Horror Business

Greetings pinheads, butterballs, and all things in betwixt, and welcome back to Horror Business, the podcast that has such sights to show you. Thanks as always for listening, and we have a great episode for you! First and foremost we want to give a shoutout to our sponsors over at Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations, the premiere screenprinting company of the Lehigh Valley. Chris Reject and his merry band of miscreants are ready to work with you to bring to life your vision of a tshirt for your business, band, project, or whatever else it is you need represented by a shirt, sweater, pin, or coozy. Head on over to www.xlvacx.com to check them out. Thanks!

This episode we are talking about works of English horror maestro Clive Barker, specifically Nightbreed and Hellraiser. 

We begin by talking about what we’ve seen recently. We were fortunate enough to catch the ‘80s classic Night Of The Comet at the Mahoning Drive In’s third annual Zombiefest, (more info on the drive in and upcoming events can be found here) and we discuss the social messages of the film and how it was much better than either of us remember it. We discuss Alien: Covenant, and then discuss the concept of personal taste and aesthetic preferences when it comes to film and how differences in such taste is handled oftentimes. We then talk about the recent film Colossal and how the actual film differs drastically from how it was marketed.

First up is 1990’s Nightbreed. We open up by talking about how each of us got into the work of Clive Barker, his particular style of writing, and the impact he’s had on the genre of horror and fantasy.

We talk about the symbolism present in Nightbreed (anti-colonialism, LGBTQ issues) and Justin discusses how growing up the movie resonated with him as a symbol for getting into punk. We talk about the difference between the theatrical cut and the directors cut, in particular the ending, Boone’s hallucinations, and the increased screen time for the monsters in the directors cut.

The performances of the actors in the movie and the theme of small towns embracing a fascist attitude towards anything remotely different is briefly examined.

The concept of ones “true face”, i.e. our inner selves versus the self we project outwards to society is discussed.

Up next is arguably Clive Barker’s most famous film, 1987’s Hellraiser. We discuss the various themes of this movie, including Frank’s hedonism as a metaphor for addiction, the interchangeability of pleasure and pain, and the concept of morality under duress.

The aesthetic choices of the film are examined, including the look of the Cenobites, the way the house seems ominous and illogical, the ‘uniquely gross’ look of the film overall.

The performances of the actors, particularly Sean Chapman, Ashley Laurence, and Andrew Robertson, are discussed, and finally the cultural impact of the original film and how unorthodox it was and indeed continues to be are discussed.

Justin closes out the discussion with two humorous (or so he thinks) anecdotes involving Hellraiser.

 

As always thanks to everyone and anyone who checked this episode out, or shared a tweet/shared a post on FB/gave us love by recommending us to someone. We love you forever for listening. Any questions, comments, suggestions for movies and guests, or if you yourself want to join us for a movie viewing or even an episode, can be sent to [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Thanks always to Justin Miller and Doug Tilley for their technical contributions and fliers, Mike Smaczylo for the awesome fliers, and also thanks to Josh “Downtown Larry Brown” Alvarez for the theme song, Chris and LVAC for the support and buttons (check them out at

Greetings believers and non-believers alike, and welcome back to Horror Business! Thanks as always for listening, and we have a great episode for you!

First and foremost we want to give a shoutout to our sponsors over at Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations, the premiere screenprinting company of the Lehigh Valley. Chris Reject and his merry band of miscreants are ready to work with you to bring to life your vision of a tshirt for your business, band, project, or whatever else it is you need represented by a shirt, sweater, pin, or coozy. Head on over to www.xlvacx.com to check them out. Thanks!

This episode we are talking about two films exclusive to Shudder, the premiere horror streaming network. Our films are both from 2016: Prevenge and We Go On.

We begin by talking about what we’ve seen recently. Liam was lucky enough to catch Exhumed Films EX FEST, the annual twelve hour exploitation festival. He briefly talks about the films he saw at the festival and the special appearance of John Waters to introduce Pink Flamigos. Liam also discusses recents viewings of Fits and Lemonade, while Justin discusses recent viewings of The Girl With All The Gifts and Here Alone.

First up is Alice Lowe’s 2016 film Prevenge. We talk about the films unique blend of comedy and horror, and also the deep melancholy that permeates the film. Lowe’s performance as both a person suffering from some kind of mental breakdown that makes the character both terrifying and sympathetic is discussed, as is the semi-ambigous ending.

The imagery of the film involving some kind of external corrupting influence, Lowe’s performance as something inhuman, and the nature of madness is discussed. We also talk about the relatibility of what Lowe’s character is experiencing and how in addition to this being a horror/black comedy film it is also something of a black comedy.

Finally we talk about the way pregnancy can be viewed as something worthy of being the focal point of a horror film.

