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Notes from the Back Row 2023 Year End Diorama-Rama
Cozy up ‘round the speakers, sip on some egg nog and listen as Back Row discusses all the movies we watched in 2023 – including the good, the bad, and the what-the surprises.
15 Movies For Your Halloween Horror Watchlist
Dan’s back at it again this year, this time with 15 horror movies ready for adding to your Halloween watchlist. The only question is: which will you watch first?
Amy Seimetz's She Dies Tomorrow Explores the Terror of Anticipation
The brilliance of She Dies Tomorrow is in how it weaponizes the anxiety of anticipation. The finality of death, in comparison, feels far less terrifying than having to live in fear of its inevitability.
Back Row's Third Year in Movie Reviews, Podcasts & Lists
We’re three years old today! Check out the most popular articles from our third year on this mortal coil–including I Watched It So You Don’t Have To, Hoser Horror, I Watched It So You Don’t Have To, Hoser Horror, and I Watched It So You Don’t Have To and Hoser Horror.
Tis The Season: Not Christmasy Christmas Movies
Christmas may always be the season of sap and treacle, but there’s no reason to suffer through boring, trite entertainment just to be thematically appropriate. Veronica delves into Red Christmas, Better Watch Out and Christmas Evil.
Ep# 35 - Hoser Horror: Christmas Spectacular (Curtains & Ghostkeeper)
On this festive Hoser Horror episode of Notes from the Back Row, Carlo and Dan zip up their snowpants and lace their boots in order to discuss Ghostkeeper and Curtains.
Ep #30 - Hoser Horror: Deranged & The Uncanny
Jenna joins Dan and Carlo on Hoser Horror to discuss two Canadian horror movies from the 1970s: Deranged (1974) and The Uncanny (1977).
Ep #28 - Hoser Horror: Two Good Doggos (The Gate & Watchers)
This episode of Notes from the Back Row’s Hoser Horror finds Dan and Carlo watching Watchers and The Gate with two very good boys: Furface and Angus!
I Watched These 2000s Horror Movies So You Don't Have To
People often talk about the 80’s as the golden age of schlock (and they’re 100% right), but Carlo will always look back at the 2000s as a time when his interest in cinema hit an all-time low. This season, give her… trash!
Ep #27 - Hoser Horror: Jon Mikl Thor's Nightmares
This time on another Hoser Horror episode of Notes from the Back Row, Carlo and Dan watch a double-feature of Canadian horror films featuring the one, the only: Jon Mikl Thor.
Ep# 19 - Kingdom of Trash (Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying & Love Junk Horror)
This week on the podcast, Veronica and Dan discuss trashy jump-scare horror and the current trend of calling certain genre films “elevated.”
Ep# 18 - Hoser Horror: The Mask & Cannibal Girls
This week Dan and Carlo take a look at two firsts for Canadian horror: The Mask & Cannibal Girls.
Ep# 17 - Hoser Horror: Science Crazed & The Pit
This week on the podcast, Dan and Carlo get their toques on and don some flannel… it’s time for HOSER HORROR!
Art vs Trash: Why "Elevated Horror" Doesn't Work As Well as Junk Horror
Horror films are like yoga for the primordial parts of our brains, and when something is so directly tied to our lower instincts, it can be hard to ‘pretty it up.’
Back Row's Second Year in Movie Reviews, Podcasts & Lists
We’re two years old and we’re learning how to run, talk and be more social. We’re also throwing tantrums, so click the damn link already!!
Suspiria's Problematic Take on Fascism and Guilt
With the character of Dr Klemperer, Luca Guadagnino and David Kajganich make an assumption of guilt that should be unpacked. In weighing the insinuations of this storyline, Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi comes to mind.
Naughty By Nature: Films That Wrestle With Instinct Over Intellect
Movies spend a lot of time ruminating on how much of who we are is inherent and how much is learned. Yet the films Good Manners, The Woman, and Spring ask us: what if nothing about us is a choice?
The World of Surreal and Experimental Horror Movies
There are scores of horror movies that follow formulas, rules, and tropes to the bitter end. Even with the 2018 glut of art house horror, plenty of familiar aspects linger. To really see beyond the rainbow on this one, we need to look to experimental horror.
Ep# 6 - Horrific Hilarious Horror (and Other H Words)
It's the Halloween episode of Notes From the Back Row! We're discussing everything from horror franchises, teen horror, horror comedies and VHS horror.
Bad Horror Gone Good: 976-EVIL, Blades, and Death Spa
The season of spoops is upon us, boils & ghouls. So you know what that means… let’s go crazy horror-style! Take your “Tomatometer,” put it in a box, mail it to your butt, and open your minds to the healing power of schlock.