Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! How do you end a franchise? It’s a question that haunts (and ruins) almost every long-running story that any of us has ever loved, and here’s the thing — it might be a trick question. In this episode, we’re considering three recent ‘finales’ to long-running series (and about a hundred other examples) to see if we can answer this perennial question! LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! Ask and you shall receive! Here’s our analysis of The Long Walk through the evergreen lens of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. This one’s got some fascinating remixes: dozens of Faustuses, a rare foregrounding of the lesser demons, and possibly the most unfair Faustian deal we’ve ever seen put to screen. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! This discussion is all about intensity. The Long Walk is the first movie that Cam has ever seriously considered walking out of, and we’re breaking down every element of this film to find out why, from the slasher structure and non-romantic restraint to the empathetic realism and distinctly American contradictions. Comparisons include: The Hunger Games, Mad Max: Fury Road, Inside, The Stranger, Funny Games, It Follows, and Warfare. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! In an era full of tired remakes, what do we make of video game remasters? What is gained or lost when a classic from another time is overhauled to suit modern hardware and sensibilities? In this episode, we’re investigating Gears of War: Reloaded to find out what (if anything) has been lost in translation, and why this game still feels so revolutionary almost twenty years later. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! Rachel Cain’s ‘Somnium’ is a triumph of indie horror filmmaking and sheer creative willpower, but it’s also the most provocative and fascinating exploration of dreams that we’ve ever seen from the genre. In this episode, we’re deep diving into metaphorical dreams, literal dreams, and all the nightmarish ways in which they interact. We’re talking symbolic monsters, ambiguous endings, and class consciousness — with just a touch of Faustus thrown in for good measure. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! The Conjuring: Last Rites is a long goodbye; it presents a medley of curtain calls, family drama, beautiful directing, and uninspired scares. In this episode we examine the final Ed & Lorraine Conjuring movie from three different perspectives: as a character study, as a horror movie, and as the ending of a beloved horror franchise. Our discussion concludes with a reflection on subjectivity, and its centrality to our discussions about art on the show. Plus, Maggie forgets the word “spin-off” about 17 times. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! The Toxic Avenger is unrated, unhinged, and full of heart. In this episode, we’re exploring the explosive color work of unrated horror, Toxie’s fantastic creature design that harkens back to the body horror roots of the genre, the restlessness of successful on-screen comedy, and the film’s folkloric catharsis in the face of cartoonish corruption and cruelty. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! Of all the horror franchises, Hell House LLC might have the boldest and most terrifying sequels. In this episode, we’re discussing them all, while tracking the unique ways in which they complicate and deepen the franchise’s ten-year Faustus meditation. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! The fifth and ‘final’ Hell House LLC film is out now in theaters, and causing quite a stir. We both loved this movie, and in this episode we are responding to the four most prominent criticisms that have torn through the fandom. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! Like most horror movies, The Poughkeepsie Tapes is a mixed bag — in this case, an uneven combination of mockumentary interviews and shaky found footage scares. But Cam’s got a wild theory that this movie is actually one of the most vicious and biting satires ever made of the true crime industrial complex and its relationship with the horror genre. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! Jimmy and Stiggs is what you get when you throw Evil Dead and Saw in a blender, open the top, splatter it all over a laser tag arena, and then shoot the whole thing into space. This is the most gonzo, full throttle, colorful, and splatter crunch crazy movie we have ever covered on the show. It's an absolutely stunning thrill ride, and a genuinely inspiring monument to indie filmmaking. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! It’s time to do a little check-in about the future of the show. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! In a true ‘bucket list’ moment, we got to see My Chemical Romance perform the entirety of their masterpiece “The Black Parade” album live on stage. For this marathon episode, we’re breaking down all new iconography of the band’s “Draag” era, unearthing some provocative connections to The Black Parade, discussing each and every song in the time-traveling setlist, and reflecting on this transcendent, life-affirming artistic experience. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! Eddington is a bold, fascinating, ambitious satire, but it’s also the film that cements certain patterns within Ari Aster’s way of telling stories. In this episode, we’re creating a list of four ironclad ‘rules’ that appear in each of his movies by revisiting Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid — before finally discussing Eddington. This is a celebration of recurring themes and conceptual escalation across one of the most exciting and restless filmographies of our time. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s — a sudden influx of life-affirming summer blockbusters? In this episode, we’re taking a look at both Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, to find out why Cam was holding back tears throughout these movies. Topics include: a dozen pointed similarities between these films, our wildly different perspectives & expectations, a bit of backseat editing, comparisons to past inspiring superhero films, the endless importance of romance in storytelling, and a look towards the future of this new trend. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! The Pitt isn’t just one of the best shows of the last ten years, it is an astonishing work of horror — an urgent, unflinching, life-affirming tapestry of hope, loss, life, and death. In this episode, we’re exploring the story’s central ‘real-time’ conceit from four distinct angles: passing time, compounding time, lost time, and impending time. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! When Diablo IV is good, it’s really good. We’ve been dungeon-crawling and monster-slaying nonstop for the last month, and thought it was time to take another look at what we’re affectionately calling “Season of the Dungeon”. Maggie has blasted through the whole campaign with a super-powered Rogue, and Cam is deeper into the endgame than either of us have ever gone before. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! "Oh, Hi!" is not really an homage to Stephen King's "Misery" - it's a companion piece, that dives much deeper into the insecurities and obsession of its characters. Pointedly, this film is also a funny, aching exploration of the female psyche that somehow remains grounded amidst multiple felonies and attempts at witchcraft. This isn't a horror movie. This isn't a rip-off. It's a rigorous, open-ended character study that embraces the messiest and most absurd parts of human nature. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! We’re celebrating Ozzy Osbourne by doing a close reading of the very first Black Sabbath song — which just so happens to be one of the best “Doctor Faustus” adaptations of the past 400 years. In six minutes and only three verses, Ozzy stages all of the play’s essential events and even manages to capture some of Marlowe’s most daring and subversive subtext. The song also happens to feature the most potent rendition of Hell in any artistic medium, and the best adaptation ever done of Marlowe’s layered, knife-twisting epilogue. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! The thing you really notice about Pennywise during a rewatch is the startling, impressive amount of DROOL he’s got going on in every scene. In this episode, we’re revisiting both movies (and the book) to discuss the intangible magic of creature design, the original sin of adaptation, and more than anything — the controversial topic of bad endings. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com