Midnight Murderama

Outlander! We have your episode! This week our hosts watch Children of the Corn, the 1984 film that made parents afraid of their children again. This continues the look into the adapted works of Stephen King, at a time when adding his name to a film made it virtually unstoppable. It also touches on the "Satanic Panic" that was gripping the nation in the mid-80s.

• https://www.vox.com/culture/22358153/satanic-panic-ritual-abuse-history-conspiracy-theories-explained

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They're all going to laugh at you! This week our hosts watch Carrie, the film that introduced the world to Stephen King while also exposing just how truly dangerous prom can be. This episode kicks off a series exploring the adapted works of Stephen King. It debuts many of the staples we'd come to know and love from him: children with hidden powers, close-minded small townsfolk, religious fanaticism... all the greatest hits!

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Some Hosts Watch A Film Apart Then Talk About It… this week our hosts watch A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, the 2014 romantic, western, vampire film you didn’t know you needed. This episode also features special guest stars Jaleh and Jess from The Hart Chicks Present podcast, where they’re getting ready to kick off their new season of episodes focusing on romantic comedies.

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This week our hosts watch 1994's Interview with the Vampire, the film directly responsible for making vampires sexy again (you're welcome, Twilight!). This film harkens back to the early 90's horror renaissance, where films were artfully directed, given glorious budgets, and chocked full of stars (not unlike another sexy vampire film, Bram Stoker's Dracula). Whether you love Tom Cruise chewing the scenery, Brad Pitt being depressed and eating rats, or Kirstin Dunst stealing the show, this film has a performance for everyone!

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This week our hosts watch 2015's Crimson Peak, Guillermo Del Toro's love letter to the gothic romance genre. Despite not being what audiences may have originally thought was a scare-a-minute ghost story, the film instead focuses on the emotional toll of loneliness, forbidden romances, and secrets that can never quite stay buried. Also some pretty brutal deaths... usually involving trauma to the face.

Special guest Alexandra explains what it means to be a fan of the gothic romance, why Haunting of Hill House was a bit of a disappointment, and why we should all be appreciating the genius of author Nancy Holder.

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What is love? Baby, don't hurt me. This week our hosts dive into Romantic Horror with a look at 1993's Return of the Living Dead III, Brian Yuzna's stab at Romeo and Juliet if zombies were the Montagues and the military were the Capulets. It also features a stunning performance by Melinda Clarke, who would later go on to be the formidable Julie Cooper on The O.C.

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This week our hosts watch "The Void", the 2016 love letter to practical effects, John Carpenter, and the action creature films of the 1980s. The final chapter in the "Cosmic Horror" block of episodes, The Void shows us that Lovecraftian themes are still intriguing filmmakers, even today. But instead of existential dread like with The Endless, this is some good-old-fashioned deformed tentacle monsters, with some murderous cult members thrown in for good measure. This episode also features a guest interview with U.S. Marshall Rob Valentine to better explain some finer points of law enforcement and how they pertain to dealing with possessed townsfolk.

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Our hosts watch The Endless, the low-budget film from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead that taught us the repetitive feeling we got in quarantine may just be an Old God messing with us. This film shows a more modern interpretation of how filmmakers are tackling Cosmic Horror, creating a slower, more meditative approach to unpacking how we all fit into this big, crazy universe.

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Continuing their dive into Cosmic Horror, this week our hosts watched Jacob's Ladder. Decades ahead of its time, this film pioneered the "mind-blowing ending" that would later be done to death in the late 90s / early 00s. While it left many critics scratching their heads at the time, its disturbing and imagery and ambiguity would fit right at home with today's crop of more cerebral indie horror films of the last decade.

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Do you read Sutter Cane? This week our hosts watched In the Mouth of Madness, the 1994 film that answers the question: "What if Twilight fans turned their focus to Stephen King?".

This kicks off a section on Cosmic Horror, diving into the the films that explore sanity, the universe, and all the fun tentacle monsters that live within.

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