By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 21 seconds ago

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is filled with colorful supervillains, but no matter how strong these foes are, our heroes always come out on top. The same can’t be said for the MCU as a whole, though. After the blockbuster success of Avengers: Endgame, Disney+ introduced a firehose of content in the form of one new show after another. This ushered in the one villain the MCU itself could never defeat: superhero fatigue. Revenues went down, some ventures lost money, and fans and execs alike were left asking the same question: Is Marvel ever going to be as popular as it once was?

Last year, there was a glimmer of hope. Daredevil: Born Again brought the fan-favorite Netflix hero back for brand new adventures where he once again clashed with the Kingpin. Hopes rallied around this new show, and Marvel Studios decided to use its second season as a launchpad to bring other beloved characters (like Jessica Jones) back into the fold. Sadly, the comeback has already failed: despite all the hype and all the hope, viewership for Daredevil: Born Again has dropped by more than 50 percent.

It’s Over, Fam

This news comes to us from ComicBook.com. They trawled through Luminate data and discovered some sobering numbers. In its first five weeks, Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 had “4,515,000 season views, 10,867,000 hours watched, and 652,000,000 minutes watched.” That may sound good on paper, but as it turns out, Season 1 had “8,357,000 season views, 24,000,000 hours watched, and 1,440,004,000 minutes watched.”  That means that the second season of this hit show had 46 percent fewer total viewers and a decline of more than 54 percent in total hours watched.

The pattern is very consistent, with every episode of Season 2 getting about half of the fan engagement as each corresponding Season 1 episode. That leads to the obvious question: why the sudden drop? Based on other metrics, it doesn’t seem like this is a reaction to fans hating Season 1. That premiere season of Daredevil: Born Again has an 87 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes; meanwhile, Season 2 has (so far) an 88 percent critical score. Interestingly, the audience score for Season 1 was 78 percent, but the audience score for Season 2 is, as of this writing, 87 percent. 

Daredevil No More?

It’s normal for shows (especially hit shows) to lose some viewers from season to season as more casual fans find newer, shinier shows to glom onto. However, losing over half your audience from season to season is downright catastrophic, and it seems like a seriously bad sign for Daredevil: Born Again. As ComicBook.com points out, the second season failed to break the Nielsen Top 10 for streaming, which is something that both Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law managed to do. If Marvel’s hit new show can’t draw as many viewers as its most controversial ones, the MCU is in serious trouble!

For better or for worse, though, the show will go on. Production has already begun on Daredevil: Born Again Season 3, which will reunite the Defenders from the Netflix-era of Marvel. Meanwhile, Defender and Born Again guest star Krysten Ritter is (according to Marvel Television head Brad Winderbaum) likely going to headline a new project very soon. These future projects may very well get a boost from Avengers: Doomsday, the ambitious blockbuster that is premiering later this year. That movie is Marvel’s biggest, most expensive effort at combating superhero fatigue, and the plan to reignite the fandom is so crazy it just might work.

If it doesn’t work, though? The failure of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 will be seen as the canary in the coal mine for the death of the most ambitious cinematic universe ever created.

General Hospital two week spoilers expect Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna) to be losing his mind and raging. Plus, Ava Jerome (Maura West) sees somebody she loves threatened and she boils over. Weve got your spoilers for the two weeks of May 4th through the 15th. Let’s dive right in.

General Hospital Spoilers Monday, May 4th: Carly & Brennan Showdown

On Monday, May 4th, carrying over from Friday’s episode, we have an irate Brennan in Carly Spencer‘s (Laura Wright) bedroom after he burst in without knocking. And there she is, clearly rumpled from doing the deed. Plus, there’s men’s clothing laying there. And Brennan yells at Carly to get dressed, and she slips on a robe, but is pushing back on his attitude.

Regardless that Jack just caught her cheating, Carly of course thinks that he is more in the wrong because he’s been lying to her face. He turned her daughter Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) into a killer, risked her life with the whole Cyrus Renault (Jeff Kober) thing and then recruited her into the WSB, but I’m curious to see how much of that she reveals.

So, Carly is annoyed as well and she feels justified lashing out and she’s going to tell him it is Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart) who has been in her bed. In a recent interview, Laura Wright says Carly doesn’t hold back and Chris McKenna said that Brennan is raging, heartbroken, and humiliated.

So, he tells Carly there will be consequences for betraying him like this. But, I’m not sure if Jack exactly knows who he’s talking to. And Valentin joins the conversation and things are going to get really nasty from there. Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) is the real enemy, but I think emotions are running too high to have that conversation.

