{ "version": 1, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/", "name": "Cult cinema encyclopedia: styles, people & history", "inLanguage": "en", "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "editorialNote": "Cult is a relationship, not a school grade. This selection connects trash, fantastic filmmaking and their history. House notes are our playful readings. Future entries are explicitly outlooks.", "categories": [ { "id": "styles", "name": "Styles & subgenres" }, { "id": "makers", "name": "Directors & troublemakers" }, { "id": "cast", "name": "Faces of cult cinema" }, { "id": "writers", "name": "Authors & screenplays" }, { "id": "craft", "name": "Effects & craft" }, { "id": "history", "name": "History & film culture" }, { "id": "tools", "name": "The freak’s toolkit" }, { "id": "future", "name": "Future & open questions" } ], "entries": [ { "id": "ki-film", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#ki-film", "kind": "term", "category": "future", "name": "AI in genre cinema", "text": "Generative AI is being tested across screen industries, alongside questions about control, provenance and creative work. Our outlook: it may change individual tasks, but does not automatically produce an original perspective. A list of tools cannot predict what will endure culturally.", "houseNote": "A prompt can order a monster. No button decides whether it becomes cult.", "outlook": true, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Generative AI for the screen industries: research report", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/generative-ai-screen-industries", "publisher": "BFI / CoSTAR", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#hybride-effekte", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kult-trash", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#wiederverwendung" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "albert-pyun", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#albert-pyun", "kind": "person", "category": "makers", "name": "Albert Pyun", "text": "Pyun directed The Sword and the Sorcerer and Cyborg, among other films. His combination of genre material and limited production means makes him an important name in video-store culture. Rediscovery works best by comparing individual films, not just cult reputations.", "houseNote": "The future wears leather and has already spent the lighting budget.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Albert Pyun: obituary", "url": "https://www.legacy.com/legacy/notable-deaths/albert-pyun", "publisher": "Legacy.com", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#vhs", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#b-movie", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#mockbuster" ], "films": [ { "name": "Cyborg", "year": 1989, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/cyborg-1989-138/" }, { "name": "The Sword and the Sorcerer", "year": 1982, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-sword-and-the-sorcerer-1982-055/" } ] }, { "id": "hybride-effekte", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#hybride-effekte", "kind": "term", "category": "future", "name": "Analogue meets digital", "text": "Physical and digital effects need not compete. Established productions already combine techniques. Our outlook: small teams can mix selectively and use the handmade as a design choice rather than hiding every visible trick. The individual film determines which combination works.", "houseNote": "The puppet need not beat the computer. They can misbehave together.", "outlook": true, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Inventing Worlds and Characters: Effects", "url": "https://www.academymuseum.org/en/exhibitions/effects", "publisher": "Academy Museum", "checked": "2026-10-19" }, { "title": "Hook: visual effects", "url": "https://www.ilm.com/vfx/hook/", "publisher": "Industrial Light & Magic", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#practical-effects", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#stop-motion", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#matte-painting" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "archive-entdecken", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#archive-entdecken", "kind": "term", "category": "future", "name": "Archives & the next rediscovery", "text": "Archives collect, preserve and describe films beyond familiar classics. Access depends on condition, cataloguing and rights. Our outlook: better metadata and curated connections can help overlooked works surface. A digital copy does not replace long-term preservation.", "houseNote": "Your next favourite may already be there, just in the wrong box.", "outlook": true, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "BFI National Archive: preservation and access", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/bfi-national-archive", "publisher": "BFI National Archive", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#restaurierung", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#filmfassungen", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kult-trash" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "bildformat", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#bildformat", "kind": "term", "category": "tools", "name": "Aspect ratio & framing", "text": "Aspect ratio describes the proportion between image width and height. Prints and releases may frame an image differently. For projection and VJ surfaces, inspect the complete frame first; stretching changes shapes rather than preserving composition.", "houseNote": "The monster may be wide. Preferably not by accident.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "All about… 16mm", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/all-about-16mm", "publisher": "BFI National Archive", "checked": "2026-10-19" }, { "title": "Visual Effects: educational activities guide", "url": "https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/complete_visual_effects_activities_guide.pdf", "publisher": "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#filmfassungen", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#miniaturen", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#loops" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "avod-fast", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#avod-fast", "kind": "term", "category": "future", "name": "AVOD, FAST & new late-night schedules", "text": "AVOD means ad-supported on-demand video; FAST describes free ad-supported streaming channels with schedules. Services such as Pluto TV combine linear channels and on-demand viewing. Our outlook: curated genre shelves may matter more again. Catalogues, regions and availability remain changeable.", "houseNote": "Late-night schedules return. The remote has merely changed shape.", "outlook": true, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Pluto TV: about the service", "url": "https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/pluto-tv/page/about-pluto-tv", "publisher": "Paramount / Pluto TV", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#vhs", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#double-feature", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#trailer" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "barbara-steele", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#barbara-steele", "kind": "person", "category": "cast", "name": "Barbara Steele", "text": "Mario Bava’s Black Sunday made Steele a defining figure of Italian gothic horror. She also worked outside the genre. Her career reveals the distance between an actor and the iconic image a fan culture may prefer to preserve.", "houseNote": "The gaze is famous. The person remains bigger than the poster.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Barbara Steele: interview", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/interviews/barbara-steele-horror-icon-angel-satan", "publisher": "Sight and Sound / BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#mario-bava", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#giallo", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kult-trash" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "b-movie", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#b-movie", "kind": "term", "category": "styles", "name": "B movie", "text": "Historically, B meant the cheaper second feature on a double bill. The term later broadened to economical genre filmmaking. It describes production and distribution conditions; a letter alone says little about craftsmanship.", "houseNote": "Small account. Big promise. Sometimes remarkably big cinema.