Dec. 23, 2025

This Week in Horror History | The Exorcist, The Faculty & Body Snatchers (Dec 22–28)

This Week in Horror History | The Exorcist, The Faculty & Body Snatchers (Dec 22–28)
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Step into This Week in Horror History and relive the nightmare fuel of December 22–28: a Christmas-week collision of alien infiltration, true-case exorcism lore, and paranoia-soaked sci-fi horror.
This episode digs into:

  • Dec 25, 1998 — The Faculty: the ultimate ’90s teen alien horror—teachers acting wrong, bodies getting swapped, and the school turning into a trap.
  • Dec 22, 1978 — Deep-Cut Spotlight: Invasion of the Body Snatchers: a remake that doesn’t just update the story—it infects it with urban dread, groupthink, and that soul-freezing “everyone’s in on it” feeling.
  • Dec 26, 1973 — The Exorcist: a cultural shockwave that rewired horror, from possession tropes to the way films build slow-burn dread.
  • Dec 28, 1957 — The Mysterians: classic retro sci-fi with a giant-robot punch of Cold War weirdness.
  • Plus: horror birthdays (Blair Witch vibes, scream queens, and silent-era legends), and a weekly recommendation that pairs perfectly with a second “high school is hell” watch.
Where to watch (U.S.)
  • The Faculty (1998): Tubi (free w/ ads), The Roku Channel (free), Paramount+ (subscription).
  • The Exorcist (1973): Rent on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Fandango at Home (episode also notes it’s not streaming free / not included with subscription right now).
  • The Mysterians / Earth Defense Force (1957): Criterion Channel (membership) — the episode says this is the current option.
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978): Tubi (free w/ ads), Pluto, Plex; rent on Fandango at Home and Apple TV; also mentioned: Amazon Prime (subscription).


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WEBVTT

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Between December twenty second and twenty eighth, horror keeps looking

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up and realizing the sky is not on our side.

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Sometimes the invasion is subtle, a foggy city, a friendly face,

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a voice that sounds like someone you love, until it doesn't.

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Sometimes it's louder, cold war nerves, Toho spectacle, the sense

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that something vast has arrived and humanity is just background noise.

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And sometimes the threat isn't from above at all. Sometimes

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it's already inside the house, inside the body, inside the room,

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where people whisper prayers and hold on until morning, hoping

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whatever's there finally lets go. This is the week where

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the holidays don't bring comfort, they bring the perfect cover.

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Welcome back to this week in horror history. I'm your host,

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Enrique Kuto, and this episode covers December twenty second through

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December twenty eighth, seven days where paranoia blooms, exorcisms end,

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and the holidays get quietly beautifully ruined. Tonight's episode features

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a famous Midwestern exorcism reaching its final exhausting days, a

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high school getting taken over one smile at a time,

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A landmark possession story hits theaters and changes horror forever

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and a classic Japanese sci fi invasion film drops right

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into this week like a shiny radioactive ornament. Then after

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the break, we're doing a deep cut spotlight on one

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of the coldest, smartest remakes ever made, Invasion of the

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Body Snatchers from nineteen seventy eight, and will close out

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with a birthday roll, a then and now and a

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weekly recommendation to carry you into the dark. December twenty third,

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nineteen twenty eight, The Exorcism of Emma Schmidt aka Anna

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Ecklund reaches its end in Irling, Iowa. If you've ever

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gone down the rabbit hole of real exorcism cases, and

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that is in quotes, this is one of the biggest

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names in the conversation. According to accounts of the case,

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the final stretch of the nineteen twenty eight sessions ran

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December fifteenth through December twenty third, eight brutal days inside

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a convent. Well, that's a sentence I never thought i'd say.