GH Spoilers: Brennan & Carly Split – Valentin at Risk

So, looks like Brennan and Carly are over and done on Monday. And I do wonder if Jack is going to try and arrest Valentin. I don’t think Carly will let that happen. She will thwart him if she can. I wonder if Jack will actually drag Carly in for harboring Valentin. I’m thinking no. Plus, Emma Scorpio-Drake (Brayden Bruner) and Gio Palmieri (Giovanni Mazza) introduce Michael James Scott to Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) and Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) at the Savoy.

And Gio is telling their Broadway star friend that Trina is a talented singer. And Michael Scott encourages Trina to pursue it. Curtis says it’s going to be a great night and he introduces Michael James Scott to the crowd at the Savoy, welcomes him to the stage and he’s going to perform Friend Like Me from Aladdin on Broadway. And I do hope we get to hear the whole song. That would be exciting.

GH Spoilers: Cassius gets Aggro with Joss

Josslyn is in danger. So, at her apartment, Cassius Faison (Ryan Paevey) is getting aggressive, getting a little hands-on. He grabs Joss’s arm and snarls that he can’t let her go. And I think at this point she may have an inkling that that is not Nathan because Joss brought up that pivotal memory about him and Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms) that Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros) told her about and Cassius didn’t respond the way he should have.

Plus something touches Brook Lynn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton) and this may be about Gio because they had a really good talk at the Savoy. Also, Lucas Jones (Van Hansis) is irritated when Pascal (Mark Forget) gets in his face. That’s out at Wyndemere. He’s telling Lucas he shouldn’t be there. And Jenz Sidwell (Carlo Rota) and Ava walk in while Pascal’s being nasty to her nephew. And Ava asks, “What is going on here?” Pascal is so jealous that Marco fell for Lucas. And we could see Ava demanding that Sidwell get rid of Pascal because he threatened Lucas. And I doubt Sidwell is going to like Pascal’s attitude either.

Tuesday, May 5th on General Hospital

Then on Tuesday, May 5th, we’ve got Chase (Josh Swickard) and BLQ talking about their future. This may be about BLQ wanting to adopt Phoebe, and she should tell Chase she’s already spoken with Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn) to get the ball rolling, and I wonder if Chase will agree. Ethan Lovett (Nathan Dean Parsons) gives Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) some new information, hopefully something on Sidwell. Next week in his office, Sonny looks very thoughtful and Nathan looks concerned as they have a serious talk.

Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) is tested on Tuesday. We’ll find out by whom. And Curtis has something to tell Jordan Ashford (Tanisha Harper). So, I think Curtis may tell her he suspects that Isaiah Gannon (Sawandi Wilson) caused the car crash. Even though we all know Jordan and Curtis caused their car crash. So, Curtis may tell Jordan that he’s already told DA Justine Turner (Nazneen Contractor) and that Laura Spencer (Genie Francis) advised him to drop this.

Jordan seems really vengeful and petty over this wreck that she herself caused. So, I don’t think she’s going to drop it. Plus, she’s already got animosity towards Isaiah. Also, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) has a request for Laura. It may involve her boys, or maybe Liz wants to tell Laura about Drew Cain (Cameron Mathison) and ask if she can convince Willow Corinthos (Katelyn MacMullen) to be open to this.

GH Spoilers Wednesday, May 6th: Laura Takes Action

Wednesday, May 6th, we’ve got Laura making a move to protect someone she cares about. Could be Rocco Falconeri (Finn Carr), could be Lulu Spencer (Alexa Havins Bruening). We’ll see. Plus, Ethan has to cover his tracks on Wednesday. This could be something about Sidwell or it could be about something dodgy that Ethan was up to before he came to Port Charles because we have heard that there’s things he is hiding. Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna) tracks down Elizabeth and Sonny has to deal with a dilemma on Wednesday. Plus, Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) is stunned. This may be about Cassius telling her he got aggressive with Josslyn or it could be something to do with her work on Faison’s final project.

General Hospital Spoilers Thursday, May 7th: Willow Gets Cocky

Thursday, May 7th, we’ve got Willow thinking that her plan is foolproof. And this is probably about Michael Corinthos (Rory Gibson) losing the kids, or it could be about keeping Drew locked in while making sure he cannot rat her out. So, she does have to deal with the Liz issue.

Carly gets upsetting info. Could be about Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) or about Jack going after Valentin. Trina makes a deal with Gio. And I think this involves them performing together at Charlies again. And Molly Lansing Davis (Kristin Vaganos) is suspicious. This could involve Cody Bell (Josh Kelly), but maybe about her dad, Ric, because he’s up to something more often than not.

Plus, Valentin goes to see Nina. And we could have Valentin giving Nina a heads up that Jack knows he is in Port Charles so that he can’t keep pressuring Nina. I do wonder if Valentin will tell Nina that he has been hiding out with Carly this whole time.

