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)

Episode 14: Messiah of Evil (1973) & The Fog (1980): "Oh I do like to be beside the seaside....."

Welcome To episode 14 of the horror double bill the podcast where each week we pair two movies to create something far greater than the sum of their parts

This week we are exploring coastal horrors and the terrors that lurk in the liminal space between the land and the sea. First up we have Messiah of Evil from 1973 a surreal almost Lovecraftian indie horror from the writers of American Graffiti Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and, somewhat bizarrely, Howard the Duck. Then we jump forward to 1980 for the fog, John carpenter's follow up to Halloween, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Adrienne Barbeau and Janet Leigh

Both of this week’s movies depict terrors from the past returning to menace supposedly idyllic seaside California towns, but behind the scenes both have their roots in the rise of American independent cinema in the 1970s and also share some very interesting and rather troubled post production stories. Along the way we'll also be exploring the nature of coastal horror, including just a few of my favourites of the genre, the death of the Hollywood studio system, the rise of independent film making in the 1960s and 1970s, and much more.

William Hope Hodgson Readings

The Derelict - https://youtu.be/x44h5oeVoM0?si=V4mLlwl2DIfcWH6k

The Voice in the Night: https://youtu.be/ASIfPcyTAH0?si=VNJDiwQoJfa5Lb0s

References - Introduction

The Birds by Daphne DuMaurier

Cornish Tales of Terror ed. R. Chetwynd Haynes

https://nmmc.co.uk/2023/07/maritime-superstitions/

https://www.sailingeurope.com/blog/sailors-superstitions

References - Messiah of Evil

"Nightmare USA - the untold story of exploitation independents" by Stephen Thrower

The mini documentary "Remembering Messiah of Evil" form the Code Red DVD Release of the movie

https://creepycatalog.com/messiah-of-evil-movie/#:~:text=released%20the%20movie%20under%20the,%E2%80%9D

https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/336575/messiah-of-evil-a-criminally-overlooked-piece-of-1970s-strangeness/

References - The Fog

Extras from the Studio Canal Blu-ray restoration release including the documentary "Retribution - Uncovering John Carpenter's The Fog" and the audio commentary from John Carpenter and writer producer Deborah Hill.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1980/01/28/people-start-running

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

Welcome to episode 13 of The Horror Double Bill. This week we are exploring the horrors of lycanthropy and the legend of the werewolf, a creature that has been used for centuries as a metaphor for themes including sexual repression, puberty, male violence, insanity and the beats within.

An we are starting off this week with the first horror movie that I ever saw, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman from 1943 starring Lon Chaney Jnr, Bela Lugosi, illona Massey and Lionel Atwill. Then we are jumping forward to 1981 with An American Werewolf in London from starring David Naughton, Jenny Agutter and Griffin Dunne.

As well as showcasing their titular monsters, both films were, in their own ways, incredibly groundbreaking. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf man is arguably the very first movie to suggest a concept that is all too familiar today – if not a little overused which is the idea of a cinematic universe. Meanwhile An American Werewolf In London showcases incredible practical effects work that, along with The Howling released in the same year, set the benchmark for horror transformations for years to come. Both movies also have a very personal significance for me that we will discuss as the episode continues

Along the way we will be discussing the possible origins of the werewolf myth, historical examples of lycathropy, the somewhat renegade approach to children’s publishing in the 1970s, the life of actor Lon Chaney Junior and much more.

References used:

The Beaver Book of Horror by Daniel Farson

Memoirs of a Wolfman by Paul Naschy

Universal Horrors, The Studios Classic Films 1931 to 1946 by Tom Weaver, Michral Bruans and John Brunas,

Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman The original Shooting Script from the Universal Film Scripts Series edited by Philip J Reilly

American Gothic, 6 decades of classic horror cinema by Jonathan Rigby

lonchaney.com

silent-ology.wordpress.com

classicmonsters.com

Beware the Moon - available on the arrow video special edition Blu-ray release of An American Werewolf in London

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/aug/30/john-landis-american-werewold-london#:~:text=far%20as%20filming%20went%20,to%20shoot%20in%20Piccadilly%20Circus

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jun/12/how-we-made-an-american-werewolf-in-london-john-landis#:~:text=I%20wanted%20a%20weird%2C%20eerie,%E2%80%9CWhat%20the%20hell%20was%20that%3F%E2%80%9D

https://morbidlybeautiful.com/horror-history-american-werewolf-in-london/#:~:text=Many%20consider%20John%20Landis%E2%80%99s%20film,its%20niche%20in%20horror%20history

https://filmschoolrejects.com/26-things-we-learned-from-the-an-american-werewolf-in-london-commentary-451071358fcb/#:~:text=apparently%20left%20people%20clueless%20as,to%20how%20they%C2%A0operate

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

Welcome to episode 12 of the horror double bill the podcast where each week we combine 2 films to create something far greater than the sum of their parts.

This week we are exploring the horrors of the old dark house, and the enduring influence of its many tropes on horror cinema.

First up is The Cat and the Canary from 1939 — a horror comedy starring Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, George Zucco, and Gail Sondergaard. Then we head back to Spain for The Corruption of Chris Miller a twisted psychological thriller from 1973 starring Jean Seberg, Marisol, and Barry Stokes.

Both films explore the familiar tropes of the quintessential Old Dark House movie — isolated settings, threatened heroines, power outages, and deranged killers. But while the first takes a lighter, meta commentary and comedic approach, the second leans into something far darker and psychosexual. Along the way we’ll be discussing the origins of the subgenre, the career of Juan Antonio Bardem, and also taking a closer look at the lives and careers of, Gale Sondergaard, Paulette Goddard, Marisol, and Jean Seberg, four actresses whose lives were shaped in very different ways by state surveillance, government oppression, and the systemic abuse of power.

