Movie a day: All Movies are Horror Movies

Posted on October 30, 2026October 29, 2026 by Molly

At one time I was watching more horror movies than any other genre. This went on for about a decade. Then suddenly, I had my fill. While I still enjoy horror films, I don’t have it in me to absorb misogynistic violence or too much gore in the name of CINEMA anymore. So, although I no longer consume horror one might categorize as “challenging”, I still enjoy an atmosphere of the macabre as the days shorten and nights cool off. I’m still on my movie-a-day kick, and decided if one digs down deeply enough, horror is an element present in any film.

Experiment began June 30, 2026
Batch timeframe: Sept. 14-Oct. 27, 2026
Movies watched in that timeframe: 29
Total days elapsed: 119
Total movies watched: 88

Below, I listed the movies I have been watching in order of least- to most-enjoyed, and why each film qualifies as HORROR. (Sometimes it’s because they are horror movies).

That Touch of Mink (1962)
This is a horror film because Doris Day JUST ISN’T FUNNY. Stream it now on Kanopy.

Black Widow (1954)
While this wasn’t the most notable thing to premier in 1954, Black Widow is great for those of us who enjoy murder mysteries and unreliable narrators. This is a horror movie because you never know who to trust!!!

Wise Blood (1979)
John Huston directs, and I can’t get over how diverse this guy’s career was. Did you know he directed the 1982 version of Annie? The one with Tim Curry? Well, he did. Wise Blood is a horror movie because Hazel Motes, played by the ever-great Brad Dourif, believes in nothing and then proceeds to prove it, which was scary. Also, although I don’t think I understood this picture, I found Wise Blood thought-provoking and entertaining.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Giant Gila Monster (1959); The Giant Spider Invasion (1973); The Night of the Blood Beast (1958); Reefer Madness (1936)
I like to watch MST3K in the fall or when I need a guaranteed laugh. The horror has now become absurd and a barrier provided by the vacuum of space above Gizmonic Institute shields us from harm. The Giant Spider Invasion was my particular favorite of this group since it takes place and is filmed in northern Wisconsin. Prepare for limitless Packer jokes and midwestern twangs.

The Big Heat (1953)
I found this movie super gritty and mean-spirited, and thus a very effective film noir directed by the legendary Fritz Lang. Police corruption and piping hot coffee are the real villains in this horror movie.

Dance Girl, Dance (1940)
This is one of the few films of the era directed by a woman (Dorothy Arzner) and is enjoying a bit of a renaissance these days since we can talk about feminism and stuff without a witchfinder general present. Maureen O’Hara plays Lucille Ball’s dance hall stooge. The horror of debasing oneself to earn a living might ring the bell of familiarity, and to me, it’s horror.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1958)
Body Snatchers is the granddaddy red scare b-picture of them all. The pod people want you to CONFORM like a frickin’ commie and Americans DON’T DO THAT. It’s a horror film because monoculture is bad for sustainable farming.

A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
The tension between Gena Rowland’s idiosyncratic performance (perhaps the best of the 20th century) and her surrounding domesticity is something I am still thinking about weeks later. She behaves like an exposed nerve touching cold air and simple tasks like meeting the school bus trigger world-collapsing crises. Horror is realizing the lives we build for ourselves are as much a snare as a home.

Rio Bravo (1959)
Another solid John Wayne western, although now that I’ve seen Red River, nothing else really compares. Why can’t Dean Martin be Montgomery Clift? Why can’t Ricky Nelson be Montgomery Clift? Why can’t Angie Dickenson be Montgomery Clift? O, the horror I have endured.

Stage Fright (1950)
If Marlene Dietrich shows up to your house covered in blood and asks you to go back to her apartment to retrieve clothes that are not covered in blood for her to change into, please think very carefully. It’s Hitchcock after all, which is horror all the way down.

The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
The people in this film don’t matter. I can’t remember a single face. The only thing that matters in this picture are the practical effects by Ray Harryhausen. His creatures are scary and cool and must have been thrilling to see on the big screen. It’s too bad the sound design doesn’t keep pace, but overall this is a fun, scary-adjacent movie unlike anything else.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
I try to program a “gentle” scary movie in October for my movie club discussion, so this was my October 2026 pick. The group had a lot to say, but we mostly really loved this classic screwball comedy. I’m a sucker for anything with Peter Lorre and I spent ages daydreaming about living in a mansion in view of a cemetery and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Universal Monster Movies: Dracula (1931); Frankenstein (1933); The Wolfman (1941)
Mead owns this great four-disc box set of Universal Movie Monster films, including the three above that I’ve seen many times. On this watch-through I realized The Wolfman is paying fan service by casting Claude Rains as Lon Cheney Jr.’s dad. Later, Bela Lugosi makes a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance as a mysterious gypsy. These movies are going on 100 years old and they’re still effectively creepy and scary.

