Podcasts
Is There More Beneath the Surface of ‘Deadpool’? [Guide to the Unknown]
Deadpool isn’t typical horror fare, despite the franchise potentially being the bloodiest throughout the Marvel kingdom. (And in spite of the titular main character breaking the Fourth Wall and acknowledging the audience, which some people may find as jolting as a jump scare).
And look, the guy’s divisive! For the average person, the 2016 movie Deadpool may have been their introduction to the character, with Ryan Reynolds giving the titular character an abrasive, dirty sense of humor that some might place in the edgelord category.
But the character was spawned from a comic book series that’s changed hands a number of times and continues to this day. Naturally, that means there are several different interpretations of the antihero formerly known as Wade Wilson, including some that dial down the chimichanga jokes (a common fandom shorthand for the Deadpool of the comics’ baser comedy instincts).
This week on Guide to the Unknown, Kristen and Will discuss the good, the bad, and the unfortunate of Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool. They also learn about some of the comic storylines that highlight a little bit more of the pain Deadpool goes through, which makes the overabundance of A Lot-ness feel more palatable to people who may not be into that sort of thing.
Breaking the Fourth Wall a la the man himself: This is Kristen, cohost and writer of these GTTU posts. This week was not great for Will or me and included hospital stays and beloved dog goodbyes. We blew off some steam with a punchdrunk episode in which I complained about Deadpool’s dearth of euphemisms for male genitalia. If that sounds like your thing, dig in! If not, proceed with caution. Ooh, we’re so edgy.
Subscribe to Guide to the Unknown on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to get a new episode every Friday.
After winding down June with discussions of our vey first William Castle film Homicidal (listen) and queer director Roland Emmerich’s summer tentpole Independence Day (listen), we’re heading back to 1981 to check out Joe Dante‘s seminal werewolf film The Howling.
The Howling sees television journalist Karen White (Dee Wallace) attend a psychiatric retreat with her husband Bill (Christopher Stone) after being attacked and traumatized by local serial killer Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo). It isn’t long before Karen realizes that the retreat is actually a secret cult of werewolves, and they’ve already got their sights set on Bill.
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Episode 394: The Howling (1981)
Make note of that smiley face sticker and snag that conveniently-placed jar of acid because we’re talking Joe Dante’s stealth werewolf classic The Howling (1981)!
Join us as we discuss the film’s deviations from its source material before doing a deep dive into this very tongue-in-cheek, self-aware horror film. It honestly feels like a precursor to Scream, in many ways!
Plus: Roger Corman (again!) those incredible special effects, differentiating “color movies” from “movies in color,” and why queer icon Elisabeth Brooks has us going “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!”
Cross out The Howling!
Coming Up Next: We’re tackling our very first Ken Russell film with a look at his controversial 1984 erotic thriller Crimes of Passion!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 508 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Forbidden Fruits, Saccharine, Evil Dead Burn, an audio commentary on Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (aka Howling II: Stirba – Werewolf Bitch), and the conclusion of our coverage of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat on the Requel Tier.