Episode 122: Creepin It Real

CW: Blood, Gore, Death

With the holidays in the way of our normal schedule, Remy and M sit back and discuss horror for a bit. They tickle topics like movies, tropes, books, and pet peeves— share with us your horror opinions!

Similarly to the cozy games resource page, I’m going to provide a few links to relevant information (like what is body horror), and then we’ll each provide our list of recommendations!

This is a really extensive list of some of the most widely used horror tropes. There are videos throughout. M and Remy talked about our favorite and least favorite tropes. You can read about more of them here. Do you have favorite and least favorites?

Remy in particular loves body horror, so what is that? Well, take this quote from Studio Binder: body horror “revolves around distortions of the human body. The key difference between this sub-genre and other types of gory horror is that it isn’t about the human body being destroyed. Rather, it’s about being transformed into something grotesque.” Additionally, “Additionally, these films often take on surreal, sci-fi, or supernatural qualities, mutating the human form into something that would be impossible in real life. The body horror genre typically features a focus on special effects, and often includes social commentary as well.” Read more about this subgenre here:

The last one talked about it purely from a movie perspective and what it is in a movie with examples of movies you’d find it in. This one is a deep dive into why people like the genre and how it explores what it is to be human.

Alright, now for some recommendations. Here’s M’s:

BOOKS

1. The Exorcist (William Peter Blatty)
2. I Am Legend (Richard Matheson)
3. The Crossroads at Midnight (Abby Howard)
4. Dread Nation (Justina Ireland)
5. Kasane (Daruma Matsuura)
6. Lockwood & Co. (Jonathan Stroud)

MOVIES

1. The Thing (1982)
2. Blair Witch Project (1999)
3. Alien (1979)
4. Tokyo Zombie (2005)
5. Noroi (2005)

GAMES

1. Dredge
2. Prey
3. The Binding of Isaac
4. Dead Space
5. Little Nightmares

Remy won’t have a game category as he doesn’t really play horror games on his own. Remy tends not to have “all time favorites” and just has favorites of the moment. So his list contains recommendations based on things he’s enjoyed the most recently and that he thinks you should see (barring Thirteen Ghosts and Nightbreed, which he has liked for decades).

Here’s Remy’s recommendations for movies and books:

BOOKS (in no particular order)

1. The Honeys (Ryan La Sala)
2. Hell Followed With Us (Andrew Joseph White)
3. The Spirit Bares Its Teeth (Andrew Joseph White)
4. Mister Magic (Kiersten White)
5. Sisters of the Lost Nation (Nick Medina)

MOVIES (in no particular order)

1. Thirteen Ghosts (2001)
2. His House (2020)
3. Nightbreed (1990)
4. The Black Phone (2021)
5. The Perfection (2018)