Welcome to episode 20 of The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we pair two films to create something far greater than the sum of their parts.

This week we are exploring the horrors of ageing and identity with two movies that take the viewer on a disorienting journey into the price of reinvention and rejuvenation

First up we have Seconds from 1966 and director John Frankenheimer, featuring a career best performance from former matinee idol Rock Hudson alongside Salome Jen and Will Geer. Then we bring ourselves bang up to date – nearly - with the Substance from 2024 and director Coralie Fargeat, featuring a career best performance from Demi Moore alongside Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid.

References

Seconds

Seconds by Jez Conolly and Emma Westwood

The directors commentary on the Masters of Cinema blu ray release

https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/22848?

https://theasc.com/magazine/nov97/seconds/pg1.htm

https://theasc.com/articles/aces-of-the-camera-james-wong-howe-asc?

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/08/a-second-life-for-em-seconds-em-the-1966-cult-classic-that-made-audiences-sick/278930/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Frankenheimer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Hudson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seconds_(1966_film)

https://youtu.be/FV2LuK8wVsg?si=z-IZcYN5eF6ZB0h4

https://youtu.be/UjT-db11ZwM?si=W9L12SzTFjBuSDrZ

The Substance

https://www.hammertonail.com/interviews/coralie-fargeat/

https://www.screendaily.com/features/coralie-fargeat-on-making-the-substance-her-own-way-everything-had-to-be-in-excess/5199519.article

https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/coralie-fargeat-feminist-body-horror-the-substance-1235048769/

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/sep/14/we-can-be-violent-to-ourselves-brutal-demi-moore-on-body-image-reinvention-and-her-most-shocking-role-yet

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/demi-moore-on-the-substance-and-resisting-a-toxic-beauty-culture/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Substance

https://youtu.be/8H64HNvXrqU?si=tJyXTPL6niEzfnZM

https://youtu.be/UMicrbtjFKU?si=vAM0EnUtOI-qMsSR

https://youtu.be/BKcMm5RG2M4?si=fn0a134K_Vz5lCBi

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/the-substance-shot-list-coralie-fargeat-awards-insider

https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a62297701/the-substance-coralie-fargeat-interview/

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

This week we are exploring the horrors of Artificial intelligence and tech noir with two films from very different eras but similar fears and concerns.

First up is Colossus: The Forbin Project from 1970, directed by Joseph Sargent and starring Eric Braden, Susan Clark, Gordon Pinsett, and William Schallert. Then we jump forward nearly half a century to 2018 with Upgrade, written and directed by Leigh Whannell, and featuring Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson, and Benedict Hardy.

Both of these films imagine worlds where technology outpaces human intelligence and in which something designed as a helpful tool quickly mutates into something far more sinister. Between them, the two address themes including autonomy, privacy, the arrogance of sciences, and the fallibility and future of our species.

References used:

https://www.wired.com/2017/03/ridley-scott-video/

https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/jean-luc-godards-dystopian-sci-fi-classic-alphaville-turns-50

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Terminal_Man_(film)

https://www.bangor.ac.uk/news/2024-10-09-the-terminator-at-40-james-camerons-dark-vision-is-more-relevant-than-ever

Colossus The Forbin Project

https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23505-THE-FORBIN-PROJECT?cxt=filmography

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Braeden

https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/colossus-the-forbin-projects-eric-braeden-retrospective-interview

The directors commentary on the blu ray release of the movie from Spirit Entertainment

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus:_The_Forbin_Project

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Whitlock

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_(novel)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._F._Jones

Upgrade

An interview with Leigh Whannell titled "Man.Machine.More" that appears on the Second Sight blu ray release

https://www.avclub.com/saw-creators-leigh-whannell-and-james-wan-1798222299

https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/leigh-whannell-upgrade/

https://thenerdstemplar.com/2018/05/29/interview-leigh-whannell-upgrade/

https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/01/leigh-wannell-upgrade-interview/

https://punchdrunkcritics.com/2018/06/interview-upgrade-director-leig/

https://rue-morgue.com/exclusive-upgrade-interview-pt-1-leigh-whannell-and-logan-marshall-green-on-practical-effects-and-who-almost-directed/

https://dailydead.com/sxsw-2018-interview-leigh-whannell-logan-marshall-green-and-betty-gabriel-talk-upgrade/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEqZipI7eyc

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

Episode 18: The Uninvited (1944) & The Changeling (1980)

Welcome to episode 18 of The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we pair two films to create something greater than the sum of their parts.

This week we are exploring the horrors of the haunted house which strangely enough is very different to the trope of the old dark house that we discussed back in episode 12.

First up we have The Uninvited from 1944, directed by Lewis Allen and starring Ray Milland, Gail Russell, Ruth Hussey, and Donald Crisp then we jump forward in time to 1980 with the changeling directed by Peter Medak, and starring George C Scott Trish Vandeveer and Melvin Douglas

Along the way we will be discussing Hollywood’s rather strange early reluctance to depict ghosts in the horror genre, The career of Ray Milland, the tragedy of GAIL Russell, the somewhat dubious true story behind the movie The changeling, the career and controversies surrounding George C Scott and much more.

Sources & References

The Uninvited (1944)

Extras and commentary on the Criterion Collection Blu Ray release of the film and an interview with Lewis Allen that was included in the Criterion Collection accompanying booklet

Danse Macabre by Stephen King

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2934-the-uninvited-spirits-by-starlight

https://ladailymirror.com/2007/07/05/gail-russell/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural_(film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Uninvited_(1944_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_Russell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Milland

The Changeling (1980)

Extras and the directors commentary on the second sight pictures blu ray release of the film

https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/denver-house-inspired-horror-film

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_C._Scott

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvyn_Douglas

https://montecristomagazine.com/arts/horror-classic-changeling#gsc.tab=0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Changeling_(film)

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)