horror

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 505 – That Was Then: Ghostbusters

Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson in Ghostbusters (1984), directed by Ivan Reitman

Gobbledygeek episode 505, “That Was Then: Ghostbusters,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Who ya gonna call? Gobbledygeek! For the first installment of our That Was Then series, taking a look back at movies celebrating anniversaries in 2024, Paul and Arlo take residence at Spook Central for 1984’s Ghostbusters. Turning a frightful 40 this year, Ivan Reitman’s classic comedy began as a high-concept riff on the “slobs v. snobs” template made popular by Animal House before becoming an inescapable pop cultural juggernaut. The boys discuss the thoughtfulness of Reitman’s direction in tandem with the great László Kovács’ photography, the perfectly structured script by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, how much of Pete Venkman is just Bill Murray, and why the right-wing backlash to the 2016 remake is ironic in light of the original’s sketchy politics.

NEXT: a little of this, a little of that.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:48  –  Intro / The Year That Was 1984
  • 00:18:19  –  Ghostbusters (1984)
  • 01:36:29  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr., Ghostbusters (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1984)
  • “Cleanin’ Up the Town” by The Busboys, Ghostbusters (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1984)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 503 – Twisted Christmas: Black Christmas vs. A Christmas Story

Gobbledygeek episode 503, “Twisted Christmas: Black Christmas vs. A Christmas Story,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

You’ll slash your eye out, Kidder! To close out our truncated season, it’s a Twisted Christmas double feature, as Paul and Arlo explore both of Canadian auteur Bob Clark’s yuletide classics: 1974’s proto-slasher Black Christmas and the 1983 staple A Christmas Story. The boys separately find each of these movies to be deeply annoying…but who couldn’t stand which one?! Just kidding, Paul’s not that into the horror movie and Arlo can’t stand the cutesy nostalgic one. We have a brand, and we’re sticking to it. Plus, our favorite movies and TV shows of 2023.

NEXT: Merry Christmas and happy New Year! We’ll potentially be back in January potentially with a guest and potentially discussing a movie. So much potential for 2024, can’t wait to squander all of it!

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:49  –  Intro
  • 00:09:03  –  Black Christmas
  • 00:57:31  –  A Christmas Story
  • 01:49:06  –  Outro / Next

MUSIC

  • “Call Me” by Blondie, American Gigolo (1980)
  • “BB Gun” by Roger Alan Wade, All Likkered Up (2005)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 502 – Blue Eye Samurai

Mizu (voiced by Maya Erskine) in Blue Eye Samurai (2023), created by Michael Green and Amber Noizumi

Gobbledygeek episode 502, “Blue Eye Samurai,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

What is there for a young, mixed-race woman to do in feudal Japan? Reject all traces of her femininity, assume the masculine identity of a ronin, and seek revenge on any of the four white men in the whole country who could potentially be her father. Is Mizu a demonic half-breed, an enlightened warrior, or something else altogether? Created by Michael Green and Amber Noizumi, Blue Eye Samurai charts Mizu’s journey of self-discovery and bloodlust, and Paul and Arlo are along for the ride. The boys discuss the show’s brilliant fight choreography, each character’s attempt to break free of their constraints, the tremendous voice performances of Maya Erskine and Brenda Song, and that Metallica cover. Plus, Arlo pays homage to big bald daddy Godzilla.

NEXT: ho ho no! It’s a Bob Clark double feature on the finale of our truncated season 14, as Twisted Christmas rears its festive face once more. Black Christmas and A Christmas Story are basically the same movie, right?

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:55  –  Intro / Guest
  • 00:30:10  –  Blue Eye Samurai
  • 02:00:12  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Emi Meyer, Blue Eye Samurai (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) (2023)
  • “Pale Blue Eyes” by The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground (1969)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 501 – Scavengers Reign

Levi (voiced by Alia Shawkat) and Azi (voiced by Wunmi Mosaku) in Scavengers Reign (2023), created by Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner

Gobbledygeek episode 501, “Scavengers Reign,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

We’re crash-landing back into regular podcasting with the Max original animated series Scavengers Reign. Created by Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner, the seeds of Scavengers Reign were planted in an Adult Swim short before blossoming into a brilliant sci-fi series teeming with surrealist detours and bits of body horror. Paul and Arlo rave about the show’s Cronenberg-meets-Miyazaki vibe, laud the series’ refusal to provide easy answers, and hope against hope that this beautiful, otherworldly thing will continue to thrive in a second season. Plus, Arlo is the worst.

