Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) || 12/23/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 4:55

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

Wizards (1977) || 12/3/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 5:04

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) || 10/29/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 7:14

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

The Innocents (1961) || 10/1/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 5:46

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

[REC] (2007) || 10/15/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 6:39

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

Jennifer’s Body (2009) || 10.15.21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 8:16

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

Friday the 13th (1980) || 9/10/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 5:00

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

The Ring (2002) || 8/6/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 10:07

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

The Most Dangerous Game (1932) || 9/17/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 4:32

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

Chopping Mall (1986) || 9/3/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 5:40

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

The Gate (1987) || 9/24/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 4:43

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) || 7/23/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 6:35

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) || 7/2/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 9:18

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

Dredd (2012) || 6/18/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 7:10

— Note —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

Home Alone (1990) || 6/4/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 5:31

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

Predator 2 (1990) || 5/21/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 6:24

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) || 4/23/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 8:03

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

King Kong (1933) || 4/16/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 8:09

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

Yojimbo (1961) || 3/19/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 10:59

— Notes —

[Notes are forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

Con Air (1997) || 2/26/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 6:02

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast...

Donkey Skin (1970) || 2/12/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx

Commentary track begins at 9:36

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

The Secret of NIMH (1982) || 2/5/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx

Commentary track begins at 8:52

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

The Time Machine (1960) || 1/29/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx

Commentary track begins at 13:46

— Notes —

[Notes are forthcoming]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) || 1/25/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx

Commentary track begins at 9:20

— Notes —

[Notes are forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

Taken (2008) || 1/15/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx
Commentary track begins at 14:45

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

Johnny Mnemonic (1995) || 1/8/21
Featuring: Austin, Maxx

Commentary track begins at 8:15

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

This week on The Spectator Film Podcast…

Carnival of Souls (1962) || 10.9.20
Featuring: Austin, Maxx

Commentary track begins at 19:23

Thank you to Alicia for the amazing episode artwork! You can find the rest of Alicia’s work at beneandthegesserits.com

— Notes —

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

--- Notes ---

[Notes forthcoming!]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

--- Notes ---

[Notes to come! Apologies for the delay]

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

--- Notes ---

[pdf-embedder url="https://spectatorfilmpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Society_Notes.pdf"]  

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

--- Notes ---

[pdf-embedder url="https://spectatorfilmpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/JuonTheGrudge_Notes.pdf"]  

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

--- Notes ---

[pdf-embedder url="https://spectatorfilmpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/KillerKlowns_Notes.pdf"]  

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

--- Notes ---

[pdf-embedder url="https://spectatorfilmpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/ThePhantomoftheOpera_Notes.pdf"]  

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

--- Notes ---

[pdf-embedder url="https://spectatorfilmpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/WhistleandIllCometoYou_Notes.pdf"]  

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

--- Notes ---

[pdf-embedder url="https://spectatorfilmpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/InterviewwiththeVampire_Notes.pdf"]  

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

--- Notes ---

[pdf-embedder url="https://spectatorfilmpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/MyBloodyValentine_Notes.pdf"]  

— Listener Picks —

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here’s how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you’d like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That’s it!

--- Notes ---

[pdf-embedder url="https://spectatorfilmpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/DevilRidesOut_Notes.pdf"]

--- Listener Picks ---

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here's how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you'd like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That's it!

--- Notes ---

[pdf-embedder url="https://spectatorfilmpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Host_Notes.pdf"]  

--- Listener Picks ---

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here's how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you'd like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That's it!

--- Notes ---

[pdf-embedder url="https://spectatorfilmpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/VillageoftheDamned_Notes.pdf"]

--- Listener Picks ---

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here's how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you'd like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That's it!

--- Notes ---

[pdf-embedder url="https://spectatorfilmpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/EyesWithoutAFace_Notes.pdf"]  

--- Listener Picks ---

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here's how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you'd like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That's it!

--- Notes ---

[pdf-embedder url="https://spectatorfilmpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Princess-Mononoke.pdf" title="Princess Mononoke"]  

--- Listener Picks ---

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here's how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you'd like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That's it!

