Checked Out with Green Hills Public Library District
Welcome to Checked Out! Green Hills Public Library District’s first staff-led podcast. Checked Out is hosted by Sara Shahein, Adult Services Associate, and Tessa Werden, Youth Services Librarian. Join them monthly as they discuss film and television, video games, music, pop culture, and of course books! Listen along when guests join in on the vibrant conversation to discuss their favorite titles, upcoming programs, and how libraries inspire curiosity and strengthen community. Checked Out is available wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
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Checked Out with Green Hills Public Library District
Episode 13 - What's Your Favorite Scary Movie?
From dreams to chainsaws, Checked Out’s spooky 13th episode, “What’s Your Favorite Scary Movie?” takes deeper look at horror films. Sara and Tessa are joined by Youth Services Manager, Natalie in an episode you’ll be scared to miss.
Interested in hearing your favorite book, topic, or genre discussed?
Send a recommendation to ghpl@greenhillslibrary.org
Check out the media we talked about here: https://ghs.swanlibraries.net/MyAccount/MyList/85600
Welcome back everyone. This is episode 13. What's your favorite scary movie? I'm Sarah.
SPEAKER_00:I'm Tessa, and this is Checked Out with Green Hills Public Library. Today our special guest is gonna be Natalie. She is our head of youth services, also my manager and our resident horror fan for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Yep, so I'm Natalie. I'm the head of youth services at Green Hills Public Library District. I have worked here for 12 years in October and manage the youth department, manage Tesla, all my other wonderful employees to get all of the kids' great books, programs, and resources.
SPEAKER_01:What's your favorite part about your job, Natalie?
SPEAKER_02:Well, I grew up going to this library. It's my home library. So remembering what I used to play on on like this like tiny slide in the back corner and being part of making it as large and beautiful and inviting as it is, is like very rewarding to me. Recently, I redid the youth play area, and I'm really proud of that. We've seen a lot of traffic of kids coming in and using their imagination and using all these really cool things that we purchased for the department. So that's probably my favorite project I've worked on recently, but in general, just kind of like knowing what the library was like, the library that I had as a child and being part of making it so wonderful is just very cool for me.
SPEAKER_01:That's great. We've got a lot of people on staff that have been here for a while, or this is their home library. So it's really nice to see them give back to the library that brought them up.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think it's really interesting. I don't know a lot of other libraries where so many people grew up coming to the library that they ended up working at. Maybe that just says a lot about how um wonderful our community is and that we really want to stay here even after we move on and grow up and move away and start our life. There's something that always draws us back to Green Hills, and I think that's really special.
SPEAKER_01:So your day job is a little bit different than the media that you like to consume regularly. You normally work with the youth, but in your free time, you are watching horror films. What do you love about horror movies?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so I would argue that I love horror because of my experience of it as a child. Um, so I'll just give some background and then kind of explain why I like it so much. So my family are immigrants from Serbia. My grandparents never learned English their entire lives for the most part. And for some reason they are really drawn to horror movies. And I think that's really weird when I like think about who they are as people. It doesn't really fit. But some of my earliest memories are watching like Svenguli and Godzilla with my grandma and grandpa, who don't know English. And I think so much of what was attractive about it to them was that they could still follow the story. It was visually appealing to them, even though they didn't know the language. And at the end of the day, horror is formulaic and simple. So it feels very universal. And I think growing up at a young age watching that, it never seemed weird to me that I was into it. So I think about that a lot. And I think that's what I like the most about horror. At the end of the day, everyone has experienced fear, everyone is afraid of something. There's something that makes your skin crawl, get the goosebumps, and it doesn't matter if you don't speak the same language, where you're from. We all know what that feels like, and that is definitely my favorite part about horror. And what draws me so much to it is that universality of it.
SPEAKER_00:That's so funny. But like that's what they wanted to watch.
SPEAKER_02:It's really weird. My grandma was so cute, she like never left the 1970s. She always wore floral house dresses and loved cute things, but she loved Godzilla and Mothra, and I don't really know uh what that was. And she was obsessed with Buffy, and um oh yeah, yeah, it was awesome. No, it was great, but she didn't know English, but she could tell me exactly why Spike was terrible, and I thought that was always so fun and cool. And, you know, staying there in the summer, uh, we would like sleep over for a week, literally watching like monster movies with my grandparents who like wouldn't let us even really watch TV otherwise, is just really fascinating when I really like think about why I like the things I like. It 100% started there.
SPEAKER_00:In our last horror episode, I think me and you both talked a little bit about how growing up we watched horror movies with our parents too. That there's something like to be said about when you're young and watching horror movies, maybe because you're young and you think that it's so cool to watch something that's quote unquote adult or scary.
SPEAKER_02:I totally agree. I think that's why our memories are so tied to it. It feels cool and exclusive because we're not supposed to be watching it. So, like, I've watched so many things with my parents and grandparents, but the things that stick out are those, you know? And then it kind of continues as you grow up, right? Like, think about when you're a teenager and like sneaking into an R-rated movie or like going and renting, I'm showing my age, going to Blockbuster, getting a movie to watch with my friends. We used to do that when we weren't supposed to. Then we'd find a way how to get a Ouija board, and it all just felt very communal and secret. And I think that that is really appealing when you're a kid, and we are all always trying to appease our inner child. So those are my great memories as an adult. I'm still going to keep consuming those things. So horror's just been like a lifelong love for me. And I think just like being able to connect with my grandparents over something like that was so weird in the best way. And I think that's why it like stuck so much for me.
SPEAKER_01:So you mentioned that you watched Godzilla with your grandparents. Is that like one of your first experiences with a horror movie?