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "B movies: definition and research guide", "url": "https://researchguides.dartmouth.edu/filmgenres/bmovies", "publisher": "Dartmouth College Library", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#double-feature", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#poverty-row", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#roger-corman" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Little Shop of Horrors", "year": 1960, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-little-shop-of-horrors-1960-179/" } ] }, { "id": "body-horror", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#body-horror", "kind": "term", "category": "styles", "name": "Body horror", "text": "Body horror moves the threat inside the body: transformation, lost control and unreliable flesh. David Cronenberg’s films are defining examples. Its power comes not merely from blood, but from asking who still owns or recognises a changing body.", "houseNote": "Your own elbow appears to have other plans.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "10 great body horror films", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-body-horror-films", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#shinya-tsukamoto", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#practical-effects", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#h-p-lovecraft" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Fly", "year": 1986, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-fly-1986-144/" }, { "name": "Tetsuo", "year": 1989, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/tetsuo-1989-193/" } ] }, { "id": "bruce-campbell", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#bruce-campbell", "kind": "person", "category": "cast", "name": "Bruce Campbell", "text": "Campbell is central to the Evil Dead films and has written about life as a B-movie actor. His physical comedy shows how closely horror and slapstick can work together. A spectacular effect often depends on a very precise human reaction.", "houseNote": "The chin knows its lines. The body improvises for survival.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Bruce Campbell: author biography", "url": "https://us.macmillan.com/author/brucecampbell/", "publisher": "Macmillan", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#splatstick", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#practical-effects", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#b-movie" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Evil Dead", "year": 1981, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-evil-dead-1981-163/" }, { "name": "Evil Dead II", "year": 1987, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/evil-dead-ii-1987-164/" } ] }, { "id": "camp", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#camp", "kind": "term", "category": "styles", "name": "Camp", "text": "Camp delights in artifice, pose and exaggeration. It may be deliberate or emerge through later readings. Queer film culture is part of its history, so camp means more than accidentally amusing production design.", "houseNote": "When the eyebrow joins in, the film gains another performer.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "BFI Flare programmers choose favourite camp movies", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/bfi-flare-programmers-choose-favourite-camp-movies", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#john-waters", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#divine", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kult-trash" ], "films": [ { "name": "Flash Gordon", "year": 1980, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/flash-gordon-1980-009/" }, { "name": "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", "year": 1975, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-rocky-horror-picture-show-1975-180/" } ] }, { "id": "caroline-munro", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#caroline-munro", "kind": "person", "category": "cast", "name": "Caroline Munro", "text": "In Starcrash, Munro plays space adventurer Stella Star. The role concentrates the appeal of space-opera camp: conspicuous costumes, grand gestures and a universe with its own peculiar rules. The star image is part of the film’s design.", "houseNote": "Space is cold. The entrance still gets a warm reaction.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Starcrash: cast and credits", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starcrash", "publisher": "Wikipedia; film credits", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#camp", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#b-movie", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#synchronisation" ], "films": [ { "name": "Starcrash", "year": 1978, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/starcrash-1978-001/" } ] }, { "id": "christopher-lee", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#christopher-lee", "kind": "person", "category": "cast", "name": "Christopher Lee", "text": "Lee became internationally known through Hammer films; his partnership with Peter Cushing is central to that history. He also worked across countries and genres. Dracula is an iconic image, but not a complete inventory of his roles.", "houseNote": "One look is enough. The cape could almost stay home.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Christopher Lee: career and legacy", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/christopher-lee-1922-2015-one-cinemas-world-class-villains", "publisher": "Sight and Sound / BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#peter-cushing", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#folk-horror", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#synchronisation" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Wicker Man", "year": 1973, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-wicker-man-1973-202/" }, { "name": "The Curse of Frankenstein", "year": 1957, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-curse-of-frankenstein-1957-649/" } ] }, { "id": "kult-trash", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kult-trash", "kind": "term", "category": "styles", "name": "Cult & trash", "text": "Cult grows from a relationship between a film and its audience. Trash is a shifting label for excess, friction and supposed failure. An adored film can be brilliant, expensive or deliberately odd; cult is not a budget category.", "houseNote": "Our shelf is a love letter, not an official bad-film inspection.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Trash! The Wildest Films You’ve Ever Seen", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/trash-wildest-films-youve-ever-seen-season-announced-bfi-southbank/", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#b-movie", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#camp", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#midnight-movies" ], "films": [ { "name": "Starcrash", "year": 1978, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/starcrash-1978-001/" }, { "name": "Hausu", "year": 1977, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/hausu-1977-192/" } ] }, { "id": "dario-argento", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#dario-argento", "kind": "person", "category": "makers", "name": "Dario Argento", "text": "Argento combines murder mysteries, subjective perception, emphatic music and extreme colour. Deep Red belongs to giallo; Suspiria moves further into supernatural territory. His films invite attention to image and sound as much as to plot resolution.", "houseNote": "If the wallpaper screams, the room is probably lit correctly.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Where to begin with Dario Argento", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-dario-argento", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#giallo", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#mario-bava", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#sound-sync" ], "films": [ { "name": "Suspiria", "year": 1977, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/suspiria-1977-205/" } ] }, { "id": "divine", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#divine", "kind": "person", "category": "cast", "name": "Divine", "text": "Divine was the stage and screen persona of Harris Glenn Milstead. The partnership with John Waters combined drag, grotesque comedy and attacks on social taste boundaries. Behind the larger-than-life image is a distinctive performance, not merely a provocation.", "houseNote": "Larger than life has nothing to do with screen size here.