Episodes
Monday Dec 19, 2022
The Things (1951+ 1982 Films) | Episode #80
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Monday Dec 19, 2022
In this spooktacular episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Anthony Tresca discuss not one but two (well, kind of three) THINGS: the 1951 film The Thing from Another World, John Carpenter's beloved 1982 film The Thing, and the novella that started it all...John W. Campbell's 1938 "Who Goes There?"
Episode Highlights: We explore how the thing manages, time and again, to change its form in order to provide the most culturally relevant moments of horror. Looking particularly at the two films, we talk about the ways that the 1951 film presents a more affirmative "we can do it team!" mentality that stands in sharp contrast with the 1982 film's disaffirmative sense of paranoia and "everyone is the threat" mentality. We think about how each text depicts our alien invader and we consider what it is about this story that continues to haunt us in subsequent adaptations and remakes.
A Dose of Scholarship: We discuss a number of pieces of scholarship: Stephen Price's essay "Dread, Taboo, and The Thing: Toward a Social Theory of the Horror Film" in the 2004 book The Horror Film, Ronald Allan Lopez Cruz's 2012 essay "Mutations and Metamorphoses: Body Horror is Biological Horror," and Eric White's 1993 article "The Erotics of Becoming: Xenogensis and 'The Thing.'"
This podcast episode first aired on December 19, 2022. Thank you Jackson O'Brien for being the best editor a horror podcast could ask for!
Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare channel; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; ALL LINKS
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) | Episode #79
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Friday Nov 18, 2022
In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca return to Crystal Lake once more for their discussion of the 1984 horror slasher film Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.
Episode Highlights: We talk about how this film works to set itself apart from the other entries in the franchise, even as it continues the franchise's MO of punishing teens for...well, being teens. Much of our examination of this episode centers on the relationship between Trish and Tommy Jarvis and the ways that they serve, respectively, as the film's final girl and final boy. Our scholarship for this episode encouraged us to explore further this idea of the final boy and if (and how) the concept of the final boy might differ from our understandings of the final guy à la Ash Williams.
A Dose of Scholarship: We return, again, to Horror Homeroom's first special issue "Friday the 13th at 40" and we specifically reference Ethan Robles' article "'Die! Die! Die!': The Birth of the Final Boy in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter."
This podcast episode first aired on November 18, 2022.
What would we do without our editor-extraordinaire Jackson O'Brien? Probably lay down and cry. Thanks Jackson!
ALL LINKS Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; Website: suchanightmare.com
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Friday the 13th Part III (1982) | Episode #76
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Friday Nov 18, 2022
In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca keep on camping as they discuss the 1982 horror slasher film Friday the 13th Part III.
Episode Highlights: We talk about how this particular entry in the franchise was disappointing as it was the exact same formula from the first two films...but somehow also worse than the first two films. We discuss the annoying Shelly (who reminded Katherine a lot of Franklin from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre). We think about the consequences of how this film seems less connected to the original story than the first two films. And we discuss the importance, culturally and narratively, of the character Debbie being pregnant and how that affects (or not) the ways we perceive the violence in this film.
A Dose of Scholarship: We return, again, to Horror Homeroom's first special issue "Friday the 13th at 40" and we specifically reference Wickham Clayton's article "Killing the Sad Fat Guy and the Pregnant Lady: Uncomfortable Death in Friday the 13th Part III - 3D."
This podcast episode first aired on September 19, 2022.
We appreciate you Jackson O'Brien! Thanks for another great edit!
ALL LINKS Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; Website: suchanightmare.com
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Halloween Ends (2022) | Episode #78
Monday Oct 31, 2022
Monday Oct 31, 2022
In this special Halloween episode (recorded in person and unedited!), hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca talk about the conclusion (at least for now...) of the Halloween franchise as they discuss the 2022 horror slasher film Halloween Ends.
Episode Highlights: We look at the ways that this film attempts to explore the nature/nurture dichotomy of evil before ultimately arriving at the same largely affirmative conclusion upheld by much of the franchise. We unpack the Michael Myers/Corey bromance plotline and discuss why exactly this story development both weighed down the narrative and felt out of sync from the 2018 and 2021 films. And we talk about the missed opportunity make more of the film about Jamie Lee Curtis, err...Laurie Strode...and Michael Myers.
A Dose of Scholarship: The film is too new to have any critical reception written about it yet, but we encourage you to explore existing scholarship on slasher films in general and the Halloween franchise more specifically.
This podcast episode first aired on October 31, 2022. Happy Halloween!
We recorded this episode in-person and it is (for better or worse) unedited!