SPEAKER_02:Hmm, I'm trying to think. I would, yeah, probably like the first Godzilla is probably one of the older memories I can think of, Frankenstein too. A core memory is watching Scream with my dad, which you know, he went and rented it. And I what Scream came out in 1996. So I was five, and he was like, This is what we're watching tonight. And he used to put his hand in front of my face with his fingers open so I could still see. So if my mom walked in, she wouldn't get mad. My dad's the best. Um, and yeah, that has some really scary memory. I was pretty afraid of that movie. Um, but it became this weird secret with me and my dad. Um, and then some other really big core memories are watching Tales from the Crypt with him when I was about the same age. He would let me stay up and we would secretly watch it. And I used to dance to the Tales from the Crypt theme song when I was like five or six, like watching just like very gory HBO level horror with my father. I don't know. Um, you know what though, like youth librarian. I am not promoting you do this with your children. That is not what I'm saying here. However, it is a very good memory, and my dad and I are very close and we like the same things. So it is nice. Not suggested, but it ended up good for me.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah, you never forget your first. No. Um, mine was Jeepers Creepers. Oh like super scary, eating eyes, like, come on, truck driver, still on the highway. If I'm driving at night and I see a truck driver, I'm like, oh my god, gotta look the other way. Don't make eye contact. But yeah, those those memories, definitely younger than I should have been watching that. Yeah, but sharing those moments with my family are core memories for sure. Totally. Yeah, my first is The Grudge. Oh, that's a bad one.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that one's rough. It's a rough one. I didn't re-watch it for years. I think I probably re-watched it when I was like 18, 19. I was like, what was that? Like, why was I literally a child watching that? That in Silence of the Lambs. Oh, yeah. My dad had me watching Silence of the Lambs young. So I'm glad that's a universal experience for us. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So I guess all of our dads are like, let's watch horrible horror movies.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. My dad was like the the really like intense ones, and then my mom was a slasher fan through and through.
SPEAKER_02:My mom hates horror movies, except for Hellraiser, which I don't I think she doesn't like it, but she talks about it all the time. And it's like she always brings up that they were in an earthquake in San Francisco while they were watching Hellraiser, and she like feels like it's because they were watching that. She like tells me this story all the time, and I just but she hates horror movies, she doesn't understand the appeal. And I think that's part of why my dad and I have this like weird bond because it was this thing where like no one else in our household wanted to watch these things, so we did it together. My brother's not a fan either, so yeah, I always found that really fascinating. It's like a pretty hard divide in the household.
SPEAKER_01:I wasn't a fan of horror for a very long time. Like growing up, I didn't really have that experience where I was really attracted to it. It kind of came on as I got older and started realizing, oh, wait, there's like a real story being told here. It's not me just being freaked out and scared. Um, it also stemmed from reading more horror, being able to consume it that way, and then just wanting more of it at a quicker pace. So films and TV shows kind of helped get me that feeling.
SPEAKER_00:And I think there's such a difference between at least for me, like what standard I hold a horror book to uh what the standard I hold a horror movie. I don't necessarily expect to be scared by a horror novel. I feel like it's kind of hard to like I'll get freaked out, I'll be uncomfortable, like a little uneasy, but to be like actual, like fear, I don't really have that when I'm reading a page in a book. But movies, like I I do there's different levels. I feel like we'll probably talk about that at some point in this episode. There's a difference between what you're when you're watching something for it being campy, or you're watching for complete jump scares, or if you're watching hereditary and you are uneasy for seven days after.
SPEAKER_02:I agree. For me, reading horror doesn't translate to fear. I totally agree with you, Tessa. I think the last time I was genuinely afraid of a horror book when it was in like third grade, because I read like every Goosebumps book and like Night of the Living Dummy truly deeply scared me to a point of no return. I am still, that is my thing. I am the most afraid of dummies and mannequins, and it's just because of that. There's no logic behind it. I'm very logical when I watch horror movies, except for that. And that's I think the literal last time I was actually afraid because it feels more story driven. And so I'm more looking for those like story elements when it comes to like horror novels. Um, and that's not always what I'm looking for when I'm watching horror. Like Tessa mentioned, there are so many different subgenres of horror. And I think that's what I like so much about that. There are so many different ways you can go when you're watching a horror movie that really doesn't exist in other genres of film. And so it's just not the same. You know, you can't have a good jump scare in a book. You can't have doing camp in a book is a lot more difficult. Landing a humorous but also horrific scene in a book is very difficult. So my mindset is different when I read horror versus when I watch horror.
SPEAKER_01:I want to go back to something that you mentioned about you're watching these films with like a logical point of view. And I think that it took for my frontal lobe to fully develop for me to be like, oh, they're all of these moving parts, and is this like, can this really happen to me sort of thing? And that helped me find horror more enjoyable. Um, I think also alongside the subgenres is everything else that goes into it costumes, sound effects, soundtrack that makes watching a horror movie so much more full body, so to speak, rather than like reading it. It's it's a very different experience for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so for me, horror movies, you really nailed what I love so much about them. I find them so visually appealing because they're very artistic. Um, there is so much art that goes into horror. I am not a fantasy fan. And some of the things I'm gonna bring up are true of fantasy too, but I think it's more the plot points of fantasy I don't love. I love creating a monster out of nothing, right? That took a lot of creativity. And then looking at the practical effects that goes into that, that type of creative thought is very endearing to me. And I love to see like what people, what scares people who are making those things, even if they're not scary to me. I think they're visually really cool. I've always been really attracted to lowbrow style art. I love like different types of like comics, all sorts of different underground artists, and so much of that is baked into horror as well, because really horror is appealing to the outcast, the marginalized, and then that's where that art comes from as well. So it all really like locks together for me. So the colors in horror movies, just a lot of the visual appeal, the nostalgia factor, and things like that go with it. The logical standpoint, that's like I feel like people don't really understand that. I can be afraid when I'm watching a horror movie, if it's a ghost horror movie, if it's uh, you know, monster, but like I can leave that fear at the door the second it's over because Freddie Krueger is not real. And so it just doesn't bother me. I don't believe he's under my bed. But watching a home invasion movie is deeply terrifying to me, and I try to not engage with those as often. I like the more like fantastical elements of it, I think more. But that's not to say I do really like those realistic ones too. Those are actually really scary, and when I want to be scared, I am gonna watch those, but I'm not like watching those every day. That's a lot.
SPEAKER_00:The Strangers, that one has messed me up since I was a child, too. Horrifying movie, genuinely so scary. The final, like, sentence, literally disgusting, sickening, twisted. Yikes, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Um, maybe skipping that one for me. Um, I also feel that way about things that can be real, like you said, the home invasion stuff. I don't know, the collector spooked me for months. I thought that he was in my house, he was ready to torture me. Like, I've never seen that one. Oh god, it's mm-mm. Not for me, but um, I can do like campy ones. So slasher films, scream, that franchise all-time favorite for me. I know Tessa and I both recently watched Heart Eyes, which is another sort of campy slasher. Um, can happen, yeah. But I'm like, okay, that's there's some funny elements to it that ease the tension a little bit and break it up.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, the camp is like a relief to it. If the director's not taking it that seriously, then you as the viewer aren't going to, and then you can enjoy it a lot more.
SPEAKER_00:Have you seen Heart Eyes?
