Nicholas Bell from IONCINEMA joins me to run down the films we've watched so far at the 82nd Venice Film Festival. We talk La Grazia, Frankenstein, After the Hunt, Bugonia, No Other Choice and The Smashing Machine. We probably talk about even more in this bumper Lido fuelled edition.

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Available HERE.

Blockbuster box office. Critical acclaim and Oscars recognition. From Get Out and M3GAN to The Substance and Sinners, the horror genre is enjoying a glorious–and gory–golden age.

Screaming and Conjuring details the films and frights that led to this extraordinary renaissance, from the release of the groundbreaking Scream in 1996 to the arrival of 2013’s The Conjuring, which spawned a multi-billion dollar franchise. Written by entertainment journalist Clark Collis (author of You’ve Got Red on You: How Shaun of the Dead Was Brought to Life), this exhaustively researched book is the first in-depth examination of a remarkably fertile and influential time for big screen horror.

Wes Craven’s Scream was followed by a flood of classic terror tales such as The Blair Witch Project, The Sixth Sense, Final Destination, The Others, Pan's Labyrinth, 28 Days Later, Resident Evil, Saw, Hostel, Paranormal Activity, and Insidious. This comprehensive history covers the often difficult and tortuous making of all these films (and many more), giving readers the exclusive lowdown on productions which were often as intense as the horrifying sights that ended up on screen.

Screaming and Conjuring features recollections from a host of genre icons, including actors Jamie Lee Curtis and Neve Campbell, directors Eli Roth and Sam Raimi, and legendary makeup effects artist Greg Nicotero. The book also includes 200 production stills, film posters, and rarely seen images.

Blood. Sweat. Tears. More blood. Clark Collis takes you behind the scenes, and the scares, with this fascinating history of the modern horror movie.

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New book Darkness Visible, available from Sticking Place Books.

Jonathan Glazer has created some of the most unforgettable images in twenty-first-century cinema. From the dreamlike menace of Sexy Beast to the haunting abstractions of Under the Skin and the chilling banality of evil in The Zone of Interest, his films blend surreal intensity with razor-sharp formal control. But Glazer’s world doesn’t stop at the cinema screen-it extends into commercials, music videos and short films that have redefined visual storytelling. In Darkness Visible, critic and author John Bleasdale guides readers through the full scope of Glazer’s career, offering a vivid, provocative and deeply informed portrait of a filmmaker who resists interpretation even as his work demands it. With chapters on each feature film, along with Glazer’s groundbreaking work in advertising and video, this is the first comprehensive account of a visionary whose cinema explores the dark undercurrents of modern life-and leaves audiences changed.

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New Edition available here.

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Maureen Foster's book on Under the Skin was an inspiration for Visible Darkness: The Cinema of Jonathan Glazer and so I'm republished this episode which was originally broadcast two years ago.

Darkness Visible is available from Sticking Place books at a discount for the UK and US here.

And from all good book dealers for the rest of the world.

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Xan Brooks has been a film critic and journalist for decades, hosting the ground-breaking Film Weekly for The Guardian along with Jason Solomons. He's now a novelist with The Clocks in This House All Tell Different Times and his new book The Catchers, available here.

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A podcast to accompany the release of my book Darkness Visible: the Cinema of Jonathan Glazer, available HERE

Jonathan Glazer has created some of the most unforgettable images in twenty-first-century cinema. From the dreamlike menace of Sexy Beast to the haunting abstractions of Under the Skin and the chilling banality of evil in The Zone of Interest, his films blend surreal intensity with razor-sharp formal control. But Glazer’s world doesn’t stop at the cinema screen-it extends into commercials, music videos and short films that have redefined visual storytelling. In Darkness Visible, critic and author John Bleasdale guides readers through the full scope of Glazer’s career, offering a vivid, provocative and deeply informed portrait of a filmmaker who resists interpretation even as his work demands it. With chapters on each feature film, along with Glazer’s groundbreaking work in advertising and video, this is the first comprehensive account of a visionary whose cinema explores the dark undercurrents of modern life-and leaves audiences changed.

John Bleasdale is a film critic and writer whose work is regularly published in Variety, Sight and Sound, The Economist, The Financial Times and The Guardian. He is also a contributing editor of The New World and hosts the podcast Writers on Film podcast. His book The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick (2025) was published by the University Press of Kentucky.

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Buy a copy here.

New York Times "Editors Choice," Los Angeles Times "Must Read Book for Summer," and a New Yorker "Best Book of the Year So Far"

"This is the biography of Clint Eastwood we've been waiting for." — Sir Christopher Frayling, author of Sergio Leone

From the acclaimed film critic and New York Times bestselling biographer of Paul Newman, a revelatory portrait of Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood, the most prolific and versatile actor-director in movie history and an imposing icon of American culture for six decades.

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To celebrate the publication of Darkness Visible The Cinema of Jonathan Glazer I talk with Kaleem Aftab about Glazer's feature film debut Sexy Beast.

To buy the book, click here or visit any site where books are sold.

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Novelist and film academic Sunny Singh introduces us to the world of Bollywood. From its origins in theatre and the silent era to the present day blockbusters, we discuss how Bollywood has responded to changes in India and the world and the context in which it is best enjoyed. Noisy, with lots of friends, family and interaction.

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