PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I recently had the opportunity to interview the guys behind the new podcast 31 for 31. Every day in October they released a new episode discussing a different Halloween/Horror film. From the gonzo pastels of the Japanese cult classic House to the murderous Polish mermaids of The Lure, from the schlock stylings of Rocky Horror to the Gothic excess of Crimson Peak, hosts Chris, Jamie, and Cody thrill to every kind of horror from all corners of the world. And it all culminates on October 31, when they sit down for John Carpenter’s masterpiece Halloween. Jamie is a film editor, currently working on the much anticipated Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched. Chris is a video and audio editor who is now more scared of his backyard in upstate New York than his old neighborhood in Brooklyn. Cody is a writer and film obsessive from Cleveland, OH, currently based in Manhattan.
PopHorror – Hi guys! How are you doing this year?
Podcast 31 for 31 – Been better! We’ve gotten new apartments, new houses, gotten married, and much more. The only guarantee was that watching and talking about horror would always be on the agenda. 2021 has felt like October to us all year long.
PopHorror – I feel that. Also congrats! How long have you all been fans of horror?
Podcast 31 for 31 – Since we were way too young. We have our shared trauma of ruining our childhood sleep by being too curious about the grisliest VHS boxes at Blockbuster. The revitalization of the genre this past decade coincided with our experiences in film school, so we’ve been living for scares even more now.
PopHorror – Haha same here! How did you all meet?
Podcast 31 for 31 – Jamie gave Cody his old film review column in high school. Scan the archives for some hard-hitting journalism. Chris met Jamie working together at the same editing house. Then, Jamie united us and made us a spooky trio when we hatched the idea after Halloween last year.
PopHorror – That’s awesome! What’s your favorite horror movie?
Podcast 31 for 31 – Cody’s is The Thing, Chris’s Videodrome, Jamie’s is Scream, so you know he’s rooting for a Lillard return in the new one. None make it on the list! There’s a difference between our list criteria for Halloween films and great horror films, even when that means we had to strike off some of the classics or our personal favorites.
PopHorror – I’m rooting for Lillard too! How did you come up with this podcast idea?
Podcast 31 for 31 – Jamie did a writing project last year trying to make the perfect playlist leading up to the big day. Especially during quarantine, we thought it was super valuable in lockdown to keep up the spirit of the month when we couldn’t revel in it together. Now, the podcast has brought horror fans together digitally to be reverent for Halloween all month – and the three hosts together to enjoy the genre as we watched and recorded all year!
PopHorror – That’s awesome. What have been some of your favorite movies to cover so far?
Podcast 31 for 31 – Candyman was so interesting to cover in conversation with its new entry from August. Personally, we had a ballcracking each other up recording an episode on one of our not-so-guilty pleasures The Faculty. Had a great time with the mixture of picks with classics like Evil Dead or Nightmare on Elm Street movies meeting Polish musical mermaid horror with The Lure.
PopHorror – I love that you guys covered all types of horror genres. In your episodes what all do you discuss?
Podcast 31 for 31 – We break this into three parts. First, we tend to dive into the plot, atmosphere, performances, and context of the film itself. Next, we try to define it based on our definition of aesthetics, themes, and choices to make a horror movie a Halloween horror film. Lastly, and most importantly, we talk about how each entry flows from the previous episode and into the next – we are a playlist first and foremost!
PopHorror – Nice! Have you seen the new Halloween movie and if so what are your thoughts?
Podcast 31 for 31 – We just watched it together. Did you guys hear that evil dies tonight? As much as we like good horror movies, we may love good-bad horror even more. And, for better or worse, we think Halloween Kills fits squarely into that category. More to come there…
PopHorror – Haha I can’t agree more! Any upcoming horror movies you guys are really looking forward to? Like Scream 5 etc?
Podcast 31 for 31 – Chris and Jamie have a monster soft spot for wendigos. Scott Cooper is finally releasing his film Antlers this year, so that has us very interested. Also, many of the films we’ve covered are getting TV or film reboots or continuations like Hellraiser, so we’d love to revisit the way we did for Candyman. In terms of new trailer drops, we have high hopes but are a bit nervous about Scott Derrickson and Ethan Hawke together again with The Black Phone.
PopHorror – What’s next for you guys?
Podcast 31 for 31 – 25 Days of Christmas? Right now we’re finishing up this batch of episodes for the month, after recording since February, but we’ve been tossing around ideas of how we can expand the concept in the future.
PopHorror – Well I look forward to all that you do and keep up the good work. You guys definitely have one of the most informative and fun podcasts out there! The podcast is available free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
