Don't Read The Latin

"Let's make this bullshit happen!" " .... Is that going to be our new motto from now on? Actually, that might look good on stickers, now that I think about it." So hey, check us out! Fifty episodes! That's kind of a lot! And to celebrate, we are counting down the TOP FIFTY HORROR MOVIES OF ALL TIME! Okay, well, no. We're not going to pretend that we're being at all objective. What we're actually doing is our Our Top Fifty Favorite Horror Movies! You're actually getting more than fifty, because Jennifer and Michael have each brought their own lists, so listen in as they compare the movies they love the most. (Presented in chronological order, so as not to descend into complete chaos.) Just in time for you to figure out what you want to watch for Halloween! All this and more, as Jen tells us about a recent unpleasant incident in a movie theater, a documentary on the murder of Kitty Genovese, and completely spoils the ending of "The Changeling!" We also talk about movies we've seen recently, including Blair

Pay no attention to the creepy little girl in the corner whose long, wet black hair is covering her face -- she's not bothering anyone, we're sure she'll be fine. We're back for our Japanese Horror episode! Tune in as we talk about the passing of Gene Wilder, and as we examine how things like the financial crisis Japan had in the 90s affected their horror movies, and the long shadow cast by the nuclear bomb while we talk about our favorite J-horror. _____ Bonus Features! Podcasts mentioned by Jennifer: My Favorite Murder You Must Remember This Sword and Scale Criminal Shock Waves   Creepy Japanese Comics Stories by Junji Ito (super, super weird -- don't say we didn't warn you): The Enigma of Amigara Fault The Human Chair   Miscellaneous Links: Jen's IMDb List of 2016 Horror Movies Chris’ Guide to Understanding Japanese Horror Synthwave Further Listening for Fans of “Stranger Things”   _____ Please rate our podcast on iTunes! The more reviews and ratings we have, the easier it

Welcome back! The whole gang is back -- your hosts Michael Montoure and Jennifer Lovely and our guests Jillian Venters, Jeff Harris, and Handsome Boyfriend Jim -- for part two of our special Ghostbusters episode! (Hopefully, this will be a less disappointing sequel than Ghostbusters II was.) Last time, we talked about the original Ghostbusters films and the animated series -- this time out, we're discussing the Xbox videogame and the 2016 reboot movie. And about the fanboys who came after the reboot with pitchforks and torches before the first trailer even came out. We've got some opinions. Hold on to your butts. (Yes, that's a Jurassic Park reference in a post about Ghostbusters. Sorry, purists.) _____ Bonus Materials Here's a photo of Jim's well-loved copy of the Ghostbusters table-top role-playing-game. (We're pretty sure we actually discussed the RPG last episode, but we forgot to post this picture then. Whooops.) Finally, here's a screenshot of Montoure's Tumblr post that that went a little bit vi

"Peter Venkman has a lot to answer for in modern society." Who ya gonna call?! Well -- you can't call us, exactly, because this is all pre-recorded. (But you can always post comments at our website, and review us on iTunes!) That's right, ghosts and ghoulies -- Don't Read the Latin is back with a special two-part episode! For the first time in the entire history of ever, we're devoting an entire episode to a single franchise! We were so excited by the new Ghostbusters movie, we decided it was time to sit down with some of our favorite guests and talk about Ghostbusters in all media past and present. Join your hosts Michael Montoure and Jennifer Lovely and our guests Jillian Venters, Jeff Harris, and Handsome Boyfriend Jim for a look at the original films and the animated series! (But first, a discussion of the horror movies we've seen lately! If you just want to skip ahead to the Ghostbusters content, it starts at the 24 minute, 27 second mark.) Then join us in two weeks for Part Two as we discuss the vid

