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Michael Jackson’s ‘Ghosts’ at 25: When the King of Pop Met the Masters of Horror [The Losers’ Club Podcast]

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Darkness falls across the land, the midnight hour is close at hand, creatures crawl in search of blood, to terrorize y’alls neighborhood. But here’s the greatest trick of all, the song we’ll sing you won’t recall. It isn’t “Thriller” as you’ll see, but different tunes with HIStory…

In 1996, Michael Jackson returned to the spooky with “Ghosts”. Based on an original story by Mick Garris and Stephen King, the 40-minute spectacle was directed by make-up effects maestro Stan Winston and sees Jackson playing five different roles.

Today, The Losers’ Club heads to Normal Valley to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the oft-forgotten short. Bundled together at the Maestro’s creaky mansion, they spill blood on the dance floor, groove with ghosts, and answer one simple question: “Is it scary?”

Join Losers Michael Roffman, Dan Caffrey, and Ayisha Gatson as they chart the state of horror in the mid-’90s, discuss what King and Garris brought to the table, marvel at Winston’s wizardry, and debate why this is hardly the finest hour for the King of Pop.

Stream the episode below and return next week when the Losers bounce over to Little Tall Island to brave the Storm of the Century. For further adventures, join the Club over long days and pleasant nights via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. You can also unlock hundreds of hours of content in The Barrens (Patreon).

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Podcasts

‘Death Becomes Her’ and the Horror of Aging [The Lady Killers Podcast]

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“This is life’s ultimate cruelty. It offers us a taste of youth and vitality, and then it makes us witness our own decay.”

Is there anything more terrifying than the relentless passage of time? It’s a bitter truth that just when we’ve become accustomed to our bodies, the sands of time turn and we’re forced to watch them slowly break down in a cruel march towards inevitable death. But what if there were a way to stop the aging process – a potion that would return us to our peak physical condition and hold us there until the end of time? Would we take it? And would we eventually find that the blessing of perpetual life is actually a curse? No film explores this dilemma quite like Death Becomes Her. Robert Zemeckis’ 1992 horror comedy pits two showstopping divas against each other for a single spotlight while asking what they would do for eternal youth – and what will be the hidden cost?

Madeline (Meryl Streep) and Helen (Goldie Hawn) are old frenemies with a history of vicious competition. Madeline seems to have won the most recent battle and married Helen’s fiance Ernest (Bruce Willis), but decades later, their marriage is on the rocks and Madeline’s once thriving career is now a thing of the past. When Helen returns with a stunning new look, Madeline turns to unorthodox methods to maintain her feminine dominance. She drinks a potion designed to give her eternal youth, but returns home to find her life turned upside down by her downtrodden husband and jealous “friend.” Having both taken the potion, “Mad” and “Hel” engage in a bitter fight to the death over years of petty snipes and the right to claim the title of Most Desirable Woman.

In their latest episode, The Lady Killers dissect these two glamorous killers and the hidden social commentary in Zemeckis’ iconic film. Co-hosts Jenn AdamsMae Shults, Rocco T. Thompson, and Sammie Kuykendall dish over their own fears of aging, choose their favorite diva, and decide whether they would take the potion should they ever find themselves in Lisle’s (Isabella Rossellini) lavish home. How does the film hit differently when watching as an adult? Could Madeline, Helen, and Ernest ever make a polycule work? Is Lisle a hero or a villain and how does she keep that gorgeous necklace in place? They’ll wrestle with these questions and more in a podcasting shovel battle to the death on this unique horror comedy and one of the most glamorous casts of all time.

Stream below and subscribe now via Apple Podcasts and Spotify for future episodes that drop every Thursday.

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