But Why Tho? The Podcast

This week, we're continuing the spooky season with an episode dedicated to Clive Barker's Hellraiser. Initially, a novella from Barker named the Hellbound Heart, we talk about Hellraiser's production, story, and how it rocked the horror world. Plus, we get into the weirdness of cenobites, the commentary on pleasure and pain, plus we find out about the Hellraiser Christmas special comic, because of course. And yes, we talk about some of the other 10 films in the franchise.

At Fantastic Fest 2019 I got the opportunity to see The Mortuary Collection, an anthology film by director Ryan Spindell that gave me the same feelings I got when I saw Michael Dougherty's Trick 'r Treat for the first time. Set in a funeral home the film follows a young girl as she requests to be trained as an assistant to the home's mortician Montgomery Dark, played by the iconic Clancy Brown. As he shows her around he recounts 4 tales of terrifying and unique deaths in an attempt to shock her, but not all is what it seems.  As I left my screening for The Mortuary Collection I knew I had found one of my top films of the festival and one of my favorite anthologies in horror. I was lucky enough to sit down with Spindell and discuss the film, practical effects work, and how storytelling is the most important part of horror. Hit play and listen as Spindell explains the film's journey from his short the The Baby Sitter Murders, shot as a proof of concept, to it's final form. Plus, learn how the crew brought th

There are more superhero stories in the public consciousness than ever before. However, they tend to focus on extremely similar characters to one another. Fortunately, as the superhero world becomes more diverse, ever so slowly Dennis Lui is pushing it forward. Lui is the creator of Raising Dion, a comic-turned-Netflix Original series focused on a young boy discovering his power after the death of his father and his mother's struggle to raise him and protect him from those who will hurt him. Liu, with the help of his wife Marie Iida, has turned his creative eye to LING. LING is a new comic book and short film centered on an Asian-American teenage girl who, after meeting a three-legged fox name Kitsy, is more than what she seems. Hit play and learn more about how LING came to be,  why Liu and Iida chose the magical girl genre to situate the story in, and how important it is for creators to support others in their community as they come up. To watch LING, the short, see the video below. To order a physical cop

Memory: The Origins of Alien premiered at Fantastic Fest 2019 from director Alexandre Philippe, known for 78/52. In Memory, Philippe explores the origins of one science fiction's most iconic films, Ridley Scott's Alien. But, this isn't just a production history, instead he discusses the myths and culture that formed the story of the film and how it could have only happened with the trio of Dan O'Bannon, H.R. Giger, and Ridley Scott. Beyond this, Philipped maps the history of the iconic "chestburster" scene, where it came from and how it was made. I was lucky enough to get to speak with Philippe at the festival and discuss why he chose the "Chestburster" scene, the role that myth plays in film, what sparked him to include some of the more emotional moments with his interviewees, and why making the film accessible to non-fans was important. 

It's October, so we're getting creepy, cooky, and all together ooky in our first spooky month episode topic: The Addams Family. With the new animated film hitting theaters this weekend, we thought it was time to visit America's favorite family and break down their long history from 1930s cartoon strips to 1990s cult classics, and that MC Hammer song for good measure. We also go into how the Addamses subvert familial expectations while also being one of the most loving and connected families on the screen. And we do this all with the help of Spooky Month guest, Alex Paterno.

While at Fantastic Fest, I got the chance to sit down with the director of The Cleansing Hour Damien LeVeck. In this conversation, we dove discussed creature design and the use of practical effects for the vast majority of the film's most shocking moments. When explaining the choice to embrace practical, LeVeck explained that he wanted to avoid the trappings of other possession films, leaning on the acting and physicality of Angelis as Lane. As LeVeck went into details on how he prepped effects, he explained that even the voice of possessed Lane worked differently than the lowered voices we're used to hearing from possessed characters by layering Tara Karsian's voice with Angelis' to showcase different levels of possession. 