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But I also believe Father Theophilus Riisinger performed the rite

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while the sisters tried to keep order around a woman

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said to be experiencing violent possession. Whether you read this

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as faith folklore, hysteria or something even darker. The element

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that stands out the most is the duration, the sheer

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grind of it, right through the heart of the holiday season,

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but over just in time to still have a nice

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gathering with or dervs on Christmas Eve. And this year,

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in twenty twenty five, we saw the release of The Ritual,

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starring Al Pacino and Dan Stevens, a film all about

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the Exorcism. It was released in theaters during a very

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crowded time in the middle of the summer. So I

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haven't caught it yet, but maybe it's worth checking out.

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December twenty fifth, nineteen ninety eight. The Faculty infects a

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high school and turns teen horror into a Christmas week

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body Snatcher party, released on Christmas Day. Robert Rodriguez is

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The Faculty is what happens when you take Invasion of

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the Body Snatcher's DNA, pour it into a nineties teen movie,

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and then spike it with paranoia and horror creature nastiness.

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It cost around fifteen million dollars and earned roughly forty

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million dollars in the US and Canada, often cited as

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sixty three million worldwide, depending on how you take the

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grosses pretty solid theater business for a sharp, nasty, little

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crowd pleaser that's been a favorite of mine for a

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very long time. Just the idea of the school faculty

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going haywire and coming after the students is something that I,

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as a person who dropped out of high school, find

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very poignant and creepy and believable in a lot of ways.

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When I was a teenager, I often mistaked this film

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for another film that came out around the same time

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called Disturbing Behavior, which was also about all the adults

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turning on the kids, but not quite the alien invasion element.

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But The Faculty is an absolute classic. I revisited it

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a few years ago and loved it. Loved it. If

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you're thinking about giving it a revisit, well, it's easy

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to find and free to watch on tub and the

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Roku channel. It's also available on Paramount Plus with your subscription,

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and of course you could rent it wherever you usually

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do that sort of thing. December twenty sixth, nineteen seventy three,

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The Exorcist arrives and the genre never fully recovers man. Apparently,

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exorcisms and Christmas go together like a peanut buttering cranberry sauce.

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William Friedkin's The Exorcist opened in the US on December

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twenty sixth, and, no exaggeration, it rewired what mainstream audiences

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believed horror was allowed to do. It reportedly cost around

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twelve million dollars to make and went on to earn

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four hundred and forty million dollars worldwide across all its releases,

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making it one of the most financially successful horror films

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ever made. This is the moment possession horror stops being

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just a spooky idea and becomes a cultural event. Even

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if you've seen the film a dozen times, it's still very,

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very layered. There's more to catch with every single viewing

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of The Exorcist, and of course, if you're Beetlejuice, it

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just gets funnier every damn time. And right now it's

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currently available to rent on your favorite rental platforms like

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Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home. So why

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not revisit The Exorcist the day after Christmas as it

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was intended to be enjoyed. Plus, it's a lot less

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offensive than vomiting pea soup on your relatives. December twenty eighth,

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nineteen fifty seven. The Mysterians lands in Japan, Space invasion

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cinema with Cold war nerves and that classic Toho spectacle.

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Released theatrically in Japan on December twenty eighth. The Mysterians,

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also known as Earth Defense Force, is glossy science fiction

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with a kaiju adjacent bite. Aliens arrive, giant robots stomp around,

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and the whole thing hums with post war anxiety. It's

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not horror in the strictest sense, but I don't know.

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I think that if you have giant monsters stomping around, well,

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that's pretty horrific. I mean, if that happened to you

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on the way home from work, would you would tell somebody? Right?

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I mean I would unless it happened every day, I guess.