SPEAKER_02:I haven't.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, it's so funny. Yeah. Be and what I enjoyed is like you get a little bit in, and for a second you're like, wait, is this just bad or are you doing this on purpose? And then like one thing happens, and you're like, Oh, this is actually so intentional, and it's so well done. What year did that come out? Uh, I think this year or late last year. Okay, I'll check that out for sure. No, it was it's so fun. It's a serial killer on Valentine's Day that only kills uh couples, and then your main characters are like two people who this killer assumes is a couple, but they're not, and they kinda hate each other. Ooh, that sounds fun. Yeah, it's so fun. Uh though I can't think of his name, but from the Geno Ortega screams, he's in it. He's the main guy.
SPEAKER_01:So we touched upon the different subgenres of horror a little bit. Do you have a subgenre that you gravitate towards more than the others?
SPEAKER_02:Okay, tough to say because I really watch a ton of horror. So uh it is really I'm I'm very varied on it, but I love slashers through and through, forever. It's a great formula. I love when we play off the formula, we change it, but it can still land it because I just love a big bad guy. It's that is the one for me. So, like I love creature features, I love monsters, those are visually appealing, but like a slasher, I think forever will probably be my favorite, but it changes. I love occult movies, I love ghost stuff, I love a possessed child.
SPEAKER_00:I think those are really fun. That was on my list of tropes I wanted to talk about was creepy kid. Yeah, creepy kid.
SPEAKER_02:Love a creepy kid, love a creepy kid, love little guys, little spooky guys. So, like a ghoulies, a critters, chucky, love all those little dudes. It's always gonna depend on my mood. I'd say those are tried and true. It's going to sound crazy. Horror is very comforting to me again because we're going back to that childhood portion. So I'm not watching The Strangers for Comfort. I'm probably watching Child's Play 3, and that's just a silly movie. So it's gonna really depend. I do love a psychological horror when I'm feeling more of a like, I really want to consume a good piece of media versus I'm looking for something funny and fun that has like good visuals. I'm trying to think, I don't know that there's like a genre of horror I don't uh uh you know what I really don't love like torture stuff. Um, the 2000s for me is not it. Um, we go way too far into that. That is not enjoyable for me when I watch those things. One, they're usually really grim-looking settings. So that visual appeal I talked about earlier isn't there. I don't love like watching people beg and be in a lot of pain. Typically in horror, deaths are pretty quick, they're or they're really bombastic, or there's a lot to it where it it almost feels not real. That is far too real for me. I do not enjoy it. So hostile, no. Um, anything of that genre is just not something I ever really gravitate towards. And this, when I've revisited it as an adult, I feel the same way. It's not for me.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I have to agree with you. The torture category, also not for me. It's like the Saw films, cannot get behind those. First saw is good, but yeah. Yeah, I it's just like you said, the the real element of it is a little jarring and not something I can get into. I don't like a cult though.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Are you superstitious? No, I just I don't know. I don't see the appeal, like really, yeah. Okay, of someone being possessed or like deep the demonic possession of it all. Like, yeah. I for me, I there's no appeal there.
SPEAKER_02:But I yeah, I totally get it. And the appeal, I think, is instead of the monster, the person you love is the monster, and it's not because they're evil. And I think that that is what is a really good element of it. It's like you know it's not them, but they're doing these horrific things. So that struggle is interesting for me to watch. And I mean, I just, you know, whatever. I do like a head spinning around a spider walking person from just like the goofy perspective. But I think like that is appealing to me. I just also kind of also meant like I like ghost movies a lot, like where we're like summoning something, conjuring movies. I think they're fun. It's very classic to me. But like when we talk about occult stuff and you have to think about some of the things like the exorcist and like what that did culturally for film and just in general, the fear, the satanic panic that came with it, and things like that. I also find horror really interesting in how it's caused these cultural waves. Waves and occult movies are a huge part of that for sure.
SPEAKER_01:No, the historic element of it is definitely interesting to look at when you look at what's going on in current events and the movies that are being put out. It's like what is influencing what there. Um, so that's like an interesting take on it for sure.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Horror coincides with social commentary so well. And it will honestly show you that history repeats itself as you see requels and things that are being remade or twisted a little bit differently. But the core emotion that you're supposed to feel at the end of it is always going to be the same thing. And you might think society has changed in a certain way, but to our core, like you said earlier, we all know fear. We all have our different relationships with being scared and what makes us scared. And yeah, like it's just always gonna prevail, I think. It's always gonna come back around.
SPEAKER_01:The idea of horror being like social commentary is pretty interesting. We've seen like a bit of a resurgence of that in recent years with Jordan Peel's like get out, the substance, mother, things like that that are kind of serving as like commentary on our society. And I think that those are equally as scary, if not scarier, than our slasher film or the occult film, because they're things that are based in reality.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, when I was in college, I took a film class and we we really kind of dissected that. And really, most horror, even some of the silliest, is part of social commentary. And I think when we go back to that universal take, right? Fear. So if horror is using what are you supposed to fear, is it really Frankenstein, or is it that, you know, how easy it is to create a mob mentality? Is that what is the actual fear of that movie, right? And so, you know, same thing with get out, like, you know, what is the fear? It's this racism and you know, this overarching black cloud that is still on society. So I think the reason that horror is so successful at social commentary without people feeling like it's like ham-fisted or it's too much, is because we're playing on these emotions that everyone has, and you're using these really great devices to show people what is horrific about this. Um, and even if it's fun and even if there's funny elements and things at the end of the day, just like Tessa said, that core feeling that's what you're left with, and it is really effective. When you look at hereditary, I mean that is severe family trauma. And, you know, that one is a little less hidden. It's obvious that's what the movie's about. But when you're like watching it play out, you're watching this family fall apart. Like I remember leaving that theater with my friend just silent. Like we were dead silent after we watched that movie. It really affected me and it made me think about things in a different way. And because, you know, there's a woman floating and they're doing seances, you're looking at it as a point of entertainment. But then when you go to think about it later, it's that's what's left. And I think that that is really interesting to me. And it's something I've always loved about it. Like you can have fun with something and you can still really learn something, and you could kind of look at how it, you know, what is it saying about society and what is it saying about the people around me? And there's that residual thought when I watch a horror movie for sure.
