Faculty Of Horror

Hollywood is currently enamored with the comic book superheroes who have dominated the film landscape for the last several years. In this episode, Andrea and Alex go back to the earlier origins of graphic novel adaptations examining the cult followings earned by horror films based on beloved source materials (as selected by you, our listeners). […]

Everyone’s got mother issues, right? This episode examines the perceived and manifested strains on maternal instinct once malevolent forces enter the picture. Alex and Andrea investigate where these forces come from and what they truly want. REQUIRED READING The Babadook. Dir Jennifer Kent, 2014. Goodnight Mommy. Dirs Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, 2014. EXTRA CREDIT […]

Bust out your corsets and button up your pinafores because we’re going back to the 19th century… by way of the 1990s. In this episode, Alex and Andrea examine conflicting authorial intentions, monsters and their makers and what happens when love won’t stay dead. REQUIRED READING Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Dir Francis Ford Coppola, 1992. Mary […]

Andrea and Alex dive back into the virtual mailbag to reassess everything covered in 2015, from the highs to the lows and everything in between. EXTRA CREDIT Films of the New French Extremity: Visceral Horror and National Identity. Alex’s book is now available for pre-order! The Neo-Gothic Horror of James Wan. Alex’s piece on horror impresario […]

Alex and Andrea take a tour of the Overlook Hotel examining Stanley Kubrick’s seminal film, the spectre of Stephen King’s book and the complexities of family life under the American dream. REQUIRED READING The Shining. Dir Stanley Kubrick, 1980 EXTRA CREDIT Kubrick Goes Gothic. A preview piece from American Film anticipating the release and impact of […]

Alex and Andrea are joined by Paul “Canuxploitation” Corupe to deconstruct the architecture and isolation of David Cronenberg’s first feature, SHIVERS, within the context of the Canadian film industry. So grab your favourite parasite, check on your neighbours and listen in. To enter the HORRORWOOD NORTH giveaway – use #Horrorwood and tag us (@FacultyofHorror) with your favourite […]

Keep a crucifix close and put some pea soup on the stove because Alex and Andrea are confronting their demons to talk about The Exorcist and why the scariest things are sometimes the most personal. REQUIRED READING The Exorcist. Dir William Friedkin, 1973. EXTRA CREDIT The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty.   The 1949 Washington […]

Why do we watch horror movies? The aptly named documentary Why Horror? poses that very question to scholars, writers, artists, filmmakers and fans. The film follows comedian, horror journalist and our guest Tal Zimerman as he ventures around the world in an attempt to figure out why we love the grotesque and the terrifying. Why […]

A mini-episode sharing our memories of Craven’s films and their impact. EXTRA CREDIT Never Sleep Again: The Nightmare on Elm Street Legacy (2010). The only Nightmare on Elm Street documentary you need to see. Post Mortem: the Mick Garris Interview series. A wonderful four-part interview with Craven covering the highlights of his career. LISTEN Right […]

Andrea and Alex grab their randomly assigned weapons and try to survive the danger zones of Kinji Fukasaku’s turn of the millennium classic while discussing the film’s emphasis on generational divides and the construction of adolescence. REQUIRED READING Battle Royale. Dir Kinji Fukasaku, 2000. EXTRA CREDIT Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. The Japanese High School: […]

Andrea and Alex open a puzzlebox to unpack the history, mythology and impact of Clive Barker’s iconic series. REQUIRED READING Hellraiser. Dir Clive Barker, 1987. Hellbound: Hellraiser II. Dir Tony Randel. 1988. EXTRA CREDIT The Hellbound Heart – Clive Barker’s novella that spawned the franchise. “Fire, Brimstone and PVC: Clive Barker’s Cenobites as Agents of Hell” […]

Blockbusters are as much a part of summer as sunburns and mosquitoes. In this episode, Andrea and Alex explore what it means when the billion dollar industry that is Hollywood casts its evil eye on the horror genre during their most profitable time of the year. REQUIRED READING The Haunting. Dir Jan De Bont. 1999. […]

We return to the theme of witches with an evil eye to look at them in a broader historical and social context. Who was a witch? Who was a bitch? Who actually deserved what they got? REQUIRED READING The Witchfinder General. Dir Michael Reeves. 1968. Inferno. Dir Dario Argento. 1980. The Crucible. Dir Nicholas Hytner. 1996. […]

Andrea and Alex talk about sisters doing it for themselves as women run communities, islands and families with sinister intentions. Are they better, worse or the same as communities run by men? Have they developed an immunity to bee stings and Bloody Mary? REQUIRED READING The Wicker Man. Dir Robin Hardy. 1973 The Wicker Man. […]

Andrea and Alex return to the outskirts of civilization with Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods. Looking at archetypes, genre tropes and the limits of humanity, the Faculty ponders the fate of horror and if it should survive. REQUIRED READING The Cabin in the Woods. Dir Drew Goddard. 2012. EXTRA CREDIT […]

Up is down, left is right and black is white in this month’s episode. Tackling the Canadian winter horror film Pontypool, Andrea and Alex talk about national identity, broadcast journalism and how the stories we tell should stop making sense. REQUIRED READING Pontypool. Dir Bruce McDonald. 2008. EXTRA CREDIT Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media: The Extension […]

Andrea and Alex talk to emerging filmmaker Ashlea Wessel about her new body-horror/creature feature “Ink”. The ladies talk filmmaking styles, assembling a crew and horror influences. She also created this amazing photo of The Faculty of Horror! In case you ever wondered what our babies would look like… The Indiegogo campaign for INK is still going. Please […]

Andrea and Alex venture once more into the breach and tackle the questions and comments received over the last year. They also look back on a year’s worth of topics and reassess their own opinions. EXTRA CREDIT The 8-bit Lakeside Lunatic by artist Trevor Henderson. House of Psychotic Women: An Autobiographical Topography of Female Neurosis […]

Andrea and Alex get in the holiday spirit by exploring the myths, legends and traditions that surround one of the most beloved and iconic figures in North America, Santa Claus. In both Saint and Rare Exports, our notions of Santa are turned on their heads but we might still discover the true meaning of Christmas. […]

Don’t drink the herbal remedy, don’t eat the mousse because Andrea and Alex are back to talk about Roman Polanski’s 1968 film, Rosemary’s Baby. By looking at filmic techniques, societal changes and our relationship with evil, you’ll see that this is no dream, this is really happening. REQUIRED READING Rosemary’s Baby. Dir Roman Polanski. 1968. […]