Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Horror

Please use this page to discuss improvements and corrections for the WikiProject Horror main page itself. For topics regarding the Project as a whole, please use the Notice Board instead.

Discussion at Talk:Mansion of Hidden Souls

There is discussion on splitting this article into two articles. Any input from member of the community would be greatly appreciated. Andrzejbanas (talk) 04:10, 16 November 2025 (UTC)

Sinners plot discussion

There's a discussion on what should be done with the plot summary for Sinners (2025 film), which can be found at Talk:Sinners (2025 film)#Synopsis. Input from project members would be appreciated. Thanks, sjones23 (talk - contributions) 02:28, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

HorrorNews.net

I'm going to remove this as a reliable source, as we need to discuss whether or not the site can be used as a RS. The site started allowing people to pay for reviews around 2018, per the Wayback Machine. They didn't overly promote that they were doing this. It looks like they got more overt with offering marketing opportunities until relatively recently.

What bothers me is that there's no sign that the review has been sponsored or paid for in any way. In other words, we have no way of knowing which reviews came about because someone paid to expedite the review. If I were to guess at a review that was "expedited", it would be something like this, where one of the opening lines of the review is a mention that the movie is in theaters.

Offhand my thought is that the site could be used as a reliable source for articles and reviews prior to 2018, but not after that point. ReaderofthePack(formerly Tokyogirl79) (｡◕‿◕｡) 14:01, 2 January 2026 (UTC)

Shades of black template addition

I added eigengrau to the shades of black template which is a horror project article. Did I add correct information?

It's more of a shade of grey isn't it? But I don't think it's an issue really.★Trekker (talk) 09:08, 9 January 2026 (UTC)

It’s a blackish gray. DarknessGoth777 (talk) 06:35, 10 January 2026 (UTC)

Listing Film Threat as an unreliable source

Per the discussion here, there was a small but general consensus that Film Threat is no longer a reliable source. Here's a general explanation as to why:

In 2011 Film Threat started charging for reviews. The fee was on the smaller side but the fact that they were charging for reviews posed a major issue. The site didn't explicitly mention paid reviews when they relaunched in 2017, but it was readded in 2018. They offered free reviews, but with a lengthy enough turnaround time that most would probably purchase the expedited review. Now their marketing/submission page puts an extremely large emphasis on getting people to buy the marketing packages. Also of note is that the side does not clearly mark which reviews were part of a marketing package.

They offer an award, but this is only open to people who purchase a package. Now, there are some non-vanity awards that charge an entry fee but it's problematic that they deliberately exclude people who asked for free reviews. The award has also not received any true attention in the media. There were a couple of places that announced the nominations once, but no sustained coverage.

Since the site has become heavily geared to promotion, only reviews and coverage from 2010 or earlier are usable for establishing notability. The award is not usable for establishing notability at all.

Film Threat often reviews indie horror films, so I'm going to add it to the unreliable sources section. It really is a shame. I've had cases where their review was the one that pushed movies into NFILM territory, so their loss is definitely going to be felt. ReaderofthePack(formerly Tokyogirl79) (｡◕‿◕｡) 18:07, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

Horror Society

I brought up a discussion about whether or not Horror Society is usable as a source here. ReaderofthePack(formerly Tokyogirl79) (｡◕‿◕｡) 12:27, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

Discussion at Talk:Upiór § Merge proposal into Vampire

 You are invited to join the discussion at Talk:Upiór § Merge proposal into Vampire, which is within the scope of this WikiProject. I've proposed either merging Upiór into Vampire or splitting Vampire to create Vampires in folklore and merging Upiór into the latter. Your input would be appreciated. – Scyrme (talk) 01:11, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

Jim Morton

I've brought up his use as a RS here at RS/N. I think he's usable, but I wanted to double check there just in case. ReaderofthePack(formerly Tokyogirl79) (｡◕‿◕｡) 21:52, 4 March 2026 (UTC)

