Behind the door of a seemingly normal American home lies something evil. Something that’s been waiting. No, it’s not a demon – it’s a heteronormative relationship with a total douchebag!  Join Alex and Andrea for a dive into the murky waters of demonology, tech bros, and home security with Oren Peli’s feature film debut.    Join our Patreon community!  

REQUIRED READING

Paranormal Activity. Dir. Oren Peli, 2007. 

 

EXTRA CREDIT

The Faculty of Horror: Episode 26. Mother Lover: Matriarchy in The Wicker Man (1973 & 2006) and Paranormal Activity 3 (2011).

Horror’s New Wave: 15 Years of Blumhouse. In which Jason Blum break’s down PA’s long road to theatrical release. 
With Paranormal Activity, Paramount Sets New Marketing Model. An overview of the grassroots marketing campaign.
Surveillance Tech is Changing Our Behaviour and Our Brains. How our rapidly evolving technology is taking over our domestic and public spaces. 

I Love My Husband (Who Hates Me). The Cut’s piece on the socially acceptable misogyny in heteronormative relationships.    “Understanding Home Video” from Home Truths? Video Production and Domestic Life: Tracing the home video industry from America’s Funniest Home Videos to FailArmy.   The right-wing roots of Silicon Valley: traces the roots of the techbro boom in the ’90s to the “free thinkers” of the modern manosphere.  

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Wes Craven’s first feature continues to draw audiences and critics to it. By examining the production, reception, and impact of The Last House on the Left, Andrea and Alex will investigate the legacy of the rape-revenge subgenre and our evolving understanding of it. 

*Apologies for the poor audio on this one, guys! We’ll catch that gremlin one day and we’ll skin him alive!

Join our Patreon community!  

REQUIRED READING

The Last House on the Left. Dir. Wes Craven, 1972. 

 

EXTRA CREDIT

A Promising Young Woman and the End of the Girlboss Era. Ayesha A. Siddiqi’s in-depth analysis of the Emerald Fennell’s first feature. 

Screams and Nightmares: The Films of Wes Craven. A thorough look at Craven’s oeuvre with insights and anecdotes from the man himself. 

Celluloid Crime of the Century – the full 2003 doc is on YouTube, featuring interviews with Craven, Cunningham, and select castmembers.  

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This month, we’ve summoned friend of the show (and verified Lynch stan) Stacie Ponder to join us as we wander aimlessly into the surrealist nightmare of David Lynch’s mind. Through an exploration of his first film Eraserhead, we’ll investigate one of cinema’s most enigmatic creatives and his myths of America. 

Check out Stacie’s podcast: Final Girl After Dark! 

Join our Patreon community!  

REQUIRED READING

Eraserhead. Dir. David Lynch, 1977. 

 

EXTRA CREDIT

Who Made That Built-In Eraser? An overview of an American partnership.   The Theatre of the Absurd Martin Esslin’s critical essay that defined an undefinable movement. 

Premonition Following an Evil Deed (1995) on YouTube. A very unsettling 56-second film!

 

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Another year of mad fackery has come to end, so Andrea and Alex take a last look at 2025 to review our horror (and non-horror) faves of the year. 

Join our Patreon community!   Alex’s picks:
Weapons
Bring Her Back
The Ugly Stepsister
Final Destination Bloodlines
Companion
Good Boy
The Occupant of the Room
Mangittatuarjuk: The Gnawer of Rocks   Andrea’s picks: Bring Her Back Weapons Final Destination Bloodlines
Heart Eyes
The Ugly Stepsister Dangerous Animals Him  

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Andrea and Alex interrogate the pearl clutching that went on during Silent Night, Deadly Night‘s initial theatrical run, what it means to cultivate festive cheer, and the importance of being nice and never naughty. 

Class of 2025 Merch is now available! Thanks to Caleb Milatovic and Rachelle Walker for the incredible design!    Join us over on Patreon for more content!  

REQUIRED READING

Silent Night, Deadly Night. Dir. Charles Sellier Jr, 1984.  

EXTRA CREDIT

At the Movies: Silent Night, Deadly Night. Siskel and Ebert’s review.    A Once Controversial Release, “Silent Night, Deadly Night” Gains Another Chance to Terrorize. Film at Lincoln Center’s piece on the history and importance of Silent Night, Deadly Night.    Santa Claus: The Myth in America. A look at St. Nick’s bizarre (and frankly, kind of hilarious) origin story as a folk hero and a religious icon

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Mind the fog and join Andrea and Alex as they explore the dark hallways of Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others. From geopolitics to religion and the weight of motherhood, not everything in the film is as it appears. 

