Collective Nightmares

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of West's third film, MaXXXine in his wildly ambitious horror trilogy. This film bring the trilogy to a very satisfying conclusion. Of the modern horror trilogies we've reviewed this is by far the most successful and we are here for it! The post MaXXXine (West 2024) appeared first on Collective Nightmares .

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of West's second film, Pearl in his wildly ambitious horror trilogy. This film sets up the third film to either be a notably progressive overarching motif across the films, or it may ulitimately prove conservative, which would be very disappointing. The post Pearl (West 2022) appeared first on Collective Nightmares .

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of Cregger's breakout horror film, Barbarian. This film was well executed with a mix of progressive statements and baffling contradictions. The post Barbarian (Cregger 2022) appeared first on Collective Nightmares .

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of Cronenberg's newest film, Crimes of the Future. Laura hated it, finding it overwrought, navel gazing, and abstruse. Marshall loved it, as an innovative exploration of bodies, pain, film, and the creative process. This made for a great discussion. The post Crimes of the Future (Cronenberg 2022) appeared first on Colle...

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the fifth film in the Scream franchise, Scream. We are thrilled to return to the slasher genre with this latest installment. This is the first Scream without Wes Craven and we had concerns. We are relieved to report it is overall a really solid and fun film with great updates to the genre. The post Scream 5 5cream (B...

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of Slumber Party Massacre from 2021. This is a companion episode to our discussion of the original 1982 film of the same name. This is a brilliantly subversive feminist response to slasher films ... for the first hour. The final half hour is a disaster. The post Slumber Party Massacre (Esterhazy 2021) appeared first on...

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of The Slumber Party Massacre from 1982. Written and directed by women in response to the sexism of the first wave slashers, this is quite a time capsule. It definitely only partially succeeds in being progressive but we do appreciate the effort especially relative to other films of the era. The post The Slumber Party M...

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the French film Titane (Ducournau 2021). Only the second woman to win the Palm d'Or at Cannes (really Cannes

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of season one of the breakout TV series Squid Game (Dong-hyuk 2021). At the time the most popular media that had ever been on Netflix and a global sensation. Even better it holds up to our intense ideological scrutiny. We hope we get more season! The post Squid Game (Dong-hyuk 2021) – Season 1 appeared first on Co...

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the 2020 film Violation (Mancinelli & Sims-Fewer). Who would have thought that the entire interpretation of a film would hinge on sleep and ice cream. This film is really extraordinary in many ways. It is at times too subtle for its own good. The post Violation (Mancinelli and Sims-Fewer 2020) appeared first on...

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the 2021 film There's Someone Inside Your House (Brice). Just when we thought we were done with Wan's films, they pulled us back in! Somewhat less conservative than the film's that Wan helms, it seems his impact is still apparent in the film. The post There’s Someone Inside Your House (Brice 2021) appeared firs...

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the 2021 film Malignant. Part of our mini-series on the films of James Wan. Wan's films are typically masterfully constructed while this feels sloppy and disjointed. His conservative ideology still shines through in this film especially with regard to women. The post Malignant (Wan 2021) appeared first on Collective...

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the 2022 film The Blackening. This is as outstanding film that both deconstructs racist tropes of horror and moves the genre forward with new ideas. All of this is beautifully executed in terms of direction, writing, and acting. A stellar film! The post The Blackening (Story 2022) appeared first on Collective Nightma...

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the 2021 film Candyman. DaCosta updates the urban folk legend of the 1992 Rose film Candyman. A phenomenal film that continues to confront the issues of race, class, gender, and geography head on. The post Candyman (DaCosta 2021) appeared first on Collective Nightmares .

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the 2021 film The Forever Purge. The Forever Purge returns triumphantly continuing to expand the scope and allegory of the purge concept. Rather than a cheap cash in, the purge films continue to take on current and divisive sociological issues. For that we thank them and encourage other filmmakers to do the same. The...

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the 2022 breakout film Smile. Smile offers an incremental advancement within the manifestation of psychological issues sub-genre reinvigorated for a new wave of films by The Babadook. It matches form to narrative in brilliant ways and is an excellent viewing experience. However in the details the film breaks down and...

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, return again to the Conjuring-verse for a sociological discussion of The Conjuring 3 for the podcast Collective Nightmares. This film devolves from passive conservative to outright proselytizing a hateful fire and brimstone version of Christianity. Wow. The post The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It (Chaves 2021) appeared first on Collective Nightm...

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, return to the James Wan-iverse for a sociological discussion of The Conjuring 2 for the podcast Collective Nightmares. Entertaining but ideologically conservative is an interesting mix. The post The Conjuring 2 (Wan 2016) appeared first on Collective Nightmares .

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, creep back to A Quiet Place for a sociological discussion of of the film for the podcast Collective Nightmares. This discussion focuses on horror that avoids controversy. The post A Quiet Place Part 2 (Krasinski 2020) appeared first on Collective Nightmares .

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, return to the Saw universe to discuss Spiral from a sociological perspective for the podcast Collective Nightmares. This discussion focuses on what Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, and Darren Lynn Bousman bring to the franchise. The post Spiral (2021) appeared first on Collective Nightmares .

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, discuss Fresh (Cave 2022) from a sociological perspective for the podcast Collective Nightmares. This discussion focuses on patriarchal control of women and survival strategies in response. The post Fresh (2022) appeared first on Collective Nightmares .

Jakob’s Wife (Stevens 2021) What a fascinating film! Technically well made, story and characters that are well crafted, ideologically supremely toxic. This film was reminiscent of Summer of ’84 in how it was entertaining and at first glance, not particularly problematic. However, once we dove into a detailed analysis the rot just kept getting deeper. … Continue reading "Jakob&#82...

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, discuss Freaky (Landon 2020) from a sociological perspective for the podcast Collective Nightmares. This discussion focuses on representations of gender and bodies in the film. The post Freaky (2020) appeared first on Collective Nightmares .

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, discuss His House (Weekes 2020) from a sociological perspective for the podcast Collective Nightmares. We revisit the haunting/possession genre because this was such a compelling film. The post His House (2020) appeared first on Collective Nightmares .

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, discuss the film Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (Glosserman 2006) from a sociological perspective for the podcast Collective Nightmares. This is the epilogue to a mini-series on serial killer horror films. The post Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) appeared first on Collective Nightmares .