Friday, May 8th on GH

Friday, May 8th, we’ve got Dante in shock. And I’m hoping this is when he finds out Rocco is the one who shot Cullum. Dante may also find out that Lulu and not Nathan have been keeping it from him and Dante is going to be furious. Sonny takes extreme measures on Friday and it may be about this Sidwell problem. I wonder if he will give Ethan the green light to go ahead and kill the bad guy. Although I don’t think he’s going to die anytime soon, but he might tell him go ahead and give it a shot.

Carly announces something and I wonder if it’s that she wants to be with Valentin and is going to, you know, work to clear his name so they can be together or she could let Jack know that she knows he recruited Josslyn and she wants him to pay for that. Lucas gets support from Felicia Scorpio (Kristuna Wagner) and Cassius is back to pressuring Lulu. So, he may be back to harping on Lulu sending Rocco away, but she’s not going to do that, and Lulu may tap the brakes if Cassius pushes her too far on General Hospital.

General Hospital Spoilers Week of May 11th-15th

The next week, May 11th through the 15th, we’ve got Dante still reeling from the shocking thing that he found out. Plus, Lulu is pushing back on Cassius. And if Lulu pushes too much, we could see Cassius’s inner Faison side come out. He may look like Nathan, but he is not. He is much worse.

Carly deals with fallout from Brennan, who probably wants to crush Valentin more than ever, but I don’t think Carly’s going to make it easy on him. Josslyn’s going to be even more riled up after not-Nathan got so aggro with her. Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) is going to be back on screen pretty soon, maybe by the end of May sweeps.

Rick soon surprises Elizabeth with a big night of romance. I’m wondering if they finally make love. Brook Lynn and Chase make a decision about Phoebe and Portia and Isaiah enjoy some romance, but trouble is ahead thanks to Curtis and Gio is there to support Emma as her fears about Anna intensify.

The Met Gala 2026 may be fashion’s biggest night, but not every look is landing with fans, especially when it comes to some of the event’s most high-profile names. Co-chair Nicole Kidman, along with Lauren Sánchez, is facing criticism online as viewers weigh in on their red carpet appearances.

With this year’s dress code, “Fashion Is Art,” encouraging bold, creative interpretations, expectations were sky-high, especially for those leading the event. But not everyone was impressed.

Social media quickly lit up with criticism, with one user writing, “Horrible for co-chairs to be non-theme,” while another added, “Incredibly disappointed in Nicole.” The comments add to the growing frustration from fans who expect co-chairs to set the tone for the night, not miss the mark.

Nicole Kidman Brings Old Hollywood Glam While Lauren Sánchez Channels Iconic ‘Madame X’

Nicole Kidman leaned into timeless elegance for the Met Gala 2026, stepping out in a striking deep red gown. Styled by Jason Bolden, the look featured a drop-waisted silhouette covered in shimmering sequins, complete with feathered trim that added to the look. The rich red hue served as an ode to both romance and New York City itself, making a bold statement on the carpet.

Meanwhile, Lauren Sánchez leaned into art history for her Met Gala 2026 appearance, wearing a gown inspired by one of the most famous paintings housed inside the museum itself. Her look referenced Madame X, the striking 1883 portrait by John Singer Sargent that famously stirred controversy in its time.

The original painting depicted French socialite Madame Pierre Gautreau in a sleek black gown, with one strap slipping off her shoulder, a detail that caused such backlash that Sargent later repainted the strap into place. The scandal surrounding the portrait was so intense that the artist reportedly hid the work for decades before eventually selling it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Lauren Sánchez’s Met Gala Role Under Fire As Bezos Ties Fuel Ongoing Controversy

Much of the conversation is also tied to Lauren Sánchez’s involvement in the event overall. As an honorary co-chair alongside Jeff Bezos, Sánchez has already been at the center of controversy leading up to the Met Gala, with critics questioning the couple’s influence over one of fashion’s most prestigious fundraisers. That scrutiny has only intensified now that the red carpet looks are being dissected in real time.

Protests Escalate As Bezos Involvement Sparks ‘Pee Bottle’ Stunt In NYC

The controversy surrounding Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s involvement in the Met Gala 2026 isn’t just playing out online; it’s now spilling into the streets of New York City.

According to reports, activists with the group Everyone Hates Elon staged a headline-grabbing protest by leaving approximately 300 bottles of fake urine around the Metropolitan Museum of Art in an effort to call attention to Bezos’ role as an honorary co-chair.

The stunt is part of a broader anti-Bezos campaign that has been gaining traction across the city, with “boycott the Bezos Met Gala” messaging appearing on posters, signage, and even projected onto buildings.

