WEBVTT
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It's the first chill of November when the jack o'
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lanterns start to slump and rot and the wind blows
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straight to your bones. But horror does not pack up
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after Halloween. My spookies it lingers. This Week in Horror
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History gave us a monster born from fire and fallout,
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a prom night turned psychic bloodbath, sunglasses that see the
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rot in civilization, a devilish bargain on primetime TV, and
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a handheld trip back to silent Hill. You could play
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safely under the covers. We'll sprint through five moment makers,
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then dig into a razor sharp deep cut that wears
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its bayonet like a boutineer, beastly birthdays, a then and
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now kerfuffle, and of course, a killer recommendation to turn
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your streaming into sing you're listening to This week in
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Horror History, let's haunt that calendar. I'm Enrique Kuto, filmmaker,
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horror lifer, and the guy who keeps the jack o
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lantern lit all year long. Here to bring you the
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most interesting elements of horror news that took place between
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November three and November ninth. On deck for Tonight, go
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Jira stomps into Japanese theaters. Carrie opens and rewrites high
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school hell. John Carpenter's They Live drops the most satisfying
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alley fight of the nineteen eighties. The Twilight Zone tempts
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fate with a Mefistophelian contract. Try saying that five times
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fast and silent hill origins drags our nerves into the fall,
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and make sure you stick around after the break as
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we descend on a deep cut slasher film with jaw
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dropping practical gore. Then celebrate Icon's birthdays and unpacked a
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nineteen eighty four controversy which is headed right back into
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theaters this December. So let's take a stab at the
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first one. I have to say this is a very
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fitting first piece of horror history because of my personal
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history with the series and my favorite gigantic lizard. On
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November third, nineteen fifty four, Gojira, also known as Godzilla,
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arrives in major Japanese cities, but not the way you
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might be thinking. Quick side note, because I am a
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Godzillan nerd. That famous roar is actually created by taking
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above and playing the bottom strings of an upright bass
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below the bridge. That's what makes that sound that is
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so unbelievably iconic. Toho's Atomic Nightmare doesn't just flatten buildings,
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it births the kaiju genre as a cinematic language for
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grief and of course, post war anxiety. Early rollouts began
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October twenty seventh, but major city playdates hit on November three,
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turning a man in a suit into a global metaphor
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that still roars. Okay one more, and here's a fun fact.
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The United States cut, known as Godzilla King of the
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Monsters from nineteen fifty six, added Raymond Burr as a
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reporter threading through the devastation. It also gave the film
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a bit more of a Western style narrative, which they
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hoped would help American audiences connect with the material. And
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they were very very right, as Godzilla became a massive
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hit worldwide. As far as where to find Godzilla King
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of the Monsters or the original version Gojira, which I
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think they're both pretty great in their own rights, you
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can stream it on the Criterion collection. That's the best
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place to get the Japanese cut in all of its
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glory and restored fully. Or you can get it on
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physical media if you're a nerd like me. November third,
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nineteen seventy six, Carrie opens regionally in the United States.
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Brian De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's debut novel sneaks
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into theaters in the d C Baltimore market on November third,
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and expands mid month, becoming an Absolute Face nomina powered
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by Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie's Oscar nominated turns. It's
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the prom everyone remembers for the worst reasons, although my
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prom wasn't much better if I'm honest. Fun fact, though,
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the release pattern started small, with just seventeen screens, before
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catching fire in New York and Los Angeles weeks later,
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and from there, well, the rest is horror history. And
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if you've never seen Carrie before or you want to
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brush up on your Brian De Palma Stephen King education,
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it's pretty easy to watch right now. You can catch
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it on Pluto TV and the Roku channel completely for free,
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and of course you can rent it on any major
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digital platform, and there is a beautiful four K restoration available,
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which I enjoy quite a bit. Again because Horror nerd
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November fourth, nineteen eighty eight, They Live hits theaters at
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number one in the box office I've been a massive
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fan of They Live since my teen years. I think
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because the star Rowdy Roddy Piper is well one of
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my all time heroes. I'm surprised I didn't know that.