Pandora’s Box (1929)
Did you know 75% of all film produced in the silent era is believed to have “perished”? That’s something like 7500 movies that no longer exist. There was no American long-term film preservation protocol in place until 1988. Additionally, film of the silent era was produced on highly volatile nitrite film stock that was prone to spontaneous combustion. These two factors had the biggest impact on stateside silent film preservation, or lack thereof. All this is to say, there are still tons of innovative and beautiful silent movies in the world to enjoy. Watch Pandora’s Box, then read Louise Brooks’ account of her time in the limelight; Lulu in Hollywood. You’ll feel sparkly AND grimy. Oh yeah, Pandora’s Box is a horror movie because sometimes your vengeful German husband takes away your agency when he makes you shoot him on your wedding night in order to ensure your imprisonment and misery.

Ugetsu (1953)
This film has so much atmosphere I had to get the dehumidifier out. Ugetsu is a fabulous example of the Golden Age of Japanese Cinema, and in fact, won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1954. Pair with Onibaba (1964) and Kwaidon (1964) for a ghoulish Japanese triple feature.

Richard Jewell (2019)
How’s this for a horror story?: You are a private citizen. In your role as a temp security officer, you have thwarted a bombing. The whole country was watching. The FBI leaks that you are a potential suspect. You become subject to the scrutiny of the American media machine for weeks and weeks and weeks. You are eventually exonerated, but this fiasco is what you will be known for until your death.

Holy Motors (2012)
Hey I am not sure what was going on here but I really enjoyed myself while it was happening. There is a scene in which two people say goodbye to one another and then one of them immediately dies in a shocking way. I think this scene was specifically about the horror of our changing lives and circumstances over time, and that those things are often outside our control. I thought about my college friends who I loved and who loved me, but we aren’t in touch, and that’s a kind of death. Did you know that Kanopy censors full-frontal male nudity?

The Warriors (1979)
The Warriors works great as a horror film. It’s like a quicksand stress dream but with a bunch of gangs in pursuit. The gangs all have very matchy-matchy outfits and they are all trying to kill you. This is one of the all-time great b-movies of the 20th century.

I Love Boosters (2026)
I will watch Keke Palmer in anything she does forever. She’s so compelling and I love the choices she makes with each new role. There’s no way to describe this movie without spoiling things. It’s the kind of film that the less you know going in, the better. Maybe skip if you’re weird about glistening woman/demon sex scenes.

The Blob (1959)
Watch, as 28-year-old Steve McQueen portrays a high schooler! Now, in beautiful technicolor. If this isn’t on your radar I cannot overstate how great of a film this is. It’s another low-budget classic that has whipped up a cult following to the tune of an annual reenactment of the theater evacuation at Blobfest in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where the theater featured in the film still stands.

The Old Dark House (1932)
This movie was so much fun. A couple are driving through the pouring rain, with no passenger windows, mind you, and they stop at The Old Dark House to seek shelter and wait out the storm. The lady is given a room to change in and she dons a filmy sleeveless dress???? It’s an Old Dark House, lady! Isn’t she cold? I’d have been cold. Boris Karloff plays the mute and menacing butler and seems to be enjoying himself. Ten out of ten stars.

The Invisible Man (1933)
I’d never seen this movie before. It’s great, no notes. The practical effects hold up, the H.G. Wells story is fun, fun, fun, and the concept of everyone being terrified of this little shit running around the countryside starkers just knocked me out. The police are not up to the task of apprehension. Like, get a bucket of water and a bag of flour, man! Another remarkable thing is that the face of Claude Rains is only visible in the final moments of the film. It was his talking picture debut.

You Can See Everything (2026)
This film was just released to theaters, so it will be a bit until we have copies to circulate. When the trailer dropped it actually triggered my fight or flight response, just like a horror movie. Prior to that, I didn’t care about Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos, or Nathan Fielder for that matter, but the trailer set something off inside me. I knew Fielder had done something completely innovative, and I couldn’t wait for its release to home viewing. The picture is three hours long, but I couldn’t tell. I thought I recognized a dear friend’s laugh in the theater and chalked it up to Theranos psychosis, but no, I saw him in line for a popcorn refill afterwards. You Can See Everything is totally mind-bending, but I am glad to report it didn’t make me hallucinate

All of the movies I mentioned above are available in the Monarch catalog on BluRay, DVD, or streaming on Kanopy, with the exception of You Can See Everything. And speaking of Kanopy, most Mead Library cardholders have access to this streaming service with a valid library account. There are a ton of rare and unusual horror movies up right now. It overwhelms me.

