This Week in Horror History | The Exorcist, The Faculty & Body Snatchers (Dec 22–28) - Weekly Spooky: Horror Stories & Scary Tales

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Between December twenty second and twenty eighth, horror keeps looking
up and realizing the sky is not on our side.
Sometimes the invasion is subtle, a foggy city, a friendly face,
a voice that sounds like someone you love, until it doesn't.

(00:24):
Sometimes it's louder, cold war nerves, Toho spectacle, the sense
that something vast has arrived and humanity is just background noise.
And sometimes the threat isn't from above at all. Sometimes
it's already inside the house, inside the body, inside the room,

(00:51):
where people whisper prayers and hold on until morning, hoping
whatever's there finally lets go. This is the week where
the holidays don't bring comfort, they bring the perfect cover.

(01:16):
Welcome back to this week in horror history. I'm your host,
Enrique Kuto, and this episode covers December twenty second through
December twenty eighth, seven days where paranoia blooms, exorcisms end,
and the holidays get quietly beautifully ruined. Tonight's episode features

(01:39):
a famous Midwestern exorcism reaching its final exhausting days, a
high school getting taken over one smile at a time,
A landmark possession story hits theaters and changes horror forever
and a classic Japanese sci fi invasion film drops right

(02:00):
into this week like a shiny radioactive ornament. Then after
the break, we're doing a deep cut spotlight on one
of the coldest, smartest remakes ever made, Invasion of the
Body Snatchers from nineteen seventy eight, and will close out
with a birthday roll, a then and now and a
weekly recommendation to carry you into the dark. December twenty third,

(02:28):
nineteen twenty eight, The Exorcism of Emma Schmidt aka Anna
Ecklund reaches its end in Irling, Iowa. If you've ever
gone down the rabbit hole of real exorcism cases, and
that is in quotes, this is one of the biggest
names in the conversation. According to accounts of the case,

(02:52):
the final stretch of the nineteen twenty eight sessions ran
December fifteenth through December twenty third, eight brutal days inside
a convent. Well, that's a sentence I never thought i'd say.
But I also believe Father Theophilus Riisinger performed the rite
while the sisters tried to keep order around a woman

(03:14):
said to be experiencing violent possession. Whether you read this
as faith folklore, hysteria or something even darker. The element
that stands out the most is the duration, the sheer
grind of it, right through the heart of the holiday season,
but over just in time to still have a nice

(03:37):
gathering with or dervs on Christmas Eve. And this year,
in twenty twenty five, we saw the release of The Ritual,
starring Al Pacino and Dan Stevens, a film all about
the Exorcism. It was released in theaters during a very
crowded time in the middle of the summer. So I
haven't caught it yet, but maybe it's worth checking out.

(04:02):
December twenty fifth, nineteen ninety eight. The Faculty infects a
high school and turns teen horror into a Christmas week
body Snatcher party, released on Christmas Day. Robert Rodriguez is
The Faculty is what happens when you take Invasion of
the Body Snatcher's DNA, pour it into a nineties teen movie,

(04:25):
and then spike it with paranoia and horror creature nastiness.
It cost around fifteen million dollars and earned roughly forty
million dollars in the US and Canada, often cited as
sixty three million worldwide, depending on how you take the
grosses pretty solid theater business for a sharp, nasty, little

(04:46):
crowd pleaser that's been a favorite of mine for a
very long time. Just the idea of the school faculty
going haywire and coming after the students is something that I,
as a person who dropped out of high school, find
very poignant and creepy and believable in a lot of ways.
When I was a teenager, I often mistaked this film

(05:09):
for another film that came out around the same time
called Disturbing Behavior, which was also about all the adults
turning on the kids, but not quite the alien invasion element.
But The Faculty is an absolute classic. I revisited it
a few years ago and loved it. Loved it. If
you're thinking about giving it a revisit, well, it's easy

(05:30):
to find and free to watch on tub and the
Roku channel. It's also available on Paramount Plus with your subscription,
and of course you could rent it wherever you usually
do that sort of thing. December twenty sixth, nineteen seventy three,
The Exorcist arrives and the genre never fully recovers man. Apparently,

(05:56):
exorcisms and Christmas go together like a peanut buttering cranberry sauce.
William Friedkin's The Exorcist opened in the US on December
twenty sixth, and, no exaggeration, it rewired what mainstream audiences
believed horror was allowed to do. It reportedly cost around
twelve million dollars to make and went on to earn

(06:18):
four hundred and forty million dollars worldwide across all its releases,
making it one of the most financially successful horror films
ever made. This is the moment possession horror stops being
just a spooky idea and becomes a cultural event. Even
if you've seen the film a dozen times, it's still very,

(06:41):
very layered. There's more to catch with every single viewing
of The Exorcist, and of course, if you're Beetlejuice, it
just gets funnier every damn time. And right now it's
currently available to rent on your favorite rental platforms like
Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home. So why