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I actually double checked, actually triple checked, to make sure
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it hit theaters at number one. John Carpenter's sci fi
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horror satire lands like a steel chair to the face
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with Rowdy Roddy Piper versus consumerist overlords you can only
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spot while wearing magical sunglasses, although it's really more of
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a scientific thing. But you know why. Quibble opened on
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November fourth and debuting at number one. The obey slash
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consume iconography escaped the screen and colonized popular culture. And
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here's a fun fact for you, that six minute alley
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fight between Keith David and Rowdy Roddy Piper. It's the
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stuff of pure legend, but oddly it's kind of tender
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in its stubbornness. As far as where to check out
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They Live, I cannot recommend enough the Scream Factory four
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K and Blu ray release if you're a physical media nerd,
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but otherwise, if you want to see it on streaming,
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you'll have to rent it. As of the recording of
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this on somewhere like Amazon Prime or Fandango at Home
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or Apple TV. November sixth, nineteen fifty nine, the Twilight
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Zone episode Escape Clause airs on TV. Rod Serling writes
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a devil's bargain, parable with David Wayne as a hypochondriac
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who trades his soul for immortality and insurance fraud hijinks,
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because that's just the kind of guy. Rod Serling was big,
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big fan of his sardonic wit and his ability to
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see the bizarre in the ordinary and the ordinary in
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the bizarre. It aired November sixth and still plays like
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a clever morality boomerang. Immortality without meaning is its own punishment.
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And here's a fun fact on that one. The Vintage
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promos teased the episode as a Faustian bargain, yet somehow
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that did not spoil it for the viewers because it's
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become one of the legendary episodes of a very legendary
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TV show. And as far as where to find it
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and watch it, well that's pretty easy. It's streaming on
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Paramount Plus and you can also find it for free
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on Pluto, or you can buy a Blu ray box
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set if you want to try to hold your nerd
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up to me and have a showdown. And I want
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to take a quick second to say a big thank
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you to our sponsor on this inaugural episode of This
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Week in Horror History. Save Arista a coffee company that
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Arista for sponsoring the inaugural episode of This Week in
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Horror History. November sixth, two thousand and seven. Silent and
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Hill Origins Releases for PSP, a nerve scraping prequel that
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brought classic Silent Hill dread to handheld radio's Hiss Sirens, Scream,
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Rust Peels from Reality Origins launched November sixth with Akira
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yama Oka's soundscapes and design work from Sam Barlow. Fun fact,
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the project course corrected mid development to lean hard into
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a more series consistent atmosphere. As far as where to play, well,
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you can play it on psp UMD. There are PlayStation
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two ports that exist, and digital availability varies by your region.
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When we return, a deep cut slasher with Bayonets, pitchforks
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and Tom Savini splatter that made eighties gore fans swoon,
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all right, my spookies, Let's unmask an unsung killer in
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Khaki nineteen eighty one's The Prowler. If the Golden Age
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slasher wave had a museum wing labeled steel cold craftsmanship,
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the Prowler would sit in the center, his blade polished
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and his boots muddy. Directed by Joseph Zito, who would
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later helm Friday the Thirteenth, the final chapter, as well
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as one of my personal favorites, Body Snatchers from nineteen
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ninety three. This nineteen eighty one shocker unfurls in a
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small town haunted by a wartime tragedy and an annual
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dance that should have stayed canceled. On November sixth, nineteen
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eighty one. The film opened theatrically in the United States,
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slipping into the post Halloween corridor like a quiet intruder,
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although with very loud kills. The film's reputation rests in
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many ways on special effects legend Tom Savini's practical effects vicious, unflinching,
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and disturbingly tactile. There's a famous bayonet set piece that's
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become a calling card for why practical effects and analog
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gore still curdle the stomach more than pixels ever could.
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Savini's work here sits alongside his work in Maniac and
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The Burning as a trilogy of how did they do that? Moments.
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Initially a modest performer, the Prowler grew into a cult favorite,
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often ranked among the subgenres sharpest pun intended. It was
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even featured in the original Last Drive In with Joe
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Bob Briggs Marathon. When the world's foremost drive in movie
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critic shows your film, well, that means you did something
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very right. It's the kind of film you want to
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bring to a friend who says they've seen all the
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slasher movies. But that's not really the case until you've
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experienced this film's very mean streak. Critics today cite its
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atmosphere and deadly efficiency as quintessential early eighties slasher DNA.
