Tag: Canadian horror

Really Awful Movies: Ep 308 – Antiviral

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This week on the podcast, Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral.

Unlike most virus / outbreak / contagion films, where there’s a security breach at a lab and the virus gets loose, turning the populace into rampaging drooling creatures, the horror in Antiviral comes from a rogue employee who is smuggling out pathogens to sell on the black market.

And the viruses in question are ones derived from celebrities, so that people can experience “biological communion” with them.

As you might gather from the surname and subject matter, this one is an icky body horror effort, directed by David Cronenberg’s son, Brandon.

It’s quiet, discomfiting, and claustrophobic with an austere bichromatic colour palette.

The performances, especially by the very gaunt and captivating Caleb Landry Jones, are top-drawer.

On this episode of the podcast, putting both Cronenberg’s work in context, and exploring interior/body horror in Crash, The Brood, Shivers, and Dead Ringers.

Really Awful Movies: Ep 268 – April Fool’s Day

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It’s coming up on April Fool’s Day folks. And to celebrate the auspicious occasion, we delve into this 1986 slasher that is an under-the-radar near-classic.

The plot couldn’t be more deceptively simple: a group of college coeds getting together to blow off some steam. That’s the premise of about 1000 horrors during the slasher boom. But April Fool’s Day gives us plenty of detours along the way.

The disparate group of friends gathers on a dock. They’re about to be shepherded over to a remote island, the family home of the wonderfully (and WASP-y) named Muffy St. John. And the group is treated to a bunch of April Fool’s pranks along the way – you know the ones, your trick doorknobs and dribble cups.

Suddenly, one of them vanishes. And this sets the ball rolling.

Too smart by half, April Fool’s Day easily stands apart from its date-themed horrors (apart from the grand daddy and acknowledged supreme effort that is John Carpenter’s Halloween, but that’s a given).

It’s a wonderfully inviting and subtle work, directed by Fred Walton, the man who gave us When a Stranger Calls. The characters are well-written, well-rounded, and well-developed. The scene-setting (gorgeous BC) works in its favor.

Horror fans will love seeing the ever-competent Amy Steel (Friday the 13th Part 2 and Part III).

Join us on the Really Awful Movies Podcast. We do deep-dives into genre flicks of all stripes, predominantly horror.

 

Really Awful Movies: Ep 247 – Dead Ringers

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On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast we tackle a Canadian classic, David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers.

Twin gynecologists, the Mantle brothers (based on the true-life demise of monozygote physicians, the Marcus brothers) share 100% of their genetic material. They also share scientific discoveries, and women.

In a tour de force performance by the incredible Jeremy Irons, we get a look inside the psyche of genius, and a concomitant look at their madness (as is often the case). The docs Elliot and Beverly are, of course, identical. However, Elliot is a bit taller, more outgoing, more comfortable in his own skin. And Beverly lives inside his own head. They comprise a drammaturgical dyad (thanks, Simpsons).

The Mantle bros’ practice is booming, they’re highly regarded in their field, and seem to have everything together. Of course, that’s just on the surface. Pull back the curtain and there’s tumult.

This is another instance of inside-out David Cronenberg body-horror. Dead Ringers is a difficult film to like, but is nonetheless fascinating. And it’s aged incredibly well. It’s a remarkable technical achievement, in addition to being a terrific showcase for Irons’ subtlety and mannerisms.

On the podcast, we examine the following:

  • The 80s horror scene
  • How we discovered the work of David Cronenberg while being ensconced in franchise horror flicks like Friday the 13th and Halloween
  • Canadian content regulations and the tax shelter era
  • Invasive medical procedures the hosts have experienced
  • Twin depictions in popular culture
  • Bloodletting in horror, and the use of restraint (or is that restraints?)
  • Medical horror

and much, much more.

This is our third discussion of a David Cronenberg film on the Really Awful Movies Podcast. Interested listeners can check out Videodrome and Rabid. Thanks for listening! And be sure to write reviews if you like what you’re hearing. And to support the show, pick up a copy of Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons (foreword by our pal, Lloyd Kaufman of Troma).