Editor’s letter: winter 2022
“What better way to cap off a horrorshow of a year for UK politics than an issue packed with all manner of strange and haunting things?” asks Editor Matthew Whitehouse.
Magazine
Words: Matthew Whitehouse
When we started making the 13th edition of THE FACE, Boris Johnson was prime minister, the price of milk was still fractionally less than crude oil and Trussonomics were but a twinkle in a Tufton Street policy wonk’s eye. Since then… Well, you know the rest.
But amid the chaos, in 2022 horror has provided entertainment, too – particularly on the big screen.
This year has seen The Black Phone, Smile and sleeper hit Barbarian boss the box office. Two of the most talked about slashers of the year were the reboot of Scream and X, the sexy, bloody thriller that brought cool girl horror to the mainstream (see also Bodies Bodies Bodies, plus our interviews with its stars Rachel Sennott, Myha’la Herrold and Chase Sui Wonders in issue 12). Appearing in both of those films was 20-year-old breakout Jenna Ortega – a former Disney kid who, in the year she said goodbye to her teens, made a big and brilliant leap to adult roles.
But amid the chaos, in 2022 horror has provided entertainment, too – particularly on the big screen.
Jenna’s following those parts with a major turn as Wednesday Addams in fright-night maestro Tim Burton’s first ever TV series. Released on Netflix over Thanksgiving weekend, Wednesday is set to send her skyrocketing into living rooms across the world in a role made famous by a previous FACE cover star, Christina Ricci. Big pigtails to fill. To celebrate, we asked her friend and fellow comer-of-ager Olivia Rodrigo to turn interviewer for a day. (Olivia – if the music thing doesn’t work out, you have a job waiting for you at THE FACE.)
So, yes, there is joy to be found within the horror, should you know where to look for it. As Christopher Hart, who rose to fame as Thing, the disembodied hand in the ’90s Addams Family movies, tells us in his backpage Q&A: “The Addams Family, on the surface, appears to be very dark. But when you really look at it, one day I realised: this is the most amazing example of love, of a family, ever. Their version of ‘pretty’ is different to a normal person’s version of pretty. But their love and commitment… they’re fantastic.”
Matthew Whitehouse, Editor
London, November 2022
“The Addams Family, on the surface, appears to be very dark. But when you really look at it, one day I realised: this is the most amazing example of love, of a family, ever"
When we started making the 13th edition of THE FACE, Boris Johnson was prime minister, the price of milk was still fractionally less than crude oil and Trussonomics were but a twinkle in a Tufton Street policy wonk’s eye. Since then… Well, you know the rest.
But amid the chaos, in 2022 horror has provided entertainment, too – particularly on the big screen.
This year has seen The Black Phone, Smile and sleeper hit Barbarian boss the box office. Two of the most talked about slashers of the year were the reboot of Scream and X, the sexy, bloody thriller that brought cool girl horror to the mainstream (see also Bodies Bodies Bodies, plus our interviews with its stars Rachel Sennott, Myha’la Herrold and Chase Sui Wonders in issue 12). Appearing in both of those films was 20-year-old breakout Jenna Ortega – a former Disney kid who, in the year she said goodbye to her teens, made a big and brilliant leap to adult roles.
Jenna’s following those parts with a major turn as Wednesday Addams in fright-night maestro Tim Burton’s first ever TV series. Released on Netflix over Thanksgiving weekend, Wednesday is set to send her skyrocketing into living rooms across the world in a role made famous by a previous FACE cover star, Christina Ricci. Big pigtails to fill. To celebrate, we asked her friend and fellow comer-of-ager Olivia Rodrigo to turn interviewer for a day. (Olivia – if the music thing doesn’t work out, you have a job waiting for you at THE FACE.)
So, yes, there is joy to be found within the horror, should you know where to look for it. As Christopher Hart, who rose to fame as Thing, the disembodied hand in the ’90s Addams Family movies, tells us in his backpage Q&A: “The Addams Family, on the surface, appears to be very dark. But when you really look at it, one day I realised: this is the most amazing example of love, of a family, ever. Their version of ‘pretty’ is different to a normal person’s version of pretty. But their love and commitment… they’re fantastic.”
Matthew Whitehouse, Editor
London, November 2022
But amid the chaos, in 2022 horror has provided entertainment, too – particularly on the big screen.
“The Addams Family, on the surface, appears to be very dark. But when you really look at it, one day I realised: this is the most amazing example of love, of a family, ever"
