Screenplays are a very formal type of writing with a highly specific format and rules. This is because they are not just a way to tell a story, they are blueprints for making a movie. Sure, spec scripts are sometimes more sales tools than blueprints – designed to interest executives, directors, and cast in making the film. But they still have to look like a plan for production of a movie. After all, that’s the ultimate goal. With this in mind, today I want to focus on what

It’s a sad fact of life that as we gallop through the years, many of our heroes and oldest serving bastions of genre cinema are being lost to us. It’s been almost exactly two years that Wes Craven passed away, and George Romero departed not much more than a month ago. Now we’ve just had the sad news that Tobe Hooper has also died from natural causes. Although the famed director’s last film was back in 2013, his reputation and indelible influence on horror cinema has never dim

There are plenty of reasons why the infamous serial killer “Jack the Ripper” has never, ever left the public consciousness. The primary one being that the gruesome murders took place in the 1880’s, just as printed newspapers were becoming readily and cheaply available to all the masses. The deaths highlighted the radical social problems that existed in London during the latter part of the 19th Century, as well as providing the lurid publications of the time enough excuses to

Debut director Emiliano Rocha Minter’s WE ARE THE FLESH is an extraordinary and unsettling film experience about a young brother and sister roaming an apocalyptic city, who take refuge in the dilapidated lair of a strange hermit, who takes them on a sexually-charged, nightmarish journey into an other-worldy dimension. The film, soon to be released by Arrow Video, is certainly not for the prudish or faint-hearted, featuring explicit sex and grotesque set pieces, building to a

(Spoilers: Gravity, Little Miss Sunshine) In my book, The Three Stages of Screenwriting, I describe what I refer to as the “Dramatic Question” of the story. This is the question that is asked by the Catalyst (also known as the Inciting Incident) and answered in the Resolution. At its most basic, the question is some form of: “Will the main character achieve their goal?” This question defines the scope of your story. On an unconscious level, the Catalyst lets the audience know

Fabien Delage is an award winning graphic designer, photographer and film-maker.He first broke onto the scene with his horror travelogue series Dead Crossroads and recently had his documentary Fury of the Demon play at London Frightfest. His latest feature (currently in production) is Cold Ground - a film described at 'The Descent meets The Blair Witch Project'. What's not to like?! Here, he tells us about his favourite horror movie, the infamous 'Freaks' (1932) I was 8 when

Horror has pretty much always been my favourite genre. Like a lot of people of my generation, I saw a lot of movies years before I was supposed to (don’t ask how). Yeah, action movies were fun, sci-fi was a blast – but it was horror that really struck a nerve with me. I love being part of an audience and experiencing someone else’s vision of terror. But quite early on I realised that I not only wanted to watch horror films, I wanted to write horror films too. It’s a desire th

Director: Sam Raimi Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor One of the big problems with writing about classic movies is that views are well established; there is little new to be said and the consensus is the film is, well, classic. So what happens when you view something supposedly great and you don't agree? This is art of course, nobody's opinion is wrong. But you can run the risk of casting yourself out by swimming against the tide of something in th

Simeon Halligan is an English writer, director and producer best known for his survival horrors Splintered (2010) and White Settlers (2014). He is also one of the directors of the Grimmfest Horror Festival (which is imminent!) As if he wasn't busy enough, his latest feature Habit is currently in production and will be released early next year. Here, Simeon tells us about his favourite horror movie - one one of the best haunted house movies ever... The Haunting (1963) How the

Ghost Hunter Laura Sian Dixon takes us on a journey of her TOP 10 HAUNTED LOCATIONS. 10. DRAKELOW TUNNELS I’ll start off with Drakelow Tunnels in Worcestershire, which I went to last June. I’ve chosen to include this place in my top 10 not because of the activity we experienced (which was pretty much non-existent apart from a few odd noises), but because of the place itself. Built as a shadow factory in the Second World War and intended as a nuclear bunker in the threat of a