Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
Jane Schoenbrun has done something absolutely extraordinary with their latest film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. This is a horror movie by horror fans for horror fans that is also about being a horror fan. The density, the efficiency, the provocation — there is so much to love here, and even more to discuss! This is a fantastic slasher movie just as much as it is a rigorous academic dissection of the slasher genre. It might even end up being our favorite “meta” horror movie ever made. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: 00:00 VHS Worship 02:00...
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Obsession
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
Horror has always been a philosophical genre. From Frankenstein and Faustus to The Thing and The Exorcist, the scariest stories have always explored questions of identity, consciousness, death, and the afterlife. Curry Barker’s Obsession is a proud addition to that canon. In this episode, we’re doing an extraordinarily deep dive into the philosophy of the movie. Specifically, we’re looking at the idea of the two Nikkis — the character as she was before Bear made his fateful wish, and whatever she became afterwards. We consider the relationship between Nikki and “Other Nikki” in...
info_outline![A Clash of Kings, Vol. 13 [Theon 2 / Tyrion 6] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/204511495?height=50&width=50)
A Clash of Kings, Vol. 13 [Theon 2 / Tyrion 6]
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
King’s Landing is full of bad people. In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at some of the most dangerous power players in the viper’s nest at the heart of Westeros. Is Tyrion becoming the villain of A Clash of Kings? Is Maester Pycelle the worst person in the history of the realm? Why is everyone so afraid of Robb Stark and treating him like a White-Walker-level threat? And why oh why do we hate the Greyjoys more than the rest of them put together? LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: 00:00 Hating the Greyjoys 02:08 Recap of Chapters 18:15 The Bloody...
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Jennifer's Body
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
Jennifer’s Body asks the moviegoing audience an important question: what if Regina George was a Deadite? In this episode, we explore the Mean Girls & Evil Dead roots of this movie, before going deeper into its clear influence on modern horror hits like Obsession. Cam makes a detour to investigate the Faustian lineage of most of these films. Maggie explores the innovations that Jennifer’s Body brings to half a dozen horror subgenres. We work together to analyze the fascinating choice to make a horror movie’s signature creature design just be Megan Fox, which leads us into a larger...
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Doom: Revelations
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
Doom: Revelations is so much more than an expansion. In this episode, we passionately argue that this is in fact the fifth modern Doom game in the last decade, an endlessly inventive, engaging, and replayable game in its own right that officially elevates the modern era of Doom into the same conversation as Halo during the Bungie years. Topics include: an ever-evolving endgame, signature weapons, the challenges of FPS boss fights, the secret to replayable campaigns, and how this game is a sequel to every single modern Doom game at the same time. LINKS: , , , Feedback...
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Possum
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
This episode is one of our ‘white whales’. Possum is a bonafide masterpiece of indie horror, one of the most haunting, symbolically-dense, and unnerving movies we’ve ever seen — and we think we’re finally up to the task of analyzing it properly. In this episode we’re diving deep into every single one of the film’s veiled metaphors: what is the puppet? who is the puppet? what does the title mean? We’re also exploring creature design, paradoxical runtimes, genre fusions, and a string of outlandish comparisons ranging from The Babadook to Wuthering Heights....
info_outline![A Clash of Kings, Vol. 12 [Catelyn 2 / Jon 3] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/204017625?height=50&width=50)
A Clash of Kings, Vol. 12 [Catelyn 2 / Jon 3]
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
We have argued for a number of months now that A Clash of Kings was written in thematic couplets, and that has never been more true than it is in this discussion, which juxtaposes Jon and Catelyn to reveal their striking similarities. GRRM also uses the repeated structure of these two chapters to draw out some shocking implications: equating Stannis with the White Walkers and interrogating Catelyn’s treatment of Jon. Maggie investigates the endless blame game that stretches across these pages alongside a worryingly widespread trend of deferred responsibility. Cam revisits our “living...
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Evil Dead Burn
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
Evil Dead Burn is one of the best directed horror movies of the year. It’s gnarly, it’s fast, and it feels like it has something to prove. In this episode, we’re exploring every aspect of the gloriously mean-spirited hunger at the heart of this movie, as well as some problems with runtime, fear factor, and creature design. We also work through some unorthodox comparisons, ranging all the way from Krampus to Succession, before forming some theories about “half deadites” and then zooming out to consider the past and future of this beloved franchise. LINKS: , , , ...
info_outline![Diablo IV [Season of Death Awakening] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/203909640?height=50&width=50)
Diablo IV [Season of Death Awakening]
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
Live service games are finicky and inconsistent, almost by definition. Unfortunately, this fourteenth season of Diablo IV is a major disappointment that feels consistently underbaked. In this episode, we’re doing our full “State of the Game” check-in covering everything from fun factor to the reliquary system, discussing the Helltide-heavy and narrative-light seasonal campaign, revisiting the Barbarian and Spiritborn classes, and then spitballing some ways that Diablo 4 could improve its topsy turvy seasonal model. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: 00:00...
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Evil Dead
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
At one point during this episode, Maggie calls Evil Dead (2013) a miracle. It’s a remake of one of the best and most influential horror movies of all time that has somehow itself become one of the best and most influential horror movies of this century. Topics include: the film’s reverential remixes of the source material, the art of ninety minute horror movies, what makes gore memorable / effective, the best creature design since The Exorcist, provocative comparisons to a few modern classics, and some tricky theories about cursed families and talking metaphors....
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Jennifer’s Body asks the moviegoing audience an important question: what if Regina George was a Deadite? In this episode, we explore the Mean Girls & Evil Dead roots of this movie, before going deeper into its clear influence on modern horror hits like Obsession. Cam makes a detour to investigate the Faustian lineage of most of these films. Maggie explores the innovations that Jennifer’s Body brings to half a dozen horror subgenres. We work together to analyze the fascinating choice to make a horror movie’s signature creature design just be Megan Fox, which leads us into a larger discussion about both the horror of beauty and even the (often queer) horror of female friendship. Finally, we consider the potential and pitfalls of legacy sequels.
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Feedback & Theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com
00:00 Introduction
03:35 Rewatch Impressions
08:17 Mean Girls Meets Evil Dead
10:24 Obsession
16:58 Doctor Faustus
21:58 Subgenre Innovations
32:38 Creature Design
34:45 The Horror of Beauty
43:23 Female Friendship & Queer Horror
01:02:09 Closing (Sequel) Thoughts