202 - The Witches of Eastwick (1987) & The Craft: Legacy (2020) →

CW: Suicide, Rape

It’s a Witchy Woman Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey start their own covens of warlocks and witches (respectively) and determine whether women were an accident or were inflicted upon the world intentionally.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
"Three single women in a picturesque village have their wishes granted, at a cost, when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their lives” (IMDb.com). This silly comedy-horror is a lot of fun on its face, but it also surfaces some very intriguing concepts about villainy, spirituality, sexuality, and the plurality of feminine expression. Oh, and it's WEIRD AS HELL.

The Modern Film: The Craft: Legacy (2020)
"A group of high school students forms a coven of witches” (IMDb.com). We legitimately thought we would LOATHE this movie as another cringey update to a beloved classic, but it turned out to be very endearing and actually made some welcome updates to outdated tropes... and that just made it so damned disappointing that it isn't good.

Audio Sources:
"Alien" produced by Brandywine Productions
"Alien 3" produced by Twentieth Century Fox & Brandywine Productions
"Atlanta" (from "Nice Try, The Devil") written and performed by Pete Holmes
"The Craft" produced by Columbia Pictures & Red Wagon Entertainment
"The Craft: Legacy" produced by Blumhouse Productions, et al.
"Mary Poppins" produced by Walt Disney Productions
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Sugar Honey Iced Tea (S.H.I.T.)" written and performed by Princess Nokia
"Trainwreck" produced by Universal Pictures, et al.
"The Witches of Eastwick" produced by Warner Bros., et al.
"Witchy Woman" written by Don Henley & Bernie Leadon and performed by the Eagles

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.

113 - Alien (1979) & Prometheus (2012) →

CW: Rape, Pregnancy

Best of 2019 - #3 (Tied) Alien

Read our afterthoughts for this episode at https://twitter.com/PodSematary/status/1200989603081023489

It’s Alien Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey intercept a distress signal and then never make a good decision ever again.

The Classic Film: Alien (1979)
"After a space merchant vessel perceives an unknown transmission as a distress call, its landing on the source moon finds one of the crew attacked by a mysterious lifeform, and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun” (IMDb.com). Like… it’s Alien, dawg. What are you even doing?

The Modern Film: Prometheus (2012)
"Following clues to the origin of mankind, a team finds a structure on a distant moon, but they soon realize they are not alone” (IMDb.com). So maybe it has a “Mystery Box” problem. Maybe the plot is only propelled by characters making the absolute worst decisions at every turn. But there’s a lot there to enjoy and it’s certainly not as bad as everyone made it out to be.

Audio Sources:
"Alien" produced by Brandywine Productions & Twentieth Century-Fox Productions
"The Beginning: Making Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" produced by Lucasfilm Ltd.
"How to pronounce Charlize Theron & Emily Blunt Interview THE HUNTSMAN & THE ICE QUEEN" via CELEBRITY INTERVIEWS Parviz Khosrawi @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMWeu8Bqj8w
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Prometheus" produced by Twentieth Century Fox, et al.
"Thank You for Smoking" produced by Room 9 Entertainment, et al.