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Leah Schnelbach

@leahschnelbach.bsky.social
646 followers 309 following 189 posts

writer, mostly. intellectual junk drawer at reactor mag. they!

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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I've had the absolute joy of editing Alissa Burger's celebration of the plot twists, surprising depth, and cliff-based violence of the '90s teen horror boom. As we send Teen Horror Time Machine off, I encourage you to dive into the column archive...if you DARE. reactormag.com/what-i-learn...
reactormag.com
What I Learned in the Teen Horror Time Machine  - Reactor
And thus the Time Machine returns to our present from its last trip to a bustling, successful - but EXTREMELY haunted - mall.
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
As occasionally happens with Andrew Garfield's films, I've found myself a little more excited about the press tour than the movie. But also: who am I to say no to a gritty dramatization of the Peasant's Revolt?
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
my perfect book recipe: - haunted house haunted forest haunted protagonist haunted SOMETHING - mundane reality gets upended af - character who uses sarcasm to hide FEELINGS - prose that makes me look at the world with freshly-scrubbed eyeballs reactormag.com/finding-your...
reactormag.com
Finding Your Recipe for Literary Comfort Food - Reactor
What are the ingredients for your perfect read?
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Kylie Eleison @gonebabygone.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Nathan Fielder, making the face: You go to hell.
Elizabeth Holmes, likewise making the face: Alright. Let me ask you something. If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
My movie fortune remains strong: I get to recommend Jack Auen & Kevin Walker's Chronovisor! It's a delirious rabbit hole of a movie, and if you like libraries, supernatural mysteries, and/or Umberto Eco, you're in for a fine time. reactormag.com/movie-review...
reactormag.com
Libraries, Time Travel, and the Joy of Research: Chronovisor - Reactor
But when does research become obsession?
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Not to sound like a Pauline Kael title, but I've been getting really lucky at the movies lately? Join me as I go full heart-eyes over @davidkittredge.bsky.social's Boorman and The Devil, a surprisingly moving documentary about The Exorcist II. reactormag.com/boorman-and-...
reactormag.com
Boorman and the Devil Will Make You Want To Create Art - Reactor
And it might make you reassess The Exorcist II
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Coyote Vs. Acme was one of the best times I've had in a theater this year, and I'm grateful people worked to rescue it from the claws of our corporate nightmare timeline.
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Anya Johanna DeNiro @adeniro.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
all right, this is now live at @reactorsff.bsky.social , 2,200 words on Christopher Brown's Tropic of Kansas and alternate history colliding with our current history. reactormag.com/christopher-...
reactormag.com
Christopher Brown's Tropic of Kansas Was Eerily Prescient — And Is More Important Than Ever - Reactor
A 2017 novel predicted so much about the present moment — what can we learn from it?
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
What does it mean to pledge your allegiance to an idea, a nation, a family, a faith? Jiordan Castle refracts this question through one of America's weirdest pop culture phenomena, The Flying Wallendas, and I'm ecstatic that I got to work with her on the ensuing essay. reactormag.com/america-fait...
reactormag.com
America as a High Wire Act: On Faith and The Flying Wallendas - Reactor
How multi-generational family of highwire performers embody a particular kind of American mysticism
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Is it a meta commentary that there are at least four different, better horror films trapped inside The Last House, pounding on the windows, desperate to escape? One thing's for sure: I'm never watching Annie (1982) the same way again. reactormag.com/movie-review...
reactormag.com
The Last House Wastes Its Premise, Its Actors, and the End of the World as We Know It - Reactor
Finally a real rain came
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Many things are terrible but sometimes you get to work on an essay about why Sinon's inclusion in The Odyssey is important. reactormag.com/actually-chr...
reactormag.com
Actually, Christopher Nolan Is Making a Point About Trans People in The Odyssey - Reactor
And I have the (ancient) receipts
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
This essay by @maxinegkaplan.bsky.social was deeply fun to work on, and a joy to read.
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
I saw Pilgrimage in the theater years ago—I've thought about it surprisingly often since, and I'm excited the The Odyssey and the new Spider-Man gave me an excuse to write about it. ...and I'm embarrassingly pleased that I can now understand a tiny, tiny bit of the Irish spoken in the film.
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Tom Reagan’s Hat @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
‘What the fuck is this shit? Odysseus wasn’t a Dapper Dan man.’ - Emily Wilson reviewing O Brother, Where Art Thou?
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
It turns out that I have many thoughts and even more feelings about Christopher Nolan's take on The Odyssey! Join me in the Trojan Discourse, won't you? reactormag.com/the-odyssey-...
reactormag.com
The Eyes of Athena and the Disenchanted World of The Odyssey - Reactor
Are you defying the gods, or betraying them?
