Supreme court ruling about Trans rights.

To start, there is no "trans debate", there are trans people and there are bigots, fascists and hate mongers who choose to define gender and sexuality in their own closed-minded, out-dated, scientifically wrong view. These people have loud voices, deep pockets and dangerous self righteousness that gives them the only push they need to bully, harass and try to erase a minority of people who simply want to live their lives with the same rights and dignity as everyone else. 

The UK sepreme court ruling was bank-rolled by the filthy rich, disgusting bigot JK Rowling, which comes as a surprise to absolutely no-one. We have been assured that trans people are still protected under the equality act, but even if someone has gone through all the trouble to get a gender recognition certificate, they are no longer deemed to be the gender that they know themselves to be. Today's ruling not only sets this country even further back on equality, but it sets a dangerous precedent for the trans community of what legal protections they have. 

As ever the UK follows suit on what the US is doing, and this scapegoating of a vulnerable community is really gaining  momentum. Many of us in the LGBTQ+ community can see that this is only the beginning. Rowling has already taken aim at asexual people just days before this ruling and she won't stop there. Any gender non-conformaty or sexual orientation that she does not understand, or care to learn about, she will attack, and she has a very large platform filled with people who take her word as gospel. This is how these dangerous bills pass.

The trans community needs amplified voices in their corner now, more than ever, so below I have listed some places to donate to, and some trans+ voices to amplify. 

Mermaids Gender

Gendered Intelligence

TransActual

Stonewall

NotAPhase

Trevor Project

Shon Faye

Eva Echo

This list is by no means exhaustive and there are plenty more resources out there. The important thing right now is to make sure our trans siblings are seen, heard and made to feel safe in a climate that is making it harder and harder for them to live safely and authentically. 

Please also write to your local MPs and tell them about your disgust and disappointment of the supreme court ruling. Make the push back deafening and make sure it doesn't let up! 

Love, peace and safety to everyone.

Positively Horror. 

INTERVIEW WITH ANNIE KNOX

Positively Horror is elated to welcome back Annie Knox for a quick catch up interview. Please enjoy the full conversation below: 

It has been a few years since you were interviewed by Positively Horror. In fact, you were my first interview after starting up, when you first released Dimension. What have you been up to since then? 

I remember, that was my first ever author interview too I think! I’ve had a bit of a mad few years, I’ve moved around a lot, had a lot of random jobs… I wound up getting into boxing a couple of years back, and now I’m training quite a lot and working at a bit of kickboxing too. I had success for a while with a little burst of anthology acceptances, so managed to get my horror author portfolio buffed out a bit. 

Snakebite books seems like it is going really well. What was your motivation for starting your own publishing company?

Thank you! To be honest I’ve been happily surprised by how many lovely horror writers and horror lovers have engaged with it. I couldn’t find consistent anthology callouts for exactly what I wanted to write, and figured why not just start my own? There’s a lot of gore and splatterpunk and extreme horror and whatnot out there at the moment, and while that’s the thing for some people, it's just not really a bit of me. I wanted to build something where kind of quirky, emotive, quite niche horror writers could send their stuff. I love digging around in the submissions pile and reading so many amazing stories, getting to know so many amazing genre authors. It’s been an incredible experience building our first book. 

As well as being a publishing company, it seems to have created a great online community around it, with the micro-shorts and newsletter etc.Was that the goal, or a happy bonus?

I mean part of the goal was always to have a community of writers, I really wanted to establish a supportive, fun, positive space for horror fans to exist. I wanted to focus on really utilising the sub-genres of horror; I feel like a lot of horror gets swept into gore or not-gore, and we all know there’s a million and one different ways to categorise horror when you get into it! Horror has been a big part of my life since I was 12, and I’ve always found a lot of comfort in it - the fight between good and evil, whatever those things may take the shape of. The fight to find courage and strength in horrendous situations. The energy and adrenaline. It’s just different! So I am really excited to be growing that community - while it was always part of the idea, I’m now seeing the potential to really push that aspect of having a company, and thinking out lots of ways to grow a stronger network for writers and readers. 

What can you tell us about the debut collection from Snakebite? 