NEXT: more Western adult animation with heavy influence from the East, as the boys confront Netflix’s Blue Eye Samurai.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:45  –  Intro / Arlo is the worst!
  • 00:27:55  –  Scavengers Reign
  • 01:53:45  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Interstellar Outer Space” by Anderson East, Maybe We Never Die (2021)
  • “Slime Creatures from Outer Space” by “Weird Al” Yankovic, Dare to Be Stupid (1985)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 495 – “HBO’s The Last of Us, Season One (feat. Dale & Ensley Guffey)”

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in The Last of Us (2023), created by Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin

Gobbledygeek episode 495, “HBO’s The Last of Us, Season One (feat. Dale & Ensley Guffey),” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Love can spread like a fungus throughout the soul, eradicating any shred of self-control. For a thorough depiction of that sentiment, we turn to HBO’s The Last of Us, a TV adaptation of the blockbuster video game series. Joining Paul and Arlo to talk everything mushroom are authors and pop culture enthusiasts Dale and Ensley Guffey, stopping by the show for their first visit in years. The gang discusses the game’s transition to television, how the show breaks new ground for the zombie apocalypse genre, the incredible chemistry between Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, and much more.

NEXT: a long-delayed Four-Color Flashback discussion of Gene Luen Yang’s Boxers & Saints.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:48  –  Intro / Guests
  • 00:03:00  –  HBO’s The Last of Us
  • 01:59:42  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Never Let Me Down Again” by Depeche Mode, Music for the Masses (1987)
  • “Long Long Time” by Linda Ronstadt, Silk Purse (1970)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to the Gobbledygeek Season 14 Premiere – “In Like a Lion”

Gobbledygeek episode 491, “In Like a Lion,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

We’re back, baby! After a longer than expected hiatus, Gobbledygeek has returned for season 14. That’s right, we’re up to 14 seasons of Paul and Arlo babbling on about any manner of nonsense–which they continue to do in this freestyle season premiere. 2023 has come in like a lion and is likely to go out like one, so we find our boys licking their wounds, recounting the real-life horrors that delayed their return to the mic, and generally complaining about everything. Including pop culture! Lest you forget that’s what they’re here for, Paul and Arlo sauté some thoughts on the mushroom apocalypse of HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation; rave about the movies they’ve caught up with, like The Fabelmans, RRR, and Aftersun; and decide to get high-brow by reading books that don’t have any pictures. Plus, a pitch for the inevitable Gobbledygeek TV series.

NEXT: okay, but we really like books that do have pictures in them. This year’s Four-Color Flashback series kicks off with Al Ewing and Simone Di Meo’s We Only Find Them When They’re Dead.

MUSIC

  • “At Last” by Etta James, At Last! (1960)
  • “This Will Be Our Year” by The Zombies, Odessey and Oracle (1968)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 486 – “Interview with the Vampire (1994)”

Kirsten Dunst, Brad Pitt, and Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire (1994), directed by Neil Jordan

Gobbledygeek episode 486, “Interview with the Vampire (1994),” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Listen to Gobbledygeek and live forever. This week, in a stealth continuation of this year’s Gobbledyween, Paul and Arlo head on down to New Orleans for Neil Jordan’s 1994 adaptation of Anne Rice’s classic Interview with the Vampire. Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Antonio Banderas are the most beautiful men anyone could have cast as immortals in the mid-’90s, and they’re joined by a prepubescent Kirsten Dunst to form a truly tragic coven. The boys discuss the evil joyfulness of Cruise’s Lestat, why the role of Louis de Pointe du Lac does not play to Pitt’s strengths, how amazing it is that the film’s overt homoeroticism made it to the screen, and much more. Plus, yoghurt.