Next we discuss Jesse Holland and Andy Milton’s 2016 film We Go On. We were truthfully not fans of this film, and discuss what we didn’t like about it, namely a lack of ability in the lead actor, clichéd imagery, a rather mundane plot, and uninspired filmmaking in general.

We weren’t kind to this film, but we cannot stress that our opinions are our opinions alone and that doesn’t necessarily make this a bad movie and that you should check it out for yourself if you a chance!

As always thanks to everyone and anyone who checked this episode out, or shared a tweet/shared a post on FB/gave us love by recommending us to someone. We love you forever for listening. Any questions, comments, suggestions for movies and guests, or if you yourself want to join us for a movie viewing or even an episode, can be sent to [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Thanks always to Justin Miller and Doug Tilley for their technical contributions and fliers, Mike Smaczylo for the awesome fliers, and also thanks to Josh “Biggest Kahuna” Alvarez for the theme song, Chris and LVAC for the support and buttons (check them out at www.xlvacx.com), and a HUGE thank you to anyone who retweeted us or shared something on Facebook that we posted. Follow us on Twitter at @thehorrorbiz666, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/thehorrorbiz66, and remember to rate, review, and subscribe to us on ITunes. In fact, if you write us a review, email us with your mailing address and we’ll send you some free pins and stickers! Check out www.cinepunx.com for more info on some of our other podcasts and how you can donate to our Patreon! Until next time…thanks!

Greetings believers and non-believers alike, and welcome back to Horror Business! Thanks as always for listening, and we have a great episode for you!

First and foremost we want to give a shoutout to our sponsors over at Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations, the premiere screenprinting company of the Lehigh Valley. Chris Reject and his merry band of miscreants are ready to work with you to bring to life your vision of a tshirt for your business, band, project, or whatever else it is you need represented by a shirt, sweater, pin, or coozy. Head on over to www.xlvacx.com to check them out. Thanks!

This episode we are talking about two films exclusive to Shudder, the premiere horror streaming network. Our films are both from 2016: Prevenge and We Go On.

We begin by talking about what we’ve seen recently. Liam was lucky enough to catch Exhumed Films EX FEST, the annual twelve hour exploitation festival. He briefly talks about the films he saw at the festival and the special appearance of John Waters to introduce Pink Flamigos. Liam also discusses recents viewings of Fits and Lemonade, while Justin discusses recent viewings of The Girl With All The Gifts and Here Alone.

First up is Alice Lowe’s 2016 film Prevenge. We talk about the films unique blend of comedy and horror, and also the deep melancholy that permeates the film. Lowe’s performance as both a person suffering from some kind of mental breakdown that makes the character both terrifying and sympathetic is discussed, as is the semi-ambigous ending.

The imagery of the film involving some kind of external corrupting influence, Lowe’s performance as something inhuman, and the nature of madness is discussed. We also talk about the relatibility of what Lowe’s character is experiencing and how in addition to this being a horror/black comedy film it is also something of a black comedy.

Finally we talk about the way pregnancy can be viewed as something worthy of being the focal point of a horror film.

Next we discuss Jesse Holland and Andy Milton’s 2016 film We Go On. We were truthfully not fans of this film, and discuss what we didn’t like about it, namely a lack of ability in the lead actor, clichéd imagery, a rather mundane plot, and uninspired filmmaking in general.

We weren’t kind to this film, but we cannot stress that our opinions are our opinions alone and that doesn’t necessarily make this a bad movie and that you should check it out for yourself if you a chance!

As always thanks to everyone and anyone who checked this episode out, or shared a tweet/shared a post on FB/gave us love by recommending us to someone. We love you forever for listening. Any questions, comments, suggestions for movies and guests, or if you yourself want to join us for a movie viewing or even an episode, can be sent to [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Thanks always to Justin Miller and Doug Tilley for their technical contributions and fliers, Mike Smaczylo for the awesome fliers, and also thanks to Josh “Biggest Kahuna” Alvarez for the theme song, Chris and LVAC for the support and buttons (check them out at www.xlvacx.com), and a HUGE thank you to anyone who retweeted us or shared something on Facebook that we posted. Follow us on Twitter at @thehorrorbiz666, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/thehorrorbiz66, and remember to rate, review, and subscribe to us on ITunes. In fact, if you write us a review, email us with your mailing address and we’ll send you some free pins and stickers! Check out www.cinepunx.com for more info on some of our other podcasts and how you can donate to our Patreon! Until next time…thanks!

 

Greetings pagans and godless heathens! Thank you as always for checking us out and we have got one H-E-L-L of an episode for you guys.

