Obsessed with film since 1982*
about
Where it all began
Cinema. Film. The ‘Movies’. If you are anything like me, you will appreciate every aspect of this incredible art form. I hope my pieces educate or (at least) remind you of the drama, the horrors, the thrill of the adventure... and, most importantly, the excitement and nostalgia it all brings.
Enjoy,
Rich
Resume
As a D&AD Award Winner – with a background in graphic design and illustration – since 2004, I have lectured and delivered degree-level courses within the creative arts and media, including: graphic design, illustration, film studies and journalism. My first novel, The Enemy’s Son (as James Johnson), was released in 2008, followed by a number of independent comics for various anthologies and collections. As well as numerous film courses delivered via Broadway Cinema my writing credits include: Little White Lies, The Digital Fix, We Belong Dead, Diabolique Magazine, Shots, Network, Rue Morgue, Animation Magazine and Fangoria along with film commentary, video essays and accompanying written material for boutique labels including: Eureka Entertainment, Arrow Films, 101 Films and Second Sight Films.
Top 10? These go to 11
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Charles Laughton
Harakiri (1962)
Masaki Kobayashi
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Sergio Leone
Jaws (1975)
Steven Spielberg
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
John Landis
Blade Runner (1982)
Ridley Scott
The Thing (1982)
John Carpenter
The Dark Crystal (1982)
Jim Henson and Frank Oz
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Rob Reiner
Nightcrawler (2014)
Dan Gilroy
The Red Turtle (2016)
Michaël Dudok de Wit
*A seminal year for film from cult classics to blockbusters: Blade Runner, The Thing, Tron, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The King of Comedy, The Flight of Dragons, First Blood, The Grey Fox, Poltergeist, Tootsie, Gandhi, Conan the Barbarian, The Plague Dogs...
... and Grease 2.
For more favourite films check out 100+, a selection of favourite films year by year from 1920 to present day.
“Pain is temporary, film is forever!” - John Milius
writing
Cinema Force
The Greatest Batman Story Ever Told:
BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM
A Retrospective
September 27, 2024
Arrow Video
Freedom Forged
September 27, 2024
101 Films
The Empathy and Alchemy
of Denis Villeneuve
August 12, 2024
101 Films
Death of a Fuckin’ $ale$man:
Defining an American
Dramatic Tradition
July 29, 2024
Second Sight
The Look of Love:
Poetic Violence in
A BITTERSWEET LIFE
July 22, 2024
Second Sight
Sects Sells: The Sacrificial
Spaces of Ti West
June 17, 2024
101 Films
THE LAWNMOWER MAN
COLLECTION (LE)
Grassroots and Cyber Suits:
Variations of THE LAWNMOWER MAN
June 6, 2024
Cinema Force
Fear the Reaper:
A NIGHTCRAWLER
Retrospective
May 16, 2024
101 Films
FEAR CITY (LE)
Seeing Red: A Neo-Noir Guide
March 4, 2024
Animation Magazine
FANTASTIC PLANET at 50:
Revisiting
René Laloux’s Cult Classic
December 6, 2023
Animation magazine
Poultry in Motion:
A Set Visit to
CHICKEN RUN:
DAWN OF THE NUGGET
December 6, 2023
Arrow Films
8 Unusual Masked Killers
October 25, 2023
Second SIght
CRIMES OF THE FUTURE (LE)
Hunger Artists:
A Kafka/Cronenberg Digest
September 11, 2023
Second SIght
THE CHANGELING (LE)
Raging Heart:
George C. Scott’s Grief,
Guilt and the Gothic
June 5, 2023
Arrow Films
8 Films Based on
Unfilmable Novels
April 18, 2023
Fangoria
Beast Master:
KING KONG at 90
April 7, 2023
Fangoria
Horror Verses:
Warner Bros. at 100
April 5, 2023
Fangoria
Pecking Order:
THE BIRDS at 60
March 29, 2023
Fangoria
Ways of the Flesh:
Cronenberg at 80
March 15, 2023
Arrow Films
10 Films that Define
New Zealand Cinema
March 01, 2023
Fangoria
Love Bites:
10 Romantic Horror Movies
To Sink Your Teeth Into
February 14, 2023
Arrow Films
10 of the Best
