Littlewit Philips
Bio
Short stories, movie reviews, and media essays.
Terribly fond of things that go bump in the night.
Stories (78/0)
"Fear Street Part 3: 1666" REVIEW
I previously wrote about the first two instalments of the Fear Street trilogy in my reviews of Part One and Part Two. While the first movie failed to wow me, I had a lot of fun with the second portion of the series. Now that the series is over, was it worth three feature length productions? Well...
By Littlewit Philips3 years ago in Horror
The Price of Land
The rest of the family never returned to the farm after the fire. What Michael saw there he saw alone. Before the embers cooled or the bodies were laid to rest the adults decided to sell. So Michael retreated and let the prospect of a return become his guiding star. He never told reporters what drove him to dive into a tech startup, because family business was private. When the startup's buyout was on the horizon, he knew where his money would go. He would rebuild the family home, exactly as it had been.
By Littlewit Philips3 years ago in Fiction
"Fear Street Part 2: 1978" REVIEW
I previously wrote about the first instalment of the Fear Street trilogy here. While the movie itself didn't blow me away, it did leave me excited to see how the trilogy would develop past its initial chapter. How did it perform? Well...
By Littlewit Philips3 years ago in Horror
"Fear Street Part 1: 1994" REVIEW
Midway through Fear Street Part One: 1994 the teenage protagonists try to stop the killers pursuing them using a trick they've absorbed through media, but it fails. Fleeing for their lives without a plan of action, Deena (Kiana Madeira) shouts that their last plan didn't work because, "it's not like the movies!" This is one of many little self-aware nods in the movie to the genre of slasher films, and it's doubly ironic because Fear Street Part 1 is very much like "the movies."
By Littlewit Philips3 years ago in Horror
The Counter-Intuitive Optimism of Frank Darabont's "The Mist"
In November of 2020, BloodyDisgusting.com published an article titled "The 10 Most Depressing Endings in Horror Movie History." For fans of the genre, it was hardly a surprise that The Mist (2007) made the list. The Mist is one of those movies that's developed a reputation over the years. Just thinking about the ending can ruin your whole day. However, it's also one of those cultural artefacts that seem almost perfectly calibrated for the world we've found ourselves in after this past year of plagues and lockdowns, and I think that context merits giving The Mist another look. Parts of the story that used to feel otherworldly and abstract now land surprisingly close to home, and that famously depressing ending can actually be the source of a counter-intuitive hope. In case you aren't familiar with said ending or the Stephen King novella upon which the movie is based, consider this a big ol' spoiler warning for both of them.
By Littlewit Philips3 years ago in Horror
The Doctor's Paradox
Before the hospital’s staff could administer anaesthetic to the screaming patient they had to confirm his contract would cover the cost, so when the doctor entered the room the patient had only been strapped down to the table in order to stifle his thrashing. The straps dug into his papery skin, blood oozing from his ripped flesh.
By Littlewit Philips3 years ago in Fiction