Advertise on podcast: The Final Girl on 6th Ave

The Final Girl looks a little different for 2026... in the best way! Join in for the first episode of 2026 where we uncover what it really means to be in the horror genre, where the term "elevated horror" came from, and what I believe it means to have so many different types of fear depicted on screen. SOURCES/INFORMATION Laing, R.D. The Divided Self. Kristeva, Julia. Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Freud, Sigmund. Beyond the Pleasure Principle. Luckhurst, Roger. The Trauma Question. Haneke, Michael. Interviews collected in Film Comment and Cahiers du Cinéma. Carroll, Noël. The Philosophy of Horror. Jancovich, Mark. Rational Fears: American Horror in the 1950s. Jancovich, Mark et al. Defining Cult Movies. Sobchack, Vivian. The Address of the Eye: A Phenomenology of Film Experience.  Chapters (00:00:00) - Final Girl on 6th Avenue: Reviewing Films(00:01:34) - What Is Elevated Horror?(00:05:02) - What Is Elevated Horror?(00:10:19) - Funny Games(00:13:45) - Ethical Horror(00:17:08) - The Piano Teacher: A Horror Film Without Violence(00:26:36) - The Piano Teacher: Rape Scene(00:31:18) - Hereditary: The Trauma of Repetition(00:39:53) - Hereditary: The Trauma Narrative(00:44:50) - Possession in the Elevator(00:55:25) - Under The Skin(01:04:55) - Under the Skin: Slow Cinema Explained(01:08:26) - Is Elevated Horror Bad For Audiences?(01:13:02) - The Importance of Elevated Horror(01:20:03) - Final Girl on 6th Avenue

Don't you find the paradox that loneliness is common but isolating interesting? Yeah, me too. Listen in as I discuss 5 of my favorite examples of the human condition, including Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005), and Happiness (1998). 

Based on Andrew Neiderman's novel by the same name, Pin (1988) is a dark and emotional journey of a family as they navigate Leon's growing relationship with an anatomy dummy.  SOURCES/INFORMATION IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095871/  Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pin_(film)  Starburst Article: https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/dvd-review-pin-1988/#:~:text=Pin%2C%20however%2C%20is%20a%20different,Pin%20is%20talking%20to%20him. 

These films don't just challenge you, they change you. Join me in questioning reality and sanity.    SOURCES/INFORMATION Inland Empire: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460829/ Salo: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073650/ The Holy Mountain: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071615/  Dancer in the Dark: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168629/  Mirror: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072443/ 

Beneath the peeling wallpaper and flickering lights lurks something sinister—an evil force tied to their past and the choices they made to survive. Unpack Remi Weekes’s haunting directorial debut, His House—a psychological horror film that blends supernatural terror with the real-life trauma of displacement with me.   SOURCES/INFORMATION IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8508734/  The Anglo-Egpytian Conquest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Egyptian_conquest_of_Sudan#:~:text=The%20Anglo%2DEgyptian%20conquest%20of,Sudan%20became%20independent%20in%201956 Survivor Guilt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor_guilt 

In this electrifying episode, we dissect Danny Boyle’s post-apocalyptic masterwork—from its hauntingly deserted London to its jarring moral dilemmas. Rage never rests.   SOURCES/INFORMATION IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289043/ Rage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rage_(emotion)  Mad Cow Disease: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy#Spread_to_humans  Mad Cow Disease Symptoms: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/creutzfeldt-jakob-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20371226  Ebola: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola  Rabies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies Production Notes: https://cinema.com/articles/1465/28-days-later-production-notes.phtml#google_vignette  Deep Focus Review: https://www.deepfocusreview.com/definitives/28-days-later/ 

RIP to your comfort zones, people. Some stories are so harrowing, they blur the line between reality and nightmare. In this gripping episode, we dive into ten of the most unsettling documentaries ever made—films that shook audiences, sparked outrage, and left psychological scars that linger long after the credits roll.   SOURCES/INFORMATION Voyeur: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7588790/ Who Took Johnny: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2704816/?ref_=tturv_ov_bk Capturing The Friedmans: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0342172/  Abducted in Plain Sight: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3444312/ Tell Them You Love Me: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29142525/  Caniba: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7225942/  Paradise Lost: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117293/ The Act of Killing: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375605/  Tickled: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5278506/  The Contestant: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13940818/  Finders Keepers: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3462002/ 

Lately, we cannot even watch the news or go to a work conference without talking about AI. AI is being utilized everywhere, all the time, whether you know it or not. Alex Garland's 2014 film Ex Machina warns us of the evolution of AI, what it is capable of, and being careful what you wish for. ** this podcast episode was generated using an AI cloned version of my voice using ElevenLabs ** SOURCES/INFORMATION IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/  Mary in a Black and White Room: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_argument The Turing Test: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test  What Is It Like to Be a Bat?: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_It_Like_to_Be_a_Bat%3F  Hubris: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hubris

