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Greetings, and welcome back to Horror Business. We have one awesome episode in store for you guys, and we’re talking about 2003’s Shaun Of The Dead and 2010’s Juan Of The Dead.
First and foremost, we want to give a shoutout to our sponsors over at Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations, the premiere screen-printing company of the Lehigh Valley. Chris Reject and his merry band of miscreants are ready to work with you to bring to life your vision of a t-shirt for your business, band, project, or whatever else it is you need represented by a shirt, sweater, pin, or coozy. Head on over to www.xlvacx.com to check them out. Thank you also to Essex Coffee Roasters, our newest sponsor. Head to www.essexcoffeeroasters.com to check out their fine assortment of coffee, and enter CINEPUNX in the promo code for ten percent off your order! And as always thank you to our Patreon subscribers. Your support means the world to us and we are eternally
We start by talking about what we’ve done involving horror recently. Liam talks the films The Evil, Jumbo, and the miniseries Salem’s Lot. Justin talks about the series Supernatural wrapping up and how that has impacted him. We briefly talk about the films The Wolf Of Snow Hollow and His House.
Up first is Shaun Of The Dead. Justin opens up the conversation by claiming that this film is one of two “horror comedies” that is a perfect balance of horror, comedy, and “heart”, and that the film stands on its own not just as a parody of Romero films, but as an actual entry into the wider field of the subgenre of zombie films in horror. We briefly go off on a tangent about the work of Edgar Wright and how the Cornetto Trilogy is his crowning achievement.
We discuss how the film understands that more than likely in the event of a real zombie apocalypse it wouldn’t be random humans you’d be facing as zombies, it would very likely be your friends and neighbors. The film’s quick establishment of the Romero-esque social commentary is touched upon, and how the film is so much more than jokes and gore but rather like its namesake it’s actually saying something. Some of the film’s themes of rejecting adulthood, abrasive masculinity, and immaturity are touched upon.
We talk about how Pete, the quasi-villain of the first act isn’t really a bad guy at all unless viewed through the lens of someone like Shaun who doesn’t have their act together. The melancholy theme of outgrowing your friends is touched upon. The loveable character of Ed actually being one of the worst characters is touched upon. Justin talks about how some of the emotionally heavy scenes in the movie affected him, and how some of them are smartly used to humorously break down some classic zombie film tropes. We conclude by talking about how this film was ahead of the curve when it came to the zombie culture boom of the ‘10s.
Up next is Juan Of The Dead. We begin by talking about how the film feels like a ninety-minute set up to justify a pun in the title. Liam points out that while it’s not the worst zombie movie he’s seen, it definitely doesn’t live up to its namesake.
Liam talks about how he finds the film rather funny in how it relates to the culture of Cuba and how it smartly zings Spanish and American imperialism.
We talk about how Cuba is largely removed from zombie culture; in that it’s distanced from the very idea of a zombie. Justin talks about how the films initial reaction to zombies is heavily influenced by the films deeply entrenched Catholic culture by jumping to people who are possessed or vampires, and then how the government is blaming capitalist dissidents.
Cuban film culture is briefly touched upon, in that it’s almost non-existent. Finally, we dig deep into the problematic “gay panic” attitude of the film, and how even though it’s reflective of an aspect of Latinx culture it’s still very off-putting.
First and foremost, thank you to everyone and anyone who donated on Patreon, checked this episode out, or shared a tweet/shared a post on FB/gave us love by recommending us to someone. We love you forever for listening and donating. Any questions, comments, suggestions for movies and guests, or if you yourself want to join us for a movie viewing or even an episode, can be sent to [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Thanks always to Justin Miller, Jacob Roberts, and Doug Tilley for their technical contributions and fliers, Mike Smaczylo for the shirts and fliers (you can check more of his work out here), and also thanks to Josh Alvarez for the theme song, Chris, Brad, and LVAC for the support and buttons (check them out at www.xlvacx.com and on Twitter), Essex Coffee Roasters (www.essexcoffeeroasters.com) and a HUGE thank you to anyone who retweeted us or shared something on Facebook that we posted. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @thehorrorbiz666, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/thehorrorbiz66, check out our Spotify account at Cinepunx, and remember to rate, review, and subscribe to us on ITunes. In fact, if you write us a review, email us with your mailing address and we’ll send you some free pins and stickers! Check out www.cinepunx.com for more info on some of our other podcasts, some ultra stylish Cinepunx related merchandise, and how you can donate to our Patreon! Until next time…thanks!
