Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie

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In this episode, we are revisiting Terrifier in an attempt to understand what makes this movie so so SO much scarier than any of the sequels. Along the way we will discuss the challenges of an 85-minute movie, Paul Wiley's incredible score, an avalanche of (favorable) comparisons to the original Saw and Halloween films, and what innovations this story brings to the slasher subgenre.

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00:00 Introduction 01:22 Second Impressions 05:15 Runtime & Music 07:27 Halloween 12:15 Saw 15:35 Other Horror Echoes 16:27 Genre Innovations 21:00 Creature Design 24:05 The Scariest Terrifier 29:32 Art vs. Artist 32:03 Punctum 35:46 Closing Thoughts

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With these two chapters — a barrage of prophetic dreams, couplets within couplets, and philosophical debates — it is safe to say that A Clash of Kings has officially hit its stride. Maggie's Dream Corner returns to make sense of winged wolves and bloodstained metaphors. Cam revisits our discussion of franchise villains to tackle the tricky concept of premeditated evil. We work together to parse the mysteries of Maester Luwin's strange take on magic, and track the many pitfalls of the worst job in King's Landing: the Hand of the King.

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00:00 House of the Dragon 01:58 Recap of Chapters 16:35 Cascading Couplets 20:45 Two Shadow Kings 23:18 Grey Meat 25:52 Grey Wind 27:45 Grey Chains 33:00 Maesters & Magic 38:27 Hand(s) of the King 46:13 Caution & Control 48:38 Villainy Revisited 54:57 Premeditated Evil 01:00:37 Closing Thoughts

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The Odyssey is almost too massive and influential to discuss in one podcast, but we're gonna do our best. In this overstuffed episode, we are breaking down all the spectacle, substance, and surprises of this gut-punch of a movie. Topics include: the effect of format across IMAX / 70mm / D-BOX, the relationship between runtime and pacing, Ludwig Göransson's electric score, an analysis of the Trojan Horse through the frame of GRRM's Red Wedding, echoes between Homer and Tolkien, an argument that Homer invented almost every subgenre of horror, Nolan's powerfully indirect approach to creature design, an avalanche of comparisons to Oppenheimer, and a very special segment with Tristan where we go deep on the tricky art of adaptation.

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00:00 Introduction

01:24 The Trial of IMAX

04:12 Impressions

13:37 Runtime & Pacing

22:33 Music

23:38 The Red Wedding

28:16 Lord of the Rings

29:26 The Grey Havens

31:21 The Scouring of the Shire

34:03 Homer Invented Horror

42:04 Matt Damon

45:06 Creature Design

48:37 Magic in the Margins

55:39 Oppenheimer Comparison

01:04:03 Historical Accuracy

01:10:14 Adaptation

01:44:50 Closing Thoughts

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We've finally got Tristan back to investigate the tumultuous third season of House of the Dragon. Has the writing improved? Has the acting fallen off? What's with the 'portrait mode' directing this season? In this episode, we're trying to look at the show from both perspectives: as tv watchers and book readers. We're also taking a closer look at each major character to examine their arc and performance, and celebrate some surprising new favorites. Aegon! Ormund! Gwayne! Finally, we close things out by revisiting the tensions between this creative team and George R. R. Martin, which seem to continue (and escalate) with a nasty little dig buried in the season finale.

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00:00 Introduction 01:00 Impressions 17:54 The TV Watcher POV 36:23 The Book Reader POV 49:59 Rhaenyra 57:02 Aegon 01:09:57 Alicent 01:13:06 Mysaria 01:17:57 Ormund 01:21:55 Supporting Cast 01:25:56 Character Death 01:29:23 Gwayne 01:33:26 Beware the Butterflies 01:36:03 Closing Thoughts

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It's about damn time Cam had another stupid theory about a movie. This time, he's arguing that One Night Only is a rom-com remake of our favorite Christmas movie, Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. Come all ye skeptical, this is one for the ages!

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Across genre fiction, "the chosen one" always becomes a cautionary tale. So what does it mean that GRRM dramatizes the unsuccessful reigns of an endless number of Targaryens who all believe that they have the divine warrant to rule the Seven Kingdoms? In this episode, we're exploring the theology of narcissism that empowers strongmen and emphatically makes the case against any sort of hereditary rule. Maggie explores the remarkable similarities and differences between Arya and Dany to find out why their equally impassioned and aggrieved stories end in such different places. Cam takes a closer look at the problem of evil, particularly the unseen and excused evils of the world that don't garner nearly enough outrage of philosophical attention, but still have the power to crumble a kingdom from within.