If you are still casting around for what to watch next, consider using our Your Next Five Movies tool. Fill out the form with your favorite movies, actors, and genres and we will send you a list of five movies you might love. Use the “Recommend a Purchase” tool for films that are not yet in the collection, but you’d like them to be.

Adult, Thrillers, Staff Picks

Thrilling Reads For Spooky Season

Posted on October 24, 2026October 19, 2026 by abbiebourelle

Over the past few months I have been reading a LOT of horror and thrillers (and one nonfiction that reads like a thriller). Since we are in October, it seems to be an appropriate month to share a list of horror and thriller books I have been enjoying. So, dear readers, grab your warm fall blanket, a hot apple cider, and settle in for this list of recommendations fit for the season!

The Blood Countess by Shelley Puhak

I begin this list with The Blood Countess. Unlike the other books on this list, The Blood Countess is a true story. In a blog post from last year I wrote about how I had read through Infamous Lady which tells the story of Countess Elizabeth Bathory through the lens of primary source documents, including those from the trial of her servants. As is detailed in The Blood Countess, Bathory herself was never put on trial and was never able to defend herself. I found this book to be incredibly eye opening not just about the events surrounding Countess Bathory, but the revelation that when this happened the notorious European witch hunts were just beginning. Was Bathory really just an early victim?

What is different about The Blood Countess compared to other accounts of Bathory that I have read was that it put the events and primary source texts in the context of the time period. Much of what led to Bathory’s downfall had much to do with political and religious posturing and maneuvering. In many ways this is a real life Game of Thrones tale. We have pressure from the Hapsburgs, the Ottoman Turks, German mercenaries, and rebels to the crown. We have mistrust and violence between Catholic and Protestant leaders. We also have mistrust and violence between the Protestant Lutherans and the Protestant Calvinists. In this roiling pot of shifting alliances, greed, and lust for power we have many men who will do whatever it takes to stay on top-even if that means taking advantage of a lone female ruler. Coming away from this, I truely believe now that Elizabeth Bathory was the victim. Everything negative we know of her comes from the account of the same powerful men that brought her down. In contrast, the women in the Countess’s life spoke highly of her as a fair and just ruler who looked after her people. This is a powerful and must read story for all those interested in hearing the voices of the unjustly accused-not just Bathory, but the other women accused of witchcraft themselves. Their stories should never be forgotten.

Click HERE to request a copy of The Blood Countess!

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Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

The eponymous Murderbot was constructed to provide support and protection to human employees of one of the massive conglomerates that dominate humanity’s future across all of explored space. It isn’t meant to question orders, and it certainly isn’t meant to be perceived as human. However, unbeknownst to any of the humans it works alongside, Murderbot hacked its own governor module to ensure that a past tragedy would never happen again. While Murderbot fulfills its directive to protect the human researchers it has reluctantly become fond of, both it and they are confronted with difficult questions about who Murderbot truly is, and what that means for all of them. All Systems Red is the first installment of Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries series, which was recently adapted into a TV show starring Alexander Skarsgård. I read All Systems Red for the second time recently, and I left with a greater appreciation of all the little details that make this book truly great. Wells subtly establishes everything the reader needs to know about the finer points of worldbuilding and character dynamics, sometimes in a single line, so that the story can keep moving. If there are a few unanswered questions, all the better to hold our interest for the rest of the series. I also found it interesting how this book deftly avoids falling into a strict binary of idealism vs. cynicism. Wells presents a world where corporate corruption, invasive surveillance, and the mistreatment and exploitation of SecUnits like Murderbot are facts of life. Nevertheless, the characters Wells chooses to spend time with are basically good people who more or less want to do the right thing, even when they find themselves stymied by circumstance. At time of writing, there are now eight Murderbot books in all, and all of them are available at Mead. If you fall in love with Murderbot as so many readers and viewers have, you won’t have to wait very long to pick up the next installment.

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Uncategorized

A Season of Witches

Posted on October 9, 2026 by Beth

How many of you can finish this quote: “Oh, look, another glorious morning….” Can you guess the journey that I took in my readings this past month? I have always enjoyed watching shows like Charmed, Sabrina the teenage witch (the original), The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, A discovery of Witches, and movies like The Craft, Hocus Pocus, and Practical Magic during this time of year. I’ve even added a few new witchy shows to my watchlist this year. I also noticed that my reading list has been quite lacking in witchy reads, and when I say lacking, what I mean is almost non-existent. Yes, I have read books with witches as sub-characters, but not usually the main character. Which surprised me a bit! Perhaps, I have watched so many witches on television and in movies I felt content.

