The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015): Power Dynamics are Horrifying

Midsommar (2019): NOT a “Good for Her” Moment

MAJOR TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT AND SUICIDE!!!!! This episode digs into the messy, uncomfortable, deeply human terrain beneath Midsommar — not the surface‑level “feminist revenge fantasy,” but the quieter, more complicated story about victimhood, gender conditioning, and the ways we’re taught to perform power or passivity. I’m pulling apart the cultural narratives we inherit about consent, masculinity, femininity, and who’s allowed to be seen as a victim. When we stop flattening characters into archetypes, we can actually see the trauma, coercion, grief, and systemic forces shaping their choices. And maybe — just maybe — we can extend compassion without losing accountability. WHAT WE EXPLORE * Why Midsommar reads less like feminist cinema and more like a meditation on victimhood * CONSENT * The cultural conditioning of masculinity and femininity — and how both can trap people * The drama triangle: victim, rescuer, persecutor… and how to step out of it * Personal reflections on trauma, codependency, attachment, and emotional regulation * Why compassion is not a loophole — it’s a tool for understanding systemic harm RESOURCES DISCUSSED * Nonviolent Communication — Marshall B. Rosenberg * FRIES Consent Model * Drama Triangle (Karpman) CONNECT Gmail: exorcistwithin@gmail.com [exorcistwithin@gmail.com]

The Evil Dead (1981): The Violence of Helplessness

This episode plunges into The Evil Dead as Jamie and Bobby dissect its filmmaking legacy, its mythic lore, and the raw human fears it exposes. Blending personal stories with cultural insight, the conversation reveals how horror—at its most chaotic and unhinged—becomes a mirror for resilience and the strange comfort found in confronting the dark. THEMES * Indie Origins & Nostalgia The hosts revisit the scrappy beginnings of The Evil Dead, celebrating its DIY spirit and the way its low-budget ingenuity shaped generations of horror filmmakers. * Practical Effects & Innovation From stop-motion grotesqueries to Raimi’s kinetic camera work, the episode highlights how practical effects and creative problem‑solving became the film’s signature terror. * Lore & Mythmaking The Necronomicon, demonic realms, and supernatural rules of the franchise are examined as foundational pillars of modern horror world‑building. * Themes of Isolation, Control & Trauma The conversation traces how the film’s cabin setting, possession sequences, and moral dilemmas reflect deeper psychological struggles—loss of agency, derealization, and the fight to reclaim control. * Personal Reflections Childhood memories, formative scares, and adult rewatch experiences reveal how horror evolves alongside us, becoming a lens for vulnerability, growth, and emotional endurance. * Behind the Scenes Raimi’s chaotic filming techniques, the cast’s physical endurance, and the film’s shifting critical reception are explored with humor and admiration. * Franchise Evolution From Evil Dead 2 to Army of Darkness and modern reimaginings, the episode charts how the series expands its mythology while preserving its feral energy. * Horror as Metaphor The hosts connect the film’s brutality and absurdity to real mental health experiences—hallucination, trauma, resilience—framing horror as a tool for understanding the self

King Sorrow 2025 Part 2 [Novel]: Finding Humanity While Fighting Dragons

In this episode, we break down Joe Hill’s King Sorrow through the lens of trauma, power, and the ways people try to survive what stalks them. Instead of treating horror as spectacle, we look at how the story exposes real emotional patterns: sorrow that becomes a force of its own, systems that trap people in cycles they didn’t choose, and the small acts of compassion that keep characters from losing themselves. This conversation focuses on how Hill uses supernatural elements to highlight psychological truths and the social pressures shaping each character’s choices. CORE THEMES * The cabinet of curiosities as a symbol of inherited trauma, temptation, and the weight of history * King Sorrow as a representation of social conditions that feed despair * Acceptance and resilience shown through the Six — and how their coping strategies differ * Ghosts as either supernatural or psychological — exploring how the story blurs the line between haunting and mental projection * The mirror as a tool for confronting uncomfortable truths and distorted self‑perception * Privilege, trauma, and social constraints shaping each character’s emotional and moral development * Intertextual references and Easter eggs that expand Hill’s universe and reinforce recurring themes * The ambiguous ending and what it suggests about whether sorrow can be defeated or only transformed * Character-focused analysis: Colin’s fixation, Gwen’s grounded acceptance, Van’s search for peace, Donna’s determination (and Robbin Fucking Fellows) * Community and connection as the only reliable counterweight to both personal and cosmic threats

King Sorrow 2025 Part 1 [Novel]: CA, Jamie, & Neil Form the Circle

Welcome CA to the podcast and welcome back to Neil! Our roundtable unpacks Joe HIll's novel the way The Exorcist Within always does: as a psychological excavation, a cultural mirror, and a spiritual autopsy of the choices that shape us. This is part one of a two-part deep dive! We're just getting started!

The Conjuring 2 (2016): Para‑Complicated & Still Choosing Charity

In this episode, Jamie and Ryan (and Ed and Loraine) crack open The Conjuring 2 — not just as a horror film, but as a mirror for belief, partnership, and the strange ways our lives rhyme with the stories we love. We talk about the Warrens on screen versus the Warrens in real life, the almost‑meeting with Patrick Wilson that still lives rent‑free in our minds, and how growing up Catholic leaves a permanent soft spot (or soft terror) for nuns who shouldn’t be in the hallway. This conversation drifts between the paranormal and the deeply human: what we believe, why we believe it, and how those beliefs shift as our visions and goals evolve. We explore the importance of helping others, the “live and let live” ethic that guides both our work and our relationships, and the quiet parallel love story between us and the fictional Warrens — devotion, flexibility, and the willingness to face the dark together. And yes, we also talk about why The Conjuring 2 still hits: the jump scares, the atmosphere, the charm of the cinematic Warrens, and the way Valak taps into a very specific Catholic childhood dread.