JED TALKS // to ALEJANDRO BRUGES (JUAN OF THE DEAD, POOKA LIVES)

I’ve been trying to get EDUARDO SANCHEZ on the podcast for about a year and realistically I’ve wanted to speak to him most of my adult life. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT is not only one of the best horror films ever made, but for me, it’s probably the most influential. It was a total joy deep-diving into The Blair Witch Project with the guy who made it and it was really interesting to learn its effects on the rest of Ed’s career and Horror as a whole. We find out what Eduardo would have done if he got a chance to make a prequel and his very own sequel! If you enjoyed the episode, please spread the word and perhaps rate, review and subscribe if you haven’t already done. You can find Eduardo HERE and you can find me HERE.

This feature-length special is the very first HORROR SUMMIT on JED TALKS. I do a Nick Fury and bring together the Avengers of Horror Podcasts. These are the people whose views are listened to and respected by the Horror community as a whole. Their opinions on the hot topics of Horror reverberate and matter to fans of the genre. I call upon the talents of Chelsea Rebecca & James A. Janisse from DEAD MEAT, Kimberley Elizabeth & Jonathan DeHaan from NIGHTMARE ON FILM STREET, Trevor & Lauren Shand & Leo D’Antonio from THE BOO CREW and Prince Jackson from KNIGHT LIGHT: A HORROR MOVIE PODCAST. This dream team help me discuss and put to pasture, some of the hottest and most controversial subjects in the Horror world, including ‘Elevated Horror’ and Reboots/Remakes. We also discuss why everyone dedicated their lives to horror and we end the show on underrated/underseen recommendations (heads up - go watch Guinea Pig 6)! So grab a pen and take notes, because there is a lot to dissect here! Thanks so much to everyone involved and I’m looking forward to the next Horror Summit so much! If you enjoyed what you heard, subscribe, rate and review & spread the word. You can follow me on twitter HERE and find me every week on Clubhouse’s Number 1 Horror room CLUBHOUSE OF HORROR where you will see and hear the biggest names in Horror!

On this episode of JED TALKS I speak to ALEJANDRO BRUGES about his career highs and lows; working with Robert Rodriguez, Mick Garris and Eduardo Sanchez. Apologies for my microphone during this episode, it was faulty so I’ve tried to clean it up as much as possible! Alejandro is trying to get off social media so I’m not going to provide his links, but you can have mine twice: @jedshepherd and @jedshepherd. Next week on JED TALKS I hold a HORROR SUMMIT!

On today’s episode I have another incredible and prolific horror author who is at the top of his game, its BRIAN KEENE! We talk about his journey, his process, his mentors (Joe Lansdale / Stephen King), his comic work and movie adaptations! Brian is one of the loveliest people putting pen to paper so and if you want to dive into his work, he suggests THE COMPLEX and I had so much fun reading THE GHOUL. You can find Brian at his website briankeene.com and on Twitter. You can find me on twitter too and if you have CLUBHOUSE, check out CLUBHOUSE OF HORROR every thursday!

Today I talk to a British director who has made 2 of the top 5 best British Horror movies of the last 30 years. Neil Marshall came straight out of the gate with DOG SOLDIERS (the best werewolf movie since An American Werewolf in London) and followed it up with THE DESCENT which was a universal success story. One of the few to put British horror on the map, it was an absolute pleasure to talk to him about the above films plus his brand new one The Reckoning (co-written by its star Charlotte Kirk). We also discuss just what happened with HELLBOY (2019) and how Neil got into the business of make believe in the first place. If you like what you hear, let me know on twitter @jedshepherd and thank you for coming to my Jed Talks!

For the second week in a row I speak to one of my favourite authors on the planet, a man who wrote a book that made me soil my pants for the two nights it took to read it. A man who instilled a fear in me of turning the page, in case the thing my imagination conjured manifests… it’s PAUL TREMBLAY! We speak (I gush) about his books, potential screen adaptations and his writing process. If you enjoyed this episode as much as I did you can find out more about Paul at his website https://www.paultremblay.net/. You can also catch him on twitter https://twitter.com/paulGtremblay where you will see us continue the convo! You can catch me here https://twitter.com/Jedshepherd if you want to let me know what you think of the pod (nice things only!) and I’m always happy to chat horror with you guys.

I bought a copy of THE DRIVE-IN from a second hand shop in South London for 30p when I was a kid. I knew nothing about it save for the fact it had a monster/comet thing bursting out of a cinema screen. I knew if the book was even half as good as the cover, I’d invested wisely. Little did I know that this book would be one of the most influential books in my life and something I read almost by default when I’m looking for escapism. Of course most people reading this will probably recognise the name from the fact he wrote the original story that Bubba Ho-Tep was based on (starring Bruce Campbell as Elvis!). Joe is one of the most prolific people I’ve ever spoken to and you’ll find his secret to writing within this podcast…. it’s not what you think! Let me know what you think on twitter @jedshepherd and thank you for coming to my Jed Talk.

On this episode of JED TALKS, I talk to the indie film legend LARRY FESSENDEN about his career. We chat about his breadth of work, his production company and his new movie (on SHUDDER) DEPRAVED! A lovely chat with a lovely bloke - he even said that HOST was his favourite film of 2020! hear all about it and let me know what you think on twitter @jedshepherd. <3

When it comes to underrated/under-appreciated horror movies that are actually very good, few have been more overlooked than the new found footage classic BE MY CAT: A FILM FOR ANNE. I consider myself a found footage connoisseur and even I didn’t know this little gem existed. Written/Directed/Catered by Romanian auteur Adrian Tofei, this is the closest I’ve ever been to thinking I’m watching an actual snuff film. The line between fiction and reality is so effectively blurred, I was watching my front door for a SWAT team to burst through and taser me for watching something I shouldn’t. So this episode I had fun speaking to the man behind the madness: Adrian Tofei! Thanks for coming to my Jed Talks.

Justin Dyck has made two dozen Xmas movies and a film about a monkey that plays soccer, so you’d be forgiven if you thought that ANYTHING FOR JACKSON would be less than stellar. Fortunately for Shudder - and everyone with a subscription - this is an expertly directed and solidly written exorcism movie that subverts horror tropes more than the last 3 Conjuring Universe movies. Honestly, that whole sequence with the kid in sheet and the lift is up there with the best set pieces I’ve seen for. while. I’d listen to this podcast AFTER you watch the film as we do go into spoiler territory a little - you have been warned! Let me know what you think of the film AND this episode by adding me on twitter @jedshepherd.