ALL LINKS Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; Website: suchanightmare.com
Thursday Oct 20, 2022
Jaysen Buterin, Kevin Kangas, Ron Riekki | Interview (2022) | Eerie Extras
Thursday Oct 20, 2022
Thursday Oct 20, 2022
In this very exciting Eerie Extra, co-host Katherine Troyer talks with some masters of clownish horror: Jaysen Buterin, Kevin Kangas, and Ron Riekki. Buterin (writer and director of the film Kill Giggles) and Kangas (writer and director of Fear of Clowns 1 & 2) are featured in Riekki's 2022 edited collection The Many Lives of Evil Clowns. We talk about our shared love of the genre and why clowns are a terrifying and ubiquitous part of horror. If you want to know more about being an indie horror filmmaker, hear about the awesomeness of horror festivals, and just listen to a bunch of cool dudes talk horror...this is the interview for you! Listen as a podcast or watch the video interview on YouTube.
This interview occurred on June 15, 2022; the episode first aired on October 20, 2022.
JAYSEN BUTERIN is the writer/director of award-winning indie film fare such as the Tarantino-meets-Twilight Zone trilogy, “The Gospel According to Booze, Bullets & Hot Pink Jesus,” the on-the-road thriller, “Between Hell and a Hard Place,” and the sinister stay-at-home horror hits “Don’t Let the Light In” and “The Corner.” He’s currently awaiting the Hollywood studio release of his very first feature-length film, the coulrophobia-courting/clown-killing thrilling goodness of KILL GIGGLES, while also prepping a series of screenplays to go into production once the Apocalypse finally goes away!!! His website is madonesfilms.com and you can learn more about his films at killgiggles.com and youtube.com/madonesfilms. Follow him on Facebook: facebook.com/madonesfilms Twitter: twitter.com/madonesfilms Instagram: instagram/com/themadonesfilms and on the CB Radio: Clown Killer 666
KEVIN KANGAS is is the writer/director of seven feature films, including the cult-classic Hunting Humans, the Lionsgate features Fear of Clowns 1&2, and the hit anthologies Terrortory 1&2. He's also published a novella about vampires called "With Teeth" and a book that's more a love-letter to Halloween called Halloween: The Greatest Holiday of All. His website is http://www.kangaskahnfilms.com and you can check out his IMDb page at https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1292971/. Want to see his films? Check them out at https://bit.ly/kkftubi
RON RIEKKI is an author, poet, editor, actor, and more. His books include My Ancestors are Reindeer Herders and I Am Melting in Extinction (Apprentice House Press), Posttraumatic (Hoot ‘n’ Waddle), and U.P. (Ghost Road Press). Riekki co-edited The Many Lives of The Evil Dead and The Many Lives of The Twilight Zone (McFarland) and Undocumented (Michigan State University Press), and edited The Many Lives of Scary Clowns and The Many Lives of It (McFarland), Here and And Here (MSU Press, Independent Publisher Book Award), and The Way North (Wayne State University Press, Michigan Notable Book). His story “America,” published in decomp, was turned into a film by mc² film in Romania, winning awards at the Red Rock Film Festival and Tres Court International Film Festival and was distributed throughout Greece. His story “Teeths,” Pushcart nominated and published in Santa Barbara Literary Journal was turned into a film by the same production company, winning awards at the Dracula Film Festival, Rockport Film Festival, and Tres Court International Film Festival and screened at over one hundred theaters in France. Riekki played the title role in the horror film Flesher (directed by John Johnson), receiving a Crimson Screen Horror Film Fest nomination for Best Actor in a Feature Film. He also acted in the movie Short Straw (directed by Steve Balderson), starring Joe Pantoliano and Sarah Clarke. You can follow him on Twitter @RiekkiRon
Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare channel; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; ALL LINKS
Monday Oct 10, 2022
Nope (2022) | Episode #77
Monday Oct 10, 2022
Monday Oct 10, 2022
Jordan Peele is a horror filmmaker that helped inspire this entire podcast. So, in this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca talk the 2022 Western/sci-fi/horror film Nope.
Episode Highlights: We agreed to disagree about many of our conclusions on this film, even as we both decided that the other person was making some truly excellent points. We explore the narrative as we turn to pacing, the film's bigger themes, character development, and the horse-named chapters. And we also work through the film's form, as we talk about acting, cinematography, sound design, and alien special effects. Thinking about the film's individual components allows us to ultimately frame our discussion of this film through the lens of gestalt theory (where the whole is different from the sum of its parts).
A Dose of Scholarship: The film is too new to have any critical reception written about it yet, but we encourage you to explore existing scholarship on a range of related topics including black horror, genre theory, Jordan Peele, and gestalt theory.
This podcast episode first aired on October 10, 2022.
Thank you Jackson O'Brien for being an amazing editor!
ALL LINKS Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; Website: suchanightmare.com
Tuesday Aug 30, 2022
Ash vs. Evil Dead (2015-2018) | Episode #75
Tuesday Aug 30, 2022
Tuesday Aug 30, 2022
In this exciting milestone of an episode (75 episodes...what!?!), hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca discuss not one, not two, but three seasons of the horror comedy TV show Ash vs. Evil Dead (2015-2018).
Episode Highlights: We celebrate the awesomeness that is three seasons of watching Ash Williams fight off Deadites. We talk about each season of the show and what we felt were the seasons' respective strengths and weaknesses. We also examine the show's larger narrative arc and think about the exciting ways that the show expanded in terms of its mythos and worldbuilding. And while we, of course, discuss at great length Bruce Campbell and his fantastic performance as Ash, we also focus on one of the show's best aspects: its incredible supporting cast who bring to life interesting and diverse characters that manage to hold their own against Bruce Campbell/Ash Williams.
A Dose of Scholarship: In this episode we return to some of the scholarship we referenced in our episodes on other works in the Evil Dead franchise. (So go back and listen to those episodes!) In particular, we highly recommend checking out the edited collection of essays The Many Lives of The Evil Dead: Essays on the Cult Film Franchise, edited by Ron Riekki.
This podcast episode first aired on August 30, 2022.
Thank you so much Jackson O'Brien for being a rockstar editor (and for saying you particularly liked this episode)!
ALL LINKS Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; Website: suchanightmare.com
Friday Jul 01, 2022
Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) | Episode #74
Friday Jul 01, 2022
Friday Jul 01, 2022
In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca discuss a classic that is also a remake of a classic...the 1979 horror film Nosferatu the Vampyre (German title: Phantom der Nacht).
Episode Highlights: We talk about the tone-setting (albeit odd) cold opening of the mummies and how, even if--as Toni proves--it is meaningful, Katherine kind of hated it. We explore the ways the film pays homage to as well as deviates from the 1922 film (and the original Dracula narrative), and how Herzog created a film that serves as both a powerful remake and a unique film in its own right. We look at the film's examination of the chaos of a plague/pandemic, the beautiful and haunting shots of rats and empty streets, and the characterization of Lucy. And Katherine suggests that this might be one of the gayest films ever...
A Dose of Scholarship: In this episode we referenced Lloyd Michael's essay "Nosferatu, or the Phantom of the Cinema" in the 1998 book Play It Again, Sam: Retakes on Remakes. We also mention S.S. Prawer's examination on Nosferatu published as part of the book series on BFI Modern Classics.
This podcast episode first aired on July 1, 2022.
Awesomeness, thy name is Jackson O'Brien--thank you Jackson for being our podcast editor!
ALL LINKS Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; Website: suchanightmare.com
Friday Jul 01, 2022
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) | Episode #73
Friday Jul 01, 2022
Friday Jul 01, 2022
In this episode published one day after Monday the Thirteen, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca continue their discussion of the beloved camp-filled and campy franchise by discussing the 1981 horror slasher film Friday the 13th Part 2.
Episode Highlights: We talk about how much we enjoyed this film's cold opening (perhaps the first cold opening we've liked!) and how this opening scene allowed us to further examine the idea of the Final Girl as a trauma survivor, particularly in light of Adrienne King's real-life stalker. We explore the ridiculousness that is the idea of camp (who gives children bows-and-arrows?) and how this film explores the ideas of camp in interesting ways by setting the narrative at a camp for camp counselors. And we discuss how we would have liked to have seen more of Muffin...perhaps as Jason's furry, evil sidekick.
A Dose of Scholarship: Although we did not discuss any specific scholarship in this episode, we highly encourage you to check out Horror Homeroom's first special issue "Friday the 13th at 40" if you are interested in digging deeper into this franchise.
This podcast episode first aired on June 14, 2022.
Greatest of thanks to our editor Jackson O'Brien!
ALL LINKS Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; Website: suchanightmare.com
Friday Jul 01, 2022
Nosferatu (1922) | Episode #72
Friday Jul 01, 2022
Friday Jul 01, 2022
In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca discuss a classic...the 1922 silent horror film Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror).
Episode Highlights: We explore the magic of this film as we look at everything from the realism of the set to the fantastic make-up to the practical special effects. We examine the character of Orlock as a supporter of technology and discuss the differing views on whether he serves as an anti-Semitic metaphor. We look at some of the film's reception at the time of its release, including opinions that this film would deteriorate the intelligence of "the common man." And finally, we look at how this film offers us a foundation for all future vampire films.
A Dose of Scholarship: In this episode we referenced the following books: Jörg Waltje's Blood Obsession: Vampires, Serial Murder, and the Popular Imagination; David J. Skal's 2004 Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen; and Stacey Abbott's 2009 Celluloid Vampires: After Death in the Modern World.
This podcast episode first aired on May 31, 2022.
Greatest of thanks to our podcast editor Jackson O'Brien!
ALL LINKS Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; Website: suchanightmare.com