Content warnings: discussions of stigmatization of the mentally ill, discussions of home invasion violence, genre-typical violence.

Take a field trip with Laney and Carson back to Haddonfield circa 1978, with the slasher classic that has defined the genre rules, and how to break them, for decades– John Carpenter’s Halloween! We come full circle analyzing the blueprint for the slasher genre, the final girl archetype, and the horror movie icon set down by Carpenter that led to Randy’s Rules that we discussed in our very first episode for Scream (1996). Topics include: when characters’ actions are frustrating vs funny; what makes something scary; the issues of fictionalized true crime media; the categories of horror villains; parodies, remakes, and sequels, oh ...