Seis Manos marks the first major adult animation centered on a Latinx story, specifically a Mexican story. Set in 1970s Mexico, Seis Manos revolves around three orphans trained in Chinese martial arts, Isabela (Aislinn Derbez), Jesus (Jonny Cruz), and Silencio. When their mentor is killed, they join forces with an American DEA agent, played by Mike Colter and a Mexican police officer (Angélica Vale) to avenge their master's murder. Coming next week on October 3rd, I have been excited for this series since it was announced. This week, I got a chance to speak with series co-creator, executive producer, and writer Alvaro Rodriguez to discuss the series and get ready for its release.  Here, Rodriguez dives into the influences from exploitation cinema and how it allows writers and creators to "smuggle" larger themes into their work under the guise of action and comedy. We also get a chance to talk about the important step that Seis Manos and Cannon Busters serves, and how these stories would probably not be gettin

In honor of the long-awaited Borderlands 3, we're heading to Pandora and exploring the Borderlands franchise. From humor, cell animation, and millions of guns to the dynamic co-op play it brought to the RPG scene in the 2000s we talk about why the franchise matters. And for some reason we even talk a little about Fable. So all you vault hunters and pyshcos strap in for a fun episode and a lot talk about guns with legs.

With IT Chapter 2 in theaters, we decided to cover the King of Horror: Stephen King. With the help of Alex from Frightday.com, we dive into King's history in writing and how he's crafted stories that have landed at the most film and TV adapted author currently alive. We talk about his faults as a writer, his experiences, his advice, and ultimately why his stories continue to resonate with us. With The Mist, Pet Sematary, It, The Shining, Salem's Lot, The Dead Zone, and The Stand all either in their second adaptation or being adapted for the second time, King resonates with us, find out why he always will. Shownotes Alex Paterno From — Frightday.com, Game Boys Podcast Follow him @MostAlwaysAlexFollow them @GameBoysCoop and @Frightday Give Frightday.com a visit for all your horror needs.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is now on Netflix and building out Kim Henson's lore and world of Thra that began in in 1982. Now, the Dallas-based developer Bonus XP, who also brought us Stranger Things: The Game, and publisher En Masse Entertainment are bringing that world to consoles, PC, and Mac with The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics. At PAX West 2019, we got the chance to sit down with David Pottinger, President of Bonus XP and lead developer on The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance Tactics and dig into why the turn-based strategy game-type was chosen for Thra, the character designs, and how they balanced the world. Announced at E3, the game offers fans the opportunity to experience the fantasy world of Thra by playing through–and going beyond–the events of the Netflix Original series.

Blair Witch, the new psychological horror game from Polish developer Bloober Team, came out last week and made a large horror splash both in the fandom and on the sixth floor of PAX West 2019. Set in the Blair Witch universe and lore, Bloober Team and Lionsgate's take on the world of the Blair Witch is detached from the film franchise while still bringing horror fans the things love from it. Inspired by the world of the cinematic universe, Blair Witch presents a deeply human psychological horror story set in 1996. This past week at PAX West 2019, we got the chance to sit down with Grzegorz Wilczek, the brand manager for Blair Witch from Bloober Team. Based out of Poland, the developer and publisher has made waves in the horror community with games like Layers of Fear and Observer, bringing tension, stress, and scares to a device near you with their iconic brand of psychological horror. While speaking with Wilczek, the heart of Blair Witch became clear - it's you.  

This week we talk about the first Microsoft game to ever hit number one selling title spot outside of the US: Gears of War. With the fifth installment, we walk through the lore, the history of the game, and a look at why everyone is excited for Gears 5. Get ready for chainsaw noises, talk about the merits of co-op play and voice our opinions about what happens to franchises when they change their lead characters. .

Astroneer came out last year from System Era Softworks, and since it's official release in February of this year, has grown a loving community and win multiple awards at SXSW Gaming 2019 and the Webby Award, as well as other showcases and conventions. At PAX West, we spoke with communications director Joe Tirado about the game's success and how it's continued focus on exploration and community. If you aren't familiar, Astroneer is a sandbox exploration game which features drop-in, drop-out co-op and survival-like aspects in a beautiful and whimsical science fiction world. Taking place in the during the 25th century’s Intergalactic Age of Discovery, Astroneers explore the frontiers of outer space, risking their lives in new and unexplored environments to unearth rare discoveries and unlock the mysteries of the universe as they move from planet to planet. In Astroneer players can work together to build bases and vehicles and manipulate the terrain to create anything you can. Dig or build, a player’s creativity