(07:01):
not revisit The Exorcist the day after Christmas as it
was intended to be enjoyed. Plus, it's a lot less
offensive than vomiting pea soup on your relatives. December twenty eighth,
nineteen fifty seven. The Mysterians lands in Japan, Space invasion

(07:22):
cinema with Cold war nerves and that classic Toho spectacle.
Released theatrically in Japan on December twenty eighth. The Mysterians,
also known as Earth Defense Force, is glossy science fiction
with a kaiju adjacent bite. Aliens arrive, giant robots stomp around,
and the whole thing hums with post war anxiety. It's

(07:47):
not horror in the strictest sense, but I don't know.
I think that if you have giant monsters stomping around, well,
that's pretty horrific. I mean, if that happened to you
on the way home from work, would you would tell somebody? Right?
I mean I would unless it happened every day, I guess.
The film features invasion, helplessness, and that gnawing feeling that

(08:09):
the future is arriving, whether you're ready or not. It
looks like right now. The only way you can watch
The Mysterians or Earth Defense Force is by checking it
out on the Criterion Channel with a membership. This episode
of This Week in Horror History is sponsored by Aspire

(08:32):
Health Energy, and it's the kind of energy drink I
actually like Unextreme. It's a total antithesis of the nineties apparently,
no sugar, no calories, just a smooth, steady boost with
eighty milligrams of natural caffeine from Green Tea and Gharana,
so you're not vibrating like you just opened a cursed

(08:55):
artifact in a haunted basement. It's lightly carbonated, easy on
the stomach, and the flavors are legit raspberry aci sweet cherry,
mango lemonade. I'm actually very caffeine sensitive, so having a
naturally sourced energy drink means a lot to me if
I want to stay up late recording podcasts for you

(09:15):
guys without talking somehow even faster than I already do.
And my spookies get the highest exclusive discount. Just head
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(09:38):
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All right, my spookies, take a breath, because we're about
to step into San Francisco. I know you're scared already,
but hold on. In nineteen seventy eight, it's foggy, it's crowded,

(10:03):
it's beautiful, and the people you love are starting to
look like they've been replaced by something that just now
learned how to smile. Welcome back. Let's jump right into

(10:27):
our deep cut spotlight. It's Invasion of the Body Snatchers
from nineteen seventy eight. What helps this remake stand apart
are a few elements. One of them, of course, is
that it's so intense and creepy. A lot of people
think this is the original, and that later versions that

(10:49):
came out in the nineties and early two thousands those
are the remakes. But no, no, the original Invasion of
the Body Snatchers came out in the fifties, and while
it has a lot to like about it, the nineteen
seventy eight remake has an immense fan base, and rightfully so.
It's a film that really does top the original in

(11:13):
many ways. But of course I don't want to crap
on the original. The original had a lot less to
work with. It was a much smaller budget film. The
nineteen seventy eight remake, Well, it had everything going for
it from cast and crew and director, starring Donald Sutherland,
who just owns every single scene he is. He so

(11:34):
brilliantly sells the paranoia. The film takes the old premise
of pods copying people while they're asleep and turns it
into an urban nightmare where alien replacements feel less like
a sci fi trick and more like modern life doing
what it does, isolating you, exhausting you, and making you

(11:58):
doubt your own sense. On a reported budget of about
three point five million dollars, it brought in twenty four
point nine million at the domestic box office, an undeniable
hit for something so relentlessly bleak, and bleak really is
the word. This is not a cozy monster of the week.

(12:20):
It's a slow realization that the crowd around you has
stopped being human and you are the last one who noticed.
So what makes it worth pulling off the shelf this week? Well,
first of all, the mood, the fog, the sound design.
Everything feels just a little wrong, like the city is

(12:45):
quietly holding its breath. The performances play it straight, which
makes the paranoia feel very very real instead of being campy,
and the ending is the kind of cinematic gut punch
which you never ever forget. And I do want to
mention that because I'm a nineties kid, my favorite version

(13:08):
of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is actually Body Snatchers
from nineteen ninety three, directed by Abel Ferrara. I think
that movie is so creepy, so scary. It takes place
on an air Force base, a military base, I believe,
instead of in the open city, and it has a
lot to say about how you have to fit into
certain communities to get along, and how fitting in could

(13:31):
be the demise of everyone. But that one's available on Tube,
by the way, But we're talking about the nineteen seventy
eight original, which I think deserves all the love in
the world and a revisit. It is also available on
tub for free to watch with ads. You can find
it on Pluto as well Plex as well. You can
rent it on Fandango at home, Apple TV, and you

(13:52):
can watch it on Amazon Prime with a subscription. So
put it on at night, right when your home is quiet,
Then look out the window and ask yourself a simple question.
If someone replaced you, would anybody notice or ask yourself
a nineteen ninety three question, where you're gonna run, where

(14:16):
you're gonna hide? Nowhere because there's no one like you left. Now,
let's jump into our horror birthdays for December twenty second
through twenty eight and raise a blood spattered party hat
for a few folks celebrating this week. December twenty second,