First and foremost we want to give a shoutout to our sponsors over at Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations, the premiere screen printing company of the Lehigh Valley. Chris Reject and his merry band of miscreants are ready to work with you to bring to life your vision of a t-shirt for your business, band, project, or whatever else it is you need represented by a shirt, sweater, pin, or coozy. Head on over to www.xlvacx.com to check them out. Thanks!

This episode we are discussing the oft-overlooked sub-genre of pastoral horror, or ‘folk horror’ as it’s known otherwise.

We begin by talking about what we’ve seen recently. Both of us were lucky enough to catch a screening of Julia Ducournau’s Raw. We briefly discuss the film and our thoughts on it (we really liked it) and then talk about the importance of local cinemas so that they can keep doing screenings like this. You can check out the Steel Stacks here. We then talk about M. Night Shyamalan’s newest film Split. Also, we talk about the newest member of the Cinepunx collective the GOT ME A MOVIE podcast hosted by Lori and Andrew Bergeron, as well as upcoming addition to Cinepunx, a story based podcast called BLACK SUN DISPATCHES. Check both of them out!

Before we get into the heart of the episode we talk about the recent passing of James “Doc Terror” Harris, a well-known and beloved fixture of the Northeast horror scene. The Cinepunx collective was lucky enough to interview James a few months back at a benefit screening for him. You can hear that interview here. Hudson Horror is doing a benefit screening of two Italian horror films with all the benefits going to James’ family, and you can get tickets for that here, and there is going to be a special screening of James’ favorite film Creepshow on 35 mm at the Alamo Drafthouse, and you can find out more on that here. Likewise, donations to James’ family can be made here.

First up is Piers Haggard’s 1970 film The Blood on Satan's Claw aka Satan's Skin aka The Devil's Touch. We open the discussion by dissecting the genre that is pastoral horror. We give a few examples and discuss the motivations behind the genre, including English guilt and anxiety towards colonialism and white anxiety in general and the similarities between that English anxiety and the modern America anxiety/guilt towards the subjection of Native Americans and that anxiety emerging in the “Indian burial ground” trope often found in the horror genre.

We give a brief summary of BOSC, it’s various themes, and the inspirations behind it, including the Catholic-Protestant schism in England in the 18th century, the Tate-LaBianca murders, and the distrust of youth culture in general.

We briefly talk about the “golden age” of British often being associated with Hammer Films and how there were actually numerous British horror films NOT associated with Hammer from that time period.

Next we discuss Robin Hardy’s 1973 film The Wicker Man. We briefly talk about Hardy’s other work and how he intended to have it be the first of a trilogy. We discuss the background of the film, it’s inspiration, and it’s production. Liam briefly discusses his personal experience with The Wicker Man and how it impacted his taste in film growing up, as well as the impact the film has had on the genre and indeed British film in general. We give a brief synopsis of the film and then discuss Edward Woodburn’s character in the film as being wholly unlikable as a protagonist. We talk about the atmosphere of paranoia and tension that permeates the film and how this contrasts with a feeling of dread and terror that permeates other horror films. The “folky” aesthetic of the film is examined, as is the various cuts of the film that have existed over the years.

The various manifestations of the island’s pagan lifestyle are discussed and how this contrasts with Woodburn’s character’s very uptight “Christian” identity. The re-occurring symbolism of the rabbit or hare in the film is examined. The film’s closing scene and its haunting impact is discussed, as is the implication of the lingering presence of capitalism even on an isolated pagan population.

There is a further discussion of folk horror as a rejection of modernity/modern life in favor of a simpler, more sensual life, as well as the concept of a ‘second Naiveté’ and how it applies to the understanding of religious concepts. The ambiguity of whether or not Christopher Lee’s character actually believes in the pagan ritual the people of the island have embraced is discussed.

We conclude the episode by talking about the upcoming Exhumed Films event Ex Fest on April 29th, which is a twelve hour exploitation film marathon. Tickets for the event can be purchased here.

As always thanks to everyone and anyone who checked this episode out, or shared a tweet/shared a post on FB/gave us love by recommending us to someone. We love you forever for listening. Any questions, comments, suggestions for movies and guests, or if you yourself want to join us for a movie viewing or even an episode, can be sent to [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Thanks always to Justin Miller and Doug Tilley for their technical contributions and fliers, Mike Smaczylo for the awesome fliers, and also thanks to Josh “Oh La La” Alvarez for the theme song, Chris and LVAC for the support and buttons (check them out at www.xlvacx.com), and a HUGE thank you to anyone who retweeted us or shared something on Facebook that we posted. Follow us on Twitter at @thehorrorbiz666, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/thehorrorbiz66, and remember to rate, review, and subscribe to us on ITunes. In fact, if you write us a review, email us with your mailing address and we’ll send you some free pins and stickers! Until next time…thanks!