SPEAKER_00:Going off hereditary, me and Natalie talk about it frequently. We're both big fans. You haven't seen it, but you have seen Midsummer, right? Okay. Yeah. Do you what you prefer hereditary? 100%. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Midsummer's great, but I like hereditary way more.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. But but I think you would not prefer it. Interesting. Well, because there is like a paranormal aspect of it. Midsummer visually, such a pretty movie. But one that lives rent-free in my head is the scene of the head hitting the rock. And we were briefly talking about it earlier too. The the hesitation on for the 15 seconds that it is, and just like leaving you to sit with the fact that you just watched that happen, and he just leaves the camera there. And that's that's one of the moments that really like sticks with me the same way that the the drive home at the beginning of Hereditary sticks with me. And Ari Aster, great filmmaker for sure.
SPEAKER_02:I say it all the time. A movie can be fantastic and you don't enjoy it at all. Um, I do enjoy Hereditary, maybe I don't know what that says about me, but there are definitely films like that that will leave you with so much. And so, like Tessa was saying, the scene with the head is so horrific. But to have to sit in this discomfort, to have to sit in this character's absolute regret, his dread, and all of that. At the end of the day, those are like the most just like primitive human emotions, and then you have to feel them at the same time as him, and it is extremely uncomfortable. So I understand why a lot of people don't gravitate towards the genre. People view watching movies as a fun pastime, and they're not always fun, but uh, I don't view them that way. I love movies so much, and there is just so many different moods that I'm in. So I do hope you give it a chance, and even if you don't like it, you understand why it's so important.
SPEAKER_01:Oh no, I definitely will give it a chance.
SPEAKER_00:I think you will like it to a certain point, genuinely a certain point in the movie. I think you'll be like, wow, I'm so in it, and then it's gonna take a turn that isn't your favorite kind of story to consume. But genuinely, if you watched the beginning through his drive home, and then you watch the dinner scene, I think you will be like, This is insane. You've probably seen clips of the dinner scene.
SPEAKER_01:I've seen clips of the film, I've read analysis of it too, so like I kind of know what to expect. I've never just sat down though with it and really consumed it visually, and I think that I need to do that soon.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, the feeling like finishing the movie is I have this like really distinct memory.
SPEAKER_02:We went to see it, and I was living in this really cool house that was built in 1901. It was really spooky, and the house next to it was like abandoned, and my friend pulled up into my driveway and we went to the midnight release of it. So it's like 2 a.m. or something, and the abandoned house door just flies open and just starts like going back and forth, and I was like in tears. I was like horrified, and then I had to like my driveway was like so long, and now you think about it, it was really not nice. He did not walk me to my door, but I had to run this entire long driveway because I was so afraid, and that will forever stick in my brain. I was like, what is happening here?
SPEAKER_00:They have followed me home. But that's how that movie makes you feel like weird coincidence. Why was that door doing that? Don't love that, but yeah, I I can't think of another horror movie I've watched that has like gen like exactly you are just silent. Like you don't even like know what to do with yourself.
SPEAKER_01:Like you just carry that unsettling feeling with you.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, for like a good amount of time.
SPEAKER_02:I've said to friends before, I think that what we experience seeing hereditary in theaters is what people experienced when they saw the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the theater. That was like a cultural reset in film. It's lauded as one of the most important movies ever made, and it is not comfortable to watch. I don't know if you guys have seen the original. So it is just not a comfortable movie. It's very raw, it's very gritty, it's dirty, it's gross, with really not showing a ton, which is a fascinating thing to be able to pull off. But the feeling you have watching that movie is extreme, like just disgust and very unsettled. And reading about how people felt leaving that theater really kind of reminds me of that, where they're just like really thought it was real, which was insane when you think about it. What was it, 1974? That title card where it explains that these are real events. Like, people genuinely believed that that was true. And I can't imagine what that must have felt like watching that in that theater. Like, that's nuts. But like leaving that and having this unsettled feeling, this deep fear, this like, I can't believe what I just consumed. I equate Hereditary to the Texas Chainsaw in only in that respect. I also can't think of another movie in recent years where I've left feeling the way that I felt when I watched Hereditary.
SPEAKER_00:It's so visceral, true like dread in your stomach. Any tropes we feel like we haven't discussed that we either really like or really don't like?
SPEAKER_01:I kind of want to talk about the like resurgence of classic horror, so the universal monsters that we see. So Frankenstein, there's a newer one that recently came out this fall. And we've seen Dracula come out in 2025, Nasferatu, like all these very classic horror movies that are getting revamped. Thoughts on that?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so another thing I think that draws me to horror is like I said, I'm Serbian, and so much of Eastern European culture is just drenched in folklore. Um, growing up, my grandma would like scare me with the Baba Yaga, and there's always like monsters. Uh, for some reason, like if you see uh three bats, someone's gonna die. It's all this like really bizarre, spooky, superstitious stuff that like they don't even equate it to being spooky, it's just like part of the culture. And so so many of these old, like you said, classic universal monsters, they all just date back to those folk tales and where they come from. So I I'm a fan. Uh, if we're doing it the right way, I don't love that we're updating classic monsters, like let them be classic in where they're from. That is appealing enough to me. I think that's why Nosferatu worked really well. I really liked that movie. I thought it was done really well. Like, I don't need Noseferatu in 2025. Like, he can vibe, you know, back in the day. So I think that's when it's not successful. I don't need an update of them. People like them and have liked them for so long because of those folk elements that are tied to the past. And so updating them with like just better visuals because we just, you know, have more resources and things like that, or maybe we're telling the story from like a different person's perspective in the movie. I'm down with that. I don't I don't want Frankenstein walking around Chicago in 2025. Like, I'm good. We we don't need that. So I don't love that reimagining. I love folk horror though, and things that are tied to old, old stories. I think that's like really fascinating. But yeah, I'm going to that Universal Park in September, so can't wait. I'll report back. I can't wait to meet Frankenstein.
SPEAKER_01:It's gonna be the best day of my life. I'm also a huge Frankenstein fan, so I will need all the details.
SPEAKER_02:Frankenstein's a great story through and through, one of the best of all time. He's visually very cool, he's very sympathetic. I I love Frankenstein.
SPEAKER_01:Agreed. Speaking of Universal Monsters, quick shout out to one of our upcoming programs in late October. We have a Universal Monsters program that is given by a guest speaker. It will be October 23rd from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. And you are still able to register when you are listening to this.
SPEAKER_02:I kind of want to talk about the so bad it's good genre of horror because I think it's the only genre that has that, if I'm gonna be honest. There aren't many other movies I can think of that aren't horror that actually can thread that needle and it work and be fun. Um, and yeah, I kind of want to hear your guys' thoughts on that because I know how I feel about it, but that's just because I'm like such a big fan of the genre.
SPEAKER_00:So I also I really enjoy so bad, it's good. Like to be able to present things in a way that you would assume is bad and be able to do it well is such an interesting craft. I love a silly scary movie. I really do. What about you?
