Ep. 39: Movies that murdered

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Freak accidents happen, sure, and sometimes you take every precaution and tragedies still unfold… but that’s not what happened in the stories we’re telling today. This week we discuss deaths on movie sets and the hubris of the filmmakers who caused them.

Highlights:

[0:00] Marks talks about the time he was an extra in an unreleased movie filmed in a sex dungeon

[8:36] We talk about the lively facebook discussion that ensued from last week’s episode and announce our next watch-along genre: BOATCORE!

[19:30] We talk about what we’ve been watching lately, which leads to a discussion of our love for theatergoing, a rant about people lying about a movie to get you to watch it, and a lot of other tangents.

[49:30] Our main topic: Tragedies on film sets.

Stuff we referenced:

Stuff we watched:

Movies: Children of the Corn, The Clovehitch Killer, Dead Man’s Shoes, In the Earth, Train to Busan

Ep. 38: Pufferfish, pufferfish, pass

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We’re in the mood to fight each other this week, whether over the Hellboy remake or rehashing one of our earlier debates about addiction. We know each other better now, so the gloves are off. In this whirlwind episode, topics span from a cursed lake and America’s civil war, to the trouble with Zack Snyder, to whether an affinity for getting high is a mammalian impulse — and if so, what that means.

Highlights:

[0:00] CoRri tells Mark about America’s most cursed lake and fields a surprising question about state’s rights.

[24:23] We discuss what might be JoAG’s legacy in the annals of time

[29:30] We recap our Discord watch-along of Thirteen Ghosts, the film’s awards showings, and Mark’s desire for his own theme song

[37:30] We rehash the other things we’ve watched this week, talk about why Dave Bautista is weirdly adorable, and compare the pitfalls of Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan films

[53:00] We fanboy/fangirl out about Robert Englund and his upcoming role in Stranger Things

[58:00] An hour into the ‘cast, we consider just NOT talking about the thing we were gonna talk about, but then power through to discuss whether animals’ penchant for getting high reflects some greater mammalian tendency toward drug use. This leads. to us revisiting a discussion we had in a previous episode about addiction, but MUCH more aggressively because we know each other well enough to bicker now

Stuff we referenced:

Stuff we watched:

Ep. 37: The suicide contagion

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We live in the age of memes and mass media, so we all know that some ideas are especially contagious. In this episode, we delve into the phenomenon of suicide clusters and the media’s culpability in spawning copycats.

Highlights

[0:00] Where have all the soundtracks gone? Mark laments the loss of the title banger from eighties and nineties horror movies.

[12:25] A reminder to watch Thirteen Ghosts with us on the 22nd of May [join our Discord to take part! https://discord.com/invite/HuBTacyn5Y]; we also talk about stuff that’s gone down in the Facebook group, including that strange slot in the back of medicine cabinets, creepy etsy finds, and street creature performance art in Wales.

[22:30] We talk about what we’ve been watching, the villain monologue trope, and the joys of singing in the car.

[36:20] We discuss suicide clusters and experiences with the suicides of people close to us, and what the media could do to prevent copycats.

[1hr13] Mark closes us out on a joke.

Stuff we referenced:

Stuff we watched

Ep. 36: Wrasslin’

We’ve got one of CoRri’s childhood besties, Duncan Newton-Gaines, on the show this week to help Mark initiate CoRri into a love-hate relationship with the tragic, awesome, exploitative, magical art of pro wrestling.

Highlights

[0:00] CoRri explains why, if you think you have ghosts, it might not be ghosts. And you’re also probably the one leaving yourself those cryptic post-it notes, not your landlord.

[18:50] We introduce our guest, talk about why tattoos are great and fraught, and chat a little bit more about earthquakes

[29:00] We get into the movies we watched this week and the games Mark has been playing

[43:00] CoRri talks about her newfound love for AEW and we jump into discussing triumphs and tragedies in wrestling

Stuff we referenced:

Stuff we watched:

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5, Haunting of the Mary Celeste, Thirteen Ghosts

Ep. 35: Jack of All Quakes

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This week we thought we’d delve into natural disasters, but it turns out we’re both preoccupied with the same phenomenon: Earthquakes.

Highlights:

[0:00] Mark tells the story of Franz Reichelt, the flying tailor.

[11:40] Mark and CoRri are SO bad at math, Mark listened to JoAG for the first time, and we’re ready for the next JoAG watch-along on May 22nd! Let us know any of your suggestions for “MTV horror” to watch.