Black-and-White Indie Films
January 24, 2023
Fangoria
ENCYCLOBLEEDIA
of Gothic Horror
December 22, 2022
Arrow Films
Green Space:
SILENT RUNNING at 50
December 6, 2022
Fangoria
Feline Fever:
CAT PEOPLE at 80
December 6, 2022
Eureka
SON OF THE WHITE MARE
Circle of Life:
Struggle, Transformation
and the Eternal Recurrence of
Marcell Jankovics
November 17, 2022
Fangoria
ENCYCLOBLEEDIA
of Universal Horror
November 18, 2022
Fangoria
Going Underground:
DEATH LINE (aka RAW MEAT)
at 50
November 17, 2022
Eureka
MANIACAL MAYHEM
Charles Laughton:
Strange Doors and Dark Houses
November 14, 2022
Fangoria
Hag Queens: 60 Years of
WHAT EVER HAPPENED
TO BABY JANE
October 31, 2022
Fangoria
ENCYCLOBLEEDIA
of Slashers
October 25, 2022
Fangoria
9 Horrors From INSIDE NO.9
October 17, 2022
Arrow Films
10 Defining Moments
in Body Horror
October 11, 2022
Fangoria
ENCYCLOBLEEDIA
of Folk Horror
September 6, 2022
Arrow Films
Top 10 Killer Female Movies
of the 21st Century
September 6, 2022
Curzon
MAN WITHOUT A STAR
The Wire and the West
August 22, 2022
FANGORIA
Kill It With Fire!
John Carpenter's
THE THING at 40
June 25, 2022
Arrow Films
Top 10 Things We Love
About THE THING
June 13, 2022
Arrow Films
First-Person Shooter:
A Gasper Noé Retrospective
May 27, 2022
FANGORIA
ENCYCLOBLEEDIA
of J-Horror
May 25, 2022
101 Films
JOHNNY MNEMONIC (LE)
Future Proof:
A Cyberpunk 101
May 9, 2022
FANGORIA
Ghosts of Suburbia:
POLTERGEIST at 40
June 4, 2022
Arrow Films
Ten Circles of Hell:
Raising the Best of
Clive Barker on Film
May 13, 2022
fangoria
Raising the Stakes:
BLADE II at 20
March 22, 2022
fangoria
Faith and Fury:
ALIEN³ at 30
May 20, 2022
fangoria
Bedtime Stories
Mother Never Told You:
TALES FROM THE CRYPT at 50
March 3, 2022
fangoria
SWAMP THING:
Roots of Horror
February 19, 2022
We Belong Dead
Spotlight on Science Fiction
January 14, 2022
fangoria
Return of the Loving Dead:
NINA FOREVER
January 7, 2022
fangoria
Under A Swastika Moon:
80 Years of THE WOLF MAN
December 13, 2021
fangoria
Mad Science and Makeup:
FRANKENSTEIN at 90
November 21, 2021
fangoria
Vol 2. Issue #14
NOSFERATU 100th Anniversay
November 19, 2021
fangoria
Hulks and Other Things
October 14, 2021
101 Films
THE BOYS NEXT DOOR (LE)
AssassiNation:
Cold-blooded Rebels and the Death of the American Dream
September 6, 2021
fangoria
Year of the Wolf:
A Triptych of Lycanthropy
from 1981
September 1, 2021
fangoria
Beautiful Beast:
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON at 40
August 21, 2021
Second Sight
THE BABADOOK (LE)
Born from Wreckage:
Traumatic Origins of a Postmodern Monster
July 26, 2021
Fangoria
Hell Can Wait:
Art, Trauma and Other Demons
in JACOB'S LADDER
July 06, 2021
Fangoria
Strange Frontier:
NEAR DARK
and the
Birth of the American Vampire
June 30, 2021
Second Sight
LAKE MUNGO (LE)
Ghosts of Oz
June 7, 2021
Fangoria
Dungeons Deep and Caverns Old: Revisiting
Neil Marshall's THE DESCENT
April 30, 2021
fangoria
The Lore and Lure
of Irish Horror
April 01, 2021
diabolique
Crash and Fall:
The Perilous Art
of Walter Molino
December 25, 2020
Second Sight
HOST (LE)
Manifestations:
Defining the 21st Century
Ghost Story
February 22, 2021
diabolique
Jennifer Kent
and The Nightingale:
A Song of Violence
November 10, 2020
diabolique
The Truth and Consequence
of Serial Killer Movies Part 2:
Murder Games
September 14, 2020
_edited.jpg)
diabolique
The Truth and Consequence
of Serial Killer Movies Part 1:
Morbid Curiosity
September 14, 2020
We Belong Dead
Spotlight on Horror
August 26, 2020
diabolique
The Last Zombie Picture Show
October 21, 2020
shots
Gorilla Tactics:
The Evolution of
Branded Entertainment
June 4, 2020
fangoria
Re-Animation:
Regarding Animated Horror
May 28, 2020
diabolique
Weird Westerns Pt. 3:
Lost Worlds and Final Frontiers
May 25, 2020
_edited.jpg)
fangoria
Trigger Warnings:
A Headcount History
May 15, 2020
diabolique
Why You Need to Watch...
