Video Monsters

Gooooooood morning, campers!!!  And welcome to another beautiful day at Camp Gargyle!!  It's hard to believe, but today is the last day of camp...and Camp Counselor Chimerican and I have one final review to tell around the campfire before everyone packs their bags and heads home.  So, in this episode of Camp Gargyle, we are talking about Wet Hot American Summer!!  When Eric and I first started talking about a summer camp series, WHAS was one of the first films I thought of and there was no question that we would be covering it.  While there was some discussion about where it would be in the lineup, I think that closing the series out with it was the right decision...it is the perfect mix of a genuine camp movie (hitting all of the summer camp tropes, but done in such a way where they are played sincerely) and a camp movie parody (lampooning the camp tropes with the same level of sincerity), with juuuuust a dash of horror/thriller.  I know that humor is subjective and not everyone will have the same sense of humor that I do.  But, in my opinion, Wet Hot American Summer is a perfect mixture of smart, silly, and absurd comedy that only gets funnier each time I watch it!  So put on your favorite flannel shirt, put away your dishes, and work on your super secret handshake as Eric and I go through the training montage in our review of Wet Hot American Summer!! 

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check back soon for more cinematic discussions on The Gargyle Podcast.  The next episode is an epilogue to our Camp Gargyle summer camp series with very special guests, and friends of The Gargyle Podcast, Graham Skipper and Matt Mercer!!!!

The Gargyle Podcast is sponsored by Central Cinema and the Knoxville Horror Film Festival!!  Submissions for the Knoxville Horror Film Festival are still open, so submit your film at filmfreeway.com and be sure to follow KHFF on Facebook for more news and announcements!   View Central Cinema's lineup, showtimes, and purchase tickets at  centralcinema865.com. 

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"Reveille" from archive.org

music by bensound.com

On our previous episode, Eric and I reviewed The Crest, a heartwarming documentary (with beautiful cinematography and an engrossing score) about two cousins who share a love of surfing who meet for the first time as they discover more about the history of their family and the similarities they share with their ancestry on the Blasket Islands in Ireland.  On this episode, Eric and I continue our coverage of The Crest as Mark Christopher Covino joins us to discuss his work (The Crest, A Band Called Death), his love for cinema, and the emotional power of film.  Eric and I thoroughly enjoyed The Crest (we highly recommend it, as it is a documentary that can be enjoyed by just about everyone) and we had an absolute blast getting to know a bit more about Mark...we hope you enjoy it too!!

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to go back and listen to our review of The Crest (if you haven't done so already).  And be sure to check back soon for more cinematic discussions on The Gargyle Podcast!  On our next episode, we will return to Camp Gargyle for Wet Hot American Summer!!

The Gargyle Podcast is sponsored by Central Cinema and Knoxville Horror Film Festival.  Submissions for the Knoxville Horror Film Festival are still open!  Submit your film at filmfreeway.com.  View Central Cinema's lineup, showtimes, and purchase tickets at centralcinema865.com.  

GargyleReviews.wixsite.com/thegargyle

music by bensound.com

Taking a short break from Camp Gargyle, Eric and I review The Crest, the most recent documentary from Mark Christopher Covino.  The Crest is a heartwarming documentary about two cousins who share a love of surfing who meet for the first time as they discover more about the history of their family and the similarities they share with their ancestry on the Blasket Islands in Ireland.  While The Crest is seemingly drastically different from Mark's previous documentary, A Band Called Death, both films share a central theme of family and leaving a legacy for the future by connecting with the past.  With beautiful cinematography, an engrossing score, and a heartwarming tale, The Crest is a film that can, and should, be enjoyed by everyone!!

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check back soon for more cinematic discussions on The Gargyle Podcast!  Tomorrow's episode will be our interview with Mark Christopher Covino, director of The Crest.  After that, we will return to Camp Gargyle for Wet Hot American Summer!!

The Gargyle Podcast is sponsored by Central Cinema and Knoxville Horror Film Festival.  Submissions for the Knoxville Horror Film Festival are still open!  Submit your film at filmfreeway.com.  View Central Cinema's lineup, showtimes, and purchase tickets at centralcinema865.com.  