Greetings pagans and godless heathens! Thank you as always for checking us out and we have got one H-E-L-L of an episode for you guys.

First and foremost we want to give a shoutout to our sponsors over at Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations, the premiere screen printing company of the Lehigh Valley. Chris Reject and his merry band of miscreants are ready to work with you to bring to life your vision of a t-shirt for your business, band, project, or whatever else it is you need represented by a shirt, sweater, pin, or coozy. Head on over to www.xlvacx.com to check them out. Thanks!

This episode we are discussing the oft-overlooked sub-genre of pastoral horror, or ‘folk horror’ as it’s known otherwise.

We begin by talking about what we’ve seen recently. Both of us were lucky enough to catch a screening of Julia Ducournau’s Raw. We briefly discuss the film and our thoughts on it (we really liked it) and then talk about the importance of local cinemas so that they can keep doing screenings like this. You can check out the Steel Stacks here. We then talk about M. Night Shyamalan’s newest film Split. Also, we talk about the newest member of the Cinepunx collective the GOT ME A MOVIE podcast hosted by Lori and Andrew Bergeron, as well as upcoming addition to Cinepunx, a story based podcast called BLACK SUN DISPATCHES. Check both of them out!

Before we get into the heart of the episode we talk about the recent passing of James “Doc Terror” Harris, a well-known and beloved fixture of the Northeast horror scene. The Cinepunx collective was lucky enough to interview James a few months back at a benefit screening for him. You can hear that interview here. Hudson Horror is doing a benefit screening of two Italian horror films with all the benefits going to James’ family, and you can get tickets for that here, and there is going to be a special screening of James’ favorite film Creepshow on 35 mm at the Alamo Drafthouse, and you can find out more on that here. Likewise, donations to James’ family can be made here.

First up is Piers Haggard’s 1970 film The Blood on Satan’s Claw aka Satan’s Skin aka The Devil’s Touch. We open the discussion by dissecting the genre that is pastoral horror. We give a few examples and discuss the motivations behind the genre, including English guilt and anxiety towards colonialism and white anxiety in general and the similarities between that English anxiety and the modern America anxiety/guilt towards the subjection of Native Americans and that anxiety emerging in the “Indian burial ground” trope often found in the horror genre.

We give a brief summary of BOSC, it’s various themes, and the inspirations behind it, including the Catholic-Protestant schism in England in the 18th century, the Tate-LaBianca murders, and the distrust of youth culture in general.

We briefly talk about the “golden age” of British often being associated with Hammer Films and how there were actually numerous British horror films NOT associated with Hammer from that time period.

Next we discuss Robin Hardy’s 1973 film The Wicker Man. We briefly talk about Hardy’s other work and how he intended to have it be the first of a trilogy. We discuss the background of the film, it’s inspiration, and it’s production. Liam briefly discusses his personal experience with The Wicker Man and how it impacted his taste in film growing up, as well as the impact the film has had on the genre and indeed British film in general.

Greetings goofs and ghouls! Thank you as always for checking us out and we have got one heck of an episode for you guys. We are joined for this episode by our good friend Jeff Thibault from Monster Mania Con. This was a lot of fun to record and we’re super excited for you guys to hear it.

First and foremost we want to give a shoutout to our sponsors over at Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations, the premiere screenprinting company of the Lehigh Valley. Chris Reject and his merry band of miscreants are ready to work with you to bring to life your vision of a tshirt for your business, band, project, or whatever else it is you need represented by a shirt, sweater, pin, or coozy. Head on over to www.xlvacx.com to check them out. Thanks!

This episode we are taking a look at two Italian haunted house films, 1981’s HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY and 1988’s LA CASA 3 AKA GHOST HOUSE.

We begin by talking about what we’ve seen recently. Jeff and Justin were lucky enough to catch a screening of the 2016 body horror/Lovecraftian horror/goopfest THE VOID and talk briefly about it. Justin and Liam briefly spar over the season 7 finale of THE WALKING DEAD.

First up is Lucio Fulci’s HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY. We give a brief background on Fulci’s ‘Gates Of Hell Trilogy’ and his distinct filmmaking style, his background, and a brief summation of the plot of HBTC. Liam talks about the vagueness of the characters being aware of certain plot elements and how the main characters son is the only character in the film that isn’t suspect. Jeff points out the large number of red herrings in the movie and how this might be influenced by Hitchcock’s tendency to do the same.