--- Notes ---

• Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film by Carol J. Clover --- This is a seminal book in academic criticism on the horror genre. We highly recommend this book, and although we didn't quote the passages at length during our conversation of The City of the Dead, we'll include Clover's analysis of "White Science" and "Black Magic" from the second chapter, "Opening Up':

  • “The world at the opening of the standard occult film is a world governed by White Science—a world in which doctors fix patients, sheriffs catch outlaws, mechanics repair cars, and so on. The intrusion of the supernatural turns that routine world on its head: patients develop inexplicable symptoms, outlaws evaporate, cars are either unfixable or repair and run themselves. Experts are called in, but even the most sophisticated forms of White Science cannot account for the mysterious happenings, which in turn escalate to the point at which the whole community (school, summer camp, family) borders on extinction. Enter Black Magic. Some marginal person (usually a woman, but perhaps a male priest or equivalent) invokes ancient precedent (which in a remarkable number of cases entails bringing forth and reading from an old tome on witchcraft, voodoo, incubi, satanic possession, vampirism, whatever). Her explanation offers a more complete account of the mysterious happenings than the White Science explanation. The members of the community take sides. At first White Science holds the day, but as the terror increases, more and more people begin to entertain and finally embrace the Black Magic solution. Doctors admit that the semen specimens or the fetal heartbeats are not human; sheriffs realize that the "outlaw" has been around for four hundred years; mechanics acknowledge that the car is something more than a machine. Only when rational men have accepted the reality of the irrational—that which is unobservable, unquantifiable, and inexplicable by normal logic—can the supernatural menace be reined in and the community returned to a new state of calm. That state of calm is not, however, the same as the opening state of calm, which is now designated as a state of ignorance. It is a new, enlightened state in which White Science, humbled in its failure, works not arrogantly against but respectfully with Black Magic. It is an ABC story, the C being a kind of religioscientific syncretism” (97-98).

• "Brief History of the Concept of Heterotopia" by Peter Johnson from Heterotopia Studies --- This quick essay is a wonderful introduction to the concept, even to those unfamiliar with Foucault. We've only discussed the concept of heterotopia several times in the past, but Peter Johnson's website heterotopiastudies.com will certainly be one of our resources should we ever discuss it in the future.
• Signs and Meaning in the Cinema by Peter Wollen --- Despite its brevity, this book is one of the most exciting entry points to film studies I've encountered. The field may have passed Wollen by, but this book remains incredibly engaging and informative. We'll include some passages highlighting the system of signs Wollen appropriated from Charles S. Sanders:

  • "An icon, according to Peirce, is a sign which represents its object mainly by it similarity to it; the relationship between signifier and signified is not arbitrary but is one of resemblance or likeness. Thus, for instance, the portrait of a man resembles him. Icons can, however, be divided into two sub-classes: images and diagrams. In the case of images 'simple qualities' are alike; in the case of diagrams the 'relations between the parts'. Many diagrams, of course, contain symboloid features; Peirce readily admitted this. for it was the dominant aspect or dimension of the sign which concerned him" (122).

  • "An index is a sign by virtue of an existential bond between itself and its object. Peirce gave several examples. I see a man with a rolling gait. This is a probably indication that he is a sailor. I see a bowlegged man in corduroys, gaiters and a jacket. These are probable indications that he is a jockey or something of the sort. A sundial or a clock indicates the time of day" (122-23).

  • "The third category of sign, the symbol, corresponds to Saussure's arbitrary sign. Like Saussure, Peirce speaks of a 'contract' by virtue of which the symbol is a sign. The symbolic sign eludes the individual will. 'You can write down the word "star", but that does not make you the creator of the word, nor if you erase it have you destroyed the word. The word lives in the minds of those who use it.' A symbolic sign demands neither resemblance to its object nor any existential bond with it. It is conventional and has the force of a law" (123).