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The film features invasion, helplessness, and that gnawing feeling that

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the future is arriving, whether you're ready or not. It

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looks like right now. The only way you can watch

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The Mysterians or Earth Defense Force is by checking it

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out on the Criterion Channel with a membership. This episode

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of This Week in Horror History is sponsored by Aspire

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All right, my spookies, take a breath, because we're about

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to step into San Francisco. I know you're scared already,

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but hold on. In nineteen seventy eight, it's foggy, it's crowded,

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it's beautiful, and the people you love are starting to

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look like they've been replaced by something that just now

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learned how to smile. Welcome back. Let's jump right into

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our deep cut spotlight. It's Invasion of the Body Snatchers

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from nineteen seventy eight. What helps this remake stand apart

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are a few elements. One of them, of course, is

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that it's so intense and creepy. A lot of people

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think this is the original, and that later versions that

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came out in the nineties and early two thousands those

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are the remakes. But no, no, the original Invasion of

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the Body Snatchers came out in the fifties, and while

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it has a lot to like about it, the nineteen

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seventy eight remake has an immense fan base, and rightfully so.

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It's a film that really does top the original in

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many ways. But of course I don't want to crap

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on the original. The original had a lot less to

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work with. It was a much smaller budget film. The

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nineteen seventy eight remake, Well, it had everything going for

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it from cast and crew and director, starring Donald Sutherland,

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who just owns every single scene he is. He so

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brilliantly sells the paranoia. The film takes the old premise

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of pods copying people while they're asleep and turns it

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into an urban nightmare where alien replacements feel less like

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a sci fi trick and more like modern life doing

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what it does, isolating you, exhausting you, and making you

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doubt your own sense. On a reported budget of about

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three point five million dollars, it brought in twenty four

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point nine million at the domestic box office, an undeniable

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hit for something so relentlessly bleak, and bleak really is

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the word. This is not a cozy monster of the week.

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It's a slow realization that the crowd around you has

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stopped being human and you are the last one who noticed.

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So what makes it worth pulling off the shelf this week? Well,

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first of all, the mood, the fog, the sound design.

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Everything feels just a little wrong, like the city is

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quietly holding its breath. The performances play it straight, which

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makes the paranoia feel very very real instead of being campy,

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and the ending is the kind of cinematic gut punch

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which you never ever forget. And I do want to

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mention that because I'm a nineties kid, my favorite version

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of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is actually Body Snatchers

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from nineteen ninety three, directed by Abel Ferrara. I think

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that movie is so creepy, so scary. It takes place

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on an air Force base, a military base, I believe,

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instead of in the open city, and it has a

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lot to say about how you have to fit into

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certain communities to get along, and how fitting in could

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be the demise of everyone. But that one's available on Tube,

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by the way, But we're talking about the nineteen seventy

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eight original, which I think deserves all the love in

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the world and a revisit. It is also available on

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tub for free to watch with ads. You can find

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it on Pluto as well Plex as well. You can

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rent it on Fandango at home, Apple TV, and you

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can watch it on Amazon Prime with a subscription. So

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put it on at night, right when your home is quiet,

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Then look out the window and ask yourself a simple question.

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If someone replaced you, would anybody notice or ask yourself

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a nineteen ninety three question, where you're gonna run, where

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you're gonna hide? Nowhere because there's no one like you left. Now,

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let's jump into our horror birthdays for December twenty second

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through twenty eight and raise a blood spattered party hat

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for a few folks celebrating this week. December twenty second,

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nineteen seventy four. Heather Donahue is born, the face of

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the Blair Witch Project, forever linked to found footage, dread

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and that did we just walk in a circle kind

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of panic? Heather truly made the Blair Witch special, and

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in part it was because of her fearlessness and willingness

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to be vulnerable, even in a way that people would

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later make fun of. The moment in The Blair Witch

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Project where she holds the camera in her face and

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cries and begs for forgiveness and just sobs and fogs

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up the camera and the tears and snots start running,

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That is what makes the movie work. It was, of

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course parodied and made fun of by hundreds and hundreds

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of people, but that's because it was memorable, and because

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most people would not be comfortable to put a performance

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like that on camera. Happy Birthday, Heather December twenty fourth,

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nineteen ten. Fritz Lieber is born a giant of fantasy,

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horror and sci fi, sword and sorcery, urban dread, and

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genre wit all in one brain. The man modernized horror

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with his books Our Lady of Darkness, Conjure Wife, Gathered Darkness,

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The Sinful Ones, and so many short stories and other books.

