–And Now The Podcast Starts! is a critical, fun journey with four informed fans of film and TV. Each episode will focus on a different topic for review or discussion, usually taking the horror genre as a starting point, but going in an unexpected direction, and often featuring special guests.
AKA Omen Trilogy Retrospective #2 Back in 2023, Dan, Stella, Ian and Howard recorded a chat about 1978's Satanic sequel Damian: Omen II to follow up their chat on 1976's The Omen. Ghosts (or demons) got into the machine, however, and caused most of the recording to be lost. In January 2025, though, Dan sat down with friend of the podcast Steve Timms to get a fresh perspective on the film, while including some of the surviving comments from the rest of the team. Will Dan and Steve agree with Howard that this example from the first golden age of the Hollywood sequel (released in the same year as Jaws 2 and the year before Rocky II) is a roaring romp, or with Ian that it's dull and deeply unmemorable? APOLOGIES: Lots of us call it "The Omen II" when it's actually called Damien: Omen II. We know. MORE APOLOGIES: Sorry for our first new episode of 2025 coming out in February rather than, as first announced, January. Sadly, it will be a while before we can get back to a weekly schedule, but we will be releasing bonus episodes now and then. Works Cited Damien: Omen II (Twentieth-Century Fox, US 1978, director: Don Taylor) is available on Blu-Ray from Scream Factory and is streaming on Disney+ Oliver Harper and Bad Movie Bible's commentary for the film is on YouTube Our episode about The Omen Our episode on The Unhealer (featuring an interview with Lance Henriksen) Our episodes on Halloween, Halloween III and Suspiria (featuring contributions from Steve) Artwork by Kirsty Worrow (Instagram: OneCrowLeft). Music by Greg Hulme. To hear our next episode early please go to our Patreon page and become a supporter Socials: BlueSky Mastodon Twitter Instagram (also on Threads) Facebook All clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (Commonwealth law) and Fair Use (US law) for the purposes of criticism and education. No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
Happy New Year! But Christmas continues. Here's another gem from the archives of the podcast A Very British Horror, wherein Paul and Chris discuss a (sort of) ghost story for Christmas, the BBC's 1975 adaptation of MR James' The Ash Tree, which is currently streaming on BBC iPlayer. Coincidentally, it stars Edward Petherbridge, who also appears in The Exorcism, which we covered in the last episode of And Now thePodcast Starts... Works Cited James, MR, "The Ash Tree", Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, 1904. (Available to read on Project Guttenberg) The Ash Tree (BBC Television, UK 1975, director: Lawrence Gordon Clark) (BBC iPlayer)
AKA Missed Classics #13 Belatedly following up on our 2020 review of During Barty's Party, here we look at another 1970s TV play by director Don Taylor, 1972's socially-conscious Christmas ghost story, The Exorcism. Ian, Kirsty, Stella and Dan talk the talk. Works Cited The Exorcism is part of the series Dead of Night (BBC Television, UK 1972, producer: Innes Lloyd) is available on BFI DVD The Stone Tape (same credits) has just been re-released on Blu-Ray and DVD by 101 Films Beasts (ATV Television, UK 1976, producer: Nicholas Palmer) features the episode During Barty's Party and was released on DVD by the now-defunct Network, though you might still be able to find a copy - here's our 2020 episode about it Box of Delights: The Exorcism (2018 podcast in which John Dryden Taylor is interviewed about The Exorcism) can be found here Ghost Stories for Christmas: Woman of Stone (BBC Television, UK 2024, director: Mark Gatiss) is currently streaming on BBC iPlayer Artwork by Kirsty Worrow (Instagram: OneCrowLeft). Music by Greg Hulme. To hear our next episode early please go to our Patreon page and become a supporter Socials: BlueSky Mastodon Twitter Instagram (also on Threads) Facebook All clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (Commonwealth law) and Fair Use (US law) for the purposes of criticism and education. No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
The visual media of cinema, TV and videogames are especially suited to depicting the strange visions and wonky logic of human dreaming, and the horror genre is especially able to take advantage of this. Kirsty and Dan discuss some of the best examples, while Stella drops in to make some points, too. Works Cited Un Chien Andalou ("An Andalusian Dog") (Les Grande Films Classiques, France 1929, director: Luis Bunuel (co-writer: Salvador Dali) Meshes of the Afternoon (US 1943 silent/1949 with added music, directors: Maya Deren and Alexandr Hackenshmeid, who later changed his name to Alexander Hammid) Eraserhead (AFI Center for Advanced Studies, US 1979, director: David Lynch) Lost Highway (October Films, US 1998, director: David Lynch) Mulholland Drive (Universal Pictures US 2001, director: David Lynch) Rabbits (web series, US 2002, director: David Lynch) Twin Peaks: The Return (Showtime Network Television, US 2017, showrunners: