Episode 73. Freddy Inc: A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Master (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street:The Dream Child (1989), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), New Nightmare (1994), Freddy vs Jason (2013)

Andrea and Alex hit the hay one last time to discuss how Freddy became a marketing legend, a cultural sensation and an arbiter of taste. Transitioning from installments in the late ’80s to the ’90s to the early aughts, Freddy illustrates how slashers have evolved (or devolved) to become cultural icons.

Class of 2019 T-shirts are available now at Twisted Ts!

 Salem Horror Fest – Tickets to our live show on October 5th are on sale now!

REQUIRED READING

A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Master. Dir. Renny Harlin, 1988.
A Nightmare on Elm Street:The Dream Child. Dir. Stephen Hopkins, 1989.
Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare. Dir. Rachel Talalay, 1991.
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. Dir. Wes Craven, 1994.
Freddy vs Jason. Dir. Ronny Yu, 2013.

EXTRA CREDIT

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy. The four hour documentary that delves into the nooks and crannies of the Elm Street franchise.

How MTV changed the world with its industry of cool. A look at MTV from it’s birth to the height of its popularity.

Welcome to His ‘Nightmare’: How Freddy Krueger Became a Pop Icon. Rolling Stone examines how Freddy went from child murderer to teen sensation.

Slash of the Titans: The Road to Freddy vs Jason. Dustin McNeill’s exhaustive look at the production history and scripts that led to Freddy vs Jason.

Hockey Masks, Machetes and Razor Fingers: The Writers Behind ‘Freddy Vs. Jason’ Tell All! Trace Thurman’s interview with Freddy vs Jason screenwriters Mark Swift and Damian Shannon.

Bloody Disgusting. Larry Zerner explains the messy Friday the 13th lawsuit.

MTV’s Freddy Krueger Hour clips. All the MTV segments featuring Freddy Krueger promoting NoES 4.

Metacinema: A Modern Necessity. A guide and explanation of “metacinema” from its beginnings.

The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Lyotard’s critique of cultural metanarratives.

The Bogeyman of Your Nightmares: Freddy Krueger’s Folkloric Roots. A cultural history of figures like Freddy, and how the original and remake compare.

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Episode 72. Sleeper Hit: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

Freddy Krueger may be the man of our dreams but what about his creator, the studio that sustained him, his victims and the 1980s? Andrea and Alex dive into their nightmares and beyond to explore the lasting effects of one of horror’s most beloved franchises.

Class of 2019 T-shirts are available now at Twisted Ts!

 Salem Horror Fest – Tickets to our live show on October 5th are on sale now!

REQUIRED READING

A Nightmare on Elm Street. Dir. Wes Craven, 1984.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge. Dir. Jack Sholder, 1985.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. Dir. Chuck Russell, 1987.

EXTRA CREDIT

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy. The four hour documentary that delves into the nooks and crannies of the Elm Street franchise.

The Faculty of Horror: Filmmaker Spotlight. Dreamweaver: Wes Craven (1939-2015). Our mini-episode on Wes Craven.

“Fairy Tales for the Apocalypse”: Wes Craven on the Horror Film. A 1985 interview with Craven on the state of horror films in America.

Wes Craven: Thinking Through Horror. A retrospective piece on Craven’s career after his passing.

The Monstrous Years: Teens, Slasher Films, and the Family. Pat Gill’s article on how the slasher film can be read as a reflection of the broken home.

How Did A Bunch Of Mythical Monsters Become Queer Icons? A look at the importance of reclaiming monsters.

The Singular Joy of the Dumb, Fun Slasher Movie Threequel. Wired’s look at the 1980s Horror Threequel cycle.

Uncover: The Village. CBC Podcast’s in-depth series on the Bruce McArthur case.

Robin Wood on the Horror Film: Collected Essays and Reviews. The collected horror-based writings of film critic Robin Wood. 

The Legal Industry for Kidnapping Teens. Vice’s look at the Troubled Teen Industry.

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Episode 71. Violent Visage: Eyes Without a Face (1960)

Andrea and Alex unmask Georges Franju’s 1960 masterpiece Eyes Without a Face and peer into the damaged landscape of a post-World War II France, body modification and why sometimes, father doesn’t know best.

REQUIRED READING

Eyes Without a Face. Dir. Georges Franju, 1960.

EXTRA CREDIT

Blood of the Beasts (1949) Franju’s short documentary about the slaughterhouses on the outskirts of Paris. EXTREME CONTENT WARNING for this one: animal cruelty.

 

Fast Cars, Clean Bodies. Kristen Ross’ seminal book about the French desire to rid themselves of their past.

Mystery and Melodrama: A Conversation with Georges Franju. An interview with Franju about his career at the 1980 London Festival.

Behind the Mask of the Horror Actor by Doug Bradley.

Terrible Buildings The world of GEORGES FRANJU. Robin Wood’s article about Franju and the notion of institutions within his films.

Flesh Wounds: The Culture of Cosmetic Surgery by Virginia L. Blum.

Class of 2019 T-shirts are available now at Twisted Ts!

 Salem Horror Fest – Tickets to our live show on October 5th are on sale now!

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Episode 70. Man Eater: Ravenous (1999)

Andrea and Alex head West to explore the notions of Manifest Destiny and the Frontier Myth in Antonia Bird’s Ravenous. Combining historical context through a modern gaze, Ravenous proves you are who you eat.

REQUIRED READING

Ravenous. Dir. Antonia Bird, 1999.

EXTRA CREDIT

Manifest Destiny – An overview of the philosophical American mandate to head West.

Cannibal (2006) – a German film based on the true story of Armin Meiwes, who ate a man he met online.

“You Are Who You Eat” – Bitch Flicks’ essay on Ravenous, with a discussion on how it handles “manpain.”

Frontier Violence – NYT 1974 article on Richard Slotkin’s recontextualization of the American Frontier Myth.

Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature, by Margaret Atwood.

A Tribe Called Red – Canadian Indigenous rap group.

Tanya Tagaq – Canadian Inuk throat singer.

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