• Merchants of Menace: The Business of Horror Cinema edited by Richard Nowell --- This is a collection of essays I've yet to complete reading, although the Robert Spadoni's essay "Horror Film Atmosphere as Anti-narrative (and Vice Versa)" is decent. Spadoni's essay discusses The City of the Dead directly, discussing the seemingly opposed forces of atmosphere and narrative in the film, although the essay isn't remarkably deep all said.
• "The Folk Horror Chain" by Adam Scovell from Celluloid Wicker Man --- Here's a wonderful article that runs through some of the defining features of the folk horror genre, alongside some of its prominent films. The City of the Dead isn't discussed at length but it fits in nicely alongside the rest examined here.

--- Listener Picks ---

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here's how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you'd like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That's it!

--- Notes ---

• We watched the Criterion Collection release of Time Bandits for the show this week. It's a solid release with strong supplemental materials and an engaging commentary track recorded by the filmmakers in 1997.
  • "Time Bandits: Guerrilla Fantasy" by David Sterritt --- Here's the accompanying essay with the Criterion Collection release of the movie.
• "'Time Bandits': The Ever-Lasting Importance of Terry Gilliam's Best Fairy Tale" from Cinephilia and Beyond --- As usual, Cinephilia and Beyond proves to be one-stop shopping for anyone looking to learn more about the films they enjoy. On this page you'll find a PDF of Gilliam and Palin's Time Bandits script, Gilliam's original storyboards, and other material from the production and marketing of the film.
• Britton on Film: The Complete Film Criticism of Andrew Britton by Andrew Britton, Ed. Barry Keith Grant --- Here's the link to a published collection of Andrew Britton's film criticism. We've only relied upon Britton's writing in our preparation once before, but the precision of his insights is genuinely remarkable. Britton avoids over-reliance on structuralist language, and the clarity of his arguments make his writing very enjoyable. We'll include some of the relevant passages from his essay "Blissing Out: The Politics of Reaganite Cinema" below:

  • "Artifacts which tell us that we are being entertained... also tell us that they are promoting 'escape,' and this is the most significant thing about them. They tell us that we are 'off duty' and that nothing is required of us but to sit back, relax, and enjoy. Entertainment, that is, defines itself in opposition to labor, or, more generally, to the large category 'the rest of life,' as inhabitants of which we work for others, do not, in the vast majority of cases, enjoy our labor, and are subject to tensions and pressures that the world of entertainment excludes. It is of the essence that entertainment defines itself thus while appearing, at the same time, as a world unto itself. It does relate to 'the rest of life,' but only by way of its absolute otherness, and when the rest of life puts in an appearance, it is governed by laws which we are explicitly asked to read as being different from the laws which operate elsewhere. The explicitness of these strategies—the fact that they are always mediated by some form of direct address—is the crucial point. It is a condition of the function of entertainment that it should admit that the rest of life is profoundly unsatisfying... Entertainment tells us to forget our troubles and to get happy, but it also tells us that in order to do so we must agree deliberately to switch life off" (100-101).

  • "The feeling that reality is intolerable is rapturously invoked but in such a way as to suggest that reality is immutable and that the desire to escape or transcend it is appropriate only to scheduled moments of consciously indulgent fantasy for which the existing organization of reality makes room. The ideology of entertainment is one of the many means by which late capitalism renders the idea of transforming the real unavailable for serious consideration" (101).

  • "It leaves out everything about the existing reality principle that we would prefer to forget, redescribes other things which are scarcely forgettable in such a way that we can remember them without discomfort (and even with uplift), and anticipates rejection of the result by defining itself as a joke. Thus, Reaganite entertainment plays a game with our desire. It invites us to take pleasure in the worlds it creates and the values they embody, but because it is also ironic about them, it confirms our sense of what reality is and leaves us with the anxieties and dissatisfactions which leave a space for Reaganite entertainment. The films continually reproduce the terms of 'the world as it is' while also a yearning for something different; if people go back to them again and again, it is perhaps because of the lack of satisfaction the films build into the pleasure: they regenerate the need for escape which they seem to satisfy and provide confidence of a kind which leaves us unconfident. By at once celebrating and debunking the 'good old values,' and addressing them both as viable norms and the conventions of a fantasy, Reaganite entertainment perpetuates a paralyzed anxiety and institutionalizes itself" (110-11).

• Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan... and Beyond by Robin Wood --- We've referenced Robin Wood a great deal on the show, and this may be one of his most significant contributions to film criticism. This book is tremendous. We'll include the quoted passages from the chapter "Papering the Cracks: Fantasy and Ideology in the Reagan Era" below:

  • "It is important to stress that I am not positing some diabolical Hollywood-capitalist-Reaganite conspiracy to impose mindlessness and mystification on a potentially revolutionary populace, nor does there seem much point in blaming the filmmakers for what they are doing (the critics are another matter). The success of the films is only comprehensible when one assumes a widespread desire for regression to infantilism, a populace who wants to be constructed as mock children. Crucial here, no doubt, is the urge to evade responsibility—responsibility for actions, decisions, thought, responsibility for changing things: children do not have to be responsible, there are older people to look after them... don’t worry, Uncle George (or Uncle Steven) will take you by the hand and lead you through Wonderland. Some dangers will appear on the way, but never fear, he’ll also see you safely home; home being essentially those 'good old values' that Sylvester Stallone told us Rocky was designed to reinstate: racism, sexism, 'democratic' capitalism; the capitalist myths of freedom of choice and equality of opportunity, the individual hero whose achievements somehow 'make everything all right,' even for the millions who never make it to individual heroism (but every man can be a hero—even, such is the grudging generosity of contemporary liberalism, every woman)" (147).

  • "Spielberg’s identification with Elliott (that there is virtually no distance whatever between character and director is clearly the source of the film’s seductive, suspect charm) makes possible the precise nature of the fantasy E. T. offers: not so much a child’s fantasy as an adult’s fantasy about childhood" (158).

• Lacan and Contemporary Film Edited by Todd McGowan and Sheila Kunkle --- We've used Todd McGowan's book The Impossible David Lynch during some previous episodes in order to structure our Lacanian analysis, but this is the first time we've used this particular book. I've yet to finish reading it, but this book seems like an adequate intro to Lacanian film analysis; I except it would remain challenging for newcomers.  We'll include the quoted passage from the introduction below:

  • "What was missing in this Lacanian film theory was any sense of the power of film to disrupt ideology and to challenge—or even expose—the process of interpellation. This was the result of its too narrow understanding of Lacan, an understanding that elided the role of the Real in Lacan's thought. According to this way of understanding Lacan, the signifier's authority is absolute, and its functioning is flawless. But this fails to see the signifier's dependence on failure—the role that failure plays in the effective functioning of the signifier. Failure is necessary because the signifier must open up a space through which the subject can enter: a perfectly functioning system allows for no new entrants, no new subjects. As a consequence, if the symbolic order is determinative in the path that it lays down for the subject, it doesn't lay down this path smoothly but in a way that is fraught with peril. That is to say, the symbolic order continually comes up against a barrier that disrupts its smooth functioning—a barrier that Lacan calls the Real. This barrier is not external to the symbolic structure: the Lacanian Real is not a thing in itself existing beyond the realm of the signifier. Instead, the Real marks the point at which the symbolic order derails itself, the point where a gap occurs within that order. The symbolic order cannot exist without gaps at which its control breaks down. These gaps not only hinder the working of the symbolic order, they are also essential to its working. Without the hindrance, the mechanism cannot function. In order to function properly, the symbolic order must function improperly" (xvi-xvii)

--- Listener Picks ---

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here's how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you'd like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie.

That's it!

--- Notes ---

• The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms & Literary Theory by J. A. Cuddon --- This book's a very helpful resource for grappling with the otherwise challenging or inscrutable terminology frequently encountered in academic writing. I'm linking to the 5th Edition, which also credits M. A. R. Habib, although I used to 4th Edition for the definition of diachronic/synchronic I'm including below:

  • "A term coined c. 1913 by Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913). A diachronic approach to the study of language (or languages) involves an examination of its origins, development, history and change. In contrast, the synchronic approach entails the study of a linguistic system in a particular state, without reference to time. The importance of a synchronic approach to an understanding of language lies in the fact that for Saussure each sign has not properties other than the specific relational ones which define it within its own synchronic system."