Mark Frost and David Lynch) Jacob's Ladder (Tri-Star Pictures, US 1990, director: Adrian Lyne) Legion (20th Century Fox Television, US 2015-17, showrunner: Noah Hawley) The Big Lebowski (Polygram Filmed Entertainment, US 1998, directors: Joel and Ethan Coen) Dead of Night: The Exorcism (BBC Television, UK 1972, director: Don Taylor) - be sure to watch this before you listen to our Christmas episode, which will be available on Friday 20th to Patreon supporters and on Christmas Eve to everyone else Artwork by Kirsty Worrow (Instagram: OneCrowLeft). Music by Greg Hulme. To hear our next episode early please go to our Patreon page and become a supporter Socials: BlueSky Mastodon Twitter Instagram (also on Threads) Facebook All clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (Commonwealth law) and Fair Use (US law) for the purposes of criticism and education. No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
Kirsty and Dan discuss Enys Men, director Mark Jenkin's unique sort-of-folk horror/art film hybrid set on a lonely Cornish island. Beware, there are some plot developments given, although this very much open-to-interpretation film is fairly spoiler-proof. (Apologies, by the way, that the last episode was delayed by a day. We've made sure this one's come out on time!) Works Cited Enys Men (Film Four, UK 2022, director: Mark Jenkin) - The trailer is largely dialogue-free so we didn't include it in the podcast, but you can see it here M3gan (Blumhouse Pictures, US 2022, director: Gerard Johnstone) - our episode about androids in horror Artwork by Kirsty Worrow (Instagram: OneCrowLeft). Music by Greg Hulme. To hear our next episode right now please go to our Patreon page and become a supporter Socials: BlueSky Mastodon Twitter Instagram (also on Threads) Facebook All clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (Commonwealth law) and Fair Use (US law) for the purposes of criticism and education. No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
AKA Clark on Quatermass #2: The 1979 Novel This is the second episode we've released in which award-winning author Simon Clark (@HotelMidnight) pops on to talk to Dan about their mutual hero, writer Nigel Kneale. In the earlier episode they discussed Kneale's script books of the 1950s Quatermass TV serials; here they discuss Kneale's 1979 follow-up novel, Quatermass. To preface this discussion, and with the kind blessing of our good friend Spider-Dan, we also present a re-edited 2022 episode from the splendid podcast Spider-Dan and the Secret Bores. In this episode Dan discussed the 1979 theatrical film The Quatermass Conclusion, on which the novel was (sort of) based, and this chat gives excellent context for the discussion with Simon, so it comes first. Beware - spoilers for Quatermass/The Quatermass Conclusion (novel, series and film) and Quatermass and the Pit. Works Cited The Quatermass Conclusion (Euston Films, UK 1979, director: Piers Haggard Quatermass (Thames Television, UK 1979) - streaming on ITVX in the UK The Quatermass Xperiment (Exclusive Films/Hammer, UK 1955) - Dan and Howard's discussion The Quatermass Experiment/Quatermass II/Quatermass and the Pit (BBC Television, UK 1953/55/58) - Simon Clark on the script books Quatermass and the Pit (Twentieth Century Fox/Hammer, UK 1967, director: Roy Ward Baker) A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss (BBC Television, UK 2010, directors: John Das & Rachel Jardine) - currently available on Amazon Prime in the UK Shudder's folk horror documentary mentioned by Spider-Dan is Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched (Severin Films, US 2021, director: Kier-La Janisse) Spider-Dan appears throughout our Halloween retrospective series and also to discuss The Black Cat He is on BlueSky as @secretbores.bsky.social What We Do In The Shadows (FX TV, USA 2019-23, Creator: Jemaine Clement) is streaming on Disney+ - our episode Artwork by Kirsty Worrow (Instagram: OneCrowLeft). Music by Greg Hulme. To hear our next episode right now please go to our Patreon page and become a supporter Socials: BlueSky Mastodon Twitter Instagram (also on Threads) Facebook All clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (Commonwealth law) and Fair Use (US law) for the purposes of criticism and education. No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
This year, Stella and Dan got to go to Manchester's Grimmfest together for the first time since before the pandemic. Here they talk about the two films they saw, listed below. NB. 'The Lurking Gits' is a reference to a joke on Stella's other podcast, the excellent Murder Media. Works Cited Crumb Catcher (Doppleganger Releasing/Music Box Films, US 2023, director: Chris Skotchdopole) Delivery Run (Arctic Renegades/Jackrabbit Media, US/Finland/UK 2024, director: Joey Palmroos) Duel (Universal Pictures, US 1971, director: Steven Spielberg) - our episode Fargo (Polygram Filmed Entertainment/Working Title Films, US/UK 1996, directors: Joel and Ethan Coen) Artwork by Kirsty Worrow (Instagram: OneCrowLeft). Music by Greg Hulme. To hear our next episode right now please go to our Patreon page and become a supporter Socials: BlueSky Mastodon Twitter Instagram (also on Threads) Facebook All clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (Commonwealth law) and Fair Use (US law) for the purposes of criticism and education. No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