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "I Am Divine: documentary overview", "url": "https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/film/watch-i-am-divine-2013-online", "publisher": "BFI Player", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#john-waters", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#camp", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#midnight-movies" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "double-feature", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#double-feature", "kind": "term", "category": "history", "name": "Double feature", "text": "A double feature puts two feature films on one cinema ticket. This exhibition practice belongs to B-movie history. For a film night today, it becomes a curatorial game: shared motifs, opposite tones or a deliberately surprising transition.", "houseNote": "First the spaceship. Then something they definitely will not let aboard.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Double feature: exhibition practice", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_feature", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#b-movie", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#drive-in", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#midnight-movies" ], "films": [ { "name": "Starcrash", "year": 1978, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/starcrash-1978-001/" }, { "name": "Tetsuo", "year": 1989, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/tetsuo-1989-193/" } ] }, { "id": "drive-in", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#drive-in", "kind": "term", "category": "history", "name": "Drive-in cinema", "text": "The drive-in combines film exhibition with car culture. In the United States it became an important setting for popular genre cinema. The experience exceeds the film itself: journeys, weather, company and surroundings shape memory and fandom.", "houseNote": "The screen is enormous. The snack stays suspiciously close to the gearstick.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Down at the Drive-In", "url": "https://siarchives.si.edu/blog/down-drive", "publisher": "Smithsonian Institution Archives", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#double-feature", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#exploitation", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kult-trash" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Green Slime", "year": 1968, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-green-slime-1968-012/" }, { "name": "Space Raiders", "year": 1983, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/space-raiders-1983-006/" } ] }, { "id": "synchronisation", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#synchronisation", "kind": "term", "category": "craft", "name": "Dubbing & ADR", "text": "Post-recorded dialogue can replace unusable production sound or create another language version. ADR and translated dubbing are therefore related but distinct tasks. Voice, timing and mixing shape a character; the same image may play differently across versions.", "houseNote": "The mouth opens. The voice helps decide which space hero emerges.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "ADR editor: job profile", "url": "https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/post-production/sound-studios/adr-editor-post-production/", "publisher": "ScreenSkills", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#filmfassungen", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#sound-sync", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#caroline-munro" ], "films": [ { "name": "Starcrash", "year": 1978, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/starcrash-1978-001/" } ] }, { "id": "ed-wood", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#ed-wood", "kind": "person", "category": "makers", "name": "Ed Wood", "text": "Ed Wood wrote and directed Plan 9 from Outer Space. Visible discontinuities, recycled footage and peculiar performances helped turn it into a cult object. Calling him the supposedly worst director is a reception cliché, not a measurable award.", "houseNote": "The gravestone wobbles. The enthusiasm stands remarkably firm.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Plan 9 from Outer Space", "url": "https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/film/watch-plan-9-from-outer-space-1958-online", "publisher": "BFI Player", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#stock-footage", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#poverty-row", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kult-trash" ], "films": [ { "name": "Plan 9 from Outer Space", "year": 1959, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/plan-9-from-outer-space-1959-693/" } ] }, { "id": "eiji-tsuburaya", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#eiji-tsuburaya", "kind": "person", "category": "craft", "name": "Eiji Tsuburaya", "text": "Tsuburaya shaped Japanese special effects and founded the company behind the Ultra tradition. His work connects miniature worlds with carefully staged movement. What matters is not merely the monster suit, but the interplay of scale, perspective and performance.", "houseNote": "A giant foot is preceded by a great deal of tiny work.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Eiji Tsuburaya: founder", "url": "https://tsuburaya-prod.com/company/founder", "publisher": "Tsuburaya Productions", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#tokusatsu", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kaiju", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#miniaturen" ], "films": [ { "name": "Godzilla", "year": 1954, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/godzilla-1954-379/" } ] }, { "id": "exploitation", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#exploitation", "kind": "term", "category": "styles", "name": "Exploitation", "text": "Exploitation sells a striking hook: taboo, scandal, sensation or a topical trend. Low costs can enable quick responses. It is not one visual style; the label covers very different films and sometimes troubling representations.", "houseNote": "The poster screams first. The film has to catch up.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Exploitation Film", "url": "https://academic.oup.com/reference/62339/reference-article-abstract/554196215", "publisher": "Oxford Bibliographies", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#grindhouse", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#pam-grier", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#mockbuster" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Stuff", "year": 1985, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-stuff-1985-151/" } ] }, { "id": "folk-horror", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#folk-horror", "kind": "term", "category": "styles", "name": "Folk horror", "text": "Folk horror connects landscape, isolated communities and disturbing belief systems. Unease often grows from social rules and inherited stories. Supernatural forces are possible, not compulsory; sometimes a village in complete agreement is frightening enough.", "houseNote": "At the village fête, ask what the giant basket is for.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Where to begin with folk horror", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-folk-horror", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#nigel-kneale", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#christopher-lee", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#midnight-movies" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Wicker Man", "year": 1973, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-wicker-man-1973-202/" } ] }, { "id": "wiederverwendung", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#wiederverwendung", "kind": "term", "category": "tools", "name": "Footage rights & reuse", "text": "Watching, linking and creative reuse are different activities. A publicly accessible stream is not blanket remix permission. Even with suitable licences or public-domain material, check provenance, licence conditions and possible other rights, including sound and identifiable people.", "houseNote": "The toolkit contains a provenance note next to the loop.