My Horror Anatomy: Darren Hayman

It’s eerie that Darren Hayman would reissue his double-album, The Violence, at this point in time. Thematically, it speaks to the othering of marginalized communities, as seen through the 17th-century English Civil Wars and the East Anglian Witch Trials. In rooting it within a historical concept, Hayman demonstrates that history will always repeat itself. Originally, the set was released in 2012 and featured his 16-person ensemble, The Long Parliament. Art connects, and there’s no better time than the present.

Over the past decade, the amount of anti-trans legislation would astound you—a modern-day witch hunt. Perhaps, it’s good to reflect alongside Hayman, as he packs the reissue with tons of obscure oddities, missing, and unreleased material for the first time on digital. To promote the record, Hayman offers up his Horror Anatomy, i.e. five horror films that make up his being.

The Violence (Expanded Edition) arrives everywhere next Friday (June 12) via Belka.

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Doctor Sleep (2019)

Directed by Mike Flanagan

In a world of intellectual properties that will never ever end, this revisiting of the best ever horror movie could have been a misstep. It’s certainly very brave. Stephen King famously did not like the changes that Stanley Kubrick made to his novel The Shining when he filmed it.

Mike Flanagan has filmed several of Stephen King’s stories with his approval, and Doctor Sleep manages to be a sequel both to the novel and movie of The Shining. More than anything, though, it’s a rumination on alcoholism and what we pass on to our children.

Weapons (2025)

Directed by Zach Cregger

A spoiler ahead in this paragraph for Weapons.

There’s something about a lot of modern narratives that doesn’t want the bad guys to get their just deserts. I’m tired of the villains winning because it’s ‘dark’ or unexpected.

Weapons is a true mystery and waits a long time to tell you what type of movie it is. It’s a movie that repays a second viewing so that you can better collect the clues.

And the villain, once revealed, gets a proper pasting that allows you to sleep well afterwards.

Train to Busan (2016)

Directed by Yeon Sang-ho

Zombies on a train! Zombies. On. A. Train.

Do you like slow zombies or fast zombies? I think on balance I prefer slow zombies, but after watching 57 series of The Walking Dead, you start to realise that really the thing you have to fear is tripping, and boy do people trip up a lot when slow zombies are around.

Fast zombies on this fast train, though. Super fast zombies, super fast train.

Death Line (1972)

Directed by Gary Sherman

Kind of a zombie film, and also kind of a train film again. Workers making the London Tube Network were trapped underground and evolved into a new race who kidnap commuters whilst moaning ‘Mind the gap! Mind the gap!’

There are so many good things about this film. It has an absolutely filthy synth soundtrack, with squelchy funky bleeps and bloops.

Donald Pleasance plays a detective who is absolutely bored of the whole thing, and only in the last few minutes does he go ‘Oh, I suppose I should solve this thing then.’ Brilliant. The film was called Raw Meat in the United States.

The Omen (1976)

Directed by Richard Donner

When I was young and in the scouts, somebody said, “Oh, he looks like Damien from The Omen.” I didn’t know what this meant or what he was on about, but it hurt when they started chanting “Damien, Damien!” because I could hear the malice in their voices. So it was with some trepidation that I eventually came to watch it.

Deeply unsettling stuff, especially as I sort of imagined that I was Damien during it and that I had the power to make everyone at the scout hut get their heads chopped off.