NEXT: we’ll be back in two weeks to discuss season 2 of Reservation Dogs.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:53  –  Intro / Go Go Yoghurt!
  • 00:10:08  –  Interview with the Vampire (1994)
  • 02:06:08  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)” by Concrete Blonde, Bloodletting (1990)
  • “Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones, Beggars Banquet (1968)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 485 – “The Blair Witch Project”

Rei Hance in The Blair Witch Project (1999), directed by Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez

Gobbledygeek episode 485, “The Blair Witch Project,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

We all get lost, every now and then. Most of us don’t get quite as lost as the three film students at the center of The Blair Witch Project, a massive hit in 1999 whose reputation among the average moviegoer has also taken a massive hit. If you ask Arlo, though, it’s one of the greatest horror films ever made–and he tells Paul exactly why, as they celebrate the second and final week of this year’s abbreviated Gobbledyween. The boys discuss the incredibly convincing performances, why the characters being so annoying makes the movie so believable, how the found footage genre has expanded in the years since, and just how easy it is to get lost in America.

NEXT: why are you standing in the corner, Paul?

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:32  –  Intro
  • 00:02:34  –  The Blair Witch Project
  • 01:39:11  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Gilligan’s Island” by Television’s Greatest Hits Band, Television’s Greatest Hits: Classic TV Theme Songs (2021)
  • “Out of the Woods” by Taylor Swift, 1989 (2014)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 484 – “Midnight Mass (feat. Joseph Lewis)”

Hamish Linklater and Samantha Sloyan in Midnight Mass (2021), directed by Mike Flanagan

Gobbledygeek episode 484, “Midnight Mass (feat. Joseph Lewis),” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

Leaves are on the ground, blood is on the screen–it’s time for a (very late) Gobbledyween! Gobbledygeek’s annual horror-thon returns for an abbreviated run, kicking things off with Mike Flanagan’s 2021 Netflix miniseries Midnight Mass. What at first seems like a riff on ‘Salem’s Lot–a vampire ingratiates himself into a tiny coastal community–becomes a soaring exploration of addiction, faith, and death. Joining Paul and Arlo to discuss the series is original Gobbler Joseph Lewis. Together, the Three Heathens rave about the central performances from Hamish Linklater, Zach Gilford, and Kate Siegel; dissect the show’s “bad miracle” vibe and how it relates to their own spiritual journey; and poke a little good-natured fun at the many, many monologues.

NEXT: we’ve got one more in store for you, as Paul and Arlo pop a tape into their camcorders for 1999’s The Blair Witch Project.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:50  –  Intro / Guest / Banter
  • 00:23:13  –  Midnight Mass
  • 02:27:36  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “And the Grass Won’t Pay No Mind” by Neil Diamond, Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show (1969)
  • “Nearer My God to Thee” by The Newton Brothers, Midnight Mass (Soundtrack) (2021)

GOBBLEDYCARES

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Listen to Gobbledygeek Episode 483 – “Nope”

Daniel Kaluuya in Nope (2022), directed by Jordan Peele

Gobbledygeek episode 483, “Nope,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

For his third film, Jordan Peele looks to the skies–and what he finds doesn’t want to be seen. This week, Paul and Arlo say yup to Nope, Peele’s celebration and evisceration of spectacle. The boys discuss the widening of Peele’s horizons in the summer blockbuster mode; how the film reveres Spielberg while offering a pointed rebuttal to Jaws; Daniel Kaluuya’s quiet intensity; and why first-time viewing Arlo is always the dumbest Arlo. Plus, a tribute to cinematic titan Jean-Luc Godard.

NEXT: more spectacle, as Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman reunite in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder.

BREAKDOWN

  • 00:00:56  –  Intro / RIP Jean-Luc Godard
  • 00:06:47  –  Nope
  • 02:11:52  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

MUSIC

  • “Old Town Road (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus)” by Lil Nas X, 7 (2019)
  • “Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley (1958)

GOBBLEDYCARES