The 80s Movie Podcast

Tag: cult films

  • Eating Raoul (1982): Paul Bartel’s Cult Film – The 80s Movie Podcast 142

    Eating Raoul (1982): Paul Bartel’s Cult Film – The 80s Movie Podcast 142

    This week on The 80s Movie Podcast, host Edward Havens explores Paul Bartel’s 1982 cult film Eating Raoul.

    Paul and Mary Bland dream of opening a restaurant. But their plan to pay for it turns to murder.

    First, we trace Bartel’s early fascination with movies and animation, from his time at UPA through UCLA and low-budget filmmaking.

    Then we follow Bartel and writer Richard Blackburn as they develop the story. They make the film on a small budget with borrowed equipment and help from friends and family.

    Meanwhile, we look at performances by Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Ed Begley Jr., Buck Henry, Edie McClurg, and Susan Saiger.

    Next, we track the movie from its Park City premiere through theatrical expansion, critical reception, and home video.

    Finally, we explore Bartel’s later career and the making and release history that shaped this distinctive 1980s independent film.

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  • Prince of Darkness (1987) and John Carpenter’s Science of Horror – The 80s Movie Podcast 088

    Prince of Darkness (1987) and John Carpenter’s Science of Horror – The 80s Movie Podcast 088

    This week on The 80s Movie Podcast, host Edward Havens examines John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness as a film about knowledge, belief, and apocalyptic disorder.

    We look at how Carpenter stages the story inside a sealed church basement. The setting creates pressure. It also turns the film into a study of containment. A mysterious cylinder sits at the center of that study.

    Carpenter frames the film around the tension between science and religion. However, he does not treat either one as a simple answer. Instead, he places both systems under strain and lets the film test their limits.

    We also consider Carpenter’s formal control. He uses repetition, enclosed spaces, and abrupt shifts in scale to shape the viewer’s response. As a result, the film works through atmosphere as much as narrative. Its power comes from accumulation.

    In addition, Prince of Darkness invites interpretation on a symbolic level. The film’s images of infection, transmission, and possession suggest a world in which evil moves like a force of nature. That idea gives the film a bleak and modern texture.

    Although the film received mixed notice on release, its critical reputation has grown. Today, it stands as one of Carpenter’s most ambitious works. It also remains one of his most rigorously constructed horror films.

     

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