Scary Thoughts
136 episodes - English - Latest episode: 27 days ago - ★★★★★ - 126 ratingsHosts Marc Kate and Chad Lott discuss horror films, television, literature and philosophy.
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Episodes
Scary Thoughts #116 - Clueless (1995)
March 23, 2024 01:13 - 1 hour - 88.6 MBClueless (1995) is one of those films that almost everyone has a soft spot for. It defined a time and place, riffed on a classic, upholds pretty good values, is extremely quotable, and makes you feel happy when you watch it (unless you are truly dead inside). So why are we covering it on a horror podcast? Well, it’s Marc’s favorite movie, and Chad prefers it to all horror movies. It’s an episode we’ve joked about doing forever. Recently, we both read “As If!: The Oral History of Clueless,...
Scary Thoughts #115 - Rick and Morty, Season 7, Episode 10, Fear No Mort (2023)
December 24, 2023 20:46 - 1 hour - 73.3 MBWhen faced with the recent dreary Christmas horror offerings of the past year or two, we felt nothing but apathy. Which is a terrible position to be in when you’re looking for a holiday episode idea. But fear not! Or rather—Fear No Mort—the season seven finale of Rick and Morty is pretty great. It sticks the landing on an overall decent season that could’ve been much worse. But it’s smart, funny and brings up a lot of themes that we’ve spent years covering: the nature of fear, creativity ...
Scary Thoughts #114 - Top Ten Tropes and Grievances of 2023
October 26, 2023 20:58 - 1 hour - 94.9 MBIt’s been a while—but fear not—we have returned, just in time for Halloween! This episode covers 10 loosey-goosey horror themes that we’ve been pondering as of late. We praise stuff we love and do quite a bit of bitching about the state of the world. There’s a little bit of optimism and a lot of that old time hate. Something for everyone! We don’t focus on any particular films. However, fans of Alien, Barbie, and Jack Ryan are in for a treat. Or maybe a trick.
Scary Thoughts #113 - The Martian
September 10, 2023 18:04 - 1 hour - 162 MBAndy Weir’s novel The Martian (2011) is top-shelf hard sci-fi for nerds who love space and MacGyver situations. Just four years after (official) publication, Ridley Scott made a film version starring (South Park voice) Matt Dayyyyyymon. Both versions of the story are fast paced and fun. They aren’t exactly horror, but survival stories are often horrific. And this one has a touch of terror and a dash of body horror to make it on the show. We get into how artists and engineers see the worl...
Scary Thoughts #112 - The Craft
May 31, 2023 21:26 - 1 hour - 73.3 MBThe Craft (1996) is a beloved teen witch movie that helped define the 90s mall goth experience. It also made supporting actress Fairuza Balk a bit of an icon for the heavy eyeshadow crowd. Does this movie still hold up? Blessed be, yes! Other than a lame soundtrack, this is a fun movie with memorable scenes and decent actors. We talk about what it was like to be a neophyte goth in New Orleans during the late 1900s, witchcraft as a thing that’s cool and corny, and the role of life coaches...
Scary Thoughts #111 - Soviet Horror with Alexander Herbert
March 04, 2023 00:47 - 56 minutes - 51.5 MBThis episode we talk with our comrade Alexander Herbert about his great new book, Fear Before the Fall: Horror Films in the Late Soviet Union. Alexander is a PhD candidate in Soviet History at Brandeis University, specializing in environmental activism and the history of technology leading up to collapse. He gives us the scoop on Soviet horror films, the punk scene in Moscow, and a behind the scenes look into how the Zero Books sausage is made.
Scary Thoughts #110 - Sunn O)))
February 02, 2023 21:27 - 1 hour - 58.2 MBHear Chad and Marc tackle the monolithic drones of metal duo Sunn O))). They discuss witchery and ritual, gear and sculpture, fandom and influence, and (as usual) capitalism and art.
