247 - Kiss the Girls (1997) & The Black Phone (2021) →

CW: Suicide, Rape, Homophobia, Child Abuse

It’s Serial-Kidnappers-in-Masks Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey talk to strangers... and dead kids!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode HERE!

The Classic Film: Kiss the Girls (1997)
"Police hunting for a serial kidnapper are helped when a victim manages to escape for the first time” (IMDb.com). Despite its status as the first film appearance of Doctor/Detective Alex Cross, Kiss the Girls is still just one of a slew of mediocre, serial-killer thrillers churned out by the 90s.

The Modern Film: The Black Phone (2021)
"After being abducted and locked in a soundproof basement, a 13-year-old boy starts receiving calls on a disconnected phone from the killer's previous victims” (IMDb.com). A recent critical darling of the genre, Joe Hill and Scott Derrickson's The Black Phone is pretty compelling... if a tad overrated.

Audio Sources:
"American History X" produced by New Line Cinema, et al.
"The Black Phone" produced by Blumhouse Productions, et al.
"Boombastic" written by Orville Burrell, et al., and performed by Shaggy
"Deadpool" produced by Twentieth Century Fox, et al.
"Kiss the Girls" produced by Paramount Pictures & Rysher Entertainment
"Leonardo Leonardo Returns and Dante Has an Important Decision to Make" (Clerks S01E01) produced by View Askew Productions, et al.
"The Little Mermaid" produced by Walt Disney Pictures, et al.
"Robin Hood: Men in Tights" produced by Brooksfilms & Gaumont
"The Sixth Sense" produced by Spyglass Entertainment, et al.

225 - Nosferatu (1922) & Shadow of the Vampire (2000) →

CW: Drug Use, Sexual Assault

It’s Nosferatu Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey celebrate 100 years since the premiere of Nosferatu by traveling far away to the land of robbers and ghosts!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922)
"Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife” (IMDb.com). Nosferatu, which premiered in Germany on March 4th, 1922, is a classic of horror, silent film, and cinema itself and for good reason. A sort of bastardized version of Bram Stoker's Dracula story, Nosferatu manages to thrill and frighten without speaking a word.

The Modern Film: Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
"The filming of Nosferatu is hampered by the fact that its star, Max Schreck, is taking the role of a vampire far more seriously than seems humanly possible” (IMDb.com). Shadow of the Vampire asks the question, "What if Max Schreck was really a vampire and F.W. Murnau knew it?" A very bizarre, but simultaneously silly and frightening film, and featuring brilliant performance all around, Shadow of the Vampire manages to be a worthwhile watch.

Audio Sources:
"Dracula: Dead and Loving It" produced by Brooksfilms, et al.
"Nosferatu" (1922) produced by Jofa-Atelier Berlin-Johannisthal and Prana-Film GmbH
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Shadow of the Vampire" produced by BBC Films, et al.
"Silent Sunday Nights on TCM" hosted by Ben Mankiewicz
"Threw It on the Ground" written by Drew Campbell & The Lonely Island and performed by The Lonely Island
"Which Dracula Film is Most Faithful to the Book?" via Cinemassacre @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9D74m628gQ

173 - Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) & Crimson Peak (2015) →

CW: Sexual Assault

It’s Valentine's Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey get all sappy and romantic with two archetypical gothic horror giants!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
"[Dracula's] lonely soul is determined to reunite with his lost love, Mina. In Britain, [he] begins a reign of terror and seduction draining the life from her closest friend, Lucy. Together they try and drive Dracula away.” (RottenTomatoes.com). Francis Ford Coppola creates a stunning visual masterpiece using almost nothing but the cinematic techniques available at the turn of the 20th century. It's certainly quite something, but is it too bizarre for fans of the popular ur-vampire?

The Modern Film: Crimson Peak (2015)
"In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds - and remembers” (IMDb.com). You'll see a lot of familiar content here, even what are becoming Guillermo del Toro's own cliches, and the scares are a little weak, but as always, del Toro produces a feast for the eyes and the soul.

Audio Sources:
"Blood Lines: Dracula - The Man. The Myth. The Movies." produced by Columbia Pictures
"Bram Stoker's Dracula" produced by American Zoetrope, et al.
"The Costumes Are the Sets: The Design of Eiko Ishioka" produced by Zoetrope Aubry Productions
"Crimson Peak" produced by Double Dare You (DDY) & Legendary Entertainment
"It's My Party" written by Walter Gold, et al., and performed by Lesley Gore
"Jurassic Park" produced by Universal Pictures & Amblin Entertainment
"Love Song for a Vampire" written and performed by Annie Lennox
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Pineapple Express" produced by Apatow Productions, et al.
"Scream 4" produced by Dimension Films, et al.
"She's Not There" written by Rod Argent and performed by The Zombies

166 - Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 (1987) & Black Christmas (2019) →

CW: Sexual Assault, Rape, Suicide, Abortion, Gaslighting

It’s our second week of Christmas horror on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey smash the dark-magic patriarchy but spend most of their time talking about last Christmas.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)
"The now-adult Ricky talks to a psychiatrist about how he became a murderer after his brother, Billy, died, which leads back to Mother Superior” (IMDb.com). The purposeful camp in this Christmas horror flick works sometimes, but they should have waited until they actually had a whole movie to film.

The Modern Film: Black Christmas (2019)
"Hawthorne College is quieting down for the holidays. One by one, sorority girls on campus are being killed by an unknown stalker. But the killer is about to discover that this generation's young women aren't willing to become hapless victims as they mount a fight to the finish” (IMDb.com). The road to bad cinema is paved with good intentions and probably the best thing we can say about this second Black Christmas remake is that it had good intentions.

Audio Sources:
"Black Christmas" (2019) produced by Blumhouse Productions, et al.
"Carrie" (1976) produced by Red Bank Films
"Inglorious Basterds" (2009) produced by A Band Apart, et al.
"National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" produced by Warner Bros., et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Silent Night, Deadly Night" produced by TriStar Pictures & Slayride
"Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2" produced by Silent Night Releasing Corporation