…. 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.

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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!

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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 give it a listen here. It’s very different from the soundtrack that actually got used!

And finally, he also also mentioned a haunting little comic by Ehud Lavski about a mysterious radio station. He reblogged that one on his Tumblr. You can click on the thumbnail below to read the whole comic.

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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”:

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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.

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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:

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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!

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P.S. For reference, here is the XXXenophile cover we talk about in the beginning of the episode. (Even though it’s for an “adult” comic, the cover itself is more-or-less safe for work.) Click to embiggen.

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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!

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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?

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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.)

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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 hear traffic outside and Jennifer’s cat meowing, although hopefully that last part is endearing. Anyway. We’ll try to set things up a little better next time.

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Bonus Video
Here’s a fan-made music video for the Scissor Sisters song Return to Oz that Michael mentioned:

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Bonus Tumblr Meme

For those who haven’t seen it, here’s the “Public Service Announcement” Michael mentions making on Tumblr, in a post that’s received over 25,000 notes so far:

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Apologies for the delay with this episode — it’s even later than we said it was going to be when we said it was going to be late.

We needed a little extra time to pull this one together. We were both saddened to learn of the recent passing of Wes Craven, who pretty much single-handedly reinvented the horror movie genre over the course of his career — not just once, but three times.

Montoure talks about movies that make you feel unsafe, Jennifer talks about getting to meet Robert Englund, and so much more.

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Guest Cat: Abby, Jennifer’s grumpy old lady kitty

Official Drink of this Episode: Woodchuck Fall Harvest Hard Cider with cinnamon whiskey. It’s ridiculously good. You should try it.

Pumpkin Bat: Pumpkin Bat! Here’s a picture, as promised.

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