AKA Questions of Horror #6: What Makes Horror Beautiful? Kirsty and Dan discuss the beauty that can sometimes be found in works of horror - or, to use Kirsty's cooler phraseology, the aesthetic qualities of abjection. Stella chimes in too. And yes, Kirsty does comment on how much she is "enjoying sunlight", which is a clue that the main discussion here was recorded several months ago. Works Cited The Cell (New Line Cinema, USA, 2000, director: Tarsem Singh) Hannibal (NBC Television, USA, 2013-2015, showrunner: Bryan Fuller) (our episodes on Season One and Season Two) Bram Stoker's Dracula (Columbia Pictures, USA, 1992, director: Francis Ford Coppola (our episode) Alice aka Something From Alice (First Run Features, Czechoslovakia et al, 1988, director: Jan Svankmajer) The Wicker Man (British Lion, UK, 1973, director: Robin Hardy) (our second paganism episode) Midsommar (A24 Films, USA/Sweden, 2019, director: Ari Aster) (our first paganism episode) Antichrist (Nordist Film Distribution, Denmark et al, 2009, director: Lars von Trier) Dark (Netflix/Weidermann & Berg Television, Germany, 2017-2020, showrunners: Baron Bo Odar & Janje Friese) The Third Day: Autumn (Sky Arts et al, USA/UK, 2020, creators: Felix Barrett, Dennis Kelly) Crimson Peak (Universal Pictures, USA, 2015, director: Guillermo del Toro) To hear our next episode right now please go to our Patreon page and become a supporter Socials: BlueSky Mastodon Twitter Instagram (also on Threads) Facebook Artwork by Kirsty Worrow (Instagram: OneCrowLeft). Music by Greg Hulme. All clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (Commonwealth law) and Fair Use (US law) for the purposes of criticism and education. No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
AKA Questions of Horror #5: What Are Our Favourite (or the Best) Horror Franchises? Ian, Kirsty, Stella and Dan ruminate on the above question, while Howard calls Dan on the phone to add his two-penny's worth. Works cited I, Claudius (1976) is sadly no longer on BBC iPlayer The Woman in Black (1989) - rentable on Amazon Prime The Scream films and TV series (1996-2023 - hear our previous episodes on Scream V and Scream VI) The Child's Play franchise (1987-2017) and TV series Chucky (2021-2024): Martin Jameson's Chucky reviews from Season 2 for Sci-Fi Bulletin The Quatermass franchise (1953-1996) - Our episode on the 1950s TV scripts The Alien franchise (1979-2024) - Our episodes on Alien, Aliens, Alien3, Alien Resurrection, and Alien Romulus The books, films and TV series about Hannibal Lecter (1981-2015) - Our episodes on Season 1 and Season 2 of the TV show The Amicus series of horror anthology films (1965-74) - Our episode on Dr Terror's House of Horrors The Exorcist films (1973-2023) - Our episodes on Exorcist II: The Heretic and The Exorcist III Artwork by Kirsty Worrow (Instagram: OneCrowLeft). Music by Greg Hulme. Socials: BlueSky Mastodon Twitter Instagram (also on Threads) Facebook All clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (Commonwealth law) and Fair Use (US law) for the purposes of criticism and education. No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
As a companion piece to our episode on --And Now The Screaming Starts!, here's an episode of the much-missed podcast A Very British Horror discussing 1972's Asylum, the previous movie made Amicus Productions and director Roy Ward Baker. The show's regular hosts, Chris Denton and Paul Monk, are joined by our very own Dan, in hyper-enthusiastic mode. If you've never seen Asylum, it's great fun and someone has (probably dodgily) uploaded it to YouTube. We recommend you watch the film before listening to this spoilery discussion. Many thanks to Chris and Paul for allowing us to host this.
Happy Halloween! Welcome to our new regular series. In this episode, Dan, Kirsty, Stella, Ian and even Howard all give their thoughts on the little-discussed British horror movie from 1973 whose name their podcast borrowed (ripped off). Beware that Dan frequently refers to cutting back to "the studio" as if he thinks he's delivering a 1980s regional news report. Also please prepare for regular references to boobs and bonnets. Trigger warning: --And Now The Screaming Starts and its source novel, Fengriffen, contain rape scenes, which are discussed on the podcast. Spoiler warning: the discussion gives full details of the film's storyline. Works Cited --And Now The Screaming Starts! (1973) - available on YouTube Threads (1984) - Available on BBC iPlayer and Tubi Case, David - Fengriffen and Other Gothic Tales, Valancourt Books, 2015 Scott, Manda - Any Human Power, September Publishing, 2024 BlueSky Mastodon Twitter Instagram (also on Threads) Facebook All clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (Commonwealth law) and Fair Use (US law) for the purposes of criticism and education. No copyright infringement intended.
