This Week in Horror History | Stephen King Week: The Shining + Rose Red (Jan 26–Feb 2)

0:00 Some weeks in horror feel like a neat little lineup, and some weeks feel like a trapdoor. This one trapdoor, because in our window, the monsters don't politely wait in castles or crips. They show up on beaches, in tidy suburban kitchens, inside a prestige film set that's definitely not safe for humans, and in the middle of a haunted house experiment that was never meant to be controlled. So lock the doors, keep your boots out of the sand, and don't accept dinner from anyone who smiles a bit too much. It's time to spin the calendar backwards and see what crawls out. Welcome to this week in horror history.

1:09 I'm Enrique Kuto, and I'm here to help you celebrate the spooky past, one release date at a time, this time for January twenty six through February second. And I do hope all of you listening who are hit by the big ice and snowstorms of the weekend are safe, warm, and secure, because I'm about to help you feel a whole lot less like that, Because tonight we have killer robots that won't stay buried, a haunted mansion study that becomes a televised seance, a suburban family dinner that is absolutely not pork roast, and a Stephen King publication date that changed the genre forever. Then for our deep cut spot light, a film about the making of the silent classic Nosferatu that might be hiding a real vampire in plain sight. January twenty sixth, nineteen ninety six. Screamers hits US theaters. If you like science fiction horror with a mean streak, well, Screamers is the kind of movie that asks one simple question, what if the scariest thing on a war torn planet isn't the enemy, it's the weapon you already built. Based on the Philip K. Dick's story

2:41 Second Variety and written by Dan O'Bannon of Return of the Living Dead and Alien Fame, this one drops you into a toxic wasteland where subterranean killer machines hunt anything with a heartbeat, and then they start getting creative. It's got that gritty mid nineties texture to it, the kind where the future looks like rust, smoke and a lot of bad decisions. Plus it stars RoboCop himself Peter Weller. If that's not reason enough to check it out, I don't know what is. It's available to stream right now free with ads on two B TV, and of course you can rent it at the Usual Suspects or watch it free with your Amazon Prime membership. On January twenty seventh, nineteen eighty nine, a film that bothered me a lot as a kid, Parents arrives with a limited theatrical release.

3:50 Oh man, I saw this movie on Monster Vision the Joe Bob Briggs on TNT and it stuck with me for a while. Meet the labels. Mom's perfect and dad is very proud, and the neighborhood is spotless. However, the meat Loaf is Suspicious. Parents is a black comedy horror film that plays like a Norman Rockwell painting with something kind of twitching behind the canvas. A kid starts to suspect his all American parents are hiding a family secret, and the movie lets that dread simmer until you're staring at the dinner table like it's a well, like it's a crime scene. It's funny, for sure, it's also uncomfortable, and it's got that slow creeping something is wrong vibe that horror does best. It's a film about a kid who realizes his parents are cannibals and that that's just a normal part of their lives. But to go even deeper, the cannibalism is an allegory or a metaphor for sex.

5:11 The idea that the parents are doing something mischievous and immoral behind closed doors and tiding it from their son is kind of the focus of the film, and the depictions of cannibalism in that film messed me up for a long time. I remember seeing it on TV and being mortified. I mean, just the concept of child against parent is scary enough, like in Toby Hooper's Invaders from Mars, but to take it one step further with that taboo of cannibalism and the taboo of sex and family, it really pushes it. And of course, on top of all of that, having Randy Quaid of all people play the dad and masterfully, I might add, it really does make parents say a highly memorable kind of lost gem that I really recommend you either check out or give a new viewing to. And it is available to watch right now on two BTV free with ads, or you can rent it at the usual suspects like Amazon Prime Video, So make sure you bring your appetite. January tends to be a busy month for one of the undisputed Kings of horror pardon the pun, Stephen King. And in January twenty seventh of two thousand and two, Stephen King's Rose Red premiered on ABC. And I was actually just watching

6:45 a different Stephen King three part mini series because as the snow was pouring down and beating Dayton, Ohio, we got over a foot of it. I was watching Storm of the Century, which is a three part mini series based on a Stephen King book, and it holds up great. There's something truly delightful and cozy and horror fun about this about ten years stretch where Stephen King kind of owned the three night mini series concept. And for those who are maybe too young to remember, three night mini series were just that Friday, Saturday and Sunday you would have a ninety minute or two hours with commercials installment of a Stephen King's story. It would keep you engrossed all weekend waiting for the next piece to drop. And Rose Red was no different. Three nights, one mansion and a team of psychics, skeptics and the curious walk into a place that does not want them there. Rose Red is Stephen King doing Haunted House Horror as a big TV event with sprawling rooms, hidden history, and a house that feels like it's rearranging itself to isolate you. And one of the most fun parts is it's structured like a study, like the mansion itself is a lab specimen, and the people are well the test mice. If you grew up in the era of Network mini series horror,