[24:00] We go off on a tangent about censorship in the U.S. and U.K.

[36:50] We watched VFW, which leads us into a tangent about James Cameron, which leads us into a discussion of Mark’s role in a Titanic musical

[45:20] We share some terrible earthquake stories, and Mark concludes that there’s really only one natural disaster we really need to fear

Stuff we referenced:

Stuff we watched:

Ep. 34: One day at Horrorland

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Unsurprisingly, Mark loves leaving his life in the hands of teenage ride operators at amusement parks, while CoRri takes a pass on that sort of thrill. This week we’re talking about horrific and haunting things that have happened to unsuspecting riders at parks around the U.K. and U.S.

Highlights:

[0:00] CoRri calls bullshit on local lore about New Jersey’s Ramapough Lenape people

[13:07] We revisit the Video Man and confirm guys slinging VHS bootlegs from their vans was a thing in the UK in the ’80s and ’90s.

[28:50] We have merch!

[33:00] We talk about what we watched this week and Mark poses a question to the audience about filmmaking

[47:00] We talk about horrific amusement park accidents

Stuff we referenced:

Stuff we watched:

Audition (1999), Come To Daddy (2020), Creepshow (2021), Mortal Kombat (2021), Night of the Creeps (1986)

Ep. 33: The Hillsborough Disaster

In April of 1989, 96 football fans were killed in a tragic crush at the FA Cup Final at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. In this episode, Dan Birtle tells us what happened and about his brother, David, who was among the victims.

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Highlights:

[0:00] AI brings back the creativity of dead musicians in the Lost Tapes of the 27 Club.

[10:23] Mark’s friend and colleague Dan joins us for our main topic, but first, we talk about what we’ve been watching lately.

[25:45] Dan tells us about the Hillsborough Disaster, in which 96 football fans were killed, and his personal connection to the tragedy.

[1hr15] We take a sudden turn into a conversation about Twister, Blockbuster, and nostalgia.

Stuff we referenced:

Stuff we watched:

Mother’s Day (1980), The Wicker Man (2006)

Ep. 32: The f**k this guy spectrum

There are lots of terrible people who make good art. In this week’s episode, we discuss what kinds of terrible we tolerate, the mental gymnastics we do to excuse the artists we love, and where we draw the line.

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Highlights:

[0:00] CoRri tells Mark about the mysterious Lady of the Dunes and her possible connection to the movie Jaws

[13:20] Mark eulogizes Prince Philip in the only way he knows how, we announce The Wicker Man is officially our watch-along movie (Discord link here!)

[20:15] We watched some pretty good remakes this week! We discuss the 2021 version of Wrong Turn and 2003’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.

[33:50] We talk separating the art from the artist and how we determine what we can consume with a clean conscience and what goes in the bin.

Stuff we referenced:

Screengrab from Jaws showing a woman in jeans and a blue bandana, meeting the basic description of the Lady of the Dunes.

Stuff we watched:

Wrong Turn (2021), Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), Wrong Turn (2003)

Ep. 31: How to maybe get away with murder

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You watch enough horror and true crime, you can’t help but start to wonder — could I commit the perfect crime? This week we discuss people who almost got away with murder, and how we’d do the dastardly deed. Hypothetically, of course.

Highlights:

[0:00] Mark talks about the shady Calico organization

[12:10] We talk Taskmaster, Mark dedicates the episode to Canada, and we tease this week’s main topic

[21:40] We discuss the results of our watch-along poll so far and the movies we’ve watched this week.

[37:52] Could we commit the perfect murder? We outline our plans and leave it up to you to decide.

Stuff we referenced:

Stuff we watched:

Ep. 30: Guns

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America has a gun issue, but Mark and CoRri don’t see it quite the same way. This week we talk about the complicated nature of a heavily armed populace.

Highlights:

[0:00] Mark tells CoRri the sordid tale of the most prolific female serial killer in history, Elizabeth Bathory.

[10:50] We announce the winner of our t-shirt contest and remind everyone once more to vote on our next JoAG Watch-Along for April 17th — the hate watch!

[17:45] We discuss our further attempt to break our terrible movie watching streak and recommend a few worthwhile flicks, including the always classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.

[29:30] Our main event: Guns. This week’s cultural exchange revolves around guns in the U.S. and why Americans just can’t seem to give ’em up.

Stuff we referenced:

Stuff we watched: