Podcasts
‘Scream 4’ Hits Harder as an Unexpected Swan Song for Wes Craven [Halloweenies Podcast]
Step aside, Charlie and Robbie, there’s a new Cinema Club in town. As promised, the Halloweenies have returned to the streets of Woodsboro, where everyone is shaking off a case of deja vu. Make no mistake, though, this is no remake.
No, there are all new rules to learn, which is why you oughta make your way to Woodsboro High. It’s there you can join co-hosts Justin Gerber, Dan Caffrey, McKenzie Gerber, and special guest Diandra Lazor to dissect 2011’s Scream 4.
In the first of two episodes dedicated to the fourth chapter, the gang discusses the state of horror in 2011, partying after friends are murdered, the surprising (and effective) climax, the soundtrack’s early afternoon festival bands, and why the film hits harder as an unexpected swan song to the late and great Wes Craven.
So, put on your Ghostface best, grab a lemon square, and stream the episode below. The second part drops next Monday, November 29th and finds the four weighing in on the all-star cast, the best deaths, the movies references, and much, much more.
New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. You can also become a member of their Patreon for hilarious commentaries and one-off episodes.
Maybe you haven’t thought about your good friend Sweeney Todd in a while, or maybe you have. The 2007 movie is a bit of a memory, though a fond one – it has a healthy 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, for what it’s worth. But 2023’s Broadway revival starring Josh Groban, who your mom thinks is “so talented” (she’s right!), was enough of a hit that its run was extended.
It appears we’re in a bit of a Sweeneyssaince.
For the uninitiated, Sweeney Todd is the story of a barber who kills his customers and disposes of the bodies by passing them off to pie shop owner Mrs. Lovett, who uses them as a special ingredient. But there’s more below the trap door.
Sweeney Todd isn’t just a late 70s musical that turned into a movie; it started as a penny dreadful called The String of Pearls: A Domestic Romance (author unknown), told week-to-week in the 1840s. Penny dreadfuls were essentially fiction zines featuring serialized stories that were usually horror-based and cost a penny, leading to the very literal nickname.
The String of Pearls differs from the more well-known Sweeney Todd plot in that it follows the investigation of a missing persons case that leads to the reveal of Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett’s arrangement, as opposed to the more modern iteration which treats audiences to the duo hatching their homicidal plan and then giving the worst haircuts ever. What a delightfully wild reveal that must have been if you were a reader in Victorian London after weeks of wondering what had become of the missing sailor carrying a string of pearls to deliver to a lovely girl.
Kristen and Will discuss the history and future of Sweeney Todd and works inspired by it this week on Guide to the Unknown. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to get a new episode every Friday.
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