Scary Thoughts #109 - Self Help for Nihilists on Discipline! with Nick "The Tooth" Gullo
January 06, 2023 00:57 - 1 hour - 76.9 MBNick “The Tooth” Gullo is a 2x IBJJF Jiu Jitsu Black Belt world champion, co-host of the Infinite Worlds podcast, a writer, lawyer, world traveler, TV Star—and most importantly for this NYE resolution conversation, is absolutely shredded in his 50s. He joins us for the second time to discuss discipline, keto dieting, being kind to yourself, internet hucksters (Liver King, etc.), toxic masculinity, toxic acceptance, male energy, self-help cults, goal setting, and a lot more. This episode d...
Scary Thoughts #108 - Halloween Ends (2022)
November 29, 2022 01:31 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBHalloween Ends (2022) is Blumhouse’s last shot at making that Michael Meyers money. But rather than do more of what sort of works, they introduce us to the saddest sack character ever and focus the film on his dating life, which is sort of an interesting choice for this insufferable franchise. We don’t love it. But Marc doesn’t hate it as much, which makes for some high-value conversation. We also talk about A Star is Born, Dirty Harry, Tarantino’s new book, and what our Halloween sequels ...
Scary Thoughts #107 - The Munsters (2022) & Spider Baby (1967)
October 20, 2022 23:51 - 1 hour - 81.7 MBOur first DOUBLE FEATURE episode covers Jack Hill’s Spider Baby (1967) and Rob Zombie’s The Munsters (2022). Why these films together? Well, the straightforward answer is that we watched them the same week—and Sid Haig. But we do weave some viable thematic and cultural webs between the two. We cover incest, cannibalism, Kanye, why secondary writing is terrible, what we’ve been doing wrong, the DSM-5, first deaths, and quite a bit more. This is a sprawling, classic Scary Thoughts episode ...
Scary Thoughts #106 - Terror Vault with Peaches Christ
October 04, 2022 21:32 - 1 hour - 56.9 MBDrag legend and horror icon Peaches Christ (Joshua Grannell) is back for a fourth episode. This time we’re exploring the spooky secrets of Terror Vault, a fully immersive haunted theatrical experience that takes audiences on a terrifying journey within the dank, rat-infested walls of the old San Francisco Mint. If you’re into haunts, you’re going to love this episode. We talk about the origins of Peaches’ interest in horror performance, the technical details of running the show, how the pi...
Scary Thoughts #105 - Prey (2022)
August 25, 2022 04:58 - 59 minutes - 54.4 MBDan Trachtenberg’s 2022 Predator offering, Prey, is one of the better films in the franchise. If you’re a truly misguided soul, (like Marc) it might even be your favorite. We talked about what it did well and what could’ve been better. Before getting to the choppa, we start with a little bit about where Marc’s academic journey is taking him.
Scary Thoughts #104 - Jennifer's Body (2009)
August 03, 2022 16:45 - 1 hour - 81.3 MBKaryn Kusama’s 2009 film Jennifer’s Body, is finding an audience thanks to a mix of #metoo reckoning, queer analysis, oughts nostalgia, and public fascination with Megan Fox’s hematophagic pairing with male scream queen Machine Gun Kelly. This film hasn’t aged well, but our age is treating it well. We discuss whether that old-time patriarchy or a messy script with boring kills led to the initial cold reception of the film.
Scary Thoughts #103 – Stranger Things, Season Four, Part Two
July 14, 2022 15:15 - 1 hour - 75.9 MBThe second half of Stranger Things 4 was fun. Even Argyle and Lucas managed to have great moments. In this episode we talk about why this season won us over, how drugs help with the enjoyment of art, whether or not there are epochs (and if music in the 80s was one), and whether or not it makes sense to have naked heavy metal girls on a character’s wall if it upsets modern sensibilities.
Scary Thoughts #102 - Stranger Things, Season Four, Part One
June 30, 2022 18:07 - 1 hour - 67.7 MBWe started our show talking about the first season of Stranger Things, so we are compelled to continue. Thankfully for everyone, the end is nigh. But as Marc is fond of saying, “Don’t let our yuck interfere with your yum.” There’s still a lot to like about the show, even if it is circling the drain of mediocrity on its way to the septic tank of nostalgia. Our next episode covers the finale.