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg and shot in raw Dogme 95 style, The Celebration is a blistering critique of family, trauma, and denial—where truth is the most explosive guest. Raise your glasses, folks, and brace for impact, because this film changed what indie films look like forever.   SOURCES/INFORMATION IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154420/ Dogme 95: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogme_95 Incest: https://patient.info/doctor/incest Child Sexual Abuse Attributions: Are They Different Depending on Mothers' vs Fathers' Reactions?: https://journals.copmadrid.org/apj/art/apj2025a5 Cinematic Depictions of Boyhood Sexual Victimization: https://www.richardgartner.com/fcinematicZ.html Why Do People Sexually Abuse Children?: https://www.ceopeducation.co.uk/parents/articles/why-do-people-sexually-abuse-children/ 

Curtis is a hardworking family man haunted by apocalyptic visions—ominous clouds, deafening thunder, and a sense that something terrible is coming. Is it a supernatural warning or the onset of mental illness? As he builds a shelter in his backyard, tension mounts within his family and his community.   SOURCES/INFORMATION IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1675192/ Paranoid Schizophrenia: https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/schizophrenia-paranoia Catatonic Schizophrenia: http://webmd.com/schizophrenia/mental-catatonic-schizophrenia-overview Disorganized Schizophrenia: https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/hebephrenic-schizophrenia Director Interview Quotes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Shelter 

Michael Haneke's The Seventh Continent (1989) is a harrowing look into a seemingly normal family. Haneke's first feature film will leave you shocked, appalled, and change your perspective on life in a way that you never could have imagined. SOURCES/INFORMATION IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098327/  The Criterion Collection: https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/6323-michael-haneke-trilogy?srsltid=AfmBOoq9I-ccwFaO273qPO8Bz_K03xFcU7YsDenM1UJ6E3yg005Ep3S5  Nihilism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihilism

In 1992, Benny's Video would have absolutely rocked my world. I can tell you that today, it still does. This timeless and gut-wrenching film highlights what it means to be a person in the world today of continuous and increasingly violent media. If nothing else, watch this film to learn about yourself.   SOURCES/INFORMATION IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103793/  Narcissus: https://www.worldhistory.org/Narcissus/  Time-Image Discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/askphilosophy/comments/r1z7u0/deleuze_time_image/ Supermodernity, Capital, and Narcissus: The French Connection to Michael Haneke’s Benny’s Video by Mattias Frey: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=cb14102e47fbec4eafe9a94d2ceb5cc710d74e89  Airplane Game: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airplane_game

I fear that presenting any context before listening will spoil everything that is in store for you in this episode, so I will not. Here is my first David Lynch episode, and I will ensure it is not my last.    SOURCES/INFORMATION IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074486/#:~:text=Henry%20Spencer%20tries%20to%20survive,of%20his%20newborn%20mutant%20child.  Spermatozoon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spermatozoon  Straight Stories: Class, Exploitation and Americana in the FIlms of David Lynch: https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/33547/1/Roberts_LR_Film_MbR_2023.pdf Between Self and Other: Abjection and Unheimlichkeit in the Films of David Lynch by Adam Dianiel Jones: https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/bitstream/10443/1230/1/Jones%2c%20A.%2011.pdf  Powers of Horror by Julia Kristeva: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powers_of_Horror

Wish you had gone to Sundance Film Festival this year? Never fear! I attended during the opening weekend and am here to provide you with all of the films I was able to see. Kick back, relax, and let me provide you with a Sundance 2025 recap.   SOURCES/INFORMATION April (2024): https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/67531c96707ccd6b2d08815e LUZ (2025): https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/675329b368b8b7eb9bfe4842 The Ugly Stepsister (2025): https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/67532dd9707ccd17c608a2b4 Andre is an Idiot (2025): https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/675333aa68b8b73e67fe584a The Things You Kill (2025): https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/6753302768b8b73647fe4f26  Sukkwan Island (2025): https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/67532ef068b8b7b657fe4dba  Predators (2025): https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/6753318d68b8b7e6f3fe531c  The Thing with Feathers (2025): https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/67532523707ccdd157088fb0 

Hello dear listeners! Welcome back to another wonderful year together. Let's start 2025 off right together by talking about Curry Barker's award winning short film, The Chair (2023). SOURCES/INFORMATION The Film: https://youtu.be/mhazCS14Tas IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15408560/ Alzheimer's: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20350447#:~:text=Symptoms%20such%20as%20memory%20loss,Explain%20symptoms%20of%20another%20illness. Schizophrenia: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizophrenia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354443 Hallucinations vs Delusions: https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/hallucinations-vs-delusions#schizophrenia Substance Abuse Disorder: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/drug-addiction/symptoms-causes/syc-20365112