Justin and Jeff touch upon Fulci’s tendency to unsettle with techniques both subtle and heavy handed, and Liam follows up with discussing Fulci’s films often times choosing strange and violent imagery over substantial plots, and how Fulci was capable of taking a “cornball” premise and turning it into something more than it’s parts. Justin talks about the similarities between this film and THE SHINING. Justin discusses the voyeuristic nature of Fulci’s cinematography, there is discussion on whether not Fulci is actually good filmmaker, and then Liam ruthlessly attacks Justin for not being that into European horror. There is a brief discussion as to what genre this film is, and whether or not it should be counted as a ‘gates of hell’ movie as there is no actual gates of hell in the film.

Up next we talk about Umberto Lenzi’s LA CASA 3 AKA GHOST HOUSE. We talk about the history of the LA CASA franchise and the European tradition of making unofficial sequels to American films and the story of Italian genre filmmaker Joe D’amato.

There is a brief summation of the plot of Ghost House, a discussion of how this is one of the rare films in which the ‘scary children’ trope is successful, and how this movie, despite lacking the finesse of someone like Fulci, is actually quite effective and while unrefined a lot of fun to watch due to the dedication and earnestness of the people involved in making it.

Huge thanks to Jeff Thibault for making the journey up to the valley to hang with us and talk about Italian horror movies! As always thanks to everyone and anyone who checked this episode out, or shared a tweet/shared a post on FB/gave us love by recommending us to someone. We love you forever for listening. Any questions, comments, suggestions for movies and guests, or if you yourself want to join us for a movie viewing or even an episode, can be sent to [email protected]. Thanks always to Justin Miller and Doug Tilley for their technical contributions and fliers, Mike Smaczylo for the awesome fliers, and also thanks to Josh “Badder Daddy” Alvarez for the theme song, Chris and LVAC for the support and buttons (check them out at www.xlvacx.com), and a HUGE thank you to anyone who retweeted us or shared something on Facebook that we posted. Follow us on Twitter at @thehorrorbiz666, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/thehorrorbiz66, and remember to rate, review, and subscribe to us on ITunes. In fact, if you write us a review, email us with your mailing address and we’ll send you some free pins and stickers! Until next time…thanks!

Greetings goofs and ghouls! Thank you as always for checking us out and we have got one heck of an episode for you guys. We are joined for this episode by our good friend Jeff Thibault from Monster Mania Con. This was a lot of fun to record and we’re super excited for you guys to hear it.

First and foremost we want to give a shoutout to our sponsors over at Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations, the premiere screenprinting company of the Lehigh Valley. Chris Reject and his merry band of miscreants are ready to work with you to bring to life your vision of a tshirt for your business, band, project, or whatever else it is you need represented by a shirt, sweater, pin, or coozy. Head on over to www.xlvacx.com to check them out. Thanks!

This episode we are taking a look at two Italian haunted house films, 1981’s HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY and 1988’s LA CASA 3 AKA GHOST HOUSE.

We begin by talking about what we’ve seen recently. Jeff and Justin were lucky enough to catch a screening of the 2016 body horror/Lovecraftian horror/goopfest THE VOID and talk briefly about it. Justin and Liam briefly spar over the season 7 finale of THE WALKING DEAD.

First up is Lucio Fulci’s HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY. We give a brief background on Fulci’s ‘Gates Of Hell Trilogy’ and his distinct filmmaking style, his background, and a brief summation of the plot of HBTC. Liam talks about the vagueness of the characters being aware of certain plot elements and how the main characters son is the only character in the film that isn’t suspect. Jeff points out the large number of red herrings in the movie and how this might be influenced by Hitchcock’s tendency to do the same.

Justin and Jeff touch upon Fulci’s tendency to unsettle with techniques both subtle and heavy handed, and Liam follows up with discussing Fulci’s films often times choosing strange and violent imagery over substantial plots, and how Fulci was capable of taking a “cornball” premise and turning it into something more than it’s parts. Justin talks about the similarities between this film and THE SHINING. Justin discusses the voyeuristic nature of Fulci’s cinematography, there is discussion on whether not Fulci is actually good filmmaker, and then Liam ruthlessly attacks Justin for not being that into European horror. There is a brief discussion as to what genre this film is, and whether or not it should be counted as a ‘gates of hell’ movie as there is no actual gates of hell in the film.

Up next we talk about Umberto Lenzi’s LA CASA 3 AKA GHOST HOUSE. We talk about the history of the LA CASA franchise and the European tradition of making unofficial sequels to American films and the story of Italian genre filmmaker Joe D’amato.

There is a brief summation of the plot of Ghost House, a discussion of how this is one of the rare films in which the ‘scary children’ trope is successful, and how this movie, despite lacking the finesse of someone like Fulci, is actually quite effective and while unrefined a lot of fun to watch due to the dedication and earnestness of the people involved in making it.

