£10.00
Published annually, Beneficial Shock! is a fully illustrated film magazine exploring movie characters, genres and tropes through themed essays and original illustration.
What grabbed us about this issue...
Issue 8 is titled Awe & Wonder, using the theme to ask how cinema captures what feels genuinely beyond reach. The Cronenberg feature is the one to look for. His films operate somewhere between fascination and revulsion. Awe is as good a word as any for what they produce. The Aretha Franklin piece is worth finding too. Capturing a personality of that scale on screen demands a particular kind of filmmaking. Also worth seeking out, the Terrence Malick feature sits well alongside Cronenberg. Where one unsettles, the other reaches for transcendence. Muhammad Ali and the live music piece round out an issue that earns its title.
Who's Beneficial Shock! for?
Beneficial Shock! is one for when you want film writing that takes the medium seriously. Each issue builds its essays around a single theme, using it to travel across genres and eras. The illustration is central rather than decorative, with original work from a wide range of artists giving each issue its own visual identity. This would suit you if you're drawn to film as a cultural subject rather than a list of recommendations. Think of it as a film essay collection with pictures to match. It's one to reach for when you want to think differently about films you thought you already knew.
Type: Long-form, visual read
Pages: 80
Instagram: @beneficialshockmag