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It's episode 265...and the television screen is the retina of the mind's eye.
Videodrome (1983) tells the story of slimy TV executive Max Renn, who specialises in digging up obscure softcore pornography and bloody violence to broadcast to the feverish masses on his cable TV station. But, when Max comes into contact with the extreme and nightmarish violence of Videodrome, things begin to unravel, leading to hallucinations, BDSM-infused re-enactments and the transference of violent media into violent reality.
We discuss chest wound gun holsters, a prescient depiction of the anxieties and effects of violent media, dig into the most thematically-packed 90 minute movies we’ve ever seen, unpick a gory special effects masterclass and ponder whether, if you want to stop someone investigating something, whether it’s a good idea to give them loads of information to help them do just that.
All of which leads to one question: How would you survive?
Whatever happens, one thing's for sure: Death to Videodrome. Long live the new flesh!
Next time, it’s exploding heads o’clock as David Cronenberg Season continues with Scanners (1981).
How to Survive is now on Patreon! Support us at Patreon.com/HowtoSurvivePod to get every episode one week early, plus monthly bonus episodes and more.
It's episode 264...and it's your coffin, my love. Enjoy it. Most of us never get to know what it feels like.
Interview With The Vampire (1994) spins a century-spanning yarn of epic proportions, following the listless slave plantation owner Louis de Pointe du Lac, as he is bitten and transformed into an immortal creature by vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. Much like a new parent, an apparently endless future of night feeds causes Louis to have an existential crisis lasting decades as he stands and morosely observes various comings and goings across New Orleans, Paris and San Francisco, eventually relating this to a journalist in the modern day for our pleasure(?).
It’s a bloody diet of ham and mince as Brad Pitt sulks, Tom Cruise camps it up and a 10-year old Kirsten Dunst steals the show, in what is an unusual and somewhat misguided and often boring Vampiric fable pondering the meaning of life. We discuss blatant homoeroticism, outline the unique qualities of the vampire interviewees, question the reasoning of an exclusively rat-based diet and ponder whether we’ve already passed the best time in our lives to be made eternal beings. What other dark gifts might we find? There’s only one way to find out.
All of which leads to one question: How would you survive?
Whatever happens, one thing's for sure: I was mortal until you gave me your immortal kiss.
Next time, it’s the start of David Cronenberg Season with Videodrome (1983).
How to Survive is now on Patreon! Support us at Patreon.com/HowtoSurvivePod to get every episode one week early, plus monthly bonus episodes and more.
It's episode 264...and it's your coffin, my love. Enjoy it. Most of us never get to know what it feels like.
Interview With The Vampire (1994) spins a century-spanning yarn of epic proportions, following the listless slave plantation owner Louis de Pointe du Lac, as he is bitten and transformed into an immortal creature by vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. Much like a new parent, an apparently endless future of night feeds causes Louis to have an existential crisis lasting decades as he stands and morosely observes various comings and goings across New Orleans, Paris and San Francisco, eventually relating this to a journalist in the modern day for our pleasure(?).
It’s a bloody diet of ham and mince as Brad Pitt sulks, Tom Cruise camps it up and a 10-year old Kirsten Dunst steals the show, in what is an unusual and somewhat misguided and often boring Vampiric fable pondering the meaning of life. We discuss blatant homoeroticism, outline the unique qualities of the vampire interviewees, question the reasoning of an exclusively rat-based diet and ponder whether we’ve already passed the best time in our lives to be made eternal beings. What other dark gifts might we find? There’s only one way to find out.
All of which leads to one question: How would you survive?
Whatever happens, one thing's for sure: I was mortal until you gave me your immortal kiss.
Next time, it’s the start of David Cronenberg Season with Videodrome (1983).
How to Survive is now on Patreon! Support us at Patreon.com/HowtoSurvivePod to get every episode one week early, plus monthly bonus episodes and more.
It's episode 255...and here I am. A survivor attempting to tell my story, and find healing.
Halloween Ends (2022) tells the story of Corey Cunningham, a babysitter who gets more than he bargained for when he accidentally kills the child in his care. Avoiding jail time, he falls in love with Allison, the granddaughter of Laurie Strode, who is now fully recovered from the trauma of the last 40 years. Don’t worry about it.
We talk about the most bewildering film sequel(s) of all time; the benefits of relocating; and hypocrisy runs rife when Joe starts handing out advice on microphone discipline.
