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Join Andrea and Alex live at Salem Horror Fest! In this episode they tackle Ti West’s The House of the Devil and it’s reliance on the 1980s Satanic Panic movement. From modern technology to notions of the real and unreal, how much of the devil is in the details? REQUIRED READING The House of the Devil. Dir. Ti West, 2009. EXTRA CREDIT The history of Satanic Panic in the US — and why it’s not over yet Vox’s piece on the enduring impact of the Satanic Panic in the US. Satanic Panic: Pop-Cultural Paranoia in the 1980s Spectacular Optical’s deep dive into the cultural influence of Satanic Panic. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Walter Benjamin’s 1936 article delving into the notions of authenticity and aura in works of art. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

When it’s up to the misfits of Harrington High to stop the parasite-infected faculty from taking over the world, mayhem ensues. Alex and Andrea cut through the muck with a discussion on The Faculty‘s position in the ’90s teen horror cycle, the sociology of high school, and what happens when marketing partnership go awry. REQUIRED READING The Faculty. Dir. Robert Rodriguez, 1998. EXTRA CREDIT Class of 2018 t-shirts. Limited edition Faculty of Horror t-shirts are only available for a short time! Order yours today. Salem Horror Fest. We’ll be back October 12-14! Get your tickets now. Pajama Horror Gala. The Faculty of Horror’s weekly Chat Group has a podcast of its own! Site is still under construction but check it out and be sure to subscribe! Tommy Jeans ’90s TV spot. The ad that did the opposite of what it was supposed to. Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids by Murray Milner; an in-depth and accessible look at the life of the American teen. The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle, Alex’s book which features a discussion of The Faculty among many other films from that era. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Horror can be horrifying, but it can also be hilarious. Whether it’s mad science or vampires living together, the comedy in these films heightens the absurd as well as our notions of “typical” behavior. At its best, comedy and horror function as a subversion of our day to day lives and expectations enlightening us to the strange elements that we’ve accepted as “normal.” REQUIRED READING Young Frankenstein. Dir. Mel Brooks, 1974. What We Do in the Shadows. Dir  Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, 2014. EXTRA CREDIT Class of 2018 t-shirts. Limited edition Faculty of Horror t-shirts are available until September from Twisted Ts through the end of September! Order yours today. Salem Horror Fest. We’ll be back October 12-14! Get your tickets now. The Sunday Conversation: Mel Brooks on his ‘Young Frankenstein’ musical Brooks on the inception of Young Frankenstein and its afterlife. What We Do In The Shadows Interview: Taika Waititi And Jemaine Clement An interview with the filmmakers about their process and reception of the film. Faculty of Horror subreddit. Keep the conversation going on our subreddit page. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

What constitutes a film? What constitutes a podcast episode description? Andrea and Alex ask these questions (okay, maybe not that last one) and more in this month’s episode. By plundering the depths of filmic conventions, audience expectations and interpersonal contracts, Michael Haneke’s Funny Games asks the hard questions for which there are many answers. REQUIRED READING Funny Games. Dir. Michael Haneke, 1997. EXTRA CREDIT Class of 2018 t-shirts. Limited edition Faculty of Horror t-shirts are available until September from Twisted Ts through the end of September! Order yours today. Salem Horror Fest. We’ll be back October 12-14! Get your tickets now. Faculty of Horror subreddit. Keep the conversation going on our subreddit page. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman. Symbolic interactionism and dramaturgical analysis. Bertolt Brecht. Avant-garde theatre practioner who believed in distancing an audience to encourage rational thought over emotional engagement. Anne Dufourmantelle. The Philosophy of Hospitality. An exploration of the people involved in the dynamics of hospitality. Jacques Derrida on Hospitality. The French philosopher’s take on the conditional and unconditional concepts of hospitality. The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle. Alex’s new book is available now through McFarland Books! LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

