Scary Thoughts

Andy Weir's novel The Martian (2011) is top-shelf hard sci-fi for nerds who love space and MacGyver situations. Just four years after (official) publication, Ridley Scott made a film version starring (South Park voice) Matt Dayyyyyymon. Both versions of the story are fast paced and fun. They aren't exactly horror, but survival stories are often horrific. And this one has a touch of terror and a dash of body horror to make it on the show. We get into how artists and engineers see the world differently, the promises and pitfalls of space travel, and wave our fists at the state of science.

The Craft (1996) is a beloved teen witch movie that helped define the 90s mall goth experience. It also made supporting actress Fairuza Balk a bit of an icon for the heavy eyeshadow crowd. Does this movie still hold up? Blessed be, yes! Other than a lame soundtrack, this is a fun movie with memorable scenes and decent actors.  We talk about what it was like to be a neophyte goth in New Orleans during the late 1900s, witchcraft as a thing that's cool and corny, and the role of life coaches/therapists/Tarot readers in the modern world. Veteran listeners may notice a slight uptick in incoherence from one of the hosts as the episode unfurls its dark wings. It's the curse of edibles. If it all made sense, good job opening your third eye.

This episode we talk with our comrade Alexander Herbert about his great new book, Fear Before the Fall: Horror Films in the Late Soviet Union. Alexander is a PhD candidate in Soviet History at Brandeis University, specializing in environmental activism and the history of technology leading up to collapse. He gives us the scoop on Soviet horror films, the punk scene in Moscow, and a behind the scenes look into how the Zero Books sausage is made.

Hear Chad and Marc tackle the monolithic drones of metal duo Sunn O))). They discuss witchery and ritual, gear and sculpture, fandom and influence, and (as usual) capitalism and art.

Nick “The Tooth” Gullo is a 2x IBJJF Jiu Jitsu Black Belt world champion, co-host of the Infinite Worlds podcast, a writer, lawyer, world traveler, TV Star—and most importantly for this NYE resolution conversation, is absolutely shredded in his 50s. He joins us for the second time to discuss discipline, keto dieting, being kind to yourself, internet hucksters (Liver King, etc.), toxic masculinity, toxic acceptance, male energy, self-help cults, goal setting, and a lot more. This episode doesn't have any horror movie content, but you'll like it if you enjoyed the previous Self Help for Nihilists episodes.

Halloween Ends (2022) is Blumhouse's last shot at making that Michael Meyers money. But rather than do more of what sort of works, they introduce us to the saddest sack character ever and focus the film on his dating life, which is sort of an interesting choice for this insufferable franchise. We don't love it. But Marc doesn't hate it as much, which makes for some high-value conversation. We also talk about A Star is Born, Dirty Harry, Tarantino's new book, and what our Halloween sequels might look like (they're bangers).

Our first DOUBLE FEATURE episode covers Jack Hill's Spider Baby (1967) and Rob Zombie's The Munsters (2022). Why these films together? Well, the straightforward answer is that we watched them the same week—and Sid Haig. But we do weave some viable thematic and cultural webs between the two. We cover incest, cannibalism, Kanye, why secondary writing is terrible, what we've been doing wrong, the DSM-5, first deaths, and quite a bit more. This is a sprawling, classic Scary Thoughts episode and one of our best in months. It turns out weed actually does enhance some performances.

Drag legend and horror icon Peaches Christ (Joshua Grannell) is back for a fourth episode. This time we're exploring the spooky secrets of Terror Vault, a fully immersive haunted theatrical experience that takes audiences on a terrifying journey within the dank, rat-infested walls of the old San Francisco Mint. If you're into haunts, you're going to love this episode. We talk about the origins of Peaches' interest in horror performance, the technical details of running the show, how the piece is written and designed, unethical vampires, and about a million other details that will appeal to the dark nerds who listen to us.