If you're starting to plan your Halloween party -- and if you're not, you'd better get on that, you only have 104 days left -- we have totally got you covered this episode. Want to show your friends a couple of movies? This episode we talk about Horror Double Features and give our picks for what movies pair together well, like pairing cheeses and fine wines. While we're at it, we talk about just what exactly makes two movies go together well as a single viewing. Spoiler Warnings We discuss the endings of both 10 Cloverfield Lane and Ex Machina. If you don't want to hear the details, skip forward a couple of minutes when you hear us mention those titles. Technical Notes: We mention at the beginning of this episode that we were recording it on our laptop and on our new audio recorder, because Montoure didn't trust that the recording was actually, you know, recording. And it's a damn good thing he's paranoid, because it turns out that the recorder did not save a file at all. The quality the first time we used

Welcome back, Latin Club! Here's the episode we know you've been waiting for -- part two of our conversation about Monster Movies, with our special guest, Jennifer’s Handsome Boyfriend Jim! That's two episodes in just two weeks! Can you handle that much Don't Read the Latin? Well, we hope so, because we're coming at ya, ready or not! If you haven't checked out Monster Movies (Part One) yet, you can listen to that one here! Or you can just go ahead and listen to this one now, anyway. I mean, you can do whatever you like, really. Or you could listen to this one and then listen to the first part! It will be like watching Memento! (Note: it will not actually be at all like watching Memento. We don't know why we even said that. We may have already had too much caffeine.) As ever, let us know what you think in the comments, tell your friends about the show, and don't forget to look under the bed tonight!

While we've done episodes on various kinds of monsters in the past -- werewolves, ghosts, vampires, and more -- this is the first time we're tackling the subject of, well, just monsters! Creature features of all kinds! In order to tackle this Godzilla-sized task, we've enlisted the help of this episode's special guest star, Jennifer's very own Handsome Boyfriend Jim! We've also split this session into two hour-long episodes, because we talked a lot. This time, join us as we talk about what makes a monster, why we all have trouble making the Universal Monsters fit our definition, and more. We'll be back with the conclusion next Monday! ____ (Technical Note: This episode doesn't have the terrible audio problems that we had last time. We went back to our more traditional USB microphone setup with a little fine-tuning by Jim, but we will be troubleshooting what went wrong with the audio recorder last time.) (Non-technical Note: You'll notice there are no tags for this episode yet. This is because I wrote do

Before you panic -- no, he's not dead. I know, the last time we did an episode about the work of a single director was our Wes Craven Retrospective shortly after he passed, but this time we're just doing the episode because we just really, really like John Carpenter movies. Although not always the same ones! Listen to the episode to find out more. We were partly inspired to do this episode by the John Carpenter Retrospective Tour, which will be in Seattle on June 14th! And may be coming soon to a city near you! Check out the tour page for details.

"I've never seen the 50's Vincent Price version . . . or, now that I stop to think about it, I don't think I've seen the 60's version, either . . . and I'm not sure I saw I Am Legend . . . . " "Oh, my God -- move on!" Welcome to our only slightly late episode! This time, we're exploring that strange territory where the silver screen and your local bookstore collide. That's right, this episode is all about horror movies based on books! Bad movies based on good novels, good movies based on bad novels, and everything in between. Did we miss any of your favorites? Let us know! Worthy of Note: Hopefully you will notice a big improvement in the sound quality over previous episodes. We're trying a totally new audio set-up, and we think it sounds a lot better. Let us know what you think of that, too. We're still experimenting and learning, and after two years of doing this, we're finally making a little progress! Eventually, we catch on. Speaking of which, also Worthy of Note -- we've missed it by just a few days

No, you're not seeing double -- this really is another episode of Don't Read the Latin, after just two weeks! On time, in other words! Believe me, no one's more surprised by that than we are. Won't you both sit down? Wait, weren't there two of you just a moment ago? We could have sworn .... Oh, well. This time out, Michael Montoure and Jennifer Lovely, your Twosome of Terror, have doubled down on their research to bring you Doubles and Doppelgängers, a look into the twins, clones, shapeshifters, and other creepy identical duplicates that have graced the silver screen over the years. Grab a pair of headphones and give it a listen. If you like it, don't forget to leave us a comment. Or two. _______ Bonus Features First up, here is the short horror film that Jennifer mentions, Doppelganger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxfpmFjZugI .... Which is by the same director as one of our favorite horror comedy shorts, Meat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgGu4cNgkcg And lastly, for that extra Creep Factor, ch

