Ep. 31: Spookies

It's Spooky Season, and what better way to kick things off than with the spookiest film that ever did spook - Spookies!

To say that Spookies has a unique production history is an understatement - the film started shooting in 1984 and didn't hit US theaters until 1988, over which time it was in the hands of three different directors and two directors of photography and multiple teams of actors and crews. We're here to give you all the gory details of how this thing got smashed together, and we're also here to tell you...it all kinda works?

Because we love Spookies. It's a practical effects showcase, full of creative monsters and traps and kills, truly wall to wall lunacy behind every door in this elaborate haunted house film. Even the house the filmed it in has some crazy history, and you'll be gobsmacked to learn why the family who owned the old mansion in Rye, NY rented it out to the film crew in the first place.

For this monumental episode, we are joined by an all-star cast, and the biggest group we've ever had on Incredibly Strange Video. Cinematographer Ryan Kroboth is back with us again, and for the first time since The Hottie and the Nottie, our good friends Evan and Rachel join us once again to discuss important issues such as how this film might be making commentary on Reaganism and trickle-down economics, as well as exploring what it means to be in a "Federalist Papers flow state".

So tap play and let's get weird with one of the weirdest movies ever made.

Spookies
Directed by Brendan Faulkner, Thomas Doran, and Genie Joseph
1986, United States

Incredibly Strange Video is produced and edited by Ryan Quinn and Cassie Kay. Follow us on Bluesky @isvpodcast.bsky.social for updates on the newest episodes!

Theme music:
The End by EVA
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0

All excerpts from the films discussed are used for educational and critical purposes only.