In this episode film critic/writer Matt Glasby and artist Barney Bodoano discuss their innovative book on horror movies 'The Book of Horror: The anatomy of fear in film'. After talking about their gateway into their horror obsession Matt takes us through his seven 'scare tactics', techniques used by film makers to evoke shock, dread, revulsion etc. including specifically filmic techniques such as 'dead space'. Barney talks about how he chose an evocative image to represent each film and his decision to use charcoal and chalk as his medium. Their book scores each of 37 films on each of the 7 parameters, summarises the plot and suggests similar movies. We discuss five films in some detail: Hitchcock's 'Psycho' (1960), the Italian classic 'Suspiria' (1977), Japanese trailblazer 'Ring' (1999), lockdown movie 'Host' (2020) and Matt's highest scoring film 'Hereditary' (2018), with a nod to a number of other movies. Lovely chat and an enjoyable book about a creepy subject.

Participants:

Matt Glasby writer, critic https://mattglasby.com/index.php

Barney Bodoano, artist and illustrator https://thewickedlibrary.com/barney-bodoano/

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and retired neuropsychiatrist: http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk

Their 'Book of Horror: The anatomy of fear in film' : https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-book-of-horror/matt-glasby/barney-bodoano/9781836009399

The movies we discuss: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7784604/?ref_=fn_t_1

Dario Argento's 'Suspiria' from 1977: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076786/

Hideo Nakata's 'Ring' from 1998: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0178868/?ref_=nm_knf_c_2

Rob Savage's 'Host' from 2020: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12749596/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_host%25202020

Ari Aster's 'Hereditary' from 2018: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7784604/

The band Barney mentions at the end, 'Crumbling Ghost':

Opening music: Prelude to the opera Brainland, composed by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Sketch by KB (Barney is on the left)

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Austin Lim's book 'Horror and the Brain' uses work from the horror and science fiction genres as a way into discussing a neuroscience and a range of related stories. We discuss why on earth so many people inflict the feelings provoked by horror fiction on themselves ans talk about a range of brain structures that play a role in fear, emotion and attachment behaviour (with a diversion into love, oxytocin and prairie voles). We talk about the amygdala, insula and the pathways that include them and the systems triggered by disgust and the uncanny, moving from the real story of a mass shooting to various films and stories, including Jordan Peele's 'Get Out' and 'Us', Gondry's ' Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'. Brain mapper Wilder Penfield leads us into a closing horror story (real if you happen to be a mouse) about Toxoplasmosis. Great chat with an excellent communicator.

Participants:

Austin Lim, Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Neuroscience, De Paul University, Chicago. https://csh.depaul.edu/faculty-staff/faculty-a-z/Pages/neuroscience/sean-austin-lim.aspx

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and retired neuropsychiatrist: http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk

Austin's book 'Horror on the Brain': https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Horror-on-the-Brain/Austin-Lim/9781493084791

The 'uncanny valley': https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Horror-on-the-Brain/Austin-Lim/9781493084791

More on oxytocin: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666497621000813

Opening music: Prelude to the opera Brainland, composed by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Sketch by KB.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1924 French poet Andre Breton wrote that ‘Surrealism is based on the belief in the omnipotence of dreams, in the undirected play of thought’. Surrealism grew out of the anarchistic DaDa movement triggered by the carnage of WW and was fueled by Freud's writing on the unconscious. Roland Penrose was a leading surrealist artist and also a key figure in bringing the movement to the UK in the 1930s and setting up the Institute of Contemporary Art. Photographer Lee Miller's work was also often surreal in composition and intention, including her accidental discovery of the 'solarisation' technique whilst working with Man Ray. In this episode, recorded at Farleys House and Gallery, their son and biographer Antony Penrose discusses his parent's lives and work. He outlines key events and recalls the many visitors during his childhood at Farleys, including leading figures in surrealism Man Ray and Max Ernst. We also discuss his parent's close relationship with Picasso and much else.

Participants:

Antony Penrose, author, photographer and director of the Lee Miller Archive and Penrose Collection https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Penrose

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and retired neuropsychiatrist: http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk

Farleys House and gallery: https://www.farleyshouseandgallery.co.uk/

Antony's books:

The Friendly Surrealist: https://www.farleyshouseandgallery.co.uk/product/roland-penrose-the-friendly-surrealist/

'The Lives of Lee Miller https://www.farleyshouseandgallery.co.uk/product/the-lives-of-lee-miller/

Tate Britain Lee Miller exhibition: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/lee-miller?utm_source=google&utm_medium=performance_max&utm_campaign=CAMP_lee-miller_conversion_pmax&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23123668076&gclid=Cj0KCQiAubrJBhCbARIsAHIdxD-asxTHY4Vut8eo1p2meDDW42wf7y2IjxkqJ0oDPm3qOECkrGpvGZ4aAn2zEALw_wcB

Also discussed:

Man Ray, https://www.manray.net/

Max Ernst, https://www.max-ernst.com/

Also discussed: 'Visiting Picasso' by Elizabeth Cowling

Ken's Ernst inspired animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFBYu2OKJi4

Opening music: Prelude to the opera Brainland, composed by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Sketch by KB.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.