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Everyone’s got mother issues, right? This episode examines the perceived and manifested strains on maternal instinct once malevolent forces enter the picture. Alex and Andrea investigate where these forces come from and what they truly want. REQUIRED READING The Babadook. Dir Jennifer Kent, 2014. Goodnight Mommy. Dirs Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, 2014. EXTRA CREDIT Monster. Jennifer Kent’s short film on which The Babadook was based. The Mommy Trap: Four recent horror movies by women explore the most troubling aspects of motherhood. The Monstrous Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis by Barbara Creed. Talking to the Directors of the Horror Film ‘Goodnight Mommy‘. Vice talks to the directors about the origins of the film. COURSE NOTES  Intro song: Nail Ballet from Nightmare Picture Theatre, courtesy of James Zirco Fisher. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Bust out your corsets and button up your pinafores because we’re going back to the 19th century… by way of the 1990s. In this episode, Alex and Andrea examine conflicting authorial intentions, monsters and their makers and what happens when love won’t stay dead. REQUIRED READING Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Dir Francis Ford Coppola, 1992. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Dir Kenneth Branagh, 1994. EXTRA CREDIT Dracula Making-Of Documentary (Parts 1, 2 and 3) – Everything you could want to know (and more) about the making of Dracula. De Niro Meets Frankenstein – Kenneth Branagh, in character as Victor Frankenstein (or so we think), interviews Robert De Niro about his career and approach to playing the iconic monster. THE BATCAVE – Andrea’s new YouTube channel is alive… ALIVE! BLOOD IN FOUR COLOURS book giveaway – Comment on our blog with your favorite horror movies based on comic books, and you’ll be entered to win one of 3 copies of Rue Morgue’s BLOOD IN FOUR COLOURS! COURSE NOTES  Intro song: Nail Ballet from Nightmare Picture Theatre, courtesy of James Zirco Fisher. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Andrea and Alex dive back into the virtual mailbag to reassess everything covered in 2015, from the highs to the lows and everything in between. EXTRA CREDIT Films of the New French Extremity: Visceral Horror and National Identity. Alex’s book is now available for pre-order! The Neo-Gothic Horror of James Wan. Alex’s piece on horror impresario James Wan. Split Lip. Sam Costello’s anthology of short horror comics – we recommend! The Canadian Horror Film: Terror of the Soul. Many great essays on Canuck horror, including Andrea’s chapter on Pontypool. The Whorer: Episode 81. The Whorer podcast had a slightly different reading of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser films. Based on True Case Files: Ed and Lorraine Warren in Film. Alex’s overview of Ed and Lorraine Warren’s life on film. Remembering Notorious British TV Shocker, Ghostwatch. Alex’s article on the prolific BBC production. The Witches: Salem, 1692. Stacy Schiff’s excellent book is a great companion to our witches episodes. I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem. A recommendation from a listener for another perspective on Arthur Miller’s character from The Crucible. COURSE NOTES  Intro song: Nail Ballet from Nightmare Picture Theatre, courtesy of James Zirco Fisher. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Alex and Andrea take a tour of the Overlook Hotel examining Stanley Kubrick’s seminal film, the spectre of Stephen King’s book and the complexities of family life under the American dream. REQUIRED READING The Shining. Dir Stanley Kubrick, 1980 EXTRA CREDIT Kubrick Goes Gothic. A preview piece from American Film anticipating the release and impact of The Shining. The Overlook Hotel. This comprehensive Tumblr has all your Shining-related needs covered. The Making of The Shining. Vivian Kubrick’s candid behind-the-scenes documentary should really be required reading! Studies in the Horror Film: Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, edited by Danel Olson. Essays, artwork and interviews that deliver the goods that other books might have, ahem… overlooked. COURSE NOTES  Intro song: Nail Ballet from Nightmare Picture Theatre, courtesy of James Zirco Fisher. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Alex and Andrea are joined by Paul “Canuxploitation” Corupe to deconstruct the architecture and isolation of David Cronenberg’s first feature, SHIVERS, within the context of the Canadian film industry. So grab your favourite parasite, check on your neighbours and listen in. To enter the HORRORWOOD NORTH giveaway – use #Horrorwood and tag us (@FacultyofHorror) with your favourite Canadian horror film (contest open internationally). To enter the SATANIC PANIC giveaway – use #SatanicPanic and tag us (@FacultyofHorror) with your favourite Satanic film (contest open internationally). REQUIRED READING Shivers. Dir David Cronenberg, 1975. EXTRA CREDIT They Came From Within: A History of Canadian Horror Cinema by Caelum Vatnsdal. From Cinépix to Cineplex: The Studios that Dripped Maple Syrup. From Paul Corupe’s excellent Canuxploitation website, a look at the studios that helped shaped Canadian genre films. Language Conflict in Quebec. An overview of Quebec’s political and social turbulence from the late 1960s to 1980s. FEAR ON FILM: Landis, Carpenter, Cronenberg! An excellent interview with Cronenberg and other horror auteurs. COURSE NOTES  Intro song: Nail Ballet from Nightmare Picture Theatre, courtesy of James Zirco Fisher. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Keep a crucifix close and put some pea soup on the stove because Alex and Andrea are confronting their demons to talk about The Exorcist and why the scariest things are sometimes the most personal. REQUIRED READING The Exorcist. Dir William Friedkin, 1973. EXTRA CREDIT The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. The 1949 Washington Post piece on an exorcism in Mt. Rainier. The news article that inspired Blatty to write the best-selling novel. History Today article on The Exorcist. Nick Cull explores how the smash-hit horror film exploited all the issues that most worried Americans in the early 1970s. Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine: An Imaginary Abjection by Barbara Creed. Creed’s seminal paper which explores the female body as a site of trauma and terror. I Was There Too – The Exorcist with Eileen Dietz. Matt Gourley’s fun and informative podcast focuses on interviews with actors who were there for the great moments of cinema history. In this episode he interviews Linda Blair’s body and stunt double who was also the face of Captain Howdy, Eileen Dietz, who gives a personal account of the shooting of the film. Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood, and Invented Modern Horror by Jason Zinoman. The New York Times writer describes playwright Harold Pinter’s influence on The Exorcist’s original theatrical cut. COURSE NOTES  Intro song: Nail Ballet from Nightmare Picture Theatre, courtesy of James Zirco Fisher. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Why do we watch horror movies? The aptly named documentary Why Horror? poses that very question to scholars, writers, artists, filmmakers and fans. The film follows comedian, horror journalist and our guest Tal Zimerman as he ventures around the world in an attempt to figure out why we love the grotesque and the terrifying. Why Horror? will receive its American television premiere Friday October 30th, on Showtime. EXTRA CREDIT The Why Horror? Official Website The Why Horror? Facebook Page LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

