Welcome to episode 25 of The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we pair 2 movies to create something far greater than the sum of their parts

This week we are discussing two movies that use the ghost story as a vehicle to explore themes of family, loss, grief, and instability. First up, we have our first Korean entry in the series with a Tale of Two Sisters from 2003 and director Kim Jee-woon, which stars Im Soo-Jung, Yum Jung-ah and Moon Geun-young. Then we follow this with a trip back to Spain for The Orphanage from 2007 and director J.A Bayona, starring Belen Rueda, Geraldine Chaplin, Roger Princep and Fernando Cayo

Along the way, we’ll be discussing the foundations of Korean horror cinema, the career and movies of director Kim Jee-woon, the folk tale Rose Flower and Red Lotus, the careers of Sergio G Sanchez and J A Bayona, and much more.

References and Sources:

A Tale of Two Sisters

Asia Shock by Patrick Galloway

Korean Horror Cinema written by Alison Pearce

Arrow Films Blu-ray release - interviews with the cast and director as well as the directors commentary

https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=25485

https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=19282

https://www.fangoria.com/kim-jee-woon-a-tale-of-two-sisters/

https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/461562/a-tale-of-two-sisters-a-korean-horror-masterpiece/

https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/a-brief-history-of-k-cinema?srsltid=AfmBOop0ogJla4KoWgRPoSLjse0kCpsUsHuJBtBDpNw7JOZhqbFAc9zN

The Orphanage

Imprint Films Blu-ray release - interviews with the cast and crew, and a behind the scenes making of documentary

The Spanish Fantastic: Contemporary Filmmaking in Horror Fantasy and Sci-fi by Sheila Rowan leg

Spanish Horror Film by Antonio Lazarro Rebol

https://www.europapress.es/cultura/cine-00128/noticia-belen-rueda-enfrenta-primer-papel-protagonista-orfanato-representara-espana-oscar-20071009175718.html

https://culturevulture.net/film/an-interview-with-the-filmmakers-of-the-orphanage/

https://www.female.com.au/juan-antonio-bayona-the-orphanage-interview.htm

https://www.hollywood.com/general/the-orphanage-juan-antonio-bayona-sergio-sanchez-57174730

https://www.ioncinema.com/news/uncategorized/interview-juan-antonio-bayona-sergio-sanchez-the-orphanage

https://www.fangoria.com/interview-screenwriter-sergio-g-sanchez-on-giving-birth-to-the-orphanage-and-collaborating-with-guillermo-del-toro/

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email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

Welcome to episode 24 of the horror double bill the podcasts where each week we combine two movies to create something far greater than the sum of their parts

This week we are returning to the theme of childhood, only this week it is the kids and not the adults who are in peril.

First up we have The Night of the Hunter from 1955, the only film ever directed by the great actor Charles Laughton and starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters and Lillian Gish. Then we’ll be heading back to Mexico for the quite brilliant Tigers are Not Afraid from 2017 written and directed by Issa Lopez and starring Paolo Lara Juan Ramon Lopez Hansel Casillas and Rodrigo Cortez.

Both of this week’s movies juxtapose fairytale imagery with the grim realities of murder corruption and crime, depicting their young protagonists as casualties of societal and financial collapse, the first through the great depression of the 1930s and the second through the rise and reach of gang culture in present day Mexico.

Night of the Hunter

The Night of the Hunter by Simon Callow, published by BFI film classics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Depression

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis_Grubb

https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/51604

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Laughton

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1657-the-night-of-the-hunter-holy-terror?srsltid=AfmBOorxu8VtTUmkrWGymPa25wN6Nvim63PVF9ojmLW3GxYI2e3PQRK7

Tigers Are Not Afraid

Shudder blu-ray release extras: directors commentary, behind the scenes making of feature, Q&A with Issa Lopez and Guillermo Del Toro

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/mexico

https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/interview-issa-lopez/

https://insessionfilm.com/interview-issa-lopez-director-writer-of-tigers-are-not-afraid/

https://deepestdream.com/issa-lopez-talks-dream-narrative-behind-tigers-are-not-afraid/

https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/299293/tigers-are-not-afraid-and-neither-is-director-issa-lopez/

https://www.hola.com/us/entertainment/20240111354355/issa-lopez-mexican-force-behind-season-4-true-detective/

https://videocine.com.mx/noticia/entrevista-paola-lara-vuelven/

https://producaocultural.procomum.org/2012/01/11/1525

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

Welcome to episode 23 of the Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we combine two movies to create something far greater than the sum of their parts

This week we are exploring the great outdoors with two films that fall into the sub genre of backwoods horror, though to be fair the second one is more backwoods adjacent

First up we wade through the swamps of Louisiana with Southern Comfort from 1981 and director Walter Hill, starring Keith Carradine, Powers Booth, Fred Ward, and Peter Coyote. Then we travel to 2005 and the Appalachian Mountains with The Descent from director Neil Marshall, starring Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Akex Reid and Myanna Buring.

Along the way we’ll be discussing the origins of the back woods horror sub-genre, exploring some of the classic and if we’re honest not so classic entries, discussing the career of Walter Hill, debating whether Southern Comfort is an allegory for the Vietnam war and much much more.

Sources & References

Introduction and both movies

The Rural Gothic in American Popular Culture Backwoods Horror and Terror in The Wilderness by Bernice M Murphy

The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Gothic Volume 1 edited by Clive Bloom

Southern Comfort

interviews, commentaries and documentaries that can be found on the Vinegar Syndrome special edition blu-ray release of the film

Men, Women and Chainsaws by Carol J Clover

https://thequietus.com/culture/film/film-southern-comfort-walter-hill-40-anniversary/

https://brightlightsfilm.com/human-frailty-swallowed-whole-on-walter-hills-southern-comfort-1981/

https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/56697

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hill

https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/56697

The Descent

The Making of The Descent by Janine Pipe and Neil Marshall

https://youtu.be/gqx5snAahzA?si=6-3pqO6_B8313zFn

https://www.dreadcentral.com/interviews/3370/marshall-neil-the-descent/

https://theasc.com/articles/the-descent-creepy-crawlers

https://www.horrorthriller.com/Movies/Directors/N_Marshall/Centu_rion_Inter_view.html

Contemporary British Horror Cinema Industry, Genre and Society by Johnny Walker

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Marshall

https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time/all-voters/neil-marshall

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)