238 - Jacob's Ladder (1990) & Overlord (2018) →

CW: PTSD, Rape

It’s Memorial Day on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey honor our nation's fallen military personnel by watching two movies with very different vibes all about military experimentation on human bodies. Don't worry—it's not all a downer.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode HERE!

The Classic Film: Jacob's Ladder (1990)
"Mourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death” (IMDb.com). Jacob's Ladder is some important and heavy stuff, but that doesn't give it a free pass that its message and its context are almost completely divorced from one another, leading to a dilution of both.

The Modern Film: Overlord (2018)
"A small group of American soldiers finds horror behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day” (IMDb.com). Overlord isn't much of a thinker, but it's consistently exciting and engaging for its entire runtime.

Audio Sources:
"Jacob's Ladder" (1990) produced by Carolco Pictures
"Overlord" (2018) produced by Bad Robot & Paramount Pictures

052 - The People Under The Stairs (1991) & The Harvest (2013) →

It's Hidden Kids Week on Pod Sematary! Chris and Kelsey discuss two movies about a similar topic (secret children) that couldn't be more different!

First up is the Wes Craven classic, 1991's The People Under the Stairs! It manages to ramp up the tension and then defuse it with some good ol' slapstick humor. All to the benefit of the core message of anti-greed and social consciousness. Oh, and there are monsters in the basement and a poor, poor puppy.

Then it's the IFC slow-burner, 2013's The Harvest. It's halfway through before anything remotely resembling horror manages to slip into this film, but that doesn't prevent creeping dread from permeating throughout. It's a killer concept with a great twist that is ill-served by an average production and poor writing. But there's Michael Shannon!

Audio Sources:
"The Beginning: Making Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" produced by Lucasfilm Ltd.
"Do The Right Thing" written and performed by Redhead Kingpin & The F.B.I.
"The Harvest" produced by 120dB Films, et al.
"The People Under the Stairs" produced by Universal Pictures & Alive Films
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Split" produced by Blinding Edge Pictures, et al.