Tag Archives: Salem Horror Fest

Apr 25 2023
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Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 117. Fear of Folk: The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971)

We’re back on our old stomping grounds of Salem Horror Fest to plow the fertile fields of themes and metaphors to unearth why the British folk horror classic, The Blood on Satan’s Claw, left us feeling so icky. From teens and occultism to PSAs and power, we dig deep. 
 
 
 

REQUIRED READING

The Blood on Satan’s Claw. Dir Piers Haggard, 1971. 
 

EXTRA CREDIT

Folk Horror Hours Dreadful And Things Strange. Paul Scovell’s essential text for British folk horror. 
 
Satanic Tourism: Adolescent Dabblers and Identity Work. Pseudo-Satanism as harmless teen fun!
 
 

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Oct 22 2021
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Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 100. American Nightmare: The Crazies (1973)

Live from Salem Horror Fest, our 100th episode on George A. Romero’s The Crazies sees us tackling small-town life, biology, the Vietnam War, health care and our own podcasting mortality. Plus, a very special Cameo!
 
 
 

REQUIRED READING

The Crazies. Dir. George A. Romero, 1973.
 

EXTRA CREDIT

The Crazies. Dir. Breck Eisner, 2010. 
 
Robin Wood on the Horror Film. A collection of Wood’s seminal essays.
 
Hearts and Minds. The 1974 Oscar-winning documentary about the Vietnam War.
 
New Pandemics, Old Politics: Two Hundred Years of War on Disease and its Alternatives. Alex De Waal’s new book on modernity’s need for narratives and biology’s refusal of them.
 
The Birth of Biopolitics. Foucault’s lectures that introduce his theories of biopower and biopolitics.
 
The American Idea: The Best of the Atlantic Monthly. A large collection of essays that reflected and shaped America.
 
The Washington Post: “If we want people to take the coronavirus vaccine, we need to treat them like consumers” by Jennifer Reich. Has our history with DTCAs made us treat healthcare like businesses?
 

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Oct 31 2020
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Episodes, Uncategorized

Episode 88. Cult Classic: The Howling (1981)

We’re *virtually* live from Salem Horror Fest this year and we’re talking about sexy werewolves and not-so-sexy wellness with Joe Dante’s The Howling. From cultish retreats to women in media, Alex and Andrea go to the darkest reaches of the p0rn theatre… 
 
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REQUIRED READING

The Howling. Dir. Joe Dante, 1981.

EXTRA CREDIT

Feminist Critique of Freud. A summary of how Freud is less than friendly to women. It the privilege we envy, not the penis!
 
The Human Potential Movement Gone Awry. A look at how one wellness movement became co-opted.
 
Self Help Inc. Micki McGee’s book about how self-help became a cultural movement.
 
Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers. Sady Doyle’s book on the construct of woman as monster.
 
Haunted. Leo Braudy’s book on supernatural elements in the natural world told from an accessibly academic standpoint.

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Oct 23 2019
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Episodes

Episode 77. Human Nature: Under the Skin (2013)

Live from Salem Horror Fest 2019 – Andrea and Alex tackle Jonathan Glazer’s alien masterpiece. Bringing the outlying universe down to Earth, Under The Skin reveals the darkest parts of consciousness in a chilling meditation on what it means to be human.

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REQUIRED READING

Under the Skin. Dir. Jonathan Glazer, 2013.

EXTRA CREDIT

VIDEO: The Making of Under the Skin. An in-depth look at the film’s production.
 
The Alien Gaze of Under the Skin. How Under the Skin employs and subverts gaze theory.
 
Where to Begin with Folk Horror. Some key definitions of the increasingly popular sub-genre.
 
Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990) by Judith Butler. Gender is as gender does, but it’s just a bit more complicated.

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