Huge thanks to Jeff Thibault for making the journey up to the valley to hang with us and talk about Italian horror movies! As always thanks to everyone and anyone who checked this episode out, or shared a tweet/shared a post on FB/gave us love by recommending us to someone. We love you forever for listening. Any questions, comments, suggestions for movies and guests, or if you yourself want to join us for a movie viewing or even an episode, can be sent to [email protected]. Thanks always to Justin Miller and Doug Tilley for their technical contributions and fliers, Mike Smaczylo for the awesome fliers, and also thanks to Josh “Badder Daddy” Alvarez for the theme song, Chris and LVAC for the support and buttons (check them out at

Greetings grays, reptoids, mantids, and everything in between! Thank you as always for checking us out and we have got one heck of an episode for you guys. We are joined for this episode by two wonderful guests, Aimee and Carly from the Final Girls podcast. We had a blast recording this episode and can’t wait for you to hear it.

First and foremost we want to give a shoutout to our sponsors over at Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations, the premiere screenprinting company of the Lehigh Valley. Chris Reject and his merry band of miscreants are ready to work with you to bring to life your vision of a tshirt for your business, band, project, or whatever else it is you need represented by a shirt, sweater, pin, or coozy. Head on over to www.xlvacx.com to check them out. Thanks!

This episode we are taking a look at two films that revolve around the concept of non-voluntary abduction by non-human entities, aka alien abduction. Our films are 1993’s neo classic Fire In The Sky and 2013’s Dark Skies.

We begin by giving a shout out to Chris and LVAC, and then talking about what we’ve seen recently. Liam and Aimee talk about FX’s television series Legion, the beauty of Dan Stevens, and how the show works on levels that appeal to both comic fans and non-comic fans alike. We talk about the recent horror film The Belko Experiment, Liam complains about Skull Island while Justin mumbles nonsense, and Justin confesses to not being into The Eyes Of My Mother. The excitement about the upcoming films Raw and Life is briefly discussed.

Our discussion on Fire In The Sky begins with each of us sharing our first experiences with the film and what we thought and how it made us feel. Justin gets unnecessarily excited talking about how he has met two of the cast members of this film (D.B. Sweeney and Robert Patrick).

Justin gives a little background on the events the film claims to be based upon, and Liam talks about his personal experience seeing the movie for the first time with Justin. We talk about a common criticism of the movie, which is that the film couldn’t make up it’s mind as what it wanted to be, and discuss how the film actually succeeds as a horror film if nothing else. Sweeney’s successful portrayal of Travis Walton as a ‘likeable everyman’ is discussed. Justin talks about his personal experience with being afraid of the concept of alien abduction in horror films. The music of the film and how it helps create tension and develop mood is discussed. Roger Ebert’s review praising the set design of the inside of the alien ship is brought up and discussed, which leads into a deeper discussion of how truly “alien” the inside of the ship is, and Liam talks about how the aliens have a rather “steampunk” feel to it.

Carly talks about how much of the movie not involving aliens felt repetitive and boring, and Aimee talks about the contrast of the alien scenes and the “comedic” feeling of the movie due to it’s time of release, as well as the break from most alien abduction films which feature a lot of clean and sterile surfaces while this one has lot of dust and grime and slime and is overall dirty. Aimee then talks about the strange mischaracterization of Travis Walton as less a naïve dreamer and more a childish manbaby. Justin then spends time picking apart the idea that Fire In The Sky is only scary because it’s “based on a true story” and instead postulates that the film stands on it’s own as being scary due to a) the film deviating from what Walton claimed actually happened, and b) the dubiousness of Walton’s real life story. Walton’s actual account of what happened is briefly summarized, as is the case against Walton telling the truth. The intentions of the screenwriter of this film, Tracy Torme, in deliberately sensationalizing Walton’s account are briefly discussed. Aimee begins a discussion on sleep paralysis, and the phenomenon of sleep paralysis as the inspiration for the alien abduction phenomenon is examined in depth. Aimee recounts her personal experience with the phenomenon and Justin begins to panic. Justin then reveals his newfound appreciation of this movie and his realization that maybe the aliens in it aren’t too bad after all based on Walton’s own actions and behavior towards them. Aimee then talks about the iconic image of Travis Walton encased in the clinging rubber sheet and how that image has lasted throughout the years as truly terrifying.

We conclude our discussion of Fire In The Sky by talking how absolutely terrible the final line in the movie is and how it takes the movie all the way into Hallmark Movie Channel territory.

The second film in our episode is 2013’s Dark Skies. Justin provides a little bit of background on the movie, and Aimee talks about why she likes this movie so much. She talks about the reaction many people had to this movie and how it feels like a classic haunted house movie but the ghosts are replaced with aliens and how there are some truly frightening scenes in the film. The acting, dialogue, pacing and direction of the film are touched upon. The quality of the film overall is discussed, with some of the non-horror aspects of the film being examined. The viewer’s investment in the characters and how it makes for a more enjoyable viewing experience is examined.

