Episode 57 - Monster Mash XI Afterthoughts

Another mash episode has come and gone and I know that we have stressed how much we enjoy it. The feedback from those who have listened also has been favorable. All of that positive feedback is awesome and we appreciate it. But I must add that we love this format for the opportunistic juxtaposition and the chance to cover movies that we wouldn’t squeeze into a franchise or theme. This episode was no exception to this description as we covered an 80’s slasher, a more recent cult  sequel/remake, and a thriller rooted in deeper psychological and philosophical subject matter.

Now I do not want to spend any time on The Burning here. I think it is a pretty straight-forward selection and those who like slasher films from that era, particularly the work of Savini, like it. What I would like to mention quickly is the perception of films through popular opinion. First things first on this, I do not think that 2001 Maniacs is a better film than American Psycho so just calm down internet film police. But that idea is not too far off from being truthful. What I think is interesting, and always have, is how popular opinion sways common opinion so frequently. Here, we have two films that are at opposite ends in many different areas: budget, tone, execution, etc. American Psycho has many great things going for it, but it ends in a sloppy ineffective gasp and loses much of what it had built up to at that point unfortunately. Yet, it is considered a hip and wonderful film and you will be hard-pressed to find someone who will answer honestly that the ending was a poor segment of film-making and a disgrace to the book. One must wonder if a movie that rich in controversial symbolism is truly understood or acknowledged by many of those championing it. I would not blame many for failing to dig deeper into the film’s inadequacies when you can simply focus on the axe-wielding Huey Lewis fan and his Scorsese-like soliloquies.

On the flipside, you have a campy tongue-in-cheek sequel to an early campy gore-fest from 50 years before. It is low-budget, silly, and fun. It did it's job that it set out to do for the viewer, unlike American Psycho. But if you lined up a hundred horror fans and asked them about these two films, only American Psycho would be commonly known. 2001 Maniacs executes its purpose in spades but as time moves on, it fades away.

In closing, I want to reemphasize that I like both films and I recognize that American Psycho has much deeper efforts happening. However, I thought it was worth exploring the ideas of what constitutes a good film weighted with what the public turns its nose up at. Both should be watched by horror fans at the end of the day. Again, thank you as always for listening and we hope you enjoyed! Until next time…….

Beware the moon

The Professor