Podcasts
Like Chucky, ‘Child’s Play’ Was Born Out of Chaos [Halloweenies Podcast]
Chucky. Charles Lee Ray. The Good Guy doll. Thirty-five years later, Brad Dourif‘s foul-mouthed serial killer from the toy chest is a household name, a movie maniac that every kid grows up to fear … and eventually love through laughter. But that almost didn’t happen as the road to the long-running blockbuster horror franchise is paved in rage and remorse.
How so? Join the Halloweenies as they kick off Season 6 by chasing the Lake Shore Strangler and exploring the streets of Chicago within Tom Holland’s Child’s Play. Together, the gang profiles and dissects the production’s “crucial quartet” of screenwriter Don Mancini, producer David Kirshner, screenwriter John Lafia, and writer-filmmaker Holland.
Beyond the combative behind-the-scenes stories, they also dissect the SFX challenges in bringing Chucky to life, the heyday of Cabbage Patch Dolls, Ronald Reagan’s deregulation of advertising to children, the voices, the mythos, all of it in one big ol’ Good Guys box. This is not the end, friends. No, this is just the beginning of a new season and a new year.
Stream the episode below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. 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, Friday the 13th, Scream, and The Evil Dead.
You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Darkman) and one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Saw, 28 Days Later, Manhunter, Near Dark). Each month promises something new and unexpected from the wildest corners of the genre.
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.
Looking for New Episodes of “Chucky” on Peacock? Here’s What Changed
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‘The Blair Witch Project’ – Original Stars Release a Statement Asking Lionsgate for Residuals & Recognition
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‘The Exorcism’ – Russell Crowe Stars in Horror Movie Formerly Titled ‘The Georgetown Project’
