Category: Reviews

Spotlight: Rose Drive’s “Give Me Liberty” is Cinematic, Terrifying Genius

Elena Fernández Collins September 25, 2019

There will be spoilers for Rose Drive in this spotlight review. I highly recommend listening first. The word “cinematic” should not be used lightly for an audio-based medium; it is linked tightly with sweeping musical scores against a visual backdrop. …

old map of north and south america, with icons drawn on top in a circle around the edge: a hot air baloon, a carriage, a three-masted ship, a ring of volcanoes, and a steam engine.

“ICONography” Smartly Dissects Myths and Realities of Historical Icons

Elena Fernández Collins June 6, 2019

A place is not just defined by its geographical borders and its people, but by their memories, histories, and stories—its icons. An icon, real or imagined, is not just a religious work of art, but any person, object, concept, or …

red desert landscape up a steep hill, with a grey cloudy sky above.

The Interlaced Fate of Music and Humanity in the “Marsfall” Second Season Finale

Elena Fernández Collins May 24, 2019

Marsfall, a science-fiction podcast following a group of colonizers after they have landed on Mars, grapples with the subsequent horrors they have to face, both from within and from outside. The season two finale, “Chapter 17 – Chip”, witnesses an epic …

an old-school Victorian train station clock, made of curving metal, with roman numerals, that says PADDINGTON STATION and LONDON NW15.

First Look: Time-Traveling Train of “The 12:37” is Lively, Honest, and Queer

Elena Fernández Collins March 19, 2019

Usually, boarding the wrong train means you have to text your date to tell them you’re going to be late. Unfortunately for Nora Pacinelli, she’s probably going to be really late–or maybe perfectly on time–since she appears to have boarded …

a decaying tall hous, three story wood house in the middle of nowhere, with a greying sky, but brightly colored surroundings, creating a sensation of naivety against the rampant onset of decay.

HartLife NFP’s “Unwell” is Both a Quiet Example and Direct Subversion of Midwestern Gothic

Elena Fernández Collins February 21, 2019

The creeping, quiet dread of the desolate Midwest—those distant areas where there’s nothing but corn, a gas station, and one ancient diner for miles—is the ideal setting for the terror and dysfunction that lives inside the Gothic family home, like …

A drawn image of Puerto Ricans helping to build a community at the Centro de Apoyo Mutuo (Center for Mutual Aid). People are growing plants, fixing the building, telling stories to children, while there is a dark sky beyond. The Puerto Rican flag drawn on a wall is in black and white.

“The Response” Passes the Microphone to Disaster-Affected Communities

Elena Fernández Collins February 12, 2019

It isn’t easy to provide nuanced and descriptive reports on natural disasters without taking up a huge amount of time, but The Response manages, with apparent ease, to consider one angle to each of three natural disasters in the United …

Photoshop fantasy image. Foreground, an enormous statue hewn from rock of a naked woman with her arms outstretched to either side; to the lower left, two small people stand as silhouette, looking up at it. Background, a huge icy snowy landscape, empty into the distance but for the statue, and a sky showing sunset colors with an enormous moon, very close to the planet, hanging behind the statue.

Janus Descending Weaves Beauty into Tragic Horror

Elena Fernández Collins February 2, 2019

(The following review contains minor spoilers for tangential narrative elements.) The tragedy inside modern horror is an element sometimes not well-played for me, either overdone or undercooked. Janus Descending, a space horror set on a distant planet with evidence of …

a photo of the Centralia mine fire; an abandoned asphalt road going off into the distance, mountains and dead treses ahead. The road is cracked and gaping down the middle, and a pile of steam rises from the center, obscuring the road ahead.

First Look: “Minefire” Summons Demons and Psychics for a Wild Romp

Elena Fernández Collins December 26, 2018

I can think of no better demon-hunting dream team than a human who makes bad decisions with ouija boards, the demon entity she summons, and said demon’s perpetually annoyed psychic friend. When a seance goes awry, Rob finds herself stuck …

Illustration of 3 adventurers in a dark forest. Background, facing left, is a ranger with a hood holding a lantern and a sword. Background facing right is a woman with a pointy eared helmet holding a torch aloft. Foregroud is a bard in armor, holding a stringed insturment in one hand and a small crossbow in the other.

First Look: “Dark Dice” is Immersive, Action-Packed Horror Actual Play

Elena Fernández Collins December 21, 2018

Immersive in-character conversation and sound design are the two aspects of any actual play podcast most likely to get me hooked. Fool and Scholar Production’s actual play podcast, Dark Dice, is a horror podcast made up of Game Master and …

upward photo of a helicopter in the sky, surrounded by smoky clouds and dark grey blue sky.

First Look: “Timestorm” Celebrates Puerto Rican History for Young Adults

Elena Fernández Collins December 9, 2018

I got an advance listen of @cocotazomedia's TIMESTORM and if you want great representation, fun young adult audio, and consideration of the interlocking of current and historical events, this is the podcast for you.