The Limits of Horror

No monsters, no violence. Just mind-expanding psychedelics and Bruce Dern trying to be friendly. In this episode,  Pete Turner is joined by Ian Cooper, screenwriter and author of "The Manson Family on Film and Television", and the Devil's Advocates books on "Frenzy" and "Witchfinder General" to explore Roger Corman’s The Trip. Is the film an advert for taking LSD...

Host Pete Turner is joined by Dr Cat Lester, the author of "Horror Films for Children: Fear and Pleasure in American Cinema" and editor of "Watership Down: Perspectives On and Beyond Animated Violence" to explore what makes Watership Down a horror film. They discuss the violence and the vulnerability of these lovable bunnies, but also the film's themes around death, leader...

What makes Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue such a disturbing film? And just because it's disturbing, does that make it a horror, or would it be better classed as a psychological thriller? In episode 3, host Pete Turner and animation expert Luke Holmes explore how the film taps into some deep fears about selfhood and identity, surveillance and performance, and disorientation and paranoia. 

Did Coppola intend to make a horror film or a gothic romance? Can horror films be filled with beauty? Do our expectations of horror change with age and experience? In this episode, Pete discusses Coppola's version of Bram Stoker's Dracula with cinematographer Jamie Laxton to try and decide if a Dracula film can ever not be horror?

Are vampire films always horror films? Does a horror film have to be scary? Does a filmmaker always know what genre their film belongs to? In this first episode, Pete sits down with Govind Chandran to discuss Gov's short film Scarlet. Do we answer any of these questions? Listen to find out. And you can also watch Gov's short film here https://youtu.be/6GoAcEwkce8?si=hbm7IzxdAvNvlK5r Enjo...

Coming soon:  a new podcast on The Limits of Horror. Where does the boundary lie between horror and other genres? Week by week, we decide! Join your host Pete Turner as he discusses borderline horror texts with a new guest each week. With thanks to Robert Church for his work on the music for this podcast.