Advertisement

Bezos And Sánchez Take Center Stage As Sponsors And Honorary Chairs

This year, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez aren’t just attending the Met Gala 2026; they’re helping shape it. The couple is serving as both the event’s primary sponsors and honorary co-chairs, marking a major role in one of fashion’s most exclusive nights. This isn’t Bezos’ first connection to the gala, either. He previously served as an honorary chair in 2012, when Amazon was also involved as a sponsor.

Since tying the knot in Italy last year, the pair has become increasingly visible in fashion circles, with Sánchez in particular embracing the industry. In addition to her growing fashion presence, she also serves as vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund.

While a spokesperson for the couple declined to comment on the recent protests, Anna Wintour has previously praised Sánchez’s passion for fashion. “We’re very grateful for her incredible generosity, so we’re thrilled she’s part of the night,” Wintour said, also calling her a “great lover of costume and obviously of fashion.”

As the night unfolds, their prominent role continues to spark both admiration and controversy, putting them firmly at the center of the Met Gala conversation.

Advertisement

Every genre includes some level of artistic wiggle room, but the horror realm has proven itself an especially potent playground for creative innovation. Every time a scenario (demonic possession), gimmick (jump scares), or sub-genre (horror-comedy) seems played out beyond saving, filmmakers with fresh perspectives raise the bar again.

It goes without saying that such modern triumphs wouldn’t thrive without their expectation-breaking predecessors. Spooky tales don’t need to be from the 21st century to burrow into our psyches. They just require skill, empathy, a little daring, and dissecting fundamental lived experiences with microscopic precision. Like wine that’s ripened with time, these 10 classic horror masterpieces haven’t aged a day.

10

‘The Curse of Frankenstein’ (1957)

Image via Hammer Film Productions

Hammer Films’ breakout hit ensured their legacy as a titan of the macabre. The Curse of Frankenstein establishes the studio’s template and why its particular pleasures endure: saturated color palettes to relish, set design as elaborate as the gushing blood, and a beguiling, detail-oriented pacing that reflects Baron Victor Frankenstein’s (Peter Cushing) obsessive perfectionism and amoral ambition. There isn’t an ounce of satirical camp; director Terence Fisher plays The Curse of Frankenstein as severe as a nocked arrow.

Even though screenwriter Jimmy Sangster reinvents the plot mechanics of Mary Shelley‘s genre-defining novel, her ethical interrogations remain intact. Even turning her controversial protagonist into an irredeemable villain is a fair interpretation. Cushing inhabits blood-curdling cruelty with a virtuoso touch, ranging from scientific dispassion to a scornful, aristocratic narcissist who disposes of women like lab rats. Conversely, the Creature (Christopher Lee) receives little material besides silently meandering. However, his tragedy as another tormented victim shines through Lee’s heartbreaking eyes and puppet-like physicality.

9

‘Cat People’ (1942)

Image via RKO Pictures 

Despite her best intentions, fashion designer Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon) falls head over heels for American architect Oliver Reed (Kent Smith). She resists consummating their marriage in order to protect her new husband; according to Serbian folklore, indulging her desires will unlock a curse that transforms Irena into a deadly panther. Incredulous and impatient, Oliver develops an attraction to his intrepid assistant, Alice Moore (Jane Randolph) — and Irena, in her betrayed jealousy, unsheathes her claws.

Pioneering horror director Jacques Tourneur delivers a lean, mean psychosexual thriller cloaked in metaphors. Cat People seethes with internal contradictions, social othering, implied queerness, and how men fear, despise, and seek to control female sexuality. Ancient mythology casts poor Irena — already traumatized into self-loathing — as both the deadly femme fatale and the imploring virginal heroine. No one answers her distress with compassionate patience, either. Oliver denies her spousal support, while lustful psychiatrist Louis Judd (Tom Conway) schemes to claim Irena. Cat People‘s dusky black-and-white tones and avant-garde editing produces hair-raising suspense and what might be the world’s first jump scare.

8

‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’ (1920)

Image via Decla-Film

Director Robert Wiene‘s team fashioned the definitive German Expressionist film and a groundbreaking piece of entertainment history. Hypnotist Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss) keeps the sleepwalker Cesare (Conrad Veidt) trapped within his iron-clad command. The doctor passes himself off as a traveling carnival’s ringmaster, displaying Cesare’s somnambulant form as an unnatural wonder of the world. Once night falls, Cesare becomes Caligari’s personal assassin and terrorizes the quiet town of Holstenwall.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari deserves its substantial aesthetic reputation. The asymmetrical compositions, courtesy of cinematographer Willy Hameister, and the phantasmagorical production design — nothing exists in this physics-defying world except harsh lines and jagged edges — represent claustrophobic confinement. Wiene and Hameister also milk the stationary camera’s potential, letting character blocking and long shots breed urgent anxiety. Released two years after World War I, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari‘s living nightmare doubles as an allegory about serving the whims of a power-abusing tyrant.

