Episode 17: Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971) & Symptoms (1974). Fall into madness.

Welcome to episode 17 of The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we pair two films to create something greater than the sum of their parts.

This week we are exploring the horrors of autumn, with a double bill of movies that use the tuning of the seasons as metaphors for the increasingly fragmented psyches of their protagonists.

First up we have Lets Scare Jessica to Death from 1971, then we follow this with Symptoms from 1974

Both movies use the beauty of their respective autumnal landscapes as a serene backdrops for their increasingly nightmarish scenarios. The crisp leaves muted colours and early morning mists of Connecticut in the US and Hillingdon in Great Britain gradually morphing from a place of sanctuary, escape and tranquillity one of slow stultifying death and decay. Released at the start of the 1970s, and with an emphasis on alternative and creative lifestyles, both also can be said to represent the demise of the love generation, as the hope and optimism of flower power gave way to Vietnam, civil unrest and the winter of discontent.

Sources:

House of Psychotic Women by Kier La Janisse

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/death-of-the-60s-dream-1969/

https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/discussion/did-the-sixties-dream-die-in-1969?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altamont_Free_Concert

https://sfist.com/2017/03/02/what_was_the_summer_of_love_an_expl/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_of_Love

Hancock on Hancock by John Hancock

Imprint blu ray special edition of lets Scare Jessica to Death (special features)

https://screenanarchy.com/2006/10/interview-with-director-john-hancock.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Scare_Jessica_to_Death

BFI blu ray special edition of Symptoms (special features)

English Gothic by Jonathan Rigby

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

Welcome to episode 16 of the horror double bill the podcast where each week we pair 2 movies to create something far greater than the sum of their parts

This week we are exploring the terrors of ballet school with two European horror films that are connected through more than just the depiction of dance.

First up we Head to France and 2011 for Livide from the directing duo of Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, starring Chloe Colloud, Marie-Claude Pietragalla, Chloe Marcq, and Felix Moati

Then we head across to Italy – or should that be Germany – and 1977 for Suspiria from Dario Argento, starring Jessican Harper, Stefania Cassini, Alida Valli and Joan Bennet

Both films can be said to be the horror movie as fairy tale, and if we are honest neither is going to appeal to viewers who prefer naturalistic and realistic narratives. Livid moves the directors of 2007’s Inside away from the extreme violence of their debut and into the realms of fantasy, while Suspiria is a full-blown assault on the senses that was inspired by Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to name just one of its very diverse influences.

Along the way we will be discussing the careers of Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, Baroque approaches to lighting design, the creative and relationship drama behind Suspiria, fairy tale approaches to horror and much more

References:

Livid

https://archive.ph/20121211050709/http://asberman.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/from-the-vault-livide-interview-with-julien-maury/

https://collider.com/alexandre-bustillo-julien-maury-livid-hellraiser-remake-interview/

https://medium.com/keeping-it-spooky/french-frights-livide-6936d081a623

https://monstrousindustry.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/interview-with-livid-directors-alexandre-bustillo-and-julien-maury/#:~:text=AB%2BJM%3A%20For%20both%2C%20our%20relationship,on%20our%20first%202%20movies

https://newhorror.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/from-the-vault-livide-interview-with-julien-maury/#:~:text=you%20are%20again%20taking%20a,for%20the%20look%20of%20Livide

https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/153462/

https://www.ghoulsmagazine.com/articles/interview-director-julien-maury-talks-kandisha?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Films of the New French Extremity by Alexandra West.

Suspiria

Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento by Maitland McDonagh

Fear The Autobiography of Dario Argento

Dario Argento: The Man, The Myths and The Magic by Alan Jones

Spaghetti Nightmares edited by Luca M Palmerini and Geatano Mistretta.

Dario Argento An Eye for Horror Directed by Leon Ferguson

Dario Argento Panico directed by Simone Scaffidi.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Bennett

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alida_Valli

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_De_Quincey

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

Episode 15: Sleep Tight (2011) & Them (2006): There's no place like home.....

Welcome to episode 15 of The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we pair two films to create something greater than the sum of their parts.

This week we are exploring the horrors that lurk in the home, with two movies that depict our safest spaces as places of threat, terror and murder. First up with have Jaume Ballaguero’s Spanish psychological thriller Sleep Tight from 2011, a highly disturbing character study of a malignant building custodian and the lengths to which he will go to achieve true happiness. Then we head over to Romania for Them from directing duo David Moureau and Xavier Palud, a French co-production from 2006 that pre-dates The Strangers in its depiction of a young couple terrorised by a home invasion.

Both films are nightmarish slices of Euro horror that crank up the tension and dismantle the notion of home being a sanctuary, exploiting the helplessness of their central characters. And despite being made 15 to 20 years ago, both also feed into modern anxieties about isolation, class, power imbalance and the fragility of what we call society. They also quite literally present very different perspectives – one through the lens of the perpetrator and the other through the eyes of the victims.

Along the way we’ll be discussing the origins of home invasion horror, silent movie director Lois Weber, the career of director Jaume Ballageuro, new French extremity cinema and much much more.

References:

Sleep Tight

Spanish Horror Film by Antonio Lazzaro Reboll

The Spanish Fantastic by Shelagh Rowan Legg.

https://diariodevenusville.com/festival-de-sitges-2011-mientras-duermes-rueda-jaume-balaguero-luis-tosar/

https://diariodevenusville.com/festival-de-sitges-2011-mientras-duermes-entrevista-jaume-balaguero/

https://diariodevenusville.com/festival-de-sitges-2011-mientras-duermes-entrevista-luis-tosar/

https://diariodevenusville.com/festival-de-sitges-2011-mientras-duermes-entrevista-marta-etura/

https://www.moviemuser.co.uk/2013/02/28/luis-tosar-interview-chatting-with-the-star-of-sleep-tight/

https://www.milanacine.es/alberto-marini-10-anos-mientras-duermes/

https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/1184755/0/jaume-balaguero/mientras-duermes/sitges-2011/

Them

Behind the Scenes of Them: available on the blu ray special edition form Umbrella Entertainment.

Films of the New French Extremity by Alexandra West

https://www.ecranlarge.com/films/interview/901002-david-moreau-xavier-palud-ils

https://www.ecranlarge.com/films/interview/901003-olivia-bonamy-michael-cohen-ils

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980s%E2%80%931990s_Romanian_orphans_phenomenon?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_Underground?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)