SPEAKER_01:Agreed, yeah. I think that it it's closely in line with like the camp um type of film. So I like that type of horror. And so I think that again, yeah, being able to take something and it be so bad that it's good is impressive.
SPEAKER_02:I think the only way it works though is if the people do not understand that it's bad. And that is a huge thing. So I've watched movies where they're setting out to make a so bad it's good, and it's absolute trash. It doesn't work, it's not funny. I think for me, how you know it's doing it is because I and I don't know, maybe I just I have like a bleeding heart for people who make any version of art, even if it's like not good. I think like putting yourself out there is really difficult, and that's just like very cool. And you can, I I find it endearing that this like group of people read the script of like a movie like Troll Two, which is like the worst thing I've ever watched, and they're like, honestly, let's go. This this is the one. Yeah, and they're all somehow like 30 people have agreed that they're gonna make this thing together, and they're like not good actors, but they're like, You got it, you're cheery. They're like making things out of cardboard, and there's like something about that that like it's very funny when you watch it, and that is why people are still watching them to this day, but also I'm just like, man, that's cool. Like, I really love that you just like went for it or like I'm doing this thing, I have no money, and I like need to do this.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, like the doubling down of just like really going for it and and doing it and not being like, I'm not gonna make this movie because I can't make it the absolute blockbuster of the year, but to still do it, yeah, like the confidence behind it, I have to admire.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly. I think for me, my perspective kind of changed on those. Have you guys ever seen the documentary American movie? It's really great. You should definitely watch it. And it don't quote me, but I think it's set in 1997, and it's just this guy, and he is dead set on making a horror movie called Coven, or he calls it Kouven, whatever it's coven. And the director is a dude who was in school with him who just found him fascinating. And he was like, Can I film you trying to do this? And it's this like slice of life documentary, and you're watching essentially what we're talking about. This guy, like, he has this idea, he's broke, he doesn't have money, but he has friends, and it just like, we're gonna do this thing, we have to do this thing. And honestly, it is one of my favorite movies because it truly is so inspiring. I think it is like one of the most inspiring movies I've ever watched. Watching people who have pretty much nothing materializing their art, and it's very, very cool. You should check it out. But I feel like watching that will put a new lens on things that maybe aren't always great because you just see how much people care and what why they want to make it, and it's it's really a great movie.
SPEAKER_01:It's a dedication to the craft, and that's really honorable, and it's nice to see that play out on screen, so that's interesting to me. I'll take a look at that.
SPEAKER_00:I think that's another difference that I see with reading horror versus watching horror because to write a good horror novel, truly, all you need to be able to do is write well. And to make a good horror film, you need to have so many more things. You have to be able to do practical effects. You have like you can paint the picture with words far easier than you can the on the big screen, and so I think that is also why my my caliber when I read horror is so different. I totally agree with you.
SPEAKER_02:I think it's fascinating that to make a horror movie, just like you said, you need to be able to do all these things. Yet it's one of the only genres where there are so many low budget movies. And so it's like, I don't know what that is. I think it's that passion drives people to be more creative and try their best to make something out of nothing. I can't really think, I mean, maybe I'm wrong, but I can't really think of too many other genres besides like an indie mumble chord, you know, meet cute thing that is so low budget and can still be successful. Can't really do that with action, fantasy is a no-go. I mean, it's romance, it happens, but you know what I mean. It that goes more into that indie romance type thing. So I I it's really interesting to me because I agree with you to write that book, you just need to know how to write. You have to have so many other skills for the horror movie.
SPEAKER_01:What are your thoughts on horror movie parodies? Oh, um, like scary movie? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Uh, I don't know. I feel like the first scary movie's funny. I can't, what are other horror movie parodies? I can't even think of them. I don't really like parody movies, honestly.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, parody movies in general are like just bad usually. Not another teen movie is pretty good, though. I'm gonna I'm gonna be oh it's a good one.
SPEAKER_02:I'm always down for something silly, but I think I'm just like not a fan of like essentially clip shows, and that's what like a parody movie is, so it's not not my favorite.
SPEAKER_00:I think that a lot of like campy horror films have an element of making fun of itself that I don't think we need the parody movie. I think within the genre, it's well done in the commentary on horror conventions of the story can be done without it being a scary movie.
SPEAKER_02:Very true. Scream was so revolutionary because it was like the first movie to be self-referential and to make fun of itself while still being scary, very gory, have a good story, have great villains. It really toes the line well. I think that's what I like a lot more. Uh, Fear Street does that a lot too. It's funny because that was so revolutionary back then, and now just most modern horror does it in some way. Um, where, you know, doing the referential treatment and you know, wink, wink, nudge, nudge to this slasher, this, you know, campy movie. It kind of just bakes it into the genre now.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I love seeing that because I love the call outs to the other horror movies and being like, oh, I watched that, so I get this. So it's it's always nice to see that. How do you feel about franchises? Because you mentioned Scream. There's a few other ones like Halloween. Personally, not something I love. They occasionally do one movie well out of the franchise.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, so franchises are all about mindsets, all right. I'm not watching those because I think I'm getting 10 great movies. I'm watching them because I want to visit my boy Freddie Krueger. And that's kind of really how you have to think about those. I will tell you, certain franchises do it way better. Halloween, I'd say of all the big bad boys, Halloween is the worst franchise. Hands down. Agreed. Hands down. First one, one of the best movies of all time. Second one, eh, third one is good. Everything else is pretty much garbage. Yeah. 2018's okay. You know, we can go here, but it's interesting because Michael Myers is such a stamp on popular culture that it's fascinating that there are, oh, don't quote me, probably 10 plus uh Halloween movies, and most of them are terrible in every way. Whereas like Friday the 13th, far more consistent because you know, Friday the 13th is not an amazing movie, it's a Formula Eight slasher. So, like honestly, I like most of those. I'd say when we're going into space, we're we're we're we're not doing well anymore. That was crazy. Be honest, I still like it, but it's just because it makes me laugh. I couldn't get it's funny. It's stupid. Like it is. Maybe the mindset thing. Like I'm not watching that to be scared. Why are we sending him to space? At some point every horror villain gets sent somewhere off it's space. It's hell. He they must leave Earth in some way. So at some point the franchise will get there. Nightmare on Elm Street. Freddie Krueger is my favorite bad guy, I would say I guess he's a monster guy, whatever. I don't know what to call him, but he he's probably my favorite. And I think that's because he encapsulates all the things I like about horror. The first Nightmare on Elm Street is genuinely a good movie. It is scary. The concept horrifying as a child like you can't go to bed or he's going to come in your dreams. And like when you're a kid what do you do when you're scared you close your eyes. So now there's nowhere to hide. That is intensely scary when you think about it. The practical effects of that movie are insane in every way the blood from the ceiling nuts. If you haven't please watch how they did it it's absolutely mind blowing the dedication to make that scene work is nuts. And then we go into camp and I love it. It works really well for me. I think Freddy is stupid and funny in the best way he's stylish. He changes his outfits he's wearing a suit now he's a chef he's on the beach I love it. I want to see all of it. But the kills are still good and the stories still work for me. It's really unique in that franchise for the third movie in my opinion is the best one because it is scary but also camp at the same time it's probably the one that does that the best dream warriors it absolutely rules because it's kids who are put in a mental institution and they decide to fight back. So it's also kind of empowering I think it's very cool. The visuals in that one are the best I mean he has syringes for fingers he's coming out of a TV. It's just it's just killer it's a great movie. Things get dicey when there's a Freddy baby for some reason it's it's the best that we get Freddie versus Jason crazy. Truly that always that's crazy. It's always crazy to me when we hit that yeah we always are getting a collab at some point.
