Such a Nightmare: Conversations about Horror

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca continue things with their discussion of the 2011 horror film--and franchise prequel--The Thing. (Get it...continue things...with The Thing. Come for the bad puns, stay for more bad puns.) Episode Highlights: We talk about our appreciation of the character Kate (and not only because she has an awesome name), and the ways that this character--...

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca grab their machetes for their discussion of the 1985 horror slasher film Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. Episode Highlights: We talk about the film's attempt to pivot the franchise and the consequences--both in terms of fan reception and in terms of the film's narrative--of a Jason-less Friday the 13th film. Toni shares the (admittedly deca...

In this spooktacular episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Anthony Tresca discuss not one but two (well, kind of three) THINGS:  the 1951 film The Thing from Another World, John Carpenter's beloved 1982 film The Thing, and the novella that started it all...John W. Campbell's 1938 "Who Goes There?" Episode Highlights: We explore how the thing manages, time and again, to change its form in order to pr...

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca return to Crystal Lake once more for their discussion of the 1984 horror slasher film Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. Episode Highlights: We talk about how this film works to set itself apart from the other entries in the franchise, even as it continues the franchise's MO of punishing teens for...well, being teens. Much of our examination...

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca keep on camping as they discuss the 1982 horror slasher film Friday the 13th Part III. Episode Highlights: We talk about how this particular entry in the franchise was disappointing as it was the exact same formula from the first two films...but somehow also worse than the first two films. We discuss the annoying Shelly (who reminded Katherin...

In this special Halloween episode (recorded in person and unedited!), hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca talk about the conclusion (at least for now...) of the Halloween franchise as they discuss the 2022 horror slasher film Halloween Ends.  Episode Highlights: We look at the ways that this film attempts to explore the nature/nurture dichotomy of evil before ultimately arriving at the same lar...

In this very exciting Eerie Extra, co-host Katherine Troyer talks with some masters of clownish horror: Jaysen Buterin, Kevin Kangas, and Ron Riekki. Buterin (writer and director of the film Kill Giggles) and Kangas (writer and director of Fear of Clowns 1 & 2) are featured in Riekki's 2022 edited collection  The Many Lives of Evil Clowns . We talk about our shared love of the genre and why clowns...

Jordan Peele is a horror filmmaker that helped inspire this entire podcast. So, in this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca talk the 2022 Western/sci-fi/horror film Nope. Episode Highlights: We agreed to disagree about many of our conclusions on this film, even as we both decided that the other person was making some truly excellent points. We explore the narrative as we turn to pacing...

In this exciting milestone of an episode (75 episodes...what!?!), hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca discuss not one, not two, but three seasons of the horror comedy TV show Ash vs. Evil Dead (2015-2018).    Episode Highlights: We celebrate the awesomeness that is three seasons of watching Ash Williams fight off Deadites. We talk about each season of the show and what we felt were the seasons'...

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca discuss a classic that is also a remake of a classic...the 1979 horror film Nosferatu the Vampyre (German title: Phantom der Nacht).  Episode Highlights: We talk about the tone-setting (albeit odd) cold opening of the mummies and how, even if--as Toni proves--it is meaningful, Katherine kind of hated it. We explore the ways the film pays homa...

In this episode published one day after Monday the Thirteen, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca continue their discussion of the beloved camp-filled and campy franchise by discussing the 1981 horror slasher film Friday the 13th Part 2. Episode Highlights: We talk about how much we enjoyed this film's cold opening (perhaps the first cold opening we've liked!) and how this opening scene allowed...

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca discuss a classic...the 1922 silent horror film Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror).  Episode Highlights: We explore the magic of this film as we look at everything from the realism of the set to the fantastic make-up to the practical special effects. We examine the character of Orlock as a supporter of tec...

In this incredibly special Eerie Extra, Such a Nightmare co-host Katherine Troyer sits down with Mark Garrett to discuss the music and the horror of Ice Nine Kill’s 2018 song “Thank God It’s Friday.” Join us as we break down and analyze this Friday the 13th-inspired song. Mark is the vocalist of the band Kardashev and works as a metal voice coach. His YouTube channel for Kardavox Academy features...