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Jess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 22/07/2026
I agree with Elon, we should have an Odyssey where everyone is white. And they’re all Catholic. And it’s historically accurate, but maybe for a period with more documentation so we can be absolutely sure of the accuracy, like let’s say Ireland in 1904. And
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
We're 2 months into the Discourse around Obsession, but as people debate Bear's actions and film their own ironic One Wish Willow wishes, the thing that's haunted me is how Sarah and Nikki share an all-too-real fate. reactormag.com/the-thing-ab...
reactormag.com
The Part of Obsession I Can't Stop Thinking About - Reactor
I want a 10-episode prestige Apple series of Nikki's Hansel and Gretel retelling.
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Evil Dead Burn was not at all what I expected, but I really enjoyed the gore, the callbacks to Evil Deads past, and the celebration of fountain pens.
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
P A T R I C I A ❤️‍🔥
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
loved loved LOVED Avalon Fast's Camp! It's a reminder of how special and weird indie films can be, and I encourage you to see it in theaters if you can.
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Ursula K. Le Guin @ursulakleguin.com · 29/06/2026
We're thrilled to present the shortlist for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction:
A bouquet of flowers next to a stack of books that includes:

Audition by Pip Adam (Coffee House Press)
Sunward by William Alexander (Saga Press)
Call and Response by Christopher Caldwell (Neon Hemlock)
Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur (Algonquin)
The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes (Tor Books)
Notes from a Regicide by Isaac Fellman (Tor Books)
Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta (DAW Books)
One Message Remains by Premee Mohamed (Psychopomp)
Slow Gods by Claire North (Orbit)
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Helen Kennedy @helenkennedy.com · 27/06/2026
Mayor Mamdani took the mayor's Inaugural Swim in east Harlem this morning to open the city's pool season. (Look out for sea hags, Zohran!) Naturally, he wore his swimsuit.
Screenshot from some guy's video on Twitter showing the mayor, in his suit, jumping into the water with a bunch of more appropriately attired people CBS News photo of Mamdani in suit and tie laughing in the pool. He does not take a bad picture
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Listen, I get that we're all fans of Pope Leo now, but I need the movies to remember that there are spiritual options beyond Catholicism! reactormag.com/disclosure-d...
reactormag.com
Disclosure Day Puts Religion and Aliens in a Blender, With Mixed Results - Reactor
Ah, the beautiful oblivion of Vague Movie Catholicism
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Paul McNamara @mpaulmcnamara.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Dublin-born Cape Verde defender Pico Lopes was offered a slot in the national side over LinkedIn. Accepted the second time because the first invitation was in Portuguese „which i didn’t speak”
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Brian Grubb @briancgrubb.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
[turning on a world cup match] oh wow, cape verde, i wonder where that is [55 minutes later] if cape verde wins it will be the greatest day of my life
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
WHY WON'T YOU LET ME LOVE YOU, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2026)? reactormag.com/masters-of-t...
reactormag.com
Masters of the Universe Needs to Commit - Reactor
WHERE IS ORKO
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Cath Kastner @cathkastner.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I loved this so much I drew it
Pixel illustration of a Kelly Reichardt / Mariokart crossover with 9 characters on a yellow and pink desert background.
The title card reads KELLY REIKART with a portrait of the filmmaker and a camera on the sides
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Backrooms is queasy and horrible (complimentary!) and flung me into a liminal nightmare in Midtown Manhattan and also made me homesick. reactormag.com/movie-review...
reactormag.com
Backrooms Is the Best Nightmare You'll Ever Have - Reactor
Liminal spaces are excellent for horror, but it's even better when the liminal space IS the horror.
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
It's fair to say I had a good time in the bookstores of Ireland.
A large array of books, most written by Irish authors, some in Irish, fanned out across a hardwood floor.
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
My episode of the In Your Spare Time podcast is up today! I had the joy of reading Ursula K. Le Guin’s excellent piece about exorcism from November 2010. I must also note that @mollytempleton.com's intro made me CRY, a thing I do not (usually) do. inyoursparetime.libsyn.com/leah-schnelb...
inyoursparetime.libsyn.com
In Your Spare Time: From the Blog of Ursula K. Le Guin: Leah Schnelbach reads "Exorcists"
This week, Leah Schnelbach reads Post 5, "Exorcists," which Ursula posted in November of 2010. The original post can be read at
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
I didn't walk into The Sheep Detectives expecting SHEEP THEOLOGY and SHEEP GRIEF but that's what I got, and I'm super happy about it. But don't worry, the movie's also really funny, and the mystery works! 🐑 reactormag.com/the-sheep-de...
reactormag.com
The Sheep Detectives: A Fun, Funny Mystery of Unexpected Depth - Reactor
Look, I'm as surprised as you.
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
After a season that left me yelling "WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT???" at both the characters on my TV and, in a larger sense, the writers' room, Daredevil: Born Again mostly pulled it together for a season finale that made me remember why I love this guilt-ridden freak.
