Joe Streckert
@joestreckert.bsky.social
Portland writer. Erstwhile podcaster. Occasional author. Horror fan and pinball enthusiast. https://linktr.ee/joestreckert
"They called me mad at the academy! MAD! They said it couldn’t be done! But I’ll show those fools! I’ll show the WHOLE WORLD!"
November 1, 2025 at 10:20 PM
"They called me mad at the academy! MAD! They said it couldn’t be done! But I’ll show those fools! I’ll show the WHOLE WORLD!"
31 days of horror recs day 31!
Tales of Halloween is an anthology of ten horror shorts from various writers and directors. It's a grab-bag of trick-or-treat candies, all of which take place on Halloween night.
Have a great Halloween, folks! And may Spooky Season live on in your heart all year!
Tales of Halloween is an anthology of ten horror shorts from various writers and directors. It's a grab-bag of trick-or-treat candies, all of which take place on Halloween night.
Have a great Halloween, folks! And may Spooky Season live on in your heart all year!
October 31, 2025 at 7:11 PM
31 days of horror recs day 31!
Tales of Halloween is an anthology of ten horror shorts from various writers and directors. It's a grab-bag of trick-or-treat candies, all of which take place on Halloween night.
Have a great Halloween, folks! And may Spooky Season live on in your heart all year!
Tales of Halloween is an anthology of ten horror shorts from various writers and directors. It's a grab-bag of trick-or-treat candies, all of which take place on Halloween night.
Have a great Halloween, folks! And may Spooky Season live on in your heart all year!
31 days of horror recs day 30!
House of Ashes is about a widowed woman under house arrest for having a miscarriage. It's about trauma, grief, and life under patriarchal fascism. It's also a haunted house movie that gets nuts at the end, a topical movie that knows how to have fun.
House of Ashes is about a widowed woman under house arrest for having a miscarriage. It's about trauma, grief, and life under patriarchal fascism. It's also a haunted house movie that gets nuts at the end, a topical movie that knows how to have fun.
October 30, 2025 at 5:24 PM
31 days of horror recs day 30!
House of Ashes is about a widowed woman under house arrest for having a miscarriage. It's about trauma, grief, and life under patriarchal fascism. It's also a haunted house movie that gets nuts at the end, a topical movie that knows how to have fun.
House of Ashes is about a widowed woman under house arrest for having a miscarriage. It's about trauma, grief, and life under patriarchal fascism. It's also a haunted house movie that gets nuts at the end, a topical movie that knows how to have fun.
31 days of horror recs day 29!
Do you like giallo-esque slashers? Queer horror? French stuff? Movies where blades come out of sex toys? The literal entwining of thanatos and eros into a big, bloody weird mess? Cool! You should watch Knife + Heart. It's all of those things.
Do you like giallo-esque slashers? Queer horror? French stuff? Movies where blades come out of sex toys? The literal entwining of thanatos and eros into a big, bloody weird mess? Cool! You should watch Knife + Heart. It's all of those things.
October 29, 2025 at 4:20 PM
31 days of horror recs day 29!
Do you like giallo-esque slashers? Queer horror? French stuff? Movies where blades come out of sex toys? The literal entwining of thanatos and eros into a big, bloody weird mess? Cool! You should watch Knife + Heart. It's all of those things.
Do you like giallo-esque slashers? Queer horror? French stuff? Movies where blades come out of sex toys? The literal entwining of thanatos and eros into a big, bloody weird mess? Cool! You should watch Knife + Heart. It's all of those things.
31 days of horror recs day 28!
Pieces is trashy. Exploitative. Nearly pornographic. It's schlock in its purest form. Is it any good? Probably not. But if you're looking for the platonic ideal of a cheap, nasty slasher film, this is it.
Pieces is trashy. Exploitative. Nearly pornographic. It's schlock in its purest form. Is it any good? Probably not. But if you're looking for the platonic ideal of a cheap, nasty slasher film, this is it.
October 28, 2025 at 4:26 PM
31 days of horror recs day 28!
Pieces is trashy. Exploitative. Nearly pornographic. It's schlock in its purest form. Is it any good? Probably not. But if you're looking for the platonic ideal of a cheap, nasty slasher film, this is it.
Pieces is trashy. Exploitative. Nearly pornographic. It's schlock in its purest form. Is it any good? Probably not. But if you're looking for the platonic ideal of a cheap, nasty slasher film, this is it.
31 days of horror recs day 27!
