Kill It With Fire - Cult Movies and Cult-ure

Do your homework in the dark, and put spoons in your microwave! In this episode, Peter, Ants, and Paul talk about Allan Moyle’s cult 1990 film Pump up the Volume, which stars Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis. Topics discussed include late night shock jocks, revisiting old favourites later in adulthood, writer-director Allan Moyle’s career and the origins of the film in Moyle’s unpublished novel, the popularity of soundtrack album CDs during the early 90s, resistance through the use of vulgar language (and comparisons with Lenny Bruce), parasocial relationships and adolescence, free speech and censorship, Christian Slater’s incredible popularity during the early 90s, and depictions of youth subcultures on screen. Plus Paul sings brilliant, pitch-perfect renditions of Bon Jovi’s “Blaze of Glory,” L7’s “Sh*tlist,” and Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows.”

Coming to a basement near you! In this episode, Ady, Peter, and Paul discuss underseen Genevieve Jolliffe’s 1998 film Urban Ghost Story, starring Jason Connery, Heather Ann Foster, and Billy Boyd. Topics discussed include ghost stories with present-day settings (including Play for Today’s Vampires and Govan Ghost Story, and of course the BBC’s Ghostwatch), the differences between British and American ghost stories, the influence and impact of the Enfield Poltergeist case (and Paul does an a-m-a-zing impersonation of “Bill,” the ghost from that case), the popularity of urbex videos and explorations of “haunted” buildings on the Tubes of You, the career of Genevieve Jolliffe and collaborator Chris Jones, the book co-authored by Jolliffe and Jones entitled The Guerrilla Filmmakers Handbook, Paul’s ongoing confusion of the American Alex Jones and our Alex Jones (the Welsh telly presenter), and Paul’s experiences in basements.

Bookmaker or bookkeeper? What's the difference? Fuggedaboudit! Nikki, Peter, and Paul take a look at Bob Giraldi's underseen 2000 film Dinner Rush, which stars Danny Aiello, Kirk Acevedo, Sandra Bernhard, Edoardo Ballerini, and John Corbett. In this episode, topics discussed include mob movies, director Bob Giraldi's career as a filmmaker-restaurateur, food in films (with a sidebar discussion of the excellent 1996 picture Big Night), Paul's new nickname ("Paulie Puddings"), and Peter's man-crush for John Corbett.

It’s the principal, man Peter and Paul take a look at Christopher Cain’s 1987 movie The Principal, starring James Belushi, Louis Gossett Jr, and Rae Dawn Chong. Topics discussed include the intersection of the American high school picture and the vigilante film, depictions of race and ethnicity in these films, the connection between this film and Damian Lee’s Abraxas: Guardian of the Universe (1990), and The Principal’s awkward fusion of gritty urban drama and Jim Belushi goofiness.

Craven some robotic hijinx In this instalment of the Kill It With Fire – Cult Movies and Cult-ure podcast, Ady and Paul take a look at Wes Craven's oft-neglected 1986 film Deadly Friend. Topics discussed in this episode include: the origins of the film in Diana Henstell's novel, Friend; the positioning of the film in Craven's career; the film's blending of family-friendly hijinx with graphic horror; the production history of the film; the controversies surrounding the film's final edit. This episode was recorded prior to Shout! Factory's Blu-ray release of Deadly Friend in 2021.