Matthew Batham
Bio
I'm not exactly a culture vulture, but I do love movies (great and bad, especially horror films), I'm also very partial to a good book across most genres and I'm often found mooching around art galleries. I also write.
Stories (12/0)
My Relationship with Art
My relationship with art is somewhat complex and often confusing. There are certain artists that make me angry, primarily Damien Hirst who in my opinion is nothing but a marketing pro with zero talent. But I love other modern artists, whose work might leave others unimpressed and screaming about Emperor’s New Clothes — I find Cornelia Parker’s Cold Dark Matter breath-taking, for example, and, going back a few decades, Rothko’s work feeds my soul with its throbbing colours, pulsating with energy. The Rothko room at Tate Modern is one of my go-to spaces. It is my equivalent of a church, the canvasses like abstract stained-glass windows.
By Matthew Batham6 months ago in Art
Five Horror Movies That Will Actually Make You Shudder
Now, I’ve watched a lot of horror movies. I mean a serious amount of horror movies. Everything from subtle supernatural chillers to full-on blood and guts. As a result, I have definitely become somewhat desensitised to the effects of them.
By Matthew Batham6 months ago in Horror
The Legacy of the Blair Witch Project
It’s hard to believe in this social media and internet savvy age, that 24 years ago two young film makers were able to convince movie goers that The Blair Witch Project was a genuine documentary. But that was the premise of the online marketing campaign that had punters clamouring to see this independent horror film, made for around $60,000 dollars and going on to generate some $250m worldwide.
By Matthew Batham6 months ago in Horror
My Own Writing Story
It seems a little self-indulgent to write about my own experience as a writer when I haven’t achieved anything like the success of the writers I will be reviewing in future blogs, but as my reactions to everything I write about will be very personal, it also feels fitting.
By Matthew Batham6 months ago in Journal
For the Love of Freddy Krueger
I want to talk about the man of my dreams. Sigh. No, not Brad Pitt, Freddy Krueger. Yes, he’s not your typical matinee idol, but he definitely stole my heart back in the 80s. Stole it and probably ate it, knowing Freddy. What a boy!
By Matthew Batham6 months ago in Horror
How Old is that Character Supposed to be?!
I am a bit of an age fascist when I watch films. Not in a sexist way or anything, just when I’m watching a film where, for example, the supposed teenage son is about thirty-five. It happened recently – I can’t even remember the movie – but I found it hard to sympathise with the middle-aged teenager as they struggled with some high school dilemma.
By Matthew Batham6 months ago in Humor
Films Where Horror is Heard But Not Seen
Sometimes you just want to see the monster. Imagine King Kong with no actual Kong sighting, just the suggestion that a giant ape was causing chaos and destruction, a shadow sweeping past the top of the Empire State building, an angry roar from a creature just off-camera. No thanks. Show us the ape!
By Matthew Batham6 months ago in Horror
Horror Double Bill
Zombie Flesh Eaters - Not much Flesh on the Bones But I Love It I can’t believe it took me until the age of 45 (10 years ago) to watch Zombie Flesh Eaters. This gory Italian flick from director Lucio Fulci was the stuff of legend when I was in secondary school in the early 80s. “Have you seen it…?” awe-struck 12 year-olds would ask and I, having seen nothing more horrific than Doctor Who at the time, would reply, miserably, that I had not.
By Matthew Batham6 months ago in Horror
How My Love of Horror Began
My love of horror films was a bit like a sexual awakening. It’s hard to pin down the exact moment I became a horror lover, just as it’s hard to say the precise point at which I realised my sexuality. It was a love that developed gradually. Before I was ever allowed to watch a horror film, I pined for them. They were a forbidden fruit that I was desperate to taste.
By Matthew Batham6 months ago in Horror
Fall of the House of Usher
Having watched and enjoyed both The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor mini-series, I was excited to see that Writer/Director, Mike Flanagan, had a new offering, The Fall of the House of Usher, now available to stream on Netflix.
By Matthew Batham6 months ago in Horror
