Podcasts
‘Bone Tomahawk’ Brings Out the Best in Kurt Russell [Halloweenies Podcast]
Sunday wasn’t just St. Patrick’s Day, it was also Kurt Russell’s birthday — and the Halloweenies think that’s worth celebrating. After all, for over 45 years, Russell has kept us rooting for him in a smorgasbord of iconic roles: RJ MacReady, Snake Plissken, Jack Burton, Elvis Presley, Wyatt Earp, Santa Claus, Stuntman Mike, Curtis McCabe, Mr. Nobody, Jeff Taylor, Rudy Russo, Eldon Perry, and, of course, Captain Ron.
Don’t forget he also played the great Sheriff Franklin Hunt in 2006’s Bone Tomahawk, one of our favorite films of the 2010s, and yet also one of our first one-off Rentals in our Patreon, The Rewind. So, to celebrate the big guy’s birthday this past Sunday, the gang unlocked said episode on S. Craig Zahler’s 2015 slice of Western Horror, which includes special guests Randall Colburn and Dan Pfleegor of The Losers’ Club.
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, The Evil Dead, and this past year’s Chucky! This year? The Alien franchise.
You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Jaws), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Invasion of the Body Snatchers ), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.
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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