So the debut collection is all about fun, classical creatures from horror. We’re taking it back to relative basics but really looking to find a fun variety of stories for each monster - unusual settings, quirky and relatable characters, surprising villains, surprising heroes - and a big mix of subgenres. Comedy-horror, psychological horror, folk horror, serial killer thriller, dystopian/apocalyptic, sci-fi horror, cosmic horror, gothic horror, body horror, fantasy horror - everything you can think of! My personal favourite that I think I’ve kind of made up… ‘Buddy-cop horror’. Just niche, fun, emotive, impactful stories.

Finally, do you have any upcoming projects you can talk about?

Yes, I actually have a few - obviously we are in the early stages of ‘Creature Feature Classics #2: Creatures of the Night’, but we already know what we want for the third in the series! I’m also working on a rerelease of ‘Dimension’ - a new edition with new scenes, more backstory for Steve, deeper relations within the characters. And, to be honest, just slightly better writing! I released that one in the midst of a covid/lockdown existential crisis, so I’m looking forward to putting out a new and improved version because that one means an incredible amount to me, and I want to tell the story the best I can. I have my second novel, ‘Maggie’, also releasing later this year, which I’m really excited to have my incredibly talented graphic designer Jolene Legrand working on the cover art for!

Thank you to Annie Knox for the great catch up interview. 

Follow the links below to keep up with everything from Annie and Snakebite Books 

Snakebite Books

Annie Knox Instagram

Wrath of Thorn review

It has been quite a journey since the original 2009 Thorn short, with the iconic indie slasher making numerous appearances throughout the "Mychoverse" over the years. The Thorn feature trilogy began over ten years ago, with Legacy of Thorn released in 2014. The mammoth, masked killer had already made an appearance in Slasher House (2012) and was ready for his solo killing spree. 

From there, his lore was established, as we learnt little bits about the leap year myth and the mysterious town of Avondale. 

There is even a Patreon exclusive short Eric: A Tale of Thorn, focusing on the reoccurring character portrayed by Paris Rivers. 

Mask of Thorn (2019) established even more of Thorn's story and introduced us to the magnificent final girl and Mycho favourite Eve Oliver as Bethany Lovell.

Before completing the trilogy, Thorn took one more trip into the Slasher House for Slasher House 3: Rebooted (2024).

That all leads us to Wrath of Thorn, which premiered at the beginning of the year at Horror on Sea festival to rave reviews. 

Wrath tells the story of Jessica, Bethany's daughter as she returns to Avondale with her own daughter to try to put a stop to the seemingly unkillable Thorn once and for all. 

Jessica, played brilliantly by Sophie Ash is surrounded by a stacked cast of magnificent Mycho alumni, featuring Paris Rivers, William Marshall and Eve Oliver to name just a few. 

The film moves at a fast pace, packing in story, action and horror in equal measure. Fans of the Thorn franchise and wider Mychoverse will be left completely satisfied with this end to the trilogy and will be blown away, as I was, by the final act. 

As horror appears to be having a resurgence in the mainstream at the moment, it is always good to shout about the British indie scene, because not only is it alive and well, it is thriving, and Mycho continues to knock it out of the park each time. Wrath of Thorn is no exception, and shows just what can be done with an unwavering vision, passion for the genre, and a group of like-minded people determind to bring that vision to life. 

POSITIVELY HORROR INTERVIEWS I.S. BELLE

I recently got the chance to put some questions to the wonderful author I.S. Belle. Please enjoy the full interview below:

Please tell us a bit about yourself and your relationship with the genre?

I'm I.S. Belle! I work in a bookshop and I stop to pat dogs in the street. My debut novel, a LGBT found family Horror YA Zombabe, came out in late 2022. My relationship to the horror genre is complicated and picky, as it is with all genres. I could never sit down with any one genre and be happy, it had to be very, very specific subgenre. With horror, I find myself drawn to atmospheric stories where characters are deeply devoted to each other. Characters with genuine love and affection for their peers, whether that love is nourishing or destructive. I love horror where the characters are fighting tooth and nail to keep each other safe, and I'm partial to horror where they succeed. 

What was your introduction to horror, and at what age?

