Open Mic Night of the Living Dead

51: Smile 2 (2024)

This week marks our first sequel: Smile 2. We follow pop star Sky Riley as recovery becomes performance and her own body becomes something for everyone else to manage. Choreography turns predatory, the curse goes public, and we talk about where Smile 3 might take this mythology. Plus two very different songs: one about floating away, one about falling for the wrong pop star. Citations Bennett, Adam. “Smile 2: Rodeo FX on the Surrealist Visual Terror of a Horror Hit with Teeth.” LBB Online. 12 March 2024. https://lbbonline.com/news/smile-2-rodeo-fx-on-the-surrealist-visual-terror-of-a-horror-hit-with-teeth [https://lbbonline.com/news/smile-2-rodeo-fx-on-the-surrealist-visual-terror-of-a-horror-hit-with-teeth]. Edelbaum, Susannah. “’Smile 2’ DP Charlie Sarroff on Lighting a Curse-Afflicted Pop Star in the Big City.” The Credits. 29 October 2024. https://www.motionpictures.org/2024/10/smile-2-dp-charlie-sarroff-on-lighting-a-curse-afflicted-pop-star-in-the-big-city/ [https://www.motionpictures.org/2024/10/smile-2-dp-charlie-sarroff-on-lighting-a-curse-afflicted-pop-star-in-the-big-city/]. Fraser, Emma. “How ‘Smile 2’ Uses Practical SFX Makeup to Generate Maximum Scares.” Backstage. 17 October 2024. https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/smile-2-makeup-designer-interview-77849/ [https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/smile-2-makeup-designer-interview-77849/]. Gomez, Shirley. “Lukas Gage’s haunting transformation in ‘Smile 2’: Exclusive clip with FX Artist Jeremy Selenfriend.” Hola!. 2 December 2024. https://www.hola.com/us/entertainment/20241126732504/lukas-gages-transformation-smile-2-behind-the-scenes/ [https://www.hola.com/us/entertainment/20241126732504/lukas-gages-transformation-smile-2-behind-the-scenes/]. Hunter, Rob. “30 Things We Learned from Parker Finn’s ‘Smile 2’ Commentary.” Dread Central. 21 February 2025. . https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/522757/30-things-we-learned-from-parker-finns-smile-2-commentary/ [https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/522757/30-things-we-learned-from-parker-finns-smile-2-commentary/]. Naahar, Rohan. “’Smile 2’Global Box Office Gives Audiences Something to Grin About.” Collider. 27 October 2024. https://collider.com/smile-2-global-box-office-83-million/ [https://collider.com/smile-2-global-box-office-83-million/]. Taylor, Drew. “How ‘Smile 2’ Writer/Director Parker Finn Returned with a Super-Sized, Super-Successful Horror Sequel.” The Wrap. 25 October 2024. https://www.thewrap.com/smile-2-interview-parker-finn-horror-sequels/ [https://www.thewrap.com/smile-2-interview-parker-finn-horror-sequels/]. Tyler, Adrienne. “Smile 2 Fell Short of the Original’s Box Office Expectations But It’s Still a Massive Success.” Screen Rant. 6 December 2024. https://screenrant.com/smile-2-box-office-below-expectations-success-op-ed/ [https://screenrant.com/smile-2-box-office-below-expectations-success-op-ed/]. Wilding, Josh. “Smile 2 Interview: Director Parker Finn on Designing the Entity and Taylor Swift’s Influence (Exclusive).” ComicBookMovie.com [http://ComicBookMovie.com]. 19 November 2024. https://comicbookmovie.com/horror/smile-2-interview-director-parker-finn-on-designing-the-entity-and-taylor-swifts-influence-exclusive-a214619 [https://comicbookmovie.com/horror/smile-2-interview-director-parker-finn-on-designing-the-entity-and-taylor-swifts-influence-exclusive-a214619]. Zilko, Christian. “For Naomi Scott, Playing a Troubled Pop Star in ‘Smile 2’ Meant Alternating Between Joyful Dance Rehearsals and Bloody Hallucinations.” Indie Wire. 26 October 2024. https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/naomi-scott-interview-smile-2-1235060424/ [https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/naomi-scott-interview-smile-2-1235060424/].   Chapters 0:00:00 Intro 0:08:25 Intro: Distribution & Reception 00:20:24 Let's Make a Movie: Filmmakers 00:29:46 Let's Make a Movie: Cast 00:40:23 Let’s Make a Movie: Production 00:50:21 Vibe Check: Cinematography 01:00:43 Vibe Check: SFX 01:06:00 Vibe Check: Music & Sound Design 01:15:48 Story Time: Characters 01:30:39 Story Time: Murder & Mayhem 01:49:47 Story Time: Themes 01:57:27 Open Mic 02:08:18 Losing Light