Scary Thoughts #101 - The Evil Dead (Sam Raimi – 1981) and Evil Dead II (Sam Raimi – 1987)
May 19, 2022 19:35 - 1 hour - 81.6 MBThe Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead 2 (1987) are both unimpeachable classics of horror comedy. After our longest hiatus, we delve into the cult lore of these films and their influence on horror. This episode isn’t exactly philosophical, but it’s a fun one, especially if you grew up with Sam Raimi’s madcap brand of cabin-based mayhem. And for the first time–no major spoilers!
Scary Thoughts #100 - What Have We Learned?
March 04, 2022 22:27 - 1 hour - 249 MBWe started Scary Thoughts back in 2016. The years since have been–eventful. This episode rambles hard as we attempt to answer the question, “what have we learned?” Think of it as a director’s commentary. We talk about what we thought the show would be, where it’s going, our friendship, horror podcasting as a phenomenon, being rooted in the Bay Area, and we tell a bunch of bar stories, which people always seem to like. Thanks for listening.
Scary Thoughts #99 - Post-Quarantine Q&A
February 16, 2022 18:22 - 2 hours - 113 MBLet us help you slide into this not-quite-new not-quite-normal-not-quite-post-pandemic with some answers to your questions. You asked about news consumption, movie theaters, horror trends, Disney character team-ups, nostalgia, algorithms, the hunt for Joe Rogan, meditation—and we answered. It’s all very on-brand for our Self-Help for Nihilists series.
Scary Thoughts #98 - Titane (2021) with Monique Jenkinson aka Fauxnique
February 06, 2022 19:07 - 1 hour - 97.5 MBJulia Ducornau’s Titane (2021) features a lot of dancing and gender theory. So who better to have as a guest than Monique Jenkinson, AKA Fauxnique? We talk about her new book Faux Queen: A Life in Drag, body horror, female violence, Sharon Stone’s directing ambitions, film criticism, tarot cards, body horror, and French flatulists. Opinions were divided on this film, so it’s an exciting episode.
Scary Thoughts #97 - Don’t Look Up (2021)
January 17, 2022 16:17 - 1 hour - 89.6 MBDon’t Look Up came out on Netflix just in time to brighten everyone’s 2021 holidays. The director, Adam McKay, is one of the most successful comedy directors ever, but this movie isn’t exactly a winner, even if it does have a ton of actors we love. In an episode almost as long as this too-long film, we discuss the few things we liked—and spend most of the episode deriding it. We veer into slightly spicy territory on this one. Does politics ruin comedy? Does anyone like Joe Biden? Can the...
Scary Thoughts #96 - Dune (2021)
December 01, 2021 17:34 - 58 minutes - 54 MBDenis Villeneuve’s Dune (2021) isn’t horror. But this episode was requested by quite a few people, and we aim to please. We discuss this version, the first book in Frank Herbert’s series, David Lynch’s superior take, and Jodorowsky's Dune. There’s a little distortion in the audio up front, which is obviously Harkonnen treachery.
Scary Thoughts #95 - Halloween Kills (2021)
October 30, 2021 15:53 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBHalloween Kills (2021) is Blumhouse’s second film in what will undoubtedly, and unfortunately, be an ongoing series. Like many entries in this classic franchise, it is awful. We discuss where it goes wrong, the few things that work well, mob violence, the relevance of the series as a whole, Rob Zombie’s versions, slasher character actor fandom, and if you stick to the end, a story about Fabio.
Scary Thoughts #94 - Malignant (2021)
October 06, 2021 23:49 - 1 hour - 56.1 MBJames Wan’s Malignant (2021) is a lot of things. Giallo homage. Action film. 90s horror. But even when it feels familiar, it delivers some genuinely original moments and ideas. We cover the film itself, its references, seeing films in theaters post-COVD, indie fetishism, simple pleasures, and whether or not Wan is the Dave Grohl of horror.
Scary Thoughts #93 - The Final Girl Support Group (2021)
September 12, 2021 18:41 - 1 hour - 85.9 MBGrady Hendrix’s Final Girl Support Group (2021) is a love letter to the golden age of slasher movies. This episode is essentially a love letter to the author—even if we do have our crusty quibbles about a few bits. We talk about the difference between metafiction and nostalgia, Harold Bloom’s Anxiety of Influence, murderabilia, Final Girls as a concept, and a little background on how you might end up in UC Berkeley’s Rhetoric department. We recommend pairing this listen with Peaches Christ...
