In the last episode of series 1, Pete talks to scholar Tugce Kutlu about why she thinks We Need to Talk About Kevin strays deep into horror territory with its tale of a mother raising a very disturbed young man. Listen and enjoy!

Support the show

Do you remember the Play Safe and other public information films of the 1970s? Produced with the specific intention of terrifying young children, Professor Greg Singh, author of Black Mirror: Allegories for the Atomised andThe Death of Web 2.0: Ethics, Connectivity and Recognition in the Twenty-First Century, argues that these disturbing media artefacts should be considered horror.

Support the show

Is the Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence starring science fiction romance more "Titanic in the stars" or "The Shining on a spaceship"? Dr Reece Goodall, author of French Horror: Industry, Society and Media, joins the podcast to discuss the horrific leanings of Morten Tyldum's Passengers (2016).

Support the show

Does Bond ever go full horror? Rebecca Andrews from the "Do You Expect Us To Talk?" podcast talks Bond, body horror and where the franchise borrows from the horror genre.

Support the show

This week, Pete Turner and Christine Arnold, co-host of the Minimalist Educator podcast, co-author of "The Minimalist Teacher" and "Your School Leadership Edit: A Minimalist Approach to Rethinking Your School Ecosystem", explore Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler. Is Jake Gyllenhaal's ambitious Loo Bloom too ordinary to be a truly iconic horror monster?

Support the show

No monsters, no violence. Just mind-expanding psychedelics and Bruce Dern trying to be friendly. In this episode, Pete Turner is joined by Ian Cooper, screenwriter and author of "The Manson Family on Film and Television", and the Devil's Advocates books on "Frenzy" and "Witchfinder General" to explore Roger Corman’s The Trip. Is the film an advert for taking LSD, or a warning of the potential horrors of messing with your mind?

Support the show

Host Pete Turner is joined by Dr Cat Lester, the author of "Horror Films for Children: Fear and Pleasure in American Cinema" and editor of "Watership Down: Perspectives On and Beyond Animated Violence" to explore what makes Watership Down a horror film. They discuss the violence and the vulnerability of these lovable bunnies, but also the film's themes around death, leadership and community.

Support the show

What makes Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue such a disturbing film? And just because it's disturbing, does that make it a horror, or would it be better classed as a psychological thriller? In episode 3, host Pete Turner and animation expert Luke Holmes explore how the film taps into some deep fears about selfhood and identity, surveillance and performance, and disorientation and paranoia.

Support the show