Podcasts
The Gateway Horror of Joe Johnston’s ‘Jumanji’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
In the jungle you must wait….
After kicking off December with an oft-requested but underseen listener pick in the religious chiller The Sentinel (listen) and the found footage superhero thriller Chronicle (listen), we’re heading back to the ’90s for one of Trace’s favorite gateway horror films: Joe Johnston‘s 1995 creature feature Jumanji!
In Jumanji, Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) Shepherd discover a magical, jungle-themed board game in the attic of their new house. After rolling the dice, dangerous creatures escape from the game and wreak havoc on the town. Their only hope is Alan Parrish (Robin Williams), a man who has been trapped in the game for the past 26 years, released by a fortunate roll of the dice. Also joining in for the excitement is Sarah (Bonnie Hunt), the person who watched Alan get sucked into the game all those years ago. Together, they must all finish the game to stop the chaos, lest the jungle spread beyond the reaches of their town.
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Episode 365: Jumanji (1995)
Grab those dice, Sonny Jim! Roll with the punches and and pray they read 5 or 8 because we’re talking Joe Johnston’s original gateway horror creature feature Jumanji (1995) for its 30th anniversary, or as it could also be called: ‘Daddy Issues: The Movie’.
Join us as we go all in on the film that made Trace a fan of creature features to begin with. From its dark tone (especially when compared to the newer Jumanji films) to its scary imagery (will anything be more terrifying that watching little Alan Parrish get sucked into the game?), they just don’t make kids’ movies like this anymore!
Plus, animatronics vs. CGI, the “cruel torture” subjected to actor Bradley Pierce during the production, our many, many issues with the ending, and why the film needs more Bebe Neuwirth.
Cross out Jumanji!
Coming Up Next: We’re celebrating the holidays with a look at Franck Khalfoun’s underseen holiday thriller P2 (2007).
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 445 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal Season 2, Episodes 11-13, Paul Feig’s The Housemaid, sequels Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and Wake Up Dead Man and, to tie in with that last one, an audio commentary on the original Knives Out. And as a special holiday treat, we’re also dropping our audio commentary from this year’s Soho Horror fest on Scream 3.
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.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, and RSS.
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.