Probably Goosebumps around age 9! I was actually a huge wimp when it came to anything scary, I didn't actually get into horror until my late teens, when I realized how wide the genre was. I still shy away from horror than genuinely terrifies me - I want horror that makes my face and heart twist with "oh god that's horrible," not horror that keeps me awake at night. Which is why I only listened to The Magnus Archives before 4pm and then watched/read happy, fluffy stuff so I'd be able to sleep.

Your new book Zombabe, and it's prequel novella Babylove, feature great things like found family, queer love, and buckets of zombie gore! Which are popular with lots of readers out there. What was your inspiration for these stories?

My most direct inspiration for the Zombabe 'verse was IT by Stephen King, as well as other works such as Pet Semetary. Also Jennifer's Body. I'm ALL about devotion and the horrible things people will do for the ones they love. 

When you're writing, do you have a routine or pattern for your work? 

When I'm working on a project I try to get 1k words a day! Usually I hit it. But I usually have gaps of weeks or months between projects.

Queer stories have been gaining more and more popularity over the last few years, especially in YA, and with the rise of the push-back against queer voices it is so important to have these stories available. Do you feel that bookstagram and online bookish communities helps as a tool to get these stories into the hands of those that need them the most? 

I do! Online bookish communities do a great job of letting people know what's available out there, especially if you curate your experience.

What is your favourite horror trope?

Oh man. I think it's a toss-up between two: one, that moment where the gang gears up for the Final Battle. Everyone's bloody and freaked out and maybe they won't make it out, but for a second they're together and they're going to fight this thing. OR the inevitability trope - where the story hints the whole time that you've always been doomed, everything's locked in place from the start, and only on a rewatch/reread do you notice all the little details echoing through the story. This was always going to happen, this has already happened, this will happen again. There's something so scary about that kind of helplessness. 

What is something you'd like to see more of in the future in the genre? 

I'm torn! I want more camp. I watched M3GAN recently and my favorite scene was where she's chasing that guy through the tech lab with that huge knife while pop music was playing. I felt like the movie should've leaned into that fun campy style instead of keeping one foot in outrageous camp (singing Bulletproof as a lullaby?? The DANCING??) and one foot in sincerity - but the emotional roots/sincerity kind of fell flat for me in this one. So: more camp! More big, fun drama where you're laughing AND freaked out!

I also want horror you can chew on. Stuff you can analyze until the cows come home. Re-reading and rewatching a bunch of times trying to notice all the little details. Themes, weird formatting, music choices. There's always another heartbreaking or horrifying thing to discover if only you dig a little deeper. i.e. the costume design in Crimson Peak, the overarching plot in The Magnus Archives, pretty much anything by Guillermo Del Toro. 

Who are some of your favourite people working in the genre at the moment?

Mike Flannagan! A great example of horror to chew on, where the characters love each other deeply and fight for each other to make it out safe. There's always more to analyse in his work, and it rewards a rewatch. Also Guillermo Del Toro and Jonothan Sims.

And are there any other projects you're involved with that you'd like to talk about? 

Yes! I'm working on the sequels to Zombabe and Babylove right now. They'll be out later this year. There's also a project coming in in 2024 that I'm VERY excited about. I should be allowed to talk about it in 6 weeks or so. Stay tuned...

Thank you again to I.S. Belle for the great interview. To find her books, just follow the links below:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BKKCV5PX?ref=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=53e0255c-beb7-49e6-ac18-87733dbdff05

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSQHZCT3?ref=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=f042ba1e-5ae4-4277-99aa-3e2526bd8e01

POSITIVELY HORROR INTERVIEWS LIAM REGAN

While Eating Miss Campbell is tearing it up on the festival run, Writer and Director Liam Regan was kind enough to answer a few questions for Positively Horror. Please enjoy the full interview below:

Please tell us a bit about yourself and your relationship with the genre?

I was a video shop kid, so everytime my mum took me inside the video rental store, I would be summoned to the horror section. Not sure what I was being summoned by, more than likely the gnarly video cover artwork. I remember picking up a rental VHS of A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, and admiring Graham Humphrey's artwork. 

What was your introduction to horror, and at what age?

