The Fear of God: A Horror Movie Podcast

Checking in this week with another installment in the listener-curated #whatscaresus series, we welcome back to the show bestselling author Matt Ruff (Lovecraft Country, 88 Names) for a discussion about the haunting film from director Brad Anderson, SESSION 9. When a small asbestos abatement team agree to complete the clearance of an abandoned mental facility (and agree to do it in a third of the time it would normally take), their tensions are pushed to the edge, and possibly their sanity as well.

While it is a strong, unconventional thriller in its own right, it also invites a challenging and frightening consideration (as our guest puts it) of the ways in which "sin without the possibility of forgiveness leads to madness." The discussion here is confessional (at times rather embarrassingly so), thoughtful, and honest as we grapple with the temptations to feel superior about the wrongdoings of others, times when confession is helpful or dangerous, and the collective addiction people can have to casting condemnation in our demand for accountability.

It's a hearty and lively discussion this week and we hope you enjoy it.

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Following another terrifying entry in our series #whatscaresus, we take a trip through the static of the TV screen to visit CANDLE COVE, the fictional and dreadfully treacherous place featured in the first season of SYFY's anthology series CHANNEL ZERO.

Featuring gruesome and terrifying visuals as well as a tremendous sense of dread and unease, Channel Zero (and specifically the six episodes of Candle Cove) also provided an opportunity for a challenging conversation about the ways we are influenced by things we may otherwise view as harmless or under our control, and the potential necessity of creating imaginative blockers to turn them off for us before they destroy us from the inside out.

Hoist the sails, bring in the plank, and most of all hold onto your teeth!

4:36 - Business Time

5:41 - Whatcha Watchin' / Readin' / Listenin' To?

13:19 - CHANNEL ZERO: CANDLE COVE

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It's difficult to believe that after more than 4 years of horror-themed conversations, we still had yet to cover the landmark entry in the canon known as ROSEMARY'S BABY, but thanks to a submission of #whatscaresus by special guest Asia Swartzentruber, we finally get to have this discussion. And believe us when we say, it's a doozy.

In addition to exploring the film's myriad of complex themes and intricacies, we also have an honest look at the ways in which people of faith will often respond and react to what they consider "the work of the devil". While overt, more blatant displays of devilish theater may curl our hair, we are often painfully blind to the more insidious and subtle ways we are tempted and coerced into continued selfish and oppressive patterns that are far more devilish than pointy horns or yellow eyes. And perhaps directly confronting our presumptions and our own little rituals might just be the path back to something holy amidst something horrific.

It's a hearty and heartfelt conversation this week that you won't want to miss.

4:53 - Business Time

6:56 - Whatcha Watchin' / Readin' / Listenin' To?

21:23 - ROSEMARY'S BABY

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Hi, we're the Fear of God. Wanna play...? Well then you're in luck, because we're tagging back in on our umbrella series of #whatscaresus with a listener-requested entry to discuss Tom Holland's film featuring the one and only maniacal doll, Chucky: CHILD'S PLAY!

Featuring special effects that remain impressive more than 20 years later and a main villain with the staying power for 6 sequels and a remake, Child's Play works on its surface as a top-notch slasher thriller, but also has some fascinating considerations under its surface, including the careleness with which we sometimes invite harm into our little worlds by simply not believing those who are warning us of imminent and severe danger.

It's a fun and thoughtful dollhouse we step into this week and we hope you enjoy it!

**Special note** -- This episode was recorded before we had seen Zack Snyder's Justice League or had confirmed that we would discuss it on an episode, hence our preliminary comments within this episode about it.

4:58 - Business Time

9:18 - Whatcha Watchin' / Readin' / Listenin' To?

21:07 - CHILD'S PLAY (1988)

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It's time for the Age of Heroes to come again. In what was an unprecedented cyclone of fan outcry, visionary debate, consumer opportunity, and fraught creative conflicts... four years after the theatrical version of Justice League was released to the public, HBO Max delivered to us ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE.

Zack Snyder's final vision, the conclusion of a trilogy of stories he began with 2013's Man of Steel, is massive in both runtime and vision. And while we at the Fear of God have certainly taken more than our share of jabs at the DCEU prior to now, we wanted to approach this cultural moment with open minds and open hearts, seeking to have an honest conversation about these films and where they take our imaginations.

Joined by frequent guest and FoG staffer Ian Olson, we seek to unite the Mother Boxes in a discussion that walks down the road of nostalgia for DC films and stories at large, highlights some of our favorite elements of this new film, and grapples with what heroism truly means in the DC SnyderVerse.

So, like Amazons before Steppenwolf, have no fear dear listeners, this is a fun and open-hearted conversation about the cultural titan that is Zack Snyder's vision and we hope you enjoy it!

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It's time once again to explore the vast catalog of the one and only Stephen King. We're taking a bit of a detour this time around, to a remote island called Little Tall, where the worst blizzard the community has ever seen won't be the worst devastation to hit their town this weekend. A stranger has come with a terrible power and an even more terrible request.

We assemble, once again, our own little ka-tet of fellow King fans -- Andy Whitfield and Blake Collier -- to dive in right away for a challenging and honest conversation wrestling with one of the horror master's most compelling moral dilemmas and the struggles that confront our moral will at its very core.

It's a discussion we think you won't want to miss and we hope you enjoy it.

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We continue our journey this week in #whatscaresus with an episode curated by our very own Vera Goudie: Johannes Roberts' 47 METERS DOWN.

A relentless exercise in aquatic terror might be what you'd expect from this story about two diving sisters who find themselves dreadfully stuck beyond the safe free-diving distance in the ocean. What you might not expect is the discussion that arose from it, about the fragility of our self-awareness, the entitlement we display when we encroach upon areas without good stewardship, and the ways these depths and the struggle to navigate them can distort our perspectives. Vera joins us for another thoughtful conversation that we hope you enjoy!

6:09 - Business Time

8:33 - Whatcha Watchin' / Readin' / Listenin' To?

25:56 - 47 METERS DOWN

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We kick off a brand new series this week of content specifically answering the question, #whatscaresus. Most of these entries will be listener sourced stories and media that digs at the core of our deepest fears. But to start things off, we're beginning with Reed's selection -- the 1988 directorial debut of Stan Winston, PUMPKINHEAD.

Featuring an incredible creature design and a remarkable level of narrative depth, Pumpkinhead should not be too easily dismissed as a generic 80's kill fest. It is a haunting meditation on the price of vengeance and the cost of what happens when we choose -- in our grief and rage -- to unleash hell upon those who have wronged us.

We think you'll really enjoy this series and we certainly hope you enjoy this episode!

5:09 - Business Time

9:37 - Whatcha Watchin' / Readin' / Listenin' To?

15:53 - PUMPKINHEAD

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In our final stop on this journey of 20/20/2020-2.0 where we examine some of the strongest films of 2020, we make an unexpected swap in our lineup and have a discussion about Christopher Landon's body-swap-slasher, FREAKY. While we fully expected this gleefully entertaining horror comedy to spark some fun conversation, we did not expect it to also spark thoughtful observations about the relationship between our spirits and our bodies and importance of reconciling ourselves as a whole person within that discussion. This one is a film -- and a conversation -- we think you won't want to miss.

3:48 - Business Time - "What Scares You?"

7:21 - Whatcha Watchin' / Readin' / Listenin' To?

17:12 - FREAKY

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