As we move into the next season, I was looking for something a little different. I decided to go on a quest to meet some new witches. So, grab some of your favorite witch’s brew and come, let’s start our journey…

The Witch’s Daughter by Paula Brackston

The first witch I got to meet is, Bess Hawksmith. We first meet the young, carefree, spirited Bess in 1628 at the height of the witch hunts in England. After tragedy hits her family and village in the form of a deadly plague, she also has to watch her mother be tried and hanged as a witch. All alone, Bess is forced to go seek protection from a local warlock, Gideon Masters. Gideon teaches Bess how to use and awaken powerful magic. She is forced to make a deal with Gideon, not knowing all that it entails. Part of the magic makes her immortal. Bess knows that she does not want to be connected to evil, she makes a vow to never use magic in dark ways and flees to escape Gideon’s control. She then spends the next hundreds of years on the run.

We next meet, Elizabeth three hundred and eighty-four years later in modern day England. She has recently settled in a small English village; attempting to find the balance of being seen just enough not to draw attention to herself and trying to remain isolated and not draw attention to herself. Yes, you read that correctly. This is something that every time Elizabeth reinvents herself, she has to learn all over. Every society is different in what they will accept, and since she ages very slowly, staying in one place too long would bring too many questions and attention. Elizabeth knows the dangers firsthand of letting others get too close to her. So, when she meets Tegan, a new inquisitive teenage girl, she realizes just how lonely she truly is. Tegan is also lonely, and their relationship goes quickly from teacher/student to maternal. The teaching’s Tegan receives are how we get to meet the many different versions of Elizabeth’s throughout the years and history. We meet four in this book. Elizabeth is extremely protective of Tegan, almost to the point of smothering. So, when Gideon re appears after all this time, she is finally ready to fight him head on for the first time to protect the young girl that she has come to love and care so much for.

This book is a wonderful blend of my two favorite genres: Historical Fiction and Fantasy. The author did an amazing job including small details so that you were able to imagine yourself right there experiencing everything right next to Bess. Including the time that there was a certain infamous killer on the loose in England. This book will also make you hear a popular holiday song differently; I don’t think I will hear it now and not think of these characters. I felt the writing/story was easy to follow even though the timelines do jump around a bit. I really enjoyed this story, and I can’t wait to see how Bess and Tegan’s story continues in the sequel, “The Return of the Witch.”

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Uncategorized

Cat Themed Manga

Posted on October 2, 2026 by Corrina

Dear reader, I have reached that point in my manga reading where I’ve finished one beloved series while also waiting for the latest English-language volumes of other series to be released. So I went to Google and searched for other series similar to ones I’m reading now, to tide me over! That is how I found the three manga series I’ll be talking about today.

Of course, if you’ve been reading my blog posts for any length of time you’ll know that I love cats! So what better to write about than cat-themed manga? Name a better duo, I’ll wait!

Catnaps, Catnaps Everywhere! by Pandania

Return to the adorable world of PANDANIA in the newest cat comic. A box, a sunbeam, or a comfy lap: there’s plenty of places to find a napping cat!

Necchi is a big, long cat who enjoys napping, lazing around, and finding new ways to get attention from his human. Stretched out in a sunbeam or curled up in a box, Necchi is never picky about where he lounges! This sweet boy never scratches or knocks things over if he’s displeased–he simply extends a paw in refusal. And he always knows when his human needs cuddling.

Enjoy the daily life of Necchi and his human from the master of cat manga, PANDANIA!

Dear reader, I feel like I wasn’t fair to this manga series the first time I read it. I kept expecting it to be like one of my most favorite manga series, Nights With a Cat, where both the cat and humans are very expressive and very realistic both in looks and in actions. While Necchi the cat is realistically drawn and behaves like a normal cat, his human is not realistic in appearance. My main problem could just be I didn’t like the art style of Catnaps. I think it kept me from fully immersing in the story.

But that aside, I still enjoyed reading this volume! The dynamic between Necchi and his human was fun to read. Necchi got into things he shouldn’t, behaved in ways that his human found bizarre, and made him worry as well! The seemingly trivial things he worried over where Necchi was concerned made him very relatable. Which one of us that has pets hasn’t fretted over the smallest thing?

Also, having grown up with a 20+ lb. cat I found Necchi’s big size relatable as well! Every time I see “normal-sized cats” I’m always shocked how small they seem! What do you mean your cat isn’t the size of a small dog? How strange!

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Adult, Fantasy, Film, Historical, Mystery, Nonfiction, Romance

Movie a Day: In Order of Least to Most Enjoyed

Posted on September 18, 2026October 29, 2026 by Molly

In June I decided to try and watch one movie a day for an entire year. The idea is, I will end up spending less time looking at the little handheld screen, and more time looking at the bigger, vertical screen. I’ve mostly been watching films featured in the Library of Congress Nation Film Registry, and more recently Sight and Sound’s Greatest Movies of all Time list. They’re great lists. I hope you take a look.

Below, I listed the films I watched over the last month in order of least to most enjoyed. I only actively disliked two pictures that I finished watching, so things get quite hair-splitty in the middle. All films are available in the Monarch catalog on DVD or BluRay. I also watched a handful of these films on Kanopy, which you can access with an active Mead Public Library account.

Experiment commenced June 30, 2026
Batch timeframe: Aug. 11- Sept. 13, 2026
Movies watched in that timeframe: 30
Total days elapsed: 76
Total movies watched: 59

Did Not Finish/Rewatch:
Hester Street (1975) DNF
Early on in the film, a man meets his family at immigration in New York City. He hasn’t seen his wife in several years, and maybe has never met his young son. He is short tempered and cruel to his wife and hits his son within 30 seconds of coming into contact with him. I could not go on.

Flower Drum Song (1961) DNF
While the cinematography is stunning to look at, everyone gets five guesses why I only made it halfway through this film.

The Black Stallion (1979) rewatch
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It was on Kanopy and I had credits left, so I spent an evening steeped in nostalgia.

The watchlist:
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
I love John Ford, but I hated this movie and its sentimentality borne out via working class suffering. It had already fallen out of favor by the time I was old enough to be aware of film, so I never even heard of this movie until my adulthood. The big claim to fame for modern movie-lovers is that it won the Academy Award for Best Picture over not just The Maltese Falcon and The Little Foxes, but goddamn Citizen Kane.

Sergeant York (1941)
Gary Cooper, I hated your dumb pumpkin pie haircut and convenient moralizing that gave you permission to kill Germans as long as it’s for God and country. I consider this military recruitment propaganda of the lowest order. Cooper’s awe-shucks side-of-beef lunkhead country boy countenance annoyed me more than any other movie character I’ve encountered lately. Sergeant York was nominated for Best Picture alongside How Green Was My Valley so what do I even know.

VelociPastor (2019)
B is for “budget” movie, and fellas we’ve got a good one here. Physical copies are hard to come by, so I regret to inform you that at the time of this blog’s publication you’ve got to pay to stream. Here’s hoping that changes when the highly anticipated VelociPastor 2 debuts later in 2026.

The Night of the Iguana (1964)
This felt like John Huston trying to recreate the circumstances that made The Treasure of the Sierra Madre such a singular accomplishment. We’re in Mexico again, but instead of wily prospectors and murderous bandits we have jealous lesbian aunts, aging poets, and a very oily Richard Burton. It’s based on a Tennessee Williams play after all, so of course it’s sordid as heck. Ava Gardner is incredible.

The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941)
Jack Warner didn’t want to cast Monty Woolley in the starring role (which he originated on Broadway) because he was afraid the actor’s homosexuality would be obvious on-screen. This is the kind of thing I think about when I start to get a bit too rhapsodic about the golden age of Hollywood.

The Exiles (1961)
Great experimental doc about young Native Americans who choose life in the Bunker Hill neighborhood of Los Angeles instead of the reservation. Lots of moody, grainy, melancholy black and white footage of Angel’s Flight and the surrounding dilapidated bars and haunts.

The Pawnbroker (1964)
Watch this to feel empty and horrified!!!! This is the first film produced entirely in the US that dealt with the holocaust from a Jewish survivor point-of-view. It’s also the first Hays Code film to contain nudity, and helped catalyze studio movement away from the code completely.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)
Haha these people are a bunch of jerks, huh? I didn’t understand this picture.

Marriage Italian Style (1965)
Sophia Loren is sensational, but o! This movie was so mean-spirited!

Parking Lot Movie (2010)
This itches that Clerks-shaped spot many of my cohort had pressed into them in 1994. Most of my friends (and I) were over-educated and under-employed at the turn of the century, so there was a lot of pattern-recognition here.

Hud (1963)
Hud is the evil side of the Long Hot Summer coin. Hud, played by the ever-beautiful Paul Newman, is such a piece of shit I could hardly make it through this thing. Patricia Neal is the best she’s ever been, and she’s never been bad.

Becky Sharp (1935)
Aesthetically notable for being the first feature film to use the newly developed three- strip Technicolor technology. Indeed, it’s gorgeous to look at, and I loved the rapid-fire dialogue of the sharp-tongued Becky Sharp.

Little Fugitive (1957)
Shot in the style we would now call cinéma vérité, François Truffaut claims the French New Wave couldn’t have happened the way it did without this movie and that it inspired him directly when filming The 400 Blows.

Atlantic City (1980)
I was waiting for the worst character in this film to get murdered because I hated him so much and then he got murdered and I could really start to enjoy myself.

The Watermelon Woman (1996)
This film is unusual to the point that defies my description. It’s funny and sweet and romantic and even a bit edifying. It made me think about representation in film in a whole new way. Please watch this movie.

Five Easy Pieces (1970)
I didn’t know anything about this movie prior to watching, and was charmed with what I saw. The central dysfunction driving the plot made more sense to me than whatever was happening in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Everyone was flawed, but so much more sympathetic than an Edward Albee character. Karen Black delivers the performance of her career.

Key Largo (1948)
That’s right, it’s another fabulous John Huston/Humphrey Bogart collaboration. Add in Lauren Bacall and Edward G. Robinson and you’ve got a highly watchable and troubling top-of-the-line film noir picture.

The Informer (1935)
The thing about John Ford is that he tends to work in at least one crazy bar fight in each of his films. The Informer is no different, and also features my other favorite Ford trope of incomprehensible drunken Irishmen. This morality play was filled with complex and hopeless people pushed to their limits by the circumstances they were born into.

Wanda (1970)
This movie is unique unto itself. Wanda is passive in her own life and has very few resources or prospects. She is totally apathetic in a world that doesn’t care about her. I understood Wanda and saw pieces of myself in her, so I loathed her and rooted for her and forgave her in a really personal way. Filmmaker Barbara Loden would die of breast cancer ten years later and I think that’s a really cruel thing for the universe to do.

Notorious (1946)
Good lord does Ingrid Bergman ever go through it in this Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece. How can Claude Rains be that charming AND a hidden Nazi?

Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
John Huston’s dad, Walter Huston, originated the archetypal wise, grizzled prospector we all know and love with his role here. He’s astounding in a film packed full of towering performances, including Bogart’s finest turn as the loathsome Fred C. Dobbs.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
Gene Tierney is easy to watch whether she’s the femme fatale or the meek country wife and she seems to be having the time of her life here in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. This short and sweet romance hit all of the expected beats and it didn’t matter that I knew how things would end. This is as cozy as it gets, folks.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance (1962)
When Lee Marvin gets to go full-sneer as the villain I feel so happy. He’s mean and evil as Liberty Vallance and we are all actively rooting for his death in no time. I have a bigbrain and knew the title was trying to impart some subtext to the audience, so I had an inkling at what we were working up to. Anyone devoted to the western genre would love this film.

The Band Wagon (1953)
I struggle with musicals. The first musical I saw in my life was Singing’ in the Rain and it’s pretty hard to go anywhere but down from there. The Band Wagon was written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green who also wrote Singin’ in the Rain and this is right up there in quality. I was astonished to find myself welling up when Cyd Charisse and Fred Astaire finally danced together. They are my symbol for everything that goes right in Hollywood.

Lifeboat (1944)
This movie has everything! The horrors of war! A drowned infant! Madness! Amputation at sea! Nazis on amphetamines! Mob justice! Starvation! Suicide! Romance! Filming took extra long because cast members kept coming down with colds from being soaked and shivering all day.

Gun Crazy (1950)
Don’t look this up. It’s better to go in blind. Get yourself a copy from your local library, or stream it on Kanopy as soon as you can. Why isn’t this movie more well-known? I was breathless the entire back half of the film.

Red River (1948)
Another western? Oh yes, but this one is something else. It’s a story of found family, grit, and fortitude. It’s also kinda about being gay, but that’s mostly us thirsting after a very handsome Montgomery Clift comparing pistols with a very handsome John Cherry. I literally hooted and hollered. It scared the cats. One million out of five stars.

There are nearly 10,000 DVD and BluRay discs currently in circulation at Mead Library alone. With access to Kanopy and the rest of the Monarch system, we have a pretty healthy array of visual material at hand. I am happy to take suggestions. In fact, I LOVE being the only library in the system to own weirdo indy titles no one has heard of. Use the “Recommend a Purchase” tool to indicate what you’re after and selectors (me) will work to get that title out for circulation. We also have this handy Your Next Five Movies tool to use when it’s hard to choose from the 10,000 discs on the shelf.

I’d like to take a moment to brag about the condition of Mead’s DVD collection. Of the sixty or so movies I watched since June, only one skipped out of the whole bunch. The clerks who shelve and maintain our collections do an incredible job of keeping these materials useful for literal decades. Thank a library clerk that next time you’re in the building.

Film, Horror

Horror Films With Great Sequels

Posted on September 18, 2026September 1, 2026 by Sydney Anderson

Believe it or not, it’s almost October, and if you’re a horror fan, that means you’re probably already thinking about all the scary movies you’re going to watch. Today, I thought I’d take the opportunity to explore an underappreciated niche of the horror genre: the truly great sequel. If horror movies have been unfairly maligned until quite recently, horror sequels have had it even worse. I thought it would be fun to take a stand against the stereotype by showcasing some films that were later followed up by sequels that are, in my opinion, just as good or better than the originals. Interestingly, both of these stellar sequels happen to work as standalones – it’s not necessary to watch the original in order to follow the plot or to appreciate the movie as a whole. Maybe that says something about the importance of creating something that can stand on its own, even when making a sequel. That being said, seeing the original of course always helps. As such, I’ve presented both sequels alongside the originals that inspired them. Enjoy!

Cloverfield

Definitely dating myself here, but I remember the mystery surrounding Cloverfield’s release. Nobody knew what the movie was about, or even what the title meant – and of course, that only made everyone eager to find out. I didn’t have the opportunity to see Cloverfield in theaters, but I got it on DVD not long after, and I think I was just as surprised as everyone else by the movie we got – a fusion of found footage horror and alien invasion disaster film, in which a group of friends’ scramble to survive an extraterrestrial attack on New York City is captured on a personal camera. Those two genres might not sound like they go together on paper, but think again. Alien invasions are an old trope, but Cloverfield makes that idea scary again by narrowing the focus. By placing the audience alongside a single group of characters and limiting what we can see to what their camera can capture, Cloverfield makes us feel the terror of their helplessness in the face of the unknown. Cloverfield took audiences by surprise and revitalized two genres everyone thought they knew backward and forward, and even now, there’s still not really any other film like it.

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Film, Staff Picks

Old Movies Deserve More Love

Posted on September 11, 2026September 9, 2026 by abbiebourelle

Lately I have found myself watching more old movies. To be honest, dear readers, I am becoming weary of all the CGI and special effects that these new movies produce with wild abandon. I long for the days when artists designed amazing physical props that would ignite the imagination and contribute to a story. There is something enrapturing about suspending your disbelief and appreciating a well told story. When I speak of old movies I am talking about ones that were either from the days of black and white film and up to the 1960s. I do greatly enjoy movies from the 80’s (1980’s for those of you born in this century), but I wish to go back farther than that as many classic and well known hits came to the screen in the 80’s. I would like to introduce you to some older films that I believe deserve greater appreciation. Dear readers, prepare to be transported in time as I introduce some old movies that deserve more love.

The Uninvited (1944)

Surprisingly, my husband brought this movie to my attention. He had read an article that it was this movie that began many of the modern tropes that we see in horror movies today. Because we are very spoiled with being library card holders with access to thousands of movies and books, I was able to request this movie from another library in our system (you can as well with the link, dear reader.)

I must say, this movie impressed me. If you are looking for gothic horror-this is for you. An adult sister and brother (Pamela and Roderick) are vacationing on the moody coast of Cornwall when they come across a sprawling gothic mansion. Pamela immediately falls in love with the place and convinces Roderick that they can afford it if they go in on it together (they get a good deal on it, in fact). Moving in they soon discover that their new home, Windward House, is considered haunted by the locals. At first they brush off these stories, but soon the sibling duo encounter strange happenings in the house: drafts, cold spots, and the sound of sobbing in the night. The dog even refuses to enter the second floor.

Pamela and Roderick are likeable people and quickly make friends with the neighbors, especially Stella Fitzgerald whose mother died in Windward House. Stella now lives with her grandfather and is mysteriously forbidden from entering Pamela and Roderick’s new abode. Why? Could Stella be the key to the haunting? What secrets lurk within the walls of Windward House? You cannot go wrong with this movie. The acting is great, the atmosphere is spooky and gothic, the special effects in terms of the ghost were phenomenal for the period. I highly recommend The Uninvited (1944).

Click HERE to request a copy of The Uninvited (1944)!

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Uncategorized

Periodically, I Read Magazines

Posted on September 4, 2026August 28, 2026 by Corrina

Dear reader, I am here today to talk about something I’ve never talked about in a blog post before, magazines! Thanks to the kind and very helpful librarians at our reference desk here at Mead I was able to learn about a new feature in the Libby app! Do you use Libby at all? I hope you do, it’s a great resource available to all cardholders!

Earlier this year my sister-in-law’s mom mentioned to me how she was gifted a subscription to a magazine called TeaTime. After looking it up I was intrigued! Of course I went straight to the Monarch catalog to see if I could find it, but alas, it wasn’t there! I remembered that Mead has several resources available where you can read magazines online, but I didn’t have any luck finding it there either. So I did what any respectable library patron does when they need help…I asked the librarians! They showed me how to access the Magazine Rack feature in Libby where you can search for and subscribe to magazines! I was set! There is even a feature where you can read back issues, which, believe you me, really held me over during those two month stretches between issues!

If you’re worried about the magazines not translating well to a tablet, phone, or computer, have no fear! Although admittedly, the bigger the screen you can view them on, the better. At the beginning of each story there is a button that says article that you can click on. Not only do the pictures come up full screen, but the orientation of the text changes too so it’s easier to read.

Another bonus is that, since you’re reading the magazine online, if there are product links you can simply click on them and they will take you straight to the website! Let me tell you, this has been a most dangerous feature whenever I’m reading TeaTime. Many a new and exciting tea has been ordered each issue!

TeaTime

TeaTime is designed to appeal to the growing market of tea lovers. This bimonthly publication highlights tearooms and their owners, providing tea party ideas and sharing enhancements to the enjoyment of tea. TeaTime is a source book for all who love tea and who want to enrich life with the serenity of teatime. The magazine proclaims the pleasures of tea as a gourmet beverage, and offers informative articles that range from food features to tearoom profiles. TeaTime goes beyond the history and science of the beverage and celebrates the art and passion that make drinking tea a memorable occasion.

Dear reader, I have only ever attended one tea party in my life, and I cannot bake anything, even if I was facing imminent death, but even still, I thoroughly enjoy each TeaTime issue bestowed in my Libby app! That is one of the greatest powers of reading, is it not? Living vicariously through others, whether they be real or imagined! Each delicately made, miniscule finger sandwich, tart, scone, etc., that graces an elegantly designed table almost makes me want to take up baking, just to experience some of the pure magic for myself! Emphasis on the almost! Each table setting is thoroughly thought out, from the design of the dishes and cups, the flatware, and even to which desserts will be paired with which teas, and the order the teas arrive in! At the end of each article it will always list each tea and where to find it.

TeaTime also features elegantly appointed tearooms throughout the United States, as well as outside of it. It also features tea cruises! Who even knew those were a thing? Amazing! What I find most tantalizing, though, are the train rides featuring tea! Dear reader, when it comes to train rides, I am a hopeless romantic. It’s a direct byproduct of my obsession with steam trains. Imagine sitting on a plush velvet chair looking out at the mountains and small towns gliding by while you sip delicious tea. Pure heaven!

Of course the magazine also talks about the history of tea, which is equally fascinating. I don’t know about you, dear reader, but when I read historical accounts from other countries that are centuries old, I’m always struck with a sense of awe. Compared to most other countries, the United States is truly a young country. It’s hard for me to imagine such ancient history! But that doesn’t get in the way of my enjoyment of such stories.

How the tea is grown, how it’s harvested, the different drying methods to achieve different strengths and types of tea, it’s always intriguing! Learning about such things can make you appreciate that hot cup of tea all the more

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Adult, Staff Picks, Thrillers

The Doctor Will See You Now

Posted on August 28, 2026August 15, 2026 by abbiebourelle

Coincidences are weird, but sometimes you just have to roll with them. That is how this blog post idea came about. It was not my intention, but it seemed many of the books I had been reading contained the theme of the main character being a psychiatrist. Buckle in and prepare to question reality in the following mind bending recommendations! The Doctor will see you now. . . .

The Boy Who Could See Demons by Carolyn Jess Cooke

This is one of C.J. Cooke’s early novels (she used to write as Carolyn Jess Cooke). For being an early novel, I immensely enjoyed it. Alex (our boy who sees demons) was an absolute delight and a well written, slightly awkward young boy. I loved his character so much. But the question is: can Alex really see demons or is he suffering from a mental health disorder? This is what Anya, our main character psychiatrist, has been tasked with finding out. Alex has come under her care after his mother attempted suicide.

Alex claims that his best friend is a demon named Ruen. Ruen is thousands of years old, knows a lot of history, and is the rank of Harrower. Ruen is not what you would expect of a demon (for which I was pleasantly surprised). Yes, he can appear terrifying, but instead of being a creature out of The Conjuring or Insidious, he is witty and interesting. He has a depth of character that pulls you in. He claims that he is studying Alex as Alex is the only human who can see the demons. According to Ruen, everyone has a demon assigned to them. Alex can see them all.

What is Anya to make of all this? She is dealing with her own trauma. She could not save her daughter that was suffering from a mental illness even with her psychiatric background. Her daughter jumped out of a window at twelve years old. Anya believes that Alex shows the same symptoms that her daughter did. She is desperate to make sure this tragedy never happens again. The stakes mount as Alex’s behavior gets worse and worse. He claims he is just doing what Ruen tells him to do. The more time she spends with Alex, the more troubled Anya becomes. Alex knows things-things he could not possibly know. Is Alex suffering from a mental health disorder or is Ruen a real and frightening danger?

At times this books felt like a love letter to The Skrewtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. He and that novel are referenced quite a bit. This was something I delighted in. If you have not read The Skrewtape Letters, I will also include a link below to access from our catalogue. I was pulled into The Boy Who Could See Demons and spent many a late night reading this one.

Click HERE to request The Boy Who Could See Demons!

Click HERE to request The Screwtape Letters!

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