Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here!

In this time traveling episode of Second Breakfast, we're finally tackling the godfather of the slasher genre, John Carpenter's Halloween. We start with a simple question: why is this the best slasher movie? The answer involves gestural structure and a paradoxical approach to pacing. We also get into a spirited debate about the mysterious motive of our beloved Michael Myers. Is he supernatural? Are his crimes random? What roles do sexuality and cultural puritanism play in this story? Finally, we revisit some of the best analysis of the film that we've done over the past five (!) years.

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Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here!

This has gotta be the most entertaining film of the year; a bombastic, aggressively old-school high fantasy adventure full of glorious practical effects and tongue in cheek humor. In this episode, we're exploring the fantasy and horror roots of Deathstalker, the boundless joy of episodic structure, and the delicate balancing act that is required to make a movie this relentlessly entertaining.

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Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here!

Demián Rugna's "When Evil Lurks" is a relentlessly creative and upsetting indie horror film from Argentina. It's also one of the very best possession movies ever made. In this episode, we're using comparisons to Robert Eggers' "The Witch" and Zach Cregger's "Weapons" to analyze the film's folk horror reckoning about children and evil. We also examine the film's paradoxical reliance on excess and restraint by doing close readings of both the most memorable moments of violence and the unnamed monster's ever-evolving creature design.

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Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here!

Destiny: Rising is like a phenomenal cover band of Destiny 2, a spirited revival playing all the hits and reminding you of better times. And with Destiny 2 currently in such a dreadful state, it is genuinely remarkable how well NetEase has curated this game as a greatest hits of everything Bungie has ever done well. Does this spinoff mobile game somehow manage to surpass its namesake?

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Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here!

Him is the most underrated and misunderstood horror movie of the year. In this episode, we're exploring the film's boundless thematic depth and striking visuals to uncover a fascinating inverse Faust theory and an unexpected but bone-deep Kubrick homage. Comparison titles include: Whiplash, Fight Club, Doctor Faustus, Midsommar, and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here!

The live service whiplash continues in Diablo IV's tenth season as the game craters back down to earth. Somehow, this season is as dreadful, buggy, frustrating, and meaningless as last season was flawless. In this episode, we're discussing the state of the game, the seasonal campaign, and providing a few class updates — while doing our best to avoid reaching a breaking point with this game.

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Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here!

How do you end a franchise? It's a question that haunts (and ruins) almost every long-running story that any of us has ever loved, and here's the thing — it might be a trick question. In this episode, we're considering three recent 'finales' to long-running series (and about a hundred other examples) to see if we can answer this perennial question!

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Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here!

Ask and you shall receive! Here's our analysis of The Long Walk through the evergreen lens of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. This one's got some fascinating remixes: dozens of Faustuses, a rare foregrounding of the lesser demons, and possibly the most unfair Faustian deal we've ever seen put to screen.

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Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here!

This discussion is all about intensity. The Long Walk is the first movie that Cam has ever seriously considered walking out of, and we're breaking down every element of this film to find out why, from the slasher structure and non-romantic restraint to the empathetic realism and distinctly American contradictions. Comparisons include: The Hunger Games, Mad Max: Fury Road, Inside, The Stranger, Funny Games, It Follows, and Warfare.

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Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here!

In an era full of tired remakes, what do we make of video game remasters? What is gained or lost when a classic from another time is overhauled to suit modern hardware and sensibilities? In this episode, we're investigating Gears of War: Reloaded to find out what (if anything) has been lost in translation, and why this game still feels so revolutionary almost twenty years later.

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Feedback & Theories: [email protected]