In this episode published on Friday May 13, 2022, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca turn to a new franchise... That's right, we discuss the film that started it all: the 1980 horror slasher film Friday the 13th. Episode Highlights: We talk about the great use of practical effects and the terrific music of this film. We examine how this film explores issues of gender--from its depiction of Ali...

This is an audio recounting of the battle play-by-plays that went live on May 10, 2022. The battles included are: Merry Barrett vs. Angela Vidal (Final Girls Bracket) Ash Williams vs. Needy Lesnicki (Final Girls Bracket) Brady Hartsfield vs. Jack Torrance (Stephen King Bracket) Happy Toyz Truck vs. Henry Bowers (Stephen King Bracket) the ghosts vs. the strangers (Monster Crews Bracket) Firefly fam...

This is an audio recounting of the battle play-by-plays that went live on May 9, 2022. The battles included are: Pamela Vorhees vs. Laurie Strode (Final Girls Bracket) Erin Harson vs. Sally Hardesty (Final Girls Bracket) Pennywise vs. Billy Nolan (Stephen King Bracket) Annie Wilkes vs. Mrs. Carmody (Stephen King Bracket) the Armitage family vs. the Podowoski clan (Monster Crews Bracket) Alaskan va...

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca discuss the 2014 American Persian-language horror/Western film A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. Episode Highlights: We examine how the film constructs the power of the Girl and turns the concept of monstrosity on its head by having the Girl embody many traditionally passive, feminine behaviors. We explore the ways that the film engages in sp...

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca discuss the 2017 Argentine novel Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica.  Episode Highlights: We examine the explicitness of this novel and argue that, while admittedly intense and overwhelming, the vivid and gory descriptions are critical to the novel's source of horror: how easily the characters of the book accept this world. In particu...

Such a Nightmare co-host Katherine Troyer introduces a project over a year in the making: Monster MAYhem!   What is Monster MAYhem you ask? Listen to Katherine explain more about this interactive bracket-style tournament that will run throughout the month of May 2022. (But good news--you can start getting ready NOW!)   Ready to start playing? Want to know more? Go to: suchanightmare.com/monster-ma...

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca conclude their exploration of Wes Craven's meta-franchise as they discuss the 2011 horror film Scream 4.  Episode Highlights: We examine how this film speaks to a new decade's fears and concerns as it situates the familiar Scream saga into a post-9/11, social media-saturated, technology-driven world. Surprisingly for once, we are fully on-boa...

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca discuss Julia Ducournau's 2016 film Raw (French title: Grave).  Episode Highlights: We talk about the ways that this film exemplifies the concept of liminality, from its depictions of places between places (like the basement rave spot) to its moments between moments (like how much of the film happens at dawn or dusk). We also look how setting...

In this very exciting Eerie Extra, co-hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca talk with horror journalist and scholar Dani Bethea. We discuss why horror matters and why it deserves (and continues to deserve) our critical attention even as it routinely breaks the bodies of people with disenfranchised or marginalized identities. Dani explains their process for picking topics to write about, shares wh...

In this episode, hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca continue their foray into the franchise as they discuss the 2000 horror film Scream 3.  Episode Highlights: We explore how the film's decision to move to Hollywood complicates the film greatly. One the one hand, it gives us an awesome scene (when Sidney is being chased by Ghost Face in the film set version of the house) and allows us to consi...

In this Eerie Extra, Such a Nightmare co-hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca review the 2022 collection of stories Bloodlines: Four Tales of Familial Horror.  We discuss the magic (and horror) that this book offers by assembling together these disparate, albeit interconnected stories. Starting with the introduction by Solomon Forse, we break down the book and examine (relatively spoiler-free!)...

In this very exciting Eerie Extra, co-hosts Katherine Troyer and Toni Tresca talk with horror writers Christopher O’Halloran, Antony Frost, Carson Winter, and Alex Wolfgang. Their 2021 collaborative collection of novellas—Bloodlines: Four Tales of Familial Fear—reminds us that home is where the heart…that bleeding and broken heart…lies. We sit down with these authors and discuss the things that sc...