We dig into Smile (2022) - a film that works so hard to make you feel terrible that you can't help but respect it. Parker Finn's debut feature, Sosie Bacon's breakout lead, practical creature effects, and a trauma curse that hits different two years after a pandemic. Plus two original songs inspired by the film, gimmick: no names.
Citations
Eagan, Daniel. “Smile DP Charlie Sarroff Reveals Which Films He Turned to for Visual Inspiration, and How He Made Sosie Bacon's Heroine Feel Vulnerable and Lonely.” M&E. 27 October 2022. https://mande.net/btl/crafts/smile-dp-charlie-sarroff-interview.
Friedman, Illya. “Charlie Sarroff, cinematographer of the horror films Smile and Relic.” Cam Noir: The Cinematography Podcast. 12 October 2022. https://www.camnoir.com/ep187/.
Marsman, Michiel. “Making People Uncomfortable is My Job - Cristobal Tapia de Veer on Scoring Smile.” Free Run Artists. 25 March 2025. https://freerunartists.com/making-people-uncomfortable-is-my-job-cristobal-tapia-de-veer-on-scoring-smile/.
Parkinson, Helen. “Smile for the camera.” British Cinematographer. https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/charlie-sarroff-smile/.
Puccio, Anthony. “How Paramount’s ‘Smile’ Movie Blended Marketing with Live Sports.” Boardroom. 20 February 2003. https://boardroom.tv/smile-movie-paramount-live-sports-marketing/.
Taylor, Brian. “Sosie Bacon Interview - Smile.” The Cine-Men. 24 September 2022. https://thecinemen.com/2022/09/24/sosie-bacon-interview-smile/.
Wass, Mike. “Scoring ‘Smile,’ Sans Strings or Synths: How the Composer Made a Horror Hit Even Creepier With an Unusual Instrument.” Variety. 14 October 2022. https://variety.com/2022/music/news/smile-horror-score-music-composer-1235404446/.
00:00 Intro00:06:40 Intro: Distribution & Reception00:20:36 Let's Make a Movie: Filmmakers00:26:57 Let's Make a Movie: Production00:31:45 Let's Make a Movie: Cast00:40:27 Vibe Check: Cinematography00:55:15 Vibe Check: SFX01:00:59 Vibe Check: Music & Sound Design01:09:04 Story Time: Characters01:24:58 Story Time: Murder & Mayhem01:40:45 Story Time: Themes01:52:12 Open Mic02:05:59 Losing Light

We just got back from Universal Studios - and what better way to decompress than talking about all the ways vacations go horribly wrong? This week we're doing something a little different: a vacation horror special. We cover Infinity Pool, Speak No Evil, Hostel, The Hills Have Eyes, Wolf Creek, Turistas, The Ruins, Midsommar, and more. Stay home. Trust us.
 
Citations
"31 Days to Scare ~ The Ruins (2008). The MN Movie Man. https://joethemnmovieman.com/2023/10/08/ruins/. 
Booker, Keith M. "The Hills Have Eyes." Comments on Culture. https://bookerhorror.com/the-hills-have-eyes-directed-by-wes-craven-1977/.
Colangelo, BJ. "The Real Australian Serial Killers Who Inspired Horror Film Wolf Creek." Slash Film. 3 June 2024. https://www.slashfilm.com/1592546/horror-wolf-creek-real-australian-serial-killer-influence/. 
Duffy, Caitlin. "The Hills Have Eyes (1977)." Caitlin Duffy. 4 September 2018. https://caitlinduffy.hcommons.org/2018/09/04/the-hills-have-eyes-1977/. 
McGlynn, Anthony. "The grim true story that inspired Eli Roth's Hostel." The Digital Fix. 8 June 2022. https://www.thedigitalfix.com/hostel/true-story. 
Scheib, Richard. "Turistas (2006)." Moria Reviews. 1999-2026. https://moriareviews.com/horror/turistas-2006.htm
 
