Cinefantastique Online

I work academically and popularly in the area of intercultural studies, and apply these insights to the sociological and cultural study of the fantastic in pop culture through TheoFantastique, my website that explores sci fi, fantasy, and horror.

At the conclusion of 2008 television ads promoted upcoming movies for the new year, and THE UNBORN caught my eye. At that time I was impressed by the trailers, which can be dangerous in that many times studios do a great job of making the trailers better than the actual films they promote. Even so, [...]

[EDITOR'S NOTE: John W. Morehead of TheoFantastique kindly offers us this excerpt of his extensive interview with Joshua David Bellin, author of Framing Monsters: Fantasy Film and Social Alienation.] I have read many books and academic articles that probe deeply into horror and science fiction film, television, and literature, but rarely can such analysis be [...]

By John W. Morehead of TheoFantastique
Most of the great horror films are remembered by viewers and at times go on to become classics. Yet other films that are just as well done never seem to capture the imaginations of viewing audiences. This is the case with two horror films of the 1970s, THE EXORCIST, which has become one [...]

The film BEOWULF has become the object of differing interpretations as to how depicts paganism in relation to Christianity. I recently reviewed the film in order to address these differing perspectives. Below is an excerpt of the resulting article that I posted at TheoFantastique:
I searched the Internet yesterday to familiarize myself with Christian interpretations BEOWULF and [...]

By John W. Morehead of TheoFantastique
Arnold Kunert is the friend and agent of Ray Harryhausen, the legendary stop-motion animator and special effects wizard. In the past Arnold was interviewed at TheoFantastique in general on Ray’s work and career. In the following interview Arnold made some time to talk specifically about the colorized 50th anniversary edition [...]

By John W. Morehead of TheoFantastique
30 DAYS OF NIGHT, the popular graphic novel by Steve Niles, now a motion picture available on DVD, may include an interesting development in the vampire mythologic constructed in response to concerns over recent depictions of the icon as well as the increasing popularity of the zombie. In a blog post titled [...]

By John W. Morehead of TheoFantastique
“You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s the signpost up ahead – your next stop, the Twilight Zone!”

Without doubt one of the classic television programs from the late 1950s [...]