Category Archives: Episodes

Oct 22 2023
4 Comments
Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 122. Homecoming: IT Chapter 1 (2017) and IT Chapter 2 (2019)

We all float down here… or we’ll lose our minds trying to make sense of Andy Muschietti’s blockbuster horror films based on Stephen King’s classic novel. In this episode, Andrea and Alex investigate the depths of Derry’s sewer system, summer holidays and sexual awakenings.
 
 

REQUIRED READING

It Chapter 1 and It Chapter 2. Dir.  Andy Muschietti, 2017 and 2019.
 

EXTRA CREDIT

Danse Macabre. Stephen King’s treatise on horror. 
 
Why do Students Get Summers Off? A history of getting to play hooky in the summer. 
 
The American Small Town in the Age of the US Empire. The dream and reality of the American small town. 
 
Return of the Repressed. Robin Wood’s iconic essay about the American horror film. 
 

LISTEN

Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tagged , , , ,
Sep 25 2023
3 Comments
Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 121. Close Quarters: Single White Female (1992)

What kind of person could you live with? Barbet Shroeder’s paranoid erotic thriller seeks to answer that question and more as it delves into queer fear, sexual conservatism, property rights and female intimacy. 
 
 
If you’re Toronto, catch Alex’s lecture on Brexit in the modern British horror film on October 17 at the Revue Cinema – get your tickets here. 
 

REQUIRED READING

Single White Female. Dir. Barbet Schroeder, 1992. 
 

EXTRA CREDIT

You Must Remember This. Katrina Longworth’s in-depth look at Hollywood, including the last two seasons on the Erotic ’80s and ’90s
 
The Rise and Fall of the Erotic Thriller. An overview of the complicated sub-genre. 
 
 
A Room Of One’s Own. Virginia Woolfe’s treatise on women and access to private spaces. 
 
 
Queersighted: The Gay Best Friend Criterion Collections video discussion of the problematic trope
 
 

LISTEN

Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tagged , ,
Jul 21 2023
1 Comment
Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 120. Unseen Forces: The Invisible Man (1933 & 2020)

From economic disruptors to controlling techbro exes, the unseeable has been used as a metaphor in a variety of ways. In this episode, Andrea and Alex look back at H.G. Wells’ original text, James Whale’s Universal classic and how #MeToo created a new kind of monster. 
 
 

REQUIRED READING

The Invisible Man. Dir. James Whale, 1933.
The Invisible Man. Dir. Leigh Whannell, 2020. 
 

EXTRA CREDIT

The Invisible Man. H.G. Wells’ Victorian classic. 
 
Simulacra and Simulation. Baudrillard continues to be worried about copies. 
 
Evolution of Horror: Sleeping with the Enemy and Fear. Alex joins friend of the pod Mike Muncer to talk about home invasion and visibility. 
 
The Dark Universe Cast Photo. Universal Studios’ lost cinematic universe (and the article that photoshopped out one of the key players). 
 
“The Invisible Man” and the Invisible Hand: H. G. Wells’s Critique of Capitalism. Paul A. Cantor dissects the anti-capitalist sentiment of Wells’ story.
 
WomenWriteAboutComics.com – Kate Tanski dissects the male gaze in Sue Storm’s long overdue solo debut.
 

LISTEN

Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tagged , , ,
Jun 24 2023
1 Comment
Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 119. Metamorphosis: The Fly (1958) and The Fly (1986)

Dust off the telepods and put your swatters away – it’s time for our thoughts about a short story, an iconic original film, and an even better remake to mingle molecules in an all-new episode.
 
 

REQUIRED READING

The Fly. Dir. Kurt Neumann, 1958. 
The Fly. Dir. David Cronenberg, 1986. 
 

EXTRA CREDIT

“The Fly” By George Langelann. The original short story that appeared in Playboy in 1957.

From Pathos to Tragedy: Two Versions of The Fly. Mary Ferguson Pharr’s essay about the different interpretations of the two films.

The Beetle and the Fly. David Cronenberg’s essay about aging, Kafka and his version of The Fly.
 
On translating Kafka’s “The Matamorphosis.” Susan Bernofsky’s afterword to her 2014 translation of Kafka’s story.
 

LISTEN

Right click or option-click here and choose “Save Target As”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tagged , ,
← Older posts
Newer posts →