Discussion at Talk:Shawn Fedorchuk that might be of interest to this project

If possible could someone join the discussion at Talk:Shawn Fedorchuk, regarding whether claims linking the subject to the pseudonym "Lucifer Valentine." I have the concern that even mentioning the allegation or rumor, without solid sourcing, may constitute harassment (WP:BLP, WP:UNDUE, WP:HA) Issac I Navarro (talk) 19:57, 29 March 2026 (UTC)

Lawrence J. Block Screenwriter

Hello WikiProject Horror team,

I am writing to request assistance in establishing a basic biography article for screenwriter Lawrence J. Block (often credited as Larry Block). He is the screenwriter of Tobe Hooper's cult classic film The Funhouse (1981) and a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America (WGA). In the 1980s, he also collaborated closely with Stan Lee on early, pioneering movie treatments for Marvel Entertainment (including Doctor Strange and Fantastic Four).

Because of Wikipedia's strict guidelines regarding Conflict of Interest (COI) and Autobiographies, Mr. Block is legally restricted from publishing or editing a page about himself, which has previously left his historical film footprint completely undocumented on the platform. [[https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/so-you-want-wikipedia-article-mike-dickison-pokzc 1], [https://amitkalsi.medium.com/creating-and-developing-a-wikipedia-page-about-yourself-with-approval-ad41c83b2f11 2]]

The subject's baseline notability has been thoroughly established through heavy independent, secondary media coverage, meaning a new page easily clears the General Notability Guideline (GNG) bar. Key references include:

1. Significant, multi-page analytical praise by filmmaker Quentin Tarantino in his HarperCollins book "Cinema Speculation" (2022), focusing heavily on Block's screenplay architecture for The Funhouse.
2. A comprehensive 5-page retrospective career feature and interview dedicated entirely to Block's work in Issue 266 of the prominent British horror publication, "The Dark Side" magazine.
3. Recent public presence and updates regarding his successful legal reclamation of the U.S. copyright to The Funhouse, alongside his completion of the new remake script, "The Funhouse: The Definitive Writer's Cut".

Because there are existing pages for Lawrence Block (the crime novelist) and Larry Block (the late character actor), a new page simply needs to be properly disambiguated under a title like "Lawrence J. Block (screenwriter)".

Below is a pre-formatted, Wikipedia-compliant code outline containing the necessary infobox, career sections, and core references. Would a volunteer editor from the project be willing to adopt this text, create a sandbox draft, and move it to the main space so his place in horror cinema history is accurately recorded?

Thank you for your time and dedication to preserving genre cinema history.

*** PRE-FORMATTED WIKIPEDIA DRAFT CODE BELOW ***

{{Short description|American screenwriter}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Lawrence J. Block

| caption =

| birth_place = United States

| occupation = Screenwriter, story writer

| period = 1980–present

| notableworks = [[The Funhouse]] (1981)

}}

'''Lawrence J. Block''' (often credited as '''Larry Block''') is an American screenwriter and lifetime member of the [[Writers Guild of America]]. He is best known for writing the screenplay for the 1981 [[Tobe Hooper]] horror film ''[[The Funhouse]]'' and for his early, pioneering development work with [[Stan Lee]] on early [[Marvel Entertainment]] cinematic treatments during the 1980s.

== Career ==

=== The Funhouse (1981) ===

Block wrote the original screenplay for ''The Funhouse'' (1981), directed by Tobe Hooper and distributed by [[Universal Pictures]]. Block's screenplay was praised for its extensive character development and slow-burn tension. In his book ''Cinema Speculation'' (2022), filmmaker [[Quentin Tarantino]] dedicated multiple pages of analysis to Block's writing on ''The Funhouse'', citing the script's first 45 minutes of character building as the strongest element of the film.

In the 2020s, Block successfully reclaimed the United States copyright and ownership rights to ''The Funhouse''. He completed a modernized remake screenplay titled ''The Funhouse: The Definitive Writer's Cut''.

