Category Archives: Uncategorized

Episode 20. “It’s Very Hard To Get Lost In America These Days”: The Blair Witch Project (1999)

BWPAndrea and Alex take a wrong turn down the horrored halls and discuss Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick’s groundbreaking film, The Blair Witch Project. By looking at the created mythology, unstable narrative and audience reaction they hope to find the map before it starts getting dark.

REQUIRED READING

The Blair Witch Project. Dir Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick. 1999. [DVD]

EXTRA CREDIT

32 Things We Learned From the ‘Blair Witch Project’ Commentary Track. A break down of the most salient points from the director and producer commentary on the DVD.
Book Excerpt: “Film Firsts: The 25 Movies that Created Contemporary American Cinema” by Ethan Alter. An analysis of the release and revolutionary marketing campaign.
The Blair Witch Project. The OG website with only a few updates. Still a great source the Blair Witch mythology and timeline of events.

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Episode 19. Devoured: Eating Disorders in Black Swan (2010) and Drag Me To Hell (2009)

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Alex and Andrea explore the history, treatment and perception of eating disorders through Darren Aronofsky’s Oscar winning film Black Swan and Sam Raimi’s return to the horror genre, Drag Me To Hell.

REQUIRED READING

Black Swan. Dir Darren Aronofsky. 2010. [DVD]

Drag Me To Hell. Dir Sam Raimi. 2009. [Blu-ray]

EXTRA CREDIT

A History of Eating Disorders. A general overview of the history of the disease and different methods of treatment.

What if anorexia wasn’t a disorder, but a passion? A new reading on rethinking the way that anorexia is treated and thought of.

Body Refractions – Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. An academic article examining the use of doubling, mirroring and lust in Black Swan.

Sam Raimi Interview, Drag Me To Hell. The director discusses his return to horror and the morality behind the film.

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Episode 18. Camp Blood: Friday the 13th (1980) and Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Sleepaway

Pack your bag, say goodbye to Mom and Dad because it’s camp time. The annual tradition of camping has come to the Faculty of Horror and Andrea and Alex set off into the wilds to talk about nature, madmen/women and the politics of adolescence. 

REQUIRED READING

Sleepaway Camp. Dir. Robert Hiltzik. 1983. [Blu-ray/DVD]

Friday the 13th. Dir. Sean S. Cunningham. 1980. [DVD]

EXTRA CREDIT

History of Summer Camps. A brief history of the North American compulsion to camp overnight.

Sleepaway Camp Analysis, a brilliant and well-referenced article on the impact of the film from a soiological perspective.

Horror Movies as Modern Day Morality Tales. An analytical look at some of the most popular slashers and what they have to teach us about life (and horrible, grisly death).

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Episode 17. Blood in the Water: Jaws (1975) and Piranha (1978)

Jaws

Alex and Andrea take the biggest boat they can find and go into the deep as summer dawns once again. Their bait is the examination of nature as vengeance, the strong hold of Americana and the new masculine hero. Hopefully they’ll be home in time for dinner.

REQUIRED READING

Jaws. Dir. Steven Spielberg. 1975. [Blu-ray/DVD]
Piranha. Dir. Joe Dante. 1978. [DVD] [Blu-ray]

EXTRA CREDIT

Jaws – Between the Teeth by Peter Biskind. One of the first in depth analysis of Spielberg’s jaws, film writer Biskind tackles the cultural impact and its roots in literature

A guide to the fantastical work of Joe Dante by Keith Phipps, Scott Tobias & Noel Murray. An overview of the career of one of the most beloved directors in genre film.

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