Just Ghoul With It

This week Nikki and Kate watched The Meg and discussed the 12 Days of Terror, negative space in the ocean, and the bloodthirsty nature of turtles.   Rated PG-13 for action/peril, bloody images and some language Content warnings: Blood, gore, someone struggling to breathe, eye mutilation, animal death, jump scares, death by suicide, claustrophobia, shaky cam, ableism   You can check out all of the...

This week Nikki and Kate were joined by Amanda Jacobson of both Wine and Crime and Could’ve Been Heroes fame. Among 90’s nostalgia reminiscing, they discussed maximalism in set design, the intensity of high school friendships, and how to tell when a party is officially over.   Rated R for some terror, violence, and brief language Content warnings: Blood, intimate partner violence, hate speech, sel...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Ghost Ship and talked about sailor superstitions, knowing your light source, and soul sperm. Along the way, Nikki’s hopes of being a sailor were dashed.  Rated R for strong violence/gore, language and sexuality Content warnings: Blood, gore, gun violence, death by drowning, hanging, falling, and burning, torture, cutting, death of a child, death of a parent, jump s...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Housebound and discussed the blending of horror and comedy, silence as part of sound design, and also glorgles.  Content warnings: Blood, gore, audio gore, animal death, hate speech, stalking, gaslighting, someone struggling to breathe, death of a child, hospital scene, claustrophobia, flashing lights, ableism, jump scares   You can check out all of the past episod...

This week Nikki and Kate are joined by Dracula expert Daniel Kunkel (co-host of the podcast The Great Transylvanian Bite-Off, among others) to cover Salem’s Lot. They discuss the connection between disease and vampire panics, the depopulation of the adaptation, and the bravery of a husky boy.   Rated PG Content warnings: Intimate partner violence, gun violence, sexual assault (implied, not depicte...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Train to Busan and wept. In between tears they discussed the history of zombies in film, fight choreography, and leaving a space for lesbians in your mind at all times.    Content warnings: Blood, gore, audio gore,  jump scares, death by suicide, anxiety attacks, claustrophobia, shaky cam, flashing lights, ableism, car crash, someone falls to their death, someone s...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Frailty and discussed American exceptionalism, covered some abhorrent deeds, and discovered what it means to be Ford Tough. Also Kate definitely knows the difference between Owen Wilson and Matthew McConaughey. Rated R for violence and some language Content warnings: Death by suicide, torture, death of a parent, death of a child, kidnapping, stalking, vomit, jump s...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Let Us Prey and took a brief look at the Scottish Reformation, explored the many uses of blood and gore, and ogled Daddy Death.   Content warnings: Blood, gore, torture, audio gore, police brutality, finger/toe mutilation, a head is squashed, child death, sexual child abuse, death by suicide, intimate partner violence, car crash, gun violence, death by hanging, som...

This week Nikki and Kate brought in another spooky soul to cover A Nightmare on Elm Street. Alongside Lindsey they discussed milk carton kids, practical effect design, and the defining characteristics of a boiler room.   Rated R for strong bloody horror violence, disturbing images, terror and language Content warnings: Blood, gore, bugs, finger mutilation, torture, someone is burned alive, cutting...

This week Nikki and Kate watched The Mothman Prophecies and discussed the use (and perhaps overuse) of jump cuts, types and functions of folklore, and Mothman’s juicy ass.    Rated PG-13 for terror, some sexuality and language Content warnings: Car crash, hospital scene, jump scares, death by suicide, cancer, gaslighting, claustrophobia, flashing lights/images, plane crash, blood, gore, someone st...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Insidious and discussed the social construction of childhood innocence, the risks of astral projection, and the correct pronunciation of Tony Shalhoub.   Rated PG-13 for thematic material, violence, terror and frightening images, and brief strong language Content warnings: Blood, gore, hospital scene, flashing lights, shaky cam, anxiety attacks, someone struggling...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Black Christmas and invited a guest along for the chaos! Caroline from How Have You Not Seen joined the fray for the discussion of this 1974 classic. They talked about contemporary folklore, warm lighting in horror films, and how to find a dead body.   Rated R for strong horror violence and gore, sexuality, nudity and language. Content warnings: Sexual assault (men...

