OUR STORY

THE TALE OF TALKING TERROR

My horror journey started when I was 14 years old – living in a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. We had Sky Movies, which meant you’d never tend to see a full movie – but you were liable to turn on the TV, late at night, and plonk yourself down right in the middle of one.

Of course, Sky Movies had horror – and, when I dared, it seemed to be always either one of the first three Scream films, or (hilariously) that oh-so-2000s remake of John Carpenter’s The Fog. It wasn’t long before I could tell the difference between a good genre film and its opposite – but what about everything in between?

As my teens progressed, I became determined to unearth and understand the very best horror movies the genre had to offer. I started, in 2008, by Googling ‘best horror movies’, found a list of 100 that looked good, and proceeded to cut a swathe, a la the family Voorhees, right through them. (Losing my virginity, you see, could wait!)

That was half a lifetime ago, and guess what? That passion for horror has never gone away. I still get a kick out of diving into the latest horror news, writing about films I loved (and those I could leave), and dissecting the designs and denouements of movies old and new.

I started Talking Terror on 4 August 2023 to share my unbridled joy of the genre with YOU, reader. I do it for love, not money. And you’ll find no ads, paywalls, or cookies cluttering your petrifying path through this website. I’ve kept the experience as slick, simple, and seamless as possible to keep the focus on the content – and let the terror do the talking!

ROB BINNS

WHO I AM

I’m Rob – a writer, content strategist, and editor originally from Haworth, England (a small village famed for its connection to the Bronte sisters; and twinned, remarkably, with Machu Picchu).

I grew up in Wellington, New Zealand, before spending seven years in London. Now, I’m based in sunny Melbourne, Australia, where I dwell with my beautiful partner Melissa.

I’ve been writing as a career since about a decade ago, and for fun since forever. I’ve penned content for Yahoo! Finance, The Independent, and Entrepreneur, plus businesses large and small. I’ve created brand strategies and tone of voice guides and written everything – from YouTube scripts and websites to ebooks and social media posts – for all sorts of organisations.

But what I’ve never done enough of? Writing for myself.

Talking Terror is, I suppose, my attempt to do just that. It’s also something I’ve been desperate to do since I first started plumbing the depths of those ‘best horror movie’ lists of 2008.

So, when I left my full-time role as Head of Copy at a local agency in July 2023 to pursue a freelance writing career – and some untitled ‘passion projects’ – Talking Terror was born.

Thanks for coming along for the ride. It’ll be a slow journey, but a horrifying one. (I promise.)

And I, for one, can’t wait to see where we end up.