I grew up in Leeds and now live in Bradford. I spend my days writing books and making video essays about feminism, horror and film history. When I’m not doing that, I’m developing film, stroking cats, and failing to source cheap 16mm motion picture stock.
I’m also Professor of Film at the University of Leeds, UK, where I teach screenwriting. I’ve worked as a script reader, editor and writer, and trained with BBC WritersRoom, Penguin Random House and the Royal Court Theatre.
My writing and filmmaking have won numerous awards around the world, and I’ve been interviewed about my research by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Guardian and BBC Radio 4.
These are some of my favourite films. They are not all horror. But, you know, mostly:
Vampyr (1932), Island of Lost Souls (1932), Cat People (1942), The Seventh Victim (1943), Brief Encounter (1945), Leave Her to Heaven (1945), The Spiral Staircase (1946), Secret Beyond the Door (1947), Rope (1948), Les Diaboliques (1955), Night of the Hunter (1955), Night of the Demon (1957), Bōrei kaibyō yashiki / Mansion of the Ghost Cat (1958), Vertigo (1958), Some Like it Hot (1959), Les yeux sans visage / Eyes Without a Face (1960), The Apartment (1960), Carnival of Souls (1962), Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), Salinma / A Devilish Homicide (1965), Don't Look Now (1973), Grey Gardens (1975), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Gremlins (1984), Labyrinth (1986), The Lost Boys (1987), Withnail & I (1987), The Thin Blue Line (1988), Paris is Burning (1990), Total Recall (1990) and Bound (1996).