Mar 272012
 
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In the twentieth episode of Rag-NERD-rok, Ryan, Ed, Meyer and Alex take a look at several different sub-genres of horror in order to break down and analyze what exactly makes each so scary. After the break, the boys indulge Ryan with another one of his Rag-NERD-libs, and the entire crew responds to some listener voicemails/email. If you’ve ever mussed your unmentionables in terror at the prospect of being chased through the woods by a knife-wielding psychopath, having your flesh transformed into a living VCR, learning how truly insignificant man is in the scheme of things, or biting your nails in anticipation at the barbed conversation of a cannibalistic genius, then this episode is just what you’ve been looking for!

(Show Notes after the break.)

I. Cold Opening – The Pitch (00:00:00)

What could be better than one of AMC’s signature series, The Walking Dead, Mad Men, or Breaking Bad? All three, blended together in what has to be the weirdest crossover imaginable. Look for it NEVER on AMC.

II. Intro. (00:01:37)

Hold onto your butts, everyone, because those crazy aliens from Space Vegas are here, and there’s nothing they love more! Ryan introduces the episode, and the guys discuss Erik’s marriage to a collective of the aforementioned aliens, which is the reason we made up for his extended absence. Go figure.

IIIa. What Makes Slasher Films Scary? (Ryan) (00:06:58)

Ryan covers the basic tropes and techniques that slasher films use to expose their audience’s tender underbelly and then brutally slice it open with a bladed weapon. Examples include: Halloween, Scream, Friday the 13th, and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

IIIb. What Makes Psychological Horror Scary? (Ed) (00:19:32)

Ed discusses the art of anticipation and implication in psychological horror, especially in films such as Psycho and The Silence of the Lambs, as well as in the popular video game Alan Wake.

IIIc. What Makes Body Horror Scary? (Meyer) (00:27:05)

Meyer dissects (eeeeew!) the growths and developments of the body horror genre, from The Extreme Ghostbusters to The Fly. He even talks about The Human Centipede, which the rest of the guys forced him to watch. (Feel bad for him, folks. His was a difficult burden to bear.)

IIId. What Makes Cosmic Horror Scary? (Alex) (00:40:15)

Alex gazes into the unfathomable infinity that is cosmic horror, and reports his findings with barely tatters of his sanity intact. Examples of this genre include the video game Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem and John Carpenter’s classic The Thing.

IV. Rag-NERD-Lib #2: The Worst Crossover Fanfic EVER (00:52:13)

It’s the bad crossover fic you’ve all been waiting for: The Super Mario Brothers vs. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie! (Yes, it’s as terrible and random as it sounds.)

To write your own bad crossover fanfic, click here!

V. Listener Showcase (01:10:07)

The guys take some time to respond to the legions of fans (read: four) who have contacted them via voicemail or email. If you’d like the Rag-NERD-rok crew to talk about you on one of their upcoming shows, feel free to get in touch using any of the methods listed below.

VI. Outro (01:24:39)

SPELL: Contact Rag-NERD-rok

Opens a direct line of communications between the caster and members of the Rag-NERD-rok crew. For each attempt, the caster must sacrifice 2 POW and 1D8 SAN. The caster can then either send the group an email, Like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, or leave them a voicemail by calling (516) 362 – NERD [6373]. If the spell is successful, the caster’s message might be read or played on a future podcast. If the spell fails, then the caster is relentlessly mocked (15 POT poison per round) until he/she either completes the spell successfully or dies. (See entry: TWIZZLE.)

Enterprising Investigators may also wish to download the podcast from iTunes; however, this carries with it a heavy penalty: should the Investigator in question fail to leave a positive review, he or she will be devoured instantly (just kidding).

In the next episode, Ed, Alex, Meyer and Ryan will be covering I-CON 31. Look for it the week of April 22!

Featured Music and SFX:

First Interlude: Death (Sabate) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
Second Interlude: Tiny Fugue (Kevin MacLeod) / CC BY 3.0
Outro: Douglas, Mephistopheles (Illinois Brass Band) / CC BY 3.0
Sound effects courtesy of Walter_Odington of Freesound.org.

Copyright:

Creative Commons License
Rag-NERD-rok Podcast by Alex Costello, Edward Cress, Erik Dickash, Ryan Mannix and Billy Meyer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available by contacting info@ragnerdrok.com.
End of notes.

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