The Empty Man (2020). You definitely didn't see it in theaters, but maybe you've heard about its growing cult status (no pun intended). Come listen as J.R. and Derek discuss both the ironically fraught development and end result of this admirably fascinating yet frustrating smash-up of teen urban legend thriller, Lovecraftian cosmic noir horror, and muddled insanity.
Episode 239 - The Ruins (2008)
Imagine being writer Scott Smith. Come out of nowhere and write "A Simple Plan" and then adapt the screenplay, and everyone loves the movie. Wait 13 years, release your second novel "The Ruins," adapt the screenplay, and critics and audience . . . well, it's no "A Simple Plan." J.R. and Derek discuss The 2008 film "The Ruins," and while finding it not to be a disaster, discuss how it could have been better and how it differs from the novel.
Episode 238 - Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982)
J.R. and Derek analyze and cogently explain the surprisingly tight logic behind Halloween III: Season of the Witch's plot . . . nah, we are just playing, this movie is a goofy mess involving Stonehenge power cells, Halloween masks, cyborgs, magic that melts faces and conjures snakes, and a whole bunch of other nonsense. Come divulge with us.
Episode 237 - The Power (2021)
J.R., perhaps inexplicably, has wanted to the The Power (2021) for some time, attracted to the gothic imagery of a nurse holding an oil lamp, stuck in a haunted hospital during a blackout. The duo watch, and get something else… something… well, just come listen!
Episode 236 - Folk Horror 4: Beasts: Baby (1976)
The duo finish up Folk Horror month with a return to the work of Nigel Kneale with his 1976 series "Beasts" and the episode "Baby." Hysterics and bad masks aside, it's solid. Manimal isn’t the only beast in this one baby.
Episode 235 - Folk Horror 3: Without Name (2016)
What's the folk horror movie we cover? Doesn't have a name? Without Name? How will we find it? Do we want to find out, or do we just want to take psychotropic mushrooms and freak out in the woods. Or IS that the whole movie? Find out, as we discuss this lesser-known Irish folk horror film from 2016, which gives us a new appreciation of the Lorax.
Episode 234 - Folk Horror 2: The Stone Tape (1972)
Derek and J.R. cover that rare thing: a horror movie written for adults. What, we cover a GOOD horror movie, you say? Why yes, although they are almost as rare as a ghost recording captured by a stone, they do exist! Shame that the "stone tape theory" to explain ghost hauntings propounded by kooks in the wake of this movie is such goofy nonsense.
Episode 233 - Folk Horror 1: The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971)
It's the harvest season, and that means folk horror. Just hope you don't harvest DEMONIC EVIL (or is it Satan?) like the townsfolk of our first film, 1971's Blood on Satan's Claw, part of the "unholy trinity" of British folk horror. Quake at the pagan horror, the attempt to smush three separate stories into one, and also at the production teams' quotes about 17 year old actress Linda Hayden, which didn't age too well.
Episode 232 - The Dark Descent, Roundup
Let's be honest, reading classic horror can feel sometimes like eating your literary vegetables. The duo swiftly go through "The Dark Descent," the famous anthology, and give you the skinny on what classic horror stories (many in the public domain and free online) are worth reading. Consider it a public service.
Episode 231 - The Dark Descent, Part 3
The duo discuss two stories dealing with the unknowable and ambiguous. J.R. covers "Seaton's Aunt" by Walter de le Mare, about a mysterious aunt who may or may not be in league with the Devil, a story which H.P. Lovecraft described as containing "a noxious background of malignant vampirism." Derek picks Fritz Lieber's highly influential "Smoke Ghost," about the subconscious anxieties of 1940's America manifesting in . .. well, a ghost made of smoke. Fight ambiguity and indecision by decisively deciding to listen to this episode!
Episode 230 - The Dark Descent, Part 2
The duo discuss two psychological stories from the Dark Descent. J.R. selects "How Love Came to Professor Guildea," about a stone-cold researcher pursued by an idiotic, affectionate ghost, and the experiments undertaken to prove it. Derek goes NYCsploitation and selects "The Roaches," about an overburdened woman and her psychic relationship with NYC's official animal. Also, digressions into space psychosis, Tank Girl, and general angst, as one should expect.
Episode 229 - The Dark Descent, Part 1
The duo return to short fiction with story picks from the "Color of Evil '' section in the influential 1987 anthology "The Dark Descent," which aimed to chart the development of the horror short story. J.R. goes for the offbeat choice of "If Damon Comes" by Charles Grant, where Derek picks the stone-cold classic "The Summer People" by Shirley Jackson.
Episode 228 - Why Are They Still Making Rape-Revenge Films?
Just the feel good genre you want to hear two guys talk about right? The boys ponder why there is anything else left to be said, outside of subversions, about this most distasteful of genres. Not a particular chucklefest.
Episode 227 - The Bonkers Twist in Horror Films
You know when you’re just sitting around, watching some new movie you know nothing about, when suddenly it takes the express train to bonkersville? The boys break down some truly gonzo switcheroos in horror films and why they do or do not work. Unsurprisingly, spoilers.
Episode 226 - The Revenge of Matthew M. Bartlett
The duo talk with Mathew Bartlett, author of "Gateways to Abomination" and "Creeping Waves," about his decision to live the dream by quitting his job and writing monthly chapbooks for a living. How's this wild plan going? Why not sign up for his monthly chapbook series and find out for yourself. But listen to this first.
Episode 225 - The Vigil (2019)
If covering recent religious horror, why not a Jewish one, eh? Would that be so hard? The duo cover The Vigil (2019), about a Jewish man haunted by a demon while keeping vigil over a dead body. And perhaps his OWN DEMONS as well, as that's how metaphors work. J.R. teaches Derek about the difference between Reform and Orthodox Jews and about the actors apparently required to appear in any movies about Jews.
Episode 224 - Horror Roundup, August 2021, Part 2
August rolls on with another live recording, and another mild audio issue. Good thing in depth reviewing of horror films trumps aural regrets! The boys cover the satanic elderly in Everything For Jackson, teenage girl Vince Vaughn in Freaky, and M.R. James' Night of the Demon v. Curse of the Demon. Put your Shudder and HBOMAX accounts to good use and check them out.
Episode 223 - Horror Roundup, August 2021, Part 1
The boys are recording live in NYC, and learning the hard way that the Yeti microphone “Interview” setting is not great. They also learn that Midnight Meat Trains aren’t the only thing you need to fear in the subway, and talk about the films Caveat and The Wolf of Snow Hollow. There’s a hurricane too, but the true natural disaster was what happens when you eat garbage food for 4 days straight…
Episode 222 - Saint Maud (2019)
Finally, the duo covers a movie J.R. is excited to see: "Saint Maud," the critically acclaimed 2019 film which is in the genre J.R. loves: psychologically unstable person with grand plans spiraling toward doom. But count on ole' Derek to spoil the party with his naysaying. Have a listen, and stay for the bickering about movie length!
Episode 221 - Night Tide (1961)
Ride the calming seas with us as we discuss the quaint 1961 fantasy-horror movie "Night Tide," where a young Dennis Hopper stars as a sailor in love with someone who is either a murderous mermaid, or just a poor girl abducted from her Greek island. It's arguably not a horror movie, unless you consider the horror of what turned this innocent Dennis Hopper into the drug-snorting maniac we all knew him to be.