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Creative Commons FAQ", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/faq/", "publisher": "Creative Commons", "checked": "2026-10-19" }, { "title": "CC0 FAQ", "url": "https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/CC0_FAQ", "publisher": "Creative Commons", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#stock-footage", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#loops", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#trailer" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "found-footage", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#found-footage", "kind": "term", "category": "styles", "name": "Found footage", "text": "In horror, found footage presents a story as recovered or recorded material. Camera flaws and restricted viewpoints can create authenticity. In experimental cinema, the phrase also has another meaning: artistic reuse of existing images.", "houseNote": "The camera shakes. The claim of authenticity still needs checking.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "10 great found-footage films", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-found-footage-films", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#stock-footage", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#wiederverwendung", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#vhs" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "george-romero", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#george-romero", "kind": "person", "category": "makers", "name": "George A. Romero", "text": "With Night of the Living Dead, Romero reshaped modern zombie cinema. Siege and conflict within the group matter as much as the undead. His films show how independent horror can turn social tensions into an immediately legible situation.", "houseNote": "The monster knocks outside. The real argument already has a seat.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Why Night of the Living Dead changed horror", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/night-living-dead-george-romero", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#exploitation", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#restaurierung", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kult-trash" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "giallo", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#giallo", "kind": "term", "category": "styles", "name": "Giallo", "text": "Giallo means yellow, referring to Italian crime fiction. Internationally it mainly describes stylised Italian murder mysteries, with unreliable perception, striking colour and choreographed violence. Its borders with horror are porous; not every Italian horror film is a giallo.", "houseNote": "The lighting should also be considered a suspect.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Where to begin with giallo", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-giallo", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#mario-bava", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#dario-argento", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#lucio-fulci" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "grindhouse", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#grindhouse", "kind": "term", "category": "history", "name": "Grindhouse", "text": "Grindhouse first describes a cinema culture and exhibition setting for cheap, often sensationally marketed films. Today’s stylistic label frequently imitates worn prints and aggressive advertising. The historical venue and the later retro look should not be confused.", "houseNote": "One scratch does not make a forbidden midnight screening.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Grinding out the Grindhouse: exploitation, myth and memory", "url": "https://cris.brighton.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/503622/Grinding%20out%20the%20grindhouse.pdf", "publisher": "University of Brighton research repository", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#exploitation", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#pam-grier", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#trailer" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "h-p-lovecraft", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#h-p-lovecraft", "kind": "person", "category": "writers", "name": "H. P. Lovecraft", "text": "Lovecraft’s writing connects limited human knowledge with an indifferent, threatening cosmic order. Cinema borrows these ideas in very different ways. Re-Animator and other adaptations show how a source can change tone, structure and meaning when it changes medium.", "houseNote": "The universe received your complaint. It does not reply as a rule.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "10 great Lovecraftian horror films", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-lovecraftian-horror-films", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#jeffrey-combs", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#body-horror", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#filmfassungen" ], "films": [ { "name": "Re-Animator", "year": 1985, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/re-animator-1985-145/" }, { "name": "From Beyond", "year": 1986, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/from-beyond-1986-146/" } ] }, { "id": "jeffrey-combs", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#jeffrey-combs", "kind": "person", "category": "cast", "name": "Jeffrey Combs", "text": "Combs made Herbert West in Re-Animator a distinctive mad-science figure. The role depends on controlled behaviour colliding with catastrophic experiments. Rediscovery rewards attention not only to effects, but also to the timing of the driest dialogue.", "houseNote": "Science says no. Herbert West has already filled the syringe.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Jeffrey Combs: Re-Animator interview", "url": "https://milwaukeerecord.com/film/role-of-a-lifetime-jeffrey-combs-talks-herbert-west-re-animator-ahead-of-40th-anniversary-screening/", "publisher": "Milwaukee Record", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#h-p-lovecraft", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#body-horror", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#splatstick" ], "films": [ { "name": "Re-Animator", "year": 1985, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/re-animator-1985-145/" }, { "name": "From Beyond", "year": 1986, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/from-beyond-1986-146/" } ] }, { "id": "john-carpenter", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#john-carpenter", "kind": "person", "category": "makers", "name": "John Carpenter", "text": "Carpenter is a director and composer. His music and Dan Wyman’s synthesizer programming are central to Halloween’s effect. Repetition, space and a clear musical pulse show how carefully organised modest means can generate suspense.", "houseNote": "Very few notes. Very many reasons to avoid the hallway.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Halloween: soundtrack credits and composer’s account", "url": "https://theofficialjohncarpenter.com/halloween-soundtrack/", "publisher": "John Carpenter", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#sound-sync", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#b-movie", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#miniaturen" ], "films": [ { "name": "Dark Star", "year": 1974, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/dark-star-1974-025/" }, { "name": "They Live", "year": 1988, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/they-live-1988-119/" } ] }, { "id": "john-waters", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#john-waters", "kind": "person", "category": "makers", "name": "John Waters", "text": "Waters made Baltimore the setting for confrontational comedies about taste and social normality. His partnership with Divine is central. Production scales change between the early underground films and Hairspray, while the affection for unruly characters remains recognisable.", "houseNote": "Good taste was invited. It wisely stayed at home.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Where to begin with John Waters", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-john-waters", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#divine", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#camp", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#midnight-movies" ], "films": [ { "name": "Starcrash", "year": 1978, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/starcrash-1978-001/" }, { "name": "Star Odyssey", "year": 1979, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/star-odyssey-1979-003/" } ] }, { "id": "kaiju", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kaiju", "kind": "term", "category": "styles", "name": "Kaiju", "text": "Kaiju is Japan’s fantastic monster-film tradition, with Godzilla its best-known example. Giant bodies make catastrophe visible and can carry political anxieties. The range runs from sombre drama to colourful monster combat. A rubber suit is not automatically a joke.", "houseNote": "The city is tiny. The subject need not be.