8:16 well this nostalgia hit has a lot of teeth and it's definitely worth checking out, especially if you're snowed in like I am right now. I actually can't drive anywhere technically because of a Level three snow emergency. It's available to watch with your Hulu membership and I do recommend you check it out or head back to the old Mansion for another visit. I'm sure it missed you. And finally, on January twenty eighth, nineteen seventy seven, we go all the way back to one of the original truly terrifying snowbound horrors, with The Shine, which was published. This is one of those dates that really does echo on the calendar.

9:07 Stephen King's The Shining hits bookstores on January twenty eighth, nineteen seventy seven, and horror gets a new kind of haunted space, not just a place with ghosts, but a place that feeds on the people inside of it. The Overlook isn't haunted in a simple way. It's hungry. It watches, It whispers, it tempts, and even if you've seen Kubrick's film one hundred times, the novel truly is its own beast, deeper on the family, deeper on the alcoholism, the slow corrosion, and the idea that evil doesn't always arrive as a stranger.

9:52 Sometimes it moves in with you. And if you haven't checked out the nineteen ninety seven mini series for The Shining, that's also worth your time. While it's hard to compare it to kubricks The Shining, which many consider a masterpiece, I'm not the biggest fan, but I do appreciate the film quite a bit. The mini series, Stephen King himself liked more because it was more like the novel. But if you want to check out The Shining novel and kill some time before the roads are safe to be on again, it's widely available in print, on ebook and audiobook. You could check library apps if you don't want to pay anything for it, or just head to audible dot com.

10:37 But either way, the overlook looks forward to your stay. Winter is officially at full steam ahead, and that means it's time to have something wonderful to drink to keep you warm. And this episode of This Week in Horror History is proudly sponsored by our friends at Save Arista Coffee, where you can get craft blends and bold flavors, but with a twist because they're decalf and half calf for those of you like myself who are a bit sensitive to caffeine. So if you enjoy bold flavor but don't want to feel jittery or you're already shivering enough, head to Save Arista Coffee dot com and use promo code Spooky at checkout for twenty five percent off your order, and every purchase goes to support our podcast directly that Savearista dot com promo code spooky. Thank you for checking Save Arista out, and a huge thank you to save Arista for sponsoring our program. When we come back, we are going behind the scenes of a movie set where the director is chasing authenticity and the actor might not act at all all. Right, lights back up to your places,

12:19 cameras rolling, and somebody please keep an eye on the guy with the coffin in his trailer. On January twenty sixth, two thousand and one, Shadow of the Vampire goes wide in the US. So here's the pitch. It's nineteen twenty one. FW Murnow is making nos Farratu. He wants the perfect vampire, so he hires Max Shrek, and the crew starts to wonder if Shrek isn't performing a vampire so much as simply being one. Shadow of the Vampire is one of those delicious movies about movies, where where the horror works on two levels, and not just because that's my day job.

13:11 Level one, a backstage satire about obsession, ego and art directors while they want truth, producers want money, and actors, of course the worst of all, want immortality. And then on level two, an honest to goodness vampire tale where the camera itself becomes bait. Williem Dafoe's performance is legendary here feral, funny and often unsettling, like a creature trying to remember how humans move. And John Malkovich plays Mernau as a man who's so committed to the shot that he'll sacrifice anything for it, including and especially people. And that's the real horror, isn't it. Not just the monster, but what will allow in the room as long as the work looks great in the end. As far as box office goes, Shadow of the Vampire made about eleven point two million dollars worldwide on an eight million dollar budget, So not a blockbuster, but it definitely became a cult title that's remembered very very well and fondly and rightfully. So.

14:36 So if you want to check out Shadow of a Vampire, whether it's a revisit or it's your first time having your neck bitten, it's available to rent on Amazon Prime Video. Now it's time to light a creepy candle or two for some horror birthdays. January twenty sixth, nineteen forty three, Katherine Lee Scott is born beloved Dark Shadows icon and yes, she's been part of horror TV history for decades. She is truly iconic, and I don't like to throw that word around all willy nilly. Catherine Lee Scott brings a classy beauty to her roles. Happy birthday, Katherine Lee Scott.

15:24 On January twenty seventh, nineteen fifty three. One of my personal heroes, Joe Bob Briggs, was born drive in legend horror host. In fact, we're both in the Horror host Hall of Fame eh eh, and of course the patron saint of movies that are Better with friends. Joe Bob Briggs helped grow generations of horror movie and exploitation movie fans with his three TV series Joe Bob's Drive In on the Movie Channel in the eighties and early nineties, Monster Vision on TNT on Saturday Nights, which I watched constantly until it's cancelation in two thousand, and of course his current show on Shutter, The Last Drive In with Joe Bob Briggs. I had the fortune of going to two of his Drive In jamborees and even visiting the set of The Last Drive In back when they were shooting in New Jersey. Incredible experience. Joe Bob is the best, and I'm so glad younger generations are getting exposed to his type of movie hosting and movie appreciation. So big happy birthday to John Bloom aka Joe Bob Briggs. January twenty eighth, nineteen fifty nine. Frank Darrabant was born. He's written some of the best genre screenplays of the eighties and later directed one of Stephen King's arguably best modern adaptations,

16:55 The Mist. Darrabant has had an incredible career, so many great scripts, so many great films, so many great television series that he's been involved in. He's had his hand in underrated horror films like the nineteen eighty eight Blob remake and the nineteen eighty nine The Fly Part two, which I think are both great films, highly underrated. But he's also been involved in The Walking Dead's first season, which is of course a major part of horror history. So big happy birthday to Frank Dearrabat and finally, born on February second, nineteen seventy four, a more modern horror figure, Osgood Perkins was born. Osgood Perkins has recently become very well known for his film's Long Legs, The Monkey and his most recent film Keeper, which I really enjoyed and saw in the theater, and I actually on the first night of the big blizzard that hit, I finally checked out his film The Block black Coat's Daughter, which is very snowy, very creepy, and very dark, but I really enjoyed it. So osgood Perkins, a rising star in modern horror, and of course an overnight sensation that was twenty years in the making. I think he's earned a lot of the accolades. So happy birthday, Oz Perkins for our then and now. Then in the nineties, screamers warned us about

18:30 autonomous killing machines that learn too fast to keep up. Now we have a real world with AI and drones, and the most unsettling part is how quickly conversations shift from should we to how soon will we? Horror doesn't really predict the future so much as it pressure tests it. Our fears and anxieties are related to what we seek coming down the pike, so it takes a fear and turns the dial well past safe and makes you stare at the consequences and won't let you look away. That catharsis is why horror is so popular with so many people all over the world, regardless of age, gender, or religious affiliation. For our weekly recommendation, we head back to February first, nineteen eighty, when John Carpenter's The Fog hit theaters.

19:38 If you need a perfect late January Blizzard week watch. The Fog is pure atmosphere, coastal night air, ghost story, dread, and of course John Carpenter tightening suspense like it's a wire wrapped around your throat. It also pairs nicely with our deep cut Spotlight because it's another mood first horror where the setting feels almost alive, like the town is in on the secret. The atmosphere of the Fog is certainly next level, and if you've never seen it, you really need to. And if you haven't seen it in a while, well you really need to. The Fog is available to watch free right now on two b TV with ads. You can also rent or buy it on Amazon Video, Apple TV, and of course Fandango at home.

20:31 So get your fog on, get down with your bad self, and try not to be massacred by the ghosts of lepers. Try your best at least well, my spookys. That's your tour through January twenty sixth to February second, and as always, the calendar is soaked in something unpleasant. No no, no, don't try to taste it. If you want more horror in your week, well you're in the right place, because here on the weekly Spooky feed. Tomorrow we drop the final installment of our Snowy Slasher set at a horror convention called band so make sure you check that out.

21:17 And on Friday we'll be presenting another of the best of twenty twenty five horror films. And just so you know, in February you can expect a full return from cutting deep into horror, so make sure you're subscribed on your favorite podcasting app. And if you love what we do here and want to support us in a very direct way, head to Weeklyspooky dot com slash join team up with ninety other spookyes to help make sure Weekly Spooky can keep going and growing, including shows like This Week in Horror History. And of course you can email me at Weeklyspooky at gmail dot com. I do love hearing from you, so until next time, remember our day are numbered because that's how we tell them apart. See you next week