In the wake of creating his audio essay on Prometheus, Dan got round to watching the new Alien movie, Fede Alvarez's Romulus. He's joined by Ian to discuss its ups and downs. If you look back along the podcast feed you can find episodes in which Ian and Dan also discuss Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Alien3 (1992 - for this episode joined by Kirsty) and Alien Resurrection (1997). From Disney's 20th Century Studios, Alien Romulus is currently in cinemas. Non-spoiler discussion: 00.02.02 Spoiler discussion: 00.35.38 Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com, and follow us on Mastodon and Twitter (yes, we're still calling it Twitter) @AndNowPodcast, Instagram (and Threads) and_now_the_podcast_starts. All music and trailer clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (UK law) and Fair Use (US law). No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
To coincide with the release of Alien: Romulus, Dan is creating a new video essay series exploring the Alien films and Prometheus. Here's an audio version of the third and final part (you can hear both of the first two parts earlier on this feed). The video versions in progress can be seen at on our Patreon page and we will be announcing the public release of the final videos at a later date. For early access, become a paying Patreon supporter at Patreon.com/AndNowPodcast - we would really appreciate it. Become a paying supporter at: patreon.com/andnowpodcast Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
To coincide with the release of Alien: Romulus, Dan is creating a new video essay series exploring the Alien films and Prometheus. The video versions in progress can be seen at on our Patreon page and we will be announcing the public release of the final videos at a later date. For early access, become a paying Patreon supporter at Patreon.com/AndNowPodcast - we would really appreciate it. Become a paying supporter at: patreon.com/andnowpodcast Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
To coincide with the release of Alien: Romulus, Dan has created a new video essay series exploring the Alien films and Prometheus. The video version can be seen at our YouTube page, Ambidextrous Solutions Limited. New episodes will be released weekly for free, but if you want to watch an early version of Part Two right now, become a Patreon supporter at Patreon.com/AndNowPodcast - we really appreciate it. YouTube channel: Ambidextrous Solutions Limited Early release of videos: patreon.com/andnowpodcast Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
We're back! And we're sorry we've been away for so long. This episode will be a brief reunion, but by no means a final one. The podcast will return for a full series this autumn, and before then there are further treats on the way. The new British horror movie on the block is Chris Cronin's The Moor, an acclaimed slice of particularly Northern English folk horror. As The Moor appears on streaming services to rent and buy, Ian interviews Cronin and co-lead David Edward-Robertson, while Dan joins Ian to review the film in non-spoiler fashion. You can rent or buy The Moor now on YouTube and Amazon UK, among others. Critical Readings on Hammer Horror Films, to which Dan is a contributor, is out now from Routledge. Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com, and follow us on Mastodon and Twitter (we will always call it Twittter) @AndNowPodcast, Instagram (and Threads) and_now_the_podcast_starts. All music and trailer clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (UK law) and Fair Use (US law). No copyright infringement intended.
Exorcist II: The Heretic has been called "the worst film ever made" (by Mark Kermode) and has attracted derision ever since its release in 1977, not least by the makers of the original The Exorcist (1973). Our Ian, who worships The Exorcist, has always avoided it. But esteemed critic Neil Young, our special guest on this episode, insists The Heretic is a more interesting film than its progenitor. Listen as Neil explains while he feels this way, Ian and Stella react to The Heretic for the first time, and Dan tries to chart the middle ground! (Regular listeners will be aware that our schedule is still up the spout. This episode has leapfrogged the promised episode on Quatermass [1979] with Simon Clark, ostensibly to coincide with the cinema release of The Exorcist: Believer, but then we missed the date anyway - and don't mention the new film here cos this episode was recorded months ago. Our podcast schedule is going to remain random for a while, unfortunately, due to Dan's complicated life.) Relevant links Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) is available for rental streaming via YouTube and Amazon The bonkers trailer is also on YouTube Todd McCarthy's Film Comment article about the film is available to students and academics with a JSTOR subscription here Read more of Neil Young's film criticism at his website Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com, and follow us on Mastodon and Twitter (yes, we're still calling it Twitter - everyone is except Elon Musk) @AndNowPodcast, Instagram (and Threads) and_now_the_podcast_starts. All music and trailer clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (UK law) and Fair Use (US law). No copyright infringement intended.
We return to an unplanned irregular release schedule (Dan explains all on the pod) with the first in a series of long-envisioned specials in which horror maestro Simon Clark explains to Dan why the scripts of Nigel Kneale's 1950s trilogy of TV terror about Professor Bernard Quatermass are such an inspirational read. 2023 is the 70th anniversary of the transmission of the first serial, The Quatermass Experiment, and a very special live reading of the original scripts is to be performed for one night only at Alexandra Palace on Saturday 9th September. The existing episodes of The Quatermass Experiment (1953) are on YouTube. James Swanton discusses The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) on The Evolution of Horror podcast Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
At Stella's urging, Dan has finally checked out the ghoulish comedy sequel, Addams Family Values, and it's fair to say he loves it. Hear them rhapsodise, with spoilers throughout. It's the second Missed Classic in which the team are called to praise Carol Kane (the previous one being When A Stranger Calls), but Dan feels bad that they never mention Jimmy Workman, who's stuck in the least interesting Addams role of Pugsley, but gives a perfect performance. Relevant Links Addams Family Values (and 1991's The Addams Family) are streaming via Paramount+ and can be rented from YouTube and Amazon in the UK Wednesday is streaming via Netflix Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com, and follow us on Mastodon and Twitter (or 'X', or whatever the hell it now is) @AndNowPodcast, Instagram (and Threads) and_now_the_podcast_starts. All music and trailer clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (UK law) and Fair Use (US law). No copyright infringement intended.
Welcome to our hot-take review of a movie that was released six months ago (and a discussion recorded four months ago)... In what will hopefully become an annual tradition, Stella and Dan get to talk about the new Scream movie. Just in case you still haven't seen it, the discussion is divided into spoiler-free and spoiler-filled sections. 00.00.00 Intro and our adventures getting into cinema screenings 00.19.06 Scream VI review - non spoiler 00.43.22 Spoilers ahoy! Related links Scream VI is available for rental streaming via YouTube and Amazon and will soon be coming to Paramount Plus (despite what we say in the episode, it isn't there currently) The Last Podcast on the Left Scream - The Board Game Dan's Film Stories article inspired by the release of Scream VI Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com, and follow us on Mastodon and Twitter (or 'X', or whatever the hell it now is) @AndNowPodcast, Instagram (and Threads) and_now_the_podcast_starts. All music and trailer clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (UK law) and Fair Use (US law). No copyright infringement intended.