I must have only been around five years old when I was peering down from our staircase, whilst my Mum was watching Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) the movie disturbed me, and I'll never forget that moment. 

Your new film Eating Miss Campbell is going down a treat on the festival circuit at the moment, could you tell us a bit about the film and your inspiration behind it? 

Thanks, it seems to be playing festivals all over at the moment, which I'm truly grateful for, especially in Europe, they seem to love screening the film. However, I do love reading the divisive reviews for the movie, the film certainly seems to be splitting audiences down the middle, and for me, the best type of creative endeavours (in any genre) should always strive to do that, especially independent films. I don't want to come off as pretentious by calling the movies that I make as "art", but I truly believe that independent horror/comedy should be provocative, dangerous and most of all... fun! 

The UK indie horror scene is absolutely booming with great work from people like Mycho, Charlie Steeds and Dark Rift Horror to name just a few. How does it feel to be part of this great time for UK indie cinema?

I love it! It's such a movement to be reckoned with! And it's also great when film festivals such as FrightFest in London, Dead Northern in York and The Dead of Night Film Festival in Southport champion local and homegrown talent. 

You delight as much in the bad reviews as the good for your work, which is a great attitude to have. Did it take time to get to that point or have you always had that mindset? 

I'm still wrestling with that attitude, I remember the world premiere of Eating Miss Campbell at FrightFest in London, it was a jam packed sold out screening, everyone laughing and cheering, so the general consensus was that people enjoyed the movie, it was possibly the greatest evening of my life, surrounded by some of my closest friends. I returned back to my hotel room at around 3am the following morning, sitting on the toilet seat, and decided to look at the reviews on Letterboxd and IMDb, which was a HUGE mistake! However, when the online reviewers give you sour lemons, you have no other choice, but to make the sweetest nectar of lemon juice that's ever touched a human being's taste buds!  

What is your favourite horror trope?

Hmm, my favourite horror trope? Well, I love horror movies where inanimate objects come to life and kill, so the killer doll sub-genre, which also includes puppets, etc. So the majority of movies from Full Moon Pictures and the Child's Play films too! 

What is something you'd like to see more of in the future in the genre? 

More envelope pushing, and taking risks. I think cinema can be too safe these days, I always tend to gravitate to movies that are no holds barred. 

Who are some of your favourite people working in the genre at the moment?

I'm going to forget someone, but I do wanna shout out Vito Trigo who plays Mr. Sawyer in both My Bloody Banjo and Eating Miss Campbell, the guy is a powerhouse of a performer. I've never met a talent with that much dedication and passion, in bringing a character to life, if I know Vito is in a movie, I'll watch that film, just for his performance alone, he's such a sweetheart of a human being too! 

And are there any other projects you're involved with that you'd like to talk about? 

Right now we're just working the festival circuit and screening Eating Miss Campbell at film festivals worldwide. I'm looking at launching my UK Blu-ray and DVD distribution label next year "Refuse Films", we'll be releasing My Bloody Banjo: Director's Cut domestically, along with a newly acquired feature length movie titled I Need You Dead! 

Thank you again to Liam for the great interview. Please check out the link below to keep up to date on his work:

https://refusefilms.bigcartel.com/products

POSITIVELY HORROR INTERVIEWS LYNDSEY CRAINE

I recently got the chance to ask Lyndsey Craine some questions about the genre, and the upcoming How to Kill Monsters,  which has a kickstarter running right now. Please enjoy the full interview below. 

Please tell us a bit about yourself and your relationship with the genre?

I’ve been acting in independent horror movies for a few years now and really enjoying it. I’ve been fortunate to work across all different types of horror which has been really fun and challenged me in many ways. My love of the horror genre has definitely grown in recent years, I used to be scared of almost every horror film going but having been in them, I’m a little less scared now! 

What was your introduction to horror, and at what age?

I was always scared of pretty much every horror as a kid! I think I must have been about 12 and the first horror movie I saw and actually enjoyed was Scream, it was most likely the style of that movie that made me enjoy it so much. It still scared me though! It’s my favourite horror franchise to this day. I love those films!

The kickstarter for How to Kill monsters has just gone live, can you tell us a bit about the film and the character you're playing? 

