Writer. Film Scholar. Journalist. Editor.
I am currently working on a book on sado-masochistic themes in 1960s-70s cinema, looking at films such as La prisonnière, The Story of O, The Night Porter and In the Realm of the Senses as well as the work of Jess Franco and Alain Robbe-Grillet, and exploring the way they revisit the themes laid out... Continue Reading →
The short film I have written and directed, THE PETTING ZOO, is now finished. It's a ghost tale about five friends who go to the woods on Halloween and get lost in a local legend. I had invaluable help from the hugely talented Jonathan Zaurin and was lucky to work with a brilliant team of... Continue Reading →
I'm very happy to have contributed an introduction + a commentary alongside the brilliant Kat Ellinger to Radiance Films' release of A Woman Kills (La femme bourreau), directed by Jean-Denis Bonan, a one-time Jean Rollin associate, in 1968. Lost for 40 years, A Woman Kills is a radically odd serial killer story that was shot... Continue Reading →
In this episode of the Straight On Till Morning radio show, I host a discussion on Korean horror film with Kim Newman, author of Nightmare Movies, and film critic Anton Bitel in the aftermath of the London Korean Film Festival. https://www.koreanfilm.co.uk/https://johnnyalucard.com/https://projectedfigures.com First broadcast on 29th November 2022. Pic credit: The Anchor (Dir. Jeong Ji-yeon, 2022)... Continue Reading →
Listen to the annual podcast round-up of the Arrow FrightFest festival with Kim Newman, Anton Bitel and me: This year's themes were: Influencers Religious cults Unwelcome guests New women Tight spots Films mentioned include: Deadstream Follow Her Sissy Something in the Dirt Candy Land New Religion The Leech Who Invited Them Torn Hearts Piggy Family... Continue Reading →
ORCHESTRATOR OF STORMS : THE FANTASTIQUE WORLD OF JEAN ROLLIN will have its European premiere at ArrowFrightFest on Friday 26 August 2022 at 3:50pm. There will be a Q&A after the film with the formidable Brigitte Lahaie and me. Directed by Kat Ellinger and Dima Ballin, produced by Kier-and Jonathan Zaurin. Book tickets: http://frightfest.nuwebgroup.com/events/21472
I had the great pleasure to contribute to the unprecedented documentary on Jean Rollin directed by Kat Ellinger and Dima Ballin, which will premiere at the Fantasia Festival on Saturday 16th July. Here's the Fantasia Festival's description of the film by Mitch Davis: Has there been a genre artist more fundamentally misunderstood and inappropriately discussed... Continue Reading →
I reviewed Mark Jenkin's follow-up to Bait for the Sight&Sound website in May 2022. The review was published in the Winter 22-23 issue of the Sight&Sound magazine. An oblique take on 1970s folk horror, Enys Men creates a genuinely haunting experience rooted in the Cornish landscape. Synopsis: A middle-aged woman (Mary Woodvine) lives alone on... Continue Reading →
I will be speaking at the Suspirias symposium on Saturday 11th June at Queen Mary University. Tickets are free, registration essential. This symposium considers Dario Argento’s 1977 giallo horror Suspiria alongside Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 film of the same name. The 2018 film has been positioned in a cycle of ‘serious’ horror films, an arthouse spin... Continue Reading →
I will be part of a panel exploring Japanese cinema in the second half of the 20th century as part of the BFI's Japan 2021 season on Thursday 2nd December with season co-programmer Alexander Jacoby, author, filmmaker and curator Jasper Sharp, academic and author Rayna Denison and film scholar, writer and editor Virginie Sélavy. Buy... Continue Reading →
As part of Monstrum Society's autumn 2021 'Gothic Excursions, Disrupted Histories' series, I will be delivering an online lecture on how Jean Rollin's virgins and vampires, under the influence of Georges Bataille, revitalised the subversive potential of the Gothic heroine in the 1970s. Lecture available from Monday 18th October on the Monstrum Society website. Other... Continue Reading →
Virginie Sélavy 