Unwatchables with Marc & Seth
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On Unwatchables, we dive deep into the most controversial, disturbing, or just misunderstood films. From punishing art films to extreme horror to bizarre curiosities, Marc and Seth test their limits and try to pin down what separates the art from the trolling. At the end of each episode, we answer the same question: If you could, would you Unwatch this?
Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus. Find us at unwatchablespod.com.
Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus. Find us at unwatchablespod.com.
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This week’s Unwatchables features Matt Singer, film critic, author, and editor of ScreenCrush.com, to help continue our month of high-profile misfires (or are they?). His pick is one of the most foolhardy cinematic experiments ever released by a major studio: Gus Van Sant’s 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. It’s not a reimagining, a reboot, or even a legacy-quel— to use a phrase that our guest coined— but a nearly shot-for-shot recreation of one of the most iconic classics in the canon. We discuss what exactly Van Sant meant to accomplish, whether any part of it “works,” and what distinguishes Psycho ’98 from today’s soulless retreads.Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus.You can support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/unwatchables to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next. Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.
Doris Wishman has been called the Queen of Sexploitation, and the most prolific female filmmaker of the 1960’s and 70’s. But did she ever learn how to make a movie? Today we’re joined by Jetta Weinstein, aka theironcupcake, to discuss two peaks of her inimitable brand of trash cinema: 1965's questionably feminist softcore drama BAD GIRLS GO TO HELL, and 1974's bra-busting spy film DOUBLE AGENT 73.You can find more from Jetta at https://letterboxd.com/theironcupcake/Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus. Unwatchables Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/unwatchables Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unwatchablespod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnwatchablesPodWebsite: https://www.unwatchablespod.com Email: unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com
Hollywood has come a long way in depicting individuals with disabilities with candor and respect… these are not those films. Dr. Ethan Lyon joins us for two movies it’s hard to imagine getting made today, though they say a lot about changing ideas of representation and political correctness: Lars Von Trier’s 1998 dark comedy THE IDIOTS, and THE “Gary Oldman as a little person” movie, Matthew Bright’s 2002 romantic drama TIPTOES.You can find more from Ethan at https://letterboxd.com/dz1ga/Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus. Unwatchables Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/unwatchables Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unwatchablespod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnwatchablesPodWebsite: https://www.unwatchablespod.com Email: unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com
Today we’re joined by filmmaker Frank Ritz for what Freud would call our “Eros and Thanatos” episode. These two films blur the line between sex and death, including the rare look at necrophilia that’s… actually kind of sweet? The films are: Lynne Stopkewich's 1996 necrophiliac romance KISSED, and Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's 2009 avant-garde giallo AMER.You can find more from Frank at https://letterboxd.com/frankritz/Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus. Unwatchables Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/unwatchables Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unwatchablespod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnwatchablesPodWebsite: https://www.unwatchablespod.com Email: unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com
Today we’re joined by Cinematary's Grace Winburne to help us chart one film’s course from THE defining flop of the 90’s to midnight cult classic to the unlikely subject of critical reappraisal. But one question remains: does SHOWGIRLS actually not suck?You can find more from Grace at https://www.cinematary.com/Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus. Unwatchables Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/unwatchables Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unwatchablespod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnwatchablesPodWebsite: https://www.unwatchablespod.com Email: unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com
Today we're joined by Cinematary's Zach Dennis for the wild, weird, and (in one case) horrific films of director John Boorman. We take a look at his harrowing Hollywood breakthrough, 1972's disturbing survival thriller DELIVERANCE, and then its truly bizarre cult sci-fi follow-up: 1974's Sean Connery-starring ZARDOZ.You can find more from Zach at https://www.cinematary.com/Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus. Unwatchables Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/unwatchables Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unwatchablespod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnwatchablesPodWebsite: https://www.unwatchablespod.com Email: unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com
Film critic Elena Lazic joins us for two films about “family annihilators,” the real-life phenomenon of husbands and fathers who kill their entire families. We discuss a long-unavailable 70’s downer, as well as it’s darkly comic slasher-film counterpart: Jeff Kanew's bleak 1979 drama NATURAL ENEMIES, and Joseph Ruben's 1987 horror film THE STEPFATHER.Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus. Unwatchables Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/unwatchables Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unwatchablespod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnwatchablesPodWebsite: https://www.unwatchablespod.com Email: unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com
Amy Hensarling of WATCH THIS LIST returns to discuss two films mired in controversy for their depictions of victims of sexual violence. Sam Peckinpah's 1971 thriller STRAW DOGS has been both criticized and defended for decades for its notorious depiction of a woman seemingly embracing her attacker. We consider what it’s trying to say about men, women, and humanity as a whole, plus how it’s answered by another film: Paul Verhoeven's 2017 psychological thriller ELLE.Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus. Unwatchables Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/unwatchables Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unwatchablespod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnwatchablesPodWebsite: https://www.unwatchablespod.com Email: unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com
Today we’re diving deep into the bowels of THE DAILY WIRE’S film imprint with help from writer and conservative media expert Sami Gold. Our subjects are one “documentary” and one “comedy” that truly test the title of our podcast: 2022's WHAT IS A WOMAN?, a piece of transphobic propaganda hosted by conservative anti-personality Matt Walsh, and 2023’s LADY BALLERS, an anti-woke sports comedy that somehow hates women even more than trans people.Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus.You can support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unwatchables to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next.Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.
Francis Ford Coppola is no stranger to highly publicized cinematic debacles, but few have been as long in the making as MEGALOPOLIS. The GODFATHER director put up $120 million of his own money to fund this decades-old passion project, a philosophical sci-fi epic plagued by trouble all the way from production to its disastrous reception. With help from VULTURE’s Bilge Ebiri, we consider whether it's another misunderstood masterpiece— or if it was understood very well indeed.You can find more from Bilge at https://www.vulture.com/author/bilge-ebiri/Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus.You can support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unwatchables to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next.Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.
