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Ghouls on Film Zine


Ghouls on Film is a Belfast-based feminist horror zine ‘for scream queens of all genders’, the contents of which aim to investigate the world of horror from a feminist perspective, ‘exploring how women can find agency in a genre that is traditionally male-dominated.’ Editor Isabella Koban, the founder and programmer of the local film society the zine takes its name from, organises screenings and events in the Black Box (an arts and performance space in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter). These events typically showcase underrepresented voices within the horror genre, both onscreen and from behind the camera, and contributors to the zine are largely comprised of women and non-binary folk. The first issue features an in-depth essay on the classic Stephen King adaptation Carrie (1976), a think-piece on horror networking events, book recommendations from Victoria Brown - founder of the Readers in the Rue Morgue horror book club - and an interview with Belfast drag artist King Phisher.

Inspired by the Ghouls on Film society’s Autumn 2022 programme, issue two (my favourite of the bunch so far) is built around the theme of 'Hysteria and Lunacy.' Within its pages lurk pieces on Alice Sweet Alice (1976), Gaslight (1940) and Emma Tammi’s creepy prairie horror The Wind (2018). There’s also an interview with Irish film composer Die Hexen - who is emerging as the official ‘sound’ of Irish horror cinema having scored the likes of Fréwaka (2024), You Are Not My Mother (2021) and Double Blind (2023) - and an in-depth piece on Kier-La Janisse’s fantastic tome House of Psychotic Women, an autobiographical exploration of female neurosis in horror and exploitation films. There are also collages by Ann Upton, and a short comic by Kit Rees exploring various horror tropes through a transgender lens.


Issue three is structured around the Autumn 2023 Programme, ‘Hell is a teenage girl’, and includes pieces on Karyn Kusama’s cult horror Jennifer’s Body (2009), I Was a Teenage Serial Killer (1993), Indian period horror Bulbbul (2020), and an essay on coming-of-age cannibalism in Raw (2016) and Bones and All (2022). There’s also an interview with Irish director Kate Dolan (the chilling You Are Not My Mother) and a photography feature by Kathryn Webb, 'The Final Ghouls of Rainbow High', which reimagines various horror classics through a Queer lens. 

Ghouls on Film provides a vital space for underrepresented voices in horror, and looks to be the heart of a small but thriving community in Belfast. While beautifully designed and professionally printed, each issue still retains the passionate, punky, DIY spirit of homemade fanzines - self-published, low-budget, expressive magazines created by fans of particular subjects, and circulated within niche fan cultures. To keep up to date with Ghouls on Film events and screenings, check out their website, where you can also pick up copies of their zine. Support independent publishing! 
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