Collective Nightmares

Laura found Weapons to be entertaining but vapid; bizarrely agnostic in terms of messaging or subtext. Marshall found Weapons to be entertaining but also infuriating for invoking the horrors of mass school shootings only to say nothing about that topic whatsoever.

Another entry in the vibes horror subgenre that has gained prominence of late. These films are more a series of vaguely scary or upsetting moments rather than films with a broader effort to create meaning. We discuss this as an early indicator of the decontextualization of narrative (and indeed everything) that has been radically accelerated by vertical, short-form, media platforms e.g. TikTok.

An entertaining and well made watch. Some great body horror. But in the end they pull back instead of leaning in and that keeps this film from being a real standout horror film.

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the horror film Alien Romulus. We've had an uneven history with Fede Alvarez's film here at Collective Nightmares. While Alien Romulus isn't groundbreaking, it is a solid film. And it continues some of the best messaging of the franchise: anti-corporate, pro-worker, and good diversity of representation especially within the sci-fi genre. Also, overall very well made and entertaining!

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the horror film 28 Years Later. Well, 23 years later, not 28, but that’s okay. 28 Days Later was a groundbreaking film that introduced pop culture to fast, angry zombies. It established Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris as stars. This film, does not do those things. While there was some very impressive visuals, the world-building is lacking, the characters are terribly under-developed, and the actions are often asinine.This is also the first of two films made together. We were not impressed and remain skeptical that the second film can redeem this one.

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the 2025 film Sinners, written, produced, and directed by R. Coogler.

Sinners is an original film from Ryan Coogler who returns to working with Michael B. Jordan as the acting lead. Sinners is an original film that is a much appreciated entry into the horror genre generally and more specifically black horror cinema. Sinners is an all around brilliant film that manages to be both intellectually robust, hugely entertaining, and exquisitely constructed.

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TOPIC INDEX – Sinners (Coogler 2025) (times are approximate) 

0:30 – Introductions

3:30 – Film discussion begins without spoilers

11:30 – SPOILERS section begins

12:00 – representation in this specific sub-genre; see Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (Burgin 2019)

1:35:00 – grading the film using the Collective Nightmares Evolving Rubric of Social Responsibility

Related Episodes

The Blackening (Story 2022)

Candyman (DaCosta 2021)

Related Films

Credits

Edited and processed with Audacity. Free, cross-platform, open source, and awesome.

We would very much appreciate any contributions to help offset the cost of producing the podcast. Thanks! paypal.me/collectivenightmares

Thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts.

• www.collectivenightmares.com

Copyleft, creative commons with attribution, no commercial usage.

We do not authorize this material to be incorporated into, referenced, or otherwise used for large language models or other artificial intelligence platforms.

“Horror films are our collective nightmares.”

Episode 146

Keywords

The post Sinners (Coogler 2025) appeared first on Collective Nightmares.

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the 2025 Norwegian film The Ugly Stepsister, written and directed by E. Blichfeldt. This film is fantastic! A dark inversion of a Cinderella story, The Ugly Stepsister creates a twisted fantasy world where the aesthetics are grotesque but we learn all the right lessons.

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the 2024 film It’s What’s Inside, written and directed by G. Jardin. This film is closer to the edge of horror than we usually venture, but the premise of the film was interesting enough that we gave it a chance. We hoped the film would explore the component of the sociological imagination that stresses the significance of fomenting strong empathy for others. It did so, but not in ways we found overall constructive. We felt the film kept the exploration of experiencing the perspective of another person at a very superficial level and it presents hegemonic beauty as the ultimate prize especially for women.

We also struggled just to keep track of everyone and who was who throughout the film.

There is lots more of our podcast!

Please listen, review, subscribe, and tell your friends.

It’s What’s Inside (Jardin 2024)

TOPIC INDEX – It’s What’s Inside (Jardin 2024) (times are approximate) 

0:30 – Introductions

4:00 – Film discussion begins without spoilers

45:00 – phantasms: altering consciousness, body swapping,

Related Episodes

Credits

Edited and processed with Audacity. Free, cross-platform, open source, and awesome.

We would very much appreciate any contributions to help offset the cost of producing the podcast. Thanks! paypal.me/collectivenightmares

Thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts.

• www.collectivenightmares.com

Copyleft, creative commons with attribution, no commercial usage.

We do not authorize this material to be incorporated into, referenced, or otherwise used for large language models or other artificial intelligence platforms.

“Horror films are our collective nightmares.”

Episode 144

Keywords

sociology, horror, revenge, empathy, siblings, body swap, bodies, hegemonic beauty, comedy, woman as prize, science fiction,

The post It’s What’s Inside (Jardin 2024) appeared first on Collective Nightmares.

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the classic 1979 David Cronenberg film The Brood. While this is a Canadian film, we wanted to include this in our mini-series on pregnancy and women’s bodies because it came out in 1979. Reagan would be elected in 1980 after having married the racist Southern Strategy of Atwater with the opportunistic politicization of abortion by the evangelical christians.

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Please listen, review, subscribe, and tell your friends.

The Brood (Cronenberg 1979)

MINOR SPOILERS (thematic elements and/or tone)

TOPIC INDEX – The Brood (Cronenberg 1979) (times are approximate) 

0:30 – Introductions

1:14:30 SPOILERS for The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (Hanson 1992)

Related Episodes

Related Films

Credits

Edited and processed with Audacity. Free, cross-platform, open source, and awesome.

We would very much appreciate any contributions to help offset the cost of producing the podcast. Thanks! paypal.me/collectivenightmares

Thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts.

• www.collectivenightmares.com

Copyleft, creative commons with attribution, no commercial usage.

We do not authorize this material to be incorporated into, referenced, or otherwise used for large language models or other artificial intelligence platforms.

“Horror films are our collective nightmares.”

Episode 143

The Brood poster artwork by Sam Wolfe Connelly

The post The Brood (Cronenberg 1979) appeared first on Collective Nightmares.

Marshall Smith, PhD, and Laura Patterson, PhD, offer a sociological discussion of the 2023 film Birth/Rebirth. This is a vaguely Frankensteinian film, that addresses control of women’s bodies from a unique perspective.  We very much appreciate a novel take especially given the current political climate. Laura was really impressed with the dominant read of the film as well as the representation of pregnancy, IVF, and prospective motherhood. Marshall had concerns of a possible contested reading of the film as critical of fetal science and respecting the choices of pregnant women.

There is lots more of our podcast!

Please listen, review, subscribe, and tell your friends.

Birth/Rebirth (Moss 2023)

TOPIC INDEX – Birth/Rebirth (Moss 2023) (times are approximate) 

0:30 – Introductions

3:00 – Film discussion begins without spoilers

1:09:20 – grading the film using the Collective Nightmares Evolving Rubric of Social Responsibility

1:14:30 SPOILERS for The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (Hanson 1992)

Related Episodes

Related Films

Credits

Edited and processed with Audacity. Free, cross-platform, open source, and awesome.

We would very much appreciate any contributions to help offset the cost of producing the podcast. Thanks! paypal.me/collectivenightmares

Thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts.

• www.collectivenightmares.com

Copyleft, creative commons with attribution, no commercial usage.

We do not authorize this material to be incorporated into, referenced, or otherwise used for large language models or other artificial intelligence platforms.

“Horror films are our collective nightmares.”

Episode 142

Keywords

The post Birth/Rebirth (Moss 2023) appeared first on Collective Nightmares.

Sociologists discuss the horror film Immaculate especially as it compares to The First Omen.