Episode 64. Tour de Farce: Young Frankenstein (1974) and What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

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

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5 thoughts on “Episode 64. Tour de Farce: Young Frankenstein (1974) and What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

  1. David Thiel says:

    Love the show as always, but I’m halfway into the “Young Frankenstein “ coverage and the “Frau Blücher” (whinneeeee!) mispronunciation is driving me slowly mad!

    I’d be interested in your defense of “Scary Movie.” I felt it was a lazy spoof, little more than an uncredited remake of “Scream” (with a smidge of “I Know What You Did Last Summer”), itself a satirical spin on genre conventions. That “Matrix”-inspired scene you cited is typical of its lack of effort, pulling in a completely unrelated movie for no reason other than to say, “You saw ‘The Matrix,’ right? Right?”

  2. RandomNumbers says:

    What no love for Night of the Creeps?

  3. Aaron Spickelmire says:

    First time leaving a comment. I’ve been listening to the podcast for over two years, and have loved almost everything you both have discussed. I do have one small critique, though.

    What about “Tucker & Dale vs. Evil”? It was filmed in Canada (British Columbia), and is one of the funniest horror comedies in the last ten years. Not as classic as “Young Frankenstein,” of course, but I think it’s still worth mentioning.

  4. Liv says:

    Hey guys! New fan here.

    I recently graduated from UNCW with a BA in film studies/production, and part of the reason I went to film school was due to my love for horror.
    Just yesterday I found this podcast and I can’t tell you guys how compelling, charming, and intelligent every episode is. It’s just the kind of show I’ve been looking for. Andrea and Alexandra are incredibly smart and well-versed. I feel like I’m listening to my favorite professors discussing their favorite subject, inspiring the class, teaching the class.

    And I know it’s not a “feminist podcast” but it “kind of” is? It’s very fair, it’s very accurate, and I’m learning a lot about my favorite films, things I didn’t even know. And I thought I knew everything about The Blair Witch Project.

    All in all, I really love the show and I guess I wanted to show my support. Can’t wait to see what you tackle next. The podcast really just makes my desk job spookier.

  5. Dave Beveridge says:

    Side Rant: Okay since David Thiel mentioned it too, I’m calling you out. You are guilty of Inserting Unnecessary Ns In People’s Names! Not only was Frau Blucher turned into Frau Bluckner here, but in your Jaws episode (17), you kept calling Roy Scheider, Roy Shneider!

    I love you guys but if this doesn’t stop I’ll be calling you Alenx and Nandrea.

    Young Frankenstein: One thing I’ve thought since it was first released (yes, I’m that old, saw it in the theater) is that the “Puttin’ On the Ritz” scene is an homage to the scene in the original King Kong, where the Carl Denham introduces “Kong,” just as Frederick introduces “The Creature.” Tuxedos, shots of crowd dressed in high Broadway fashions of the day, etc.; each “entrepreneur” displaying his new acquisition, and both go wrong as their captives go on a rampage in the middle of the show. What do you think?

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