Episode 231: Martyrs (2008)

Drusilla and Josh discuss the Val Lewton classic, I Walked with a Zombie. They are joined by Black Zombie director, Maya Annik Bedward. From wiki: “I Walked with a Zombie is a 1943 American horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Val Lewton for RKO Pictures. It stars James Ellison, Frances Dee, and Tom Conway, and follows a Canadian nurse who travels to care for the ailing wife of a sugar plantation owner in the Caribbean, where she witnesses Vodou rites and possibly encounters the walking dead. The screenplay, written by Curt Siodmak and Ardel Wray, is based on an article of the same title by Inez Wallace, and also partly reinterprets the narrative of the 1847 novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.[1][2]”Also discussed: Dark Shadows, Bunny Lake is Missing, Onslaught, Theresa Harris, Jacques Tourneur, Val Lewton, Curse of the Cat People (1944), The 7th Victim (1943), Black Zombie (2026), George Romero, Night of the Living Dead (1968), World War Z (2013), Darby Jones, voodoo, Sinners (2025), Haitian vodou, Crooklyn (1994), NEXT WEEK: Memories of Murder (2003), Maya Annik Bedward:https://www.mayaannik.com/aboutBloodhaus: https://www.bloodhauspod.com/https://www.instagram.com/bloodhauspod/https://letterboxd.com/bloodhaus/Drusilla Adeline:https://www.sisterhydedesign.com/https://letterboxd.com/sisterhyde/https://www.instagram.com/sister__hyde/Joshua Conkelhttps://www.joshuaconkel.com/https://www.instagram.com/joshua_conkel/https://letterboxd.com/JoshuaConkel/  

Happy Labor Day! Drusilla and Josh are watching the 1988 Canadian oddity, PIN. From wiki: “Pin (stylized as PIN...) fully titled as Pin: A Plastic Nightmare is a 1988 Canadian horror film directed by Sandor Stern and starring David Hewlett, Cynthia Preston and Terry O'Quinn. It is based on the novel of the same name by Andrew Neiderman. The film was released direct-to-video in the United States on January 27, 1989.”Also discussed: The Night of the Iguana (1964), The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967),  The Fall of Communism as Seen in Gay Pornography (1998), Flowers in the Attic, The Baby (1973), and more. NEXT WEEK: Black Zombie (2026) and I Walked with a Zombie (1943)Bloodhaus: https://www.bloodhauspod.com/https://www.instagram.com/bloodhauspod/https://letterboxd.com/bloodhaus/Drusilla Adeline:https://www.sisterhydedesign.com/https://letterboxd.com/sisterhyde/https://www.instagram.com/sister__hyde/Joshua Conkelhttps://www.joshuaconkel.com/https://www.instagram.com/joshua_conkel/https://letterboxd.com/JoshuaConkel/  

Josh and Drusilla watch Joaquim Trier’s lesbian genre exploration, Thelma (2017). From wiki: “Thelma is a 2017 supernatural thriller drama film directed by Joachim Trier, who co-wrote the screenplay with Eskil Vogt. The film stars Eili Harboe, Kaya Wilkins, Henrik Rafaelsen, and Ellen Dorrit Petersen. Thelma tells the story of a sheltered young woman who discovers she has an inexplicable power that materializes when she feels desire for a female student at her university. Thelma was selected as the Norwegian entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards,[4][5][6] but did not receive the nomination.[7][8]”Also discussed: The End of Oak Street (2026), Revenge (2017), You’re Next (2011), The Worst Person in the World (2021), Sentimental Value (2025) and more. NEXT WEEK: Pin (1988)Bloodhaus: https://www.bloodhauspod.com/https://www.instagram.com/bloodhauspod/https://letterboxd.com/bloodhaus/Drusilla Adeline:https://www.sisterhydedesign.com/https://letterboxd.com/sisterhyde/https://www.instagram.com/sister__hyde/Joshua Conkelhttps://www.joshuaconkel.com/https://www.instagram.com/joshua_conkel/https://letterboxd.com/JoshuaConkel/  

This week the film is 1932’s Freaks. From wiki: “Freaks (also re-released as The Monster Story,[6] Forbidden Love, and Nature's Mistakes[7]) is a 1932 American pre-Code drama horror film produced and directed by Tod Browning, starring Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, and Roscoe Ates. Freaks, originally intended as a vehicle for Lon Chaney,[7] is set amongst the backdrop of a travelling French circus and follows a conniving trapeze artist who joins a group of carnival sideshow performers with a plan to seduce and murder a dwarf in the troupe to gain his inheritance. However, her plot proves to have dangerous consequences. The film is based on elements from the short story "Spurs" by Tod Robbins, first published in Munsey's Magazine in February 1923, with the rights being purchased by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Cedric Gibbons, a childhood friend of Robbins and MGM art department chief, was responsible for the purchase.[6]”Also discussed: The Legend of the Stardust Brothers, Hot Spot (2026), The Lure (2015), Gypsy 83 (2001), Twinless (2025), The Invite (2026), Geek Love, and more. NEXT WEEK: Thelma (2017)Bloodhaus: https://www.bloodhauspod.com/https://www.instagram.com/bloodhauspod/https://letterboxd.com/bloodhaus/Drusilla Adeline:https://www.sisterhydedesign.com/https://letterboxd.com/sisterhyde/https://www.instagram.com/sister__hyde/Joshua Conkelhttps://www.joshuaconkel.com/https://www.instagram.com/joshua_conkel/https://letterboxd.com/JoshuaConkel/  

The movie of the week is a classic of the New French Extremism, Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs (2008). From wiki: “Martyrs is a 2008 psychological horror film written and directed by Pascal Laugier. The film stars Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, and Catherine Bégin. Set in 1986, it follows the story of Lucie, a traumatized young woman who seeks revenge against individuals who abducted and tortured her as a child. Her actions, aided by her friend Anna, also a victim of abuse, result in dire consequences.”Also discussed: Black Zombie, The Legend of the Stardust Brothers, The Devils, The Samurai and the Prisoner, The Handmaiden, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Train Dreams, Hellraiser, and more. NEXT WEEK: Freaks (1932)Bloodhaus: https://www.bloodhauspod.com/https://www.instagram.com/bloodhauspod/https://letterboxd.com/bloodhaus/Drusilla Adeline:https://www.sisterhydedesign.com/https://letterboxd.com/sisterhyde/https://www.instagram.com/sister__hyde/Joshua Conkelhttps://www.joshuaconkel.com/https://www.instagram.com/joshua_conkel/https://letterboxd.com/JoshuaConkel/  

Josh and Drusilla embark on a fascinating journey into the legendary yet often criticized film, Exorcist II: The Heretic. Joining them is the esteemed David Kittredge, whose documentary, Boorman and the Devil, sheds light on the complexities and creative ambitions behind this enigmatic sequel. From wiki: "Exorcist II: The Heretic is a 1977 American supernatural science fiction horror film directed by John Boorman and written by William Goodhart. It is the second installment in The Exorcist film series and the sequel to The Exorcist (1973), and stars Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, Paul Henreid, and James Earl Jones. It was the last film to feature veteran actor Paul Henreid before his death on March 29, 1992. Set four years after the previous film, the film centers on the now 16-year-old Regan MacNeil, who is still recovering from her previous demonic possession."Bloodhaus: https://www.bloodhauspod.com/https://www.instagram.com/bloodhauspod/https://letterboxd.com/bloodhaus/Drusilla Adeline:https://www.sisterhydedesign.com/https://letterboxd.com/sisterhyde/https://www.instagram.com/sister__hyde/Joshua Conkelhttps://www.joshuaconkel.com/https://www.instagram.com/joshua_conkel/https://letterboxd.com/JoshuaConkel/  

This week, Drusilla returns from San Diego Comic-Con and Josh returns from NYC. The film of the week if Brian De Palma’s Sisters. From wiki: “Sisters (released as Blood Sisters in the United Kingdom) is a 1972 American neo-noir psychological horror film directed by Brian De Palma and starring Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt, and Charles Durning. It follows Dominique Blanchion, the separated conjoined twin of a French Canadian model, Danielle Breton, who is suspected of having committed a brutal murder witnessed by Grace Collier, a newspaper reporter in Staten Island, New York City.Co-written by De Palma and Louisa Rose, the screenplay for the film was inspired by the Soviet conjoined twins Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova and features narrative and visual references to several films by Alfred Hitchcock.[5] Filmed on location in Staten Island, the film prominently features split-screen compositions (also present in subsequent De Palma films such as Carrie), and was scored by frequent Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann.”Also discussed: The Vampire Lestat, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Her Private Hell, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Beyond the Hills, Italian realism rec, Streetwise, May December, The Shards, [safe], ranking Brian De Palma, Black Christmas, and more. NEXT WEEK: Exorcist II: The Heretic (1978)Bloodhaus: https://www.bloodhauspod.com/https://www.instagram.com/bloodhauspod/https://letterboxd.com/bloodhaus/Drusilla Adeline:https://www.sisterhydedesign.com/https://letterboxd.com/sisterhyde/https://www.instagram.com/sister__hyde/Joshua Conkelhttps://www.joshuaconkel.com/https://www.instagram.com/joshua_conkel/https://letterboxd.com/JoshuaConkel/  