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Really love @thenerdypriest.bsky.social digging into Project Hail Mary, and how deepening the humanity of Rocky and Eva Stratt ends up making Ryland Grace more human, too.
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
As much as I love all the Wilson Fisk parodies I see on my various feeds, I'm extremely proud that we got to publish @gonebabygone.bsky.social's excellent, serious look at how Daredevil: Born Again depicts mob rule and fascism.
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
I loved Hokum. I loved it I loved it I loved it. I tried to express that with slightly more elegance in my review. But come on—getting this beautiful folk horror and a new Kneecap album on the same day??? In this cultural economy??? reactormag.com/movie-review...
reactormag.com
Hokum Is Much More Than a Haunted Hotel Movie - Reactor
And yes, there are creepy bunnies.
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Look I will always root for Matt Murdock. But between Jessica's arc, Daniel's arc, and the Karen Page/Heather Glenn slapfight, I'm hoping St. Jude steps in sooner rather than later. ...ok, I kinda liked the slapfight.
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
ridiculously excited that this is going to be out in the world, and way way way beyond honored that I got to be part of it. 💖
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Pros: This week's pair of Daredevil episodes made me think about Steve McQueen's 2008 film Hunger. Cons: I kind of wish I'd just re-watched Steve McQueen's 2008 film Hunger rather than either of these episodes.
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
everything can be improved by the addition of Ominous Matthew Lillard
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Turns out I have a lot of feelings about Project Hail Mary and its relationship to existential panic! reactormag.com/project-hail...
reactormag.com
How Project Hail Mary Makes the Impossible Possible - Reactor
This movie walks a thin tightrope over a bottomless void, and I love it
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Absolutely loved Project Hail Mary, did my best not to spoil anything, will have a lot more to say once it's been in theaters a few days. Amaze amaze amaze. reactormag.com/movie-review...
reactormag.com
Project Hail Mary Is a Delightful, Optimistic Sci-Fi Adventure - Reactor
This is a stellar adaptation of Andy Weir's novel.
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😱 Spooky SpectreKILLoquy 🔪 🩸 @caulimovirus.bsky.social · 27/05/2024
Herman Melville on moderates, all the way back in 1857:
“You are an abolitionist, ain’t you?”
“As to that, I cannot so readily answer. If by abolitionist you mean a zealot, I am none; but if you mean a man, who, being a man, feels for all men, slaves included, and by any lawful act, opposed to nobody’s interest, and therefore, rousing nobody’s enmity, would willingly abolish suffering (supposing it, in its degree, to exist) from among mankind, irrespective of color, then am I what you say.”
“Picked and prudent sentiments. You are the moderate man, the invaluable understrapper of the wicked man. You, the moderate man, may be used for wrong, but are useless for right.”
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
What better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than with an Irish tale of a woman who becomes a fly and then a swan after reincarnating at least twice? 🇮🇪
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 17/03/2026
Happy St. Patrick's Day, New York.
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Reactor Magazine @reactorsff.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
SINNERS OSCAR-WINNING MOVIE!!!! While we're all celebrating last night's wins, we'll recommend some essays, book recommendations, and behind-the-scenes info about Ryan Coogler's masterpiece 🎶🩸
Slide 1: Text reads “Essays on Sinners” above a cutout of Preacher Boy playing the guitar against a reddish background
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Emily C. Hughes @emilyhughes.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
charm levels just off the fuckin charts, breaking instruments left and right
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Richy Craven @richycraven.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
There have been many good answers to this but allow me a a suggestion INT: Dicey's nightclub Dublin. Mid 200s Jessie Buckley: Bottle of Desperado please. Barman: Sure JB: Can I get a slice of lime? Barman: *Gestures at pint glass full of limes*
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
(just barely) in time for the Oscars, I've teased out some of the common themes and worries that popped up in the movies of 2025. I'll admit that when I hit play on Happy Gilmore 2 I wasn't expecting to put it in conversation with No Other Choice, but here we are. reactormag.com/a-brief-surv...
reactormag.com
A Brief Survey of Concerns Expressed by the Films of 2025 - Reactor
A closer look at the varied films of 2025, and what they have to say about our shared humanity...
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Sometimes you put out a call for essays and @dodgyboffin.com responds with a look at Pixar's Elio—a movie you've never had a single thought about—that digs into conformity and the drive to war and the fear of queerness and you whoop with happiness as you read it. reactormag.com/the-loneline...
reactormag.com
The Loneliness of Elio: Growing Up Queer in the American Military - Reactor
Rewrites and studio pressure may have stripped Elio of its personality, but there are still glimpses of truth throughout...
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Leah Schnelbach @leahschnelbach.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Personally I find genre about as necessary as gender - and, as ever, I love @mollytempleton.com's brain. 💖
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