Socials

IG: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

Artwork by Justin Parker:

instagram: @jpkr_illustration

Sources: Introduction & The Cat and the Canary

Silentfilm.org,

American Gothic six decades of classic horror cinema by Jonathon Rigby

charliechaplin.com

ladailymirror.com

starsandletterblogspot.com

https://broadcast41.uoregon.edu/biography/sondergaard-gale#:~:text=In%201951%2C%20she%20was%20subpoenaed,%2C%20un%2DAmerican%20woman.%E2%80%9D&text=1Gale%20Sondergaard%2C%20%E2%80%9CWe%20Speak,August%201951%2C%207%2D8.

https://youtu.be/JXwHouiznKA?si=cArp5DMmtoETW2wT

Sources: The Corruption of Chris Miller

Interview with Juan Antonio Bardem on the Vinegar Syndrome Blu ray release of the film

Euro Gothic Classics of Continental Cinema by Jonathan Rigby

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/09/05/the-jean-seberg-story/11049a35-bbdb-4aef-ab67-22d06a9e98e5/

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/apr/22/mondaymediasection.filmnews

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/12/9004756/jane-seberg-movie-true-story-black-panthers-fbi#:~:text=In%20Seberg%2C%20Jean%E2%80%99s%20involvement%20with,profile%20celebrities%20for%20their%20support

https://www.pikaramagazine.com/2018/11/pepa-flores-marisol/#:~:text=,no%20una%20familia%2C%20sino%20cuatro

https://www.eldiario.es/cultura/cine/misterio-marisol-mujer-rebelo-pepa-flores-no-fantasia-infantil-franquismo_1_10976274.html#:~:text=Fue%20el%20comienzo%20de%20un,de%20donar%20al%20partido%20el

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/02/guardianobituaries.filmnews#:~:text=But%20in%20the%201950s%2C%20a,folkloric%20costume%20films%20it%20sanctioned.

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

Episode Eleven: The Ghoul (2016) & Triangle (2009) : Time loops, mobius strips and the nature of reality

Welcome to episode 11 of The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we combine two films to create something far greater than the sum of their parts.

This week are exploring two movies that play with our perceptions of reality, with the Ghoul from 2016, a low budget British psychological thriller that has its roots in the stand up comedy scene of the early 2000s, and Triangle from 2009, a surreal and nightmarish horror from British director Christopher Smith.

Socials

Instagram: thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

Artwork

instagram: jpkr_illustration

Little Shoppe of Horrors Magazine

https://www.littleshoppeofhorrors.com/

Sources and References

The Ghoul

In The Loop - making of The Ghoul from the Arrow Films DVD release 2018

https://www.screendaily.com/actor-turned-director-gareth-tunley-talks-debut-the-ghoul/5090710.article#:~:text=constraints

https://www.screendaily.com/actor-turned-director-gareth-tunley-talks-debut-the-ghoul/5090710.article#:~:text=Shot%20at%20the%20beginning%20of,to%20solve%20a%20murder%20case

https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/ghoul-gareth-tunley-influences#:~:text=I%20acted%20in%20Ben%20Wheatley%E2%80%99s%C2%A0Down,so%20we%20swiftly%20scrapped%20that%C2%A0idea

https://theartsdesk.com/film/it-was-appealing-make-thriller-about-mental-illness-gareth-tunley-and-alice-lowe-ghoul

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RSvhf6tB0w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd3QcqacLMg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7v_7OZ9O-U

Triangle

Triangle Special Edition blu ray release from Umbrella Entertainment - Director Commentary and making of documentary

https://www.scifinow.co.uk/news/interview-christopher-smith/#:~:text=I%20had%20the%20idea%20back,ship%20and%20that%20person%20you

https://www.comingsoon.net/horror/news/717070-interview-triangles-chris-smith#:~:text=Image

https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/triangle-christopher-smith-interview/#:~:text=Q,those%20kind%20of%20horror%20stories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7HatPZaacc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjmNvYSZc2g&t=13s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRE-IoEOC0g&t=17s

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

Welcome to episode 10 of The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we combine two films to create something far greater than the sum of their parts.

This week we are exploring the horrors of cannibalism – a subject that was once regarded as one of the ultimate cinematic taboos but which has now become a strangely prevalent sub-genre , and one that is used as a metaphor for anything from class and social division to sexual awakening.

First up we have our inaugural Mexican film of the series, with Jorge Michel Grau’s We Are What We Are from 2010. Set in an impoverished barrio of Mexico City, the film follows a family of cannibals adapting to a new way of life after the death of their patriarch

And after that we head over to France for Raw from 2016, the feature debut from multi award winning director Julia Ducornau, which follows the cannibalistic awakenings of a young girl in her first week at University

Both of this weeks films have much to say about the nature of humanity, family relationships, sexuality, transgression and metamorphosis, and along the journey we will also be falling down a few rabbit holes and discussing cannibalism in history, literature and cinema, so you may not want to be eating as you listen to this one.

Socials

IG: thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

Artwork by Justin Parker:

IG: jpkr_illustration

Katie of the Night YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@KatieoftheNight

References

This was a very heavily researched episode and I ran out of room to list them all in the podcast description, so for a full list of references used please refer to the video notes on the YouTube video, which can be found here:

https://youtu.be/TTTRxdf_ILE

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)