Dan Trachtenberg's 2022 Predator offering, Prey, is one of the better films in the franchise. If you're a truly misguided soul, (like Marc) it might even be your favorite. We talked about what it did well and what could've been better. Before getting to the choppa, we start with a little bit about where Marc's academic journey is taking him.

Karyn Kusama's 2009 film Jennifer's Body, is finding an audience thanks to a mix of #metoo reckoning, queer analysis, oughts nostalgia, and pubic fascination with Megan Fox's hematophagic pairing with male scream queen Machine Gun Kelly. This film hasn't aged well, but our age is treating it well. We discuss whether that old-time patriarchy or a messy script with boring kills led to the initial cold reception of the film.

The second half of Stranger Things 4 was fun. Even Argyle and Lucas managed to have great moments. In this episode we talk about why this season won us over, how drugs help with the enjoyment of art, whether or not there are epochs (and if music in the 80s was one), and whether or not it makes sense to have naked heavy metal girls on a character's wall if it upsets modern sensibilities.

We started our show talking about the first season of Stranger Things, so we are compelled to continue. Thankfully for everyone, the end is nigh. But as Marc is fond of saying, “Don't let our yuck interfere with your yum.” There's still a lot to like about the show, even if it is circling the drain of mediocrity on its way to the septic tank of nostalgia. Our next episode covers the finale.

The Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead 2 (1987) are both unimpeachable classics of horror comedy. After our longest hiatus, we delve into the cult lore of these films and their influence on horror. This episode isn't exactly philosophical, but it's a fun one, especially if you grew up with Sam Raimi's madcap brand of cabin-based mayhem. And for the first time–no major spoilers!

We started Scary Thoughts back in 2016. The years since have been–eventful. This episode rambles hard as we attempt to answer the question, “what have we learned?” Think of it as a director's commentary. We talk about what we thought the show would be, where it's going, our friendship, horror podcasting as a phenomenon, being rooted in the Bay Area, and we tell a bunch of bar stories, which people always seem to like. Thanks for listening.

Let us help you slide into this not-quite-new not-quite-normal-not-quite-post-pandemic with some answers to your questions. You asked about news consumption, movie theaters, horror trends, Disney character team-ups, nostalgia, algorithms, the hunt for Joe Rogan, meditation—and we answered. It's all very on-brand for our Self-Help for Nihilists series.

Julia Ducornau's Titane (2021) features a lot of dancing and gender theory. So who better to have as a guest than Monique Jenkinson, AKA Fauxnique? We talk about her new book Faux Queen: A Life in Drag, body horror, female violence, Sharon Stone's directing ambitions, film criticism, tarot cards, body horror, and French flatulists. Opinions were divided on this film, so it's an exciting episode.

Don't Look Up came out on Netflix just in time to brighten everyone's 2021 holidays. The director, Adam McKay, is one of the most successful comedy directors ever, but this movie isn't exactly a winner, even if it does have a ton of actors we love. In an episode almost as long as this too-long film, we discuss the few things we liked—and spend most of the episode deriding it. We veer into slightly spicy territory on this one. Does politics ruin comedy? Does anyone like Joe Biden? Can the news be trusted?

Denis Villeneuve's Dune (2021) isn't horror. But this episode was requested by quite a few people, and we aim to please. We discuss this version, the first book in Frank Herbert's series, David Lynch's superior take, and Jodorowsky's Dune. There's a little distortion in the audio up front, which is obviously Harkonnen treachery.

Halloween Kills (2021) is Blumhouse's second film in what will undoubtedly, and unfortunately, be an ongoing series. Like many entries in this classic franchise, it is awful. We discuss where it goes wrong, the few things that work well, mob violence, the relevance of the series as a whole, Rob Zombie's versions, slasher character actor fandom, and if you stick to the end, a story about Fabio.

James Wan's Malignant (2021) is a lot of things. Giallo homage. Action film. 90s horror. But even when it feels familiar, it delivers some genuinely original moments and ideas. We cover the film itself, its references, seeing films in theaters post-COVD, indie fetishism, simple pleasures, and whether or not Wan is the Dave Grohl of horror.

