It’s the time of year when ghosts, ghouls, and goblins are on the prowl. That’s right: it’s Halloween. Or, if we’re getting technical, the day after Halloween. And as much as Film Comment editors Devika Girish and Clinton Krute are scared to admit it, that means it’s also time for another Halloween Hangover episode of the Film Comment Podcast, where the two confront one of their greatest fears—horror movies—with the help of some masters of the macabre. This year, Clint and Devika asked Kelli Weston, who literally holds a PhD in horror cinema, and Steven Mears, a critic and Film Comment’s famously nocturnal copyeditor, to inflict two movies of their choice upon us. Kelli chose the 1976 slasher flick Alice Sweet Alice, and Steve picked Jack Clayton’s Henry James adaptation The Innocents. Both movies were ultimately more goofy than scary, but they yielded a truly rich conversation about the role of religion, class, children, and more in horror.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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