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One of my favorite scenes is a very tense cat
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and Mouse through a dormitory stairwell. It rings suspense out
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of every creek, every shadow. You'll hold your breath at
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how long Joseph Zito lingers before the strike the patience
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turns the blade. You can watch it right now for
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free streaming on two B TV or rented on Amazon
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Prime fandel Ango at home, or you can watch it
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included with your AMC Plus subscription. If you love the
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grounded procedural dread of My Bloody Valentine from nineteen eighty one,
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or the seaside paranoia of dead and buried from the
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same year, this one scratches the same itch without stealing
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their faces. That's a Texas chainsaw massacre kind of thing
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to do. An unsung November chill that still numbs the fingers.
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Put it on late lights low and let the quiet
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stalk you slowly. We've talked a lot about death and mayhem,
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but now let's celebrate some births, shall we. First up,
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ironically enough is Tom Savini born November third, nineteen forty six.
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We just talked all about his work in The Prowler.
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Other films worth mentioning our Dawn of the Dead nineteen
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seventy eight, which is my personal favorite film, Day of
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the Dead nineteen eighty five, and of course he directed
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the remake of Night of the Living Dead from nineteen
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ninety which just came out on four K. So if
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you're a movie collector like me, well, you really want
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to check that one out. And here's an interesting tidbit.
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His combat photography passed in the Vietnam War informed a
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realism that helped change splatter films forever. Next up is
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fom K Johnson. I believe I'm saying that right. Born
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November fifth, nineteen sixty four. One of her biggest credits
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in horror is The Faculty from nineteen ninety eight, directed
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by Robert Rodriguez, as well as appearing in Eli Roth's
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Hemlock Grove TV series. And here's a little nuggative trivia.
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She studied literature at Columbia before stepping in to genre royalty.
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November eighth, eighteen, eighteen forty seven was the birth of
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Bram Stoker. That's right, the man behind Dracula. In eighteen
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ninety seven, the book that spawned hundreds upon hundreds of films, books,
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stage shows, podcasts, you name it. A curious tidbit about
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bram He took a lot of research trips to Whitby
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and dipped his toe in the theater life at the Lyceum.
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Many believe this helped steep his novel in Stagecraft and
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Superstition And Finally, Born November eighth, nineteen sixty eight, is
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Parker Posey. She's done so many things, but in horror.
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She's most known for Scream three in two thousand and
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the more recent and very polarizing bo Is Afraid by
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Ari Astor from twenty twenty three. Many consider her to
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be a queen of the indie film scene, and she
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always manages to bring a sly menace to her horror
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adjacent rolls. If you want to see a movie that's
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truly terrifying but not at all a horror movie that
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stars Parker Posey, check out The House of Yes, trust
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Me you you won't thank me. It's a really good movie, though,
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but it messed me up. On November ninth, nineteen eighty four,
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a slasher dressed as Santa Claus opens the same day
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as a Nightmare on Elm Street and steals the outrage
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thunder This is Silent Night, Deadly Night from nineteen eighty four,
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and parents groups protested at malls and theaters. TV spots
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got pulled within six days, and Trystar, the film's distributor,
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yanked the movie despite a very solid start at the
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box office. In fact, it's worth noting on opening weekend,
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Silent Night, Deadly Night actually outgrossed A Nightmare on Elm
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Street Santa Beat Freddy, which is interesting because he does
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know when you're sleeping, But that box office lead was
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crushed by the film being pulled. Now decades later, the
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movie's a cult Christmas staple and one of my personal favorites.
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You can hear an entire episode about it on Cutting
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Deep into Horror if you just search at Weeklyspooky dot com.
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It's been reevaluated as a seasonal shocker and case study
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in moral panic, and on December twelfth of this year,
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twenty twenty five, a remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night
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will be released into theaters nationwide through Cineverse, the company
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that helped make Art the Clown of terrify Er fame
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famous in the cinema, I'll certainly be grabbing myself a ticket.
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Ho ho. No, before I get out of here, I
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want to leave you with a little recommendation, something you
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can kick back with and watch while you're enjoying your
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November nights. I caught this one in the theater when