The film is based around Jamie, the sole survivor of a blood drenched massacre at a cabin in the woods, after claiming her friends were eaten by a horrific monster summon by a ritual gone wrong, she is arrested and locked up for a crime she didn’t commit. However, Jamie’s claims of innocence were of course all real and the police station is attacked by a horde of Lovecraftian monsters. Jamie teams up with a bunch of rookie cops and law breakers to fight back against the monsters. Think Evil Dead 2 meets Hot Fuzz!

I play the character of Jamie who is clearly quite naive in thinking a ritual at a cabin in the woods would go well! She has to stand up for herself against all odds and prove to everyone what she has just survived is real so you can imagine the scenarios she gets herself into. I don’t want to give too much away but she was so much fun to play and I can’t wait for you to see what she has to face in the film and the characters she meets. It’s certainly a rollercoaster of a ride for Jamie!

The UK indie horror scene is absolutely booming with great work from people like Mycho, Charlie Steeds and dark rift to name just a few. How does it feel to be part of this great time for UK indie cinema?

Firstly, thank you for saying I am a part of this! Yes it’s a fantastic time for indie horror, there are so many brilliant filmmakers out there, having been at Frightfest in London recently it was incredible to see the work people are producing for features and shorts. It’s great to see this work getting out there, I think after Covid everyone is so keen to get back to making movies. I hear that more people are wanting to jump to make their first feature films or finding creative ways to bring their film ideas to life on really small budgets and I find it so inspiring to see. To even be considered as part of this means a lot.

What draws you to acting in the horror genre? 

It’s honestly just so much fun! I think aswell, there are so many different sub genres within the horror genre so it’s great to explore those. With horror comedy for example, you can make something really scary, gory or dark but you will have that comedy aspect to pull you back to the light heartedness of the film and I think it’s fun to be able to work with both of those and almost play them off each other. It does come with a side of getting extremely messy if there’s fake blood involved, which seems to be the case in the majority of films I’ve been apart of! 

What is your favourite horror trope?

The final girl! I’ve been fortunate to play the final girl in a few of my films so it’s helped me out in terms of researching character traits. It’s always so fun to watch their journey through the film too. I also enjoy the inspecting a strange noise outside when they shouldn’t, because who doesn’t love spotting that one in movies!

What is something you'd like to see more of in the future in the genre? 

I think there has been some great strong female leads emerging in horror recently and I would love to see that continue!

Who are some of your favourite people working in the genre at the moment?

Firstly Dark Rift Horror! After their success with Book of Monsters it’s so exciting to see them back again with their Kickstarter for How to Kill Monsters. They are the most incredible team to work with, they have so much passion for their work. I always feel so lucky to work with them. I’ve recently worked with Liam Regan on Eating Miss Campbell which got to premiere at Frightfest which was just incredible. I’ve recently worked with Relic Films UK on a feature and they are a fantastic film company and definitely ones to look out for. There is also Tony Hipwell and Miles Watts who I worked with on a really fun film called Zomblogalypse! As mentioned earlier, having been to Frightfest I got the chance to meet so many incredible filmmakers and I could be writing an essay with how many I could mention that are doing fantastic work right now.

And are there any other projects you're involved with that you'd like to talk about?

My latest film Eating Miss Campbell is doing the festival run at the moment, it had its world premiere at Frightfest which was fantastic. I have a few more films coming up too which is really exciting!

Thank you to Lyndsey for the great interview.  To back How to Kill Monsters follow the link below:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stewartsparke/how-to-kill-monsters-a-horror-comedy-feature-film?ref=project_link

POSITIVELY HORROR INTERVIEWS KEVIN T MORALES

I was recently lucky enough to ask the brilliant Kevin T. Morales some questions about the genre. Please enjoy the full interview below:

Please tell us a bit about yourself and your relationship with the genre?

I’m a filmmaker with a strong background in theater and Horror really unnerves me. There’s plenty of things I won’t even watch, which sounds silly from someone who likes making it, but I think partially it’s that I don’t often feel the urge to watch something and be scared. I think I’m already scared a lot in life so I don’t often want to add to it. That said, when something is truly gripping and fantastic than there’s almost nothing better. I seek out certain films based on filmmakers I already trust. And then I will watch something if I get multiple people telling me I have to see something. What I appreciate most about the genre is it really allows you to build a Trojan horse. Your audience comes for the horror but you can surprise them with something they weren’t expecting.

