Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael
Society & Culture
On this edition of Parallax Views, the 1989 horror film Society has become a cult classic for it's wild mix of body horror, dark humor, satire of high society, and class warfare politics. Joining us to discuss that movie, as well as his work on other horror movies past and present, is the film's co-write Zeph E. Daniel. In the second hour, Zeph and I discuss his return to screenwriting with the 2021 horror/thriller GIRL NEXT, a story of a young woman's fight to survive after being kidnapped by human traffickers that gets very strange when demonic entities, body-altering drugs, quantum physics, and a sinister MKULTRA-style government experiment are thrown into the plot's mix.
Among the topics covered in our conversation:
- How Zeph became involved in screenwriting and early sci-fi writing
- Working with producer/director Brian Yuzna, known for his body-horror films including the Re-Animator franchise and Society
- How Society's initial story involved a Satanic cult rather than strange, alien-like shapeshifting beings posing as rich humans in Beverly Hills
- Satirizing the shallowness of the wealthy and Beverly Hills culture
- Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation and it's witchcraft plot involving the demon Lilith
- The length of the filming shoot for the Yuzna-made movies Zeph worked on
- Zeph's thoughts on Bride of Re-Animator
- The class warfare element of Society, Zeph's interview with the left-wing publication Jacobin, and the exploitation of the poor by the rich in Society's story
- Actress Devin DeVasquez's "Clarissa" character in Society
- The differences between Zeph's original story for Society and the movie itself
- Special effects artist Screaming Mad George and the infamous "The Shunting" ritual scene in Society
- Girl Next and the story of how Zeph formed Crazed House Ltd. with director Larry Wade Carell
- Zeph's belief in spiritual warfare
- Zeph's thoughts and feelings on his work being rejected by the Christian community despite his being a born again Christian; the story of how his evangelical Christian novel Lamb was rejected by the Christian community; the fear of creativity that exists within some Christian circles
- The next Crazed House Ltd. movie and the big name horror star legend that'll have a voice role in the film
- Experiences at Texas Frightmare Weekend
- Problems with wanting to express one's authentic creative self and still getting funding to make a movie
- Sex in cinema; the sexual scenes in Girl Next
- An explanation of the body-altering drug that's central to Girl Next's plot; how quantum physics and simulation theory play into Girl Next and it's upcoming sequels
- Zeph's "Special Thank You" credit in the serial killer movie Ed Gein starring Steve Railsback (The Stuntman; Helter Skelter)
- How Zeph works with people who do not share his beliefs about religion or his personal story
- The cult classic status of Society today and the different types of people that have come to love the film
- Society as a movie that was soft banned in the U.S. but very popular in Europe
- Zeph's speculations on what happened to Society's protagonist Bill Whitley (played by Billy Warlock) after the events of the story
- The trials and tribulations of making Girl Next
- Zeph's early experiences on the radical left
- Power elites and oppression of working people
- The infamous "The rich have always sucked off low-class shit like you" line in Society that crystalizes it's class conflict themes
- And much, much more!
The Empty Wagon: Zionism’s Journey from Identity Crisis to Identity Theft w/ Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro
Permanent Distortion: How the Financial Markets Abandoned the Real Economy Forever w/ Nomi Prins
The Emirati Lobby and Foreign Influence Operations in the U.S. w/ Ben Freeman
Chatting w/ Casper Kelly of Adult Swim Yule Log, Too Many Cooks, & Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell Fame
The Strange Story of Nazi Satanists, the Feds, & Montenegro’s Orthodox Church w/ Boris & Rey of The Empire Never Ended Podcast
Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia w/ Natasha Lance Rogoff
UNLOCKED: Absurdist Humor and Horror Collide in Butt Boy and Tiny Cinema w/ Tyler Cornack and Ryan Koch
Horror Cult Classic Black Christmas, the It’s Me Billy Fan Film, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare Fan Sequel, and Voice Acting w/ Dave McRae
Gremlinology for the Holidays! w/ Robbie Martin
The Delay of the Yemen War Powers Resolution w/ Hassan El-Tayyab/Understanding Hanukkah and Jewish Culture w/ Deborah Dash Moore
Israeli Politics from a Progressive Jewish-American Perspective w/ Abe Silberstein/Combating the Israeli Far-Right and Antisemitism at the Same Time w/ Stephen Zunes
The Life & Films of Steven Spielberg + Myth and Reality in THE FABELMANS w/ Joseph McBride
Lawsuit Over JFK Documents, Lee Harvey Oswald, & the CIA w/ Jefferson Morley/FBI Surveillance and the ”Black Identity Extremist” Label w/ Patrick Eddington
The Problems of U.S. Arms Sales Policy w/ Jordan Cohen/Student Confronts Liz Cheney Over Iraq War w/ Mitch Robson
Money-Driven Politics in an Age of Global Tumult w/ Thomas Ferguson/Railroad Workers, Corporate Power, and Congress w/ Jack Rasmus
New Film FARHA Tells a Coming-of-Age Survival Story Set Amidst the Nakba w/ Darin J. Sallam/The Sordid History of Guantanamo Bay w/ Andy Worthington
Is Turkey Preparing for a Ground Operation in Syria? w/ Giorgio Cafiero
Railroad Workers Sound Off on Their Grievances, Biden, Sick Leave, and the Rail Carriers w/ Marilee Taylor, Jeff Kurtz, and Maximilian Alvarez
U.S. Foreign Policy, Saudi Arabia, & the Arms Industry w/ Annelle Sheline & William Hartung/Geopolitics & U.S. Foreign Policy w/ Doug Bandow
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL