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Apr 25, 2024 | 
journals.plos.org | Simon Packer |Iona C. Smith |Cong Chen |Piotr Patrzylas
Loading metrics Open Access Peer-reviewedResearch Article Citation: Packer S, Patrzylas P, Smith I, Chen C, Wensley A, Nsonwu O, et al. (2024) COVID-19 cluster surveillance using exposure data collected from routine contact tracing: The genomic validation of a novel informatics-based approach to outbreak detection in England. PLOS Digit Health 3(4): e0000485.
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Oct 14, 2023 | 
ghoulsmagazine.com | Iona C. Smith
I can sometimes go months without having a panic attack. Unfortunately, this means that when they do happen, they often feel like they come out of nowhere. They can come on so fast and hard it’s like being hit by a bus, my breath escapes my body, and I can’t get it back. My mind goes fuzzy, I lose grip on reality, and I cry uncontrollably from sheer terror.
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Sep 24, 2023 | 
ghoulsmagazine.com | Iona C. Smith
It would be incredibly unfair to review the documentary Otto Baxter: Not a F***ing Horror Story without also looking at the short horror created by the titular man himself, The Puppet Asylum. Otto has proven himself to be a thoughtful and effective storyteller in this compelling and effortlessly funny horror tale of his own birth, and the constant battle against the sinister Master (Paul Kaye), a metaphor for the consistent persecution that Otto has faced throughout his own life.
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Sep 23, 2023 | 
ghoulsmagazine.com | Iona C. Smith
In the late seventies and early eighties, one man was considered the curator of all things gore in America. During the lovingly named splatter decade, Tom Savini worked on masterpieces of blood and viscera like Dawn of the Dead (1978), a film which gained the attention of hopeful director William Lustig, a man only known for making pornography before his step into horror.
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Sep 15, 2023 | 
ghoulsmagazine.com | Iona C. Smith
Otto Baxter: Not a F***ing Horror Story is a beautifully constructed documentary that is real, honest and brutal about the world’s perceptions of people with Down’s Syndrome, through the eyes of someone who has it, whilst maintaining a comic undertone of wholesome affection.
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Sep 12, 2023 | 
ghoulsmagazine.com | Iona C. Smith
There are a lot of zombie films out there. Some are great, some not so much. Herd offers a relatively fresh perspective, something that seems impossible in a world already overrun by the infected. This film keeps audiences guessing where it will lead them next, with subtle and nuanced changes in the narrative that will surprise even the most zombie-literate to a degree.
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Aug 5, 2023 | 
ghoulsmagazine.com | Iona C. Smith
Warning: This review contains very mild spoilers. Throughout the international horror community, there has been a quiet buzz ongoing about twins from a peculiar Australian YouTube channel (RackaRacka) who made a movie. This film was picked up by Sundance, then purchased by A24 and is now set to be another big success for the distributors, as it hits UK and US cinemas this July.
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Jul 9, 2023 | 
ghoulsmagazine.com | Iona C. Smith
Since Brian de Palma’s stellar triumph with his adaption of Carrie in 1976, people have been keen to turn Stephen King’s stories into film and television, with varying success. Some are incredible blockbusters, which the author himself hates (sorry Kubrick, King despises The Shining) whilst others are quietly released miniseries that become cult favourites (here’s looking at you 1990’s IT).
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Jun 30, 2023 | 
ghoulsmagazine.com | Iona C. Smith
Warning: Spoilers of twists ahead. Read with caution. I am a Shyamalan apologist. I would say I’m sorry but I’m really not. I know he has some questionable films and has made some unorthodox choices over the years when it comes to his twists, but the king of narrative spin still stands tall in my book.
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Jun 12, 2023 | 
ghoulsmagazine.com | Iona C. Smith
Stephen King fans rejoice, an adaptation of one of his spookiest short stories has hit the big screen! Those who have read the original source material (first published in Cavalier in 1973, before featuring in King’s collection of short stories Night Shift in 1978) know that a man, Lester, is haunted by the memory of his children who were murdered by a mysterious creature and is seeking help for his trauma.