50: Bad Hubby Horror

We've been watching a lot of bad husbands. So we built a rubric. This encore to our Rosemary's Baby deep dive introduces our three-tier taxonomy of bad partners in horror - Trevors, Guys, and Billys - and the films that gave us each one. Plus the demo for our new song based on Rosemary's Baby.   Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:03:28 Tier 1: The Trevor 00:08:28 Tier 2: The Guy 00:16:46 Tier 3: The Billy 00:29:45 Song Demo 00:33:39 Losing Light

49: Rosemary's Baby (1968) - Part Two

Rosemary's Baby Part 2: we finish what we started. Rosemary, Guy, and the entire Castavet operation get the deep dive they deserve - coercive control, bodily autonomy, and the Rosemary's Baby curse. Then both original songs, live for the first time, with a split perspectives gimmick.   Chapters 00:00 Intro 05:24 Story Time: Characters 24:18 Story Time: Murder, Mayhem & Myths 47:55 Story Time: The Rosemary's Baby Curse 52:31 Story Time: Themes 1:08:41 Open Mic 1:28:04 Losing Light

48: Rosemary's Baby (1968) - Part One

Rosemary's Baby is one of our all-time favorites, and it's easy to see why. Part 1 covers the film's production history, the real buildings behind the Bramford, the complicated legacy of its director, and the cinematography that turns a dream apartment into something much worse - all without a single special effect. No music this week, too much to cover everything in just one episode! Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:06:22 Distribution & Reception 00:26:46 Let's Make a Movie: Filmmakers 00:50:29 Let's Make a Movie: Cast 01:02:39 Let's Make a Movie: Production 01:11:46 Vibe Check: Cinematography 01:29:14 Vibe Check: SFX 01:32:47 Vibe Check: Music & Sound Design Citations Booker, M. Keith. “Rosemary’s Baby (1968): Director Roman Polanski”. Comments on Culture. 2026. https://bookerhorror.com/rosemarys-baby-1968-director-roman-polanski/ [https://bookerhorror.com/rosemarys-baby-1968-director-roman-polanski/]. Bose, Swapnil Dhruv. “Dissecting the curse of Roman Polanski’s horror classic ‘Rosemary’s Baby’.” Far Out Magazine UK. 24 November 2020. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/roman-polanski-horror-curse-rosemarys-baby/ [https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/roman-polanski-horror-curse-rosemarys-baby/]. Eggert, Brian. “Rosemary’s Baby (1968).” Deep Focus Review. 7 October 2018. https://www.deepfocusreview.com/definitives/rosemarys-baby/ [https://www.deepfocusreview.com/definitives/rosemarys-baby/]. Johnson, Eleanor. “Guy Horror: ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and Coercive Control.” Public Books. 12 June 2023. https://www.publicbooks.org/guy-horror-rosemarys-baby-coercive-control/ [https://www.publicbooks.org/guy-horror-rosemarys-baby-coercive-control/]. Juneau, Jen. “Mia Farrow Recalls the Moment Frank Sinatra Served Her Divorce Papers on ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ Set.” 8 November 2024. Yahoo! Entertainment. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/mia-farrow-recalls-moment-frank-162038936.html [https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/mia-farrow-recalls-moment-frank-162038936.html]. Kirk, Sarah. “Rosemary’s Baby Film Analysis 1968”. Medium. 