One last game. Inscryption got a lot of attention when it came out in 2021, and rightly so. Since I played it I can't get its ideas and the way it unfolded its narrative out of my head. An absolutely brilliant example of playable horror. Can't recommend it enough.
One last game. Inscryption got a lot of attention when it came out in 2021, and rightly so. Since I played it I can't get its ideas and the way it unfolded its narrative out of my head. An absolutely brilliant example of playable horror. Can't recommend it enough.
October 27, 2025 at 7:07 PM
31 days of horror recs day 27!
One last game. Inscryption got a lot of attention when it came out in 2021, and rightly so. Since I played it I can't get its ideas and the way it unfolded its narrative out of my head. An absolutely brilliant example of playable horror. Can't recommend it enough.
One last game. Inscryption got a lot of attention when it came out in 2021, and rightly so. Since I played it I can't get its ideas and the way it unfolded its narrative out of my head. An absolutely brilliant example of playable horror. Can't recommend it enough.
31 days of horror recs day 26!
Let's stick with video games. Kill Knight is a game entirely set in hell. And it really feels like it. You're constantly surrounded by demons and on the brink of death. It's at once stressful and transcendent, like if the best black metal was a video game.
Let's stick with video games. Kill Knight is a game entirely set in hell. And it really feels like it. You're constantly surrounded by demons and on the brink of death. It's at once stressful and transcendent, like if the best black metal was a video game.
October 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
31 days of horror recs day 26!
Let's stick with video games. Kill Knight is a game entirely set in hell. And it really feels like it. You're constantly surrounded by demons and on the brink of death. It's at once stressful and transcendent, like if the best black metal was a video game.
Let's stick with video games. Kill Knight is a game entirely set in hell. And it really feels like it. You're constantly surrounded by demons and on the brink of death. It's at once stressful and transcendent, like if the best black metal was a video game.
31 days of horror recs day 25!
Slay the Princess is a video game where a narrator (Jonathan Sims of Magnus Archives fame) tells you to kill someone. Specifically a princess. But you don't have to! You can do other stuff if you want. You have free will and agency! Probably!
Slay the Princess is a video game where a narrator (Jonathan Sims of Magnus Archives fame) tells you to kill someone. Specifically a princess. But you don't have to! You can do other stuff if you want. You have free will and agency! Probably!
October 25, 2025 at 7:51 PM
31 days of horror recs day 25!
Slay the Princess is a video game where a narrator (Jonathan Sims of Magnus Archives fame) tells you to kill someone. Specifically a princess. But you don't have to! You can do other stuff if you want. You have free will and agency! Probably!
Slay the Princess is a video game where a narrator (Jonathan Sims of Magnus Archives fame) tells you to kill someone. Specifically a princess. But you don't have to! You can do other stuff if you want. You have free will and agency! Probably!
31 days of horror recs day 24!
Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt is a haunted house book. It's also about the all-too-real horror of being trans in the UK. It plays around with subjectivity at the climax, pulling a trick that you can only really do in print to very good effect.
Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt is a haunted house book. It's also about the all-too-real horror of being trans in the UK. It plays around with subjectivity at the climax, pulling a trick that you can only really do in print to very good effect.
October 24, 2025 at 5:40 PM
31 days of horror recs day 24!
Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt is a haunted house book. It's also about the all-too-real horror of being trans in the UK. It plays around with subjectivity at the climax, pulling a trick that you can only really do in print to very good effect.
Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt is a haunted house book. It's also about the all-too-real horror of being trans in the UK. It plays around with subjectivity at the climax, pulling a trick that you can only really do in print to very good effect.
It is ten o'clock in the morning on October the twenty-fourth.
October 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM
It is ten o'clock in the morning on October the twenty-fourth.
31 days of horror recs day 23!
The Return by Rachel Harrison is about friends who've grown apart in adulthood. It's also about a monster. Harrison understands that monsters are symbolic reflections of our interiority, and at the same time they are literal gross scary things that try to get your.
The Return by Rachel Harrison is about friends who've grown apart in adulthood. It's also about a monster. Harrison understands that monsters are symbolic reflections of our interiority, and at the same time they are literal gross scary things that try to get your.
October 23, 2025 at 6:14 PM
31 days of horror recs day 23!
The Return by Rachel Harrison is about friends who've grown apart in adulthood. It's also about a monster. Harrison understands that monsters are symbolic reflections of our interiority, and at the same time they are literal gross scary things that try to get your.
The Return by Rachel Harrison is about friends who've grown apart in adulthood. It's also about a monster. Harrison understands that monsters are symbolic reflections of our interiority, and at the same time they are literal gross scary things that try to get your.