Class of 2025 Merch is now available! Thanks to Caleb Milatovic and Rachelle Walker for the incredible design!   

REQUIRED READING

The Others. Dir. Alejandro Amenábar, 2001.  

EXTRA CREDIT

“Nicole Kidman made a horror movie about Tom Cruise and Scientology.” A video exploration of Kidman’s performance under the watchful eye of Scientology.

Taken from Life: The Unsettling Art of Death Photography. The history and science of capturing images of the dearly departed.

The Birth of Purgatory by Jacques Le Goff. How Catholicism decided it needed a third state between heaven and hell.

 

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It’s almost time kids, the clock is ticking! Andrea and Alex explore the strange world of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, uncovering tricks and treats in the history of holiday, Celtic rituals, and our evolving relationship with our TVs. 

Class of 2025 Merch is now available! Thanks to Caleb Milatovic and Rachelle Walker for the incredible design!   

REQUIRED READING

Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Dir. Tommy Lee Wallace, 1982.  

EXTRA CREDIT

Halloween III: Season Of The Witch – The Inside Story Of A Cult Classic. Director Tommy Lee Wallace on ditching Michael Myers to make Halloween’s best sequel, 40 years on.   The Commercialization of the Calendar: American Holidays and the Culture of Consumption, 1870-1930, by Leigh Eric Schmidt.   Irish San Francisco. An article detailing the Irish population metrics in California.   Tricks of Festival: Children, Enculturation, and American Halloween by Cindy Dell Clark.   Halloween’s Mutation: From Humble Holiday to Retail Monstrosity. NYT article on the rise and popularity of the holiday.    Video, Science Fiction, and the Cinema of Surveillance. Thomas Doherty’s article exploring the place of television in film.   

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In this episode Andrea and Alex delve into the dark side of masculinity with the film adaptations of Apt Pupil and We Need to Talk About Kevin to explore the manosphere, motherhood, and the complexities of anger.

Please note: this episode was recorded September 5, 2025.

Class of 2025 Merch is now available. Thanks to Caleb Milatovic and Rachelle Walker for the incredible design!   

REQUIRED READING

Apt Pupil. Dir. Bryan Singer, 1998.
We Need to Talk About Kevin. Dir. Lynne Ramsay, 2011.  

EXTRA CREDIT

Guns by Stephen King. King’s essay on gun culture and mass shooting in America.
How American Racism Influenced Hitler. Alex Ross’ New Yorker piece on America’s dark relationship with the Nazis.
The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood. Sharon Hays’ treatise on the profession and expectations of mothers.  

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Buckle up and keep your eyes on the road because we’re chatting about the teen slasher thriller I Know What You Did Last Summer. From morality and justice to small town trappings, we unearth a murky past that refuses to stay buried!

More content over on our Patreon!  

REQUIRED READING

I Know What You Did Last Summer. Dir. Jim Gillespie, 1997.   

EXTRA CREDIT

Behavioral Risks during the Transition from High School to College. The NIH report on tendencies and actions during the last summer before adulthood.   Generation Multiplex. Timothy Shary’s examination of youth culture at the movies.
The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings. Jan Harold Brunvand’s seminal work on modern folklore.  

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Pack your car and mind the detours because we’re kicking off summer with an episode on The Hills Have Eyes. From familial tensions to political warfare in the original and the remake, there’s a whole host of darkness to be found under the summer sun. 

More content over on our Patreon!  

REQUIRED READING

The Hills Have Eyes. Dir. Wes Craven, 1977. The Hills Have Eyes. Dir. Alexandre Aja, 2006.   

EXTRA CREDIT

Sawney Bean – Scotland’s Most Famous Cannibal. An overview of the Scottish legend.   Fairy Tales for the Apocalypse. Christopher Sharrett’s interview with Wes Craven.   Through the Eyes of America: Wes Craven’s “The Hills Have Eyes.” Matt Carlin via Mubi.com.  

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Join Andrea and Alex live from Salem Horror Fest for feats of strength (!) and a discussion of the horrors of beauty standards, the weight of celebrity culture, and the algorithms that are out to get us. 

More content over on our Patreon!  

REQUIRED READING

The Substance. Dir. Coralie Fargeat, 2024.   

EXTRA CREDIT

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism. Sarah Wynn-Williams account of her time at Facebook.    On Women. Susan Sontag’s essays on women and their physical relationships to the world.   Fran Lebowitz on Race and Racism. From the 1997 edition of Vanity Fair where Lebowitz discusses nepo babies.   How Ozempic shaming illuminates complexities of treating weight problems from the Harvard Gazette.  

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