Scary Thoughts #92 - Halloween (2018)
August 23, 2021 19:54 - 1 hour - 63.1 MBIn this episode we take a look at Halloween (2018), the third film of the same title, in the same franchise. Yes folks, this is the age of the reboot. We discuss the pleasures and pitfalls of Blumhouses’s formula, old-timey firearms vs. modern firearms, why book clubs are lame, and we heap praise upon Jamie Lee Curtis. While this episode isn’t a direct prequel to our next episode, it does begin a longer cross-episode discussion of final girls.
Scary Thoughts #91 - Inside (2021)
July 29, 2021 15:55 - 1 hour - 69.5 MBBo Burnham’s Inside (2021) is one of the most unique things you’ll see on Netflix. It’s an angsty and existential one-man musical comedy about isolation. Though COVID-19 is never mentioned in the piece, it looms large, giving it the kind of “horror” vibes one can pick up from a pandemic thriller like Contagion. Like the film, we find ourselves in a few ranty digressions that will make total sense if you listen to us frequently, but may confuse the uninitiated.
Scary Thoughts #90 - Event Horizon (1997) with Nick Gullo
June 06, 2021 16:42 - 1 hour - 70.2 MBThis episode we cover the 1997 sci-fi horror film Event Horizon—with deep digressions into the nature of reality, L. Ron Hubbard, QAnon, martial arts nerds, psychedelics, UFOs, and cosmic horror. We’re joined by Nick Gullo, AKA Nick the Tooth. His career bio is about as complex as Buckaroo Bonzai’s. To keep it short, he’s the co-host of the excellent Infinite Worlds podcast, wrote a book about the UFC, writes sci-fi, and is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Scary Thoughts #89 - Dungeon Synth with Andee Connors
May 27, 2021 06:33 - 1 hour - 81.3 MBDungeon Synth is as obscure as it gets for music genres, but it might be everywhere soon. We explore the fetid foundations and eldritch evolutions of this bizarre scene with extreme music authority, Andee Connors. He co-owned the notorious Aquarius Records, curates Pandora’s unholy Black Metal station, was a member of A Minor Forest and now creates infernal music with Common Eider, King Eider, and with Marc, My Heart, An Inverted Flame. The conversation goes deep into the haunted hinterland...
Scary Thoughts #88 - Introducing Season 2: The Post-COVID World
May 12, 2021 23:24 - 1 hour - 62.9 MBThis episode follows a long and unplanned break caused by a plethora of personal calamities (spoiler: Chad got The ‘Rona). Rather than focusing on a single film or book, we use the episode to discuss the future direction of the show and gab about broader trends in visual art. We cover The Snyder Cut, The Overlook Theatre’s Unknown Film Fest, our returns to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the compelling world of Twitch, and what makes Andee Connors such a treasure.
Scary Thoughts #87 The Vast of Night (2019)
February 10, 2021 23:56 - 56 minutes - 77.9 MBBack in October of 2020 we hosted an online screening of the 2020 indie sci-fi film, The Vast of Night. The event was put together by Fulcrum Arts. This episode is a recording of the post-watch Q&A with the film’s production sound team: Crow and Erik Duemig and Supervising Sound Editor and Sound Designer Johnny Marshall. Ironically, the sound quality of this episode is a bit rough thanks to Zoom, who are really not stepping up meeting the audio needs of our collective remote living dystopia...
Scary Thoughts #86 - The Purge (2013)
January 21, 2021 20:14 - 1 hour - 146 MBThe Purge franchise’s first film was released in 2013. There are now four flicks, two seasons of a TV series, and a host of questionable fan content online. We discuss the appeal of this story, what Purge politics would actually mean in real life, why Rick & Morty’s “Look Who’s Purging Now” is the best Purge movie, and some gabbing about the current apocalypse. In other words, a classic Scary Thoughts adventure.
Scary Thoughts #85 - Us with Boston & J from Race Trader Podcast
January 08, 2021 19:57 - 1 hour - 246 MBJordan Peele is an important Black filmmaker and a horror nerd’s horror nerd. His 2019 film Us is packed full of references to obscure classics—but does that make it less original? Boston and J from one of our favorite podcasts, Race Trader, join us to discuss it (along with a little sidetalk about Get Out and Tyler Perry).
