Female sexuality and motherhood have long been themes within folklore across cultures. They have also frequently been the topic of horror films. From classics like Rosemary’s Baby to more recent (and less successful) flicks like Devil’s Due, horror movies tease out some of our most primal fears about a woman’s power to create new life and her relative vulnerability during that time.

There are few things in life more hellish than a high school reunion (or so I’ve been told, as one of the resident babies at Bloody Good Horror, my ten year reunion has yet to pass). The high school reunion has become a trope in media as well as in our lives, so prolific that you can probably list five titles off the top of your head that culminate at the reunion.

It’s 6:16 AM. A man wakes up next to his wife moments before his bedroom is invaded by assassins, is beaten and kidnapped, and his brief attempt at escape is foiled when he’s stabbed in the stomach and dies. It’s 6:16 AM. The man wakes up again. He changes course, trying to gas his assailants with cyanide, but a disturbing revelation about his wife leads to a gunfight in which he is killed a second time. It’s 6:16 AM...

Your feelings on Blair Witch, director Adam Wingard’s sequel to 1999’s The Blair Witch Project, will likely be influenced by two forces: hype and nostalgia. Three if you count your susceptibility to motion sickness. When its connection to the late 90s cultural landmark was unveiled at this year’s ComicCon, the hype was high – particularly among fans of Wingard’s other work, e.g., You’re Next and The Guest. Hype cuts both ways and going into Blair Witch expecting a genre-changing horror masterpiece is a good way to walk out disappointed.