This week, Josh and Drusilla celebrate the legacy of Sam Neill with In the Mouth of Madness (1994). From wiki: “In the Mouth of Madness is a 1994 American supernatural horror film directed and scored by John Carpenter and written by Michael De Luca. It stars Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, Jürgen Prochnow, David Warner and Charlton Heston. Neill stars as John Trent, an insurance investigator who visits a small town while looking into the disappearance of a successful author of horror novels, and begins to question his sanity as the lines between reality and fiction seem to blur. Informally, the film is the third and final installment in what Carpenter refers to as his "Apocalypse Trilogy", preceded by The Thing (1982) and Prince of Darkness (1987).[2]Also discussed: Castle Rock, Lovecraft Country, Golden Eighties (1986), Dracula A.D. 1972, Psychomania, John Carpenter, Sam Neill, Kevin Costner, New Line Cinema, and more. NEXT WEEK: Sisters (1972)Bloodhaus: https://www.bloodhauspod.com/https://www.instagram.com/bloodhauspod/https://letterboxd.com/bloodhaus/Drusilla Adeline:https://www.sisterhydedesign.com/https://letterboxd.com/sisterhyde/https://www.instagram.com/sister__hyde/Joshua Conkelhttps://www.joshuaconkel.com/https://www.instagram.com/joshua_conkel/https://letterboxd.com/JoshuaConkel/  

Josh and Drusilla discuss the French classic, Diabolique. From wiki: “Les Diaboliques (French: [le djabɔlik], lit. transl. The Diabolical Ones or Diabolical Women, released as Diabolique in the United States and variously translated as The Devils or The Fiends)[3] is a 1955 French noir psychological thriller film co-written and directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, and starring Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse, and Charles Vanel. The story blends elements of psychological thriller, crime drama and psychological horror, with the plot focusing on a woman and her husband's mistress who conspire to murder the man. It is based on the 1952 novel Celle qui n'était plus (lit. transl. The One Who Was No More)[4] by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac.”Also discussed: cockroach trauma, Florida, Who Can Kill a Child? (1976), Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders (2026), The Vampire Lestat, How Green Was My Valley (1941), Matewan (1987), Alfred Hitchcock, Bound (1996), Blood Simple (1984), The Kingdom (1994),  Peeping Tom (1960), and more. NEXT WEEK: In the Mouth of Madness (1994) Bloodhaus: https://www.bloodhauspod.com/https://www.instagram.com/bloodhauspod/https://letterboxd.com/bloodhaus/Drusilla Adeline:https://www.sisterhydedesign.com/https://letterboxd.com/sisterhyde/https://www.instagram.com/sister__hyde/Joshua Conkelhttps://www.joshuaconkel.com/https://www.instagram.com/joshua_conkel/https://letterboxd.com/JoshuaConkel/  

This week, Drusilla and Josh discuss the box office bomb that’s oft been requested, A Cure for Wellness. From wiki: “A Cure for Wellness is a 2016 psychological horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Justin Haythe. Haythe and Verbinski were inspired by Thomas Mann's 1924 novel The Magic Mountain while coming up with the idea for the film.[3] Starring Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, and Mia Goth, the plot follows a young executive who is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from a mysterious rehabilitation center in the Swiss Alps.”Also discussed: Obsession discourse, Ken Russell’s unmade Dracula script, The Cars That Ate Paris, Death Race 2000, Mouse Hunt, Steven Spielberg, Gore Verbinski, Miracle Mile, Helter Skelter (2012), and more. NEXT WEEK: Diabolique (1955) Bloodhaus: https://www.bloodhauspod.com/https://www.instagram.com/bloodhauspod/https://letterboxd.com/bloodhaus/Drusilla Adeline:https://www.sisterhydedesign.com/https://letterboxd.com/sisterhyde/https://www.instagram.com/sister__hyde/Joshua Conkelhttps://www.joshuaconkel.com/https://www.instagram.com/joshua_conkel/https://letterboxd.com/JoshuaConkel/