=== Early Marvel Entertainment Projects ===

During the 1980s, Block collaborated closely with Stan Lee to develop some of the earliest cinematic treatments and screenplays for Marvel Comics properties. His contributions included early script and story development work for proposed feature films based on ''[[Doctor Strange]]'', the ''[[Fantastic Four]]'', and character concepts utilized in the 1990 film ''[[Captain America (1990 film)|Captain America]]''.

== Media Coverage ==

Block's career and screenplay contributions have been covered in various retrospective film media, including a five-page career feature and interview in Issue 266 of the British horror magazine ''[[The Dark Side (magazine)|The Dark Side]]''.

== Filmography ==

• ''[[The Funhouse]]'' (1981) – Screenwriter
• ''[[Captain America (1990 film)|Captain America]]'' (1990) – Story contributor

== References ==

{{Reflist|refs=

Tarantino, Quentin (2022). ''Cinema Speculation''. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0063112445.

"Lawrence J. Block Interview". ''The Dark Side'', Issue 266.

}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Block, Lawrence J.}}

[[Category:American screenwriters]]

[[Category:Living people]]

[[Category:Writers Guild of America members]] ~2026-32711-82 (talk) 22:00, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

This looks overall like a competently written biography, would you mind linking the draft?★Trekker (talk) 19:15, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for taking a look. The draft can be found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Larry_Block_(screenwriter)

I’d appreciate any feedback regarding sourcing, notability, or areas that could be strengthened. ~2026-32711-82 (talk) 15:30, 18 June 2026 (UTC)

Larry Block (also credited as Lawrence J. Block) is an American screenwriter and producer best known for writing the screenplay for the 1981 Universal Pictures horror film The Funhouse, directed by Tobe Hooper. His work on the film has been discussed in major newspapers, horror publications, film-history books, and in Quentin Tarantino’s 2022 book Cinema Speculation, which devoted a chapter to The Funhouse and its screenplay.

Block also contributed to early feature-film adaptations of Marvel Comics properties, including Captain America (1990), Doctor Strange, and Fantastic Four. He is a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America.

Independent coverage of Block’s work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, Fangoria, The Dark Side, and various film-history and academic studies examining The Funhouse and the development of early Marvel film adaptations. ~2026-32711-82 (talk) 15:39, 18 June 2026 (UTC)

Helo again, it seems sadly that the draft got deleted before I got a chance to really look at it.★Trekker (talk) 11:39, 21 June 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for taking the time to review this.

Since the earlier draft was deleted, additional independent coverage has become available. The The Funhouse article has since been updated to include Larry Block’s recapture of the U.S. copyright, citing the United States Copyright Office, as well as Quentin Tarantino’s 2022 reassessment of Block’s screenplay in Cinema Speculation, in which Tarantino described the screenplay as “the big surprise” and wrote that its “depth and even sophistication” “forced me to reconsider the whole film.”

Additional independent coverage includes a five-page feature profile in the British horror magazine The Dark Side (Issue 266), discussion in Steve Schneider’s 100 Great Films You Need to See Before You Die, and coverage in The New York Times, Fangoria, and other film-history publications.

Beyond The Funhouse, Block’s career includes work with Stan Lee on early Marvel feature-film projects, including Captain America, Doctor Strange, and Fantastic Four, which has also received independent coverage.

I would appreciate any feedback as to whether this body of independent sourcing is now sufficient to support a biographical article under Wikipedia’s notability guidelines, or whether there are still specific sourcing deficiencies that should be addressed before resubmission. ~2026-32711-82 (talk) 14:35, 28 June 2026 (UTC)

1. Screenwriter Profile: Lawrence J. "Larry" Block

Lawrence J. "Larry" Block is a veteran American screenwriter, producer, and lifetime Writers Guild of America (WGA) member. His multi-decade career spans foundational work on cult horror classics, pioneering early Marvel developments, and masterminding highly complex international film localizations.