Chapters
00:00:01 - Intro
00:05:07 - Dark Universe at Epic Universe
00:14:03 - Vacation Horror: John's Picks
00:14:15 - Infinity Pool (2023)
00:17:18 - Speak No Evil (2022/2024)
00:20:49 - Vacancy (2007)
00:24:58 - Joyride (2001)
00:27:30 - Vacation Horror: Rachel's Picks
00:27:46 - The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
00:32:33 - Hostel (2005)
00:36:39 - Wolf Creek (2005)
00:39:27 - Turistas (2006)
00:42:54 - The Ruins (2008)
00:46:04 - Midsommar (2019)
00:47:27 - Bonus: Ranking the Chevy Chase Vacation Films
00:48:22 - Outro
 

This week we're in the grocery store - and not for the weekly specials. Fresh off our Intruder deep dive, we wander the aisles of supermarket horror: Messiah of Evil, Alien Raiders, Bait, 28 Days Later, and The Mist. Plus, John debuts his demo "One More Shot" - a love song with a trunk and some red flags. 
00:00:01 - Intro
00:06:12 - Messiah of Evil (1973)
00:09:34 - Alien Raiders (2008)
00:10:46 - Bait (2012)
00:12:47 - 28 Days Later (2002)
00:15:37 - The Mist (2007)
00:21:42 - Demo: "One More Shot"

The overnight crew at Walnut Lake Market is closing up shop - and someone is killing them off one by one. We dive into Scott Spiegel's 1989 cult slasher Intruder, the Michigan filmmaking crew behind it, and how a $130k grocery store shoot became the audition tape for the most important practical effects team in horror history.
Citations
 
Hadden, Christine. "Friday Flashback: Intruder (1989) - Death Amidst the Frosted Flakes". Fascination With Fear. 6 July 2012. https://fascinationwithfear.blogspot.com/2012/07/friday-flashback-intruder-1989-death.html.
 
Hamman, Cody. "Intruder (1989) Revisited - Horror Movie Review". JoBlo. 26 May 2022. https://www.joblo.com/intruder-1989-revisited-horror-movie-review/.
 
"Makeup Mavens: KNB EFX Group". Cinemonster, Letterboxd. 2015. https://letterboxd.com/cinemonster/list/makeup-mavens-knb-efx-group/.
 
00:00:00 Intro00:06:22 Intro: Distribution & Reception00:14:59 Let's Make a Movie: Filmmakers00:22:56 Let's Make a Movie: Cast00:33:24 Let’s Make a Movie: Production00:38:10 Vibe Check: Cinematography00:51:51 Vibe Check: SFX00:56:42 Vibe Check: Music & Sound Design00:58:39 Story Time: Characters01:08:59 Story Time: Murder & Mayhem01:25:07 Story Time: Themes01:37:06 Open Mic01:46:48 Losing Light

Psychic powers make for some of horror's best and weirdest movies. This week we tour five of them - Carrie, Scanners, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, and Spellbinder - and talk about what it means when your mind is the weapon. Plus the demo for "Completely Normal Individual."
00:00:00 Intro
00:04:08 Carrie (1976)
00:07:23 Scanners (1981)
00:09:57 A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
00:12:00 Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
00:15:43 Spellbinder (1988) 00:19:31 Losing Light
00:22:46 Demo: "Completely Normal Individual"
 

