2006) #31DaysofHorror

Death Note is one of the most iconic anime of all time. It is based on a manga series from writer/illustrator Tsugumi Ohba that is just the perfect storm of high-concept horror storytelling. Light, a high school student preparing for college, discovers a mysterious notebook, labeled “Death Note,” th

Film

Masters of Horror: S2E11 "The Black Cat"

This week, we take a look at Stuart Gordon’s second episode of Masters of Horror. The Black Cat is an adaptation of Edgar Alan Poe’s story “The Black Cat” mashed up with his own life as told by his worst critics. You can read the full review at The Avocado [https://the-avocado.org/2020/10/07/masters