Undead. They’re all the same. They’re pushy and whiny and they're all only after ONE thing…

Or at least that’s the case with this week’s movies: 2001’s Kairo (Pulse) and 1985’s Return of the Living Dead!

Coming in late due to a brief bout with morbidity, host Blake takes us on a roller coaster of emotions, from depressive dread to freewheeling terror, as we compare two movies about two groups of young adults coming to terms with death, life, and everything in between. Grab your duct tape and an pickaxe: we've got some choppin' to do!

EPISODE LINKSYouTube - Kairo [Pulse] (2001) trailerYouTube - Pulse (2006) trailer IMDb - Kiyoshi KurosawaYouTube - Cure trailerYouTube - Tokyo Sonata (2008) trailerYouTube - Kairo - OST Track 1NowIKnow.com - Nuclear ShadowsRiverfront Times - “UMSL's Short-Sighted Plan to Demolish a St. Louis Landmark: Incarnate Word Convent”YouTube - Eraserhead (1977) (industrial setting)YouTube - It Follows (2014) trailerWikipedia - HikikomoriWikipedia - Eden of the EastWikipedia - Serial Experiments LainWikipedia - Stray Dog (1949)

YouTube - Return of the Living Dead (1985) trailerYouTube - RedLetterMedia - Return of the Living Dead re:View YouTube - Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988) trailerYouTube - 45 Grave - Party TimeYouTube - Francis Haines - Trioxin themeWikipedia - The Crying of Lot 49IMDb - The Return of the Living Dead (1985) trivia

Wikipedia - Agent OrangeScience History Institute - Distillations - A Brief History of Chemical WarNational Center for Biotechnology Information - THE CONTAGION OF SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR by Madelyn S. Gould, Ph.D. and Alison M. Lake, M.A.Gaki Archives - 2001 Batsu Matsumoto Haunted HotelYouTube - Was tun, wenn's brennt? [What To Do In Case of Fire?] (2002) trailerYouTube - Jonathan Coulton - Re: Your BrainsDailymotion - Red Dwarf S1 E2 - Future EchoesYouTube - Tarman zombie (Return)YouTube - first ghost (Kairo)YouTube - The Simpsons - Nuke the Whales

Welcome back class.

This week your homework assignment was Arthur (1981) and Weekend at Bernie's (1989), where we'll be discussing what methods make your characters more sympathetic, or less. One film takes what should be a group of unlikable leads and makes us empathize with them, while the other left Ally cheering for the quasi-villain.We'll also be looking at strong women, bad unnecessary sequels, and still more adventures in late capitalism. 

EPISODE LINKSYouTube - Arthur (1981) trailerYouTube - Weekend at Bernie’s trailer YouTube - Weekend at Bernie’s 2 trailerYouTube - Arthur (2011) trailer YouTube - Arthur 2: On The Rocks (1988) trailer 

Wikipedia - You Can’t Take It With You (1938 film) Dailymotion - Fawlty Towers - Kipper and the CorpseYouTube - Office Space (1999) trailer YouTube - Clerks (1994) trailer YouTube - Dead Alive (1992) trailer YouTube - Suburban Commando (1991) trailer YouTube - The Mask (1994) trailer 

I’m The Host - True Lies (ep. 54) The Film Reroll Podcast - Weekend at Bernie’s (part 1)Yarn - Seinfeld - “Bernie is dead you morons!” IMDb - Liza Minnelli YouTube - The Happening - “What? No!”

Woop Woop! That's the sound of the police! Don't sweat it; as long we all tell the same story, no one's doing time. Just like in The Usual Suspects and Inside Man!

With Robin Hoods and charming devils alike on the corkboard, Ally has our forensics team dusting themes of trust, truth, and lies, and the thin, thin lines between them.

Here in N.W.A. court, we'll also be discussing the jurisprudence of "no face, no case," "if nobody talks then everybody walks," and other sayings that are likely true because they rhyme.

Links for this episode:Bloomberg.com - "Storm Gia Strikes Midwest as Airlines Cancel, Waive Fees"Thrillist - 100 Greatest Movie PropsWikipedia - Knights and KnavesYoutube - John Mulaney The One Thing You Can Never Replace  YouTube - Fight Fight Fight Kiss Kiss KissKate Mara wig contrast pic from Fantastic Four

So, basically... Blake screwed up.

My bad.

In lieu of a stand-and-deliver episode on cinematic theory (which, evidently, I was unable to stand up and deliver), I'm democratizing the process and giving you all the uncommented-upon side-topics and media that we DID try to discuss before I went and made a mess of things.

