Films mentioned in The Shoemakers Magician

Currently Watching

My living list of things i'm watching/reviewing.

Movie Inspiration for Final Girls Film

These are the films that are important for the characters and aesthetics of the short film Final Girls. 

Insidious Mood Study: Haunted Houses

This collection grew out of research I did while preparing for my role as Director of Photography on Absolution, a short film influenced by the eerie textures of Insidious. Below are some of the sources I read, listened to, and observed during prep, interviews, film references, and photographic work that capture the same sense of domestic dread and ghostly stillness.

The Things They Sold Us

Before I knew what I believed, I was still on AOL discovering music, burning mix CDs and sometimes cassette tapes, watching movies that made the world feel bigger, and talking late into the night with friends who seemed to know more than me. One of those friends told me about The Boy Who Cried Iraq. I tracked it down, printed it out, and folded it into my backpack like it was something precious. I read that paper over and over. I read it at lunch, between classes, whenever the teacher paused long enough. It felt raw, unfiltered, and maybe even a little dangerous. But it said things I hadn’t heard anywhere else. Around the same time, I found Rock Against Bush and realized that music could challenge power just as sharply. Then came The Fog of War, and suddenly documentaries weren’t just something you watched in school they were something you felt. This collection pulls together the essays, songs, and films that cracked something open in me. Some are angry. Some are careful. Some you can’t even find anymore. But they all helped me realize I didn’t have to accept the version of the world I was being handed. So why am I sharing it now? I don’t know... maybe because it feels relevant again. Maybe because it matters. And this is our space now. So I wanted to share.

Benjamin, Adorno, Horkheimer, And A Path Backward Through Hegel

I've been reading Benjamin, Adorno, and Horkheimer, and the more I do the more I realize how much of what they're saying comes from conversations with the thinkers before them. It feels like walking into a room where everyone’s already mid conversation. This deep dive is my way of tracing those voices backward. I want to understand where ideas come from, how they evolve across time, and what they say about art, memory, and what it means to create something that feels alive.

My 2025 October watchlist

The Two Magics

Harris Savides

A running notebook on Harris Savides, sparked by one more Zodiac rewatch. Collected interviews and behind-the-scenes mini-docs. Share any missing gems.

The Internet used to be a place

where the map ends

A collection of haunted thoughts, strange essays, and eerie little things i can’t stop thinking about. Some of it’s beautiful. some of it’s unsettling. all of it feels like home.

Some of my favorite magic growing up