Horror’s Biggest makes a comeback with a second season full of thrilling episodes for horror followers hungry for extra horror movies to see in 2025. This season’s episodes embody “Animal Assaults”, “Killer Dates”, “Hidden Gems”, “Movie Scores”, and “House Horror”. Showrunner Kurt Sayenga brings to this season new views to horror classics like The Birds and Carrie, to lesser-known frights like The Blackcoat’s Daughter and Ghostwatch, with a number of on-camera interviewees, together with myself.
Sayenga shares with us how he developed the themes of the episodes, what new movies he found by way of this season, the influence of movie scores in horror cinema, and what he hopes audiences will take away from the collection.
Bonilla: How would you describe the theme of this season?
Kurt Sayenga: This season takes the overall concept of Horror’s Biggest and expands upon it, taking it into locations that present the pliability of the idea. The overall umbrella of Horror’s Biggest lets us have a look at the historical past of horror movie scores in addition to placing the highlight on important subgenres, like animal assaults.
With so many potentialities, how did you resolve on what movies to spotlight for the “Hidden Gems” episode?
Kurt Sayenga: I like to ask individuals who watch a variety of horror movies, style movies, what their lesser-known or unappreciated favorites are. All people all the time has a minimum of one. These movies are usually not widespread information however are price looking for out. So, in placing collectively the “Hidden Gems” episode, I wished a slate of flicks that appealed to a variety of tastes, from classical horror to extraordinarily boundary-pushing horror.
Many of those cool however uncelebrated movies are from exterior the US, which is one thing I’m very eager on attempting to introduce and expose individuals to. One of many good issues about Shudder is it takes up that trigger as properly. They placed on a variety of issues from different areas, issues like Santa Sangre, which is a batshit film, however price seeing as a result of there’s nothing else fairly prefer it. It’s a superb one to see with buddies should you can since you’re going to get a large spectrum of reactions to that movie. It could freak out a few of these buddies, so select them correctly.
So far as selecting the titles, I requested a variety of hardcore horror individuals for suggestions and wound up with an inventory of about 100 totally different movies, after which doing the interviews I bought a way of what individuals have been most obsessed with. Through the enhancing course of, I boiled them all the way down to movies that had good sound bites and can be found in some type, as a result of fairly a couple of hidden gems are out of print and practically unimaginable to search out. Happily, there are bodily media firms attempting to rescue them, like Kino Lorber, Arrow, Severin, Indicator, and Vinegar Syndrome. Just a few of my friends – Michael Gingold, Nathaniel Thompson, and Howard S. Berger – have executed actually tons of of commentary tracks for them. Howard’s suggestion was for Peter Collinson’s Fright, which I had by no means heard of.
What have been a number of the hidden gems that shocked you probably the most? I’m assuming Fright is one among them.
Kurt Sayenga: Yeah, Fright was one among them. That’s a really intense film that laid the bottom for the “babysitter in peril” pattern. It’s very British and psychosexual, very real looking in probably the most disturbing manner. The Untamed, from the Mexican director Amat Escalante, is equally disturbing and intensely psychosexual, however under no circumstances real looking. There’s Ghostwatch, which I began listening to about a few years in the past however was troublesome to trace down till fairly not too long ago.
Freaked – Michael Gingold really helpful that, and once I discovered Alex Winter was coming in, I tracked down a replica – it’s been out of print for some time. I watched it and thought, “Oh, that was weird and entertaining and value together with.” Ganja and Hess, which Tananarive Due informed me in regards to the first time I interviewed her…and several other individuals really helpful The Blackcoat’s Daughter and I Am the Fairly Factor That Lives within the Home, which I hadn’t seen.
And Messiah of Evil was a pleasant shock – that was not too long ago given a good looking restoration, and it seems in one of many episode’s sublists. The sublists are the place we put movies we don’t have sufficient time to incorporate. However actually, we may do an entire collection simply on hidden gems.
For animal assaults, what’s your favourite animal assault horror film within the episode?