7

‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968)

Image via Continental Distributing

The father of zombie horror as we know it, George Romero‘s indie project Night of the Living Dead defined the sub-genre’s conventions. As an undead plague decimates the world with ghastly speed, a group of survivors huddles inside a Pittsburgh farmhouse. Romero opens with the blonde, imperiled Barbra (Judith O’Dea), yet it’s Ben (Duane Jones), a Black man characterized with extensive depth, who’s Night of the Living Dead‘s unequivocal hero and moral compass. To no one’s surprise, the other humans’ animosity, selfishness, cowardice, and masculine posturing clash against Ben’s voice of reason.

Limitations often foster resourceful flair, and Romero’s low-budget, pseudo-documentary method lends his first Dead entry its lasting edge. The flesh-consumers’ slow creep hasn’t lost its ominous sting; their unceasing pursuit is a nerve-shredding countdown to carnage. Romero’s sickening ending, widely interpreted as a scathing condemnation of racism and authoritarian violence, popularizes yet another motif — prejudiced humans with free will are more depraved than soulless husks. Night of the Living Dead is ahead of its time and still timeless.

6

‘The Haunting’ (1963)

Image via MGM

The Haunting adapts Shirley Jackson‘s The Haunting of Hill House into a perennial ghost-house epic. Paranormal researcher John Markway (Richard Johnson) leads an investigation into a Massachusetts property marked by multiple violent tragedies. He invites three strangers along for the ride, including Eleanor Lance (Julie Harris), an anxious and isolated woman with a rebellious streak. Her counterbalance, the self-assured clairvoyant Theodora (Claire Bloom) — as overt and multifaceted a lesbian character as possible for 1963 — notices the mansion’s disquieting ambiance. Nevertheless, Hill House’s mystique both enthralls and repulses Eleanor’s private demons.

All The Haunting needs to send chills zipping down one’s spine is sinister Gothic architecture, canted angles, creaking floors, and indelible dialogue. Implications, the unseen, and the actors selling supreme terror and mental deterioration drive the ferocious atmosphere. Director Robert Wise neither confirms nor denies the house’s malicious sentience; Eleanor could be hallucinating the supernatural happenings. Either way, The Haunting drips with a pervasive sense of being hunted — and Christie’s tremulous agitation turns Eleanor into a living haunting.

5

‘Eyes Without a Face’ (1960)

Image via Lux Compagnie Cinématographique de France.

Legend has it that Georges Franju described Eyes Without a Face as “an anguish” fable. Indeed, the French director’s magnum opus follows a daughter’s conflicted grief and a single-minded father who abandons all moral principles. Plastic surgeon Dr. Génessier (Pierre Brasseur) kidnaps women and flays off their facial skin. Ever since a car accident left his daughter Christiane’s (Édith Scob) visage irreparably wounded, he’s channeled his guilty conscience and self-righteous conviction into one goal: grafting living tissue onto his child’s skull.

Eyes Without a Face glides with the cerebral elegance of an art house experiment. The precise, painterly images alternate between surreal, ethereal, and grotesque. Although no blood-fest, its clinical depiction of the heterograft surgery remains staggeringly brazen. And if Eyes Without a Face blisters unforgettable revulsion onto viewers’ retinas, then Christiane internalizes the cyclical violence inflicted upon others and herself. She’s alive yet locked inside her controlling father’s secluded estate, longing for freedom, wandering the halls like a ghost, and splintering into wrenching despair. A blank white mask has never been so devastating.

4

‘Halloween’ (1978)

Image via Compass International Pictures

Halloween‘s resounding impact can’t be overstated. The greatest ’70s slasher launched a 13-movie franchise, Jamie Lee Curtis‘ Scream Queen career, and an oft-imitated style. What modern audiences find predictable was trailblazing in 1978, and not crafted to satisfy a trope checklist. Every ingredient of director, composer, and co-writer John Carpenter‘s independent hit operates at peak efficiency. The brilliantly straightforward premise is clear, the execution sublimely calculated. Halloween doesn’t need fancy frills — it’s an exercise in tone and momentum, articulating suspense through naturalized minimalism and electrifying restraint.

To that end, Michael Myers (Nick Castle) represents a bone-deep terror that latches on and festers. His evil lacks discernible logic. Worse still, Carpenter denies Haddonfield’s picture-perfect Midwestern neighborhood any safety from an unstoppable predator who’s always watching, always circling closer. He’s a perfect vessel for all that goes bump in the night, offscreen misogynistic violence, and the decade’s sociopolitical unrest. Meanwhile, Laurie Strode’s (Curtis) effortless relatability as a shy, bookish, self-sufficient fighter, her panicked face streaked with tears, strikes close to home. And we’d be remiss to not mention the score; Carpenter’s repeating synths are as ceaselessly sharp as his killer’s blade.