There's some really interesting stuff in here so please do give it a go:

1) ViolenceMike Rugnetta - PBS Idea Channel - ViolenceSlavoj Žižek - ViolenceLaura Tanner - Intimate ViolenceWikipedia - Scopophobia

2) Anarchy & PowerOliver Thorn - Philosophy Tube - "Intro To Anarchy: Power and Violence"Slavoj Žižek - The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (The Dark Knight)Greg Scorzo - One+One - "Manners and Guilt: Audience Horror in Michael Haneke’s Funny Games remake"

3) MetafictionEric Taxxon - Unveiling Fiction: Funny GamesDaniel Podgorski - The Gemsbok - "Unfamiliar Slasher: How Michael Haneke’s Funny Games Wonderfully Accomplishes the Opposite of Haneke’s Goal"

4) CodaOliver Thorn - Philosophy Tube - "When Will Security Go Back to Normal?"

This week on I’m The Host, chef Blake is behind the stove with sous chefs Ally and Kurt, and we’re going to show YOU how to cook with some REAL bad eggs we just had shipped in from The Dark Knight (2008) and Funny Games (2007).

For a firm omelette, beat three main characters--a father, a mother, and a child--until blended. Stir in firearms, explosives, and bludgeoning instruments. Once your protagonists are thoroughly abused, you can add a dash of comeuppance for a classic omelette, or simply throw into the pan with a dash of metafiction for a quick and dirty meal that practically makes itself!

Now we’re going to take a short commercial break, but when we come back, we’ll be discussing the pros and cons of different cooking techniques and what to watch out for so that your breaking bread doesn’t end up breaking BAD!

Don’t go away! We’ll be right back!

THIS SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! Bats vs. Clowns! Bats vs. Knives! Biscuits vs. Breadrolls! BE THERE! BE THERE! BE THERE!

EPISODE LINKS - PART 1Wikipedia - The Dark Knight YouTube - The Dark Knight trailerWikipedia - Funny Games (2007) YouTube - Funny Games (2007) trailer

IndieWire - ‘The Dark Knight’: Patton Oswalt Shares His Personal Origin Story Theory For Heath Ledger’s Joker YouTube - The Flashpoint Paradox trailer YouTube - American Psycho trailer YouTube - The Killing of a Sacred Deer trailer YouTube - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse trailer YouTube - Giant Bomb Animated - Bat vs. Knife YouTube - Rooster Teeth Animated Adventures - Biscuits vs. Breadsticks YouTube - Heat (30 seconds) YouTube - The Departed (f’in short version)

As you may have noticed, your feeds are one episode short of a full week. Our bad.

We WILL return; it just may not be as soon as we had previously hoped. Work, life, and flooring installer schedules have all conspired to keep us from being able to hit our release window.

As the holidays come to a close, however, we anticipate things going back to something resembling normalcy. Until then, enjoy Blake's dulcet garglings and the following articles and podcasts as a substitute for the top-tier media analysis you'd normally find in this slot:

 

EPISODE LINKS:The Atlantic - "They Shall Not Grow Old Is a Stunning World War I Documentary"YouTube - Sideways - "Why Home Alone is the Best Christmas Soundtrack Ever"Buzzfeed - "Why I’ve Had Trouble Buying Hollywood’s Version Of Girl Power"YouTube - Philosophy Tube - "YouTube: Art or Reality?"Twitter - @terrycavinagh's thread on revenue sharing by Itch.io (100%) vs. Epic (88%) vs. Steam (66%)Fuds On Film

Dead Ringers

Scriptnotes

Could the secret sauce of good work be...respect for and investment in your employees? Weighing in on this bizarre take, Kurt has us watch one of the worst cases of employee neglect: 2018's Upgrade.

Mustaches will unfurl and monocles will pop as we discuss the business model that enabled Leigh Whannell's sci-fi beat-em-up to exist, along with other related topics: algorithmic screenplays, horror franchises, celebrity look-alikes, and the newest action cinematography sensation that's sweeping the nation!

Get your weekly recommended ultraviolence here, on I'm The Host!