What was your introduction to horror, and at what age? 

My best friend had a birthday party when I was in 5th grade and his dad rented Aliens for the party. I had my pillow in front of my face half the time. After that I started wanting to see more. My dad showed me The Terminator which of course is also James Cameron but it was seeing Silence of the Lambs in the theater that really pushed me into wanting to play in that genre.

Your upcoming feature Shadow Vaults is due out this year, and is your debut horror feature, could you tell us a little bit about it and your move into the genre? 

I’ve been writing in the genre for a while but this is the first things that I could get made. And it’s my 2nd feature so hopefully I can establish a brand of nostalgic comedy and compelling thriller/suspense/horror. Those are my two favorite sand boxes. Shadow Vaults was conceived during the lockdown. I was spending so much time on Zoom with friends, and I really got this odd deja vu from a time when people sat around camp fires and talked and told stories but we had replaced the camp fire with a lap top. So Shadow Vaults is essentially a group of friends and an invited stranger telling each other ghost stories. The aim is to create the creepy sensation you get when someone tells you about the thing they saw and can’t explain, and of course this entered my mind during lockdown when we were all hiding in our homes from this invisible threat that could kill you.

Your last feature Generation Wrecks was one of my absolute favourites of last year, how did your creative approach differ from one genre to another, if at all?  

The big difference was for Gen Wrecks, I gave Victoria and Bridget a premise and basic story, and then they wrote the hell out of it with some input from me. And I tried to capture that experience of being a teenager going away with friends on a long weekend. This time I made Shadow Vaults as a way of deflecting the stress and fear of the outbreak. I thought if I could take the stress and pretend I’m making a film, I will handle this much better and it worked. Writing it, getting cast and crew on board, arranging for gear to be sent to the actors, directing everyone over zoom was a fantastic distraction from the incredible dread I felt.

Where did you draw your inspiration for the film? 

I wanted to recreate that camp fire ghost story telling experience with some new twists. The cast is majority people of color and and majority queer. And each of the ghost stories in some way reflects the fears we had in 2020, not just with the virus.  

Generation Wrecks featured great diversity on screen, is it important to you to deliver that representation in your work?  

It’s a primary directive for me. I’m a Latinx filmmaker and for most of my childhood people really tried to erase that. As if it was something I should want to distance myself from. It matters to me that we normalize seeing people of color, queer people, and different genders in traditional roles. So that people stop questioning the existence of people. To move away from white being the default.

What is your favourite horror trope? 

Oh wow. So many. I think one thing that really gets me is when someone enters a location and it’s displaced from reality or out of time, but the character doesn’t know it. Like then Jack enters the bar in the Shining and their are people there and a bar tender and it doesn’t occur to him that the hotel is empty. He just accepts the illusion. That really fucks me up.

What is something you'd like to see more of on the future of the genre? 

I think it’s difficult to pull of but if you can, having the threat of being killed not be what’s at stake in a story. What I love in Silence of the Lambs is you’re not worried necessarily that Lechter is going to kill Clarice. You’re more afraid what he will do with her personal information he wants from her. That’s creepy.

Who are some of your favourite people working in the genre at the moment? 

Jordan Peele for sure. Del Toro. I will see anything he does. I was so impressed with Emerald Fennell’s film, “Promising Young Woman” I don’t know why that film doesn’t have a horror tag. It scared the shit out of me.

And are there any other projects you're involved with that you'd like to talk about?

Another horror film I wrote called "War Of Terror" is being produced by an Irish team. I really hope they can find the financing because I would love to bring a horror film about U.S. Foreign policy and military strategy in middle eastern countries to audiences everywhere. I also am trying to get a vampire film made, but I’m going to keep the details of that to myself for a little while longer haha.

Thank you again to Kevin for the wonderful interview! 

You can find Kevin T. Morales and his work by following the link below:

https://www.kevintmorales.com/about