Scary Thoughts

Writer Michelle Tea, writer Meg Elison, and composer Lawrence English join us for a trio of COVID-19-era conversations. We ask them each, "Is this how you thought it would all end?" All three guests have great perspectives on the apocalyptic vibrations affecting us all, but are any of us truly ready for the end?

Rick and Morty is one of those shows people love making video essays about. It's smart, it uses philosophical ideas to deliver dick and fart jokes, and it includes a lot of high-level sci-fi/cosmic horror. This classic Scary Thoughts adventure is just Chad and Marc. Depending on what universe you're listening to this in, that might be a very big deal.

Shudder's Zoom-based film Host (2020) is the belle of the COVID-19-horror-film ball. This fun and imaginative movie is a great way to spend an hour at the end of a depressing work day. But is it actually good? Or are we just starved for options? We are joined by Madeleine Koestner, the co-founder and programmer of the Unnamed Footage Festival. She's a frequent guest on The Overlook Hour podcast and writes for a ton of horror sites. Basically the perfect guest for talking about this one.

Joe Dante's 1989 film The 'Burbs has been our most requested film to cover since we started this podcast. It's great and so is our guest Nathan Thompson. He's a writer and journalist and hosts the Yoga and meditation podcast Escaping Samsara. We get into the occult, genre films, living in the suburbs, longing for nostalgia and the joy of strong character actors.

Cormac McCarthy's bleak, apocalyptic father-son road trip novel, The Road (2006), won both the Pulitzer Prize and the admiration of Oprah. Daniel Coffeen (Zero Books, Renegade University) rejoins us to discuss if the book deserves all the praise and whether or not the movie gets it right. We talk a bit about Blood Meridian, too, if that's your thing.

Max Brooks nailed it with his 2006 fictional oral history, World War Z. It's a fun book with lots of original ideas, which makes it a blast to talk about; especially since there are so many parallels with our own current COVID-19 lifestyles. We give the movie as much attention as it deserves (not much) and touch on our own survival tactics. Episode bonus: there are scrub jays chirping in the background throughout the show, so if you've been missing nature, this is a good one.

The Wicker Man (1973) is British folk horror at its best. It's got weird townsfolk music, a mysterious and sexy monarch, bizarre occult practices, and nude pagan dance numbers. We're joined by Steven Intermill, the Director of the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft & Magick (Cleveland, OH). We get deep into the well-researched details of the film, the history of Wicca in America, and all kinds of other high weirdness. The sound is a bit dodgy in this episode, but it's a tremendously enjoyable one.

What better time than a pandemic to cover Safe (1995) by Todd Haynes? This illness thriller is on a lot of "best of" lists even though it's rarely talked about now. In this episode we're joined by author K.M. Soehnlein. We cover AIDS activism in the 80-90s, the weirdos of the wellness scene, cults, 80s yuppie decor, Christian Science, and Moore.

The Hunt (2019/20) is surrounded by political drama but is pretty mediocre. Except for our hero Betty Gilpin, who absolutely slays. We spend just about as much time talking about fake martial arts, conspiracy theories and war as we do the actual movie.

Our pandemic podcasting continues with the 2002 fast-zombie film 28 Days Later. We both loved it when it came out, but some elements of the film have aged better than others. The conversation drifts into COVID-19 talk, tactical training for actors, hotels for the homeless, and conspiracy mindsets.