GargyleReviews.wixsite.com/thegargyle

music by bensound.com

Gooooooood morning, campers!!!  And welcome to another beautiful day at Camp Gargyle, where Camp Counselor Chimerican and I are continuing our summer camp series!!  Unlike our previous movies that are a bit more lighthearted and motivational (of sorts), today's film veers off into the horror genre with Sleepaway Camp!!  It is undeniable that this film has technical flaws, deeply problematic scenes and plot points, and an unavoidable comparison to Friday the 13th...but the motivations of the characters, the (possibly unintentional?) deeper themes, and unforgettable ending make Sleepaway Camp a film with plenty to discuss!!  So watch out for boats, bees, and boiling water as Eric and I take a stab at the cult classic, Sleepaway Camp!!

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check back soon for more cinematic discussions on The Gargyle Podcast.  The next couple of episodes will be a break from Camp Gargyle as we discuss The Crest, the new documentary from Mark Christopher Covino, and then have Mark on the podcast to discuss (among other things) his newest film!!  After that, we will return to Camp Gargyle with Wet Hot American Summer!!

The Gargyle Podcast is sponsored by Central Cinema and the Knoxville Horror Film Festival!!  Submissions for the Knoxville Horror Film Festival are now open!  Submit your film at filmfreeway.com and be sure to follow KHFF on Facebook for more news and announcements!   View Central Cinema's lineup, showtimes, and purchase tickets at  centralcinema865.com. 

GargyleReviews.wixsite.com/thegargyle

"Reveille" from archive.org

music by bensound.com

Gooooooood morning, campers!!!  And welcome to another beautiful day at Camp Gargyle!!!  Camp Counselor Chimerican and I are continuing our Camp Gargyle summer camp series and today's activities will include:  well...mostly just talking about Heavyweights (along with quite a few tangents).  And don't worry...today's activities will NOT be cancelled due to lack of hustle!!  From the minds that brought you The Mighty Ducks and The 40 Year-Old Virgin, this mid-90s Disney classic is a heartwarming tale of self-confidence and self-improvement, wrapped up in a delicious Dodgeball prequel!!  So get your go kart gassed up, find a good hiding place for your contraband candy, and get ready for the big dance as Eric and I discuss Heavyweights!!

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check back soon for more cinematic discussions at Camp Gargyle!!  Next week's episode diverges from the classic summer camp tale as we discuss the unforgettable summer camp horror flick, Sleepaway Camp!!

The Gargyle Podcast is sponsored by Central Cinema and the Knoxville Horror Film Festival!!  Submissions for the Knoxville Horror Film Festival are now open!  Submit your film at filmfreeway.com and be sure to follow KHFF on Facebook for more news and announcements!   View Central Cinema's lineup, showtimes, and purchase tickets at  centralcinema865.com. 

GargyleReviews.wixsite.com/thegargyle

"Reveille" from archive.org

music by bensound.com

Gooooooood morning, campers!!!  And welcome to another beautiful day at Camp Gargyle!!!  And obviously, by "beautiful day" I mean "grey, rainy, and a perfect day to stay inside and watch camp movies and podcast!"  So, that is exactly what we are doing.  Camp Counselor Chimerican and I are continuing our Camp Gargyle summer camp series with Ernest Goes to Camp!  Whether or not you grew up watching any Ernest movies, you are almost certainly aware of the zeitgeist of "y'knowwhatImean, Verne?!!?"  You might brush Ernest off as a simpleton and think that his movies can only be enjoyed by those with a juvenile sense of humor...but, you would be mistaken!  Yes, the folksy southern accent and the cartoonish physical humor might turn some people off, but that is only the surface of the Ernest movies.  Hidden behind Jim Varney's toothy grin in Ernest Goes to Camp is not only a solid camp movie that hits most of the right notes of summer camp tropes, but also a genuinely well-made movie that is more technically proficient than you might want to allow yourself to admit (and if you are wondering how, don't worry....Eric and I spend plenty of time discussing the technical merits of this movie).  Plus, I mean...come on....it's Ernest!  He is so genuine and heartfelt....how can you not love Ernest???  So make sure your vaccines are up to date (from a comically large needle), get a big helping of Eggsaronius, and watch out for para-trooping turtles as Eric and I discuss Ernest Goes to Camp!!