3

‘The Innocents’ (1961)

Image via 20th Century Studios

The Innocents, directed by Jack Clayton and co-written by William Archibald and Truman Capote, flawlessly transfers Henry James‘ chilling novella The Turn of the Screw to the silver screen. A neglectful uncle (Michael Redgrave) hires governess Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) to supervise his orphaned pre-teen charges, Miles (Martin Stephens) and Flora (Pamela Franklin). Upon moving to their sprawling manor, the youths’ volatile behavior convinces Giddens that the ghosts of the children’s last guardian, Mary Jessel (Clytie Jessop), and her illicit lover Peter Quint (Peter Wyngarde), have possessed the children for nefarious ends.

Cinematographer Freddie Francis‘ monochromatic textures are a work of visual majesty. The contrast between sunlit panoramas and candlelit hallways adjusts to parallel Giddens’ wavering fragility; the heightened depth of field emphasizes her paranoia, while the widescreen ratio invites viewers to scan for threats. Add on editor Jim Clark‘s feverish cross dissolves, and you have a malevolent tapestry led by an unreliable narrator. Casting the luminously middle-aged Kerr enriches her character’s sympathetic naivety and the conflict’s ambiguity. If trauma and abandonment have robbed the children of their innocence, not supernatural interference, then Giddens’ sexual repression, intense loneliness, and moral piety manifest as hallucinations. After obeying destructive patriarchal mores for four decades, her efforts unrewarded and her life unfulfilled, the heroine’s mind erodes.

2

‘Don’t Look Now’ (1973)

Image via Paramount Pictures

When it comes to the prolific “grief is the real horror” metaphor, nothing yet surpasses Nicolas Roeg‘s towering feat. Based on Daphne du Maurier‘s poignant short story, John (Donald Sutherland) and Laura Baxter (Julie Christie) try to repair their shattered world after their young daughter Christine (Sharon Williams) drowns in a lake. Relocating to Venice for John’s next architectural contract counts as running away from trauma, but healing seems within tentative reach — until a self-proclaimed psychic (Hilary Mason) claims John’s survival depends upon him heeding Christine’s warning from beyond the grave.

Don’t Look Now‘s resonate hook explores the specifics of how losing a child fractures a devoted marriage. Both spouses are lost souls hollowed out by their inescapable agony. Layering on a supernatural component opens a thematically intricate Pandora’s box: rationality versus spirituality, psychic portents, self-fulfilling prophecies, and an apocalyptic foreboding that lingers long after the credits roll. Roeg executes his vision with technical acuity and experimental curiosity. Between cinematographer Anthony Richmond‘s motifs, editor Graeme Clifford‘s non-linear cuts, and Sutherland and Christie’s absolute commitment, Roeg’s otherworldly masterpiece feels both inseparable from its decade and viscerally contemporary.

1

‘Psycho’ (1960)

Image via Universal 

Let’s be indisputably clear: nothing justifies a shock ending that demonizes transphobia and mental illness. Even if Alfred Hitchcock didn’t approach Psycho with intentional bigotry, impact outweighs intent. His irresponsibility is impossible to excuse. Yet without ever minimizing the harm Psycho‘s legacy has caused, everything before the film’s last ten minutes soars with impeccably calibrated finesse. By daring to murder his protagonist at the 47-minute mark, Hitchcock slices-and-dices through every established rule. The gore-less shower scene leaves a mental stain thanks to frenzied montage cuts, Bernard Herrmann‘s piercing score, and the fact Hitchcock had ensured viewers empathize with the defenseless Marion Crane’s (Janet Leigh) headspace.

After that unprecedented violation, all bets are off. Hitchcock’s concise approach cages viewers in the palm of his hand, manipulating the movie’s fraught uncertainty until we’re dangling high above a crevice without a parachute. That said, Psycho could hit every tense note and still fall apart without its leading duo. Leigh turns Marion’s tragedy into a striking character study about a desperate woman caught in her “private trap,” and no performer has matched the riveting nuance Anthony Perkins weaves into his fusion of disarming boyish sensitivity and seething misogynistic hatred. Glaring flaws aside, Psycho is a horror all-timer and an irrevocable cinematic landmark.