Whatever happens, one thing's for sure: a psycho meets a freak show. This is a match made in heaven.
Get in touch! HowtoSurviveShow@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter! @HowToSurvivePod
How to Survive is back on a fortnightly basis, starting on Wednesday 21st September with Jordan Peele's Nope and Ti West's X on Wednesday 5th October after that.
If you don't want to wait that long, head over to Patreon.com/HowToSurvivePod, where for $3 a month you can get every episode a week early, plus a bonus episode every month AND help us decide what films we cover next.
Thanks for joining us, as ever, and feel free to get in touch on HowToSurviveShow@gmail.com or @HowToSurvivePod on Twitter.
How to Survive is now on Patreon! Support us at Patreon.com/HowtoSurvivePod
It's Christmas, and our second 2021 Christmas Special.
Home Sweet Home Alone (2021) tells the story of Pam and Jeff who find an heirloom worth thousands. They believe that it has been stolen by local kid Max Mercer and set out to recover it by any means necessary. By coincidence, Max's parents have accidentally left him home alone and travelled to Japan - so he'll have to fend off Pam and Jeff by making booby traps out of household products.
We discuss burns, scrapes, stabs, cuts, and bludgeonings. We talk about fire safety; common-sense PR moves; and the power of a normal human conversation.
All of which leads to one important question: how would you survive?
Whatever happens, one thing's for sure: Uh, this is garbage. I don't know why they are always trying to remake the classics. Never as good as the originals.
Next time: We're on a break for a while. Stay tuned for further updates and see you in 2022! x
Get in touch! HowtoSurviveShow@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter! @HowToSurvivePod
How to Survive is now on Patreon! Support us at Patreon.com/HowtoSurvivePod
It's Christmas! And the first of our 2021 Christmas specials.
Better Watch Out (2016) tells the story of Ashley, a babysitter and her charge, Luke. In the run-up to Christmas, Luke wants to try to seduce Ashley, but before he can make his move, a home invasion makes an already uncomfortable situation much less comfortable.
We talk about the importance of trigger safety; the merits of a 'less is more' approach to seduction; and we ask how much of a Christmas movie this really is.
All of which leads to one important question: how would you survive?
Whatever happens, one thing's for sure: She's like twice your age. I really don't think it's gonna happen.
Next time, Christmas continues apace.
Get in touch! HowtoSurviveShow@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter! @HowToSurvivePod
How to Survive is now on Patreon! Support us at Patreon.com/HowtoSurvivePod
It's episode 250...and she's still here.
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021) is the latest installment in the beloved horror franchise, and marks the first time we've watched a brand-new entry of any of our favoured franchises since we started the podcast! Margot reconnects with her estranged family who belong to an isolated Amish community, but not everything is as it seems. However, in a stroke of good fortune, Margot has brought along a documentary crew to capture crystal clear 4K footage of all the things that go bump in the night.
We revisit a modern horror staple, discuss the rights and wrongs of activities paranormal and otherwise, ask if a found footage film as ever looked less 'found' than this and ponder whether you should reconsider telling a cult member that you've uncovered some creepy cult member business going on.
Whatever happens, one thing's for sure: I know every Amish family within a fifty mile area and they ain't Amish.
Next time, it's Chriiiiisssstmaaaaaaaaaas.
Get in touch! HowtoSurviveShow@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter! @HowToSurvivePod
How to Survive is now on Patreon! Support us at Patreon.com/HowtoSurvivePod
It's episode 249...I thought we could help him, but I was wrong. It's time we cut out the cancer.
Malignant (2021) marks James Wan's glitzy return to the horror genre with what feels like a run through the greatest hits of his filmography. We've got abductions, nightmares, haunted houses, but how well does it all hang together?
We discuss a film of two halves, the strangest martial arts movie ever made, consider health and safety tips for constructing torture dungeons, and Chris tests Joe on his single-nasty-word-horror-movie-title knowledge with his single-nasty-word-horror-movie-title quiz. All of which leads to one important question: How would you survive?
Whatever happens, one thing's for sure: Some of the conversations you had with Gabriel just chilled us to the bone.
Next time, it's a treat for our 250th episode: Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021).
Get in touch! HowtoSurviveShow@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter! @HowToSurvivePod