A long while after our last Missed Classic on When A Stranger Calls (1979), Ian Winterton confronts another feted movie he has heretofore avoided, 1984's iconic Wes Craven slasher, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Dan joins him for the discussion and there are spoilers from the start. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984 version) is available to rent on Amazon. Since this chat was recorded, RedLetterMedia's two-part Re:View video on the Elm Street series has sadly become unavailable Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com, and follow us on Mastodon and Twitter (or 'X', or whatever the hell it now is) @AndNowPodcast, Instagram (and Threads) and_now_the_podcast_starts. All music and trailer clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (UK law) and Fair Use (US law). No copyright infringement intended.
WARNING - SPOILERS FOR MIDNIGHT MASS ARE COMING IN THE VERY NEXT PARAGRAPH - AND THIS IS ONE (HUGELY RECOMMENDED) SERIES THAT'S BEST ENJOYED ENTIRELY UNSPOILED! Or, "Vampire In A Cardigan". Kirsty, Stella, Ian and Dan are reunited to discuss a real masterpiece of recent years, Mike Flanagan's seven-part Netflix drama, Midnight Mass. We've already discussed Flanagan's The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep on the podcast; hear how this measures up. Midnight Mass is streaming via Netflix Also check out: Collider's interview with Mike Flanagan The Leading Podcast's interview with Hillary Clinton Visit out website, andnowpodcast.com, and follow us on Mastodon and Twitter @AndNowPodcast, Instagram (and Threads) and_now_the_podcast_starts. All music and trailer clips are used in the spirit of Fair Dealing (UK law) and Fair Use (US law). No copyright infringement intended.
"It's a bit like The Beatles..." Returning after a long delay, Dan, Stella, Ian and (in a surprise telephone cameo) Howard commence their latest series with a discussion of 1976's The Omen, the first in a series of retrospectives on The Omen Trilogy, inspired by the fact that all three films (plus the 2006 remake of the original) are now on Disney+. (However, Omen IV: The Awakening, 1991's forgotten TV movie continuation, is nowhere to be seen, and won't be discussed.) Go to Disney+ to watch the 1976 film and the remake, both discussed here. To watch's Dan's short film Terror of the Many-Coloured Slinky (2003), go here. Like that film (and, indeed, The Omen), this episode is absolutely lathered in the gorgeous musical score of composer Jerry Goldsmith, conducted by Lionel Newman, just for fun. No copyright infringement is intended, of course. Kirsty will be back in our next episode, which will focus on Mike Barker's Midnight Mass. Visit out website, andnowpodcast.com, and follow us on Mastodon and Twitter @AndNowPodcast, Instagram (and, inevitably, Threads) and_now_the_podcast_starts.
Kirsty wanted to talk about one of her true loves, Robert Wiene's 1920 Expressionist masterpiece, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, and Dan was only too happy to indulge. Although he drew the line at pronouncing the film's German title ('Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari') because he was chicken about pronouncing two syllables wrong. The restored Blu-Ray version of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari to which Dan and Kirsty frequently refer is this release. Kirsty's essay about Caligari and Hannbal is here. Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
We're fishing some unreleased content from the vault this week, to present a 2021 discussion between Stella, Ian and Dan about Rosemary's Baby, Roman Polanski's still-powerful 1968 tale of inner-city Satanism, from the novel by Ira Levin. We discuss how the film draws satirical parallels between fears of Satanism and anti-Semitism, how its meaning has changed for us since we first watched it 20-some years ago, and a little about the stigma of its criminally-convicted director. (Unfortunately the recording was interrupted at this point - that's why we never released it before - but for a discussion between Dan and Ian about problematic creators, listen to our episode on Alien Resurrection.) Warning: spoilers from the start, so if you've never seen the film, make sure you watch it before listening to this. Rosemary's Baby is available for rental streaming via YouTube and Amazon. All soundtrack and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism under Fair Use (US law) and Fair Dealing (UK law). No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
Not horror, but in many ways horror-adjacent, 2022's extremely quirky sci-fi comedy-drama Everything Everywhere All At Once was announced this week to be the unlikely recipient of 11 Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actress (twice), Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Score, Best Song, Best Film Editing and Best Costume Design. Kirsty and Dan wanted to talk about it. And they don't mention Short Round once. Although I just did, typing this. Links Everything Everywhere All At Once is available for rental streaming on YouTube and is free with Amazon Prime The video essay Kirsty references is The Terror of Everything Everywhere All At Once The Daniels' podcast interview is with Scriptnotes on Spotify Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
Stella and Dan have wanted for some time to discuss their love of Steven Spielberg's 1971 cinematic debut, Duel, written by Richard Matheson. However, they'd never seen the shorter, original intended-for-television version of the film before recording this episode, and therefore spend a lot of it speculating about what that version was like and how Spielberg might have made changes to Matheson's story to expand it for the cinema screen. Then, after the recording, Dan did something he really should've done earlier - checked YouTube. For there, the (commercially unreleased) TV version is readily available. Therefore Dan had to watch it and insert additional comments into the original discussion to correct anything he and Stella had earlier guessed wrong. We hope you enjoy the result. Links The cinema version of Duel is available on DVD, BluRay, YouTube and Amazon The TV version of Duel (and the 1974 TV movie Killdozer and 1977 short film Panic, both referred to by Dan) are available on YouTube Josh Olson on Duel for Trailers from Hell All soundtrack and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism under Fair Use (US law) and Fair Dealing (UK law). No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
Following up (after a few delays) on our recent Lee/Cushing episode on the Star Wars franchise, the wonderful Sean Mason returns to the podcast to discuss the more recent instalments of George Lucas' cinematic legacy. He is joined by another favourite returning guest, Spider-Dan of the Spider-Dan & The Secret Bores podcast. Relevant links All films discussed are available for streaming via Disney+ The Star Wars: Force Commander cut scenes are on YouTube All soundtrack and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism under Fair Use (US law) and Fair Dealing (UK law). No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
Happy New Year! As a counterpoint to the previous episode featuring Howard and Dan's archival music chats, here, as a final flourish of Christmassyness, is a more contemporary selection from Kirsty, Ian and Dan (again). Each of them has chosen three music tracks to talk about, which are excerpted in the episode, but you can find the full tracks at the YouTube links below: The Woods Bela Lugosi's Dead (plus Ian's 'definitive' Trent Reznor version - and also Lakme) The Lightning Tree Theme from Children of the Stones That Funny Feeling (from Inside, available to watch on Netflix) The Dogs Attack from The Omen (available to watch on Disney+) Willow's Song (though possibly not the original Annie Ross version but a very close cover) Main Title from Jaws the Revenge (as recently discussed on Spider-Dan & The Secret Bores) Goodbye from Dark (available on Netflix) The promised Star Wars update episode is still on its way! All soundtrack and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism under Fair Use (US law) and Fair Dealing (UK law). No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
In our last ep of 2022 Dan & Howard unearth musical gems from the archive of the Lee/Cushing Podcast - with never-before-heard material. Here's to 2023, folks!
Apologies, yesterday's upload had a technical issue - this should now be fixed. Blurb coming soon! But make sure you visit Lucid Dimensions on YouTube And Dan's daily Christmas comedy podcast is The Faces At The Window
Show notes coming soon!
Stella and Dan express their fandom of co-writer/star Simon Pegg and co-writer/director Edgar Wright's horror tinged 'Cornetto Trilogy', aka the comedy films Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World's End (2013), plus the TV series they co-created with Jessica Hynes, Spaced (1999-2001). Links Spaced is currently available for streaming on All4 (and the first episode is on YouTube) Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are currently available for streaming on BritBox The World's End can be rented for streaming on YouTube All three films are regularly shown on ITV channels in the UK Empire's 15th Anniversary Hot Fuzz podcast is here All soundtrack and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism under Fair Use (US law) and Fair Dealing (UK law). No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T8AERZfYQs&t=1058s
We go back to the Alien franchise again, as Ian and Dan compare their personal lists of five favourite things from the 1979 classic. We assume you've all seen this one, so it's spoiler-filled from the start. And if you haven't seen it, stop listening to us, get yourself to Disney+ and treat yourself to this ageless film! Relevant Links The Ghostwatch limited edition Blu-Ray is available now from 101 Films (and our interview with Stephen Volk is here) The Mist is on All4 until 26th November so hurry and catch it! It's A Sin is currently streaming via BritBox and All4 The Crown and Veronica are currently streaming via Netflix All soundtrack and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism under Fair Use (US law) and Fair Dealing (UK law). No copyright infringement intended. Visit out website, www.andnowpodcast.com
Together as a foursome for the first time in a while, Kirsty, Stella, Ian and Dan discuss 2012's The Hunger Games, as well as touching on its sequels and the books the films were based on. Beware, some spoilers... (Kirsty at one point says "kill to the death" instead of "fight to the death". Dan, who once said "murder kills" when he meant "mercy kills", feels seen.) Relevant Links The new Mads Mikkelsen/Bryan Fuller horror is Dust Bunny Dan's comedy podcast The Faces at the Window can be found here. New series coming this Christmas! Danny Robins' new podcast is The Witch Farm Dr Terror's House of Horrors is often shown on Legend on UKTV and can be found on several streaming services including Shudder, BritBox and Plex (which is free). Howard and Dan's episode about it is here Seasons 1-4 and the first part of Season 5 of The Handmaid's Tale are currently streaming via All4 Guillermo Del Toro's The Cabinet of Curiosities and The Witcher are currently streaming via Netflix The Peripheral is currently streaming via Amazon Prime Andor is currently streaming on Disney+ All soundtrack and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism under Fair Use (US law) and Fair Dealing (UK law). No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
