Cullen Wade

P.S. when I told my wife that Lewis Pullman had dated both Rainey Qualley & Kaia Gerber she instantly responded, "Forget nepotism, that's a whole lotta nepojism"

S(p)lasher Flicks Pool Reviews Day 83: The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018) In theory I shouldn't like this one very much. Undistinguished concrete slabs on the deck & cheap aluminum coping are things I've complained about with other pools. But motel pools (a category that broadly includes RV parks) play by different rules. Nostalgia value matters, & the way the neon trees play off the stone wall gives this a lot of character.

Another movie I was lukewarm on at first, but gets better every time I watch it. Great pool, great song choice, & the scene they appear in is destined for canonical status--if it's not already there.
#thestrangerspreyatnight #poolreviews #splasherflicks #horrorsky #filmsky #booksky

I no longer think del Toro’s At the Mountains of Madness would have much of a shot at being good, but I still think it’s a crime we never got a 3rd Hellboy movie from him.

To the question, I’d love to see what Julia Ducournau could do with Tiptree’s “The Girl Who Was Plugged In”

A flyer for “Chlorine & Kudzu: Southern Gothic meets Swimming Pool Scares” a book event on 3/19 in Charlottesville, VA with authors Cullen Wade and Elizabeth Broadbent.

I don’t think I have many Virginia ppl on here, but yall can see me & @elizabethbroadbent.bsky.social cuttin up at 2nd Act Books in Charlottesville on 3/19. It’s a @nighttidemag.bsky.social super teamup!
#horrorbooks #instore #horrorwriters

Don't know why but I somehow skipped #81 yesterday, which is extra tragic because this is one of my favorite pools.
#poolreviews #splasherflicks #horrorsky #booksky #filmsky #alltheboyslovemandylane #keepyouramberslandertoyourself

S(p)lasher Flicks Pool Reviews Day 82: The Woman (2011) Impossible to say much because we don't get a good look at it, but--I know I'm always talking about safety & making sure kids don't fall in, but for a backyard pool this fence seems excessive.

I mean who would want to make their pool feel like jail?
#poolreviews #splasherflicks #horrorsky #filmsky #booksky #thewoman

S(p)lasher Flicks Pool Reviews Day 80: The Velvet Vampire (1971) We never get a wide shot of the pool so it's hard to get a good read, but from what I can tell, this is as responsible as a pool in the desert can be. Xeriscaping, making use of rocks & vegetation with minimal water needs. Revenge & Death Valley, I hope you're taking notes.

Pool season is coming, scary swim team. Keep the faith.
#poolreviews #splasherflicks #horrorsky #booksky #filmsky #velvetvampire

Great film! You’re right that it seems kinda forgotten about now. I didn’t realize it was already 5 years old.
I remember getting hung up on the fact that it had the same ending as Saint Maud from that year, but of course that’s neither film’s fault.

Cullen Wade Joins Us For A Dip Into The World Of “S(P)LASHER FLICKS” (INTERVIEW) — Macabre Daily Brian Finnerty speaks with Cullen Wade, author of "S(p)lasher Flicks: The Pool In Horror Cinema" (2025).

Did a fun interview with @scaredsane.bsky.social over at @macabredaily.bsky.social. Lots of good words about #splasherflicks & an interesting chat!

www.macabredaily.com/articles/cul...

S(p)lasher Flicks Pool Reviews Day 79: Infinity Pool (2023) The film's title is a misnomer, since there are at least 2 infinity pools at this Li Tolqa resort. One is an undistinguished rectangle, the other is this compellingly midcentury space-age job with lilypads for lounging. I know which one I'd spend my time in.

Where does Li Tolqa fall on your ranking of horror movie vacation destinations on a scale of "Nope" to "Absolutely fucking not"?
#horrorsky #filmsky #booksky #poolreviews #splasherflicks #infinitypool

Aaaahahahaha me af

S(p)lasher Flicks Pool Reviews Day 78: Assassination Nation (2018) A modest backyard pool, just big enough to frolic around in with a few friends & to allow for some depth variation. I can't help but think the deck could use some adornment. Tile work is kind of boring too, but on the plus side, when empty this would be a very fun pool to skate in, if you're into that.

Sorry I couldn't get a clear screengrab of the illogical but iconic scene where her majesty Hari Nef nailguns a proud boy to death underwater.
#assassinationnation #filmsky #horrorsky #booksky #poolreviews #splasherflicks

S(p)lasher Flicks Pool Reviews Day 77: Confessions (2010) Even without the puke-green water, leafy surface, & dead body, this pool would still be gross. The naked cement deck & stamped skimmer plates in utilitarian coping make this look more like an industrial reservoir than anything meant for humans.

Hey you look like you might be interested in a physical version of these pool reviews (all 104 of them), plus a bonus essay that will only ever appear in zine form. Plus you get it free if you purchase my book directly from me? Dang.
#poolreviews #splasherflicks #confessions #horrorsky #booksky

(also it's weird how 3/5ths of the supporting actress nominees that year were named Anne or Ann)

Not even hyperbole when I say Louise Lasser should have gotten Oscar consideration.