And if our review has you wanting to revisit Ernest, I can't think of a better way than going to the Movies Under the Stars film series screening of Ernest Goes to Camp, presented by Ijams Nature Center and Central Cinema, on June 14th!

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check back soon for more cinematic discussions at Camp Gargyle!!  Next week's episode will undoubtedly result in a bit of "beginning, middle, end" and will give us plenty of food for thought (see what I did there?? Oh...right....haven't said the name of the movie yet...well, it will make sense in a second...) as we discuss Heavyweights!

The Gargyle Podcast is sponsored by Central Cinema and the Knoxville Horror Film Festival!!  Submissions for the Knoxville Horror Film Festival are now open!  Submit your film at filmfreeway.com and be sure to follow KHFF on Facebook for more news and announcements!   View Central Cinema's lineup, showtimes, and purchase tickets at  centralcinema865.com. 

GargyleReviews.wixsite.com/thegargyle

"Reveille" from archive.org

music by bensound.com

The actual first day of summer might not be until June 21, but it's totally already summer on The Gargyle Podcast!!  And since it just wouldn't be summer without summer camp, our series for June is going to be all about summer camp movies!  And just like summer camp, we've got plenty of activities lined up.  Well..."activities" in the form of movie reviews.  We've got cheesy, horror, spoof, and heartfelt movies lined up...but tonight, we kick things off with one of the most iconic summer camp movies:  Meatballs!  Camp Counselor Chimerican and I already have the fire going and the s'mores ready to assemble...so get your bags packed, make sure your folks don't find the fireworks, plan your pranks for the rival camp across the lake, and get ready to make some new friends as you head off to Camp Gargyle!!  And before camp officially starts, Eric and I also discuss Visitations, the new podcast from Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah, with season 1 now available on Shudder!

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check back soon for more cinematic discussions at Camp Gargyle!!  Next week's movie will be Ernest Goes to Camp, in preparation for the Movies Under the Stars, presented by Ijams Nature Center and Central Cinema!

The Gargyle Podcast is sponsored by Central Cinema and the Knoxville Horror Film Festival!!  Submissions for the Knoxville Horror Film Festival are now open!  Submit your film at filmfreeway.com and be sure to follow KHFF on Facebook for more news and announcements!   View Central Cinema's lineup, showtimes, and purchase tickets at  centralcinema865.com. 

GargyleReviews.wixsite.com/thegargyle

"Reveille" from archive.org

music by bensound.com

Wrapping up our coverage of Chattanooga Film Festival 2019, tonight's episode focuses on films about Outcasts.  After 15 episodes and almost three months of talking about Chatt Film Fest (both past and present), this episode is a little bittersweet.  While we are looking forward to other themes that we have planned for future months, and while we still have a few more episodes in store that are going to be CFF adjacent (not directly part of our CFF coverage, but absolutely would not have been able to happen were it not for Chatt Film Fest!)...we had such an amazing time at CFF 2019 that we are a little sad to be bringing our coverage to a close.  And while I loved every movie that I saw at CFF 2019 and have had an absolute blast talking about all of them, I think that this episode might be the best overall representation of the kinds of films that you are able to see at CFF!  Sure, they all have a common theme of people who don't quite fit into mainstream society (which also fits nicely into talking about this crazy little family that is Chattanooga Film Festival), but with a documentary about the Satanic Temple, a Portuguese Troma Film, an indie dramedy that finds its humor in the absurdity of the mundane, and a punk rock classic with a social commentary that is just as powerful and relevant today as it was 36 years ago...each of these films are about as drastically different from each other as possible.  So, join us as we take the goat by the horns in our discussion of religious freedom with Penny Lane's Hail Satan?...find out if we get blown away, or are simply Troma-tized, by Fernando Alle's Mutant Blast...butter you up for a movie that is far from half-baked with Patrick Wang's A Bread Factory, Part One...and find a home in our hearts for Penelope Spheeris's Suburbia!

