The Shuddering  By  cover art

The Shuddering

By: Christopher Oliphant Nick Rocco Scalia
  • Summary

  • Do you like scary movies? Then, come play with us! Each episode, we'll be reviewing one vintage and one modern horror film from our favorite streaming service, Shudder, serving up commentary, analysis, and a little bit of film history (but no spoilers!) along the way. From the guys who brought you Precinct 13: The Movies and Music of John Carpenter comes a podcast that seeks out movies to stream that'll make you scream!
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Episodes
  • Episode 17: Spoonful of Sugar (2022) & Blue Sunshine (1978)
    Mar 30 2023

    This week, on our trippiest episode to date, we take a look at two horror films that both feature LSD as a major plot point. First up is the recent Shudder release Spoonful of Sugar, a twisted and often stunning domestic nightmare that features a star-making performance by Homeland co-star Morgan Saylor, a set of truly disturbing family dynamics, and an ending that packs in some serious "wow" factor. And then, things get really weird when we check out the late 70s cult oddity Blue Sunshine, another movie that includes a enjoyably loopy leading performance (from Zalman King, whose later exploits in the film industry were, uh, pretty saucy), as well as the scariest bald people ever put on film, an absurdist climax set in a mall, and a Hitchcockian plot that mixes (unintentional?) comedy and surprisingly shocking horror moments. Trust us: it's WILD. All that, plus: Nick and Chris chat about genre heavyweight Jamie Lee Curtis's recent Academy Award win, Brandon Cronenberg's buzzworthy Infinity Pool, and an indie movie from the 90s that really deserves some love in 2023!

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    1 hr and 24 mins
  • Episode 16: Eyes of Fire (1983) & The Witch: Part 1 - The Subversion
    Mar 15 2023

    Well, the theme of this episode is "witches," but if you're expecting pointy hats, eyes of newt, or anyone getting burned at the stake, you're bound to be disappointed. Still, we've got a couple of fascinating flicks to talk about this week, both of which have at least some version of a witch in them... or, in one case, at least in the title? Anyway, first up is the 1983 folk horror oddity Eyes of Fire, an obscure film that we -- and, apparently, the folks at Shudder -- think ought to be more well-known to fans of 80s horror as well as the artsier side of genre cinema. This period piece, set in pre-Revolutionary America, finds a sleazy preacher and his flock running afoul of ancient terrors deep in the primeval forest, and it features some striking imagery and a fair amount of scares in its chronicle of adulterous colonists, rugged trappers, and vengeful forest spirits. And then, we've got our more modern pick, the South Korean film The Witch: Part 1 - The Subversion, which sure sounds like a horror movie but, it turns out, is much more of a bloody, R-rated sci-fi/superhero concoction... and, also, a touching story of a young girl attempting to save her family by winning an America's Got Talent-like TV game show. Yes, really. Chris and Nick are both HUGE fans of South Korean cinema in general, but does this (somewhat) action-packed film live up to that country's choicest genre-movie exports? Listen and find out! Plus, Nick can't stop gushing over Return of the Living Dead 3, Chris finally checks out M3gan, and we discuss a brand-new found-footage sensation that's left quite an impression on the one of us who's seen it thus far.

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    1 hr and 31 mins
  • Episode 15: The Sadness (2021) & Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993)
    Mar 3 2023

    This week, we're all about the zombies... sort of. That flesh-eating, world-ending, gore-splattering subgenre of horror -- currently enjoying its latest resurgence thanks to HBO's The Last of Us -- is the unifying theme for the two films we reviewed, but neither one is your standard zombie saga, exactly. First up is writer/director Rob Jabbaz's recent effort The Sadness, a film that unleashes some of the most disturbing, plentiful carnage and mayhem ever filmed on an unsuspecting Taipei. Does it live up to its billing as the "most depraved zombie movie ever made?" The answer, probably, is yeah. But, does that alone make the film worth seeing? Tune in and find out... And then, definitely stick around for our discussion of the third film in the Return of the Living Dead  franchise, a film that mixes comedy, action, and a surprisingly heartfelt love story into the usual zombie-movie stew. We're BIG fans of Dan O'Bannon's original Return film, but while this "three-quel" retains its basic premise and some of its lighter-hearted tone, it also stakes out some unusual new territory for the series -- and offers up a showcase for the directorial talents of genre legend Brian Yuzna. And, much like the living dead themselves, our "recommendations" segment returns again, with some more Skinamarink talk (don't worry, not that much) and a few other prime cuts from recent horror history. Enjoy, and... send more paramedics!

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    1 hr and 27 mins

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