Critic Jason Bailey, author of Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend, returns to UNWATCHABLES for two controversial films by the late, um, great(?) Joel Schumacher. 1993's FALLING DOWN may be THE angry white man vigilante thriller, a Rorschach test that either examines or celebrates racially charged grievance. Then there’s 1999's bleak psychological thriller 8MM, which answers the question: what if SE7EN shared a director with BATMAN & ROBIN?You can find Jason's book, Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend, at https://mzs.press/SIGNED-Gandolfini-Jim-Tony-and-the-Life-of-a-Legend-by-Jason-Bailey-Hardcover-NEW-p730146973Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus.You can support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unwatchables to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next.Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.
Today we’re joined by film critic Vikram Murthi for two very different films inspired by the 1966 University of Texas tower shooting. First up is 1968's Boris Karloff-starring TARGETS, the directorial debut of Peter Bogdanovich that featured a fictionalized version of the shooter just two years after the tragedy; and then 2016's TOWER, an animated hybrid documentary told entirely from the ground view of the victims and those who acted to save them.You can find more from Vikram at https://x.com/fauxbeatpoetYou can support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unwatchables to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next.Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.
Today we go down the rabbit hole of the Czechoslovak New Wave with two dark, grimy, surreal versions of beloved fairy tales. First up is the 1978 horror fantasy BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (or literally, THE MONSTER AND THE VIRGIN), from THE CREMATOR’s Juraj Herz; then Jan Švankmajer's demented stop-motion take on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, 1988’s ALICE.Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus.You can support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unwatchables to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next.Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.
Writer and podcaster Will Sloan of THE IMPORTANT CINEMA CLUB joins us today as our guide through the early underground films of Andy Warhol. We’ll be covering some of the legendary pop artist’s most radical and (for at least one of us) punishing cinematic experiments: 30 minutes of couples sucking face in 1964's KISS; 27 minutes of, well, something else, in BLOW JOB; and 1965’s VINYL, an early adaptation of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE that makes Kubrick's version look like Marvel movie.You can find more from will at:https://letterboxd.com/will_sloan/https://x.com/WillSloanEsqUnwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus.You can support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unwatchables to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next.Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.
Today author and ScreenCrush editor Matt Singer returns to discuss one of the oddest detours in a legendary Hollywood career. When THE CABLE GUY came out in 1996, Jim Carrey was on one of the hottest streaks in cinema history; fans just didn't know what to do with a dark comedy/thriller that made him into a full-blown creep. We talk about why it was considered a flop, where it falls in the careers of both Carrey and director Ben Stiller, and if it really IS that weird.You can find more from Matt at https://screencrush.com/Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus.You can support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unwatchables to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next.Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.
Today we welcome Bryan Loomis, host of the film podcast WHAT A PICTURE, to discuss the work of polarizing surrealist filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky made some of the most bizarre and controversial cult films of the 1970's, and we'll be discussing perhaps his two most notorious: 1970's phantasmogoric acid western EL TOPO and 1973's psychedelic odyssey THE HOLY MOUNTAIN.You can find more from Bryan at https://www.whatapicturepod.com/Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus.You can support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unwatchables to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next.Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.
Today we’re joined by SPLIT YOUR HEAD’s Bob McCully to discuss a cinematic movement entirely new to our hosts. The Japanese “pink films” of the 60s, 70s, and 80s were part lurid exploitation flicks and part transgressive art films, like arthouse video nasties. We tackle two of its most provocative touchstones: Koji Wakamatsu's true-crime inspired VIOLATED ANGELS and Hisayasu Sato's gay sadomasochistic love story MUSCLE.You can hear more from Bob athttps://open.spotify.com/show/13zXnW9HONPA7hf5U03F8iUnwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus.You can support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unwatchables to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next.Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.
The late David Lynch explored the line between the watchable and the unwatchable as distinctively and mysteriously as any filmmaker ever has. UNWATCHABLES kicks off Season 4 by tackling his first and (sadly) last films, his two most alienating avant-garde works separated by almost exactly 30 years: 1977's hugely influential surrealist classic ERASERHEAD, and 2006's polarizing 3-hour digital camcorder experiment INLAND EMPIRE.
Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus.
You can support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unwatchables to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next.
Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.
Film critic Keith Phipps returns for his second UNWATCHABLES season finale, and how better to close out the year than with a harrowing arthouse classic and its unlikely grindhouse remake? Ingmar Bergman’s THE VIRGIN SPRING is a stark, unsettling adaptation of a 13th century folk ballad; 12 years later, it served as the inspiration for the grisly debut of horror director Wes Craven, 1972’s THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. We discuss how Bergman’s religious fable morphed into the template for the modern rape-revenge film, and what was lost—or gained—in translation.
Don’t forget to join us at http://Patreon.com/Unwatchables for an exclusive Q&A with Keith, plus all our weekly bonus content!
Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus.
You can support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unwatchables to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next. Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.
Today we welcome author, filmmaker, and (retired) performer Christopher Zeischegg for two films by notorious transgressive author Dennis Cooper. Cooper’s queer, graphic, sex- and death-obsessed fiction is disturbing enough on its own. Now he’s ventured twice into filmmaking: first with 2015’s LIKE CATTLE TOWARDS GLOW, a collection of shorts concerned with many of the same violent themes as his written work. Then he switched gears with 2018’s sweeter PERMANENT GREEN LIGHT, about a teenager compelled to literally blow himself up—with a little help from his friends.
Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus.
You can support us on Patreon at patreon.com/unwatchables to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next. Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at unwatchablespodcast@gmail.com. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.
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