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check back soon for more cinematic discussions as The Gargyle Podcast heads to summer camp (movies)!!

The Gargyle Podcast is sponsored by Central Cinema and the Knoxville Horror Film Festival!!  Submissions for the Knoxville Horror Film Festival are now open!  Submit your film at filmfreeway.com and be sure to follow KHFF on Facebook for more news and announcements!   View Central Cinema's lineup, showtimes, and purchase tickets at  centralcinema865.com. 

GargyleReviews.wixsite.com/thegargyle

music by bensound.com

Tonight's set of Chattanooga Film Festival film reviews is the second part of our two part series focusing on character driven horror movies where the weight of the film rests on the shoulders of the acting ability of a very small cast as they navigate their way through trauma and personal discovery.  In other words, tonight's movies are about two guys, a girl, and a baaaaaaad situation!!...again.  And, just like we said in the first part of our coverage (The Fare and I Trapped the Devil)...while the cast might be small, our love for these films is not!!  So, join us in part two of our Two Guys, a Girl, and a Baaaaaaad Situation films, as we talk at length a-boat (see what I did there??) how much we love Harpoon (written by Rob Grant & Mike Kovac, directed by Rob Grant, and staring Christopher Gray, Munro Chambers, and Emily Tyra) and give a Cookie Monster scream of love to Sadistic Intentions (written and directed by Eric Pennycoff, staring Jeremy Gardner, Taylor Zaudtke, and Michael Patrick Nicholson)!!

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check back soon for more cinematic discussions on The Gargyle Podcast as we wrap up our coverage of the films we saw at the 2019 Chattanooga Film Festival with our Outcasts block of films!!

The Gargyle Podcast is sponsored by Central Cinema and the Knoxville Horror Film Festival!!  Submissions for the Knoxville Horror Film Festival are now open!  Submit your film at filmfreeway.com and be sure to follow KHFF on Facebook for more news and announcements!   View Central Cinema's lineup, showtimes, and purchase tickets at  centralcinema865.com. 

GargyleReviews.wixsite.com/thegargyle

music by bensound.com

Tonight's set of Chattanooga Film Festival film reviews is part one of a two part series focusing on character driven horror movies where the weight of the film rests on the shoulders of the acting ability of a very small cast as they navigate their way through trauma and personal discovery.  In other words, tonight's movies are about two guys, a girl, and a baaaaaaad situation!!  While the cast might be small, our love for these films is not!!  There is a LOT to talk about with the four films in this block (The Fare, I Trapped the Devil, Harpoon, and Sadistic Intentions) - even without delving too far into spoiler territory.  There is so much to talk about, in fact, that Eric and I ended up needing to split our coverage of these films into two parts.  So, join us in part one of our Two Guys, a Girl, and a Baaaaaaad Situation films, as we put in our two cents about The Fare (written by Brinna Kelly, directed by D.C. Hamilton, and staring Gino Anthony Pesi, Brinna Kelly, and Jason Stuart) and then wade through the darkness (both literal and metaphorical) of I Trapped the Devil (written and directed by Josh Lobo, staring Scott Poythress, A.J. Bowen, and Susan Burke)!!

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check back soon for more cinematic discussions on The Gargyle Podcast as we continue our coverage of the 2019 Chattanooga Film Festival!!  Up next will be part two of Two Guys, a Girl, and a Baaaaaaad Situation with Harpoon and Sadistic Intentions!!

The Gargyle Podcast is sponsored by Central Cinema and the Knoxville Horror Film Festival!!  Submissions for the Knoxville Horror Film Festival are now open!  Submit your film at filmfreeway.com and be sure to follow KHFF on Facebook for more news and announcements!   View Central Cinema's lineup, showtimes, and purchase tickets at  centralcinema865.com. 

GargyleReviews.wixsite.com/thegargyle

music by bensound.com