Grady Hendrix's Final Girl Support Group (2021) is a love letter to the golden age of slasher movies. This episode is essentially a love letter to the author—even if we do have our crusty quibbles about a few bits. We talk about the difference between metafiction and nostalgia, Harold Bloom's Anxiety of Influence, murderabilia, Final Girls as a concept, and a little background on how you might end up in UC Berkeley's Rhetoric department. We recommend pairing this listen with Peaches Christ and Michael Varrati's third episode of their podcast, Midnight Mass. It covers Friday the 13th and features interviews with the final girl star of that film, Adrienne King; as well as a great interview with Grady Hendrix.

In this episode we take a look at Halloween (2018), the third film of the same title, in the same franchise. Yes folks, this is the age of the reboot. We discuss the pleasures and pitfalls of Blumhouses's formula, old-timey firearms vs. modern firearms, why book clubs are lame, and we heap praise upon Jamie Lee Curtis. While this episode isn't a direct prequel to our next episode, it does begin a longer cross-episode discussion of final girls.

Bo Burnham's Inside (2021) is one of the most unique things you'll see on Netflix. It's an angsty and existential one-man musical comedy about isolation. Though COVID-19 is never mentioned in the piece, it looms large, giving it the kind of “horror” vibes one can pick up from a pandemic thriller like Contagion. Like the film, we find ourselves in a few ranty digressions that will make total sense if you listen to us frequently, but may confuse the uninitiated.

This episode we cover the 1997 sci-fi horror film Event Horizon—with deep digressions into the nature of reality, L. Ron Hubbard, QAnon, martial arts nerds, psychedelics, UFOs, and cosmic horror.  We're joined by Nick Gullo, AKA Nick the Tooth. His career bio is about as complex as Buckaroo Bonzai's. To keep it short, he's the co-host of the excellent Infinite Worlds podcast, wrote a book about the UFC, writes sci-fi, and is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Dungeon Synth is as obscure as it gets for music genres, but it might be everywhere soon. We explore the fetid foundations and eldritch evolutions of this bizarre scene with extreme music authority, Andee Connors. He co-owned the notorious Aquarius Records, curates Pandora’s unholy Black Metal station, was a member of A Minor Forest and now creates infernal music with Common Eider, King Eider, and with Marc, My Heart, An Inverted Flame. The conversation goes deep into the haunted hinterlands of culture, including digressions about hoarding/collecting, Dungeons & Dragons, synthwave, Black Metal, and performative reading of forbidden texts.

This episode follows a long and unplanned break caused by a plethora of personal calamities (spoiler: Chad got The ‘Rona). Rather than focusing on a single film or book, we use the episode to discuss the future direction of the show and gab about broader trends in visual art. We cover The Snyder Cut, The Overlook Theatre’s Unknown Film Fest, our returns to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the compelling world of Twitch, and what makes Andee Connors such a treasure.

Back in October of 2020 we hosted an online screening of the 2020 indie sci-fi film, The Vast of Night. The event was put together by Fulcrum Arts. This episode is a recording of the post-watch Q&A with the film’s production sound team: Crow and Erik Duemig and Supervising Sound Editor and Sound Designer Johnny Marshall. Ironically, the sound quality of this episode is a bit rough thanks to Zoom, who are really not stepping up meeting the audio needs of our collective remote living dystopia. Fuck those guys. Enjoy the episode.

The Purge franchise’s first film was released in 2013. There are now four flicks, two seasons of a TV series, and a host of questionable fan content online. We discuss the appeal of this story, what Purge politics would actually mean in real life, why Rick & Morty’s “Look Who’s Purging Now” is the best Purge movie, and some gabbing about the current apocalypse. In other words, a classic Scary Thoughts adventure.

Jordan Peele is an important Black filmmaker and a horror nerd’s horror nerd. His 2019 film Us is packed full of references to obscure classics—but does that make it less original? Boston and J from one of our favorite podcasts, Race Trader, join us to discuss it (along with a little sidetalk about Get Out and Tyler Perry).