SPEAKER_00:Yep we have to have the crossover I also think that Nightmare on Elm Street Freddie Krueger you can get behind the franchise of it all because there is a supernatural element to it. Right. And you can only watch Michael Myers get killed so many times before you're like okay like we're we've done that like we're done we're done he can't keep getting up we can't like 20 movies deep he's tired and old yeah and Michael like doesn't talk so there's also so much you can really do.
SPEAKER_02:And I I really the first Halloween is a perfect movie in my opinion. So I mean there's only so much you can do with Michael if you're not touching on the supernatural and he is supposed to be supernatural and we don't go into it enough for that to be established. So it's it's messy. Texas Chainsaw Massacre absolutely terrible franchise um first movie obviously one of the most important films um in terms of cinema second one absolutely love it top tier movie Toby Hooper does that one so he is the director of the first one and he knew that he could never match what he did with Texas Chainsaw. So he made it campy and crazy and funny and I think it is the best way to do a sequel to that movie. It is so fun so crazy just bombastic absolutely works. From then on we go back to trying to be scary and it just is a mess. And so we kind of ruin it with horror I think when we reveal too much. I think that's where a lot of franchises fail. Like I don't need to know every part of Jigsaw that's crazy. It doesn't matter. And so yeah I think that's where we get slippery. So I think the other thing that's really fascinating to me about horror is it is one of the genres that outcast and marginalized communities tend to gravitate towards and I think that that's really interesting because on the surface a lot of people will say that horror is misogynist and there are definitely instances of it. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that's not true. It is but so are all forms of media. So it's an unfair critique I would say if we're looking back in time because most things back in time were misogynist. You know so many people rally for horror and I read a lot about this and I think it's that marginalized communities the LGBTQ communities people of color I've read how they feel a kinship with horror because oftentimes a lot of what's happening is misunderstood. So like a monster is misunderstood Frankenstein he is a misunderstood character. Women resonate with witches because of the persecution and you know them being burned because people just didn't understand what women were doing and thinking and things like that. And I think gravitating towards that when the story wasn't there is kind of what's informed horror to be so inclusive now. And so we see so much in modern horror that is so pro LGBTQ that has all this really wonderful representation because of those roots. So I've always really liked that about um the genre a lot. We're talking about um it being low budget. So your buddy probably doesn't look like an actor or actress in that time but now he's on screen. So that's a version of representation. So it is starting like very early on like the 70s Texas Chainsaw is was made with like no money. And so it's like those are not star-studded um that's not a star studded cast. So I think that is a really huge draw for me too. And then when we get to see these like queer stories being told in present day it's because so many characters were queer coded back in those movies when it just wasn't something that people were doing back then.
SPEAKER_00:So I I think that is something that I love so much about this genre too definitely agree and if you haven't read it came from the closet it's edited by Joe Valis. Incredible it's a bunch of different writers and they pick a horror film that they see queerness in in some way shape or form and it might not necessarily be like outright I mean let's be serious they talk about Jennifer's body. Clearly we're talking about Jennifer's body but they the way that these authors pull just random horror movies that you wouldn't necessarily put in a queer category and talk about how it fit their journey and their queerness or what they've experienced in life it is a really interesting read. I I'm not a nonfiction girly we know that but that one is it's so good.
SPEAKER_02:Is that the one um where they talk about the exorcist and the priests being queer yes yes okay yeah I've read uh essays from it it's fantastic um there's a podcast also the name is escaping me but the host is the drag queen peaches christ and it's the same uh scenario essentially they're both uh queer hosts and they talk about horror movies that were important to them when they were growing up queer what queerness they saw in the movie how it is uh why it's important to the queer community and things like that. It's so good because it's also like a really good history podcast. They give you a ton of stuff on the film that you wouldn't know. And then they take those things and relate it to queerness. I love it. I listen to it all the time.
SPEAKER_01:I think that this conversation just serves to show that horror is so much more than just being scared and that unsettling feeling and I think that it's overlooked a lot as a genre because people just think oh it's just jump scares or it's just you know blood and gore and spookiness but there's so many elements that go into it like you mentioned that representation the low budget films the dedication to creating this film and the dedication people have to their craft and the commentary that it's you know speaking on there's so much that goes into it more than just being a little spooky film.
SPEAKER_02:I totally agree. I think it's one of the only genres where you really have to change your mindset a lot when depending on the film that you're watching. And so so many people probably are like you know who are in our age group are like oh I don't want to watch Saw. I don't want to watch this is like well there's so many different versions and there within horror I could find a movie that fits any mood that I'm in. And I can't really say that about other genres as much. Obviously there's sad romance, fun romance, happy romance but I mean are there other versions? I don't know. I don't watch them super often right so it's like but like within horror I feel like right now I could probably name like 25 different subgenres if I'm being honest like just what I have written down off the top of my head I have like 15 right here. And it's like I can't really do that with a lot of other films. And I am really familiar with film. I watch all types so yeah I think horror is honestly the most varied and probably has the most representation from all different people and communities. And it's almost like at first framed like oh well it's going to happen to her because you know she's living in this terrible CD apartment and she doesn't have any money and XYZ and then she overcomes it and she wins at the end. And so what like I don't see that story very often. It's usually like a problem story about how this person gets you know riches or a job but it's like that's not what it is. It's like this is who I am this is the situation I'm in but I'm still strong and I'm still powerful and I can still win. And she didn't have to change her whole life that's just who she is as a person. And I also really like that. I think it's one of the it's the most recent evil dead evil dead arise. She lives in this like CD apartment building and is very very strong. And like I said that's in a ton of horror movies. I can't really think of too many other films that you know give the character that type of power when they don't have the equipment to have the power.