This week Nikki and Kate watched 30 Days of Night and talked about zombies more than one would expect for a vampire film. Along the way they talked about the iconic duo of blue light and cold weather, invasion horror films, and America’s Sweetheart Drew Barrymore who is not in this film.    Rated R for strong horror violence and language Content warnings: Dog death, animal death, torture, finger/t...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Gremlins and discussed American consumerism and Christmas, the juxtaposition of holiday cheer and horror, and crimes against children of the 80s.   Rated PG for violence Content warnings: Death of a parent, death of an animal, animal abuse, a head is squashed, vomit, jump scares, mentions of self harm and death by suicide, flashing lights, car crash, blood, gore, g...

This week Nikki, Kate, and special guest Jenna Stoeber (from Polygon, check out her work!) watched Pontypool and talked about workplace dynamics in an apocalypse, the frustration of feeling misunderstood, and Boss Baby Orson Welles.  A message from Nikki and Kate: We hate to tell you this, but all your base are belong to us. Make your time.   Content warnings: Child death, self harm, blood, gore,...

This week Nikki and Kate watched The Omen (1976) and discussed political and economic turmoil in the 70s, apocalypse vibes, and premillennial dispensationalism. They also explored the use of noise to build tension, proclaimed their appreciation for well utilized silence, and coined the term “unsightful.”     Rated R for violence/horror and gore Content warnings: Animal death, decapitation, death b...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Thir13en Ghosts but talked about Spy Kids and corn. In addition to working through their childhood corn maze days, they discussed what remakes can tell us about society, pondered how to clock the ghost when the camera won’t Stay Still, and discovered how to solve problems by counting to 12.    Rated R for horror violence/gore, nudity, and language  Content warnings...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Mandy and discussed the absolute majesty of Nicolas Cage with special guest Adal Rifai! While you may know him from his podcasts Hello From the Magic Tavern and Hey Riddle Riddle, this time around he joined Nikki and Kate in their discussions around film grain and nostalgia, the joys and pressures of projection-ing, chainsaw size, and the future of Live, Laugh, Lov...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Cloverfield and examined the connection between giant monster movies and societal fears, explored the intentional use of audio clipping, and dove deep into Scooby Doo moments. There were also discussions about the sheer existential dread that arises from being confronted with our own mortality and butts’n’dirt.    Rated PG-13 for violence, terror, and disturbing im...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Halloween and talked about JLC’s scare meter, the cuteness of sinister villains, and ways slasher movies can be examined as cultural artifacts. They also talked about the purity myth, questioned whether Halloween is an unbuilt slasher trope, and got off...topic.     Rated R for violence, sex, profanity Content warnings: Dog death, animal death, animal abuse, eye mu...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Scream and covered the evolution of the slasher subgenre, the different ways one can play with tropes, and the tension of burning JiffyPop.  They also sang the praises of their favorite character (Potatum) and their favorite actor (Matthew Lillard, man!).    Rated R for strong graphic horror violence, gore, and language Content warnings: Blood, gore, torture, cutti...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Alien and absolutely roasted each other for struggling to complete sentences. Did they carefully edit out all of their flubs? Sure didn’t! They did, however, pull a few to reserve as a bonus for the patrons. After a smooth start to the episode they discussed the economic and sexual politics of the film, the supreme cuteness of the chestburster (really though, pictu...

This week Nikki and Kate watched Candyman (1992) and discovered why there are so many uncanny similarities between Candyman and Legally Blonde. They also talked about white savior tropes in horror, going to Helen and back, and scoopin’ bees. This is a very scrunch heavy episode, be warned. Also, BEES.   Rated R for violence and gore Content warnings: Hate speech (ableist slurs), racism, child abus...

This week Nikki and Kate watched a movie where some kids from Texas are not doing well. This is to say they watched the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre! They talked about unpredictable camera angles, Ed Gein’s unique collection, ableism in horror, and the pros and cons of using a real hammer on set. And at the end, they wonder who will die longer? (See if you can catch when Nikki confidently aske...

This week Nikki and Kate watched The Love Witch and struggled with propositions. But they powered through and discussed Pre-Code Hollywood, the emotional journey of seeing yourself in the villain, and lighting techniques. They also found out that Kate doesn’t know the difference between Harold and Maude and Benny and June.  Content warnings: Blood, gore, sexual assault, flashing lights, gaslightin...