A mini-episode sharing our memories of Craven’s films and their impact. EXTRA CREDIT Never Sleep Again: The Nightmare on Elm Street Legacy (2010). The only Nightmare on Elm Street documentary you need to see. Post Mortem: the Mick Garris Interview series. A wonderful four-part interview with Craven covering the highlights of his career. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Andrea and Alex grab their randomly assigned weapons and try to survive the danger zones of Kinji Fukasaku’s turn of the millennium classic while discussing the film’s emphasis on generational divides and the construction of adolescence. REQUIRED READING Battle Royale. Dir Kinji Fukasaku, 2000. EXTRA CREDIT Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. The Japanese High School: Silence and Resistance – A thorough overview of the Japanese high school system and its cultural impact. You Must Remember This Podcast – Karina Longworth’s episodes on Charlie Manson’s Hollywood are great. Highly recommended listening for Faculty lovers! COURSE NOTES  Intro song: Nail Ballet from Nightmare Picture Theatre, courtesy of James Zirco Fisher. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Andrea and Alex open a puzzlebox to unpack the history, mythology and impact of Clive Barker’s iconic series. REQUIRED READING Hellraiser. Dir Clive Barker, 1987. Hellbound: Hellraiser II. Dir Tony Randel. 1988. EXTRA CREDIT The Hellbound Heart – Clive Barker’s novella that spawned the franchise. “Fire, Brimstone and PVC: Clive Barker’s Cenobites as Agents of Hell” – Andrea’s chapter in The Undead and Theology looks at how the Hellraiser series suggests a modernized depiction of hell, morality and punishment. The Hellraiser Podcast – They’ll tear your ears apart! COURSE NOTES  Intro song: Nail Ballet from Nightmare Picture Theatre, courtesy of James Zirco Fisher. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Blockbusters are as much a part of summer as sunburns and mosquitoes. In this episode, Andrea and Alex explore what it means when the billion dollar industry that is Hollywood casts its evil eye on the horror genre during their most profitable time of the year. REQUIRED READING The Haunting. Dir Jan De Bont. 1999. World War Z. Dir Marc Forster, 2013. EXTRA CREDIT Brad’s War. Vanity Fair’s in-depth look at the plagued production of World War Z. Conclusion to Culture and Society by Raymond Williams. The conclusion to the cultural theorist’s book, containing his insights on community, “the masses” and the myth of common culture. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

We return to the theme of witches with an evil eye to look at them in a broader historical and social context. Who was a witch? Who was a bitch? Who actually deserved what they got? REQUIRED READING The Witchfinder General. Dir Michael Reeves. 1968. Inferno. Dir Dario Argento. 1980. The Crucible. Dir Nicholas Hytner. 1996. EXTRA CREDIT Why I Wrote the Crucible. Arthur Miller’s take on his own play as it’s about the hit the big screen. The Moral Panic Concept. An overview and analysis of moral panic. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Andrea and Alex talk about sisters doing it for themselves as women run communities, islands and families with sinister intentions. Are they better, worse or the same as communities run by men? Have they developed an immunity to bee stings and Bloody Mary? REQUIRED READING The Wicker Man. Dir Robin Hardy. 1973 The Wicker Man. Dir Neil LaBute. 2006 Paranormal Activity 3. Dir Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman. 2011 EXTRA CREDIT The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory. The first chapter from Cynthia Eller’s book which discusses the second wave feminism fascination with a matriarchal order. The Eeriness of the English Countryside. From film to literature, a look at why the British countryside creeps us out. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Andrea and Alex return to the outskirts of civilization with Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods. Looking at archetypes, genre tropes and the limits of humanity, the Faculty ponders the fate of horror and if it should survive. REQUIRED READING The Cabin in the Woods. Dir Drew Goddard. 2012. EXTRA CREDIT The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon. Literature’s Greatest Fools. A look at famous fools from across literature. The Stanford Prison Experiment on YouTube. Not a horror movie per se, but pretty chilling all the same. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.

Up is down, left is right and black is white in this month’s episode. Tackling the Canadian winter horror film Pontypool, Andrea and Alex talk about national identity, broadcast journalism and how the stories we tell should stop making sense. REQUIRED READING Pontypool. Dir Bruce McDonald. 2008. EXTRA CREDIT Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media: The Extension of Man (1964). The Canadian theorist’s treatise on humanity’s dependence on (and interpretations of) media. Northrop Frye – Conclusion to a Literary History of Canada (1965). Canadian-ism and the garrison mentality. Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature (1972) by Margaret Atwood. Pontypool Changes Everything (2009) by Tony Burgess. LISTEN Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As…” to download the mp3.