Liam argues that the film simply taking a classic horror setup and replacing the ghosts with aliens is actually a weakness for the film, although he admits to there being some effective aspects of the film. Liam further points out his inability to understand the ‘creepy alien’ trope in horror films, and how he doesn’t understand why beings who are capable of traveling such far distances are acting so primitive, and how the aliens would be more frightening if the aliens were more distant and ‘inaccessible’, and that the films strongest parts are the parts not involving the aliens at all but rather the effects the aliens have on the characters. Justin talks about the difference between this film and Fire In The Sky is that FITS is started by poor decision making on the part of Travis Walton, whereas the aliens initiate the conflict in Dark Skies by invading the lives of the characters. Justin further points out the while the aliens in FITS act in a way that is hostile to human beings, it is not necessarily an ‘evil’ behavior, whereas the aliens in Dark Skies do indeed act in a way that is somewhat malicious and evil, and ultimately their motivations are unknowable, unlike the aliens in FITS who seem to be motivated by science. The sadness of the ending is discussed, as is the relationship between the two brothers. Justin talks about why alien abductions are scarier to him than the idea of a haunted house, because a haunted house can be abandoned but aliens can track people down. Comparisons to Warren Ellis’ comic book Atmospherics are made, and Justin admits to holding Liam’s hand during the infamous hallway scene in Dark Skies.

Liam points out again that the aliens accessibility is ultimately the failure of alien abduction horror films and that he would rather see an alien horror film where the aliens ultimately don’t really care about us even enough to show themselves, and that the parts of the movie that worked and were really scary were when the aliens weren’t physically present. He also points out that the creature design of the Gray type alien is beat to death and not scary anymore.

Massive thanks to Aimee and Carly for shooting the shit with us for a few hours and putting up with our weird personalities. You can check them out at www.finalgirlshorrorcast.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/finalgirlshorrorcast, Instagram at @finalgirlshorrorcast, and Twitter at @FinalGirlsHC. Again: thank you two sooooooo much for being on our podcast! As always thanks to everyone and anyone who checked this episode out, or shared a tweet/shared a post on FB/gave us love by recommending us to someone. We love you forever for listening. Any questions, comments, suggestions for movies and guests, or if you yourself want to join us for a movie viewing or even an episode, can be sent to [email protected]. Thanks always to Justin Miller and Doug Tilley for their technical contributions and fliers, Mike Smaczylo for the awesome fliers, and also thanks to Josh “Baby Ruthie” Alvarez for the theme song, Chris and LVAC for the support and buttons (check them out at www.xlvacx.com), and a HUGE thank you to anyone who retweeted us or shared something on Facebook that we posted. Follow us on Twitter at @thehorrorbiz666, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/thehorrorbiz66, and remember to rate, review, and subscribe to us on ITunes. In fact, if you write us a review, email us with your mailing address and we’ll send you some free pins and stickers! Until next time…thanks!

Greetings grays, reptoids, mantids, and everything in between! Thank you as always for checking us out and we have got one heck of an episode for you guys. We are joined for this episode by two wonderful guests, Aimee and Carly from the Final Girls podcast. We had a blast recording this episode and can’t wait for you to hear it.

First and foremost we want to give a shoutout to our sponsors over at Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations, the premiere screenprinting company of the Lehigh Valley. Chris Reject and his merry band of miscreants are ready to work with you to bring to life your vision of a tshirt for your business, band, project, or whatever else it is you need represented by a shirt, sweater, pin, or coozy. Head on over to www.xlvacx.com to check them out. Thanks!

This episode we are taking a look at two films that revolve around the concept of non-voluntary abduction by non-human entities, aka alien abduction. Our films are 1993’s neo classic Fire In The Sky and 2013’s Dark Skies.

We begin by giving a shout out to Chris and LVAC, and then talking about what we’ve seen recently. Liam and Aimee talk about FX’s television series Legion, the beauty of Dan Stevens, and how the show works on levels that appeal to both comic fans and non-comic fans alike. We talk about the recent horror film The Belko Experiment, Liam complains about Skull Island while Justin mumbles nonsense, and Justin confesses to not being into The Eyes Of My Mother. The excitement about the upcoming films Raw and Life is briefly discussed.

Our discussion on Fire In The Sky begins with each of us sharing our first experiences with the film and what we thought and how it made us feel. Justin gets unnecessarily excited talking about how he has met two of the cast members of this film (D.B. Sweeney and Robert Patrick).