31 days of horror recs day 22!
What if Lovecraft was less racist and more horny? You'd get From Beyond! This movie is nuts, and features a whole lot of Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton being attractive while fucked-up cosmic horror shit happens. Also, a lot of really unsubtle phallic imagery.
What if Lovecraft was less racist and more horny? You'd get From Beyond! This movie is nuts, and features a whole lot of Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton being attractive while fucked-up cosmic horror shit happens. Also, a lot of really unsubtle phallic imagery.
October 22, 2025 at 5:27 PM
31 days of horror recs day 22!
What if Lovecraft was less racist and more horny? You'd get From Beyond! This movie is nuts, and features a whole lot of Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton being attractive while fucked-up cosmic horror shit happens. Also, a lot of really unsubtle phallic imagery.
What if Lovecraft was less racist and more horny? You'd get From Beyond! This movie is nuts, and features a whole lot of Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton being attractive while fucked-up cosmic horror shit happens. Also, a lot of really unsubtle phallic imagery.
31 days of horror recs day 21!
Dead and Buried is about a small town with a horrible secret. Visitors arrive, they're attacked by locals, they die. A sheriff investigates, and what he finds is... really goofy actually. But also batshit and fun in the best kind of horror movie way.
Dead and Buried is about a small town with a horrible secret. Visitors arrive, they're attacked by locals, they die. A sheriff investigates, and what he finds is... really goofy actually. But also batshit and fun in the best kind of horror movie way.
October 21, 2025 at 4:53 PM
31 days of horror recs day 21!
Dead and Buried is about a small town with a horrible secret. Visitors arrive, they're attacked by locals, they die. A sheriff investigates, and what he finds is... really goofy actually. But also batshit and fun in the best kind of horror movie way.
Dead and Buried is about a small town with a horrible secret. Visitors arrive, they're attacked by locals, they die. A sheriff investigates, and what he finds is... really goofy actually. But also batshit and fun in the best kind of horror movie way.
31 days of horror recs day 20!
Pedantic nerds (hi) will sometimes say: "Um, ACTUALLY Hannibal Lecter isn't from Silence of the Lambs. His first screen appearance was in Michael Mann's Manhunter!"
But Manhunter is also worth watching. It's stylish and moody in a way Dr. Lecter would appreciate.
Pedantic nerds (hi) will sometimes say: "Um, ACTUALLY Hannibal Lecter isn't from Silence of the Lambs. His first screen appearance was in Michael Mann's Manhunter!"
But Manhunter is also worth watching. It's stylish and moody in a way Dr. Lecter would appreciate.
October 20, 2025 at 6:07 PM
31 days of horror recs day 20!
Pedantic nerds (hi) will sometimes say: "Um, ACTUALLY Hannibal Lecter isn't from Silence of the Lambs. His first screen appearance was in Michael Mann's Manhunter!"
But Manhunter is also worth watching. It's stylish and moody in a way Dr. Lecter would appreciate.
Pedantic nerds (hi) will sometimes say: "Um, ACTUALLY Hannibal Lecter isn't from Silence of the Lambs. His first screen appearance was in Michael Mann's Manhunter!"
But Manhunter is also worth watching. It's stylish and moody in a way Dr. Lecter would appreciate.
31 days of horror recs day 19!
Event Horizon! I recently re-watched this for the first time in decades. Damn does it go hard. It's premise is simple: What if a ship could go anywhere by taking a shortcut through hell? It's not a spoiler to say that exploring other paths to FTL would be worthwhile.
Event Horizon! I recently re-watched this for the first time in decades. Damn does it go hard. It's premise is simple: What if a ship could go anywhere by taking a shortcut through hell? It's not a spoiler to say that exploring other paths to FTL would be worthwhile.
October 19, 2025 at 6:10 PM
31 days of horror recs day 19!
Event Horizon! I recently re-watched this for the first time in decades. Damn does it go hard. It's premise is simple: What if a ship could go anywhere by taking a shortcut through hell? It's not a spoiler to say that exploring other paths to FTL would be worthwhile.
Event Horizon! I recently re-watched this for the first time in decades. Damn does it go hard. It's premise is simple: What if a ship could go anywhere by taking a shortcut through hell? It's not a spoiler to say that exploring other paths to FTL would be worthwhile.
31 days of horror recs day 18!
Were you raised Catholic? Did it mess you up? Great! You should play Blasphemous! It’s a game about all those statues you remember from church trying to kill you. And you kill them right back! It’s cathartic if you’re an ex-altar boy like me. The sequel is also good.