Glenn Danzig’s Verotika (2019) is a failure. But has it failed in an interesting way? That all depends on how much you like boobs. In this episode we discuss bad acting, bad effects, bad music, and bad films. We also touch on things we like: Tommy Wiseau, outsider art, The Mandalorian—and yes—boobs. Also, keep your ears alert for Marc flexing on the whole cast of Verotika with his own French accent.

Gather ‘round boils and ghouls, it’s our annual Halloween episode! This year we’re covering It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966). Short and sweet like a peppermint patty, we talk about television, made up holidays, bad boomer ideas, belief, trash cinema, The Boys, and renting movies in the 90s.

Writer Michelle Tea, writer Meg Elison, and composer Lawrence English join us for a trio of COVID-19-era conversations. We ask them each, “Is this how you thought it would all end?” All three guests have great perspectives on the apocalyptic vibrations affecting us all, but are any of us truly ready for the end?

Rick and Morty is one of those shows people love making video essays about. It’s smart, it uses philosophical ideas to deliver dick and fart jokes, and it includes a lot of high-level sci-fi/cosmic horror. This classic Scary Thoughts adventure is just Chad and Marc. Depending on what universe you’re listening to this in, that might be a very big deal.

Shudder’s Zoom-based film Host (2020) is the belle of the COVID-19-horror-film ball. This fun and imaginative movie is a great way to spend an hour at the end of a depressing work day. But is it actually good? Or are we just starved for options? We are joined by Madeleine Koestner, the co-founder and programmer of the Unnamed Footage Festival. She’s a frequent guest on The Overlook Hour podcast and writes for a ton of horror sites. Basically the perfect guest for talking about this one.

Joe Dante’s 1989 film The ‘Burbs has been our most requested film to cover since we started this podcast. It’s great and so is our guest Nathan Thompson. He’s a writer and journalist and hosts the Yoga and meditation podcast Escaping Samsara. We get into the occult, genre films, living in the suburbs, longing for nostalgia and the joy of strong character actors.

Cormac McCarthy’s bleak, apocalyptic father-son road trip novel, The Road (2006), won both the Pulitzer Prize and the admiration of Oprah. Daniel Coffeen (Zero Books, Renegade University) rejoins us to discuss if the book deserves all the praise and whether or not the movie gets it right. We talk a bit about Blood Meridian, too, if that’s your thing.

Max Brooks nailed it with his 2006 fictional oral history, World War Z. It’s a fun book with lots of original ideas, which makes it a blast to talk about; especially since there are so many parallels with our own current COVID-19 lifestyles. We give the movie as much attention as it deserves (not much) and touch on our own survival tactics. Episode bonus: there are scrub jays chirping in the background throughout the show, so if you’ve been missing nature, this is a good one.

The Wicker Man (1973) is British folk horror at its best. It’s got weird townsfolk music, a mysterious and sexy monarch, bizarre occult practices, and nude pagan dance numbers. We’re joined by Steven Intermill, the Director of the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft & Magick (Cleveland, OH). We get deep into the well-researched details of the film, the history of Wicca in America, and all kinds of other high weirdness. The sound is a bit dodgy in this episode, but it’s a tremendously enjoyable one.

What better time than a pandemic to cover Safe (1995) by Todd Haynes? This illness thriller is on a lot of “best of” lists even though it’s rarely talked about now. In this episode we’re joined by author K.M. Soehnlein. We cover AIDS activism in the 80-90s, the weirdos of the wellness scene, cults, 80s yuppie decor, Christian Science, and Moore.

The Hunt (2019/20) is surrounded by political drama but is pretty mediocre. Except for our hero Betty Gilpin, who absolutely slays. We spend just about as much time talking about fake martial arts, conspiracy theories and war as we do the actual movie.

Our pandemic podcasting continues with the 2002 fast-zombie film 28 Days Later. We both loved it when it came out, but some elements of the film have aged better than others. The conversation drifts into COVID-19 talk, tactical training for actors, hotels for the homeless, and conspiracy mindsets.

