Episode 684: Tango & Cash (1989)

George A. Romero trades zombies for suburban malaise in Jack’s Wife (AKA Season of the Witch, Hungry Wives), a spellbinding portrait of domestic despair and occult liberation. Jan White stars as Joan Mitchell, a disenchanted housewife drifting through a fog of loneliness and repression until she finds power--real or imagined--through witchcraft.Rahne Alexander and Father Malone join Mike to dig into Romero’s haunting mix of feminist allegory, surreal dream logic, and kitchen-sink psychology. Mike interviews Professor Adam Lowenstein about Romero’s Pittsburgh years and scholar Payton McCarty-Simas about her new book That Very Witch.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth

29 Loka 2h 7min

Filmmaker and frequent Projection Booth co-host David Kittredge returns to the show to talk about his stunning new documentary Boorman and the Devil (2025). Premiering at the Venice Film Festival and recently screened at the Brooklyn Horror Film Fest, the film examines the making—and unmaking—of John Boorman’s unfinished masterpiece The Heretic, a project that became both a creative obsession and a cautionary tale.Mike and David trace the film’s journey from inception to restoration, exploring the documentary’s mix of melancholy reflection and deep admiration for Boorman’s uncompromising artistry. As one critic called it, Boorman and the Devil is “melancholy, thoughtful, and highly perceptive”—a love letter to pure cinematic vision and the madness that sometimes comes with it.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth

28 Loka 57min

Buckle up for one of the wildest rides of the year—Mike talks with Alex Phillips, the audacious filmmaker behind Anything That Moves, a gleefully transgressive, genre-bending erotic thriller that skids into the underbelly of Chicago’s gig-economy sex trade and emerges with something unexpectedly sincere. Phillips bridges the sleaze of 1970s exploitation with the high-concept perversity of modern indie cinema: a bike-courier/sex-worker named Liam (Hal Baum) pedals through the city delivering more than sandwiches—and soon finds himself tangled in a serial-killer conspiracy that feels equal parts giallo and queer pop nightmare.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth

27 Loka 23min

Shocktober 2025 spirals into demonic delirium with Juan López Moctezuma’s Alucarda (1977). This feverish blast of Mexican Gothic horror follows Justine (Susana Kamini), a sheltered orphan who finds herself drawn to the wild, otherworldly Alucarda (Tina Romero) within the stone walls of a convent that’s anything but holy. What begins as innocent friendship erupts into a blood-soaked storm of possession, blasphemy, and ecstatic madness.Ryan Luis Rodriguez and Mark Begley join Mike to dissect Moctezuma’s infernal masterpiece — its ties to Jodorowsky’s surrealism, its place in the “nunsploitation” subgenre, and its bold feminist undercurrents that still scorch the screen nearly fifty years later.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth

22 Loka 1h 28min

Mike White dives into the making of Vindication Swim with writer-director Elliott Hasler, whose ambitious period drama brings to life the extraordinary true story of swimmer Mercedes Gleitze, the first British woman to swim the English Channel. Set in the 1920s, the film follows Gleitze’s struggle for recognition and the grueling endurance required to overcome both physical and societal barriers. Hasler discusses the challenges of recreating open-water sequences, capturing the era’s atmosphere, and honoring a pioneer whose determination made history.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth

21 Loka 22min

Mike White sits down with journalist and author Clark Collis to talk about his latest deep dive into the world of fear and fascination, Screaming and Conjuring: The Rise of Modern Horror Franchises. Collis explores how films like The Conjuring, Insidious, and Paranormal Activity revived mainstream horror, spawned cinematic universes, and redefined the genre for a new generation. From haunted houses to found footage, Collis traces the eerie evolution of studio horror from the 2000s onward—where box office booms meet demonic possessions, and clever marketing becomes part of the scare.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth

20 Loka 45min

Shocktober 2025 sinks its teeth into Raw (2016), Julia Ducournau’s visceral coming-of-age horror. Garance Marillier stars as Justine, a sheltered vegetarian entering veterinary school, where a brutal hazing ritual ignites her taste for flesh—both animal and human. Co-hosts Suzen Tekla Kruglnska and Beth Accomando join Mike to explore Ducournau’s blend of body horror and female awakening, peeling back the film’s layers of appetite, identity, and transgression. Special guest Barbara Creed, author of The Monstrous-Feminine, offers insight into how Raw redefines the monstrous body for a new generation.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth

15 Loka 2h 9min

Ego Fest XV cracks open The Projection Booth once again as Mike faces a barrage of listener questions from the devoted and the deranged. From the mysteries of the long-teased 2001: A Space Odyssey episode to favorite decades of filmmaking and the highs and lows of a year’s worth of interviews, nothing’s off the table. Mike talks shop on balancing multiple podcasts, favorite co-hosts, and whether a Dabney Coleman series might lurk in the future. Fans ask about Elliot Gould, Malcolm McDowell, the Weirding Way family, Kurt Cobain, and even Mike’s clarinet. It’s a revealing, and deeply personal episode that proves—once again—that the man behind the mic never stops creating, curating, or caffeinating.Big thanks to Dallas Norvell, Captain Billy, Robert Maines, and Ben Buckingham for the thoughtful questions. Also big thanks to all of the listeners who provided such insightful reviews.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth

13 Loka 1h 46min