The Haughty Culturist - The thinking person's guide to books, films & pop culture

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Sliced red apple on a black background.

A Haunting in Venice: how the horror whodunnit remixes Agatha Christie’s novel

16 September 2023

How A Haunting in Venice rings the changes to Agatha Christie’s novel, Hallowe’en Party

Half of a cracked doll's face with a piercing blue eye.

Don’t Look Now (1973): seeing is believing | Film analysis

15 September 2023

A lookout tower in the middle of a forest.

Outpost: enjoyably absurd horror debut flips the script on women in peril | Review

7 September 2023

Heavily vignetted forest scene.

The Watchers: woodland Gothic horror goes at a cracking pace | Review

1 September 2023

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Extreme close-up of the red-hot surface of the Sun

Film

Sunshine (2007) explained: the sound of inevitability

Cold shining pattern like a mechanic pulse or mechanic eye.

Film

I, Robot (2004) and the two brothers theory

Film

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: the knowledge trap

Film

Kill, bury, avoid: How horror movies bump off their bad guys

The face of an inquisitive looking, beige coloured llama.

Film

Napoleon Dynamite (2004): is Napoleon a good dancer?

Book reviews

Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, by Jaron Lanier

Close-up of teeth with braces chomping on a jelly sweet.

Literature

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s warnings for naughty children

A ram's skull, complete with impressively gnarly horns against a deep black background.

Film

The Witch (2015) explained: the horrors of true history

A sleek looking bullet train races through an empty station.

Film

Bullet Train (2022): japes on a train | Review

Film

Violent Night (2022): ho, ho … oh | Review

Close-up of a man's hand holding a vintage leather suitcase.

Book reviews

The Talented Mr Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith | Review

A single burning fragment against a pitch black background.

Film

The trouble with Oppenheimer | Opinion