We're back in the Overlook for part two of our deep dive on The Shining (1980). We dig into the Steadicam innovation that changed horror forever, the blood elevator's year of prep work, and Wendy Carlos's groundbreaking score. Then we make the case for Wendy Torrance, unpack Jack's alcoholism through a recovery lens, and ask the question the film never answers - did the hotel make him a monster, or just find one?
Citations
Balick, Aaron. “The Psychology of The Shining: The terror of family dysfunction.” Depth Psychology in the Digital Age. 31 October 2012. Updated 15 April 2025. https://www.aaronbalick.com/post/the-psychology-of-the-shining-the-terror-family-disfunction.
Blakemore, Bill. “The Family of Man.” The San Francisco Chronicle Syndicate. 29 July 1987. http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0052.html.
Ciment, Michel. “Kubrick on The Shining.” http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/interview.ts.html.
Darren. “Is The Shining About Native Americans?” The M0vie Blog. 1 December 2009. https://them0vieblog.com/2009/12/01/is-the-shining-about-native-americans/.
Eggert, Brian. “The Shining (1980).” Deep Focus Review. 27 October 2019. https://www.deepfocusreview.com/definitives/the-shining/.
Elizabeth, Jasmine. “The Shining: The Horror of a Family in Disrepair.” Duck Eyes. 23 February 2020. https://duck-eyes.com/film-journal/the-shining-the-horror-of-a-family-in-disrepair.
Kieckhefer, Daniel R. “The Shining.” The Cinematograph. 2025. https://www.the-cinematograph.com/movies/the-shining/.
McBride, Kameron. “Dealing With Our Bloody Past: Repression vs. Recognition of American History in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.” Digital Literature Review, vol. 1 (2014). Ball State University. https://openjournals.bsu.edu/dlr/article/download/2587/1519/4169.
Nair, Shreejit & Rae Torres. “‘The Shining’ Ending Explained - What's Jack Doing in That Photo?” Collider. 13 August 2024. https://collider.com/the-shining-ending-explained/.
Trzcinski, Matthew. “Is ‘The Shining’ Really About Native American History?” Showbiz CheatSheet. 2 December 2019. https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/is-the-shining-really-about-native-american-history.html/.
00:00:00 Intro 
00:03:00 Vibe Check: Cinematography
00:20:26 Vibe Check: SFX
00:31:35 Vibe Check: Music & Sound Design
00:41:27 Story Time: Characters
01:10:11 Story Time: Murder/Mayhem
01:23:19 Story Time: Themes
01:38:13 Open Mic
01:50:43 Losing Light

The Shining finally got the two-part treatment - because some movies just won't fit in a box. Part 1 covers our personal histories with the film, how it landed (badly) when it first came out, and how it became one of the most analyzed pieces of horror cinema ever made. We get into Kubrick's adaptation choices, the famous tension between his vision and Stephen King's novel, and what it actually looked like to make this movie - the cast, the sets, the myths, the takes. So many takes. Next week we finish up our deep dive with Vibe Check and Story Time. See you there.
Rae Torres & Shreejit Nair. “The Shining Ending Explained - What’s Jack Doing in That Photo?” Collider. 13 August 2024. https://collider.com/the-shining-ending-explained/
00:00:00 Intro
00:09:19 Intro: Distribution & Reception
00:22:57 Let’s Make a Movie: Filmmakers
00:39:34 Let’s Make a Movie: Cast
00:57:38 Let’s Make a Movie: Production
01:25:37 Losing Light

John opens this episode by announcing himself as "the man of the duo." Rachel introduces herself as "John's wife, defined by her role in the life of a man." Then we talk about feminist horror for 30 minutes. Inspired by The Slumber Party Massacre, we're asking what actually makes a horror film feminist - and whether it matters who made it. We work through The Descent, You're Next, Midsommar, The Love Witch, and more. Plus Rachel debuts "You Want It," a duet with the male gaze itself.
Adams, Jenn. “’Pearl’ and the Face of a Woman Pushed Too Far.” Strong Female Antagonist. https://femaleantagonist.com/pearl-and-the-face-of-a-woman-pushed-too-far/.
Dolar, Danne Niko. “Ti West’s Pearl (2022) and the Affliction of Female Sensibility.” Academia. https://www.academia.edu/97577659/Ti_Wests_Pearl_2022_and_the_Affliction_of_Female_Sensibility.
Salinas, Julianna. “If You Don’t Fall in Love With This Campy 2016 Horror Masterpiece, I Don’t Know How to Help You.” 4 January 2025. Collider. https://collider.com/the-love-witch-movie/.
Totaro, Donato. “Female Empowerment in the ‘Small World’ films of Midsommar (2019, Ari Aster) and The Other Lamb (2019, Malgorzata Szumowska).” December 2019. OffScreen. https://offscreen.com/view/female-empowerment-in-small-world-films.
Wilhelmi, Jack. “You’re Next: Every Horror Movie Final Girl Trope It Subverted.” 26 December 2019. ScreenRant. https://screenrant.com/youre-next-horror-movie-final-girl-trope-changes/.
00:00:00 Intro00:06:02 The Descent00:11:08 You're Next00:16:25 Pearl00:20:03 The Love Witch00:24:27 Midsommar00:31:17 Demo - You Want It00:34:05 Losing Light