Why are horror masks so scary? From Michael Myers and Ghostface to modern masked killers, discover the psychology of horror, the history behind horror movie masks, and why hidden faces continue to create some of cinema's most unforgettable horror villains. Explore the real reasons scary masks unsettle us and why they remain one of horror's most powerful symbols.

The devil is in the riff Horror cinema has been around a while. From Lon Chaney's early and silent forays into the genre back in the 1920s (who can forget the unmasking of the eponymous protagonist in Phantom of the Opera, portrayed by the Man of a Thousand Faces, Mr. Chaney himself), to Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, and every creature, monster, and witch in between, the cinematic hall of fame is littered with the heads of those who fell foul of the killer's blade. And going

Fog washes through the screen. A camera tied to a board and worn around the neck for stability provides a low, smooth tracking POV (a shot that will later become know as Deadite-cam). Cut to a car with 5 happy-go-lucky twenty-somethings singing and following a map toward a remote cabin in the hills. The locals wave at them. They cross a rickety bridge. And there is the sense they will never be coming back. At the cabin, a homemade bench swings (though there is no breeze), ban

That headlining alliteration hides and promises a lot, doesn't it. We've all seen them, been on the edge of our seats for them, nails jaggedly cut by the gnashing of our own teeth. And we've all cheered for them, right on cue, when the bad guy finally buys the farm. Well, until the inevitable sequel comes around, that is. We all know who they are, but few probably know that the breed of resourceful women that somehow survives to the end reel and manages to outwit their neme

The immortal words of John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness (1994) underscore a horror film deeply rooted in the literary genre. The title itself references H. P. Lovecraft’s novella At the Mountains of Madness, published in 1936. However, beyond the usual Lovecraftian tropes, the similarities in story end there. There are tropes aplenty, but they serve a greater purpose. A Journey into Madness Carpenter’s story follows John Trent (Sam Neill), an insurance investigator. He

There are no haunted houses and hardly any ghosts, but there is plenty of weird stuff going on in giallo (plural, gialli) films. Giallo, as we know it, originated in Italy around the 1960s. As a genre, it is hard to describe with any degree of accuracy. At times considered 'trash,' 'bad,' or 'exploitative,’ giallo is a heady amalgamation of genres, including thriller, horror, slasher, all peppered with a healthy (or unhealthy, depending on your point of view) dose of blood, s