We have a very special episode tonight.
See, in my alter-ego role as “responsible adult,” I do a job that requires a lot of driving. A LOT of driving. And I’ve been doing what I do for more than a decade so as you can imagine, rock blocks, morning DJ banter, and talk radio all hit my last nerve about nine years ago.
Thank ye Gods for the internet!
Because of this magical entity I can reach out to the ether and pull material ’til my evil heart’s content. I can listen to audio books, college lectures, old radio shows, etc. One of the shows I really enjoy is the Boys and Ghouls podcast. The hosts, Marshall and Kat choose a topic, typically a sub-genre or theme of horror film and discuss several films within the topic. I really enjoy their show and I was really excited when they agreed to an interview:
SD: I’m a big fan of the show. If you don’t mind, first please explain what a podcast is and how one goes about listening to one.
MARSHALL: A podcast is like an online radio show, usually a chat show, with episodes available to be listened to at your convenience. Almost all podcasts are free to listen to and can be accessed through iTunes or on the podcast’s website. Our own podcast can be found on iTunes or at http://boysandghouls.podbean.com
KAT: Nothing to add, Marshall said it all!
SD: Your tagline describes Boys and Ghouls as a “warm and engaging duo.” I really enjoy the conversational tone of the show. You two obviously love the genre but you don’t come off as cinema snobs. Is that hard to do when you live in LA surrounded by, well, cinema snobs?
MARSHALL: The conversational tone comes from the podcast actually being a conversation between two friends. Sometimes when we record an episode it’s the only time we get to see each other in a month, so we’re full of things to say.
As for cinema snobs, I feel that the only times one is tolerated is when you can’t find anyone else who has seen the movie you want to talk about. What’s nice about LA is there are plenty of other film buffs around.
And, fortunately, I have Kat around to talk about movies with.
KAT: This podcast began because Marshall and I already had a tradition of getting together to watch horror movies and talk about them, so the love for the genre existed well before Boys and Ghouls. I think one of our biggest strengths is that Marshall and I often approach things very differently, which always makes for fun conversation.
One of my personal goals is to always try to find things to love about the movies/content we review and discuss, because of the very phenomenon you are talking about (cinema snobs). I think it’s far easier to rip something apart than it is to look at the positive. If you’ve ever been on a movie set, you know how much work it takes, so I have some sympathy for the process, even when the product turns out poorly. Of course, there are still movies even I get upset about (I’m looking at you, Cheerleader Camp).
SD: So what is it about horror that makes it so interesting to discuss, as opposed to, say, romantic comedies or buddy cop movies?
MARSHALL: I like discussions of horror movies because the process of making a horror movie can be as interesting as its content. Watching a horror movie is often like watching two movies. There’s the story of the monster and its victims, but also on the screen is the story of the filmmakers doing their best with a low budget or looming censors or unreliable special effects. Like anything else, it’s no fun watching a horror filmmaker fail. But it is great fun watching them try.
KAT: Most great (or even good) movies attempt to touch on a part of the human experience and help us understand ourselves better. For me, horror movies touch on certain emotions you just can’t reach with other genres. I’m exceedingly afraid of the proverbial monster in the closet in my own life, and am a really jumpy person; watching horror films and discussing them helps make the monsters a little more manageable, I think. It’s like therapy.
SD: What’s your favorite scary movie?
MARSHALL: “The Lost Boys”. It hasn’t scared me in years but that hasn’t made watching it any less of a joy. When I got my own place, I modeled a shelf in the refrigerator after Grandpa’s in “The Lost Boys”, including bottles of root beer and double-thick Oreos behind a piece of card board that read, “Old Fart”.
KAT: John Carpenter’s “Halloween.” No contest. It still scares me every time. It’s classic, simple, and after so many viewings has become to me like a perfectly paced waltz.
SD: Was there ever a movie that just got to you and that you might still be just a little bit afraid of?
MARSHALL: Any effective zombie movie can be counted on to scare the bejeezus out of me. If not when watching it, then later when I’m alone. This fear goes all the way back to the “Thriller” music video.
KAT: I will never EVER get over 1993’s Fire In the Sky. It’s about a man’s alien abduction experience and is based on a true story. I saw it a couple of times as a kid and I’m not sure I’ll ever watch it again. Some of the imagery from that film will never leave my head.
SD: I love horror in just about all of its forms but I have never cared much for torture porn; the Hostel type films. Is there a sub-genre that you just don’t like?
MARSHALL: Haven’t completely written-off any entire sub-genres. Though, there are plenty of movies I haven’t liked. If I feel that a movie was completely misguided or is a total train-wreck I don’t tend to dwell on it. But the movies that are the worst to watch are the ones that could have been good if only they (in my opinion) did just a couple of things differently.
KAT: I’m with you, Scary Dad – I’m not much for the torture porn. For the most part, I don’t feel there’s much merit in it. There is one film where I thought the extreme gore served the plot very well, and that is 2008’s Martyrs. So I guess I can’t completely write off the genre. It won’t ever be my first pick, though.
SD: Quite a bit of research goes into a show. Can you describe the process?
MARSHALL: We usually agree on a topic a few weeks in advance, and then research it separately. Sometimes we wind up watching very different movies for the same topic. Like, for our revenge episode, Kat watched “I Spit On Your Grave” and I watched “The Abominable Dr. Phibes”. But, we both knew that our movie choices would give us plenty to tell the other person.
Also, I take so many handwritten notes when I watch a movie that I usually can’t find the note I want to reference when we’re recording.
KAT: I tend to watch whatever films I feel serve the topic, and then do as much analysis as possible. Sometimes that involves finding real-life stories that serve the topic, sometimes it means isolating an aspect of the films and trying to center them sociologically. For me, it’s a great way to find things to think about that might not have come up for me otherwise. I really like seeing the look of surprise on Marshall’s face when we’re recording and he realizes I’ve gone in some direction he didn’t expect. I should note that we don’t discuss more than an outline of what we’ll be talking about before we record in an effort to keep things spontaneous.
SD: How was going to sleep the night you guys did the Bloody Mary experiment? You two are the only people I know who have ever been brave enough to do it.
MARSHALL: That night, I had to sleep in the same room as the mirror we used. So, I slept with a lamp on. Just in case.
KAT: Marshall took the brunt of this, I’m afraid. Walking from my car to my apartment was a bit spooky, but once I got inside I was fine. Doing the experiment itself was a pretty scary, though.
SD: Well, I was a little sad that it was debunked but I’m glad you survived.
You guys do things other than Boys and Ghouls as well. Anything you want to plug before we close?
MARSHALL: Kat always has something going on…
KAT: If you’re in Los Angeles and want to see me on stage, I’ll be appearing in Zombie Joe’s Underground Theater’s production of Captain Dan Dixon vs. the Moth Sluts From the 5th Dimension in August. Try saying that five times fast. And thank you so much for your questions, these were great and so much fun to answer!!!
SD: Thanks you guys, I had a blast too.
And for the minions, you can catch a new episode of the Boys and Ghouls podcast on the 13th of each month, and in the meantime there’s more than a year’s worth of material available to download right now. I assure you it’s a good time.
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