Were you raised Catholic? Did it mess you up? Great! You should play Blasphemous! It’s a game about all those statues you remember from church trying to kill you. And you kill them right back! It’s cathartic if you’re an ex-altar boy like me. The sequel is also good.
October 18, 2025 at 10:49 PM
31 days of horror recs day 18!
Were you raised Catholic? Did it mess you up? Great! You should play Blasphemous! It’s a game about all those statues you remember from church trying to kill you. And you kill them right back! It’s cathartic if you’re an ex-altar boy like me. The sequel is also good.
Were you raised Catholic? Did it mess you up? Great! You should play Blasphemous! It’s a game about all those statues you remember from church trying to kill you. And you kill them right back! It’s cathartic if you’re an ex-altar boy like me. The sequel is also good.
31 days of horror recs day 17!
The Me You Love in the Dark by Skottie Young will resonate with anyone who's ever made art. Creation harrowing, and discipline dedication to the process can turn into self-induced punishment and isolation. Sometimes it's rewarding? Sometimes its worth it?
The Me You Love in the Dark by Skottie Young will resonate with anyone who's ever made art. Creation harrowing, and discipline dedication to the process can turn into self-induced punishment and isolation. Sometimes it's rewarding? Sometimes its worth it?
October 17, 2025 at 5:12 PM
31 days of horror recs day 17!
The Me You Love in the Dark by Skottie Young will resonate with anyone who's ever made art. Creation harrowing, and discipline dedication to the process can turn into self-induced punishment and isolation. Sometimes it's rewarding? Sometimes its worth it?
The Me You Love in the Dark by Skottie Young will resonate with anyone who's ever made art. Creation harrowing, and discipline dedication to the process can turn into self-induced punishment and isolation. Sometimes it's rewarding? Sometimes its worth it?
31 days of horror recs day 16!
Fever House & The Devil by Name by Portland's own Keith Rosson are a duology about a zombie apocalypse. But it's much more than that. The books play with and depart from zombie tropes in a refreshing way, and make the shambling dead seem new and interesting again.
Fever House & The Devil by Name by Portland's own Keith Rosson are a duology about a zombie apocalypse. But it's much more than that. The books play with and depart from zombie tropes in a refreshing way, and make the shambling dead seem new and interesting again.
October 16, 2025 at 5:21 PM
31 days of horror recs day 16!
Fever House & The Devil by Name by Portland's own Keith Rosson are a duology about a zombie apocalypse. But it's much more than that. The books play with and depart from zombie tropes in a refreshing way, and make the shambling dead seem new and interesting again.
Fever House & The Devil by Name by Portland's own Keith Rosson are a duology about a zombie apocalypse. But it's much more than that. The books play with and depart from zombie tropes in a refreshing way, and make the shambling dead seem new and interesting again.
31 days of horror recs day 15!
Sweeney Todd is the greatest musical of all time. Unfortunately, the Tim Burton version most people are familiar with is very bad. But, the filmed Broadway version starring Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou is excellent and fairly easy to find. Watch that instead.
Sweeney Todd is the greatest musical of all time. Unfortunately, the Tim Burton version most people are familiar with is very bad. But, the filmed Broadway version starring Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou is excellent and fairly easy to find. Watch that instead.
October 15, 2025 at 3:17 PM
31 days of horror recs day 15!
Sweeney Todd is the greatest musical of all time. Unfortunately, the Tim Burton version most people are familiar with is very bad. But, the filmed Broadway version starring Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou is excellent and fairly easy to find. Watch that instead.
Sweeney Todd is the greatest musical of all time. Unfortunately, the Tim Burton version most people are familiar with is very bad. But, the filmed Broadway version starring Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou is excellent and fairly easy to find. Watch that instead.
31 days of horror recs day 14!
Dumb smart things (like many Oscar bait movies) are usually tiresome. But smart dumb things can be amazing. Frankenhooker is a smart dumb thing. It handles its inherent stupidity with wit and intelligence. An amazing B-movie that's "bad" on purpose.
Dumb smart things (like many Oscar bait movies) are usually tiresome. But smart dumb things can be amazing. Frankenhooker is a smart dumb thing. It handles its inherent stupidity with wit and intelligence. An amazing B-movie that's "bad" on purpose.
October 14, 2025 at 5:18 PM
31 days of horror recs day 14!
Dumb smart things (like many Oscar bait movies) are usually tiresome. But smart dumb things can be amazing. Frankenhooker is a smart dumb thing. It handles its inherent stupidity with wit and intelligence. An amazing B-movie that's "bad" on purpose.