LAKE MUNGO (2008)
April 25, 2020
_edited.jpg)
diabolique
Why You Need to Watch...
WER (2014)
April 21, 2020
fangoria
The Z-List:
French Cuisine and Quarantine With
THE NIGHT EATS THE WORLD
April 21, 2020
diabolique
Weird Westerns Pt. 2:
Painting the Town Dead
April 15, 2020
fangoria
Little Monsters:
Children in Spanish Cinema
April 8, 2020
diabolique
Weird Westerns Pt. 1:
Uncanny Origins
April 8, 2020
diabolique
Perfect Execution:
Film and the Electric Chair
April 6, 2020
little white lies
How SHOCK CORRIDOR reflected
the madness of 1960s America
September 2, 2019
little white lies
How the politics of HIGH NOON forged
a new path for the western
September 16, 2019
“To be an artist means never to avert one’s eyes.” - Akira Kurosawa
Interviews
FrightFest
Aurélia Mengin
for
Thomas Jane
SCARLET BLUE
August 16, 2024
Exclusive
COMPANION PIECES
with
Thomas Jane
THE CRANES ARE FLYING (1957)
/ COME AND SEE (1985)
July 1, 2024
Exclusive
George Baron
for
THE BLUE ROSE
June 18, 2024
Exclusive
COMPANION PIECES
with
Alex Cox
BARQUERO (1970)
/ COCKFIGHTER (1974)
June 17, 2024
Exclusive
COMPANION PIECES
with
Dominic Hailstone
DAWN OF THE DEAD(1978)
/ ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS (1979)
June 3, 2024
Exclusive
COMPANION PIECES
with
Neil Marshall
NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
/ CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF
THE THIRD KIND (1977)
May 6, 2024
THE GALA SHOW
MONSTERS
May 2, 2024
Exclusive
Caye Casas
for
THE COFFEE TABLE
April 19, 2024
Exclusive
COMPANION PIECES
with
Jeremy Dyson
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
/ BROADWAY DANNY ROSE (1984)
April 5, 2024
Fangoria
The FANGORIA ARCHIVES
with
Patton Oswalt
March 22, 2024
FRIGHTFEST GLASGOW
Alix Austin and Keir Sewert
for
KILL YOUR LOVER
March 5, 2024
Exclusive
COMPANION PIECES
with
Abigail Hardingham
THE HAND THAT ROCKS
THE CRADLE (1992)
/ SINGLE WHITE FEMALE (1992)
March 4, 2024
FRIGHTFEST GLASGOW
Tiago Teixeira
for
CUSTOM
March 1, 2024
Exclusive
COMPANION PIECES
with
Gala Avary
CATNAPPED! (1995)
/ THE CAT RETURNS (2002)
February 5, 2024
Exclusive
COMPANION PIECES
with
Lulu Adams
PERFECT BLUE (1997)
/ THE MOOR (2023)
January 29, 2024
Exclusive
COMPANION PIECES
with
Zelda Adams
GOODNIGHT MOMMY (2014)
/ THE INNOCENTS (2021)
January 22, 2024
Exclusive
Hadley Austin
for
DEMON MINERAL
January 19, 2024
Exclusive
COMPANION PIECES
with
John Adams
THE WARRIORS (1979)
/ THE DESCENT (2005)
January 15, 2024
Exclusive
COMPANION PIECES
with
Toby Poser
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008) / A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT (2014)
January 8, 2024
Exclusive
Aimiende Negbenebor Sela
and
Constance Nicole Frierson
for
COLOR OF AUTUMN
December 1, 2023
Animation Magazine
Oil & Toil:
DK and Hugh Welchman
for
THE PEASANTS
November 24, 2023
Exclusive
DOCTOR JEKYLL
Composer, Blair Mowat,
on Horror Scores
November 15, 2023
BSFA
Lorna Nickson Brown
for
DOG RUN
November 11, 2023
Grimmfest
Interview with Andy Nyman,
Actor and Co-Writer/Director
of GHOST STORIES
November 7, 2023
Grimmfest
Evan Marlowe
For
ABRUPTIO
October 13, 2023
Frightfest
Camp Horror:
Zach Passero’s ‘The Weird Kidz’
Pays Homage to B-Movies
and Coming-of-Age Classics
October 7, 2023
Arrow Films
Interview with Joe Dante,
Director of The Howling,
Gremlins and The ‘Burbs
September 25, 2023
Frightfest
Erik Bloomquist
for
FOUNDERS DAY
August 24, 2023
Frightfest
CHRIS CRONIN
for
THE MOOR
August 23, 2023
Frightfest
Ellen Adair and Mitzi Akaha
for
HERD
August 23, 2023
Frightfest
Mark A. Altman
1982: GREATEST GEEK YEAR EVER
August 21, 2023
Frightfest
Joshua Warren
for
MY DREAMS HAVE BEEN DARK OF LATE
August 21, 2023
Frightfest
Stewart Sparke
for
HOW TO KILL MONSTERS
August 18, 2023
Frightfest
Graham Hughes
for
HOSTILE DIMENSIONS
August 17, 2023
Fangoria
Dee Wallace
On Her Most Difficult Role:
CUJO 40 Years Later
August 11, 2023
Arrow Films
Interview with
INSIDE NO.9's
Reece Shearsmith
August 11, 2023
Fangoria
The FANGORIA Archives
with
Queen of THE VIDEO ARCHIVES PODCAST Gala Avary
August 7, 2023
Arrow Films
Interview with Josh Ruben,
Actor, Writer and Director
of SCARE ME
July 28, 2023
Arrow Films
Interview with Anthony Scott Burns,
Director of COME TRUE
June 28, 2023
Fangoria
PSYCHO II at 40
with Tom Holland
June 3, 2023
Fangoria
DARLA: Getting Graphic
with Josh Ruben
and Bri Tippetts
May 19, 2023
Arrow Films
Interview with Vincenzo Natali,
Director of CUBE and SPLICE
April 24, 2023
Animation Magazine
BLIND WILLOW, SLEEPING WOMAN:
How Pierre Földes
Infused Music and Meaning
into His Murakami Adaptation
March 14, 2023
Fangoria
Exclusive Interview:
Christmas Horror
with Mark Gatiss
December 21, 2022
Fangoria
Exclusive Interview:
Masters of Anthologies
with
Mick Garris And Reece Shearsmith
November 15, 2022
Animation Magazine
EXCLUSIVE: Here Be Monsters!
How Chris Williams’ THE SEA BEAST
Took to the High Seas
July 1, 2021
Animation Magazine
Out of Afghanistan:
Michaela Pavlátová
on MY SUNNY MAAD
October 30, 2021
Animation Magazine
‘Satoshi Kon, The Illusionist’: Anime Auteur in the Spotlight
August 30, 2021
“Cinema is a mirror by which we often see ourselves.” - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
testimonials
“Cinephiles should already be aware
of Rich Johnson’s Companion Pieces.
I had a blast talking to him about a
couple of films that made a huge impact
on me. Thanks Rich!”
Thomas Jane
Actor/Producer/Director
Boogie Nights, Stander, The Punisher,
The Mist, The Expanse, Troppo
“LOVED your piece on Psycho II, Rich, with Tom Holland. I absolutely ADORE that film. It is SOOO brilliant. I’m glad you got to tell him!”
Reece Shearsmith
Actor/Writer/Comedian
The League of Gentlemen,
Inside No.9
“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Rich is my favorite person to be interviewed by.”
Gala Avary
Producer/Podcaster
The Video Archives Podcast
with Quentin Tarantino
& Roger Avary,
The Gala Show
“Rich writes with care and beauty, examining his subjects from unexpected angles and with nothing less than the utmost due diligence. He’s a thoughtful, thorough writer whose passion for cinema is made manifest in every word.”
Meredith Borders
Managing Editor
Fangoria