SPEAKER_00:That's just another factor that makes horror so universal is because they're in these horrible situations where be it creature feature be it a demon their next door neighbor at the end of the day it truly boils down to those characters and nothing else matters. Their job doesn't matter where they live doesn't matter if they have connections with their family doesn't like at the end of the day it boils down to just who you are what makes you human and that's another reason why marginalized people can relate to it so much because you can truly strip down those characters when you're watching it with Sydney and Scream. Something in there you're gonna relate to her somewhere and you can do that with so many horror characters.
SPEAKER_02:I think that's such a good point. Yeah it really sums it up horror is about being human. That's really the end of the story. Nothing else matters at the end of the day when it's do or die it's just your person and how am I going to deal with this and so at the end of the day that is really how you can relate to people that maybe you don't have much in common with because at the end of the day we're just people and if you're put in that situation it's it's survival mode.
SPEAKER_01:I think that concludes our discussion portion for this episode. I know that Natalie Tessa and I have some wrecks that we want to give out for horror movies.
SPEAKER_02:So Natalie why don't you start us off with one all right so I'm gonna end up giving a few so I'm gonna go with my favorite movie of all time The Thing uh directed by John Carpenter. It is a perfect movie. I love Kurt Russell that's my man so he is perfect in that movie. The movie is great because it really puts a lot of things what I like about horror it has a psychological aspect to it this who is the monster very scary there's amazing practical effects really scary gross monsters desolate I absolutely love that movie.
SPEAKER_01:If you haven't seen it you need to watch it immediately okay you all might laugh but I'm gonna go with Van Helsing it came out in 2004. I just think that it is a crazy movie. Like we've got vampires werewolves we have Frankenstein there is everybody in this movie and it is just so interesting to me that these all of these characters kind of come together in one spot and I just love the setting of it. It's just fun. It's fun it's more like a fantasy horror film and I put it on often because it just makes me laugh.
SPEAKER_00:One that was a very much sleeper hit for me was the menu. It's a good one. It it's very unassuming I feel you can get through a lot of the movie with just being like a little unsettled like okay this guy's weird the chef is a lot if you've worked in restaurants chefs are a lot um and I don't by the end I was I was thoroughly impressed.
SPEAKER_02:All right I'm gonna give you a really fun one I love um another uh Halloween favorite for me is Night of the Demons. I love a horror movie that takes place on one night Halloween night classic really fun um Angela's having a party and you're invited and it's in this really scary haunted house essentially and chaos ensues. Um and so like I said I love the nostalgia I love how Halloween looks on film so that in a horror movie for me I watch it every Halloween okay so I have a newer one Sinners that recently came out the best I have some qualms with it. No absolutely disagree whole podcast episode will argue about it.
SPEAKER_01:I can't even hear that um but I do recommend it I think that it's a beautifully filmed movie I think that the soundtrack is fantastic the storyline is really great I would love to see more of it I wanted expanded on there were a lot of plot lines there that I felt we could have dived deeper in on Natalie's shaking her head here.
SPEAKER_02:Sinners is a literal perfect movie Sinners is a beautiful masterpiece I live and die by that movie it is fantastic I'm joking there are things sure but I I just think for 2025 for that movie to come out it absolutely rips amazing musical elements the fights everything about it the costuming I love it 10 million out of 10.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah I'm with you there on a lot of that what's the qualms the qualms was just I needed more expansion on some plot points here.
SPEAKER_00:I think that's the fantasy girl in you um it's not for that movie I don't think you need that that's fair it is it is a long movie I think it needed to be longer that's crazy it's like a short story when you just want more of the short story because you love the movie so much so you just want to see no I mean I'm I'm recommending it so yeah I did enjoy it one movie that I don't think needs a sequel is Ready or not the concept of a game I like it in most stories in general I don't really care about the genre I think games competitions again it's a universal feeling we all know how it feels to play a game to compete in some sort of way whether it's with someone else or yourself and I think to put it in a horror movie where like this family is just like we must play some sort of deadly game. They have in fact many options and you get hide and seek and it's it's a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_02:I like games too because it really holds the narrative together. There's a pretty clear uh beginning middle and end we don't get too muddled it doesn't go too long so I agree that's a really fun movie all right I think I will suggest Tales from the Hood. It's a lesser known movie but it should be watched more it was a made for TV HBO movie um and it is an anthology of three stories um and they're all black centered horror stories so this is you know pre-Jordan Peel really like taking the reins from it I think it is so good. It is super super fun with still um really making great commentary on race and different forms of racism and you know the black experience but really towing that line of it still being fun and having a sense of camp this like weird little doll that's in it. I really love an anthology even if they're not great it's great to have these quick little stories not all horror stories need a full movie so I do really like that I really wish people watch Tales from the Hood more. I think it's just really special that it's only black centered horror.
SPEAKER_00:So love that yeah definitely added to the list for this Halloween season for me to watch I have one that spooks me to this day and it is us.
SPEAKER_01:I can't do it I am recommending it just because it scares me like the concept of it is absolutely terrifying that there are like copies of you that exist in the world and yeah and that's just like it's spooky to me. So that's all I can say if I think about it too much I'll have nightmares.
SPEAKER_00:I'm not not a huge fan of it but I get I get the unease for sure.
SPEAKER_02:I agree I think visually it's cool it it gets lost in the sauce for sure and you guys are younger than me but new metal really took hold of my um adolescence and then it really bled into movies and it felt too new metal for me like there's like a kid barking things are on fire for no reason there were parts that were just like too much like a corn music video and I just like couldn't get down with it.
SPEAKER_00:And that's just like again that's I think my residual like I'm tired of seeing this all my teen years of I was like what is going on right now my next one is it's a two-parter recommendation I guess I think in our horror episode last year when we talked about horror video games we talked about until dawn one of my all-time favorite video games however play station studios stick with me made a movie that is called until dawn it came out this year semi recently it is not the video game but there is distinct ties shall we say but this girl's sister goes missing and she's trying to find her it's her group of friends and they end up at this weird welcome center in the middle of nowhere and they are trying to survive until dawn much like The video game, but every time they die, it starts over. And so it's a time loop, which I don't always love. But the way that the storyline of the video game is woven into the consequences for the time loop, which I think that that is what I feel is missing a lot of the time in time loop movies, is there is no consequence. And every time these characters are dying, there is a direct consequence, and they only have a certain amount of times before they they lose. And it does relate in some way, but it's a weird, I mean, it's a cheesy teen-led horror movie. But for what it was, I thought it was really cool, and it was interesting to see how it added to the Until Dawn story.