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00:00 Camel Confusion (Redux)

02:47 Recap of Chapters

21:33 A Theology of Narcissism

30:54 The Myth of The Chosen One

37:11 Couplet or Contrast?

45:55 Maggie's Bird Corner

50:06 The Problem of (Excused) Evil

01:00:40 Closing Thoughts

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What does it mean to call a horror movie a "guilty pleasure"? Why do we caveat our feelings about incredibly entertaining, funny, well-made movies by calling them "trashy "or emphasizing that they are "just a remake"? In this episode, we're not just analyzing but celebrating the glorious 2009 remake of Friday the 13th. Topics include: our glowing second impressions after a rewatch, the power of good lighting, a debate about sexuality / sex negativity / the male gaze, and what happens when you extend a cold open to become something more like a short film.

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00:00 Angry YouTube Commenter 02:23 Camp Miasma 03:57 2000's Period Piece 07:42 Humor & Sexuality 12:25 Puritanical Horror Tropes 14:26 Reverence of the Original 16:39 Remakes vs. Legacy Sequels 17:32 The Power of Lighting 19:19 Memorable vs. Quotable 22:02 Production Design 23:32 The Role of Archetypes 26:25 Runtime 28:13 Rob Zombie's Halloween 31:33 David Fincher & James Wan 32:11 The Original Friday the 13th 34:06 Revolutionizing the Cold Open 36:10 Opening Credits Lore Drop 37:41 Sex Negativity Debate 44:24 Creature Design 46:09 Theory Introductions 47:15 "Trashy" Horror 50:54 "Guilty Pleasure" 58:30 Camp Miasma Tangent 01:00:07 Why We Love Horror 01:01:53 Punctum 01:04:41 Closing Thoughts

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Jane Schoenbrun has done something absolutely extraordinary with their latest film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. This is a horror movie by horror fans for horror fans that is also about being a horror fan. The density, the efficiency, the provocation — there is so much to love here, and even more to discuss! This is a fantastic slasher movie just as much as it is a rigorous academic dissection of the slasher genre. It might even end up being our favorite "meta" horror movie ever made.

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00:00 VHS Worship 02:00 Fandom vs. Analysis 05:35 Text vs. Subtext 08:52 Fun Factor 11:15 Metatextual Storytelling 15:44 Curiosity in Horror 20:46 Gillian Anderson 23:00 Closing Thoughts

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Horror has always been a philosophical genre. From Frankenstein and Faustus to The Thing and The Exorcist, the scariest stories have always explored questions of identity, consciousness, death, and the afterlife. Curry Barker's Obsession is a proud addition to that canon. In this episode, we're doing an extraordinarily deep dive into the philosophy of the movie. Specifically, we're looking at the idea of the two Nikkis — the character as she was before Bear made his fateful wish, and whatever she became afterwards. We consider the relationship between Nikki and "Other Nikki" in terms of replacement and possession, with all sorts of clues and monkey wrenches from the text to make things difficult. Expect tangents about souls, teleportation, purgatory, Saw traps, and the off-screen but heavily implied One Wish Willow factory.

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00:00 Introduction / Thesis 05:11 The Two Nikkis 06:30 Replacement 17:23 Possession 30:46 Which Theory is Correct? 35:58 A Clue From the Text 41:25 Closing Thoughts

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King's Landing is full of bad people. In this episode, we're taking a closer look at some of the most dangerous power players in the viper's nest at the heart of Westeros. Is Tyrion becoming the villain of A Clash of Kings? Is Maester Pycelle the worst person in the history of the realm? Why is everyone so afraid of Robb Stark and treating him like a White-Walker-level threat? And why oh why do we hate the Greyjoys more than the rest of them put together?

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00:00 Hating the Greyjoys 02:08 Recap of Chapters 18:15 The Bloody Hand 27:43 A Couplet of Cruelty 32:06 The Stark Threat 46:12 Hierarchy of Evil 54:30 Closing Thoughts