Fright School

Happy Horrordays, Fright School! To celebrate, we thought we’d release this chat between Joshua and Jacki from the JERSEY GHOULS celebrating 50 years of THE EXORCIST! This streamed as part of Geekscape’s Holiday Livestream-tacular! We hope your holiday season, however you may celebrate, has been kind to you! Scary Cryptmas, children, and here’s to a New Year filled with FEAR! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! Thank you for sticking with us while we navigated some technical issues behind the scenes! This week we took in SAW... X? 10? 1.5? Whatever! We were just happy to see Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith taking the franchise back to basics! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! Joshua threw his annual Halloween party! Thanks again to everyone who came out to our THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW screening with Lambda Archives and Diversionary Theatre! It was a wild and untamed success! This week it’s more Hammer Horror with CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to another Fright School Field Trip! We went to see THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER and have some thoughts that are about as convoluted as the plot of this film... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! This week we welcome director (among many other things) Sam Irvin to the show! We discuss Sam's horror pedigree, his fanzine BIZARRE, and his books I WAS A TEENAGE MONSTER HUNTER: How I Met Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, & More! and The Epic Saga Behind FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY! Joshua and Sam, who just so happens to have directed ELVIRA'S HAUNTED HILLS, reminisce about their trip to Romania with Cassandra Peterson aka Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. This week, we continue our Hammer Horror jaunt with BRIDES OF DRACULA! We discuss the Queerness of the film, connections to our discussion of Hitchcock's ROPE, Sam's changing relationship with the film, and some fun behind-the-scenes tidbits! We are celebrating LGBTQ History Month with a discussion on Queer horror and THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Get tickets NOW! Titillation And Trepidation: Revisiting Hammer’s Queer Outings by Samantha McLaren Find Sam on Facebook and Instagram Get a copy of Sam Irvin's book I

Welcome back to Fright School! We are kicking off our EIGHT season! In honor of LGBTQ History Month, we are teaming up with LAMBDA Archives and the Diversionary Theatre for a showing of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW! Join us for a discussion of the enduring legacy of the film and new perspectives on its meaning to Queer audiences. Joe is catching up on the GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW. Our 2023 Halloween Horror Film Challenge is out NOW and it's all about horror sequels. This Spooky Season we are reflecting on the history of Hammer Film Productions and Hammer Horror which has brought us some of the most iconic portrayals of famous monsters like Christopher Lee's Dracula. This week we focus on HORROR OF DRACULA. We discuss the updates to Bram Stoker's original story, comparisons to the Bela Lugosi film, the repression inherent in Victorian age sexuality and morality, and the influence of contemporary British culture of the 1970s on the story. The House of Horror: A History of Hammer Films by Stephen Carver Horror