  In this episode, Alex and Andrea look through an illicit peephole into the world of the mad and macabre.  Both Peeping Tom and Psycho caused sensations when they were released in the same year, causing Western audiences to question the nature of evil, our proximity to one another and how many women we can watch die on screen. REQUIRED READING Peeping Tom. Dir. Michael Powell, 1960. Psycho. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1960. EXTRA CREDIT Class of 2018 T-shirts – Get ’em while their hot! Salem Horror Fest – We’ll be back October 12-14! Get your tickets now. Visual Pleasure in Narrative Cinema. Laura Mulvey’s groundbreaking essay on the cinematic gaze Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film. Carol Clover’s genre-defining book from 1992. “Have You Ever Seen the inside of One of Those Places?”: Psycho, Foucault, and the Postwar Context of Madness. Cynthia Erb’s essay on institutionalization and Psycho. Michael Powell’s ‘Peeping Tom’: the film that killed a career. An overview of the release and reaction to Peeping Tom. The Misogyny of the Modern Slasher Film. Anna Biller’s blog post about the slasher sub-genre. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Andrea and Alex reach for the heavens and find the furthest reaches of hell with two films about space exploration and the darkness therein. Event Horizon and Sunshine explore the different reasons humankind would dare try to conquer space and the horrors that might await us there. REQUIRED READING Event Horizon. Dir Paul W.S. Anderson, 1997. Sunshine. Dir Danny Boyle, 2007. EXTRA CREDIT Class of 2018 t-shirts! Available until September 2018 – get ’em at Twisted Ts! Death Count: All of the Deaths in the Friday the 13th Film Series, Illustrated by Stacie Ponder. The Making of Event Horizon. Check out all the behind the scenes stories and detailed production history. Event Horizon‘s shooting draft of the script. The Myth of Oedipus. The Greek myth and the importance of sight. Mad, Bad and Dangerous? The Scientist and the Cinema by Christopher Frayling. A book that specifically looks at the personalities of on-screen scientists. Reasons Behind Cult Suicide. A look at the reasons and psychology behind mass suicide and why most of the “suicide cults” also involve a fair amount of homicide.  Kermode Uncut Film Club: Sunshine. British critic Mark Kermode talks about appreciating Danny Boyle’s Sunshine. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

The past few years have seen the figure of the witch become a cultural touchstone for progressives and conservatives alike. From the resurgence of astrology, tarot, and natural healing methods to feminist rallying cry, the witch has never been more inclusive or divisive. Through analysis of two recent films, Andrea and Alex examine the witch’s new meaning in contemporary Western society, and why she remains a symbol of subversive feminism. REQUIRED READING The VVitch: A New England Folktale. Dir. Robert Eggers, 2015. The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Dir.  André Øvredal, 2016. EXTRA CREDIT Yes, This Is a Witch Hunt. I’m a Witch and I’m Hunting You. Lindy West’s New York Times Op-Ed on the misappropriation of the term witch-hunt during the rise of the #MeToo movement. Why the Witch Is the Pop-Culture Heroine We Need Right Now – A look at why the figure of the witch has become so deservedly popular. Satanic Feminism by Per Faxneld. Faxneld’s book on the Devil as liberator of women in the nineteenth century. The Book of English Magic – An overview of the real and perceived magic used across the British Isles, with a chapter dedicated to witches and witchcraft. The Autopsy of Jane Doe post-screening Q & A – Following a showing at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, stars Emile Hirsh, Brian Cox and director André Øvredal talk about the making of The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Francisco Goya’s Black Paintings. The Satanic Temple – Activism and critical film appreciation, apparently. W.I.T.C.H. PDX – The figure of the witch adopted for anonymous activism in Portland. Start a local coven near you! LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

John Carpenter’s terrifying cult classic stands the test of time in many regards – from the practical effects, to the performances to the storytelling, there’s little about the film that doesn’t work. Andrea and Alex tackle the film and its stances on leadership, paranoia, the notion of discovery, and more over a bottle of Jim Beam. REQUIRED READING The Thing. Dir. John Carpenter, 1982. EXTRA CREDIT Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present by Robin R. Means Coleman. An in-depth look at Black culture and representation through the lens of horror films. Aids as Monster in Science Fiction by Edward Guerrero. Filmnoia, or How Fear Permeated Cinema. George Wead’s history of perception and paranoia in North American films. You Must Remember This podcast – the Blacklist series. The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31 board game. Can you survive the infection? LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Come for the bloopers, stay for our favourite films of 2017, the A’s to your burning Q’s and the friendship challenge rematch! EXTRA CREDIT Salem Horror Fest! Thank you for having us!  NPR’s Code Switch – a great episode on Black identity in horror and in Jordan Peele’s Get Out. The Get Out Syllabus – From our friends at Graveyard Shift Sisters, all you could want to know and more about Get Out and more! TIFF Long Takes : How Horror Slayed the Competition – Alex’s guest spot on the TIFF podcast. CONTEST! Win a copy of issue #1 of GRIM MAGAZINE! To enter, tell us your favorite horror film of 2017 in the comments section below. Winners will be selected and notified February 15, 2018. [The winner has been selected and notified. Thanks to everyone who entered!] LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

In our first-ever live episode recorded at Salem Horror Fest in Salem, Massachusetts, Andrea and Alex delve into the dark and depraved world of Patrick Bateman and Bret Easton Ellis to discover what is real and what can be bought with a platinum American Express credit card. From the rise of the yuppie to contemporary parallels, American Psycho is a gift that keeps on giving and never goes out of style. REQUIRED READING American Psycho. Dir. Mary Harron, 2000. EXTRA CREDIT Salem Horror Fest! Thank you for having us! American Psycho Author Bret Easton Ellis Tells Us Where Patrick Bateman Would Be Today – An overview of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel American Psycho, which scandalized the literary world and brought a storm of controversy with it. ‘American Psycho’ at 25: Bret Easton Ellis on Patrick Bateman’s Legacy – The author speaks candidly on Bateman’s legacy and serial killer chic. Documenting Trump’s Abuse of Women – The New Yorker article documenting Donald Trump’s misogyny and vanity. Lunar Park – Easton Ellis’ 2006 novel that documents the return of Patrick Bateman. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Winter is upon us again and what better way to embrace the cold than an exploration of Tomas Alfredson’s beloved contemporary genre classic, Let the Right One In? Alex and Andrea discuss the ties that bind and why blood is thicker than knitwear. REQUIRED READING Let the Right One In. Dir. Tomas Alfredson, 2008. EXTRA CREDIT Let the Right One In – The AV Club’s exploration of the book to film to remake journey of Eli and Oskar. The National Theatre of Scotland – The trailer for their production of Let the Right One In. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Ghosts, possession, autonomous sculptures and that’s just scratching the surface of Tim Burton’s genre-bending cult classic, Beetlejuice. In this episode, Andrea and Alex manage to avoid saying his name three times while diving into the aesthetics, capitalist virtues and bureaucracy of the afterlife that surrounds everyone’s favourite bio-exorcist. REQUIRED READING Beetlejuice. Dir. Tim Burton, 1988. EXTRA CREDIT The Imagination of Tim Burton – An overview of Burton’s career through an aesthetic lens. Michael Keaton on Creating Beetlejuice – The ghost with the most talks transformation. Michael Keaton Beetlejuice Introduction – Keaton talks all things Beetlejuice before a screening. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Alex and Andrea go back to the zombie’s origins with George A. Romero’s original Dead trilogy. From their social roots in Haiti to their ties to the New Hollywood movement, these films make delicious brain food. REQUIRED READING Night of the Living Dead. Dir. George A. Romero, 1968. Dawn of the Dead. Dir. George A. Romero, 1978. Day of the Dead. Dir. George A. Romero, 1985. EXTRA CREDIT When There’s No More Room in Hell: The Sociology of the Living Dead. Andrea’s book on Romero’s early Dead films. Passage of Darkness: the Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie by Wade Davis. An interdisciplinary study on Haitian political life and folklore. Marxism and Literature by Raymond Williams. Marxist concepts applied to literature that provided the bedrock for Williams’ theory of cultural materialism that Andrea holds dear. Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood, and Invented Modern Horror by Jason Zinoman. The Reduction of Urban Vulnerability: Revisiting 1950s American Suburbanization as Civil Defence. Kathleen Tobin’s article on the military’s involvement in the rise of the suburbs. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Andrea and Alex tackle the mysterious and ever changing narrative landscape of Vincenzo Natali’s Canadian cult film, Cube (1997). From workers rights to torture porn to prime numbers, they try to solve it all before they succumb to the film’s traps and trappings. Tickets for our first-ever live show in Salem, MA are available now: buy them here! Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date on all our announcements. REQUIRED READING Cube. Dir. Vincenzo Natali, 1997. EXTRA CREDIT Vincenzo Natali interview. Conducted during press for Natali’s later film, Splice, this interview tackles elements of Cube and Natali’s own ideology. Rue Morgue Library’s Horrorwood North is out of print, but you can buy the digital version here. The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle – Alex’s new book is now available for pre-order! LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Andrea and Alex head to a land down under, exploring a landscape which seems familiar but can change drastically when you head down the wrong back country road. From familial ties to an unforgiving Outback, Australia can provide a terrifying backdrop for the darkest of human psyches. Tickets for our first-ever live show in Salem, MA are available now: buy them here! Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date on all our announcements. REQUIRED READING Wolf Creek. Dir. Greg McLean, 2005. The Loved Ones. Dir. Sean Byrne, 2009. EXTRA CREDIT Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008) A documentary that explores the rise of Australian genre cinema in the 1970s and 1980s. Screenwave.com.au: Creative Events & Outdoor Cinema in Australia. Australian National Cinema by Tom O’Regan. No Turning Back by Joanne Lees – an account of surviving an encounter with the Outback Killer, Bradley Murdoch. Australia’s dark heart inspires horror movie boom – An interview with filmmakers about what makes Australian horror tick. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.