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Where to begin with kaiju monster movies", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-japan-kaiju-monster-movies", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#tokusatsu", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#eiji-tsuburaya", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#miniaturen" ], "films": [ { "name": "Godzilla", "year": 1954, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/godzilla-1954-379/" } ] }, { "id": "linnea-quigley", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#linnea-quigley", "kind": "person", "category": "cast", "name": "Linnea Quigley", "text": "Quigley is especially known as Trash in The Return of the Living Dead. Night of the Demons is another of her genre films. Her name leads into video-era horror and punk aesthetics; the label scream queen does not replace looking at individual performances.", "houseNote": "It is punk night at the cemetery. The dead are queueing.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Linnea Quigley: interview", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hT_Zup4_gE", "publisher": "The Five Count", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#vhs", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#splatstick", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#camp" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Return of the Living Dead", "year": 1985, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-return-of-the-living-dead-1985-160/" }, { "name": "Night of the Demons", "year": 1988, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/night-of-the-demons-1988-162/" } ] }, { "id": "lloyd-kaufman", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#lloyd-kaufman", "kind": "person", "category": "makers", "name": "Lloyd Kaufman & Troma", "text": "Kaufman is associated with Troma and independent cinema full of grotesque humour, mutants and deliberate irreverence. The Toxic Avenger is among his best-known films. The combination of production, distribution and direct fandom makes Troma an interesting business model too.", "houseNote": "The mascot smells of a chemical accident and still welcomes you in.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Lloyd Kaufman: biography", "url": "https://www.lloydkaufman.com/biography/", "publisher": "Lloyd Kaufman", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#splatstick", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#exploitation", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#avod-fast" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Toxic Avenger", "year": 1984, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-toxic-avenger-1984-153/" }, { "name": "Class of Nuke 'Em High", "year": 1986, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/class-of-nuke-em-high-1986-154/" } ] }, { "id": "loops", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#loops", "kind": "term", "category": "tools", "name": "Loops & beat sync", "text": "A loop repeats a selected section. Smooth joins depend on motion, framing and brightness at both ends. Beat sync measures time in musical beats: at 120 BPM, four beats last two seconds. The material still needs to suit the chosen rhythm.", "houseNote": "The perfect loop does not notice it has returned.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Video playback and BPM Sync", "url": "https://resolume.com/support/en/6/video", "publisher": "Resolume manual", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#sound-sync", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#bildformat", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#wiederverwendung" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "lucio-fulci", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#lucio-fulci", "kind": "person", "category": "makers", "name": "Lucio Fulci", "text": "Fulci worked across genres and became especially known for graphic horror. The Beyond combines violent shocks with an increasingly unstable reality. His reputation as a gore director explains part of the fascination, but not the full range of his work.", "houseNote": "Logic has clocked off. The fog takes the night shift.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "50 late-night classics", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/50-late-night-classics", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#giallo", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#video-nasties", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#body-horror" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "mario-bava", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#mario-bava", "kind": "person", "category": "makers", "name": "Mario Bava", "text": "Bava brought a cinematographer’s experience to horror, thrillers and fantastic adventure. Light, colour and illusionistic spaces are keys to his cinema. Planet of the Vampires offers a vivid example of a modest set becoming an alien world.", "houseNote": "Colour is under strict orders to show no restraint.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Where to begin with Mario Bava", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-mario-bava", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#giallo", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#barbara-steele", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#matte-painting" ], "films": [ { "name": "Planet of the Vampires", "year": 1965, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/planet-of-the-vampires-1965-013/" } ] }, { "id": "mary-shelley", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#mary-shelley", "kind": "person", "category": "writers", "name": "Mary Shelley", "text": "Shelley’s Frankenstein appeared in 1818. Creation, responsibility and the relationship between creature and creator make the novel a starting point for fantastic storytelling. Film versions change motifs and characters; the book should not be equated with any single adaptation.", "houseNote": "The real short circuit is often in the creator, not the monster.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Frankenstein; or, The modern Prometheus (1818)", "url": "https://www.loc.gov/item/53051218/", "publisher": "Library of Congress", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#peter-cushing", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#body-horror", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#filmfassungen" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Curse of Frankenstein", "year": 1957, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-curse-of-frankenstein-1957-649/" }, { "name": "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein", "year": 1994, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/mary-shelley-s-frankenstein-1994-799/" } ] }, { "id": "matte-painting", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#matte-painting", "kind": "term", "category": "craft", "name": "Matte painting", "text": "A matte painting extends or replaces parts of a location using painted or digitally designed views. Integration with the rest of the shot is crucial. ILM’s work on Hook also illustrates a transition from painted imagery to spatially movable digital combinations.", "houseNote": "The castle is unreachable. Partly because it is painted.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Hook: visual effects", "url": "https://www.ilm.com/vfx/hook/", "publisher": "Industrial Light & Magic", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#mario-bava", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#miniaturen", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#hybride-effekte" ], "films": [ { "name": "Starcrash", "year": 1978, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/starcrash-1978-001/" } ] }, { "id": "midnight-movies", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#midnight-movies", "kind": "term", "category": "history", "name": "Midnight movies", "text": "Midnight screenings gave unusual films an audience that returned, spread the word and developed rituals. El Topo is an important reference in that history. Cult grows through programming and community here; a late starting time alone is not enough.", "houseNote": "At midnight, a row of seats can become a very peculiar club.