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.

114 - Pet Sematary II (1992) & It Chapter Two (2019) →

CW: Rape, Suicide, Domestic Abuse, Homophobia, Distressing sequences involving animals

Read our afterthoughts for this episode at https://twitter.com/PodSematary/status/1203531590904795136

It’s Stephen King Sequels Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey go back to the well to revive Stephen King adaptions in the form of sequels!

The Classic Film: Pet Sematary II (1992)
"A teenage boy and his father move to his recently-deceased mother's hometown, where they encounter the ancient Native American cemetery with the power to raise the dead” (IMDb.com). This bonkers sequel is fairly lovable in its weirdness, even if the ending goes a little off the rails.

The Modern Film: It Chapter Two (2019)
"Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back” (IMDb.com). Having enjoyed Chapter One in episode 15 of the podcast (or “liked okay” in Kelsey’s case), we were surprised to find that Chapter Two was massively hobbled in what appears to be an attempt to end the story and include every popular ingredient from the first chapter at the same time. Simply put: it does not work.

Plus! Our spoiler-free thoughts on the Netflix adaptation of King and Hill's In the Tall Grass!

Audio Sources:
"Christine" produced by Columbia Pictures, et al.
"Clueless" produced by Paramount Pictures
"Fading Away" performed by Jan King
“It Chapter Two” produced by New Line Cinema, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
“Pet Sematary II” produced by Paramount Pictures & Columbus Circle Films
“Poison Heart” written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Reverence" written by William Reid & Jim Reid and performed by The Jesus and Mary Chain
"Theme from M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless)" written by Johnny Mandel (music) & Mike Altman (lyrics) and performed by The Mash
"Training / Credits" (from "Punch-Out!!" [NES]) composed and arranged by Yukio Kaneoka, Akito Nakatsuka, and Kenji Yamamoto
"Weird Satanist Guy" via BowserVids @ www.youtube.com/watch?v=YErFwJX0HKE