Welcome back, sugar -- won't you set down for a spell? There you are, settle right in, bless your heart. Thank you so much for joining us for a little Southern hospitality as we sit by the fire and talk about Southern Horror! We will also be talking about the related-but-slightly-separate Southern Gothic genre, which Tennessee Williams described as writing fiction that captures "an intuition, of an underlying dreadfulness in modern experience." Which is something we can all relate to, don't you think? Join us as we break down our favorite horror films that take place deep in the American South, including some that could only tenuously be said to take place in the South, including one that we were just straight up completely wrong about. (Michael brings up The Others, which, in fact, takes place in freakin' England. DRtL regrets the error.) _______ Bonus Features Jennifer talks about her subscription to Horror Block, Nerd Block's horror box subscription that provides her with hand-selected toys, T-shirts,

.... And once again after slightly too long a hiatus, we return once more with another episode of Don't Read the Latin! This time out, we're talking about heroines in horror. Horror movies tend to have more female protagonists than practically any other genre, which is something we both love about them. At some point, we plan on having a Feminism in Horror episode where we'll delve into why we think that is and examine just how horror treats its female characters. But for now, we just want to talk about some scream queens we've known and loved, from our favorite classic final girls all the way to, well, The Final Girls. Give it a listen, tell your friends, and as always, we look forward to your comments.

Listen! What's that sound? Does that eerie pulsing synthesizer music mean that there's a killer lurking in the shadows? No -- it's just the latest episode of Don't Read the Latin! This time out, we're talking about horror soundtracks and scores that we love -- even when they're from films we don't. Montoure goes all film-school on us and starts talking about diegetic vs. non-diegetic music, Jennifer carefully side-steps around the subject of a mysterious competition in her youth, and so much more! -- Stuff We Mentioned At one point, Montoure mentions that the film He Never Died (he couldn't remember the title at the time, but that's the one) reminded him of a novel called Sandman Slim, by Richard Kadrey, so here's a link to that book on Amazon. (Or click on the cover image, here, if you're more visually inclined.) It's a fun read and you should check it out! He also mentioned the unused soundtrack for Hellraiser by the band Coil, and said that the whole thing was probably on YouTube. It is! You can gi

Can you believe it? We've done thirty-seven episodes! ("In a row?") This time out, we wander off into the woods to talk about horror movies inspired by fairy tales and folklore, or even just movies that have that fairy tale feel to them, and we delve into why horror movies are the direct modern descendant of these ancient tales. Before we get to the subject, though, we wander off the path a bit to talk about the recent loss of pop culture icons David Bowie and Alan Rickman. (Note: Jennifer refers at one point to a movie called "Tooth Fairy." She was actually referring to "Darkness Falls," which features that mythical creature. "Tooth Fairy" is, in fact, a family-friendly 2010 comedy film starring Dwayne Johnson. DRtL regrets the error.) This episode's bonus link: www.folkhorror.com This episode's YouTube video: Here's the teaser trailer Michael talks about for the upcoming J.G. Ballard adaptation, "High-Rise": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRBeZGYisLg  

Last episode, we took one last look at 2015, and this time out, we're looking ahead at the year to come, as we discuss new releases we're looking forward to (and some we're not.) While we're at it, we also talk a little bit about what we'd like to see from horror movies in general, and we talk about other things we enjoyed in 2015 that didn't qualify for last episode's topic. Also, Jennifer talks about why she's not that crazy about Benedict Cumberbatch; Michael discusses his love of horror movies that clearly spell out a rigid set of rules, and oh so much more. _____ Bonus Pictures The Shirtless Jeff Goldblum mug that Michael bought Jennifer for Christmas, because he knows what she likes: And some images from Over the Garden Wall:

Wait a minute, what's that? Peeking out from under the branches of the Christmas tree that's starting to drop needles onto your living room floor? Why, it looks like Satan -- excuse me, I mean Santa -- has left you one last Christmas present! And it's just what you wanted -- a brand new episode of Don't Read the Latin! You must have been good this year. This time out, we look back at 2015's crop of horror movies -- what was great, what was terrible (although we don't waste much time talking about that), and which movies merely deserved our 2015 "You Tried" Participation Medal. Jennifer and Michael are joined by special guests Jeff Harris of Fanboy News Network and Jillian Venters of Gothic Charm School! Special thanks to AFK Tavern for actually being open at the godforsaken hours of the procrastination-driven, insomnia-fueled editing of this episode! And that's it for us for this year! We will talk to you all in 2016! Happy holidays! ____ P.S. For reference, here is the XXXenophile cover we talk about in

The weather outside isn't the only thing that's frightful! Better grab some blankets, make yourself some hot cocoa, light a fire in the fireplace -- or, really, burn the whole damn house down, if you have to -- because Don't Read the Latin is back, and this time we're talking Winter Horror. Christmas horror movies, snowbound horror movies, a few classics and a few not-so-classics that all have one thing in common -- they have a few more chills than usual. Jennifer reminisces about the late, lamented Vertigo Video, we once again sing the praises of Scarecrow Video, Michael talks Joe Hill's Christmassy horror novel NOS4A2, and so much more. Feel like giving us an early Christmas present? Take a minute to rate us on iTunes and help other horror fans find us!

Wooo-hooo, look at us! We swore we would have a new episode ready in two weeks and by God we actually did it. Inspired by our recent viewing of Crimson Peak, this time we're taking a look at Horror Romances! Even though the course of true love never quite runs smooth in a horror movie -- it's hard to give someone your heart when they really do want your heart, and they're willing to use their sharpest knives to get it -- we're cuddling up as close to this topic as we can get. Do join us, won't you, dear?

Welcome to the latest, almost hilariously overdue episode of Don't Read the Latin, with your hosts, shiftless ne'er-do-well Michael Montoure and Magical Girl Jennifer Lovely! I know we keep saying this, but we will, hell-or-high-water, be going back to our normal bi-weekly schedule following this, even if someone has to die. (Not one of us, ideally. It'll be no one you know, don't worry.) This time out, grab your bell-bottoms and your disco shoes, because we're going back to the 70's! Even though the 70's are not our favorite horror movie decade (that would be the 80's), you could make a strong claim that it was the best, with a high number of standout classics. Give it a listen and let us know what you think. Recommended! As far as new movies go, there are two we've seen lately that are both super, super-fun, and we highly suggest you give these two a watch ASAP: Tales of Halloween and The Final Girls. Four thumbs up. (That's two from each of us.)

Horror movies with kid heroes. It's a natural. How better to make an audience scared for your protagonist than to make him (or her) a young, vulnerable, innocent child? Throw in the "your parents will never believe you" trope, and you're set for some real scares. This episode, we salute the best child protagonists the horror genre has to offer. Join Michael and Jennifer as they dissect the casting and plot direction of Hannibal's third season, play with an Angel puppet, talk about the Paul Stanley / Dee Snyder feud, and reveal the secret of how to get Jennifer's daughter to watch a movie that might be slightly scary. Listen in amazement as Michael fucks up immediately! (We talked about People Under the Stairs during the Wes Craven episode, not the Stephen King episode. Obviously.) We apologize once more, I'm afraid, for the sound quality of this episode. We forgot to set up the powered USB port for the microphone, and therefore that "robots gargling underwater" background echo is back. Yay. Also you can hea