Podcasts
[Podcasts] The Horror Show #128: Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Sean and Joe are joined one last time by Paul for the final movie in their Summer of Splatter, Dawn of the Dead (1978). In what turns into a belated send off for George Romero the guys gush over his influence in the genre, but will they show the same love for Flyboy, Trooper, Fran, and Peter?
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“The Horror Show” is hosted by two childhood friends, Sean and Joe, getting together to discuss the horror movies you love as well as the ones you love to hate each and every week. The Horror Show’s goal is to “make horror a threat again” by weaving their specific brand of comedy and personal anecdotes into their weekly discussions about movies across the huge spectrum of the genre.
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The Bloody Disgusting Podcast Network consists of The Horror Show, Women in Caskets, Forever Midnight, Test Pattern, and Virtual Pros. All of these shows can be found on our iTunes Provider Page as well as the Bloody Disgusting App on all iOS and Android devices.
Podcasts
‘The Boston Strangler’ Adaptations Share One Major Blind Spot [Murder Made Fiction Podcast]
Amanda and I have spent the month of July examining the various cinematic depictions of The Boston Strangler over on Murder Made Fiction, and we’ve come to an odd realization: despite the case claiming thirteen lives, none of its filmed adaptations seem to care at all about the victims.
After walking Amanda through a Primer on the case, which seems like an open and shut indictment of Albert DeSalvo (until it gets muddied by conspiracy and possible corruption by the Boston PD), we tackled three very different films:
- 1964’s The Strangler: Burt Topper directs Whatever Happened to Baby Jane actor Victor Buono in a slice of 60s pop psychology that tries to inject a weird doll fetish into the proceedings. The real life details of the case mostly fall by the wayside, in large part because DeSalvo wasn’t implicated in the murders until after this film’s release. Still, Buono’s performance is pretty astounding!
- 1968’s The Boston Strangler: The best of this month’s three films, though it is less for Tony Curtis‘ take on the killer than its use of split screens by cinematographer Richard H. Kline and editor Marion Rothman. It’s magnificently entertaining, though the back half slows down too much when it comes time to let Curtis do his thing.
- 2023’s Boston Strangler: This is the film that finally prioritizes women…although not the victims. The straight-to-Hulu film (which I reviewed for Bloody back in the day) stars Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon as Record American reporters, but writer/director Matt Ruskin’s thesis, which boils down to “it’s hard for women in the workforce,” feels overly simplistic. In hindsight, this one is mostly just a boring misfire.
The Boston Strangler 1968
Next month: For August, we’re turning our attention to John List, the family annihilator who went on to inspire 1987’s The Stepfather. We’ll partner that up with the 2009 remake, starring YOU‘s Penn Badgley (!), as well as the 2026 Tubi version starring Taye Diggs (!!)
Want even more true crime adaptations and Murder Made Fiction? Support the show on Patreon to listen to our coverage of Elle Fanning in The Girl From Plainville and Ryan Murphy’s The Watcher Netflix series, as well as full-length primers and 160+ hours of bonus content.
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