Years of Fear: A History of Horror

We bring our slasher series to a close with a deep dive into the film that redefined and resurrected the genre, Wes Craven's 1996 blockbuster "SCREAM". We explore the career of Craven, his continuous impact on the genre for 3 decades in a row, and the path to his 90s masterpiece . We're then joined by Tom Breihan (Stereogum, Av Club) to discuss the film's stacked cast, the John Hughes-esque writing of Kevin Williamson, the sad state of slasher cinema in the early 1990s, and how SCREAM's meta horror approach redefined the genre for a new generation. Stick around after the interview, where we'll reveal our new mini season!

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Michael sits down with the folks from the Blood Buddies podcast to watch the 1988 Fantasy Slasher classic CHILD'S PLAY! Pull up the movie on your TV and watch along as they discuss the film's origins, the greatness of Brad Dourif, awkward celebrity encounters, childhood toys, and the bizarre life and legacy of the Child's Play saga!

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Pack your sleeping bag, because this week we are going to Camp Crystal Lake for a deep dive into the most iconic Slasher film series of all time: FRIDAY THE 13TH! We explore the film's original HALLOWEEN knock off origins, Shaun Cunningham's early career with Wes Craven, the invention of Jason, Tom Savini's FX, and it's impact on the Slasher genre. After that, Inge Johansson (Gatuplan, ex-Against Me/Totalt Java Morker/ The International Noise Conspiracy) returns to the show to discuss the best Friday film: The Final Chapter, and we answer the immortal question "hey ted, where the hell's the corkscrew?"

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We continue our Slasher series with a deep dive into one of the best and most important horror films of all time THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. We kick it off by exploring the early life of director Tobe Hooper, the real life inspirations behind the film, and the shoestring budget under which it was created. We're then joined by Sam Sutherland (155, Extremely Online, Junior Battles) to discuss the film, what sets it apart from other slasher films, traumatic movie experiences, the film's unique soundtrack, the intense creation of the film, and much more!

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Michael reunites with the folks from Neon Brainiacs to sit down and watch the 1974 OG holiday slasher classic BLACK CHRISTMAS in its entirety. This is the first 15 minutes of our 2+ hour episode available only on our Patreon page. Pull up the movie on your TV and watch along with us as we discuss the film, it's impact on all slasher films to come, the careers of it's stacked cast, our favorite holiday flicks, and a whole lot of digressions in between!

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Time to kick off our next mini-series: SLASHERS! In this episode, we dive into the early films that begat the blood soaked Slasher boom of the 1980s, with an in-depth exploration of the man who helped define the genre: MARIO BAVA! We explore his early work in cinematography, the creation of the Giallo genre with films like BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, and his film that kick started the Slasher genre: A BAY OF BLOOD! After that, Michael sits down with indie filmmaker William Hellfire to discuss the film, the proto slashers like PSYCHO and THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED that inspired it, Bava's legacy, and how the film created many of the tropes now associated with the genre! Stick around after the discussion to hear our listener's thoughts on what defines a Slasher film!

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Our Body Horror series is going out with a bang! We're going to Japan to explore the 1989 Cyberpunk classic TETSUO: THE IRON MAN! We explore his early Kaiju passions, the influence of Akira Kurosawa, dealing with disapproving parents, and how his debut film came to be! We're then joined by Gregg Harrington of the podcast Neon Brainiacs to discuss the film, Nine Inch Nails, d-beat soundtracks, the incredible industrial score, and how this film impacted the future of horror cinema worldwide. Stick around after the interview for the reveal of our next series!

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Our Body Horror series rolls on with a dive into Stuart Gordon and his slimey classic FROM BEYOND. We explore Stuart's early radical theater roots, run-ins with the law, HP Lovecraft, and Re-Animator. We are then joined by Ben Roberts of the fantastic new comic CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE to discuss From Beyond. Stick around after the interview for our first mailbag segment!

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FULL EPISODE AVAILABLE ON PATREON! Michael and his Misfits Monday cohort Eric Kelly catch up on their Halloween season movie watches, and then watch Glenn Danzig's Trashsterpiece Verotika in it's entirety. Pull up the movie on your TV/Computer, turn down the volume, pop on the subtitles, and watch along with us one of the most confounding but wildly entertaining movies since The Room.

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Bust out your candy apples and razor blades, because its time for another Toxic Schlock Halloween Episode! Sam Poe said that she would return for another Halloween episode on one condition: we had to do a deep dive into the 2008 teenage vampire romance Twilight! We touched on everything from the cast, to the soundtrack, to the impact on pop culture, to the questionable impact it had on it's viewers. Alongside Twilight, we list our individual top 5 favorite vampire roles, and a whole lot more!

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