Also known as “Olympic Terror” - which do you prefer?

Colin and I are both absolute fiends for horror movies - a near-lifelong obsessions for both us - and the idea sprang to mind to do a special bonus episode. All we had to do was find a horror sports movie (that wasn’t one of the Teen Wolves).

1983’s Fatal Games left us with some unanswered questions, of course, but one thing we know for sure? That apartment in the above picture is cool as fuck. And we’re not really sure what Frank’s sport was….

Follow our ensemble of varying size and importance as they navigate, uh, semi-adolescence (?) or early adulthood - you be the judge. Either way, I hope everyone is of age in the shower scenes.

Like many movies of questionable intent and quality, Fatal Games is not without two or three compelling scenes - mostly involving the older actors. The subplot to the murders - the motive behind which is eventually explained via Psycho via Sleepaway Camp - is some kind of ubermensch-esque juicing scheme, using our ambiguously-aged principal cast as guinea pigs. Weird stuff!

Speaking of Phil - he has his own place. His girlfriend has a walk and talk with her dad about grades. How fucking old is anyone? What is this academy?

Please, someone who has actually competed in the olympics - let us know how right or wrong Fatal Games got it.

Credit to Colin for fully unpacking the headier concepts in this post-Miracle on the Ice story of athletics. Like it or not, Fatal Games is a Cold War film.

It also utilizes some of the most obviously-ripping-off-John-Carpenter music I have ever heard, and if you watch, you will hear the difference between John Carpenter’s haunting minimalist genius and Shuki Levy’s earlier work before hitting his stride with theme songs for such favorites as Inspector Gadget and The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Notice the special thanks to Haim Saban as well!

If it isn’t obvious from our episode, we love horror movies, and thank you all for the chance to crack-wise about one this Halloween.

Here is a link to the Spotify episode.

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