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Happy Birthday, Fritz, December twenty fifth, nineteen forty nine. Sissy

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Spacek is a Christmas baby. Carrie made her an icon,

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and decades later she still carries that eerie, grounded intensity

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in every role she takes on. Have a great birthday

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and Merry Christmas. Sissy Spacek and another of Horror's lady legends.

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Born on December twenty seventh, nineteen fifty eight. Barbara Crampton

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from Reanimator and From Beyond as well as many modern

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horror movies. Not only as an actress, but as a producer,

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Barbara Crampton is one of the real ones. She is

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incredible in anything you put her in. Whether you want

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her to be sleazy or classy or anything in between,

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you can count on Barbara Crampton to bring it and

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to bring the scream when is necessary. She's definitely scream

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Queen Royalty with the true range. Happy birthday, Barbara Crampton

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and finally born on December twenty eighth, nineteen oh sorry,

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eighteen eighty eight. F W. Murnow, silent era legend and

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the director behind No Sparratu in nineteen twenty two, the

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original vampire movie. The Imagery of No s Feratu still

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feels like a personal nightmare to many many people who've

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enjoyed it over the years. A very happy birthday, f W. Murnow.

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And for our then and now we talk about The Exorcist,

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released on December twenty sixth, nineteen seventy three to present day.

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When The Exorcist opened the day after Christmas, it didn't

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just scare people, it changed a genre as we know it.

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The mainstream would never be the same. The film's realism

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and its refusal to wink or show its hand, the

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way it treats faith and fear as equally heavy forces.

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It's the blueprint so many modern possession stories still chase

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after desperately to this day. One of my favorite things

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about the Exorcist is that I am not a religious person,

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but it's like the marvel cinematic universe, but Catholicism. When

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you watch The Exorcist, and to an extent the omen

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as well, when you put on The Exorcist, you are

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a Roman Catholic for the entire runtime of the film.

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You learn the rules, you learn the mythos, and you

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get scared. As we mentioned before, the Exorcist isn't available

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to stream free anywhere or even with a subscription right now.

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You'll have to rent it or buy it digitally wherever

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you like to do that sort of thing, like Amazon

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Prime or Fandango at home. But a perfect then and

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now double feature would be watch The ex x Orcyst

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and then put on just about any modern possession movie

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trying to be the next Exorcist. You'll feel the difference

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in the first five minutes. Many have come close, damn close,

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but no one has truly unseated the King. And for

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our weekly recommendation, I really suggest you watch the aforementioned

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The Faculty from nineteen ninety eight. It's fast, funny, and

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nastier than people remember, and because it's a spot the

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impostor movie, it becomes an instant party watch with friends

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trying to figure out who the weird little creature worm

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alien things are living inside of is a lot of

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fun if you're into that kind of thing, and we

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obviously are here, so give the faculty a rewatch, and

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I assure you it'll be a great palate cleanser for

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after your holiday goings on Again, it's available to watch

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on Paramount Plus with your subscription and on the Roku

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Channel two B and Amazon prop And that's your tour

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through December twenty second through twenty eighth in horror history.

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If you found a new movie to watch or a

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weird anniversary rabbit hole to fall into, do me a

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favor and share this episode with a friend who loves

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spooky stuff. And if you want more, it's all right

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here on the Weekly Spooky Feed. Before this show, you

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heard a brand new Christmas horror story written by the

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one and only Keith Tomlin, really worth a listen, And

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tomorrow we have another on Wednesday, ready to scare you

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into your holiday, and of course, have a very merry Christmas,

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a safe and secure holiday with your loved ones. And

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while you're at it, maybe watch a couple horror movies.

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I mean, Silent Night, Deadly Night, ain't gonna watch itself. Kids,

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you got to put that thing on. It's always Christmas

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on the warm side of the door. So until next Tuesday,

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I'm your host, Enrique Kuto telling you our days are

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numbered because that's how you tell them, apart till next time,