SPEAKER_02:I love that video game, and I was very anti that movie, but hearing that, I'll definitely watch it. I love all of those like story-based, like horror games.
SPEAKER_00:Same.
SPEAKER_02:Um, so yeah, that's gonna go on my list for sure.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised.
SPEAKER_02:All right, I'm gonna give uh two more modern horror movies that genuinely deeply scare me. Blair Witch is one of the scariest movies I've ever watched, and it always will be to me, because even though there is that supernatural occult element to it, getting lost in the forest is like the scariest thing I've ever like, yeah. Pre the pre-the like ghost part, I'm like, this is the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life. And it's just them like walking in circles. Agreed, but like that movie still scares me. I think it is masterful. I love the marketing campaign of actually putting lost posters of the actors, kind of going back to Texas Jane saw people genuinely thought it was real. I love a cultural moment that's perfect. I also really love the movie Autopsy of Jane Doe. Fantastic, perfect haunted house movie. It's great, it's super scary, it's awesome.
SPEAKER_00:That movie is so good, it's so simple, and I think that's what makes it so good.
SPEAKER_01:I will say, like circling back to the Blair Witch, I'm not a fan of the cult as we know, but something about the the footage, like the found footage. We were talking about this earlier, Tessa. Like that, that's cool to me. That is such a choice that is needs to be used more, I think.
SPEAKER_02:Them, I think they're fun, paranormal activity, genuinely very scary movie, amazing memory in college when that movie came out. I think I was a freshman, and everyone in the door went to see the movie, and it was a packed theater, and I will never forget that theater experience. Screams like you've never heard, no one slept that night. Pure fun. It was so much fun.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I love paranormal activity 2 specifically. I'm gonna shout out Final Destination. I just watched literally all of them, including the new one. The someone has a premonition of how everyone's gonna die. They save people, those people die in that order and crazy accidents. Okay, love that. So fun, great.
SPEAKER_01:The only thing that I remember from the Final Destination movies is the tanning bed situation.
SPEAKER_02:Tanning behind the logs.
SPEAKER_00:I do not go behind those cars. Everyone, everyone's got one. Mine's the gymnast in the fifth one. Final Destination bloodlines, surprisingly, very good. Kept the same vibe of a little bit camp, a little bit silly, but actually had like a pretty good storyline.
SPEAKER_02:So I was thinking with like newer movie, I think it's horror adjacent. It's a psychological horror. I saw the TV glow is fantastic. I absolutely loved it. It was very, very sad too. And it's like an 824, and it's like two teens who are kind of like outcasts, and they watch essentially like a are you afraid of the dark show together all the time. And then it's like this show doesn't exist, and it kind of jumps timelines. And I'm not gonna reveal really like what the message of this movie is. Um, but it's a it's a queer psychological horror movie, and it is beautiful. It made me cry. It's it's great. I got you. Rapid fire, killer clowns from outer space, one of the most fun movies of all time. I could watch it once a week, okay? Shorty, the little green clown, popcorn guns, cotton candy. It's perfect. I love it. Amazing practical effects. Let's go. Hellraiser, absolutely love it, like my mom. Pinhead, cool character. I love the centibytes, they're very scary. It feels a little dated, it's a little like 90s nine-inch nails, but it all comes from somewhere, and that was the blueprint for every goth person to come. And I just like love that. Let's see. For another modern one, Green Room is a really cool punk A24 movie before A24 was huge. It is a punk band that gets trapped with a Nazi punk band, and it's fight to the death. It absolutely rules. I love it so much. People don't know about like punk history and punk commentary. It's a really good quick history lesson, and then we jump right into horror. I'm going to end on Evil Dead 2. I think Evil Dead and Sam Raimi are a perfect meddling of all the things that are great about horror. Funny, amazing practical effects, actually scary, a lot of good lore, amazing world building. Yeah, that's that's what I got.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you so much for joining us today, Natalie. We loved having your perspective on horror films, why you love them, and some of your favorite ones.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it was really fun. I love talking about movies and horror in general. So I love giving recommendations. It was great.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, now time for our book club pick of the month. We both read Soul Searching by Lila Sage. We had advanced readers' copies. And I will say that Lila Sage is usually hit or miss for me. I tend to have a hard time with the first book that she releases in a series, and I struggled with this a lot. I thought the premise was really cool, but I felt that we could have done so much more character development.
SPEAKER_00:So much more. Truly so much more. I wanted to love it. I like Sweetwater Peak as a setting way more than I like Metal Art. Agreed. Just because I'm not really a cowboy girl, you know. But no, we could have done so much more. I also think that it was an amalgamation of all four of her other couples.
SPEAKER_01:They did not feel original at all. Like building off that. They felt very flat. And another thing I've noticed is there's always another couple or side character situation that I'm more interested in, at least in the first book. So for Done and Dusted, I was waiting for Gus and Teddy's story and on the edge of my seat for that story. And that lived in the forefront of my mind until it was released, and it was the third book in that series. And this time around, I really wanted Clark and Lathe's story. Like that, I was waiting for to get them on the page.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah, I don't know. It was weird, it was fast. I'll give it that. Um, that being said, I do think it was like very, very instill of going on there. The cover's good.
SPEAKER_01:One thing that Lila's always gonna give us is a good cover, and this one does not and this one does not disappoint.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, overall, I gave it a three, and then I sat on it for a while and I thought about it, and I thought about what I wanted to say in this check-in, and I was like, oh, maybe I actually don't like this, and so I changed it to a two, and I think that that fits a little better.
SPEAKER_01:I also gave it a two, just straight out of the bat, and I'm disappointed because I was looking forward to it, but I will read her other stuff.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I'll read the next Sweetwater Peak book for sure.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. That concludes this episode's book talk for next month. We are both going to be reading Hot Wax by ML Rio, and we will let you know our thoughts. As usual, if you have any questions or recommendations, please send them to us via email at ghpl at greenhillslibrary.org.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you guys so much for listening. This has been episode 13. What's your favorite scary movie? I'm Tessa. I'm Sarah, and we are checked out.