28 July 2021. https://sarahck36.medium.com/rosemarys-baby-film-analysis-1968-274d742dddb6 [https://sarahck36.medium.com/rosemarys-baby-film-analysis-1968-274d742dddb6]. Lyons, Kevin. “Rosemary’s Baby (1968).” The EOFFTV Review. 31 October 2019. https://eofftvreview.wordpress.com/2019/10/31/rosemarys-baby-1968/ [https://eofftvreview.wordpress.com/2019/10/31/rosemarys-baby-1968/]. Nelson, Jillian. “’This is no dream! This is really happening!’: Rosemary’s Baby Horrific Reflections of Female Subjectivity in 1968 and Present-Day America.” Perisphere. 5 October 2025. https://www.perisphere.org/2025/10/05/this-is-no-dream-this-is-really-happening-rosemarys-babys-horrific-reflections-of-female-subjectivity-in-1968-and-present-day-america/ [https://www.perisphere.org/2025/10/05/this-is-no-dream-this-is-really-happening-rosemarys-babys-horrific-reflections-of-female-subjectivity-in-1968-and-present-day-america/]. Ramirez, Jake. “10 Eerie Tales From Behind the Scenes of Rosemary’s Baby.” Listverse. 22 July 2025. https://listverse.com/2025/07/22/10-eerie-tales-from-behind-the-scenes-of-rosemarys-baby/ [https://listverse.com/2025/07/22/10-eerie-tales-from-behind-the-scenes-of-rosemarys-baby/]. Waldron, Abigail. “[Roe]smary v Wade: Bodilyl Autonomy & Choice in ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ (1968).” Horror Press. 1 June 2022. https://horrorpress.com/editorials/1597/roesmary-v-wade-bodily-autonomy-choice-in-rosemarys-baby-1968/ [https://horrorpress.com/editorials/1597/roesmary-v-wade-bodily-autonomy-choice-in-rosemarys-baby-1968/]. Williams, David E. “Beyond the Frame: Rosemary’s Baby.” American Cinematographer. 30 March 2017. https://theasc.com/article/beyond-the-frame-rosemarys-baby/ [https://theasc.com/article/beyond-the-frame-rosemarys-baby/]. Williams, Marisa. “Horrors of Domesticity: Rosemary’s Baby.” Digital Literature Review. 14 January 2020. https://blogs.bsu.edu/dlr/2020/01/14/horrors-of-domesticity-rosemarys-baby/ [https://blogs.bsu.edu/dlr/2020/01/14/horrors-of-domesticity-rosemarys-baby/].

47: Horror Villain Draft - A Quiet Place Encore

20 deep dives in, we finally settled it - a horror villain draft from every film we've covered. Mrs. Voorhees, the Thing, Pazuzu, the Overlook Hotel, and more are all on the table. We close with Breaking Our Silence, our new song demo based on A Quiet Place.   The Villains Ghostface (Scream) Pazuzu (The Exorcist) Deadites (The Evil Dead) Black and White Zombies (Night of the Living Dead ) Jerry Dandridge (Fright Night ) The Thing (The Thing) Michael Myers (Halloween) The Crawlers (The Descent) Mrs. Voorhees (Friday the 13th) Billy (Black Christmas) Billy Chapman (Silent Night, Deadly Night) Death (Final Destination) Norman Bates (Psycho) Candyman (Candyman) Remmick and his vampires (Sinners) Russ Thorn (The Slumber Party Massacre) The Overlook Hotel (The Shining) Bill Roberts (Intruder) The Monstrosity (Smile) Death Angels (A Quiet Place)   00:00 Intro 01:24 The Draft: Team Picks 15:37 Final Scores & Rankings 28:25 Song Demo: Breaking Our Silence