vampire films

Welcome to our '90s Vamps series! This October, we'll be discussing some of the most interesting vampire films of the 1990s. This week, we talked about Abel Ferrara's 1995 vampire film The Addiction. We didn't get into it in the episode, but this movie is chock full of actors from The Sopranos.
 
If you'd like to catch up on our coverage of other 1990s vampire flicks, check out these episodes:

Episode 16: Interview with the Vampire (1994), Holiday Bonus episode
Episode 48: Blade (1998), with Nick Lofthouse
Episode 64 and Episode 65: Dracula: Where Is He Now? Romantic Dracula Parts 1 & 2 (these episodes have our discussion of 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula)

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

Welcome to our '90s Vamps series! This October, we'll be discussing some of the most interesting vampire films of the 1990s. This week we cover Guillermo del Toro's first film, Cronos (1992/1993)! Bri and Leah are known members of the GDT cult, so I think you can guess how this one turned out.

If you'd like to hear us discuss GDT some more, check out our Blade II episode here:
https://fangclub.buzzsprout.com/1832109/12464475-episode-69-blade-ii 

If you'd like to catch up on our coverage of other 1990s vampire flicks, check out these episodes: 

Episode 16: Interview with the Vampire (1994), Holiday Bonus episode
Episode 48: Blade (1998), with Nick Lofthouse
Episode 64 and Episode 65: Dracula: Where Is He Now? Romantic Dracula Parts 1 & 2 (these episodes have our discussion of 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula)

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

Welcome to our '90s Vamps series! This October, we'll be discussing some of the most interesting vampire films of the 1990s. We kick off the theme with From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's vampire crime western that spawned off a franchise. Bri and Leah had never seen it before, and we were... not of the majority opinion. If you love this movie, maybe this episode isn't for you!

If you'd like to catch up on our coverage of other 1990s vampire flicks, check out these episodes:

Episode 16: Interview with the Vampire (1994), Holiday Bonus episode
Episode 48: Blade (1998), with Nick Lofthouse
Episode 64 and Episode 65: Dracula: Where Is He Now? Romantic Dracula Parts 1 & 2 (these episodes have our discussion of 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula)

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

This week, Leah and Bri dive into Let Me In (2010, dir. Matt Reeves), the American remake of Let the Right One In. While this film is pretty well regarded as far as English-language remakes go, we both find it lacking. If you haven't listened to our episode on the original, make sure to check that one out, too! It's much more positive.

As always, this episode is marked explicit for a handful of f-bombs.

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

This week, Bri and Leah disagree about the merits of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003, dir. Stephen Norrington). It's a Fang Club reunion, with quite a few returning players making appearances in this episode! As usual, this episode is marked explicit for a handful of f-bombs.

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

This week, Leah and Bri chat about another Irish vampire film: Boys from County Hell (dir. Chris Baugh, 2020). We enjoyed this folk-horror spin on the usual vampire lore! We're out here stumping for Shudder (our favorite streaming service) yet again. As usual, this episode is marked explicit for some swearing. 

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

For our momentous 75th episode, Bri and Leah finally decided to cover Only Lovers Left Alive (2013/14, dir. Jim Jarmusch). This film is a personal favorite of both hosts and a major entry in the 21st-century vampire film canon. We previously discussed this film briefly in our Hot Vampires Valentine's Day special (episode 21), if you want a little more Only Lovers chat!

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

That's right, it's time to wrap up our Underworld coverage with an episode on the fifth (and so far final) installment in the franchise. Underworld: Blood Wars (2017, dir. Anna Foerster) doesn't end the series with a bang, but we still liked it better than Awakening. Stay until the end for Bri and Leah's official Underworld rankings. As usual, this episode is marked explicit for a handful of f-bombs and a description of a s*x act. 

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

Daniel, Ben and Tanya reflect on the episodes and wonderful guests who graced their little podcast in 2022 for Season 2 of Popped! 

Music

Everything Feels New
by Evgeny Bardyuzha

Lost-3246
by Dany Dory

This week, Bri and Leah chat about a new release! We're talking about Renfield (2023, dir. Chris McKay). If you want to listen to the review but haven't seen the film yet, you can listen to the first part of this episode! In a change of pace for us, we stay spoiler-free until 17:52. (We also verbally note in the episode when we get to the spoiler section.) As always, the episode is marked explicit for some f-bombs (as in, we rank Nic Cage's Dracula on the scale of "Draculas Who F***"). 

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

Join Bri and Leah as they attempt to explain the Canadian cult curio that is Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001, dir. Lee Demarbre). As usual, this episode is marked explicit for a handful of f-bombs. 

Here's the "Atheists in the park fight" in all of its glory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKYEy6rbK8k 

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

This week, Bri and Leah discuss The Transfiguration (2017, dir. Michael O'Shea). We talk about how this film positions itself in the lineage of "realistic" vampire movies like Martin and Let the Right One In. 

**CORRECTION: The Transfiguration did get a limited theatrical release in the U.S. after its North American festival debut at SXSW in 2017.**

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

This week, Leah and Bri take a look at the Australian, microbudget, queer, transgender vampire film So Vam (2022, dir. Alice Maio Mackay). 

We did look into the research on Bram Stoker's sexuality, and here's a good primer on why it's more than likely that Stoker was a closeted gay man:

https://www.salon.com/2022/08/30/dracula-queer-horror-bram-stoker/ 

(This isn't the most academic of articles, but it's well-sourced, dishy, and not behind a paywall!) 

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

This week, it's Guillermo del Toro time! We're talking about Blade II (2002). This episode is marked explicit for some swearing and, uh, blood cocaine. 

CORRECTION: Leah incorrectly states that the three films GDT made before Blade II were not in English. Del Toro's second film was, in fact, in English; he made Mimic (1997) for Miramax's Dimension Films. Del Toro has publicly talked about how much he hated the experience of making this film, so maybe Leah just erased it from her memory in subconscious solidarity. 

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

This week, Bri and Leah do something a little different: we're talking about cannibals! But these cannibals could definitely pass as vampires if they wanted to. We're looking at Ravenous (1999, dir. Antonia Bird) and Bones and All (2022, dir. Luca Guadagnino). While these films might seem like a weird double feature... hear us out!

The articles Leah promises at the end of the episode:

David Ehrlich for Rolling Stone on why Ravenous is the greatest cannibal Western ever made: https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/to-serve-man-why-ravenous-is-the-greatest-cannibal-western-ever-43674/

Walter Chaw on Ravenous for Decider (he sees the Bones and All connection, too!): https://decider.com/2022/09/20/walter-chaw-ravenous/

And, maybe my favorite (which compares Ravenous and Hannibal), from Samantha McLaren for Gayly Dreadful: https://www.gaylydreadful.com/blog/pride-2021-its-lonely-being-a-cannibal-hungry-homoerotic-friendship-in-ravenous-and-hannibal

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

This week, Bri and Leah chat about the recent Irish horror-comedy Let the Wrong One In (2022, dir. Conor McMahon). Surprising no one, we reveal that our favorite man on Buffy is Giles. This episode is marked explicit for some f-bombs, as usual.

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

This week, Bri and Leah discuss the absolute worst vampire film of the 21st century: Uwe Boll's BloodRayne (2005). It's... something. We hated it, profoundly. This episode is marked explicit for some f-bombs, as usual. 

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

Welcome to our series... "Dracula: Where Is He Now?" which focuses on Dracula's one hundred years of film stardom. Leah and Bri have periodically released the parts of this series over the last year; this is the final installment! Each part thematically groups pre- and post-2000 Dracula films.

"Part Four: Romantic Dracula" highlights two adaptations that turn Stoker's story into a romance: Dracula (1979, dir. John Badham) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992, dir. Francis Ford Coppola). Then we revisit The Invitation (2022, dir. Jessica M. Thompson) and talk about how the romantic vampire took over the culture in the subgenre in the first two decades of the 21st century. Part Four is TWO episodes! This is the second episode; go back to episode 64 for the beginning of our conversation. 

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

Welcome to our series... "Dracula: Where Is He Now?" which focuses on Dracula's one hundred years of film stardom. Leah and Bri have periodically released the parts of this series over the last year; this is the final installment! Each part thematically groups pre- and post-2000 Dracula films.

"Part Four: Romantic Dracula" highlights two adaptations that turn Stoker's story into a romance: Dracula (1979, dir. John Badham) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992, dir. Francis Ford Coppola). Then we revisit The Invitation (2022, dir. Jessica M. Thompson) and talk about how the romantic vampire took over the culture in the subgenre in the first two decades of the 21st century. Part Four is TWO episodes! This is the first episode; the second will release next week. 

Show Notes:

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)

This week, Bri and Leah chat about the Netflix original action-comedy Day Shift (2022, dir. J. J. Perry). The main theme of this episode? How much we hate Dave Franco. As usual, this episode is marked explicit for a handful of f-bombs. 

Sound effects credits:

“Creaking door.wav” by visualasylum of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/322377/)

"Door, Wooden, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org (https://freesound.org/s/411791/)