• "Eat Shit and Die: Coprophagia and Fimetic Force in Tom Six's The Human Centipede (First Sequence) and The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)" by Dolores B. Phillips from The Projector --- This essay by Dolores B. Phillips provides lots of insightful analysis, examining the politics of coprophagia and how it's been depicted on film. Additionally, this essay comes from The Projector: A Journal on Film, Media, and Culture, which is completely open-access! This particular issue of The Projector focuses on the theme of food and consumption in horror cinema. We'll include some insightful passages from Phillips' essay below:

  • "The Human Centipede’s cult and commercial success suggest that it readmits excrementality—and that it is the epilogue of Laporte's History of Shit, which tracks the return of excrement to the fields of cultural production. Excrement becomes capital, shit alchemically transformed into the coin of the realm. The films shift the register of excremental politics: much of its study (Warwick Anderson, Jed Esty, David Inglis, Achille Mbembe, George Bataille) concentrates upon the purgation, elimination, and celebration of shit. Indeed, excrement has a particularly potent political resonance in postcolonial fiction, where shitting in beds and leaving heaping mounds of filth in toilets is a particularly insulting intrusion into the homes of dispossessed middle class citizens and intellectuals whose lives are disrupted by political flux. Its ingestion adds a new dimension of cruelty and spite to images of effusive excretion and excessive consumption. As they avail themselves of an ironic posture toward recycling waste,images of coprophagy also align themselves with themes of decadence, humiliation, and hyper or mismanagement of the body."

  • "...a deconstruction of the conflicting social settings of the subject in an age of information oversaturation. Instead of a solitary figure bent over a keyboard or a mobile device, face illumined by a single screen into which she stares, rapt, substituting virtual interactions for real-life connections with others, and instead of the endless connectivity with others offered by social media and the instantaneousness of immersion in the internet, the HUMANCENTiPAD and Six's precursor films offer an intermediary: the individual sutured to others, ingesting excrement and extruding it. The solitary netizen is revealed as a fiction—she reads and is read by others. She is bound to them by the streams of information into which she dives, searching for stimulation and novelty, impatiently demanding updates by obsessively and repeatedly pressing F5. This is because the viewer is as much a segment in the centipede as its victims"

  • "Our own vertiginous enjoyment of the film's horrors highlight the absurd, disturbing excess Gwendolyn Audrey Foster laments as she observes 'the cyclical loop' of 'capitalism eating itself.' She argues that television culture in the US disgorges its excess to feast upon it again in the forms of exploitative gluttony. She describes television as 'coprophagic and cannibalistic in this way; TV is largely feces, our own regurgitated feces, which we ultimately pay to eat.' Se notes that 'shows such as Hoarders exploit and engage in coprophagia for better ratings, ultimately supporting gluttonous capitalism.' Tom Six's films make this the literal foundation for their appeal, especially as they sink deep roots in other moments of coprophagy in film and internet culture" [The writing by Gwendolyn Audrey Foster referenced in this passage from "Capitalism Eats Itself: Gluttony and Coprophagia from Hoarders to La Grande Bouffe"]

• "Grotesque Realism and the Carnivalesque in Tom Six's The Human Centipede (First Sequence) and The Human Centipede II Full Sequence" by Ellen N. Freeman from Monstrum --- We didn't make use of this essay to help frame our conversation of the film, but it remains an insightful read. Freeman examines The Human Centipede in light of Mikhail Bakhtin's writing on the carnivalesque and grotesque in Rabelais. Furthermore, Monstrum is an awesome multilingual, peer-reviewed open-access journal on horror and you should absolutely check out the other essays and reviews, which include writing on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Lucio Fulci, the occult in Hammer Studios Horror, Peeping Tom (1960).

--- Listener Picks ---

Do you want to pick a movie for us to discuss on the show? Here's how:

1. Make a donation of $20 or more to ofwemergencyfund.org
2. Check your email for a donation receipt, and send a screenshot of your donation to austin@spectatorfilmpodcast.com or @spectatorfilmpodcast on Instagram
3. In your email or DM, include 1.) your name 2.) the movie you'd like discussed on the show and 3.) a brief overview of your thoughts on the movie

That's it! Don't pick Satantango or Shoah!