SCARE U FAQ
WHAT IS SCARE U?
It’s an unsettling approach to the horror film podcast, in which a genre aficionado (Louryk) chooses a new film each week, and expounds on what makes it a worthy addition to the canon. A student (Winick) sees the film for the first time and responds. Special guests join as visiting professors or students. The result: the ultimate 360 degree review, featuring a spoiler-free section at the top, honor roll and detention segments, and superlatives celebrating the best and worst of each film.
WERE YOU KNOWN AS “21 JUMP SCARE” AT ONE POINT?
Yes. We were 21 Jump Scare for all of season one. We changed the name in October 2022 to better reflect the “horror school” sensibilities of the pod. While we liked 21 Jump Scare, we felt the title was a bit too “inside baseball.”
WHO DOES YOUR PROFANITY WARNING?
He’s a minor, so legally we can’t reveal his name.
WHO WOTE YOUR THEME MUSIC?
Our beginning theme is “Pomp and Circumstance” by Edward Elgar leading into some scary stuff by Sir Cubworth, with additional mixing by Prof. Louryk and Mr. Winick. Follow Sir C on YouTube and Spotify.
DO YOU SPOIL THE FILM?
Eventually, yes. In the first 20-30 minutes, we give you a brief synopsis, tell you how it did at the box office (“Math Club”), and how it was received by the critics (“Debate Society”). Then, after a quick “Fire Drill” (listen for the klaxon), we spoil the hell out of it.
WHAT’S THE WHOLE BEEP-BEEP-BEEP “STUDENTS!” BIT ABOUT?
That’s something Prof. Louryk threw together based on a broadcast by noted 1930s and 1940s bandleader and radio personality Kay Kyser. According to the Enclyclopedia Britannica, “As the host of the radio program Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge (1938–49), American bandleader Kyser delighted listeners with a blend of swing music, comedy routines, and quiz questions for contestants, who could earn cash for answering the “kollege brainbuster question.” At the height of his popularity, Kyser starred in several Hollywood films… Though he never learned to read music or play an instrument, Kyser became a star as the host and self-styled old professor, who donned an academic cap and gown to enhance the ‘kollege’ theme.”
WHO IS ERNIE JOSELOVITZ?
Ernie is a playwright/theater producer who ran Washington, DC’s New Playwrights Theater and the Playwrights Forum, for which Eric used to direct play readings in the early 1990s. Joselovitz’s play Hagar’s Children ran at The Public Theater in 1977. Read more about Ernie here.
WHERE HAVE I HEARD THAT “DETENTION” CLIP BEFORE?
It’s from “I Am Not Okay With This,” a Netflix TV series that, sadly, only ran for one season, starring Sophia Lillis and Wyatt Oleff (who were also in “It: Chapter One”). Read Eric’s thoughts on the cancellation of this show here.
WHAT ARE THE SUPERLATIVES?
Each week, we honor (or insult) each film in categories named for famed horror film characters, actors, and directors. To read about these, click here.
WHAT ARE THE SONGS UNDER THE “SUPERLATIVES” MEDLEY?
Depending on which episode you’re listening to, it’s either “Popular” by Nada Surf, or “Games Without Frontiers” by Peter Gabriel. We chose the latter tune because its refrain, “Jeux sans frontières,” sung by Kate Bush, is a “mondegreen,” meaning the lyrics are frequently mistaken for something else — in this case, for “she’s so popular.”
WHERE HAVE I HEARD THAT “I DO WISH WE COULD CHAT LONGER” CLIP BEFORE?
It’s from the end of a little film we like to call “The Silence of the Lambs.”
WHO ARE YOUR INFLUENCES?
We owe a debt to some of our favorite podcasts, including The Ringer’s The Rewatchables, and Mike Muncer’s The Evolution of Horror, both of which we highly recommend.
MINUTE OF SPIN FAQ
WHY DO YOU CALL IT “THE MINUTE OF SPIN” IF THEY’RE NOT A MINUTE LONG?
(1) Alliteration; (2) I knew going in that it wouldn’t be possible to tell the whole story in only 60 seconds, but I liked the sound of it (see #1), so it stuck. (This is Eric speaking, btw)
AND WHAT DOES “SPIN” HAVE TO DO WITH IT?
Once upon a time, to listen to music, you had a place a vinyl disk on something called a “turntable” and it would spin around and the sound would be picked up by a tiny needle running over the grooves in the vinyl. Nowadays turntables are only owned by people who visit used record stores in Williamsburg.
HOW DID YOU PICK THE SONGS AND THE ARTISTS?
Most of these are songs I have some personal connection to, or memory of, and whether or not they came to represent something in my life, they made an impression on me.
I NOTICE THERE ARE ONLY TWELVE EPISODES. DO YOU INTEND TO MAKE MORE?
I don’t know. I do have a long list of other songs I’d like to cover, but it really depends on how certain things shake out in my life.
I FEEL LIKE THERE ARE SOME DATED REFERENCES IN THIS. WHY IS THAT?
Probably because I originally recorded these in 2011, and remixed them in 2022. If something is out of date, I try to note it in the description. For instance, Peter Green was still alive when I recorded, but passed away in the interim, so his death is noted (RIP).