Brian Fanelli
@brianjfanelli.bsky.social
Writer. Associate Professor of English. #HWA member. Contributor for HorrorBuzz and 1428 Elm. Words also in Signal Horizon Magazine, Horror Homeroom, Bright Lights Film Journal. Still poeting at times, too.
Pinned
Brian Fanelli
@brianjfanelli.bsky.social
· Apr 10
Day of the Dead, a Woman’s Nightmare, and Post-Capitalist Possibilities - Bright Lights Film Journal
Instead of a shape-shifting alien that overtakes its human hosts, capitalism is represented in Romero’s film by the military and to a lesser extent, the zombies. Zombies have long been[...]
brightlightsfilm.com
I have a new piece at Bright Lights Film Journal on Romero's Day of the Dead as a woman's nightmare and the film's critique of hyper-masculinity. This essay was born out of a conference presentation. I'm happy it found a good home!
#openaccess #filmsky #horrorsky
brightlightsfilm.com/day-of-the-d...
#openaccess #filmsky #horrorsky
brightlightsfilm.com/day-of-the-d...
And that's a wrap on my fall semester classes. I had some great groups. Next week will entail lots of grading, final student portfolios, and the usual.
December 4, 2025 at 8:31 PM
And that's a wrap on my fall semester classes. I had some great groups. Next week will entail lots of grading, final student portfolios, and the usual.
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
Part of the reason I love PTA, he never bad mouths other movies and only lifts up other films and filmmakers. As we all should be. (I mean those of us working in the industry, critics you keep doing your thing. We need cultural criticism, it is so so valuable!)
December 4, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Part of the reason I love PTA, he never bad mouths other movies and only lifts up other films and filmmakers. As we all should be. (I mean those of us working in the industry, critics you keep doing your thing. We need cultural criticism, it is so so valuable!)
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
Hey all,
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
Fellowship
theonion.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Hey all,
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
Remembering poet Gwendolyn Brooks who died #OTD in 2000.
One of the most highly regarded, influential & widely read poets of 20th-century American poetry. First Black author awarded the #Pulitzer Prize for #poetry, for her book 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 (1950). #booksky
www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/gwendo...
One of the most highly regarded, influential & widely read poets of 20th-century American poetry. First Black author awarded the #Pulitzer Prize for #poetry, for her book 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 (1950). #booksky
www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/gwendo...
December 3, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Remembering poet Gwendolyn Brooks who died #OTD in 2000.
One of the most highly regarded, influential & widely read poets of 20th-century American poetry. First Black author awarded the #Pulitzer Prize for #poetry, for her book 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 (1950). #booksky
www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/gwendo...
One of the most highly regarded, influential & widely read poets of 20th-century American poetry. First Black author awarded the #Pulitzer Prize for #poetry, for her book 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 (1950). #booksky
www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/gwendo...
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
#TrainDreams #DennisJohnson #DavidFear
I have fallen in love with "Train Dreams" by Dennis Johnson when it was published in a collection of the "O. Henry Awards" in the late 1990s. Now director Clint Bentley has turned it into a movie.
David Fear's review captures the essence of "Train Dreams".
I have fallen in love with "Train Dreams" by Dennis Johnson when it was published in a collection of the "O. Henry Awards" in the late 1990s. Now director Clint Bentley has turned it into a movie.
David Fear's review captures the essence of "Train Dreams".
'Train Dreams' Is a Tribute to the Men Who Built America
Anchored by a career-high performance from Joel Edgerton, this tale of a railroad laborer who experiences love and tragedy is a modest masterpiece.
www.rollingstone.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:54 PM
#TrainDreams #DennisJohnson #DavidFear
I have fallen in love with "Train Dreams" by Dennis Johnson when it was published in a collection of the "O. Henry Awards" in the late 1990s. Now director Clint Bentley has turned it into a movie.
David Fear's review captures the essence of "Train Dreams".