Advertisement

Psycho

Advertisement

Release Date

September 8, 1960

Runtime

109 minutes

Advertisement

Writers

Joseph Stefano, Robert Bloch

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

In the pantheon of modern action shows, 24 is still a pioneer. Not only did it have a tough-as-nails, yet layered protagonist in Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), but it also had a unique hook with its “real-time” narrative. Each season of 24 takes place over a single day, with each episode corresponding to an hour in real time. It was a bold choice that made 24 the definition of must-see TV; back before streaming services, you had to actually tune into a show or hope you could DVR it. The shocking ending of Season 1 also proved that 24 wasn’t willing to pull punches, and set the stage for a fleet of action shows to follow in its footsteps, including Reacher. One of those shows was an actual spin-off of 24, appropriately titled 24: Legacy.

24: Legacy shifts the focus from Jack Bauer to Eric Carter (Corey Hawkins), an Army Ranger who leads a successful mission to seek out and eliminate terrorist leader Sheik Ibrahim Bin-Khalid. Eric soon learns that he and his squadmates are being targeted for death as one of them has a flash drive containing the location of Bin-Khalid’s sleeper cells in America. To stop the cells, Eric joins forces with the Counterterrorist Unit (CTU), the organization Bauer was formerly part of. With all 12 episodes being available to stream on Tubi, 24: Legacy boasts the rare distinction of being an action series you could literally binge in a day.

’24: Legacy’ Shakes Up The ’24’ Formula

Image via Guy D’Alema / ©Fox / courtesy Everett Collection

While 24: Legacy does keep some core components from the original 24, namely the idea of real-time storytelling and a plot that has to be foiled in a day, it radically shook things up by not bringing back any of the original series’ core characters. Apart from Carlos Bernard returning as CTU operative-turned-mercenary Tony Almeida, Eric is working with a new team at the CTU and facing a completely new threat. In an age when most television revivals strive to bring back most of their original casts, this feels like heresy, but executive producer Evan Katz revealed that they wanted a story that could stand apart from the original series.

“We’re trying very hard to make sure these characters and this world grow in their own groove…In a lot of ways, we’re trying to go back, we’re trying to start at ground level with a character who is not bereft and has life and has love and has family, people he cares about.”

True to Katz’s words, Eric is a character who shares a few key things in common with Jack Bauer and more than a few differences​​​​​​. Like Jack, he’s a skilled military operative thrust into a situation beyond his control, and races against time to stop a terrorist plot. But while Jack is struggling in his marriage and has a strained relationship with his daughter, Eric has a strong bond with his wife, Nicole (Anna Diop), to the point where they work together to ward off a home invasion. Eric also reluctantly works with the CTU, while Jack served as one of the agency’s operatives for years. These differences help Eric feel like his own man, while still keeping the intensity that fueled the original 24.

’24: Legacy’ Faced an Uphill Battle During Its Run

Despite a star-studded cast that included Jimmy Smits and Miranda Otto, and a fresh spin on what is now a classic series, 24: Legacy only lasted a single season. Much of the criticism focused on how the series inherited many of the flaws that plagued the original 24, including pacing issues stemming from having 12 episodes instead of 24. Ironically, 24: Legacy also faced some stiff competition from Designated Survivor, another political thriller led by Kiefer Sutherland.

24 isn’t dead yet, as there are plans for a feature film in the works, and Kiefer Sutherland says he’s open to returning as Jack Bauer. While it might not have been the replacement fans wanted, 24: Legacy still lives up to the spirit of its flagship series by keeping its intense action and fast-paced narrative.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Release Date

2017 – 2017-00-00

Advertisement

Network

FOX

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Hamnet actor Joe Alwyn made sure his 2026 Met Gala attendance was no Shakespearean tragedy.

Alwyn, 35, looked dapper in a Valentino suit styled by Rose Forde on Monday, May 4, at the annual Metropolitan Museum of Art fundraiser for its Costume Institute exhibit.

Alwyn entrusted makeup artist Holly Silius to complete his eye-catching, Roman-style look for fashion’s biggest night, which followed a “Fashion Is Art” dress code.

“You’re going to look at Joe and do a double-take because we want him to look really porcelain,” Silius told Vogue after Alwyn left the Mark Hotel.

Alwyn last attended the Met Gala in 2016, where he was rumored to have met now-ex Taylor Swift. Alwyn and Swift, 36, dated for six years before Us Weekly confirmed their breakup in April 2023.

“I would hope that anyone and everyone can empathize and understand the difficulties that come with the end of a long, loving, fully committed relationship of over six and a half years,” he told The Times of London in June 2024 — his first comments on the breakup. “That is a hard thing to navigate. What is unusual and abnormal in this situation is that, one week later, it’s suddenly in the public domain and the outside world is able to weigh in.”

Swift and Alwyn broke up in the middle of the pop star’s Eras Tour. She subsequently moved on with Matty Healy, but they called it quits by May 2023. Both splits presumably inspired more than a few cathartic tracks on Swift’s album The Tortured Poets Department.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

“Tortured Poets album is, like, this purge of just everything bad that I felt for two years,” Swift said in her End of an Eras docuseries, which aired in December 2025. “It was a really rough time in my life, so the songs reflect that [and] feeling like I’m not a person. I’m just this big conglomerate that no one sees as a real human being and, like, especially not men that I date.”

