Meg Shields

Based in the Pacific North West, Meg enjoys long scrambles on cliff faces and cozying up with a good piece of 1960s eurotrash. As a senior contributor at FSR, Meg's objective is to spread the good word about the best of sleaze, genre, and practical effects.
The Simpsons Ep Couch Gag

The Sitcom Purgatory of Don Hertzfeldt’s ‘Simpsons’ Couch Gag

By Meg Shields 

There are a lot of Simpsons couch gags. But only one of them is an existential terror trip.

Welcome To The Dollhouse Dawn Table

The Hilariously Painful Pre-Teen Mirror of ‘Welcome to the Dollhouse’

By Meg Shields 

“Who told you to fight back?”

Portrait Of A Lady On Fire Script Breakdown

Script to Screen: Visualizing the Turning Point of ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’

By Meg Shields 

Getting to know you/Getting to know all about you

Spirited Away

Growing Pains: Names, Autonomy, and the Changing Self in ‘Spirited Away’

By Meg Shields 

A liminal journey through the spirit realm by any other name would smell as sweet…

Terrence Malick A Hidden Life

Chasing Butterflies: Observations on the Visual Style of Terrence Malick

By Meg Shields 

Hope y’all brought your allergy medication because we’re going to be running through some fields.

The Evil Dead Shotgun

Fake Blood and True Grit: How Sam Raimi Made 1981’s ‘The Evil Dead’

By Meg Shields 

Turns out making a splatter film in the dead of winter is a horrorshow in its own right.

Shanghai Express Deitrich Lighting

Glamor From Above: The Simple Majesty of Dietrich Lighting

By Meg Shields 

Lights, camera, Marlene Dietrich.

Basket Case

Separation Anxiety: The Anatomy of the ‘Basket Case’ Trilogy

By Meg Shields 

“What’s in the basket? Easter eggs?”

Tenet Resonances

Visual Rhymes: The Cinematic Resonances of ‘Tenet’

By Meg Shields 

Because no one is a bigger film dork than filmmakers.