Meg Shields

Meg Shields is the humble farm boy of your dreams and a senior contributor at Film School Rejects. She currently runs three columns at FSR: The Queue, How'd They Do That?, and Horrorscope. She is also a curator for One Perfect Shot and a freelance writer for hire. Meg can be found screaming about John Boorman's 'Excalibur' on Twitter here: @TheWorstNun. (She/Her).
Hardware Metal Head

Alan Moore on the Call to Action of “Modernist Horror”

By Meg Shields 

Here’s writer Alan Moore with a definition of “Modernist Horror” and a compelling case for why genre film can be a call to action.

Donnie Yen Fight Scene

The Secret to a Great Fight Scene Is Structure

By Meg Shields 

Here’s a video essay on why the best action sequences are structured like stories rather than spectacles.

X Men First Class - Young group

The Most X-Cellent Scene in ‘X-Men: First Class’

By Meg Shields 

There’s a team of video essayists dissecting their favorite scenes from the X-Men films. Here’s one of our favorites: a video on why the attack on Division X scene from ‘X-Men: First Class’ exemplifies the “warm house” archetype.

To Live And Die In LA car chase William Peterson

How They Shot the Wrong-Way Car Chase in ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’

By Meg Shields 

We’re going this way. And by “this way” we mean straight towards the latest entry of “How’d They Do That?” with a break down of the audacious wrong-way car chase.

The House That Jack Built Matt Bruno

The Divine Comedy of ‘The House That Jack Built’

By Meg Shields 

What we’re watching: a video essay explaining why Lars von Trier’s film is one of the funniest of 2018.

Anna Karina Nana

A Tribute to Anna Sten, Anna Karina, and the Doomed Rebel of ‘Nana’

By Meg Shields 

Here’s a tribute to the various iterations of ‘Nana,’ and the two Anna’s who played her best.

The Graduate Rack Focus

The Delicate Art of the Focus Pull

By Meg Shields 

Focus up, with this video essay on the storytelling potential of the rack focus shot.

The Shining Maze

How Stanley Kubrick Hypnotizes You

By Meg Shields 

Here’s a video essay on why watching a Stanley Kubrick film can be a trance-like experience.

Avatar The Desert

‘Avatar: the Last Airbender’ Shows Us What Can Be Done With a Bottle Episode

By Meg Shields 

Here’s a video essay on why two episodes of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ are shining examples of a show using the bottle episode to its advantage.