£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 5 is titled Secrets & Lies, taking the darker corners of Hollywood's relationship with power as its subject. The covert alliance between the US military and the film industry is worth finding. It's a story that rarely gets told this directly. We also kept coming back to the feature on parents and dark secrets in cinema. It handles a well-worn dramatic device with more care than you might expect.
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