Scary Thoughts #85 with Boston & J from Race Trader Podcast
January 08, 2021 19:57 - 1 hour - 246 MBJordan Peele is an important Black filmmaker and a horror nerd’s horror nerd. His 2019 film Us is packed full of references to obscure classics—but does that make it less original? Boston and J from one of our favorite podcasts, Race Trader, join us to discuss it (along with a little sidetalk about Get Out and Tyler Perry).
Scary Thoughts #84 - Verotika (2019)
November 12, 2020 19:09 - 1 hour - 246 MBGlenn Danzig’s Verotika (2019) is a failure. But has it failed in an interesting way? That all depends on how much you like boobs. In this episode we discuss bad acting, bad effects, bad music, and bad films. We also touch on things we like: Tommy Wiseau, outsider art, The Mandalorian—and yes—boobs. Also, keep your ears alert for Marc flexing on the whole cast of Verotika with his own French accent.
Scary Thoughts #83 - It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
October 29, 2020 20:25 - 40 minutes - 92.9 MBGather ‘round boils and ghouls, it’s our annual Halloween episode! This year we’re covering It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966). Short and sweet like a peppermint patty, we talk about television, made up holidays, bad boomer ideas, belief, trash cinema, The Boys, and renting movies in the 90s.
Scary Thoughts #82 - “Is this how you thought it would all end?” with Michelle Tea, Meg Elison and Lawrence English
October 08, 2020 22:54 - 1 hour - 71.3 MBWriter Michelle Tea, writer Meg Elison, and composer Lawrence English join us for a trio of COVID-19-era conversations. We ask them each, “Is this how you thought it would all end?” All three guests have great perspectives on the apocalyptic vibrations affecting us all, but are any of us truly ready for the end?
Scary Thoughts #81 - Rick and Morty
September 21, 2020 20:27 - 1 hour - 95.7 MBRick and Morty is one of those shows people love making video essays about. It’s smart, it uses philosophical ideas to deliver dick and fart jokes, and it includes a lot of high-level sci-fi/cosmic horror. This classic Scary Thoughts adventure is just Chad and Marc. Depending on what universe you’re listening to this in, that might be a very big deal.
Scary Thoughts #80 - Host (2020) with Madeleine Koestner
August 14, 2020 18:38 - 1 hour - 88.9 MBShudder’s Zoom-based film Host (2020) is the belle of the COVID-19-horror-film ball. This fun and imaginative movie is a great way to spend an hour at the end of a depressing work day. But is it actually good? Or are we just starved for options? We are joined by Madeleine Koestner, the co-founder and programmer of the Unnamed Footage Festival. She’s a frequent guest on The Overlook Hour podcast and writes for a ton of horror sites. Basically the perfect guest for talking about this one.
Scary Thoughts #79 - The 'Burbs (1989) with Nathan Thompson
August 04, 2020 23:36 - 1 hour - 96.1 MBJoe Dante’s 1989 film The ‘Burbs has been our most requested film to cover since we started this podcast. It’s great and so is our guest Nathan Thompson. He’s a writer and journalist and hosts the Yoga and meditation podcast Escaping Samsara. We get into the occult, genre films, living in the suburbs, longing for nostalgia and the joy of strong character actors.
Scary Thoughts #78 - The Road (2006) with Daniel Coffeen
July 27, 2020 20:02 - 1 hour - 119 MBCormac McCarthy’s bleak, apocalyptic father-son road trip novel, The Road (2006), won both the Pulitzer Prize and the admiration of Oprah. Daniel Coffeen (Zero Books, Renegade University) rejoins us to discuss if the book deserves all the praise and whether or not the movie gets it right. We talk a bit about Blood Meridian, too, if that’s your thing.
Scary Thoughts #77 - World War Z (2006)
July 09, 2020 18:41 - 1 hour - 102 MBMax Brooks nailed it with his 2006 fictional oral history, World War Z. It’s a fun book with lots of original ideas, which makes it a blast to talk about; especially since there are so many parallels with our own current COVID-19 lifestyles. We give the movie as much attention as it deserves (not much) and touch on our own survival tactics. Episode bonus: there are scrub jays chirping in the background throughout the show, so if you’ve been missing nature, this is a good one.
