FRIGHT SCHOOL

Welcome back to Fright School! Happy St. Patrick's Day! How many pints of Irish are you? Joe is having a reunion with GIRLS5EVA and taking all of that girl power one step further with LOVE LIES BLEEDING. Joshua saw Madonna in Silver Daddy Land aka Palm Springs. This week, we are finishing up our mini salute to the Mary Shelley's enduring work FRANKENSTEIN with LISA FRANKENSTEIN (2024)! This neon piece of comedy horror gets a bit overshadowed by its reverence for its references, but it is fun spotting the many and varied Easter eggs hiding in it. We wonder what the Future Legendary Spooky Children will think of the film in a few decades, chat about Diablo Cody's universe, and realize there is little to actually compare the film to in Mary Shelley's original novel. Oh well! Dig up some cans of TAB from the graveyard of 80s nostalgia, pop some popcorn, grab LISA FRANKESNTEIN, WEIRD SCIENCE and BEETLEJUICE and you may have the makings for a perfect slumber party with the Monster High Ghouls... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! Joshua catches Joe up on 22 years of SOUTH PARK history. Joe breaks down SCHMIGADOON. Joe is also gifting the world with a Cabaret to benefit Lambda Archives! This week we're celebrating the tenth anniversary of EX MACHINA (2014). We compare the film to BLACK MIRROR, discuss human responsibility and AI, explore the film's relationship to FRANKENSTEIN, and debate the ethics of ChatGPT. Can a fashion forward gynoid drink a Cosmo? Monstrous Creators and Exploited Creatures: Ex Machina and Frankenstein by Screen Queens An Examination of Themes of Consciousness and Humanity in Ex Machina Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! Joshua is doing some deep processing. Joe is seeking thoughts on the state of new Beyoncé music. This week we're taking it back 30 years to MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN! We compare the film with previously discussed adaptations, learn about Romanticism, and find ourselves in awe of Robert De Niro's Monster. MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN (1994): A RETROSPECTIVE by Keri O'Shea 'Mary Shelley's Frankenstein': The (Almost) Perfect Adaptation of a Horror Classic by Matthew Mosley The Cultural Historical Context of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein by Sandra M. M. Gastaldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! Joe got his hair did! We discuss THE NEW LOOK and FEUD: CAPOTE VS THE SWANS. This week we chat about THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER (2023). We break down the FRANKENSTEIN references at work in the film, discuss systemic violence, the state of mental health and substance use treatment, and the pressure on Black women to save us all. The Humanity at the Heart of The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster by JP Nunez THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER IS A HARROWING TAKE ON THE FRANKENSTEIN TALE by Tai Gooden ‘The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster’ Review: A High Schooler Tries to Bring Back Her Dead Brother in Uneven Indie Horror By Murtada Elfadl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! This week we get into it about our shifting Queer culture. We compare and contrast Queer As Folk, Looking, and Love, Simon. We're continuing our Black Horror History dive with ABBY (1974)! Hitting theatres almost a year to the day of THE EXORCIST's release, Abby was quickly mired in legal troubles from Warner Bros. We compare the two films, discuss the Queerness of the film, and get curious about the Christian and Yoruba themes and the way Africa is envisioned in the western imagination. Spectacular Degradation: Exploitation Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine in ABBY and THE EXORCIST by Lea Anderson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! We are excited to be joined once again by Professor T.J. who tells us all about their return to JEOPARDY! Joe revisits DISTRICT 9. We are once again celebrating Black History Month with an ode to HORROR NOIRE with MA (2019)! T.J. called it a "misfire on every level" back in 2019 and we're very excited to hear about his current thoughts on the film. We also compare MA to A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, recast the film with Melissa McCarthy in order to interrogate the racial themes, explore Black women's access to their rage, and briefly discuss mental health themes in the film. Joshua and T.J. bond over bad alcohol choices in their misguided youth. Did everyone have a MA in their neighborhood? The Trouble with the Movie MA by Isabella L Price We Asked A Psychiatrist To Analyze 'Ma' By Matthew Jacobs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! Joe can't stop singing "Live and let Die.'" Joshua goes all ASMR trying some of Joe's cookies. We debate seeing MEAN GIRLS: THE MUSICAL. We also get nostalgic with QUEER AS FOLK and Joe shares his top 3 sex scenes. This week we wrap up Jigsaw January with SAW IV! We break down the ongoing father/son relationship trope in the series, discuss some of the confusing politics at play, and wonder about the film's role in building radical empathy. Using Saw IV as a Primer on Social Justice Brian C. Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! We welcome back to the show Young David! We catch up with him and discuss how the new year is going so far. David offers his best of 2023 picks. We discuss Oscar nominations and post hot strike summer. This week, we're continuing our Jigsaw January with SAW III! We break down our favorite traps, finding a sense of purpose, and discuss the family dynamics often highlighted in the SAW franchise. Take notes kids, THIS is what back alley neurosurgery is supposed to look like! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! It's a whole new year of FEAR! We start off with a chat about our New Year's experiences. Joshua read some books. Joe plans to read the other 11 books he meant to read last year. We share our thoughts on SALTBURN. Feeling thirsty? Whose bathwater would you most like to drink? In honor of the 20th anniversary of SAW we are dedicating our 2024 January Franchise Deep Dive to the sequels in the sadistic series. This week, the secret word is trypanophobia as we find ourselves trapped in the filthy needle pit that is SAW II. We compare Jigsaw to Job, Joshua gives a lesson in blood-injection-injury phobias, and Joe is grateful for his escape room experiences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy New Fear! We’re looking back at 2023 and sharing our favorite moments! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Horrordays, Fright School! To celebrate, we thought we’d release this chat between Joshua and Jacki from the JERSEY GHOULS celebrating 50 years of THE EXORCIST! This streamed as part of Geekscape’s Holiday Livestream-tacular! We hope your holiday season, however you may celebrate, has been kind to you! Scary Cryptmas, children, and here’s to a New Year filled with FEAR! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! Thank you for sticking with us while we navigated some technical issues behind the scenes! This week we took in SAW... X? 10? 1.5? Whatever! We were just happy to see Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith taking the franchise back to basics! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! Joshua threw his annual Halloween party! Thanks again to everyone who came out to our THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW screening with Lambda Archives and Diversionary Theatre! It was a wild and untamed success! This week it’s more Hammer Horror with CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to another Fright School Field Trip! We went to see THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER and have some thoughts that are about as convoluted as the plot of this film... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! This week we welcome director (among many other things) Sam Irvin to the show! We discuss Sam's horror pedigree, his fanzine BIZARRE, and his books I WAS A TEENAGE MONSTER HUNTER: How I Met Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, & More! and The Epic Saga Behind FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY! Joshua and Sam, who just so happens to have directed ELVIRA'S HAUNTED HILLS, reminisce about their trip to Romania with Cassandra Peterson aka Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. This week, we continue our Hammer Horror jaunt with BRIDES OF DRACULA! We discuss the Queerness of the film, connections to our discussion of Hitchcock's ROPE, Sam's changing relationship with the film, and some fun behind-the-scenes tidbits! We are celebrating LGBTQ History Month with a discussion on Queer horror and THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Get tickets NOW! Titillation And Trepidation: Revisiting Hammer’s Queer Outings by Samantha McLaren Find Sam on Facebook and Instagram Get a copy of Sam Irvin's book I Was a Teenage Monster Hunter! Signed copies at Dark Delicacies! We're giving away a copy so check our Instagram for all the details! Sam Irvin's latest book The Epic Saga Behind FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY now available on Amazon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! We are kicking off our EIGHT season! In honor of LGBTQ History Month, we are teaming up with LAMBDA Archives and the Diversionary Theatre for a showing of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW! Join us for a discussion of the enduring legacy of the film and new perspectives on its meaning to Queer audiences. Joe is catching up on the GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW. Our 2023 Halloween Horror Film Challenge is out NOW and it's all about horror sequels. This Spooky Season we are reflecting on the history of Hammer Film Productions and Hammer Horror which has brought us some of the most iconic portrayals of famous monsters like Christopher Lee's Dracula. This week we focus on HORROR OF DRACULA. We discuss the updates to Bram Stoker's original story, comparisons to the Bela Lugosi film, the repression inherent in Victorian age sexuality and morality, and the influence of contemporary British culture of the 1970s on the story. The House of Horror: A History of Hammer Films by Stephen Carver Horror of Dracula from Senses of Cinema by Tony Williams Queer Horror: Screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show and Panel Discussion with LAMBDA Archives and Fright School! 31 Days of Horror Sequels 2023 Challenge Calendar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! The summer tourists are leaving San Diego just in time for the Invasion of the College Students from OUT OF STATE! Joshua forgot about scratched CDs! Count yourself among the lucky if you have no idea what he is talking about. This week we take on teenage alienation- literally- with THE FACULTY. It's INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS meets THE BREAKFAST CLUB with a twist of THE THING! Oh, the late 90s! What a time! We discuss the pressures of conformity, invasion anxiety, the rather subversive pro-drug messaging in the film, and small town nihilism. Let's get high and stay alive! The Faculty is the bleakest and most subversive film of the ’90s studio teen-horror cycle By Alex McLevy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! Joe talks about drag on Guam! Joshua tries some Chamorro Chip Cookies! This week we take it back with the cult classic PROM NIGHT! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time to get back to Fright School! Joe regales us with tales from Guam! We discuss plane rides as we age. Once you get that taste of a few more inches of space, it is hard to go back! Joshua catches Joe up on the state of his practicum experience. She's therapisting ya'll! This week, we went to the movies (though thousands of miles apart) to see TALK TO ME! We take on the comparisons to HEREDITARY, addiction narratives, and internalizing the dangerous messages we come across on social media. Fright School Patreon! Join now for access to video episodes and watch as Joe flips the tables on Joshua on the After Fright School Special! Talk to Me Ending and Meaning Explained By Aaron Sagers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! We are wrapping up our PRIDE season! We welcome Ben to the show. Joe's a volunteer. We need Vanjie's List. Ben's a SCREAM! This week, we take another French turn with TITANE. We chat about objectophilia, gender affirmation, techno anxiety, and how family is often what you make of it. What a great theme to end PRIDE season on! We are taking a few weeks off for a summer break! See you in the fall! It's almost SPOOKY SEASON! Sex Drive: ‘Titane’ and the Meaning of Horror Titane Movie Explained: Ending, Themes & Identity Crisis Analysed Interview: Julia Ducournau on Building Her Own Modern Mythology with Titane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices