This week we have a pair of thrillers about guys who meet a “New Friend from Hell” and pay the consequences. 

Explore the dark side with BAD INFLUENCE (1990) from writer David Koepp and director Curtis Hanson, starring James Spader and Rob Lowe. 

Then it’s time to get way to close to the creepy new neighbors in CONSENTING ADULTS (1992) starring Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Kevin Space, and Rebecca Miller.

We’ve flirted with you, gone out to dinner, and talked movies. But now, this podcast demands you face the consequences because it’s time to dive into the wave of “dangerous stranger” psychological thrillers launched by Adrian Lyne’s FATAL ATTRACTION (1987) starring very naughty boy Michael Douglas and the unignorable Glenn Close. We then examine the evidence in Alan J. Pakula’s legal thriller PRESUMED INNOCENT (1990) starring Harrison Ford, Bonnie Bedelia, and Greta Scacchi.

This week we look at Spike Lee’s biographical epic masterpiece MALCOLM X (1992) starring Denzel Washington in a film that attracted controversy, much like the man whose life story it told.

We discuss Spike Lee’s breathrough feature film DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) which centers on race relations on a neighborhood block in Brooklyn.

Grab a cup of psychoactive mead and settle in for a Conan the Barbarian Bonus Episode as we look at Robert Eggers’ historical epic, THE NORTHMAN (2022), starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, and Anya Taylor-Joy. Eggers co-wrote the film with Sjón.

Adam Mallinger (Writer: SUPERMAN & LOIS, MICHAEL F-ING BAY) joins us for a special Friday the 13th Bonus episode looking at slasher film deconstructor/reconstructor BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON (2006) starring Nathan Baesal & Angela Goethals, directed by Scott Glosserman, who also co-wrote with David J. Stieve.

Adam Mallinger Bluesky

The Bitter Script Reader

The Bitter Script Reader: Tuesday Talkback: "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon," My greatest discovery

We bid a fond farewell to the Friday slasher trend with two parody films: STUDENT BODIES (1981) are stalked by The Breather in a rare early cycle spoof, then Jackson gets a touch of the melancholy in UNMASKED PART 25 (1988).

What’s a filmmaker to do if they need to make an 80s slasher film but the trend is getting long in the tooth? Add some inappropriate folklore!

A group of campers is stalked by a Viking berserker in the appropriately titled, BERSERKER (1987). 

And then a group of young people are mysteriously invited to their old summer camp built on land cursed by a medicine man in TWISTED NIGHTMARE (1988).

It’s time for a European vacation with two films from across the pond that put their unique spin on the American slasher movie trend:

BODY COUNT (1986) from famed Italian director Ruggero Deodato and Spanish slasher EDGE OF THE AXE (1988) directed by José Ramón Larraz.

Summer’s over! It’s time for Fall and Winter slashers to answer the question: Does changing seasons help change up a Friday-style slasher?

SATAN’S BLADE (1984) combines bank robbing, attempted adultery, and boom mics with a local legend, while THE MUTILATOR (1984) mixes tones, tunes, and the craziest game of Blind Man’s Bluff you’ve ever witnessed.