Category Archives: Episodes

Mar 24 2022
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Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 105. Doom Scroll: Pulse (2001) and Suicide Club (2001)

 
In this episode, Andrea and Alex explore two different yet eerily similar films that came out of Japan in 2001. The conversation covers where history, humanity and community end, exploring what is left in its wake and the new limitations of imagining the future.
 
CW: Suicide. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones: 1-800-273-8255. 

 

REQUIRED READING

Pulse. Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2001.
Suicide Club. Dir. Sion Sono, 2001.
 

EXTRA CREDIT

Haunted by Leo Braudy. A wide ranging examination of horror and its tropes.
 
Apocalyptic Dead by Kirsten Moana Thompson. A deep dive into films at the turn of the 21st century and our fear of the future.
 
Too Lonely to Die Alone: Internet Suicide Pacts and Existential Suffering in Japan. Chikako Ozawa-de Silva looks at the troubling phenomenon in Japan in the early 2000s.
 
 
What You’re Feeling Isn’t a Vibe Shift. It’s Permanent Change. Elamin Abdelmahmoud’s piece for Buzzfeed on our shifting reality.
 
The End of History by Francis Fukuyama. The much cited piece about humanity’s (possible) end of ideology.

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Feb 24 2022
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Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 104. Dark Ages: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and Relic (2020)

 
Whether you call them Hagsploitation, Psycho-Biddy or just plain Elder Horror, growing old is a scary prospect and horror has mined those depths to great effect. Andrea and Alex dive into the murky waters of gender and aging, the burden of care and whether the cycle can be broken.
 
 

REQUIRED READING

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Dir. Robert Aldrich, 1962.
Relic. Dir. Natalie Erika James, 2020.
 

EXTRA CREDIT

Grande Dame Guignol Cinema: a History of Hag Horror from Baby Jane to Mother, by Peter Shelley (1962).|

You Must Remember This, Episode 91. Karina Longworth’s deep-dive into the production and reception history of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

A Framework for Understanding Old-Age Vulnerabilities. A paper that lays out the multiple challenges facing families and an aging population.

The Costly, Painful, Lonely Burden of Care. From the New York Times: a look at the cost of invisible care.

The Double Standard of Aging, by Susan Sontag. “Aging means a humiliating process of gradual sexual disqualification.”

“Must the Players Keep Young?”: Early Hollywood’s Cult of Youth by Heather Addison. The origin story of Hollywood’s obsession with youth.

“Facing the horror – becoming an old maid,” from the book A Table for One: a Critical Reading of Singlehood, Gender and Time, by Kinneret Lahad.

Bitch media: Aging as the ultimate cinematic horror by Alana Prochuk.

The Alzheimer’s Society: an informative resource – consider donating!

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Jan 26 2022
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Episodes

Episode 103. 2021 Year in Review: From the Book of Fack

 
It’s that time of year where we look back at our horror and non-horror faves from the last year and have a bit of fun while we’re at it.
 


EXTRA CREDIT

Alex’s Best of Horror 
  • Dexter: New Blood
  • Titane 
  • Censor
  • Caveat 
  • Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched
  • Yellowjackets
  • Midnight Mass
  • Malignant 
  • The Humans
 
Andrea’s Best of Horror
  • Saint Maud
  • Psycho Goreman
  • Candyman
  • Last Night in Soho
  • The Feast (Gwledd)
  • The Vigil
  • Caveat
  • The Sadness
  • Midnight Mass
 
Alex’s Non-Horror Faves
 
Andrea’s Non-Horror Faves


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Nov 24 2021
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Episodes

Episode 101. Death Trap: Saw (2004) and Hostel (2005)

Do you want listen to an episode about Torture Porn? Well, you’re in luck! Andrea and Alex dive into the 2000s to look at the phenomenon of Torture Porn; what preceded it, what it meant, and where we can potentially place it in our collective imagination.
 
 
 

REQUIRED READING

Saw. Dir. James Wan, 2004.
Hostel. Dir. Eli Roth, 2005.
 

EXTRA CREDIT

Saw 0.5. James Wan and Leigh Whannell’s short film made as a proof of concept for what would eventually become Saw.
 
Now Playing at Your Local Multiplex: Torture Porn. David Edelstein’s piece in New York Magazine that coined the term Torture Porn.
 
Sympathy for the Sequel, Saw: The Final Chapter. Alex’s series on Rue Morgue TV.
HBO’s Succession podcast. S3E2 episode where host Kara Swisher talks to organizational psychologist Adam Grant.
 
How Masculinity Contests Undermine Organizations, and What to Do About It. From the Harvard Business Review, a look at how toxic masculinity took over corporate culture.
 
Smash hit horror Hostel causes a stir among citizens of sleepy Slovakia. Roth’s interview with European press about his take on Europe and why he made Hostel.
 
Ghost Faces: Hollywood and Post-Millennial Masculinity. David Greven’s book which features the chapter “Torture/Porn: Hostel, Homophobia and Gay Male Internet Porn.”
 
Gaylords of Darkness Episode 124: Lady Police Academy. Stacie and Anthony’s fantastic episode on Roth’s Knock Knock.
 
Capone and Eli Roth discuss horror movies, gore, Stephen King, the phrase “Torture Porn” and much more! An interview on Hostel 2 wherein Roth reveals his insights on feminism among other things…
 
Torture: A Sociology of Violence and Human Rights by Lisa Hajjar. How the morality of torture has shifted since 9/11 and the war on terror.
 
Are horror films immoral? No, they aren’t.
 

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