1. 1. The Funhouse (1981) & The Upcoming Remake

• **The Original Screenplay:** Block wrote the original spec script for Universal Pictures' cult-classic slasher *The Funhouse* (1981), directed by Tobe Hooper. Block's original script featured a much darker tone and uniquely flawed, gritty character archetypes.
• **The Tarantino Validation:** In his 2022 book *Cinema Speculation*, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino dedicated an entire analysis to rehabilitating *The Funhouse*, heavily praising Block's original screenplay above everything else and championing his unique writing style.
• **The Official Remake:** In 2017, Block successfully recaptured the U.S. copyright to his original 1981 screenplay. He is currently writing and producing an official modern remake intended to finally bring his uncompromised, original vision to the screen, engaging directly with fans under the verified Reddit handle u/FunHouseRemake.

1. 1. Early Marvel Legacy & WGA Arbitrations

• **The Original Marvel Pioneer:** In the late 1970s and 1980s, Block was a key creative associate of Stan Lee. Long before the modern MCU, Block worked extensively in early rooms mapping out the theatrical futures of major Marvel properties, including *Fantastic Four* and *Doctor Strange*.
• **Setting the Record Straight:** During a official WGA credit arbitration, industry documentation officially confirmed that Block was the very first screenwriter to ever adapt *Doctor Strange* for Hollywood, setting the cosmic framework for the character decades before the 2016 film.
• **Captain America (1990):** Block's extensive early development work on Marvel characters earned him an official story credit on the 1990 *Captain America* feature film directed by B-movie icon Albert Pyun.

1. 1. Masterclass in Localization: Future War 198X

• **The Music Video Approach:** In the early 1980s, Block partnered with Stan Lee and Marvel Entertainment to package Toei Animation's epic Japanese sci-fi feature *Future War 198X* for Western distributors. Block stripped out the original language track and score, pacing the full-length movie like a massive, high-energy progressive rock music video.
• **Creative Editing Mastery:** Working closely with the film's editor, Block completely reshaped the visual narrative framework. By re-sequencing the animation cells and matching them to his new script, they seamlessly injected entirely new subplots and character motivations that didn't exist in the Japanese original—making the fabricated scenes look completely native to the film.
• **The Sound Mix:** Block layered in anthems from legendary bands Rush and Asia to score the film, and brought in veteran Marvel voice director Wally Burr to direct the English dialogue. The emotional resonance of Block's localized cut was so intense that it famously reduced the sound engineering booth crew to tears during the final mix sessions.

1. 1. Other Notable Projects

• **Bad Girls from Valley High (2005):** Block independently optioned the Paul Fleischman YA horror-comedy novel *A Fate Totally Worse Than Death*. After the project stalled at The Bubble Factory, Block performed an extensive, page-one rewrite of the screenplay that successfully salvaged the film and pushed it into active production, resulting in the 2005 movie starring Julie Benz and Christopher Lloyd.
• **The Taking (Ghost House Television):** In December 2006, Block acquired the concepts for Dean Koontz's sci-fi horror bestseller *The Taking* and packaged it directly for Sam Raimi's newly formed Ghost House Television. Block was officially attached as a co-executive producer alongside Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert before the miniseries entered development hell.
• **The Ivan Tors Collaboration:** Years prior, Block teamed up with legendary animal-entertainment producer Ivan Tors (*Flipper*, *Daktari*) to package a high-concept television film based on Franz Kafka’s short story *A Report to an Academy*, following a deeply philosophical talking gorilla named Red Peter.

~2026-32711-82 (talk) 02:34, 10 August 2026 (UTC)

File:Lucy Westenra.png listed for discussion

A week ago, I listed a non-free file you may be interested in, File:Lucy Westenra.png, at Wikipedia:Files for discussion. Please see the still-open discussion to see why it has been listed (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry). Please feel free to add your opinion on the matter below the nomination. Thank you. Rotideypoc41352 (talk · contribs) 10:26, 2 July 2026 (UTC)

Goetia

Goetia seems to be a notable topic but is currently at CAT:PROD for likely LLM usage. Would anyone be willing to take a crack at rewriting it to remove the likely LLM content? Ten Pound Hammer (they/them) • ^{(What did I screw up now?)} 03:10, 16 July 2026 (UTC)

