224 - The Dead Zone (1983) & Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) →

CW: Suicide, Molestation

It’s Presidents' Day on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey can see the future and the future is fighting a mummy with JFK!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: The Dead Zone (1983)
"A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability” (IMDb.com). Cronenberg, King, and Walken sound like a can't-miss combination, and—for the most part—it is. Strangely, especially considering the names, it isn't very horrific, though.

The Modern Film: Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
"Elvis Presley and a black JFK stay in a nursing home where nothing happens—until a wayward Egyptian mummy comes and sucks out the old people's souls thru their a-holes. The two decide to fight back” (IMDb.com). Bubba Ho-Tep was a pretty big deal in certain circles when it came out. Of course, it was. I mean, the cast and concept alone are killer. Right?

Audio Sources:
"Bubba Ho-Tep" produced by Silver Sphere Corporation
"The Dead Zone" produced by Dino De Laurentiis Company & Lorimar Film Entertainment
"Fight Club" produced by Fox 2000 Pictures, et al.
"Maximum Overdrive" produced by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
"My Name is Bruce" produced by Dark Horse Entertainment & Image Entertainment\
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Pet Sematary" (2019) produced by Paramount Pictures, et al.
"The Raven" (from Hal Willner's "Closed On Account Of Rabies") written by Edgar Allan Poe and performed by Christopher Walken
"Team America: World Police" produced by Paramount Pictures, et al.

157 - Double Feature - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) & The Invasion (2007) →

Best of 2020 - #3 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

It’s a pod people double feature on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey shed all emotion and join the collective in peace!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Second Adaptation: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
"When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, California, where they replicate the residents into emotionless automatons one body at a time” (IMDb.com). Less reactionary that it's '56 predecessor and the Jack Finney novel on which it's based, the '78 version's slow boil and creeping terror are exactly as effective as the film's modern-day hype would suggest.

The Fourth Adaptation: The Invasion (2007)
"As a Washington, D.C. psychiatrist unearths the origin of an alien epidemic, she also discovers her son might be the only way it can be stopped” (IMDb.com). Take the 1978 classic, remove the character building and charm, and add some mildly effective personal tension and mindless action scenes and you'll have this fourth attempt at reinventing the wheel. The Invasion seems like it might be worth watching until it just gives up about halfway through and drowns in its own genericism.

Audio Sources:
"Alien" produced by Brandywine Productions
"Amazing Grace" performed by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard
"The Invasion" produced by Warner Bros., et al.
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956) produced by Walter Wanger Productions
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978) produced by Solofilm
"Monster in the Closet" (Brooklyn Nine-Nine S04E06) produced by Fremulon, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Pod People" (Mystery Science Theater 3000 S04E03) produced by Best Brains
"S&M Present" (Robot Chicken S01E09) produced by Stoopid Monkey, et al.
"Science Fiction/Double Feature" written by Richard O'Brien & Richard Hartley and performed by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
"Split" produced by Universal Pictures, et al.