As things with JR take a turn for the worse, things with you can take a turn for the better by watching this underseen horror gem! Or you can watch the music video for Pitch Black Manor’s Into the Gears that uses most of its footage! The choice is yours!
Classic THoNaH: Episode 35 - Clive Barker 4: Rawhead Rex
As JR continues his long recovery, we look back on Clive Barker’s masterpiece, Rawhead Rex. As Clive said: “They got it all completely wrong. I whined at them a little bit and they said ‘get out of our face’.”
Episode 219 - An Announcement
A very special announcement from your very special duo. Also, if you have 80ish minutes, watch some version of Carnival of Souls. If you have 850ish minutes, watch all of The Prisoner. If you have 9600ish minutes, listen to our entire back catalog again.
Episode 218 - Grab Bag 3: His House (2020) & The Block Island Sound (2020)
Our grab bag theme continues with His House (2020) and The Block Island Sound (2020) as we move on to Netflix offerings. Give a listen to find out which was the good movie, and which had JR railing against the alien EPA.
Episode 217 - What's Lost in an Adaptation?
What’s lost in an adaptation of a horror story? The gang ponders if atmosphere can be more than just a low drone, if great works will ever be adapted well. and why more people don’t go back to the original work. Also, 217 episodes in, JR finally reads The Willows.
Episode 216 - John Carpenter, Master of Horror?
Master of horror, or master of making movies that are almost good? You may want to get that madness out of there for you to get in that mouth, but we put on those special glasses and take a critical view of him. We break down his 18 films and decide where we think he falls between a Starman and a 5 star man.
Episode 215 - Grab Bag 2: Amulet (2020) & Sputnik (2020)
More movies we are actually interested in watching! We give Hulu some attention by streaming Sputnik (2020), which has been called Russian "Alien" but is more like Russian "Lilo and Stitch"; and Amulet (2020), which is . . . well, where to begin with that one . . . . Come and have a listen!
Episode 214 - Grab Bag 1: The Devils (1971) & The Dark and The Wicked (2020)
The duo have a revelatory idea: why not watch some movies they've wanted to watch for a while? So they watch "The Devils" (1971) and "The Dark and the Wicked" (2020). Does it work out? Does anything work out for our hapless duo?
Episode 213: Are There Benefits to Horror?
Is there any actual benefit to watching horror movies? It would be nice to think so, right? J.R. and Derek explore this (remote) possibility.
Episode 212 - Why Not More Bigfoot?
The Bigfoot. The Sasquatch. The Skunk Ape. It goes by many names, but why isn’t it in more horror films? The boys tell those dusty mummies, rotten Frankensteins, and goofy Loch Ness Monsters to go home and examine the quintessential American monster. They don’t call him the Wild Man of the Woods for nothing!
Episode 211 - Weird West 2, Part 2
The duo discuss two westerns where the level of "weirdness" is ambiguous and debatable: the 2016 bleakfest "Brimstone" and the 1973 Clint Eastwood picture "High Plains Drifter." One thing that isn't ambiguous: there is some surprisingly heinous stuff going on in these movies.
Episode 210 - Weird West 2, Part 1
It's a double-feature to the Weird West as we discuss Shudder's newest fiasco "The Pale Door," which was "presented" by Joe Lansdale (read: he cashed a check); and the classy if slow "The Wind," which features mind-rending wind demons . . .OR DOES IT!
Episode 209 - Why Aren't Short Horror Stories Popular?
J.R. and Derek question why, in our time-scarce modern world, horror short stories are not more popular. A bit of self-interest on J.R.'s behalf, or a way to excuse his literary failures? Sure, but genuine curiosity as well.
Episode 208 - Good/Bad Scenes Saving/Ruining Movies
There are a lot of bad films with good scenes. Indeed, the whole slasher genre is pretty much predicated on this. We discuss good scenes in bad films, bad scenes in good films, and Donald Sutherland's butt in Don't Look Now. We didn't want to, but our lawyers said we had to.
Episode 207 - The Conspiracy Against The Human Race, Part 3
The duo finish Thomas Ligotti's "Conspiracy Against the Human Race," where the topics keep coming: atmosphere in supernatural horror, painless death and anxiety, fecal build-up, Terror Management Theory, and, of all things, Sweeney Todd.
Episode 206 - The Conspiracy Against The Human Race, Part 2
The duo continue with "The Conspiracy Against the Human Race," as Thomas Ligotti discusses the fear of the body as a mechanical process, the uncanny, the self and choice, depression, transhumanism, the delusions of religion, and other topics that would get people to move away from you on the subway.
Episode 205 - The Conspiracy Against The Human Race, Part 1
Feeling good recently? Well, put that on hold because the duo cover Thomas Ligotti's non-fiction "Conspiracy Against the Human Race," which argues that consciousness has made humans a living paradox and it is better to never have been born. Meaning, don't listen to this on a Monday.
Episode 204 - Will Horror Still Hold the Same Appeal in Senescence?
As Derek and J.R. age into senility and despair (cool term: senescence), will horror still hold the same appeal? And what connection is there between supernatural horror and the transcendent or divine? Pretty heady stuff for two blathering morons, but here you go!
Episode 203 - Can a Giant Monster Movie be Horror?
Derek asks the question, "Can a Giant Monster Movie by Horror?" After two botched attempts to record the episode, it doesn't go well. For anyone.
Episode 202 - Horror Roundup, February 2021, Part 2
It's episode 202, it's a roundup, and you know how this works. We talk The Wolf House, Books of Blood, I Lost my Body, The Third Day, The Deeper You Dig, Antebellum, Super Dark Times, and Wyrd. Hours of entertainment summed up in 53 minutes for your enjoyment.