Jaws Ep. 02 - Orca (with Carmelita Valdez McKoy)

We leave the sea and head for the hills as animal danger evolves to attack on land. It’s a William Girdler double feature as we discuss GRIZZLY (1976) starring Andrew Prine, Richard Jaekal, and Christopher George as a park ranger battling a murderous bear.  We then tackle ozone problems in THE DAY OF THE ANIMALS (1977) when every animal over 5,000 feet elevation goes on a violent rampage, starring Leslie Nielsen as an ad exec who proves that the most dangerous animal of all is man himself.

We are joined by Carmelita Valdez McKoy to discuss the “happy for deep people” that is ORCA (1977).  Richard Harris and Charlotte Rampling star in the film about a killer whale hell bent on revenge for the death of its mate and unborn calf. Find Carmelita: https://letterboxd.com/carmelitasays/ https://bsky.app/profile/carmelitasays.bsky.social https://x.com/CarmelitaSays

Hello and bonjour to you fair podcast listeners! it’s time to grab a Narragansett Beer and climb into your anti-shark cage as we explore the films that followed in Jaws’s considerable wake. This week we kick things off with Steven Spielberg’s classic that started it all: JAWS (1975) starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw. Written by Carl Gottlieb, based on the novel by Peter Benchley. Then we really get in the swing of things with TINTORERA (1977) starring Susan George, Hugo Stiglitz, and Andrés García in a tale of shark hunters finding love in a throuple.

Yakmalaaaa! Join us for GYMKATA (1985), a martial arts movie about a gymnast who plays a deadly game to secure a “Star Wars” earth station for the U.S.A. It stars Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas, and is directed by Robert Clouse (Enter the Dragon) from a screenplay by Charles Robert Carner (Blind Fury).

Put down the peace pipe and make a video run with us to the teenage end of the Fatal Attraction series as we discuss: FEAR (1996) starring Reese Witherspoon as a teen girl who rebels against her family by dating the baddest of boys, played by Mark Wahlberg. SWIMFAN (2002) starring Jesse Bradford as the guy who gets mixed up with Erika Christensen’s absolute supervillain, Madison Bell (the titular Swimfan). This episode is a must listen if you ever wanted to hear Chris say, “I was expecting Hoobastank.”

Jen Howell of the Every Rom Com podcast joins to help us answer the quesion: What if the dangerous stranger who is going to wreck your life…is a kid?  Go grab Mr. Highway and strap in for THE GOOD SON (1993) starring Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood, written by Ian McEwan and directed by Joseph Ruben. https://www.everyromcom.com/ https://www.instagram.com/everyromcom/ https://bsky.app/profile/everyromcom.bsky.social

We’re under a strict “return to office” mandate as we look at two films where the danger is in the workplace: THE TEMP (1993) starring Timothy Hutton and Lara Flynn Boyle trying to make that cheddar in the world of cookies, and DISCLOSURE (1994) where Michael Douglas and Demi Moore deal with Malaysian supply chain issues.

Things get a little sleazy this week as we take a look at two movies where the dangerous stranger... is a teenage girl.   First, we’ll explore 1992’s POISON IVY starring Drew Barrymore, Sara Gilbert and Tom Skerritt. Then we’ll follow that up with THE CRUSH (1993) featuring Alicia Silverstone and Cary Elwes.

Erin Dawn of the Manic Movie Monday Podcast joins us to explore one of the most memorable erotic thrillers of the ‘90s: SINGLE WHITE FEMALE (1992) starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh.    Along the way we discuss New York architecture, lost ‘90s cable TV series and Kenny Loggins.   https://rss.com/podcasts/manicmoviemonday/     https://www.instagram.com/manicmoviemondaypodcast/      

This week we explore two movies where danger comes not from a stranger, but someone much closer to home.    First, Julia Roberts must escape the “Husband from Hell” in SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY (1991).   Then we encounter the “Nanny from Hell” in Curtis Hanson’s THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE (1992) starring Rebecca De Mornay, Annabella Sciorra, Matt McCoy and Ernie Hudson.