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "El Topo: archive review", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/el-topo-archive-review-stormy-surrealism-desert-heat", "publisher": "Sight and Sound / BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kult-trash", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#john-waters", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#double-feature" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", "year": 1975, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-rocky-horror-picture-show-1975-180/" } ] }, { "id": "miniaturen", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#miniaturen", "kind": "term", "category": "craft", "name": "Miniatures & model worlds", "text": "Miniatures replace large locations with smaller physical constructions. Perspective, light and movement must suit the intended scale. Their effect exists in the photographed image: even an elaborate model struggles if filming and staging accidentally reveal its size.", "houseNote": "The skyline fits on a table. The grand ambition does not.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Inventing Worlds & Characters: Encounters", "url": "https://www.academymuseum.org/en/exhibitions/encounters", "publisher": "Academy Museum", "checked": "2026-10-19" }, { "title": "Visual Effects: educational activities guide", "url": "https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/complete_visual_effects_activities_guide.pdf", "publisher": "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#eiji-tsuburaya", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kaiju", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#matte-painting" ], "films": [ { "name": "Starcrash", "year": 1978, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/starcrash-1978-001/" } ] }, { "id": "mockbuster", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#mockbuster", "kind": "term", "category": "styles", "name": "Mockbuster", "text": "A mockbuster borrows attention from a major release through a similar title, premise or release window. This is a marketing strategy, not simply parody. The Asylum is a familiar reference point; the documentary Mockbuster examines this production culture.", "houseNote": "One misplaced letter may already be a different spaceship.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Mockbuster: documentary and production synopsis", "url": "https://www.mockbustermovie.com/", "publisher": "Mockbuster filmmakers", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#exploitation", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#b-movie", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#avod-fast" ], "films": [ { "name": "Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus", "year": 2009, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/mega-shark-versus-giant-octopus-2009-314/" }, { "name": "Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus", "year": 2010, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/mega-shark-versus-crocosaurus-2010-321/" } ] }, { "id": "nigel-kneale", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#nigel-kneale", "kind": "person", "category": "writers", "name": "Nigel Kneale", "text": "Kneale’s Quatermass stories connected British television, science fiction and the uncanny. The Stone Tape shows his interest in friction between technology and haunting. He is a key guide to horror that searches for an explanation and discovers deeper uncertainty.", "houseNote": "The meter beeps. Superstition appears to have found a socket.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Where to begin with Nigel Kneale", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-nigel-kneale", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#folk-horror", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#sound-sync", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#archive-entdecken" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Green Slime", "year": 1968, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-green-slime-1968-012/" }, { "name": "Planet of the Vampires", "year": 1965, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/planet-of-the-vampires-1965-013/" } ] }, { "id": "nobuhiko-obayashi", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#nobuhiko-obayashi", "kind": "person", "category": "makers", "name": "Nobuhiko Obayashi", "text": "Obayashi emerged from experimental filmmaking; Hausu combines a haunted-house story with wildly inventive images. Its later international cult status can narrow attention to his larger body of work. Artifice becomes a mode of storytelling, not merely a visible trick.", "houseNote": "The house eats realism. A piano follows for dessert.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Where to begin with Nobuhiko Obayashi", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-nobuhiko-obayashi", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#camp", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#matte-painting", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#hybride-effekte" ], "films": [ { "name": "Hausu", "year": 1977, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/hausu-1977-192/" } ] }, { "id": "pam-grier", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#pam-grier", "kind": "person", "category": "cast", "name": "Pam Grier", "text": "Coffy and Foxy Brown made Grier a major face of blaxploitation cinema. Jackie Brown later gave her presence a different space. These films connect agency and star persona with genre entertainment; their contradictions deserve attention too.", "houseNote": "This lead does not wait to be rescued from the plot.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "In praise of Pam Grier in Jackie Brown", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/praise-pam-grier-quentin-tarantinos-jackie-brown", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#exploitation", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#grindhouse", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kult-trash" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "peter-cushing", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#peter-cushing", "kind": "person", "category": "cast", "name": "Peter Cushing", "text": "For Hammer, Cushing played Baron Frankenstein and Van Helsing, among other roles. His concentrated presence grounds even outrageous experiments. Remember the casting distinction: in The Curse of Frankenstein, Cushing is the creator and Christopher Lee the creature.", "houseNote": "When he puts on a lab coat, science gets deeply uncomfortable.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Peter Cushing: 10 essential films", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/peter-cushing-10-essential-films", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#christopher-lee", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#mary-shelley", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#practical-effects" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Curse of Frankenstein", "year": 1957, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-curse-of-frankenstein-1957-649/" }, { "name": "The Revenge of Frankenstein", "year": 1958, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-revenge-of-frankenstein-1958-676/" } ] }, { "id": "poverty-row", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#poverty-row", "kind": "term", "category": "history", "name": "Poverty Row", "text": "Poverty Row referred to small American production companies outside major-studio power. The label describes economic conditions, not a single artistic form. Edgar G. Ulmer’s Detour is a familiar example of limited means producing a lasting cinematic effect.", "houseNote": "Little money is a condition, not an automatic punchline.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Detour: Poverty Row and film noir", "url": "https://shop.bfi.org.uk/detour-blu-ray/", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#b-movie", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#ed-wood", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#double-feature" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "practical-effects", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#practical-effects", "kind": "term", "category": "craft", "name": "Practical effects", "text": "Practical effects are physically created for filming, such as makeup, puppets or mechanical transformations. They are not automatically cheap and do not exclude digital work. What matters is the illusion their particular combination produces in the finished image.", "houseNote": "If it oozes, someone probably did some very tidy work first.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Inventing Worlds and Characters: Effects", "url": "https://www.academymuseum.org/en/exhibitions/effects", "publisher": "Academy Museum", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#body-horror", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#splatstick", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#hybride-effekte" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Fly", "year": 1986, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-fly-1986-144/" } ] }, { "id": "ray-harryhausen", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#ray-harryhausen", "kind": "person", "category": "craft", "name": "Ray Harryhausen", "text": "Harryhausen made animated model creatures into performers in fantastic adventures. His work combines movement design with the illusion of a shared world of actors and effects. His foundation preserves models and materials, revealing the design behind a single moving image.", "houseNote": "A monster without drama school, but with extremely patient joints.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "About the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation", "url": "https://www.rayharryhausen.com/about/", "publisher": "Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#stop-motion", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#miniaturen", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#hybride-effekte" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Valley of Gwangi", "year": 1969, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-valley-of-gwangi-1969-222/" } ] }, { "id": "restaurierung", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#restaurierung", "kind": "term", "category": "history", "name": "Restoration & film grain", "text": "Restoration seeks to make damaged or altered film heritage accessible with accountable choices. It is not permission to smooth away every historical characteristic. Source materials, interventions and decisions need documentation; higher resolution alone does not prove greater fidelity.", "houseNote": "Not every grain is dirt. Some of it is simply cinema.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "The Digital Statement, Part III: restoration and ethics", "url": "https://www.fiafnet.org/pages/E-Resources/Digital-Statement-part-III.html", "publisher": "FIAF Technical Commission", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#filmfassungen", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#bildformat", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#archive-entdecken" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "richard-matheson", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#richard-matheson", "kind": "person", "category": "writers", "name": "Richard Matheson", "text": "Matheson’s I Am Legend combines survival, horror and science fiction. The isolated person in a transformed world is a powerful starting point. Comparing book and film makes it worth asking who counts as normal and who gets called a monster.", "houseNote": "When everyone else has changed, normality starts looking suspicious.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "I Am Legend: Richard Matheson", "url": "https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/richard-matheson/i-am-legend/9780575119574/", "publisher": "Hachette", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#vincent-price", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#george-romero", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#filmfassungen" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Omega Man", "year": 1971, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-omega-man-1971-028/" } ] }, { "id": "roger-corman", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#roger-corman", "kind": "person", "category": "makers", "name": "Roger Corman", "text": "Director, producer and talent nurturer in American independent cinema. Corman combined modest means with genre experiments and gave future major filmmakers early opportunities. His work exceeds the cheap-monster cliché: planning and imagination belong together.", "houseNote": "The budget has limits. The idea is outside, waving.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Roger Corman: career interview", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/roger-corman-interview", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#b-movie", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#vincent-price", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#double-feature" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Little Shop of Horrors", "year": 1960, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-little-shop-of-horrors-1960-179/" } ] }, { "id": "shinya-tsukamoto", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#shinya-tsukamoto", "kind": "person", "category": "makers", "name": "Shinya Tsukamoto", "text": "Tetsuo: The Iron Man established Tsukamoto as a major voice in Japanese cyberpunk cinema. Bodies, metal and urban pressure are early concerns. His later work also examines war and its aftermath; the metal monster is not a complete career summary.", "houseNote": "The scrapyard gains a pulse. Your nervous system notices first.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Shinya Tsukamoto: Shadow of Fire interview", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/shinya-tsukamoto-shadow-fire", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#body-horror", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#sound-sync", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#practical-effects" ], "films": [ { "name": "Tetsuo", "year": 1989, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/tetsuo-1989-193/" }, { "name": "Tetsuo II: Body Hammer", "year": 1992, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/tetsuo-ii-body-hammer-1992-483/" } ] }, { "id": "sound-sync", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#sound-sync", "kind": "term", "category": "tools", "name": "Sound, music & timing", "text": "Film images work with dialogue, effects, music and deliberate silence. Editing and mixing organise these layers. For VJ work, ask which movement survives without its original sound, and which gains its humour or menace through that sound.", "houseNote": "Sometimes the loudest monster is a very well-placed pause.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Supervising sound editor", "url": "https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/film-and-tv-drama/post-production/supervising-sound-editor/", "publisher": "ScreenSkills", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#john-carpenter", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#loops", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#synchronisation" ], "films": [ { "name": "Dark Star", "year": 1974, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/dark-star-1974-025/" } ] }, { "id": "splatstick", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#splatstick", "kind": "term", "category": "styles", "name": "Splatter & splatstick", "text": "Splatter foregrounds bodily destruction. Splatstick combines those effects with slapstick mechanics: timing, exaggeration and escalating mishaps. Evil Dead II is a defining example. The terms overlap, but do not automatically describe the same tone.", "houseNote": "The gag returns. Probably carrying a detached arm.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Where to begin with Sam Raimi", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-sam-raimi", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#bruce-campbell", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#lloyd-kaufman", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#practical-effects" ], "films": [ { "name": "Evil Dead II", "year": 1987, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/evil-dead-ii-1987-164/" }, { "name": "The Toxic Avenger", "year": 1984, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-toxic-avenger-1984-153/" } ] }, { "id": "stock-footage", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#stock-footage", "kind": "term", "category": "craft", "name": "Stock footage & recycling", "text": "Existing footage can supply new productions with locations, events or spectacle. Context changes its meaning. Research, provenance and usage terms are part of the work; an image is not free to reuse merely because it is old.", "houseNote": "The volcano has done three films. It knows its cue by now.