I have fallen in love with "Train Dreams" by Dennis Johnson when it was published in a collection of the "O. Henry Awards" in the late 1990s. Now director Clint Bentley has turned it into a movie.
David Fear's review captures the essence of "Train Dreams".
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
This piece is fantastic (as is everything Kat writes) but I don't know how to make the studios and the PR groups that represent them understand that their reliance on Twitter and unspoken "requirement" for entertainment journos & critics to use X makes "being harassed" part of our job description.
It has now been a year since I stopped posting on X. For @spitfirenews.com, I wrote about watching the platform I loved become a conduit for the worst extremism I've ever witnessed. I don't regret leaving. In fact, I wish I'd left even earlier.
spitfirenews.com/p/x-bluesky-...
spitfirenews.com/p/x-bluesky-...
I'm glad I stopped posting on X
A year ago, I abandoned my account. It was the right thing to do.
spitfirenews.com
December 1, 2025 at 6:44 PM
This piece is fantastic (as is everything Kat writes) but I don't know how to make the studios and the PR groups that represent them understand that their reliance on Twitter and unspoken "requirement" for entertainment journos & critics to use X makes "being harassed" part of our job description.
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
"All of this falls apart if humans don't adopt the tech. This is why you've seen Meta cram its lame chatbots into WhatsApp and Instagram. This is why Notepad and Paint now have useless Copilot buttons on Windows. This is why Google Gemini wants to "help you" read and reply to your emails."
Analysis: OpenAI is a loss-making machine, how can it survive?
Don't call it a bubble! Loss-making monster OpenAI is on the hook for $1.4 trillion (with a T) in compute commitments. How can this go on?
www.windowscentral.com
November 29, 2025 at 11:30 PM
"All of this falls apart if humans don't adopt the tech. This is why you've seen Meta cram its lame chatbots into WhatsApp and Instagram. This is why Notepad and Paint now have useless Copilot buttons on Windows. This is why Google Gemini wants to "help you" read and reply to your emails."
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
Only 3 weeks until the days start getting longer again ⛅
Hang in there, SAD people ❤️
Hang in there, SAD people ❤️
December 1, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Only 3 weeks until the days start getting longer again ⛅
Hang in there, SAD people ❤️
Hang in there, SAD people ❤️
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
Oxford University Press has chosen “rage bait” as its 2025 Word of the Year. The open-compound word, which beat out “biohack” and “aura farming,” goes back at least to 2002. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/a...
November 30, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Oxford University Press has chosen “rage bait” as its 2025 Word of the Year. The open-compound word, which beat out “biohack” and “aura farming,” goes back at least to 2002. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/a...
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
#NightTideMag's December Monthly Macabre is PRE-CODE HORROR!
It challenged censorship, moral panic, & taboo desire. It also weaponized difference; often villainizing disabled, queer, & racialized bodies. It’s a DEEPLY complicated era worth reexamining.
Pitch us your essay @ nighttidemag.com/pitch 👻📽️
It challenged censorship, moral panic, & taboo desire. It also weaponized difference; often villainizing disabled, queer, & racialized bodies. It’s a DEEPLY complicated era worth reexamining.
Pitch us your essay @ nighttidemag.com/pitch 👻📽️
November 30, 2025 at 8:08 PM
#NightTideMag's December Monthly Macabre is PRE-CODE HORROR!
It challenged censorship, moral panic, & taboo desire. It also weaponized difference; often villainizing disabled, queer, & racialized bodies. It’s a DEEPLY complicated era worth reexamining.
Pitch us your essay @ nighttidemag.com/pitch 👻📽️
It challenged censorship, moral panic, & taboo desire. It also weaponized difference; often villainizing disabled, queer, & racialized bodies. It’s a DEEPLY complicated era worth reexamining.
Pitch us your essay @ nighttidemag.com/pitch 👻📽️
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
In 25 years of teaching creative writing, by far and away the two most common traits I've seen among successful writers are that they read avidly and that they support other writers enthusiastically.