(14:39):
nineteen seventy four. Heather Donahue is born, the face of
the Blair Witch Project, forever linked to found footage, dread
and that did we just walk in a circle kind
of panic? Heather truly made the Blair Witch special, and
in part it was because of her fearlessness and willingness
to be vulnerable, even in a way that people would

(15:02):
later make fun of. The moment in The Blair Witch
Project where she holds the camera in her face and
cries and begs for forgiveness and just sobs and fogs
up the camera and the tears and snots start running,
That is what makes the movie work. It was, of
course parodied and made fun of by hundreds and hundreds

(15:24):
of people, but that's because it was memorable, and because
most people would not be comfortable to put a performance
like that on camera. Happy Birthday, Heather December twenty fourth,
nineteen ten. Fritz Lieber is born a giant of fantasy,
horror and sci fi, sword and sorcery, urban dread, and

(15:48):
genre wit all in one brain. The man modernized horror
with his books Our Lady of Darkness, Conjure Wife, Gathered Darkness,
The Sinful Ones, and so many short stories and other books.
Happy Birthday, Fritz, December twenty fifth, nineteen forty nine. Sissy

(16:10):
Spacek is a Christmas baby. Carrie made her an icon,
and decades later she still carries that eerie, grounded intensity
in every role she takes on. Have a great birthday
and Merry Christmas. Sissy Spacek and another of Horror's lady legends.
Born on December twenty seventh, nineteen fifty eight. Barbara Crampton

(16:35):
from Reanimator and From Beyond as well as many modern
horror movies. Not only as an actress, but as a producer,
Barbara Crampton is one of the real ones. She is
incredible in anything you put her in. Whether you want
her to be sleazy or classy or anything in between,
you can count on Barbara Crampton to bring it and
to bring the scream when is necessary. She's definitely scream

(16:58):
Queen Royalty with the true range. Happy birthday, Barbara Crampton
and finally born on December twenty eighth, nineteen oh sorry,
eighteen eighty eight. F W. Murnow, silent era legend and
the director behind No Sparratu in nineteen twenty two, the

(17:19):
original vampire movie. The Imagery of No s Feratu still
feels like a personal nightmare to many many people who've
enjoyed it over the years. A very happy birthday, f W. Murnow.
And for our then and now we talk about The Exorcist,

(17:42):
released on December twenty sixth, nineteen seventy three to present day.
When The Exorcist opened the day after Christmas, it didn't
just scare people, it changed a genre as we know it.
The mainstream would never be the same. The film's realism
and its refusal to wink or show its hand, the

(18:03):
way it treats faith and fear as equally heavy forces.
It's the blueprint so many modern possession stories still chase
after desperately to this day. One of my favorite things
about the Exorcist is that I am not a religious person,
but it's like the marvel cinematic universe, but Catholicism. When

(18:25):
you watch The Exorcist, and to an extent the omen
as well, when you put on The Exorcist, you are
a Roman Catholic for the entire runtime of the film.
You learn the rules, you learn the mythos, and you
get scared. As we mentioned before, the Exorcist isn't available
to stream free anywhere or even with a subscription right now.

(18:49):
You'll have to rent it or buy it digitally wherever
you like to do that sort of thing, like Amazon
Prime or Fandango at home. But a perfect then and
now double feature would be watch The ex x Orcyst
and then put on just about any modern possession movie
trying to be the next Exorcist. You'll feel the difference

(19:09):
in the first five minutes. Many have come close, damn close,
but no one has truly unseated the King. And for
our weekly recommendation, I really suggest you watch the aforementioned
The Faculty from nineteen ninety eight. It's fast, funny, and

(19:31):
nastier than people remember, and because it's a spot the
impostor movie, it becomes an instant party watch with friends
trying to figure out who the weird little creature worm
alien things are living inside of is a lot of
fun if you're into that kind of thing, and we
obviously are here, so give the faculty a rewatch, and

(19:55):
I assure you it'll be a great palate cleanser for
after your holiday goings on Again, it's available to watch
on Paramount Plus with your subscription and on the Roku
Channel two B and Amazon prop And that's your tour
through December twenty second through twenty eighth in horror history.

(20:15):
If you found a new movie to watch or a
weird anniversary rabbit hole to fall into, do me a
favor and share this episode with a friend who loves
spooky stuff. And if you want more, it's all right
here on the Weekly Spooky Feed. Before this show, you
heard a brand new Christmas horror story written by the
one and only Keith Tomlin, really worth a listen, And

(20:37):
tomorrow we have another on Wednesday, ready to scare you
into your holiday, and of course, have a very merry Christmas,
a safe and secure holiday with your loved ones. And
while you're at it, maybe watch a couple horror movies.
I mean, Silent Night, Deadly Night, ain't gonna watch itself. Kids,
you got to put that thing on. It's always Christmas

(21:01):
on the warm side of the door. So until next Tuesday,
I'm your host, Enrique Kuto telling you our days are
numbered because that's how you tell them, apart till next time,

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This Week in Horror History | The Exorcist, The Faculty & Body Snatchers (Dec 22–28)

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