Scary Thoughts episode 76 - The Wicker Man (1973) with Steven Intermill
June 30, 2020 03:18 - 1 hour - 128 MBThe Wicker Man (1973) is British folk horror at its best. It’s got weird townsfolk music, a mysterious and sexy monarch, bizarre occult practices, and nude pagan dance numbers. We’re joined by Steven Intermill, the Director of the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft & Magick (Cleveland, OH). We get deep into the well-researched details of the film, the history of Wicca in America, and all kinds of other high weirdness. The sound is a bit dodgy in this episode, but it’s a tremendously enjoyable on...
Scary Thoughts #76 - The Wicker Man (1973) with Steven Intermill
June 30, 2020 03:18 - 1 hour - 128 MBThe Wicker Man (1973) is British folk horror at its best. It’s got weird townsfolk music, a mysterious and sexy monarch, bizarre occult practices, and nude pagan dance numbers. We’re joined by Steven Intermill, the Director of the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft & Magick (Cleveland, OH). We get deep into the well-researched details of the film, the history of Wicca in America, and all kinds of other high weirdness. The sound is a bit dodgy in this episode, but it’s a tremendously enjoyable on...
Scary Thoughts #75 - Safe (1995) with K.M. Soehnlein
June 16, 2020 02:18 - 1 hour - 104 MBWhat better time than a pandemic to cover Safe (1995) by Todd Haynes? This illness thriller is on a lot of “best of” lists even though it’s rarely talked about now. In this episode we’re joined by author K.M. Soehnlein. We cover AIDS activism in the 80-90s, the weirdos of the wellness scene, cults, 80s yuppie decor, Christian Science, and Moore.
Scary Thoughts #74 - The Hunt (2020)
May 27, 2020 01:06 - 1 hour - 112 MBThe Hunt (2019/20) is surrounded by political drama but is pretty mediocre. Except for our hero Betty Gilpin, who absolutely slays. We spend just about as much time talking about fake martial arts, conspiracy theories and war as we do the actual movie.
Scary Thoughts #73 - 28 Days Later... (2002)
May 20, 2020 18:36 - 1 hour - 75.5 MBOur pandemic podcasting continues with the 2002 fast-zombie film 28 Days Later. We both loved it when it came out, but some elements of the film have aged better than others. The conversation drifts into COVID-19 talk, tactical training for actors, hotels for the homeless, and conspiracy mindsets.
Scary Thoughts #72 - Ed Wood (1994)
May 02, 2020 19:25 - 1 hour - 79.3 MBTim Burton’s Ed Wood (1994) is his best film and Johnny Depp’s best performance. Your inner goth teen might bristle, but everything about it is near perfect. Joshua Grannell (Aka Peaches Christ) joins us again to talk about why the great weirdos of film matter and what it means to be in love with the people who create the strange and unusual.
Scary Thoughts #71 - Tiger King (2020)
April 15, 2020 19:11 - 1 hour - 106 MBIn the age of COVID-19 there are only two popular subjects: Trump and the Tiger King. We are tired of both. But the memes remain strong. We talk about the saga of these cat-addicted mutants, how well the story works as a doc, and the inevitable reality show dominance of streaming services. Fair warning: this is a rantier than usual episode. And our sound quality is again poor due to Zoom; hopefully we will return to audio excellence one day.
Self Help for Nihilists 0003 - Quarantine Q&A
March 30, 2020 23:29 - 1 hour - 92.5 MBThanks to COVID-19 caused social distancing, this is the first episode we’ve recorded remotely. With compromised audio, and fortified immune systems, we talk about life under the virus, answer a lot of listener questions, and make predictions about the future.
Scary Thoughts #69 - Contagion (2011)
March 17, 2020 02:30 - 1 hour - 92.8 MBSteven Soderbergh’s 2011 Contagion is eerily prescient because of the filmmakers dedication to research and realism. The cast, cinematography, and script are excellent. But it’s not exactly an uplifting watch, considering the news. We recorded this episode the day before the Bay Area was ordered to shelter in place for COVID-19.