Welcome back to Fright School! The summer tourists are leaving San Diego just in time for the Invasion of the College Students from OUT OF STATE! Joshua forgot about scratched CDs! Count yourself among the lucky if you have no idea what he is talking about. This week we take on teenage alienation- literally- with THE FACULTY. It's INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS meets THE BREAKFAST CLUB with a twist of THE THING! Oh, the late 90s! What a time! We discuss the pressures of conformity, invasion anxiety, the rather subversive pro-drug messaging in the film, and small town nihilism. Let's get high and stay alive! The Faculty is the bleakest and most subversive film of the ’90s studio teen-horror cycle By Alex McLevy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! Joe talks about drag on Guam! Joshua tries some Chamorro Chip Cookies! This week we take it back with the cult classic PROM NIGHT! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time to get back to Fright School! Joe regales us with tales from Guam! We discuss plane rides as we age. Once you get that taste of a few more inches of space, it is hard to go back! Joshua catches Joe up on the state of his practicum experience. She's therapisting ya'll! This week, we went to the movies (though thousands of miles apart) to see TALK TO ME! We take on the comparisons to HEREDITARY, addiction narratives, and internalizing the dangerous messages we come across on social media. Fright School Patreon! Join now for access to video episodes and watch as Joe flips the tables on Joshua on the After Fright School Special! Talk to Me Ending and Meaning Explained By Aaron Sagers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! We are wrapping up our PRIDE season! We welcome Ben to the show. Joe's a volunteer. We need Vanjie's List. Ben's a SCREAM! This week, we take another French turn with TITANE. We chat about objectophilia, gender affirmation, techno anxiety, and how family is often what you make of it. What a great theme to end PRIDE season on! We are taking a few weeks off for a summer break! See you in the fall! It's almost SPOOKY SEASON! Sex Drive: ‘Titane’ and the Meaning of Horror Titane Movie Explained: Ending, Themes & Identity Crisis Analysed Interview: Julia Ducournau on Building Her Own Modern Mythology with Titane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bonsoir et bienvenue à Fright School! We're going French again! Joe has jury duty! We discuss the importance of showing up and trying to make the justice system a little better. This week we watched STRANGER BY THE LAKE, a cautionary tale for the Promiscuous Homosexual trope. We give a lesson in cruising culture, the French film's meditations on sex, death, and desire, and the visceral (almost boring) sex on display. Joshua discusses a theory on incel behavior and the economics of Queer sex that may benefit us all. We share some of the most dangerous things we have done while trying to find a hook up. Straight Men Who Have Sex With Other Men: In Their Own Words by Michael Shelton Dangerous Undertow in a Cruisers’ Haven by A.O Scott Stranger by the Lake review: Alain Guiraudie’s spellbinding erotic mystery by Ben Walters Silence Equals Death in “Stranger By The Lake” by Richard Brody Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! We kick off by discussing what we've been watching. Joshua finally saw RENFIELD! We also get into some BEEF. Joe gets down to some Bidi Bidi Padam Dam and is feeling GLAMOROUS. This week we watched WINDOWS from 1980! Made at the same time as CRUISING, it experienced similar significant (well deserved?) backlash. It's another story of a predatory lesbian on the prowl that almost everyone involved regrets making. WINDOWS 1980 analysis by Ken Anderson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! We're back on our Queer horror kick this week! First let us introduce you to Altan Tealeaf during our Dungeons and Dragons chat. This week we discuss the Queer things going on in THE OLD DARK HOUSE! We discuss Post WWI pessimism, repression depression, and why Straights rush in. This one is all about laughter and sin- what could be more PRIDE than that?! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! This week we welcome to the Wes Craven Memorial Library Miss Amber St. James! This African Bearded Queen tells us all about her Drag Herstory, love of Horror, and what to expect at San Diego Pride! We took a field trip to see THE BLACKENING! We chat Spades and other games we cannot win, the short that inspired the film, and the intersections of Queerness and Blackness. Click HERE for everything Miss Amber St James! THE BLACKENING now available digitally! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome Back to Fright School! Joe attended and read names at Rainbow Graduation for the future legendary Queer children. We discuss Gender Apathy and the art of reading. Joshua recounts attending the Garbage concert and being aggressively complemented. Joe is going to Janet Jackson! Joshua is sooooo jealous. This week we are having some fun with ONCE BITTEN! It is all about a vampire lamenting the fact that there were no virgins in the 80s. We chat about Hollywood on film, Trans Panic, the wise minority figure, and Sebastien as a Queer Renfield. ‘Once Bitten’ And Sebastian, The Film’s Queer Renfield by Joshua Anderson     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! On this week's episode we are joined by the Maven of the Eventide herself, Elisa Hansen! Joshua and Elisa catch up after visiting Romania together. Elisa shares her love for the vampire and the Phantom of the Opera. Joe is delighted to not be left out of the discussion by chatting about Broadway musicals! This episode is very special because Joshua has long said Fright school would never cover INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, but here we are! Elisa brings her extensive knowledge of Anne Rice's work to the discussion and helps us bury a long shared rumor about Tom Cruise's role in changing the film. We discuss the 90s panic surrounding gay adoption, casting Cher in the film, and the tragedy of Claudia. Visit Maven of the Eventide on YouTube! Join the Fright School book club by reading Elisa's book THE COMPANY OF DEATH! GENDER CONVENTIONS: HOMOSEXUAL EROTICISM AND FAMILY LIAISONS IN ANNE RICE AND NEIL JORDAN’S INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE by Iulia-Mădălina PINTILIE Learn more about yo

Welcome back to Fright School! Joshua and Joe get serious about performative allyship. We share our memories of our first Pride celebrations. this week we are exploring an island full of Lesbian vampires in VAMPYROS LESBOS! Like last week's episode, we met another behavioral health professional attempting to treat vampirism. We wonder what Freud would think of this application of psychoanalysis? We revisit our Aryan vs Eastern European trope, discuss the myth of sexual violence as a catalyst for lesbianism, and predatory Queers. Out for Blood: Vampire Lesbian Tropes Never Grow Old by Marie V Alessandro The Haunt of Injustice: Exploring Homophobia in Vampire Literature by Clare Nee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy PRIDE month Fright School! Joshua and Joe finished The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel! We take a moment to remember Tina Turner. Joe gives a quick lesson in why San Diego Pride is in July. This month, we are dedicating our episodes to Queer vampires starting with 1936's DRACULA'S DAUGHTER! We dive into vampirism as a form of internalized homophobia, the medicalization of Queer people, and the predatory Lesbian in film. Could Cognitive Behavioral Therapy work for gay vampires? Dr. Garth is sure trying to find out! CODED QUEERNESS IN DRACULA’S DAUGHTER (1936) by Elizabeth Erwin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! Joshua joined a macabre of goths at the Cruel World Fest! Joe has been watching XO Kitty and getting very cultured with Eurovision. The boys discuss Heartstopper season 2 and anticipate The Little Mermaid. This week, Joe wraps up his takeover with SANZARU! It's a Southern Gothic tale with a Filipino twist. We chat about the horror of Texas, cultural humility, the Aswang, and gothic liminality. American Southern Gothic Meets Filipino Ghosts in SANZARU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Fright School! We fully support the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike! Chat GPT is not going to do it. Joe gets serious about a typhoon coming for Guam. Joshua discusses his trip to Poland and sites of the Holocaust. Yesterday was Harvey Milk Day and World Goth Day! We're obviously going more for goth on this episode... This week Joe continues his takeover with THE DEAD LANDS! In this Maori language film we get Hamlet by way of the Predator and learn "even small things can be useful." Hmmm.. there's gotta be a joke in there somewhere. Also, Joe watched SPIKE TV?! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices