Author Archives: Svargas

Samantha Vargas | Ghouls Magazine For many, the concept of aging can seem like an inevitable, terrifying reality. But for others, aging threatens more than just fine lines and greying hair. Director Natalie Erika James tackles the unseen horrors of aging with her first feature-length film Relic (2020), an unlikely ghost story that brings aContinue reading “[Film Review] Relic (2020)”

Samantha Vargas | Grow Up On Screen Coming-of-age films often adorn rose-colored glasses onto our memories; romanticizing the 6 a.m. commute, early-morning swim period in gym class, and the trauma of trigonometry. Sure, most coming-of-age films may delve into the ideas of bullying, isolation, and the insecurities of puberty, but rarely do they go beyondContinue reading ““THEY’RE ALL GONNA LAUGH AT YOU”: THE CYNICISM OF ADOLESCENCE IN ‘CARRIE’”

The exciting new series subverts race and gender roles but spreads itself thin with only six episodes Samantha Vargas | Consequence of Sound The Pitch: Yasuke (LaKeith Stanfield) isn’t your typical feudal samurai warrior, and no one will let him forget it: He’s Black. During an age of honor, tradition, and uniformity, the infamous Black Samurai’sContinue reading “Netflix’s Yasuke Brings New Flair to the Samurai Anime: Review”

Samantha Vargas | Ghouls Magazine Long before coming-of-age films romanticized the trials of teenage life, high school did not consist of makeover montages and kissing the star football player. In fact, high school can be a nightmare, especially for students battling mental illnesses. And for Rain (Madison Iseman), the titular teenage protagonist in Fear ofContinue reading “[Film Review] Fear of Rain (2021)”

Samantha Vargas | Matt and Hannah on Media Twenty years ago, Tom Green showed us what would happen if you gave a 14-year old unsupervised access to a film studio, and no one’s still certain if they made the right choice.     Freddy Got Fingered is by far one of the most divisive films acrossContinue reading “‘Freddy Got Fingered’ 20th Anniversary Retrospective”

Samantha Vargas After a trip around the sun, we’ve finally gone full circle back to March. Happy Quarantine Eve. I know I haven’t updated this website in a bit, and I’m sorry to those that are trying to keep up with me. That’s super lame.  But goddammit, I watched four movies for this idea, andContinue reading “Cyberbullying ghosts: 2020 and the rebirth of webcam horror”

Samantha Vargas | Grow Up On Screen Makeover Montages. Mean cheerleaders. Crushes on athletic himbos. Although The Princess Diaries (2001) embodies the classic coming-of-age film archetypes, its characters stand out from the cinematic sea of quirky, shy-girls that undergo transformations to impress vapid high-school boys. There’s an inherent strength and resilience beneath the surface of Mia’s characterContinue reading ““The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all”: Why Princess Mia belongs in the MCU”

Samantha Vargas So, we all pretty much agree that we aren’t taking award shows seriously anymore, right? On Feb. 3rd, the Golden Globe nominations were announced, and we all got to see – and tweet about – how ‘Emily in Paris’ was nominated for best television series, among other surprising cinematic upsets. At this point,Continue reading “Framing ‘La Llorona, but not ~ that ~ one”

Samantha Vargas “Bridgerton’s end result is a heady cloud of pleasure and true love set in an idealized, more inclusive milieu. At a time when I’m longing to escape the real world, few fantasies are more inviting” Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture “‘Bridgerton’ Is a Sparkly Period Piece With a Difference” James Poniewozik, NYT “Let us simplyContinue reading “‘Bridgerton’ is a multi-million dollar Hallmark project cosplaying social wokeness”

Samantha Vargas If you’ve been following me for a while, you might be thinking,  “Wait a second. Hold on. She already wrote about ‘The Human Centipede.’ It even had the same title.” And you’d be correct. Back in February of 2020, I wrote a column about how I supported ‘The Human Centipede’ – and otherContinue reading “Surviving ‘The Human Centipede’ again – for the second time”