Doomfist main, Slytherin, and the actor behind Walt Yoshida AMC's The Terror, Lee Shorten sits down to talk about his experience on the show and more. The Terror: Infamy, the second season of AMC's horror anthology, centers on a series of bizarre deaths that haunt a Japanese American community, and a young man's journey to understand and combat the malevolent entity responsible. In addition, the series is one of the first depicting the internment of Japanese Americans on such a massive scale – complete with authentically recreated camps in scope and scale as post-WWII. As Walt, Shorten plays Chester’s oldest childhood friend and a Japanese American struggling to protect his family and friends amid the horrors of WWII and the Japanese American Internment Camps. When it comes to his character, Walt represents a personality between Chester and Ken who are polar opposites. Shorten came into The Terror's cast after working on Man in The High Castle, as well, another Yoshida, and was looking to work on another proj

This week, I got the chance to sit down and speak with Heli Kennnedy, writer on the official continuation of the famed and loved BBC science fiction series, from SerialBox, a premium digital reading and audio platform that delivers ongoing stories to online and mobile platforms in digestible installments. The official  Having also written the IDW Publishing graphic novel tie-in to the series, Kennedy is no stranger to the Clone Club. Tatiana Maslany, the Emmy award-winning star of Orphan Black is on board to voice the new installment of the beloved series made possible by Serial Box's collaboration with Temple Street, a division of Boat Rocker Studios marks Serial Box’s second major commitment to creating original stories. The company recently announced it was joining forces with Marvel Entertainment to create original stories based on Black Panther, Jessica Jones, Black Widow, and Thor. In this interview, Kennedy explains the pressure of continuing a story after five seasons of TV, the joy of creating new C

This week, Matt drops a bomb on us, the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire matters well beyond the fact that it's been on the air for so long. As the first game show that we've covered Matt breaks down rotating hosts, absurd episode counts, and ultimately how it started a wave of imitations. 

Joss Whedon's world of Buffy The Vampire Slayer has been around since 1997 and like most Whedon creations has a solid base of fans who followed not only Buffy's slaying days in Sunnyvale but also followed the supernatural detective cases that Angel cracked starting in 1999. Now, 20 years, later, Angel is back as part of BOOM! Studio's reimagining of the Buffy-verse.  Going into its fourth issue, Angel has quickly become one of my favorite monthly comics to pick up. Written by Bryan Edward Hill, with art from Gleb Melnikov, we're getting a look at the best tall, dark, and moody vampire this time in 2019. This weekend, I got the chance to talk with Hill about his work on the series, where it's going, and what has gone into adapting the series which includes characters that many people love, including Hill himself. With the first big bad of Angel being a larger critique of social media we live in, Hill explained how his storytelling and Whedon's look to hide the evil in plain sight. After speaking with Hill, one

This week, the crew gets scary as they discuss the lasting impact of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark from Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell and what the stories continue to matter nearly 40 years after their release. Kate leads the team through the history, controversy in schools, and ultimately the importance of children's horror in relation to some of the world's darker moments. Oh, and Kate scares Adrian by reciting some of Scwartz's scarier stories.

This week we're resisting the Fast & the Furious franchise to honor the recent release of Hobbs & Shaw. We talk about the absurdity of the franchise, the machismo, the fights off-screen, and ultimately about how it all wraps back to familia. And, we do it all with the help of Nikko, contributor for But Why Tho? A Geek Community. Have you ever wondered why everyone in the franchise are superheroes now? We got answers, but we also got family.  

This week, we dive into the kawaii world of Hello Kitty with help from special guest Stefani from El Cucuy is My Neighbor. Find out how this Sanrio favorite made it to being one of the most iconic characters across the world and even the Japanese Tourism Ambassador to China. We cover Kitty White's history, her journey to the US and more.  Stefani Ruiz | @stefaniheartsFrom — El Cucuy is My NeighborEl Cucuy is My Neighbor on Twitter - @ELCIMN_Podcast