A few weeks late, we're giving our first coverage to Grimmfest 2022. Stella and Dan discuss the Italian comic heist thriller with a gruesome undertone, L'Orafo aka The Goldsmith, winner of the festival's Reaper Award for Best Screenplay. Dan was unable to attend Grimmfest itself due to illness, but Stella did and recorded a spoilery interview with co-writer/director Vincenzo Ricchiuti and producer Manuela De Tommaso, included in the middle of the podcast. 00.00.41 Grimmfest 2022 and non-spoiler discussion of The Goldsmith 00.15.46 Interview with Vincenzo Richiutti and Manuela De Tomasso (spoilers) 00.26.22 Spoiler discussion of The Goldsmith No recommendations on the actual podcast this episode, but Dan suggests UK listeners check out All4 which currently hosts a number of excellent horror films, including One Cut Of The Dead, American Psycho, The Mist and The Orphanage. Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
This episode, Dan and Stella discuss the subgenre of body horror: what are our favourite body horror sequences in film and TV, what makes them work, how body horror crosses subgenres and how it's evolved with the development of FX techniques. The discussion takes in the following films and shows, with occasional spoilers, so beware if you haven't seen them: Body Melt, Creepshow (TV), Hannibal (TV), The Relic, Robocop (1987), Scanners, Shivers (They Came From Within), Slither, Society, Starship Troopers, The Strain, Teeth, Torchwood: Miracle Day, Total Recall (1990), The Walking Dead. 00.00.41 Intro 00.05.04 Body Horror discussion 01.44.10 Outro and Recommendations Relevant Links Red Dwarf Series 1-8 and 10-13 are currently streaming via UKTV Play The Exorcist, The Omen, The Relic (as mentioned in the discussion), The Awakening, The Babadook, Don't Look Now, Host and several other classic horrors are currently available for streaming via BBC iPlayer The limited edition Ghostwatch Blu-Ray (featuring commentary from Stella) is now available from 101 Films All soundtrack and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism under Fair Use (US law) and Fair Dealing (UK law). No copyright infringement intended. Check out our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
Welcome to the second proper weekly series of --And Now The Podcast Starts! And happy Halloween. This episode, Kirsty, Ian and Dan are discussing Men, director Alex Garland's recent hybrid of folk horror, gender commentary and body horror, first in spoiler-free fashion, then with full spoilers. 00.00.41 Intro 00.04.04 Men review (spoiler-free) 00.33.23 Men review (spoilerific) 01.20.45 Outro and Recommendations Relevant Links Men is currently out on DVD and Blu-Ray and can be rented for streaming via YouTube and Amazon Prime Legend's full listings for Halloween weekend can be found here Archive 81 is currently available for streaming on Netflix All soundtrack and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism under Fair Use (US law) and Fair Dealing (UK law). No copyright infringement intended. Check out our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
A relaxed, horror-adjacent chat this week, as Stella and Dan put their feet up and chuckle about the horrific elements of their (and possibly everybody's) favourite sci-fi sitcom, Red Dwarf. (The Series 2 episode they discuss without naming is called Thanks for the Memory.) Red Dwarf Series 1-8 are available for streaming via Britbox. Series 9 onwards are frequently (but not always) available for streaming for free via UKTV Play. All soundtrack and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism under Fair Use (US law) and Fair Dealing (UK law). No copyright infringement intended. Check out our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
Following their discussions of Aliens (1986) in the previous two episodes, and Alien3 (1992) much earlier, Dan and Ian now take on 1997's not-much-loved fourth part of the franchise, Alien Resurrection, although the two can't agree whose idea it was. Listen as Ian rediscovers a nightmare from literally half a lifetime ago. The discussion doesn't dwell on the story in detail, but if you haven't seen it, beware of spoilers. There's also a very off-topic digression about Game of Thrones and The West Wing, but Dan cut most of it out... Alien Resurrection is available for streaming on Disney+. All soundtrack and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism under Fair Use (US law) and Fair Dealing (UK law). No copyright infringement intended. Check out our other episodes on Aliens and Alien3 on our website, www.andnowpodcast.com.
Following the brief discussion last episode, Ian and Dan now get to enthuse at length about one of their favourite movies, James Cameron's 1986 sequel to Alien, Aliens. Plus a child pops in. All the Alien films are available for streaming via Disney+ Find out more about the new Aliens documentary, Aliens Expanded, here Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
Apart from Howard (he says hello), the gang's all here as Stella, Kirsty and Ian join Dan to discuss how far the horror genre might stretch to include action, disaster and sci-fi films, with specific reference to The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Jaws (1975) and Aliens (1986). Beware: spoilers for The Poseidon Adventure - please note the timecodes below if you wish to avoid. 00.00.00 Intro and news 00.09.10 The Poseidon Adventure discussion 00.31.08 Jaws discussion 00.43.53 Aliens discussion Relevant Links: The new edition of Hammer and Beyond can be ordered for £10 from Manchester University Press Also, happy birthday to our music maestro, Greg Hulme!