November 30, 2025 at 12:39 AM
In 25 years of teaching creative writing, by far and away the two most common traits I've seen among successful writers are that they read avidly and that they support other writers enthusiastically.
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
Remember when Amazon held a sale during Independent Bookstore Day in an effort to undercut indie bookstores?
We didn’t forget. Support local bookstores during Small Business Saturday and beyond.
We didn’t forget. Support local bookstores during Small Business Saturday and beyond.
November 29, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Remember when Amazon held a sale during Independent Bookstore Day in an effort to undercut indie bookstores?
We didn’t forget. Support local bookstores during Small Business Saturday and beyond.
We didn’t forget. Support local bookstores during Small Business Saturday and beyond.
The buzzy Sundance hit Train Dreams dropped on Netflix today. It’s a gorgeous and poetic film. Give it your full attention, no distractions. This, like Frankenstein, deserved a wide theatrical release.
#filmsky
#filmsky
November 21, 2025 at 9:44 PM
The buzzy Sundance hit Train Dreams dropped on Netflix today. It’s a gorgeous and poetic film. Give it your full attention, no distractions. This, like Frankenstein, deserved a wide theatrical release.
#filmsky
#filmsky
The Barnes & Noble Criterion Collection 50 percent off sale is going on for a few more weeks. In light of that, I wanted to share some of my favorite horror movies in the collection.
#filmsky
brianfanelli.com/2025/11/21/f...
#filmsky
brianfanelli.com/2025/11/21/f...
Five Criterion Horror Recommendations (For the Barnes & Noble Sale)
For physical media collectors, July and November mark the Barnes & Noble Criterion Collection 50 percent off sale, the only time of the year, other than the one-day Criterion flash sales, when …
brianfanelli.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:11 PM
The Barnes & Noble Criterion Collection 50 percent off sale is going on for a few more weeks. In light of that, I wanted to share some of my favorite horror movies in the collection.
#filmsky
brianfanelli.com/2025/11/21/f...
#filmsky
brianfanelli.com/2025/11/21/f...
Some reasons for optimism: the GOP ignored Trump when he barked at them to nix the filibuster. Every member of Congress, but one, voted to release the Epstein files. Indiana backed off on redistricting. TX's new map got struck down by a judge. Maybe a post-Trump world is coming into focus?
November 21, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Some reasons for optimism: the GOP ignored Trump when he barked at them to nix the filibuster. Every member of Congress, but one, voted to release the Epstein files. Indiana backed off on redistricting. TX's new map got struck down by a judge. Maybe a post-Trump world is coming into focus?
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
A reminder friends, I curate a list of horror creators, journalists, academics and so on. The idea is the have one place to find alll things horror. We do not all only post about horror.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
bsky.app/profile/did:...
November 19, 2025 at 8:30 PM
A reminder friends, I curate a list of horror creators, journalists, academics and so on. The idea is the have one place to find alll things horror. We do not all only post about horror.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
bsky.app/profile/did:...
I have the pleasure of teaching The Autopsy of Jane Doe to one of my classes this week, and goodness, I cannot wait for the discussion.
November 17, 2025 at 9:05 PM
I have the pleasure of teaching The Autopsy of Jane Doe to one of my classes this week, and goodness, I cannot wait for the discussion.
Keeper is certainly a dose of pure nightmare fuel, but it's not quite as strong as Osgood Perkins' last few films, or even his earlier work like The Blackcoat's Daughter. Still, it's Perkins, so it's worth seeing. The movie releases in theaters today.
#filmsky
brianfanelli.com/2025/11/14/k...
#filmsky
brianfanelli.com/2025/11/14/k...