Justin gives a little background on the events the film claims to be based upon, and Liam talks about his personal experience seeing the movie for the first time with Justin. We talk about a common criticism of the movie, which is that the film couldn’t make up it’s mind as what it wanted to be, and discuss how the film actually succeeds as a horror film if nothing else. Sweeney’s successful portrayal of Travis Walton as a ‘likeable everyman’ is discussed. Justin talks about his personal experience with being afraid of the concept of alien abduction in horror films. The music of the film and how it helps create tension and develop mood is discussed. Roger Ebert’s review praising the set design of the inside of the alien ship is brought up and discussed, which leads into a deeper discussion of how truly “alien” the inside of the ship is, and Liam talks about how the aliens have a rather “steampunk” feel to it.

Carly talks about how much of the movie not involving aliens felt repetitive and boring, and Aimee talks about the contrast of the alien scenes and the “comedic” feeling of the movie due to it’s time of release, as well as the break from most alien abduction films which feature a lot of clean and sterile surfaces while this one has lot of dust and grime and slime and is overall dirty. Aimee then talks about the strange mischaracterization of Travis Walton as less a naïve dreamer and more a childish manbaby. Justin then spends time picking apart the idea that Fire In The Sky is only scary because it’s “based on a true story” and instead postulates that the film stands on it’s own as being scary due to a) the film deviating from what Walton claimed actually happened, and b) the dubiousness of Walton’s real life story. Walton’s actual account of what happened is briefly summarized, as is the case against Walton telling the truth. The intentions of the screenwriter of this film, Tracy Torme, in deliberately sensationalizing Walton’s account are briefly discussed. Aimee begins a discussion on sleep paralysis,

Greetings astro creeps and electro heads, and welcome back to Horror Business, the only podcast that will both dig through the ditches AND burn through the witches. Thank you as always for checking us out and we have got one heck of an episode for you guys.

First and foremost we want to give a shoutout to our sponsors over at Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations, the premiere screenprinting company of the Lehigh Valley. Chris Reject and his merry band of miscreants are ready to work with you to bring to life your vision of a tshirt for your business, band, project, or whatever else it is you need represented by a shirt, sweater, pin, or coozy. Head on over to www.xlvacx.com to check them out. Thanks!

This episode we are taking a look at the films of one Robert Cummings, known better to you as Rob Zombie. And thank the Lord because Bobby Cummings isn’t a name conducive to horror filmmaking! We were lucky enough to be joined by two beloved members of the Cinepunx community and fellow horror hounds, noted edgeman John Wren and noted herbal enthusiast Jon Martello. We experience some technical difficulties at various points so please forgive us in advance.

We begin by giving a shout out to Chris and LVAC, and then talking about what we’ve seen recently. We talk about the recent Jordan Peele film Get Out as well as the recent X-Men film Logan.

The topic for this episode is Rob Zombie somewhat divisive position in the horror community. Justin opens the discussion by postulating that by all rights Rob Zombie should make nothing but outstanding horror films. His background in the horror genre, his knowledge of the genre, and his background in filmmaking should make every single one of his films incredible.

And we do believe he is absolutely capable of making great horror films. However, we here at Horror Business are not one hundred percent sold on the works of Rob Zombie as a whole. We dig quite deep in this episode, we get quite heated with one another and tempers flare, but in the end we agree that Zombie’s major strengths are his knowledge of horror films and his ability to capture and create creepy and evocative imagery,  while his weaknesses are his inability to capture how people actually talk to one another, the bullshit and forced folksy way of talking in many of his films (what Jon Martello refers to “Rob Zombie similes), the weak dialogue in his films, his at times excessive and inappropriate violence, and his allowing of sub par performances from actors in his films. Of particular note in this episode is John’s impressive knowledge of Zombie’s work, both musically and cinematically.

Gigantic thanks to John and Jon for being gracious enough to come up to the Valley and sit with us for a few hours while we carry on about nonsense. You guys are awesome and forever welcome to come back. As always thanks to everyone and anyone who checked this episode out, or shared a tweet/shared a post on FB/gave us love by recommending us to someone. We love you forever for listening. Any questions, comments, suggestions for movies and guests, or if you yourself want to join us for a movie viewing or even an episode, can be sent to [email protected]. Thanks always to Justin Miller and Doug Tilley for their technical contributions and fliers, Mike Smaczylo for the awesome fliers, and also thanks to Josh “The Final Countdown” Alvarez for the theme song, Chris and LVAC for the support and buttons (check them out at www.xlvacx.com), and a HUGE thank you to anyone who retweeted us or shared something on Facebook that we posted. Follow us on Twitter at @thehorrorbiz666, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/thehorrorbiz66, and remember to rate, review, and subscribe to us on ITunes. In fact, if you write us a review, email us with your mailing address and we’ll send you some free pins and stickers! Until next time…thanks!