233 - Double Feature - The Stepford Wives (1975 & 2004) →

It’s a Stepford Wives Double Feature on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey make perfect robot versions of each other, but the replacements just run off together.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Original: The Stepford Wives (1975)
"Joanna Eberhart has come to the quaint little town of Stepford, Connecticut with her family, but soon discovers there lies a sinister truth in the all too perfect behavior of the female residents” (IMDb.com). Just like Rosemary's Baby, which we love so much, this is yet another Ira Levin story about a woman undone by the selfish machinations of her husband after they move to a new home. Too bad this feminist thriller isn't nearly as effective as that.

The Remake: The Stepford Wives (2004)
"[Joanna Eberhart] has a hard time adjusting to Stepford's manicured environs and the overly accommodating attitude of the area women. Soon Joanna begins to suspect that something is not right, and she tries to uncover Stepford's secret” (RottenTomatoes.com). Just like Little Shop of Horrors, which we love so much, this is yet another over-the-top, satirical, horror remake from Frank Oz. Too bad this comedy isn't nearly as bold as that.

Audio Sources:
"Hercules" (1997) produced by Walt Disney Pictures, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"The Producers" (2005) produced by Universal Pictures, et al.
"Science Fiction/Double Feature" written by Richard O'Brien & Richard Hartley and performed by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
"The Stepford Wives" (1975) produced by Palomar Pictures International & Fadsin Cinema Associates
"The Stepford Wives" (2004) produced by Paramount Pictures, et al.
"The Truman Show" produced by Paramount Pictures & Scott Rudin Productions

179 - The Others (2001) & Lake Mungo (2008) →

CW: Suicide, Infanticide, Child Abuse, Rape

It’s Ghostly Grief Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey watch some really depressing horror movies that share more than one specific thematic link. And Chris gets what he asked for!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: The Others (2001)
"A woman who lives in her darkened old family house with her two photosensitive children becomes convinced that the home is haunted” (IMDb.com). The Others takes a very interesting spin on a classic haunting story and then buries under a climactic twist. If you didn't like it the first time you watched it, maybe go back and give it another watch with a different perspective.

The Modern Film: Lake Mungo (2008)
"Strange things start happening after a girl is found drowned in a lake” (IMDb.com). Lake Mungo is a completely po-faced mockumentary about the family left behind after a tragedy and it commits to that concept in ways almost no other horror film does. It could have lost a few of its numerous ideas and spent more time developing the ones that really matter to the movie's core themes (and is it just a recreation of Twin Peaks' primary mystery?), but it's definitely worth watching to find out if it's your thing.

Audio Sources:
"Lake Mungo" produced by Mungo Productions, et al.
"The Others" produced by Canal+, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones

157 - Double Feature - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) & The Invasion (2007) →

Best of 2020 - #3 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

It’s a pod people double feature on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey shed all emotion and join the collective in peace!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Second Adaptation: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
"When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, California, where they replicate the residents into emotionless automatons one body at a time” (IMDb.com). Less reactionary that it's '56 predecessor and the Jack Finney novel on which it's based, the '78 version's slow boil and creeping terror are exactly as effective as the film's modern-day hype would suggest.

The Fourth Adaptation: The Invasion (2007)
"As a Washington, D.C. psychiatrist unearths the origin of an alien epidemic, she also discovers her son might be the only way it can be stopped” (IMDb.com). Take the 1978 classic, remove the character building and charm, and add some mildly effective personal tension and mindless action scenes and you'll have this fourth attempt at reinventing the wheel. The Invasion seems like it might be worth watching until it just gives up about halfway through and drowns in its own genericism.

Audio Sources:
"Alien" produced by Brandywine Productions
"Amazing Grace" performed by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard
"The Invasion" produced by Warner Bros., et al.
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956) produced by Walter Wanger Productions
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978) produced by Solofilm
"Monster in the Closet" (Brooklyn Nine-Nine S04E06) produced by Fremulon, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Pod People" (Mystery Science Theater 3000 S04E03) produced by Best Brains
"S&M Present" (Robot Chicken S01E09) produced by Stoopid Monkey, et al.
"Science Fiction/Double Feature" written by Richard O'Brien & Richard Hartley and performed by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
"Split" produced by Universal Pictures, et al.