Keeper Plays Out as a Creepy, but Flawed Dark Fairytale (Review)
Osgood Perkins has been on a real winning streak lately, with the massive success of Longlegs and The Monkey. His multi-picture deal with NEON has paid off so far. The director’s latest, Keep…
brianfanelli.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Keeper is certainly a dose of pure nightmare fuel, but it's not quite as strong as Osgood Perkins' last few films, or even his earlier work like The Blackcoat's Daughter. Still, it's Perkins, so it's worth seeing. The movie releases in theaters today.
#filmsky
brianfanelli.com/2025/11/14/k...
#filmsky
brianfanelli.com/2025/11/14/k...
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
In honor of today being the 103rd anniversary of the birth of my friend Kurt Vonnegut, I am posting this previously unpublished photo of the author in Cedar Falls, Iowa, taken by Vonnegut scholar and friend Jerry Klinkowitz in 1977. I love this photo.
November 11, 2025 at 8:09 PM
In honor of today being the 103rd anniversary of the birth of my friend Kurt Vonnegut, I am posting this previously unpublished photo of the author in Cedar Falls, Iowa, taken by Vonnegut scholar and friend Jerry Klinkowitz in 1977. I love this photo.
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
Hey, yo. Joyce Carol Oates is dragging tech boys by their hair over on that weirdo app.
November 11, 2025 at 5:15 AM
Hey, yo. Joyce Carol Oates is dragging tech boys by their hair over on that weirdo app.
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
I'm losing my mind over how many reviewers are like "GDT's Frankenstein makes you wonder who the real monster is." THAT'S THE STORY! That's the story Shelley wrote!
November 7, 2025 at 12:00 PM
I'm losing my mind over how many reviewers are like "GDT's Frankenstein makes you wonder who the real monster is." THAT'S THE STORY! That's the story Shelley wrote!
Reposted by Brian Fanelli
Listen to the union. It's a popular tactic for customers to boycott a company as a means of solidarity to a union, but the union may not call for that as a means of applying further pressure to executives.
Listen to the union. If you do enjoy Starbucks, that is how you can best help out.
Listen to the union. If you do enjoy Starbucks, that is how you can best help out.
BREAKING: Starbucks workers have just authorized a massive strike.
Union Starbucks baristas voted to authorize the strike by 92%.
Now baristas in over 25 cities could launch an unfair labor practice strike on Thursday, November 13th.
Union Starbucks baristas voted to authorize the strike by 92%.
Now baristas in over 25 cities could launch an unfair labor practice strike on Thursday, November 13th.
November 6, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Listen to the union. It's a popular tactic for customers to boycott a company as a means of solidarity to a union, but the union may not call for that as a means of applying further pressure to executives.
Listen to the union. If you do enjoy Starbucks, that is how you can best help out.
Listen to the union. If you do enjoy Starbucks, that is how you can best help out.
It's cool they're doing a Gremlins 3, but it's a bummer Joe Dante won't return to direct. It's also unclear if Zach Galligan will return as Billy, though I assume he will in some capacity. I think Phoebe Cates retired from acting.
variety.com/2025/film/ne...
variety.com/2025/film/ne...
‘Gremlins 3’ Movie Sets November 2027 Release Date
A new "Gremlins' movie will barrel into theaters in November 2027.
variety.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:20 PM
It's cool they're doing a Gremlins 3, but it's a bummer Joe Dante won't return to direct. It's also unclear if Zach Galligan will return as Billy, though I assume he will in some capacity. I think Phoebe Cates retired from acting.
variety.com/2025/film/ne...
variety.com/2025/film/ne...
Whew. Proud of my state tonight. This was a major race that didn't get a ton of media attention.
BREAKING: Pennsylvania voters approve to retain three state Supreme Court justices, NBC News projects, preserving Democrats’ 5-2 majority on the state’s high court.
Pennsylvania voters retain three state Supreme Court justices, preserving Democrats' 5-2 majority
NBC News projects the incumbents survived an up-or-down vote to keep their seats on the battleground state’s high court.
nbcnews.to
November 5, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Whew. Proud of my state tonight. This was a major race that didn't get a ton of media attention.