American Psycho (2000): "Media Literacy Litmus Test"

He’s one of the hottest new stars in horror, so you had to know Sydneypalooza Presents: Clowntober TwosWeeks would end with another little visit from Art. As we continue to celebrate our gal’s birthday, we’re heading back into the belly of the beast with Terrifier 2 (2022), the sequel that introduced those immediately iconic sunglasses. On our latest episode, we’re getting our hands dirty (and bloody and gory and covered in goop) as we explore the new additions to the lore, debate how much plot is too much plot, and give David Howard Thornton and Lauren LaVera their flowers. References: https://x.com/damienleone/status/1886453068125864114https://collider.com/damien-leone-statements-horror-movies/https://www.horrorincolor.com/politicalterrifierhttps://www.themarysue.com/be-on-the-right-side-of-history-coward-terrifier-creator-just-admitted-the-gory-horror-franchise-has-no-political-meaning-and-fans-arent-happy/

Spookies, you’re not experiencing déjà vu: We are in fact once again covering a cinematic take on Stephen King’s IT as we celebrate Sydney’s birthday. This year, we’re breaking out the balloons a little early, though, because our new episode on IT (2017) is just one half of the party we’ve humbly deemed Sydneypalooza Presents: Clowntober TwosWeeks. First up is Pennywise, and we’re heading down into the sewers with him as we talk about Taylor Swift TikTok edits, our love for the state of Maine, and how crabs are the spiders of the sea. References: https://www.tiktok.com/@stqrryeye/video/7557738245828742455

There’s something spooky in the wind, friends — and a priest just told us our new episode might carry the mark of the beast. This week, we’re kicking off Season 666 (AKA Season 6), so we thought it was only appropriate that we should start with The Omen (1976). An iconic horror classic, this flick has inspired plenty of films that followed in its footsteps, and the Final Destination franchise is not least among them. On our latest installment of Spooky Tuesday, we’re discussing crucifix decor, investigating antichrist abortions, and embodying the diabolical trinity… and we’re doing it ALL FOR YOU, SPOOKIES!!!!References:https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4hQKj3MfGfvR9sctTcdVn2d/how-i-wrote-the-omen-one-of-the-scariest-movies-of-all-timehttps://screenrant.com/omen-movies-in-order-release-chronological/https://www.cineworld.ie/static/en/ie/blog/the-curse-of-the-omen-facts-the-first-omenhttps://nofilmschool.com/how-the-omen-shaped-satanic-horror#https://collider.com/the-omen-curse-production/https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-omen-forerunner-to-final-destination/https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/jews-and-the-rapturehttps://www.craiyon.com/en/image/wrLePISvR-C7fUauG6xhww

Spookies, there’s no better way to celebrate a season finale than with some serious discourse, so we figured it was about time we get into American Psycho (2000). This flick has had a major impact on pop culture over the years — but it also might be one of the most misunderstood pieces of media. For our final episode of Season 5, we decided to wade into the fray as we break down director Mary Harron’s commentary, discuss commitment king Christian Bale’s performance, and really take a magnifying glass to the details on those iconic business cards. References:https://www.out.com/film/american-psycho-gay-satire-mocking-wall-street-bros-explainedhttps://wesleyanargus.com/2024/09/30/from-book-to-scream-why-you-can-relate-to-patrick-bateman/https://www.gaytimes.com/culture/american-psycho-director-mystified-over-wall-street-bros-missing-the-films-gay-subtext/https://kairosisbyanalysis.wordpress.com/2015/04/27/american-psycho-batemans-repressed-homosexuality/https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jun/12/the-sad-stupid-rise-of-the-sigma-male-how-toxic-masculinity-took-over-social-mediahttps://youtu.be/MOi7gu--GDg?si=B6wUMUXIJY4K2cTZhttps://screenrant.com/american-psycho-willem-dafoe-kimball-scenes-editing/https://screenrant.com/american-psycho-ending-explained-meaning-what-happened/https://kairosisbyanalysis.wordpress.com/2015/04/27/american-psycho-batemans-repressed-homosexuality/https://italkyoubored.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/american-psycho-maybe-not-the-book-you-think-it-is/https://thetab.com/2023/01/24/sigma-face-explained-meaning-tiktok-christian-bale-american-psycho

PG-13 rating be damned, Drag Me To Hell (2009) might be one of the most horrifying movies we've covered yet. Between the flies and the mucusy sound effects and the embalming fluid, it isn't afraid to go for the gross-out factor — and the timing packed a powerful punch, too. Despite being penned a decade earlier after writer-director Sam Raimi wrapped up the original Evil Dead franchise, this flick's release landed it smack-dab in the middle of the late 00s housing crisis, something that's surprisingly relevant to the setup. On our latest Spooky Tuesday, we're diving deep into the discourse as we talk throat goats, Justin Long, diet culture, and White Phillip. References: https://quillette.com/2021/10/31/does-christine-brown-deserve-to-burn-in-hell/https://www.wickedhorror.com/features/retrospectives/10-years-later-drag-me-to-hell-retrospective/https://mr-franco.medium.com/why-drag-me-to-hell-is-more-than-a-horror-film-for-sam-raimi-39292f830b61https://1428elm.com/2019/04/15/drag-me-to-hell-turns-10-crazy-theory/https://screenrant.com/things-about-sam-raimi-drag-me-to-hell/https://horrorobsessive.com/2021/10/04/drag-me-to-hell-a-horror-comedy-with-something-to-say/

Is it just us, or are all these macho men kind of making eyes at each other? This week, we're heading into the jungle to encounter a creature we've never faced before — Predator (1987) — while armed with our hallmark homoerotic subtext goggles. That's right, these babies don't just have thermal or infrared vision, they can also pick apart all of the complicated threads of the poly relationships between Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, and their ragtag crew of body building heroes from over a mile away. Join us as we talk about masculinity, mandibles, memes, and more on our newest episode of Spooky Tuesday. References:https://meathookcinema.com/2017/11/24/no-homo-john-mctiernans-predator-1987/https://screenrant.com/predator-1987s-hidden-meanings-make-it-deeper-than-you-realized/https://screenrant.com/1987-predator-rewatch-aged-well/https://screenrant.com/predator-behind-scenes-facts-arnold-schwarzenegger-john-mctiernan-movie/https://dejareviewer.com/2014/04/01/predator-is-surprisingly-deep-action-movie/https://loudandclearreviews.com/predator-1987-film-review-action-thriller/https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/Yautja_(Predator)https://www.cbr.com/predator-rocky-origin/

We know, we know, The Descent: Part 2 (2009) might just be one of the most hated sequels in horror history, but what if for Chelsea's birthday we pretend it wasn't? On our latest episode of Spooky Tuesday, we're picking up right where we left off two years ago and heading back into those unexplored Appalachian caves, where we're discovering even *more* gay subtext than we found the first time around. This episode has it all — toxic yuri, throuples, and CLEAR references to other films like Sky High and I Know What You Did Last Summer — so turn your brain pea-sized like a crawler's and simply enjoy the silliness of a movie that answers the all-important question: where exactly *do* the cave creatures poop?References: https://www.thefrightclubni.com/post/exclusive-the-descent-turns-16-interview-with-shauna-macdonaldhttps://fanlore.org/wiki/Toxic_Yaoi/Yurihttps://www.reddit.com/r/FIlm/comments/s5eg66/the_descent_2005_a_film_about_queer_childbirth/https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/comments/130krnn/what_was_the_point_of_the_descent_part_ii_so_they/https://x.com/spooky_tuesday/status/1706369802007351415

Can a Fifth Tuesday be the *first* Tuesday of the month? We're pretty sure we laid that groundwork over the summer, which is why we're kicking off back-to-school season with Sky High (2005), our non-spooky freebie for September. Though it definitely brings the Halloween dress up vibes, this flick may be more family friendly than fearsome, but it still stars horror icons like Kurt Russell, Bruce Campbell and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. With its empowering message, extremely pleasing color palette, and an all-time bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold performance in Warren Peace, this movie was the moment back in the day — and, 20 years later, we're talking on our latest episode of Spooky Tuesday about why it still is. References:https://screenrant.com/sky-high-movie-trivia-facts/https://www.cbr.com/sky-high-2-doomed-sequel-story-details/https://thedisinsider.com/2024/06/01/sky-high-director-reveals-plans-for-potential-sequel/https://thedisinsider.com/2024/03/06/sky-high-director-is-ready-for-a-sequel/https://screenrant.com/sky-high-almost-got-sequel-save-university/

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, several different European countries came together to make a new body horror black comedy. A fairytale retelling from the perspective of a traditional Cinderella side character, The Ugly Stepsister (2025) doesn't shy away from how gruesome those classic stories can be. This flick was also a near-winner for our quarterly Patreon poll, so we figured the best way to end Au-Guessed You Might Want Us to Continue the New Release Theme Into August would be to throw it back several centuries to the days of yore. Join us on our latest Spooky Tuesday as we talk tape worm eggs, try our hands at improv, and ponder the never-ending pressure to be young and beautiful. References:https://youtu.be/iXHCOR-FPrE?si=Q-SDIAf3Yk41oJTGhttps://youtu.be/TeEAlWSIY3E?si=gaMGpu7r7qWI-Vq8https://www.grimmstories.com/en/grimm_fairy-tales/aschenputtelhttps://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm021.htmlhttps://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type0510a.htmlhttps://plasticsurgeryofboston.com/the-origin-of-plastic-surgery/https://www.123dentist.com/123-dentist-presents-history-braces/https://www.tiktok.com/@history_with_amy/video/7281247339480681761https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-ugly-stepsister-review-1235087462/https://www.vulture.com/article/review-the-ugly-stepsister-is-fairy-tale-body-horror.html

We did it, Spookies! We finally made it to our 249th episode, the milestone that is of course the most important and special and that all podcasts strive to reach! Given this momentous occasion, we wanted to celebrate with a bang — which is why we just couldn't wait to tackle Weapons (2025), the movie our Patrons voted for us to cover this quarter. One of the summer's biggest releases and a flick taking over the horror meme-o-sphere, Zach Cregger's latest project had audiences rushing to theaters, and here at Spooky Tuesday we were definitely part of the crowd. Join us this week as we talk about iconic cameos (Justin Long? June Diane Raphael? Aquamarine?!), narrative structure, and our new-found love for Austin Abrams. References:https://youtu.be/dzwMW6nHyhQ?si=SCugIz2vwLNcidNUhttps://youtu.be/KxUJq7BKgqw?si=EeFselZpsZ43xsAXhttps://youtu.be/xWZBtA7QuTs?si=0PcZPBLX4YjgMY9zhttps://youtu.be/gh-bYGENJz0?si=FcSPvfSgNVec2PDihttps://youtu.be/RqAWj4irMM8?si=MK_pH6ATszjLIiRthttps://fandomwire.com/zach-creggers-floating-gun-scene-in-weapons-offers-no-definite-answers-i-dont-understand-it/https://www.ign.com/articles/weapons-has-a-secret-weapon-and-thats-why-its-a-great-horror-moviehttps://thedirect.com/article/weapons-2025-movie-title-explainedhttps://gizmodo.com/weapons-spoilers-zach-cregger-gladys-amy-madigan-2000637376https://www.slashfilm.com/1934386/weapons-aunt-gladys-villain-motivation-explained/