Episode 46: Infections

This episode was recorded on November 7, 2024 and posted on January 11, 2025

Content Warning: Light vulgarity. 

Introduction

• Welcome to No Bodies Episode 46
• Introductions to your Ghosts Hosts with the Most - Lonely of Lonely Horror Club and Projectile Varmint aka Suzie
• Introductions to our guests - Dr. Sarah Walters, epidemiologist and professor of Public Health
• Today’s Topic: Infections

Discussion on Infection Narratives in Horror

• The history of infections and plagues in horror

Media Discussion

• Shivers (1975)
• The Curse (1987)
• 12 Monkeys (1995)
• Mulberry St. (2006)
• Contagion (2011)
• Bird Box (2018)
• The Sadness (2023)
• Smile 2 (2024)

Best & Worst Representations of Infections in Horror

Spoilers ahead!

Worst

• The Happening (2008) & Old (2021) - Suzie 
• Shivers (1975) & It Comes at Night (2017) - Sarah 
• Shivers (1975) & The Sadness (2023) - Lonely

Best

• Contagion (2011) & It Follows (2014) - Suzie & Sarah
• Smile 2 (2024) - Lonely

Suzie’s Deep Cuts & Surface Wounds

• This segment highlights lesser known films based on their IMDB ratings. If something has 5k or under reviews on IMDB, we’ll call it a Deep Cut. If something has between 6-10k reviews on IMDB, we’ll call it a Surface Wound.
  • What We Become (2015)
  • Viral (2016)
  • Rabid (2019)
  • The Beach House (2019)
  • Little Fish (2020)
  • Hot Skull (2022)

Closing Thoughts

• What is a theme in infection horror you wish horror captured more accurately? What infection narrative would you direct for a horror film?

Thank you to Dr. Sarah Walters for joining us!

Keep Up with Your Hosts

• Check out our instagram antics and drop a follow @nobodieshorrorpodcast. 
• Take part in our new audience engagement challenge - The Coroner’s Report! Comment, share, or interact with any Coroner’s Report post on our socials to be featured in an upcoming episode. 
• Projectile Varmint - keep up with Suzie's film musings on Instagram @projectile__varmint
• Lonely - read more from Lonely and keep up with her filmstagram chaos @lonelyhorrorclub on Instagram and www.lonelyhorrorclub.com.

Original No Bodies Theme music by Jacob Pini. Need music? Find Jacob on Instagram at @jacob.pini for rates and tell him No Bodies sent you! 

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Sources

Sartin, J. S. (2019). Contagious horror: infectious themes in fiction and film. Clinical Medicine & Research, 17(1–2), 41–46. https://doi.org/10.3121/cmr.2019.1432