Blood Brothers

The Nicolas Cage episode. Dissecting Vampire’s Kiss (1989), Sheamus and Casey debate the film’s reputation, its filmmakers’ intentions, and its status as a “vampire” movie. They also draw comparisons to In The Cut and American Psycho, memorialize their home town video store, and speculate as to whether or not Dwayne Johnson has ever seen a therapist. But primarily they talk about Nic Cage. 

Sheamus and Casey pit teen vampire gang against (sort of) teen vampire gang, pairing 1987 smash Lost Boys with 1987 cult-classic Near Dark. Sheamus muses on the finer points of his enduring favorite vampire movie, while Casey poses some hard questions: Is Lost Boys Joel Schumacher’s best film? Could Near Dark become a streaming hit if it were only, you know, streaming? And how much credit does Schumacher deserve for the 1980s revival of rock-n-roll saxophone? Neither of these movies are on the Criterion Channel anymore, but you should still feel free to ask Casey for his password!

Sheamus and Casey return to talk about vampires as superheroes in Dracula Untold (2014) and Blade (1998)— But first, they delve into the backstory behind a "lost episode" of Blood Brothers. Casey gets defensive about Wesley Snipes after doing the minimum amount of research, and also about 2017's The Mummy, despite recalling very little of its plot. Sheamus explores the concept of the interconnected "cinematic universe," and forces Casey to get creative in editing by sharing some incriminating stories about childhood friends. Oh, and Casey writes a country song.

Sheamus and Casey get uncomfortable with another 21st century horror masterpiece, Let The Right One In (2008). While trying to determine whether the film is more about the terrors of adolescence, sick romance, or poor parenting, Sheamus takes potshots at the American remake he may or may not have seen, Casey tries his (sweaty) best to engage with the film's representation of gender, and together the boys get lost trying to work out their recollections of a family ski trip. It all relates to Swedish vampires, we swear.

Sheamus and Casey skip ahead to the 21st century with Twilight (2008), and debate the movie's contribution to vampire cinema to perhaps surprising conclusions. Is Edward Cullen a romantic vampire or a "gross" vampire? Is Bella Swan more Lois Lane or Tony Stark? Is Charlie Swan, as played by Billy Burke, the ultimate sad dad? These questions are more-or-less answered, and along the way Casey discloses how Robert Pattinson helped to shape the man that he is today, for better or for worse.

Sheamus and Casey start from the beginning by discussing two early film adaptations of Bram Stoker's seminal vampire novel, Nosferatu (1922) and Dracula (1931). They compare and contrast the two different takes on the vampire myth embodied by Max Schreck and Bela Lugosi, determine the unsung MVP character of the Dracula story, and get caught up in nostalgia for childhood talent shows. Again.

Sheamus and Casey make their opening arguments as to why vampires are the ultimate movie monster. In the process, they muse about growing up as horror fans and reminisce about vampires in videogames, on VHS, and as a classic Halloween costume.