 

Links for this Episode:Wikipedia - List of Blumhouse Productions projects Wikipedia - Jason BlumWikipedia - Blumhouse Productions Wikipedia - Homecoming (TV Series) Wikipedia - Binders Full of WomenFast Company - Jason Blum isn't hiring White Dudes for his Amazon Movies. Comicbook.com - Jason Blum Booed at Israel Film Festival BlumHouse Partners with Amazon on 8 thrillers Consequence of Sound - Jason Blum’s Female directors comments Fastcompany.com - How Blumhouse is making a killing at the box office Giphy - WAKE UP FIGHTING GIF BY UPGRADE [good example of the arrested camerawork] Collider.com - “Cary Fukunaga, ‘Maniac,’ and How Netflix’s Algorithm Is Becoming Entertainment’s Skynet” Cheezburger.com - Michael Cera + Andy Samberg Totally Looks Like Jesse EisenbergYouTube - Nick Clegg “We’re Sorry” overlaid w/South Park StudentEdge.com - “Here’s How They Filmed Those Crazy Fight Scenes in ‘Upgrade’"YouTube - Adam Neely - Whiplash (as reviewed by a jazz musician) Box Office Mojo - Blumhouse projects by the numbers

Howdy, y'all!

It seems our little podcast got washed out this week, and due to the technical snafu Blake sat down and recorded a little filler episode, holding forth on what movies he's seen recently.

Hopefully we'll be back next time with our previously-scheduled episode on Blumhouse--see you soon!

"Unnnnnnnhhhhh…. Uuuuhhhhhh! Brrrrraiiiiiiiinnssssss…"

Yeah, that's what you’d LIKE to hear, isn't it? Well too bad! This week Ally, our understudy of the undead, is exhuming the zombie genre as we talk Train to Busan (2016) and The Girl With All The Gifts (2016). We'll find out where all the bodies are buried in the history of zombie lore, from its Afro-Haitian origins, to its dark fusion with Romero's ghouls, to its chaotic re-imagining for a hilarious/horrifying present.

We'll also sink our chompers into more practical concerns, such as tube-cream manufacturing, our classic "girl-in-a-box" problem, and whether one dead deer will spell the end of humanity.

EPISODE LINKSYouTube - White Zombie (1932) trailer**YouTube - Night of the Living Dead (1968) FULL MOVIE!**YouTube - Dawn of the Dead (1978) trailerYouTube - Return of the Living Dead (1985) trailer YouTube - Day of the Dead (1985) trailerYouTube - Night of the Living Dead (1990 remake) trailerYouTube - Dead Alive/Braindead (1992) trailerYouTube - My Boyfriend’s Back (1993) TV teaser YouTube - 28 Days Later (2002) trailer YouTube - Shaun of the Dead (2004) trailerYouTube - Dawn of the Dead (2004 remake) trailerYouTube - Land of the Dead (2005) trailer YouTube - Fido (2006) trailer YouTube - The Signal (2007) trailer YouTube - Diary of the Dead (2007) trailer YouTube - The Crazies (2010 remake) trailer YouTube - The Walking Dead (2010) trailer YouTube - Santa Clarita Diet (2017) season one trailer

YouTube - Kairo (Pulse) - basement ghost scene Wikipedia - Childhood's End (novel) Wikipedia - Cell (novel) Wikipedia - The Last of Us (video game) Wikipedia - Zombie Wikipedia - Uncanny ValleyWikipedia - Aloha Oe

The Josef K. Stories - "Up"Atlas Obscura - "How Haitian Slave Culture Gave Life to Zombies"Den of Geek - George A. Romero and the Meaning of his Zombies

ExtraLife Team!

A videotape lands on your doorstep... An estranged friend emails you out of the blue... You may be tempted to respond, to reach out to a familiar hand...but what if it doesn't let go?

This week, Blake inaugurates spooky season with two movies about movies in movies that are actually kind of one movie? We're sitting down with creative duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead's breakout film, Resolution (2012), and its break-out sequel, The Endless (2017). We'll talk about strained siblings, toxic relationships, invisible narrators, artistry vs. amusement, social media bubbles, and ultimately learn that you can never step into the same home twice...or, something.

We'll also blindly wander into how to defeat cosmic horrors through boredom, effective serial killer deterrents, and various cabins in various woods.

EPISODE LINKSDead Ringers - Episode 4 - The Cabin in the Woods + ResolutionYouTube - “James Cameron Almost Couldn't Make 'Aliens' Because of Tea (British Tea Breaks)” (time-skip to 11m, 5s for clip of Alien costume walking in full light) YouTube - In The Mouth of Madness (1994) (trailer)YouTube - Castle Rock (2018) (teaser trailer)YouTube - Funny Games (2007) (trailer)YouTube - Memories of Murder (2013) (trailer)Wikipedia - Koyaanisqatsi (1982)Wikipedia - The Turin Horse (2011)Wikipedia - Richard ChaseWikipedia - Dramatic Structure (Aristotle’s analysis) Kotaku - “A Frightening Look Inside Japan's Newest Resident Evil Attraction”