Related: What Joe Alwyn Has Been Up to Since His Split From Taylor Swift

Advertisement

Joe Alwyn has been keeping a low profile since his split from Taylor Swift was confirmed in April 2023. While Swift, 34, continued her Eras Tour, enjoyed outings with pals including Blake Lively, Selena Gomez and Sophie Turner, and sparked a new romance with boyfriend Travis Kelce, Alwyn, 33, remained the man of few words […]

She continued, “I went through two breakups on the first half of this tour, and that’s a lot of breakups actually. The show was what gave me purpose and was what I could use to get me out of bed. The tour has never been the hard thing in my life. The tour has been the thing that has allowed me to find purpose outside of the s*** that was going on in my life. Men will let you down, The Eras Tour never will.”

Swift started dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in summer 2023 and the pair got engaged two years later in August 2025. The couple, who are reportedly set to tie the knot this summer, didn’t appear to attend Monday’s Met Gala.

Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor‘s love story may not be perfect, but it appears to have a happy ending.

Stiller and Taylor met while filming a 1999 TV pilot called Heat Vision and Jack, which never made it to air, and got married the following year. The couple were together for 17 years before announcing their separation in May 2017. However, it appeared they reconciled by 2019 when attending Emmy Awards together that year looking “happy” and never leaving “each others’ sides,” an eyewitness told Us Weekly at the time.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Taylor and Stiller remained tight-lipped about their relationship status in recent years. She notably dodged a question about whether they were officially back together in October 2018, exclusively telling Us at the time, “We’re a big family. We’re together all the time.” When pressed about her seemingly “nice” post-split relationship with Stiller, the Search Party star responded, “It’s wonderful, it’s wonderful.”

The pair continued to work together and have kept a low profile while coparenting their kids — Ella and Quinn. In February 2022, however, they confirmed they are back on.

Keep scrolling to look back at their relationship timeline:

As warmer weather creeps in, we’re on the hunt for chic blouses that don’t feel too basic or boring. Selena Gomez gave Us major inspiration by wearing a slimming, asymmetrical tank that is so unique, we knew we had to find it. Bonus: It pairs perfectly with jeans!

Gomez was spotted wearing a smocked sleeveless blouse while out and about at a popular Los Angeles restaurant. She paired the top with dark wash jeans, black wedge sandals, simple jewelry and a glittery Jimmy Choo bag, but our favorite item was the tank top. Fortunately, we were able to find the exact one — the Pink Sands Smocked Top from Free People. At less than $100, it’s a pretty affordable find.

Get the Pink Sands Smocked Top for $78 at Free People! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change.

The Pink Sands Smocked Top is full of feminine details and flair that make it impossible to ignore. It features rows of tiny ruffles and all-over pleating for a design that ends up being surprisingly flattering and tummy-hiding. The asymmetrical hem makes it feel that much more interesting, and the overall look instantly elevates a pair of jeans, as demonstrated by Gomez.

Related: PSA! Selena Gomez’s Free People Swimsuit Is Still in Stock (for Now)

Advertisement

Beach days are closer than they seem, and if you’re looking to invest in a new swimsuit for the season, Selena Gomez has just delivered maybe our favorite option yet. Simple with cute details and a flattering style, her one-piece swimsuit is one you’ll want to wear on repeat throughout the entire summer season – […]

We love the light pink shade the actress was spotted wearing, which looks more like a cream color than a pink and feels perfect for summer weather. But if you want something different, the tank is available in five other colors, including a bright blue and darker green.

And it’s not just Us who love it – everyday shoppers are also big fans. “Got loads of compliments on this top!” one Free People reviewer wrote. “Very flattering and fashionable. Love this top!” they added.

Another echoed a similar sentiment: “Gorgeous shirt and I’ve already gotten a ton of compliments.” They noted that while the top does run a little small (you might want to size up), they would still rate it “five stars.”

Perfect for dressing up a pair of jeans or shorts, this sleeveless asymmetrical blouse is a fun piece to wear this summer. It’s only a matter of time before it sells out!

Get the Pink Sands Smocked Top for $78 at Free People! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change.

Related: Yes, Jessica Alba’s Exact Lace Cami Is Under $50

Advertisement

If we had to describe Jessica Alba‘s everyday style, it would hands down be ‘California rich mom cool.’ Her closet is filled with loose, easy breezy pieces that can totally be replicated. However, it’s always a good day when we can find her exact style at an affordable price, and that’s where this Free People […]