S(p)lasher Flicks Pool Reviews Day 76: Blood Rage (1987) I'm not even going to harp on the raised lip around the perimeter, because this has a major aesthetic problem. Grey coping, grey deck, grey & featureless beige walls. Even the tank is painted a pastel blue that approaches grey. Get some color in there, people!

That's not cranberry sauce! Nor is it a very good pool.
#bloodrage #horrorsky #filmsky #booksky #splasherflicks #poolreviews

Good morning east coast

Yo venture capital class, I heard you like AI, gambling, absurd masculinity, unprofitable business ideas, & eugenics, so I made an app where you show a robot a photo of a random cumstain & gamble on whether it can correctly identify the race of the person it comes from. That will be $3 billion plz.

Pool Reviews Zine - Cullen Wade's Ko-fi Shop Every swimming pool from every movie I wrote about in S(p)lasher Flicks, reviewed on their merits as pools. Full-color, 108 pages with a cardstock cov...

ko-fi.com/s/149fba6801

Support Cullen Wade Support Cullen Wade

Doing some indie writer shit, check out my brand new Ko-Fi! Pool review zines now available in the shop. Let me know what you'd like to see in exchange for ongoing support!
ko-fi.com/cullenwade

S(p)lasher Flicks Pool Reviews Day 75: Carrie (2013) Water volleyball is not a bad choice for a high school gym class activity, but the coach should have provided an alternate opt-out assignment. Also not sure why there appear to be no ladders or steps.

What's up horror hipsters, time for another reminder that disliking a perfectly fine remake does not, in & of itself, make you cool.
#splasherflicks #carrie #horrorsky #booksky #filmsky #poolreviews

S(p)lasher Flicks Pool Reviews Day 74: Death Valley (1982) Consistent with its locale as a hotel pool in the middle of the desert, this has the look of an oasis, with the irregular paving stones & the lush vegetation. Ecologically, though, unless it's built atop an actual oasis, some kind of xeriscaping would be more appropriate.

Good evening scary swim team, here's one of the best pool movies that doesn't get talked about as a pool movie due to the misfortune of there being almost no pool scenes in it.
#deathvalley #horrorsky #filmsky #booksky #poolreviews #splasherflicks

Congratulations to our talented editor and fearless leader @momoshaty.bsky.social for her Bram Stoker nomination in short nonfiction from the staff of @nighttidemag.bsky.social!

Love, Eliza, @cullenwade.bsky.social, @rjacksonjoseph.bsky.social, @emmacole.bsky.social, @sharai.bsky.social …

S(p)lasher Flicks Pool Reviews Day 73: A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989) I hate to be a broken record here, but a facility like this needs natural light, especially if you're gonna surround it with dark red brick walls. A space this big has no business feeling this cramped.

It's the last time we'll be talking about ANOES, & even though I stand by what I said in the review, it's a pretty good pool.
#anoes #horrorsky #filmsky #booksky #splasherflicks #poolreviews

S(p)lasher Flicks Pool Reviews Day 72: Asmodexia (2014) I'm puzzled as to what this dilapidated place used to be. The bleachers around the pool & what appear to be diving platforms suggest that it's a sporting facility, but the adjacent structures look like a large hotel. The pool also seems to slope down to its maximum depth at the diving area & then slope back up again, like a much larger version of a modern sports pool. Very odd.

I'm sure someone who knows #Barcelona better can furnish info about this pool. It broadly resembles the Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc where the 1992 Olympics were held, but that one never fell into disrepair. Barcelonins, què dieu?
#poolreviews #asmodexia #horrorsky #booksky #splasherflicks #filmsky

Most underappreciated:
2020: Underwater
2021: Come True
2022: Don’t Worry Darling
2023: Sick
2024: Apartment 7A
2025: Hallow Road

Straight up faves:
2020: Spontaneous
2021: Midnight Mass (tv sorry not sorry)
2022: Crimes of the Future
2023: Thanksgiving
2024: I Saw the TV Glow
2025: Bring Her Back

The reification happening in the reporting about measles outbreaks is inexcusable.

Measles didn’t sneak back in. It was invited back in, & the people who opened the door have names & addresses.

S(p)lasher Flicks Pool Reviews Day 71: Diabolique (1996) Given its proximity to well-trafficked foot paths & the back door of the main building--& the fact that it's you know, a school--there should really be a fence around this pool.

When is a good remake not a good remake? When it's a GREAT remake.
#iswis #horrorsky #filmsky #booksky #poolreviews #splasherflicks #diabolique

S(p)lasher Flicks Pool Reviews Day 70: Gremlins (1984) I'm going to give this YMCA the benefit of the doubt & assume there are windows (probably a skylight) that we just don't see in the scene's framing, because the idea of a YMCA pool with no natural light is absurd. Also, the red stripes on white walls make it look weirdly medical.

I don't normally break character to talk about extra-diegetic things but this is actually an exterior! Dante's crew built a two-sided set around an outdoor pool & the whole thing was open to the air. How cool is that??
#horrorsky #filmsky #booksky #splasherflicks #poolreviews #gremlins