Isobel! Where the hell have you been, loca?
Glad you asked, Jacob from Twilight! Here’s the short explanation: I wasn’t able to get anything published in February through April. Wuh oh!
The longer explanation is that since the beginning of the year, the digital journalism industry has been, at a hellish pace, imploding. Almost every publication has suffered mass editorial layoffs, multiple major outlets have folded in their entirety, and the freelance commission pickings have been slim. Everyone around me has been feeling the pinch, as editorial contacts disappear in droves, and those few who still have jobs are only able to offer up the bare minimum in pitch calls in accordance with a severely reduced budget. Made redundant staff writers have understandably inflated the already cramped freelance competition as they try to find replacement work, and everyone involved is left scrounging for scant morsels.
It sucks, and none of the writers and editorial staff across the board are at fault. I’m not going to get into the discussion around the corporate evils responsible; the shallow, SEO-driven state of digital media; or the looming AI-generated content crisis, because if I think about it too long my head will genuinely explode. It’s totally fine to find myself a year into a career and staring down the barrel of a dedicated degree enrollment this September (by the way: I got into university for journalism!) knowing the entire industry is shifting sand under my feet. I feel very good about it, and not at all concerned that one of the, as Timothée Chalamet says, “completely practical” Dune sandworms is going to burrow up and swallow me the moment I manage to settle into any sustainable financial rhythm.
But lo! Work, we have finally found! Some of what I’ve been working on isn’t out yet, by virtue of working to a schedule several months in advance for - gasp! - print! I was also afforded access to my very first press screeners and PR contacts, and so am looking forward to many more reviews and features for both Ghouls Magazine and Screen Queens in future.
On that note, here’s everything I wrote and had published this May:
[Film Review] Lola (2022)
Meta-cinema reigns supreme in this timeline-twisting thriller.
‘In the modern age of full-colour 4K footage and rampant CGI, it’s rare to see a feature released entirely in black-and-white. For director Andrew Legge’s LOLA, greyscale goes well beyond a mere stylistic choice, and is integral to the narrative and visual success of the film.’
Read in full at Ghouls Magazine.
‘Infinity Pool’ Struggles To Dive Headfirst Into Its Bloody Concept
Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth have a really, really weird holiday.
‘Opening on an idyllic yet unsettling foreign resort, Infinity Pool ensures its viewers are perched on the edge of their seats from the very beginning, grimly awaiting the inevitable terror to come. The third film from the heir-apparent to his father’s sci-fi-horror throne, writer-director Brandon Cronenberg successfully sidesteps any reliance on his name.’
Read in full at Screen Queens.
[Film Review] The Unheard (2023)
Uneven horror shines in Deaf representation, but struggles tonally.
‘You’d be forgiven for thinking that the core concept for Shudder Original The Unheard is a familiar one. Starring television horror alum Lachlan Watson (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Chucky), the film opens on profoundly deaf student Chloe Grayden (Watson) as she undergoes an experimental clinical trial in the hopes of regaining her hearing.
Left to recuperate from the procedure alone while she prepares to sell her family’s old, isolated lake house, Chloe’s reality starts to falter, as she begins experiencing auditory hallucinations connected to her mother’s disappearance years earlier.’
Read in full at Ghouls Magazine.
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