For reasons discussed in this episodes preamble, Happy Death Day was a movie that fell off of my short list pretty quickly, falling into the flotsam of the cinema slush pile, most likely never to be heard from again.  Mr. Bean however, who is much less adversarial with movies with a modern disposition, caught it recently and suggested it would indeed be a movie worth doing on the show.  Essentially, if you've listened before, this meant he thought I too would enjoy it, and I'm happy to say I did!  (Not out of any sense of obligation to the film itself, or even the crew that worked on it...but who wants the experience of a bad movie???)

While not a bloodbath, or even a particularly horrific movie, Happy Death Day succeeds in being a fun time jumping movie that uses the gimmick from the classic comedy Groundhog's Day in a lightly Hitchcockian (in spirit, if not execution) murder mystery featuring an excellent young lead in Jessica Rothe and a cast of heretofore genre unknowns in a subtly dark comedy that I found satisfying.

We hope you enjoy the episode, and look forward to hearing what you thought of the film.

Cheers!

Shonny Constant 11.7.2019

Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group

Instagram

@Shonny.Constant

Twitter

@ChzuckBean

 Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

As we discuss in the episode, Candyman is one of the first memories I have of connecting with a rated R horror movie in a visceral way, so this movie has a special place in my heart.  I could have spent another 10 hours studying up on it, but I think we had a solid conversation with what we had, as this episode is pretty jam packed.  It was a lot of fun to do, and I think it may be our best episode yet.  We hope you enjoy it!

Have Fun, Bee Safe, Don't Fall In The Hole

-Shonny Constant

10.30.2019

Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group

Instagram

@Shonny.Constant

Twitter

@ChzuckBean

 Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

Going into this episode, neither Mr. Bean or I had seen Assault on Precinct 13.  From all indications, it wouldn't be much of a horror movie per se, but it seemed to me that it had the potential to be a touchstone to refer back to as we continue this exploration of the genre that Talk Horror To Me was always intended to be, and that we've now got the reps in to continue in an increasingly satisfying way.  While not John Carpenter's first completed film, it was his first Hollywood release, which meant I was doing myself a disservice by leaving that hole in my picture of genre history.  Few people of that late analog era (the time just before computer technology changed not only how films are made and distributed, but ultimately experienced as mass communication in the hands of the individual would change all aspects of the human experience) have had the impact on the genre like John Carpenter has, and while this particular film is one of his less highly profiled movies these decades later, I was hoping it would shed some light on the things to come.  

Hopefully this conversation does some little bit to relay the enthusiasm with which we tested this concept, because we were quite pleased with what we found.  Not only does Assault already begin to portray various writing and directorial elements that John Carpenter would refine and in many ways perfect as his filmography grew, but it provides an excellent example of the "siege narrative" story.  There's something intrinsically compelling about a scenario involving relatable characters attempting to survive in a confined environment, with only the materials around them, materials the viewers themselves can see.  Perhaps there's something existential to the theme, or perhaps it's just fun to participate with the storytellers themselves, because by limiting the working space for our potential survivors, we as viewers can relate with some immediacy to the choices that they make, because of the restricted nature of their plight.

Whether it's a gang of outlaws on horses in the old American West, or a zombie outbreak (Night Of The Living Dead).  Deadites surrounding a remote cabin (Evil Dead), or fish folk assaulting a remote lighthouse (Cold Skin), it's a tried and true narrative that when done well, can still captivate, and revisiting this pivotal example of the structure was enlightening and enjoyable.  We hope you think so too.

Cheers!

Shonny Constant

7.29.19

Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group

Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group

Twitter 

@Talk_horror

@ShonnyConstant

Instagram

@Shonny.Constant

Our Talk Horror cover design is by artist and friend Crystal Mielcarek.  More of her work can be found on Instagram @Smushbox

Come say hi at the Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group

There was a bit of division between us concerning this film, as Matt didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I did.  To be sure, Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil, the first feature length film by Spanish director Paul Urkijo Alijo is less an adults horror film and more a hybrid of dark fantasy and morality play, based on regional folklore and falling into line with stories more like those found collected by the Brothers Grimm than those told by George Romero or John Carpenter.  In my defense of the film, as you will hear in the episode, I think it has several things going for it that will lead a segment of the horror audience to appreciate it.  Beautiful staging, lighting, costumes and practical effects.  While there are elements of it that lends it more to a young audience (the films primary protagonist is a young girl struggling with the loss of her mother to suicide, and the ramifications that has in a small 19th century Christian community) some of the sets have art direction reminiscent of another Spanish and French co-production from the same year Cold Skin, which we covered enthusiastically in episode 18.

If you like lighter fare in terms of storytelling, or you like classical European religious iconography, I contend this is a film that may not have come across your radar that is well worth your time.  If you like those dark children's movies of the 80s, the ones with a decidedly Hensonian flair like the Dark Crystal or Labyrinth, I think this movie is certainly worth your time.  Perhaps Errementari doesn't plant it's foot firmly enough in one genre to have widespread appeal for a contemporary American audience, but having seen it twice, I thoroughly enjoy it, and I hope at least a few of you might find it as charming and entertaining as I have.

If not, I trust Matt will be happy to gripe about it with you on social media!  There's always that, and you can do so at one of the links below.

Cheers!

-Shonny Constant

5. 12. 2019 

Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group

Twitter 

@Talk_horror

@ShonnyConstant

Instagram

@TalkHorrorShow

@HobbyKnockout

@Shonny.Constant

Our Talk Horror cover design is by artist and friend Crystal Mielcarek.  More of her work can be found on Instagram @Smushbox

As the analog era was reaching it's supernova status in the 1980s, unknowingly (to most of us) plowing towards the internet, shared intelligence, AI and the like, certain movies began to capture the anticipation of things to come.  Biology was on the cusp of being inextricably tied to the data flows of machines.  While stories of mad scientists have long been a part of the horror landscape, going notably back to Mary Shelley's book Frankenstein (1818), it wasn't until the 1950s and the emergence of the Atomic Age that film makers began to dig deeply into the idea that science was infringing on nature whether we collectively cared to admit it or not.  By the 1980s, computers had begun to populate homes in numbers that would predict our current melding of daily life with technology.  The internet, collective intelligence, and eventually, near sentient AI.  This was also perfect timing for a new generation of artists who had been raised on these 1950s sci-fi dystopias to add their reflection on the subject matter in their own films.

David Cronenberg's The Fly (1986) may not stand as a prime example when it comes to horror fandom's top ten lists of films from the era, but I contend that perhaps it deserves a revisiting.  Indeed, it contains AI, body dysmorphia, and the breakdown of human relationships in favor of technological promises of something greater than the human experience.  Oh, and for the genre fan who doesn't care to be bothered by layers of subtext, it's got gore.  So much oozing, bloody, delightfully gross practical gore.  It stands out as a movie that hits so many marks that it perhaps demands a revisiting as we wrap up the first generation of tech-infused people charging headlong into this brave new world of human advancement.  Perhaps it hasn't been overlooked, or perhaps not landing on one of the contemporary streaming services without a rental fee has stifled it's reach.  Regardless, I was excited to revisit it myself for this episode, and it did not disappoint.  I can without hesitation recommend that you see it, especially if you never have before.  Just be ready to be impacted, because above all, this is a movie that will find a way to make your skin crawl.

Cheers!

Shonny Constant 

5.3.19

 What are your favorite body horror movies?  Come let us know at one of the links below!

Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group

 Instagram

@TalkHorrorShow

@HobbyKnockout

@Shonny.Constant