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Archive content sales and licensing", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-content-sales-licensing", "publisher": "BFI National Archive", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#ed-wood", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#found-footage", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#wiederverwendung" ], "films": [ { "name": "Plan 9 from Outer Space", "year": 1959, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/plan-9-from-outer-space-1959-693/" } ] }, { "id": "stop-motion", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#stop-motion", "kind": "term", "category": "craft", "name": "Stop-motion", "text": "In stop-motion, objects are moved incrementally between individual exposures. Playback turns these images into continuous movement. Weight, gaze and rhythm must be designed; a visibly handmade creature can develop a distinctive performing personality.", "houseNote": "Patience is not a virtue here. It is the production machine.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Visual Effects: educational activities guide", "url": "https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/complete_visual_effects_activities_guide.pdf", "publisher": "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences", "checked": "2026-10-19" }, { "title": "Objectives of the Harryhausen Foundation", "url": "https://www.rayharryhausen.com/objectives/", "publisher": "Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#ray-harryhausen", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#miniaturen", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#hybride-effekte" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Valley of Gwangi", "year": 1969, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-valley-of-gwangi-1969-222/" } ] }, { "id": "tokusatsu", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#tokusatsu", "kind": "term", "category": "styles", "name": "Tokusatsu", "text": "Tokusatsu describes Japanese film and television built around special-effects craft. Models, costumes and composite images shape many classics. It includes monsters and superheroes alike; Eiji Tsuburaya and the Ultraman tradition are important reference points.", "houseNote": "A person wears the helmet. A whole team makes the illusion.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Eiji Tsuburaya: founder", "url": "https://tsuburaya-prod.com/company/founder", "publisher": "Tsuburaya Productions", "checked": "2026-10-19" }, { "title": "Company profile and the Tokusatsu tradition", "url": "https://tsuburaya-prod.com/company", "publisher": "Tsuburaya Productions", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#kaiju", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#eiji-tsuburaya", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#practical-effects" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Green Slime", "year": 1968, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-green-slime-1968-012/" } ] }, { "id": "trailer", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#trailer", "kind": "term", "category": "tools", "name": "Trailers & the art of promising", "text": "Trailers are distinct advertising works with their own editing, sound and audience. Archives therefore preserve them as more than shortened films. They make useful discovery material, but cannot prove a film’s quality or the complete availability of a particular version.", "houseNote": "Two minutes of apocalypse. Check the film for everything else.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "How we catalogue film trailers", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/inside-the-archive/news/inside-archive-5-short-cuts-how-we-catalogue-film-trailers", "publisher": "BFI National Archive", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#exploitation", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#mockbuster", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#filmfassungen" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "filmfassungen", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#filmfassungen", "kind": "term", "category": "tools", "name": "Versions, runtimes & languages", "text": "A title can exist in different edits and language versions. Runtime differences are clues for research, not automatic proof of censorship or completeness. Original language, audible soundtrack and subtitles are separate facts to check for the particular release.", "houseNote": "It is the same film. The cassette is still debating that.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "45 alternative film cuts", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/lists/remake-remodel-directors-cuts-alternative-film-versions", "publisher": "Sight and Sound / BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#synchronisation", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#restaurierung", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#video-nasties" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "vhs", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#vhs", "kind": "term", "category": "history", "name": "VHS & video-store culture", "text": "Videotapes changed film access and made repeated home viewing possible. Buying, renting and choosing by cover became distinct practices. The video store was both distribution system and social discovery space; nostalgia should remember that infrastructure too.", "houseNote": "The cover promised apocalypse. Returns were still due on Monday.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "All about… videotape", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/all-about-videotape", "publisher": "BFI National Archive", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#albert-pyun", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#linnea-quigley", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#video-nasties" ], "films": [ { "name": "Cyborg", "year": 1989, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/cyborg-1989-138/" }, { "name": "The Return of the Living Dead", "year": 1985, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-return-of-the-living-dead-1985-160/" } ] }, { "id": "video-nasties", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#video-nasties", "kind": "term", "category": "history", "name": "Video nasties", "text": "Video nasties names a British controversy about violent videotapes and regulation. The 1984 Video Recordings Act belongs to this context. It is neither a universal genre nor a current German classification; historical lists need their regional and temporal setting.", "houseNote": "Eventually, the warning sticker itself became a collectible.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "The Video Recordings Act", "url": "https://www.bbfc.co.uk/film-media-resources/legislation/the-video-recordings-act", "publisher": "BBFC", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#vhs", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#lucio-fulci", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#filmfassungen" ], "films": [] }, { "id": "vincent-price", "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#vincent-price", "kind": "person", "category": "cast", "name": "Vincent Price", "text": "Price is closely associated with Roger Corman’s Poe adaptations. Voice, bearing and relish for heightened characters shape his screen presence. Treating him only as a horror label misses the comedy and precise performance control inside the grand entrance.", "houseNote": "He could read a shopping list. The onions would get nervous.", "outlook": false, "reviewed": "2026-10-19", "sources": [ { "title": "Roger Corman: 10 essential films", "url": "https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/roger-corman-10-essential-films", "publisher": "BFI", "checked": "2026-10-19" } ], "related": [ "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#roger-corman", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#camp", "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/encyclopedia/#sound-sync" ], "films": [ { "name": "The Raven", "year": 1963, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/the-raven-1963-824/" }, { "name": "Theatre of Blood", "year": 1973, "url": "https://hirnflimmern.de/en/films/theatre-of-blood-1973-835/" } ] } ] }