Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! A year after its debut, we're taking an in-depth look at Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Beneath all the good faith (and bad faith) controversies, there's an interesting, immersive fantasy world here that is worth exploring. Topics include: character customization, combat expression, role playing, conflicting art styles, and the difference between writing good plot and writing good dialogue. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! We're honored to be joined by Hell House LLC creator Stephen Cognetti for this wide-ranging interview celebrating the release of his final film in the franchise. Topics include: ambiguous endings, creative closure, the sequel business, audience expectations, continuing the franchise in a new medium, and fascinating deep dives into the structure and pacing of a good horror movie. Hell House LLC Lineage is available to stream now on Shudder. Happy Halloween! LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! For die-hard fans of horror and fantasy like us, Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein might just be the perfect film — and it's also almost certainly the best adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel ever made. In this episode, Cam leads us on a whirlwind tour through the source material's intimate relationship with Doctor Faustus and some of this rendition's most thrilling and thoughtful additions to that proud lineage. We also explore the film's kaleidoscopic structure within the frame of a familiar favorite, analyze Del Toro's sumptuous directorial style, and take a closer look at his (pun intended) Creature design. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! In this time traveling episode of Second Breakfast, we're finally tackling the godfather of the slasher genre, John Carpenter's Halloween. We start with a simple question: why is this the best slasher movie? The answer involves gestural structure and a paradoxical approach to pacing. We also get into a spirited debate about the mysterious motive of our beloved Michael Myers. Is he supernatural? Are his crimes random? What roles do sexuality and cultural puritanism play in this story? Finally, we revisit some of the best analysis of the film that we've done over the past five (!) years. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! This has gotta be the most entertaining film of the year; a bombastic, aggressively old-school high fantasy adventure full of glorious practical effects and tongue in cheek humor. In this episode, we're exploring the fantasy and horror roots of Deathstalker, the boundless joy of episodic structure, and the delicate balancing act that is required to make a movie this relentlessly entertaining. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! Demián Rugna's "When Evil Lurks" is a relentlessly creative and upsetting indie horror film from Argentina. It's also one of the very best possession movies ever made. In this episode, we're using comparisons to Robert Eggers' "The Witch" and Zach Cregger's "Weapons" to analyze the film's folk horror reckoning about children and evil. We also examine the film's paradoxical reliance on excess and restraint by doing close readings of both the most memorable moments of violence and the unnamed monster's ever-evolving creature design. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! Destiny: Rising is like a phenomenal cover band of Destiny 2, a spirited revival playing all the hits and reminding you of better times. And with Destiny 2 currently in such a dreadful state, it is genuinely remarkable how well NetEase has curated this game as a greatest hits of everything Bungie has ever done well. Does this spinoff mobile game somehow manage to surpass its namesake? LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! Him is the most underrated and misunderstood horror movie of the year. In this episode, we're exploring the film's boundless thematic depth and striking visuals to uncover a fascinating inverse Faust theory and an unexpected but bone-deep Kubrick homage. Comparison titles include: Whiplash, Fight Club, Doctor Faustus, Midsommar, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here! The live service whiplash continues in Diablo IV's tenth season as the game craters back down to earth. Somehow, this season is as dreadful, buggy, frustrating, and meaningless as last season was flawless. In this episode, we're discussing the state of the game, the seasonal campaign, and providing a few class updates — while doing our best to avoid reaching a breaking point with this game. LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

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