Ian, Stella and Kirsty do their best without Dan's guidance (he's away on holiday, the slacker) and dig into 'Dashcam', Rob Savage's eagerly anticipated follow-up to 'Host', with a spoiler-free and spoiler-full discussions, plus an interview with 'Dashcam' screenwriter Gemma Hurley and its producer Jed Shepherd. PODCAST TIMELINE 1'52 Trailer followed by spoiler-free discussion 22'00 Interview with Gemma & Jed 45'03 - TO END Spoilerific discussion - DO NOT LISTEN UNTIL YOU'VE WATCHED THE FILM. To hear our previous interview with Gemma for 'Host' click here To hear our previous interview with Rob Savage for 'Host' (with spoilers) click here
It's time to talk Tolkien, and specifically the more horrific elements of the Middle Earth canon. Peter Jackson's 2001 film instalment The Fellowship of the Ring (featuring the ever-forbidding Christopher Lee, of course) has long given Ian, Stella and Dan the collywobbles, but Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version is also memorably nightmarish. Joining them to enthuse about these films is the brilliant film journalist, podcaster and producer Catherine Bray, co-host of the highly recommended new podcast Not Another F*cking Elf: A Lord of the Rings Character Guide. 00.00.41 Intro and news 00.06.04 The Lord of the Rings discussion Relevant links Not Another F*ucking Elf (@notanotherelf on Twitter) is available on Apple Podcasts and YouTube and so far includes episodes about Gollum, Boromir, Legolas, Bilbo Baggins and Tom Bombadil, with five more episodes due to follow this season John Ezard's 2001 Guardian article on Tolkien can be read here Tickets for the 27th May cinema screening of Horror Express (1972) in Manchester can be booked here and the film is also currently streaming on BBC iPlayer.
AKA: 'Another Hannibal Love-In'... We return to the world of Hannibal, Bryan Fuller's majestic TV remix of the works of Thomas Harris. As with our Season One discussion last year, Kirsty and Dan are joined by very special guests Dr Lori Hitchcock Morimoto of the University of Virginia and Dr Rebecca Williams of the University of South Wales for an in depth aca-Fannibal chat, and then by Stella (our very own Dr) and Ian for their take on the show. WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS for the first and second seasons of Hannibal. If you've never seen the show, DON'T LISTEN TO THIS. Go and find our Season One episode (which is spoiler-free) and if you like the sound of it watch the show up to Season Two, then listen to this. In the UK, Hannibal is free to stream via My5 (Season One only) or to Amazon Prime subscribers (all seasons). 00.00.41 Intro with Dan 00.05.25 Dr Rebecca Williams & Dr Lori Hitchcock Morimoto with Kirsty & Dan 01.14.10 Stella & Ian with Kirsty & Dan All soundtrack and music clips are used for the puposes of criticism under Fair Use (US law) and Fair Dealing (UK law). No copyright infringement intended. Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
The date this episode drops, 28th April 2022, would've been the 100th birthday of Nigel Kneale, the great pioneer of SF/horror TV and film, who died in 2006. Here, in an extract from our forthcoming episode on Kneale's film version of Quatermass and the Pit (1967), renowned horror author Simon Clark tells Dan the story of how he found the script books of Kneale's 1950s Quatermass serials in a second-hand bookshop and why they are so important to him. To hear the full version of this interview, in which Simon discusses in detail not just the three script books but also Kneale's other literary works, sign up to our Patreon page. Look back through our podcast feed and on our website, andnowpodcast.com, to find our earlier Kneale-themed content: our Missed Classic on Beasts: During Barty's Party (1976) and our Halloween Retrospective on Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), and Dan's written appreciation of The Woman in Black (1989).
It's April Fool's Day, so perhaps it's appropriate to admit our own foolishness in failing to put out our March episode actually in the month of March. Here it is instead, and you'll get a proper April episode in due course... David Edwards, former film critic of the Daily Mirror and old mate of Ian's, is a great fan of and expert on George A Romero's unique 1977 vampire movie, Martin. He joins Ian (who is watching the film in its entirety for the first time) and Dan (who is rediscovering it after seeing the film when he was in his teens) to discuss this powerful movie in both spoiler-free and spoiler-detailed fashion. They also discuss the prospect of the recently-discovered extended version of the film. Kirsty and Stella sadly couldn't be involved in this episode, but they'll be back! 00.00.41 Intro 00.04.22 Trailer and spoiler-free discussion 00.24.22 Background to the forthcoming extended version 00.39.37 Spoiler discussion Recommendations Ultraviolet (1998) is available to stream in the UK via All4 All film and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism. No copyright infringement of intended. Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
Now that the major episodes of the podcast have moved to a monthly schedule, we'll be dropping occasional mini episodes in between, including reviews of new movies. Here is the first, as Kirsty and Dan sink their teeth into director Joe Badon's surreal dark comedy, Sister Tempest. Relevant links: Order Sister Tempest on Blu-Ray Rent Sister Tempest to stream on Vimeo Also - if you want to help the situation in Ukraine: Donate to the DEC Ukraine Appeal (the UK government will match donations up to £20million) Donate to the Red Cross Ukraine Appeal Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
It's 100 years since the premiere of FW Murnau's Nosferatu - Eine Symphonie des Grauens (A Symphony of Horror). Although not quite the first screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, it's the one by which all others are measured - a masterpiece of German Expressionist cinema that marks the beginning of modern screen horror. For years Kirsty has been passing on her love of this classic to her students, and on such an important anniversary, Dan was more than happy revisit it with her. Elsewhere, the two hosts discuss the trailers for the forthcoming films from Jordan Peele and Alex Garland, and there's a message from Howard. Relevant links: The music-free version of Nosferatu is public domain and can be easily found online, and a scored version is available on Amazon or DVD and Blu-Ray 1922: The Birth of Now, including an episode focused on Nosferatu. can be heard at BBC Sounds All trailers and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism in the spirit of Fair Dealing (UK law) and Fair Use (US law). No copyright infringement is intended Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
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