Such a Nightmare: Conversations about Horror

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) | Episode #57

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Anthony Tresca discuss the 1975 cult classic horror-musical film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 

Episode Highlights: We talk about the fact that while Anthony will have seen some version of Rocky (staged, shadow cast, film, or other adaptation) at least nine times just in 2021, this was Katherine's first time watching the film. We explore the transgressive nature of the Rocky viewing experience (and in our own transgressive act--Anthony takes the lead on the scholarship!). We also look at all of the different ways scholars have analyzed Rocky, and we discuss the ways that the film situates itself amongst other fairy tale narratives. 

A Dose of Scholarship: In this episode, we discuss John Lynskey's essay "Queer Cult Performance: Recreating Rocky Horror in the Twenty-First Century" found in the book New Queer Horror Film and Television as well as Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock's 2008 edited collection Reading Rocky Horror: The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Popular Culture.  

This podcast episode first aired on October 29, 2021.

Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare channel; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; ALL LINKS

The Babadook (2014) | Episode #56

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Anthony Tresca discuss the 2014 horror film The Babadook. 

Episode Highlights: We talk about the fact that while this is a masterful film, it is a film we really do not enjoy watching and may very well never watch again. We explore the uncomfortably intimate moments between mother and son, look at the concept of being a voyeur (get it...look at voyeuring?), and consider the role that the book within the film plays as both metaphor and microscope. Ultimately, although the film is painful for us to watch, we cannot help but admire what the film does for the genre at large and Australian horror more specifically.

A Dose of Scholarship: In this episode, we discuss Jessica Balanzategui's article "The Babadook and the Haunted Space Between High and Low Genres in the Australian Horror Tradition" and Shelley Buerger's article "The Beak That Grips: Maternal Indifference, Ambivalence and the Abject in The Babadook." Both articles can be found in the journal Studies in Australasian Cinema.

This podcast episode first aired on October 28, 2021.

Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare channel; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; ALL LINKS

Candyman (2021) | Film Review | Eerie Extras

In this Eerie Extra, Such a Nightmare co-hosts Katherine Troyer and Anthony Tresca review the 2021 film Candyman.

We discuss the visual appeal of this film and talk about the incredible work done by director Nia DaCosta. And, although we have some concerns about the 2021 film's pacing, we explore how this film addresses (and corrects) many of the problems we believe exist in the 1992 film.

We highly encourage everyone to check out these additional sources referenced in this episode:

1) Dani Bethea's "Candyman is Sweet (and Sour for Black Women)"

2) DarkSkyLady's "How Gentrification Expands Candyman's Urban Legend" 

 

Recorded September 22, 2021 and published October 20, 2021.

Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare channel; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; ALL LINKS

Fear Street (2021) | Film Review | Eerie Extras

In this Eerie Extra, Such a Nightmare co-hosts Katherine Troyer and Anthony Tresca review the 2021 Netflix trilogy Fear Street, which includes Part One: 1994, Part Two: 1978, and Part Three: 1666.

We discuss the films--both individually and as a collective unit--through our examination of how the characters, narratives, and cinematic decisions support and occasionally contradict one another across the trilogy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we discover that Katherine's favorite film in the series is not the same as Anthony's favorite film (although we do agree on our least favorite of the three!).

Recorded July 23, 2021 and published October 21, 2021.

Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare channel; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; ALL LINKS

Wes Craven‘s New Nightmare (1994) | Episode #55

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Anthony Tresca linger a little longer on Elm Street with their discussion of the 1994 horror-comedy film Wes Craven's New Nightmare. 

Episode Highlights: We talk about how this film explores the idea that perhaps the most terrifying nightmares of all are those found in the real world (particularly in that surreal landscape that is Hollywood). We argue that this film, as a meta-horror narrative, remains a revolutionary text within the horror genre as it lays the groundwork for many of our current examinations of how we shape not only horror but also craft the final girls we demand survive our nightmares.

A Dose of Scholarship: In this episode, we look at meta-narratives with guidance from Frank Pilipp's article "Creative Incest: Cross- and Self-Referencing in Recent Hollywood Cinema" and Guillermo Rodríguez-Romaguera's article "The Quixotic in Horror: Self-Generating Narrative and Its Self-Critical Sequel in Wes Craven's Self-Reflexive Cinema."  

This podcast episode first aired on October 12, 2021.

Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare channel; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; ALL LINKS

Mike Thorn | Interview (2021) | Eerie Extras

In this very exciting Eerie Extra, co-host Katherine Troyer talks with horror author Mike Thorn. Our conversation includes discussions of what scares us in real life, the relationship between writing horror fiction and horror criticism, and the value of horror as a genre.

MIKE THORN is a prolific and thoughtful horror writer. His June 2021 Darkest Hours: Expanded Edition powerfully combines short stories with horror analysis. Thorn is also the author of the February 2021 novel Shelter for the Damned. Whether you are looking for body horror or psychological terror (or something else altogether!), Mike Thorn's intimate knowledge of the genre as both a writer and scholar insures that you will be reading thoughtful and terrifying horror!  Connect with Mike Thorn on Twitter (@MikeThornWrites) and visit his website: mikethornwrites.com.

The interview with Mike Thorn occurred on August 7, 2021; this podcast episode first aired on October 6, 2021.

Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare channel; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; ALL LINKS

Paul Tremblay | Interview (2020) | Episode #29

In this very exciting Spooktacular Episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Anthony Tresca visit nerdvana as they talk with horror author Paul Tremblay. Our conversation ranges from the silly (we learn one verified uninteresting fact) to the profound as we ask Paul, as an author currently shaping the genre, what he feels lies at the heart of horror.

 

Paul Tremblay is the author of several fantastic books, including one of Katherine’s favorite books (period!) A Head Full of Ghosts, one of Anthony’s favorite horror novels The Cabin at the End of the World, and the newly released Survivor Song, a book guaranteed to make you wonder if Tremblay can predict the future. We cannot recommend his books highly enough—if you want horror that will haunt you and make you have the “feels,” Paul Tremblay is the author for you!

This interview occurred on October 5, 2020; the episode first aired on October 6, 2020.

Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare channel; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; ALL LINKS

Jennifer‘s Body (2009) | Episode #54

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Anthony Tresca discuss the 2009 horror-comedy film Jennifer's Body. 

Episode Highlights: Starting with a look at how this film is now a cult classic (and the ways that it has been claimed by the LGBTQIA+ community), we explore how criticism on this film and its filmmakers focuses nearly exclusively on whether it is good/bad, feminist/not feminist. But we argue that there is so much more interesting about this film than just these limited debates, so we turn to our own analysis of the film through the lens of camp and the ways that this film manages to offer us complicated and messy constructions of (female) identity. 

A Dose of Scholarship: In this episode, we reference Ben Kooyman's 2012 article "Whose Body? Auteurism, Feminism and Horror in Hostel Part II and Jennifer's Body" (in the Australasian Journal of Popular Culture) and Aidatul Chusna and Shofi Mahmudah's 2018 article "Female Monsters: Figuring Female Transgression in Jennifer's Body (2009) and The Witch (2013)" (in Humaniora). We also talked (once again) about camp, which you can learn more about in Susan Sontag's 1964 "Notes on 'Camp'. "

This podcast episode first aired on September 27, 2021.

Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare channel; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; ALL LINKS

Freddy‘s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) | Episode #53

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Anthony Tresca continue their exploration of A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise with their discussion of the 1991 horror-comedy film Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. 

Episode Highlights: While we still maintain that a bad Nightmare film is still better than a lot of horror out there, we also think that this film misses out on a lot of opportunities and fails to deliver in key ways. We argue that one of the primary issues with this film is that it introduces us to a literal John Doe character, which makes it difficult for audiences to feel fully invested in the life-and-death stakes of this narrative. We also talk about the challenges this film faces as the sixth in a franchise in terms of audience expectations, originality of concepts, and continuation of the Freddy Krueger world.

This podcast episode first aired on September 14, 2021.

Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare channel; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; ALL LINKS

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) | Episode #52

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Anthony Tresca discuss the 1974 horror classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. 

Episode Highlights: We explore our appreciation of this film as an example of what Robin Wood calls "hideous domesticity." In particular, we look at the ways that the film casts the Sawyer family as monsters while also creating a narrative ambivalence towards this family paying the price for capitalism. And finally we examine whether or not this film (which is really all about meat) can also be read as a home invasion narrative.

A Dose of Scholarship: We cannot recommend enough Robin Wood's examination of this film, which can be found in the 2018 edited collection of his essays: Robin Wood on the Horror Film: Collected Essays and Review.

This podcast episode first aired on August 30, 2021.

Twitter/Instagram: @NightmarePod1; YouTube: Such a Nightmare channel; Email: suchanightmare.pod@gmail.com; ALL LINKS