Tim Burton’s Ed Wood (1994) is his best film and Johnny Depp’s best performance. Your inner goth teen might bristle, but everything about it is near perfect. Joshua Grannell (Aka Peaches Christ) joins us again to talk about why the great weirdos of film matter and what it means to be in love with the people who create the strange and unusual. 

In the age of COVID-19 there are only two popular subjects: Trump and the Tiger King. We are tired of both. But the memes remain strong. We talk about the saga of these cat-addicted mutants, how well the story works as a doc, and the inevitable reality show dominance of streaming services. Fair warning: this is a rantier than usual episode. And our sound quality is again poor due to Zoom; hopefully we will return to audio excellence one day.

Thanks to COVID-19 caused social distancing, this is the first episode we’ve recorded remotely. With compromised audio, and fortified immune systems, we talk about life under the virus, answer a lot of listener questions, and make predictions about the future.

Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 Contagion is eerily prescient because of the filmmakers dedication to research and realism. The cast, cinematography, and script are excellent. But it’s not exactly an uplifting watch, considering the news. We recorded this episode the day before the Bay Area was ordered to shelter in place for COVID-19.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) is debut director Ana Lily Amirpour’s stylish Iranian vampire spaghetti western. It’s more or less everything we like here at Scary Thoughts: it looks cool, it has a great soundtrack, a mesmerizing cast, and it’s about the undead. We talk about why we both loved it, we disagree about Amirpour’s follow-up film, and get into why female artists are great, but can’t get behind “male feminists of Tinder.”

H.P. Lovecraft’s work has been largely poorly adapted for film. So we were relatively excited for Richard Stanley’s 2019 take on Color Out of Space. He is a legit occult weirdo with a deep love of horror. And Nicolas Cage is basically our Vincent Price. The end result is, well, not all cosmically horrible. We’re joined by Jeremy Lassen (Sci-Fi/horror book sales/publishing veteran, Editor-in-Chief of Nightshade Books) for his second appearance on the show. We hit on Susan Sontag’s concept of camp, black metal theory, psychedelia in horror, what makes Cage great, Lovecraft’s racism, and the recent rise of witchcraft in popular culture.

Our friend Daniel Coffeen (Zero Books, Renegade University) returns to help us appraise Todd Phillips’ 2019 Joker. We survey the various controversies surrounding the film while discussing class, resentment (you can use the fancy critical theory/French pronunciation), alienation, and Joaquin Phoenix’s dancerly grace and peculiar improvisations. And we make time to celebrate Marc becoming a citizen of the USA.

When the ghostly yarn, A Christmas Carol, came out in 1843, it revived Christmas traditions all over the world. There have been countless versions of the story made since then, and some of them are quite ghoulish. But is it horror? Well, not really. However, it does involve the supernatural and it’s critical of the dreary machine of modern industry. So we take a crack at it in our usual manner. This episode features talk of free will, self-improvement, and general holiday cheer.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2006 memoir, Eat Pray Love, is thoroughly likeable. It also represents a certain kind of 21st century spiritual journey that remains popular in Oprah book club circles, but is viewed with suspicion in today’s privilege-obsessed culture. We talk about why we love this book, why it’s not premium mediocre, whether or not failing at a relationship means it’s a failure, and as always, way too much conversation about violence.

In 1994 The Crow unfurled its celluloid wings and took flight in the imaginations of teenage Goths everywhere. 25 years later, does it still hold up? For the people who love the remarkable comic and are still ride or die for the soundtrack, the answer is a resounding yes. But the film has not aged well. In this episode we cover James O’Barr’s personal story, we spend a lot of time talking dark 90s music, and we even have a brief visit from unofficial third co-host Monique to cover women and vengeance. Also, if this episode were an album, the B-side would be our somewhat long discussion of John Wick. Afterall, The Crow is basically John Wick with Juggalo makeup and a goth soundtrack.