Polybius novel

Hey, what is everyone's take on this draft I have in my userspace? It's for Collin Armstrong's Polybius. I think it technically passes NBOOK at this point in time but it's not super solid. I had a Screen Anarchy source that could have been good, but he was a site contributor for them back in the 2000s so that would make that source primary. I have a Gruesome Magazine review, but I'm not certain about that site - I've brought that up as a source at the horror sources page. I think it should be usable, but I like having more sourcing for articles. I have a Library Journal source and that's technically usable, but it's a trade and those tend to be seen as weaker.

What does everyone think? ReaderofthePack(formerly Tokyogirl79) (｡◕‿◕｡) 19:00, 21 August 2026 (UTC)

@ReaderofthePack: I think it looks like a good little article! I also came across this Kirkus Reviews review of the audiobook, and a Publishers Weekly article.★Trekker (talk) 06:28, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

I'm always a bit leery about PW and particularly Kirkus, as they are kind of like capsule reviews. There's been some pushback against them, so I try not to use them in articles I'm worried are borderline. It felt like for a while there someone would see it and then nominate the books for AfD if it felt borderline. The PW does look meatier than normal though, so I can probably use that one. I'm just super skittish. ReaderofthePack(formerly Tokyogirl79) (｡◕‿◕｡) 16:01, 14 September 2026 (UTC)

Disputes over critics' interpretations of The Silence of the Lambs

Could a neutral user, preferably an administrator, summarize the last discussion on the Silence of the Lambs (film) talk page? It began as a low-key debate over whether the mention of "trans-coding" in a category was too vague and subjective, given that the concept exists only in discourse surrounding the film. However, it effectively morphed into an argument for the "death of the author" positing that critical interpretations outweigh the author's intended canon (or even outright rejecting the significance of the author's intent, since the rules do not explicitly state this), or that we should defer to queer theory because the original film's intent does not align with contemporary trans discourse. This has clearly escalated to the point of bordering on an edit war and endless art/political debates, so I am asking a neutral party to bring the discussion to a close.Solaire the knight (talk) 04:30, 7 September 2026 (UTC)

Better Luck Than Chuck

I genuinely want to create an article on this series, but I'm not sure if there's enough coverage. Lots of announcement stuff, but I need help finding reviews and whatnot. It's a YouTube series so it kind of falls into a weird little area between TV show and GNG. ReaderofthePack(formerly Tokyogirl79) (｡◕‿◕｡) 14:41, 2 October 2026 (UTC)

Requested move at Talk:Naari (film) § Requested move 30 September 2026

An editor has requested that Naari (film) be moved to Naari, which may be of interest to this WikiProject. You are invited to participate in the move discussion. TarnishedPath^talk 07:51, 3 October 2026 (UTC)
(Notification provided by Move+)

A Cold Season Christmas horror Film ADD To wiKI pAGE

id like to get the film A Cold Season (2026) - IMDb onto wiki. thanks ~2026-56748-24 (talk) 21:23, 23 October 2026 (UTC)

Wikidata Halloween editing for horror movies

• https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikiProject_LD4_Wikidata_Affinity_Group/Wikidata_Working_Hours/2026-October-30_Wikidata_Working_Hour

This is with a Wikidata group, not Wikipedia, but from the invitation, "To celebrate Halloween, we're tackling the scariest thing in all of Wikidata: statements without references. Join us for a hands-on working session where we'll hunt down unreferenced statements on items about horror movies, track down real published sources, and add references so the data can finally rest in peace. No experience needed – we'll show you how to conjure a reliable reference. Come cite with us!" Bluerasberry (talk) 21:34, 27 October 2026 (UTC)

Halloween history - sources

There is an ongoing discussion about the reliability of several sources in the Halloween article's History section. Input from other editors would be very helpful. Thanks. – Asarlaí ^(talk) 00:04, 29 October 2026 (UTC)