Outside of a Dream

Cameron's back in the studio with Daniel to discuss The Invitation, Karyn Kusama's 2015 horror-thriller. Set over the course of an uneasy dinner party, the film follows grieving father Will as he begins to suspect his ex-wife's new friends have something nefarious planned for he and the other guests. They also discuss the female horror anthology XX and Netflix docu-series Evil Genius.

SPOILER NOTE: it's difficult to discuss what makes this movie work without basically spoiling it, so maybe give this one a watch before listening.

HIGHLIGHTS: Distinguishing Logan Marshall-Green from Tom Hardy, the surprisingly disquieting nature of John Carroll Lynch, real life Coen Bros. plots.

Theme music by Riley Byrne - https://podigy.co/

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Outside of a Dream RETURNS at long last. For this episode, Daniel has invited on writer and dear friend Alexander "Xander" Harrington, who recently sold his first short story to Castrum Press. They chat Pet Sematary, Goodnight Mommy, the works of Michael McDowell, and much more!

PET SEMATARY SPOILER DISCUSSION: 16:12 - 25:12

Highlights: don't mess with John Lithgow; Dale Midkiff takes a tumble, pulling off the perfect jump scare.

"Altered," by Alexander Harrington, can be found in Castrum Press' Alien Days Anthology: A Science Fiction Short Story Collection - https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07RWL765Q/ref=ppxyodtbdasintitle_o00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

"Louis Creed hits his head - Pet Semetary" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tOEWRusMjg

Sound clips taken by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, dir. Marcus Nispel, copyright New Line Cinema/Platinum Dunes 2003

Theme music by Riley Byrne - https://podigy.co/

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

A mysterious phenomenon known as "the Shimmer" blankets the coast of Florida, impossibly contorting and remaking every form of life within its boundaries. A team of five female scientists crosses its borders, aiming to find the cause of the incomprehensible force and, for one of them, a cure for her husband's illness. None of them will leave as the same person they were before—if they even leave at all. Adapted from Jeff VanderMeer's novel, Annihilation is Alex Garland's second feature film and will go down as one of the great works of sci fi-horror.

Other highlights: Daniel establishes the Benedict Wong Seal of Quality, Cameron gushes over The Fountain, and we discuss H.P. Lovecraft's least racist story.

A kind warning: this episode contains constructive but intimate discussion regarding some potentially upsetting topics such as depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal ideation.

Annihilation can be streamed on Netflix in certain territories.

"How Annihilation Nails the Complex Reality of Depression," by Angelica Jade Bastién - http://www.vulture.com/2018/03/annihilation-movie-depression.html

"Annihilation & The Horrors of Change," FILM CRIT HULK - https://filmcrithulk.blog/2018/02/27/annihilation-the-horrors-of-change/

"St Marks Lighthouse 06/30/16," Donnie Pitts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USg3O_-T0ns

Cameron Suey returns to discuss David Bruckner's adaptation of The Ritual, in which four Englishmen honour their recently fallen friend by hiking the King's Trail in northern Sweden. But when an injured foot leads them through a wooded detour, the hikers find themselves at the mercy of a very old and utterly inscrutable force that will test the limits of their friendships.

Also in this episode, Daniel has bad taste in vacations, Cam goes head-over-hooves for good creature design, and we try to figure out just why the hell antlers are so creepy.

The Ritual can be streamed on Netflix. You can check out Keith Thompson's artwork at https://www.keiththompsonart.com/.

Outside of a Dream returns from its holiday break and ventures into the Canadian territories to discuss Nick Szostakiwskyj's Black Mountain Side, an indie psychological horror film that pits a remote team of researchers against a paranormal pandemic and, ultimately, themselves. The movie's director of photography, Cameron Tremblay (@CameronTremblay) was nice enough to stop by and discuss tricky long takes, filming in the woods, and how deer antlers very suddenly became creepy.

Black Mountain Side can be rented or purchased digitally on a variety of platforms, including YouTube. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g_Cv6q68zk)

VIDEO: "Driving This Road Until Death Sets You Free" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT7AH4JyuNs)

STORY: The Things (http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts0110/)

Silent night, deadly night, everyone! It's Outside of a Dream's first Yuletide episode, in which we explore two Christmasey selections, one from the Great White North and the other from the Great White Much Farther North. The first is Black Christmas, a Canadian proto-slasher from 1974. The second is Rare Exports, a very, VERY alternative take on Santa Claus from modern Finland.

Also in this episode, Daniel appreciates Finnish actors' commitment to their art and Cameron grapples with director Bob Clark's incredibly varied filmography.

Black Christmas and Rare Exports are available to rent on YouTube and can be streamed on Shudder. If you're interested in Black Christmas' surprisingly prescient themes and dynamics, we highly recommend Aja Romano's essay on Vox on the subject: https://www.vox.com/culture/2016/12/22/13872376/skip-die-hard-watch-black-christmas

In Trevor Juras' The Interior, Patrick McFadden plays James, a young, quietly bitter man whose life is upended upon being diagnosed with a terminal illness. Leaving behind his girlfriend and dead-end office job, he travels deep into the interior of British Columbia on a solo backpacking trip. But the solitude he craves in the Canadian wilderness is violated by something perhaps as lost and confused as he is. Speaking of solitude, Cameron relates his own backpacking experiences plus that time he nearly died in the desert.

Cameron Suey stops by again to discuss It Comes at Night, Trey Edward Shults' second film and his first foray into horror. Set during an unspecified viral outbreak, two families are brought together at a woodland cottage and are torn apart through paranoia, tribalism, and poor communication. Steel yourself, as It Comes at Night is psychological horror at its most raw and ambiguous. On much lighter notes, Daniel nerds out over movie commentaries and Cam goes buckwild with discount Halloween decorations.

It Comes at Night can be rented on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isfOEsc7e9I).

VIDEO: Curve (https://vimeo.com/221821296)

Story: SCP-001 - Kate McTiriss' Proposal (http://www.scp-wiki.net/kate-mctiriss-s-proposal)

Horror writer and video game narrative designer Cameron Suey stops by to discuss The Blackcoat's Daughter, the debut feature film of Osgood Perkins. Set at a Catholic girls' boarding school during a snowbound winter break, it's a harrowing story of possession and violence that makes The Exorcist look positively cheerful by comparison. We also delve into an oddly grounded short film of cosmic horror and a chilling blog series whose previously anonymous author has a surprising identity.

In the early 17th century, a Puritan family, recently exiled from their colony in Massachusetts, build their home at the edge of the wild, unwittingly trespassing on the territory of a witch. The wood's resident crone is less your Margaret Hamilton, "I'll get you my pretty" type and more a nightmarish servant of literal Satan. Yet the witch herself is only the catalyst for the actual conflict, which is the paranoia and zealous fervour that starts to rip the family apart. Tuck yourself in for Robert Eggers' The Witch.

VIDEO: Local 58 - Weather Service (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw_HKzo9Ync)

STORY: Ted's Caving Page (http://www.angelfire.com/trek/caver/page1.html)

Theme music is "Deep Blue" by Bensound, found at https://www.bensound.com/