Dumb smart things (like many Oscar bait movies) are usually tiresome. But smart dumb things can be amazing. Frankenhooker is a smart dumb thing. It handles its inherent stupidity with wit and intelligence. An amazing B-movie that's "bad" on purpose.
31 days of horror recs day 13!
Camp-based horror is a lot more than just Friday the 13th. If you like watching teenagers get methodically murdered in the woods, check out The Burning. A man wronged by troublemaking teens comes back for revenge, and a some hapless counselors have a very bad summer.
Camp-based horror is a lot more than just Friday the 13th. If you like watching teenagers get methodically murdered in the woods, check out The Burning. A man wronged by troublemaking teens comes back for revenge, and a some hapless counselors have a very bad summer.
October 13, 2025 at 4:52 PM
31 days of horror recs day 13!
Camp-based horror is a lot more than just Friday the 13th. If you like watching teenagers get methodically murdered in the woods, check out The Burning. A man wronged by troublemaking teens comes back for revenge, and a some hapless counselors have a very bad summer.
Camp-based horror is a lot more than just Friday the 13th. If you like watching teenagers get methodically murdered in the woods, check out The Burning. A man wronged by troublemaking teens comes back for revenge, and a some hapless counselors have a very bad summer.
31 days of horror recs day 12!
Bunnicula! Yes, the vampire bunny book. It holds up!
Also, the ways Harold interprets his dog-ness is fascinating if you know it was co-written by a closeted gay man. As far as I'm concerned Harold the Dog is a queer icon.
Today, vegetables! Tomorrow, the world!
Bunnicula! Yes, the vampire bunny book. It holds up!
Also, the ways Harold interprets his dog-ness is fascinating if you know it was co-written by a closeted gay man. As far as I'm concerned Harold the Dog is a queer icon.
Today, vegetables! Tomorrow, the world!
October 12, 2025 at 5:10 PM
31 days of horror recs day 12!
Bunnicula! Yes, the vampire bunny book. It holds up!
Also, the ways Harold interprets his dog-ness is fascinating if you know it was co-written by a closeted gay man. As far as I'm concerned Harold the Dog is a queer icon.
Today, vegetables! Tomorrow, the world!
Bunnicula! Yes, the vampire bunny book. It holds up!
Also, the ways Harold interprets his dog-ness is fascinating if you know it was co-written by a closeted gay man. As far as I'm concerned Harold the Dog is a queer icon.
Today, vegetables! Tomorrow, the world!
31 days of horror recs day 11!
Heart Eyes is a fun little rom com about a couple meeting, falling for each other, and running away from a masked psychopath. Obviously it happens on Valentine's Day. It's adorable! And there's lots of blood! Watch if you like cute stories where people explode.
Heart Eyes is a fun little rom com about a couple meeting, falling for each other, and running away from a masked psychopath. Obviously it happens on Valentine's Day. It's adorable! And there's lots of blood! Watch if you like cute stories where people explode.
October 11, 2025 at 4:08 PM
31 days of horror recs day 11!
Heart Eyes is a fun little rom com about a couple meeting, falling for each other, and running away from a masked psychopath. Obviously it happens on Valentine's Day. It's adorable! And there's lots of blood! Watch if you like cute stories where people explode.
Heart Eyes is a fun little rom com about a couple meeting, falling for each other, and running away from a masked psychopath. Obviously it happens on Valentine's Day. It's adorable! And there's lots of blood! Watch if you like cute stories where people explode.
31 days of horror recs day 10!
Before he made heartfelt movies about space raccoons or Superman, James Gunn made schlock. And he was good at it! Slither is gross, nasty, a little mean-spirited, and a very good time. People explode! There are worms! Nathan Fillion is also there!
Before he made heartfelt movies about space raccoons or Superman, James Gunn made schlock. And he was good at it! Slither is gross, nasty, a little mean-spirited, and a very good time. People explode! There are worms! Nathan Fillion is also there!
October 10, 2025 at 5:31 PM
31 days of horror recs day 10!
Before he made heartfelt movies about space raccoons or Superman, James Gunn made schlock. And he was good at it! Slither is gross, nasty, a little mean-spirited, and a very good time. People explode! There are worms! Nathan Fillion is also there!
Before he made heartfelt movies about space raccoons or Superman, James Gunn made schlock. And he was good at it! Slither is gross, nasty, a little mean-spirited, and a very good time. People explode! There are worms! Nathan Fillion is also there!