Kurt Sayenga: There are a variety of incredible animal assault films. I’d nonetheless need to go along with The Birds, even over – and that is controversial, as a result of I do know saying that The Birds is best than Jaws is, you realize, heresy or one thing. Jaws is a terrific movie, clearly, but when I needed to watch one thing again and again, I’d watch The Birds, due to how experimental the filmmaking is and due to the bizarre undercurrents of the story.
Now, Jaws is clearly a incredible piece of economic filmmaking. Steven Spielberg actually directs the hell out of this factor, firing on all cylinders. However to me, it’s not disturbing the best way The Birds is. And Jaws doesn’t actually have a lot subtext. I’m certain any person may make an entire argument that the shark [in Jaws] represents capitalism or it’s about masculinity or no matter. However I feel it’s precisely what it seems to be: a basic man versus nature story.
However clearly darker issues are happening beneath the floor of The Birds, and Alfred Hitchcock is channeling all of this. There’s the entire twisted relationship of Rod Taylor’s character together with his mom. Suzanne Pleshette and Tippi Hedren each want him, which is kind of an enviable place to be in, and his mom’s repressed rage over shedding her son appears to present itself by way of the chook assaults. The Freudian subtext is so robust that it’s sort of humorous, and naturally, Hitchcock as a visible filmmaker can’t be beat. You’ll be able to see Hitchcock’s affect on Spielberg throughout Jaws.
There are such a lot of iconic movie scores. How troublesome was it to select the movie scores within the episode?
Kurt Sayenga: It was an amazing pleasure to make that episode, but it surely was difficult to clarify a number of the musical ideas in a manner that non-musicians would perceive. As a result of very like physics, if you’re speaking about music, you’re actually speaking about one other language. Musicians work with the language of music simply as physicists work with the language of math.
And, on the sensible stage, there are all types of music rights points which can be actually tough. You need to be very particular in regards to the movie clips you employ and the way lengthy you employ them. So, that was a tough episode to do from that perspective. However largely it was laborious as a result of I want it was a minimum of two hours lengthy, not an hour lengthy. I attempted to deal with the landmark composers who created horror movie scores as we all know them immediately, and general I feel we have been profitable.
Is there a distinction between the basic and up to date scores?
Kurt Sayenga: Modern horror scores appear to have turned away from melody and large orchestration. Jerry Goldsmith, Max Steiner, and the entire classicists, even John Williams, it’s not likely in type for the time being, a minimum of not in horror. A part of that’s pushed by budgets. Full orchestras are costly. That’s why synthesizers dominated low-budget horror movies within the Eighties. Lately extra ambient tracks are in type, which I additionally love – once they’re executed proper. Like Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, they’ve their very own vibe they carry to every little thing, which could be very, very cool. However they use ostinatos, easy repeated phrases, that make their scores memorable.
Some fashionable composers don’t even provide you with that – they create extra of an general vibe of dread, which might be very efficient, however there’s not a lot in the best way of melody. However that’s a deliberate selection, and that selection is often made by the director, as a result of, as Randy Newman famously mentioned, “The connection of the composer to the director is that of the monkey to the organ grinder.” You give them what they’re asking for.
Certainly one of my favourite up to date works is Mica Levi’s soundtrack for Below the Pores and skin, which is sort of atonal, not likely melodic in any respect, and makes use of a variety of noise and results, but it surely’s terrifying and singular sufficient to be memorable. However it’s not one thing you may hum, just like the leitmotifs of The Bride of Frankenstein or the principle theme to Jaws.
Do you assume that movie scores could make or break a movie?
Kurt Sayenga: Yeah, for certain, positively. And soundtracks – which means the music and results and dialogue recording – these can break a movie in the event that they’re not correctly recorded and combined. Usually when an unbiased movie, a low-budget unbiased movie, will get acquired, the very first thing {that a} studio spends cash on is upgrading the soundtrack. There are a variety of magic machines and gifted individuals now that may clear issues up and make them sound a lot better. It may well make all of the distinction, notably in horror movies.
Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a wonderful instance of the significance of sound. It seems beautiful, but it surely additionally sounds terrific. There’s a timbre they carry to the voice of the vampire that’s actually attention-grabbing and chilling – they need to do some kind of processing on Invoice Skarsgård’s voice. The music and sound results are very tightly built-in, a lot the identical manner that Alan Howarth, who’s one among our interviewees, labored with John Carpenter on a variety of his well-known scores of the Eighties and Nineteen Nineties. Alan additionally was a sound designer for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which he talks about within the present. All of the unusual, custom-made sounds for Bram Stoker’s Dracula added an enormous component that it made it a lot extra attention-grabbing.
Regardless that the sounds typically are utterly unnatural, it grounds the horror in a manner, throwing in sounds which can be misplaced in a traditional surroundings. It’s unsettling sufficient that it hits you, in all probability even on the unconscious stage, that one thing is off right here.
That are your favourite scariest killer date films or killer {couples}?
Kurt Sayenga: Carrie will all the time be necessary to me as a result of seeing that once I was younger made a very large influence on me. There’s a lot ache in that film, and that movie captures the worst elements of highschool and poisonous teen {couples}. However Audition might be my favourite date film. That’s a movie about adults and skewed energy dynamics, but in addition nearly how relationship might be terrifying since you by no means know should you’re hooking up with a psychopath. And The Bride of
Frankenstein captures the craving and ache of unrequited love.
What do you assume makes killer date movies uniquely terrifying, versus one thing like area horror or animal assaults?
Kurt Sayenga: Oh, I feel they’re universally relatable. No matter your orientation is, human beings wish to hook up with different human beings. Attempting to have some kind of shut private relationship includes belief, and that includes opening your self up and exposing your self to different individuals. And if you open your self up, individuals can get in and wreck the furnishings inside. That’s the danger you’re taking.
How does area horror set itself other than different sci-fi horror films?
Kurt Sayenga: House horror is about our urge to discover the unknown and never being cognizant or blithely ignoring the truth that we as a species have no idea every little thing. And once we exit into the universe, there might be all types of unspeakable issues which can be past our comprehension. In different phrases, basic HP Lovecraft. Just about each good area horror movie owes one thing to Lovecraft, even 2001: A House Odyssey, which on its floor appears technical and sterile, due to its medical presentation of an area voyage. However by the top, the astronaut is confronting one thing that he actually can not perceive; he can not wrap his thoughts round what he’s seeing.
All of those unusual photographs are coming at him and on the viewers that is mindless. A part of it is rather like, “What the hell is that this?” However you aren’t meant to grasp. It’s a illustration of one thing that may’t be described.
What would you take into account the three most necessary area horror movies, and why?
Kurt Sayenga: Alien, for all the apparent causes. Alien places us in a haunted home in area. Alien follows a blueprint laid down by a number of movies, most prominently It! The Terror from Past House and Planet of the Vampires. However Alien provides it this excessive gloss, superbly constructed Ridley Scott therapy, and it simply works. It nonetheless holds up, nonetheless scary, nonetheless good.
2001: A House Odyssey once more, as a result of it’s a movie that dwells upon the insignificance of human beings in relation to the vastness of the universe and our makes an attempt to evolve. The second half of 2001: A House Odyssey is the half that hits the toughest, first as a result of it has HAL-9000. And with each second, HAL turns into extra of a actuality.
Alexa and Siri are listening to every little thing you say, amassing information factors, then tailoring adverts in the direction of you. It’s a type of surveillance that George Orwell couldn’t have dreamed of, deployed within the service of capitalism. 2001: A House Odyssey warns us that if we create a very clever machine, that machine might be extra neurotic than the people, as a result of on this case the machine truly has extra of a soul than the people it’s serving.
The second key of 2001: A House Odyssey is the confrontation with the unknown and unknowable. The unknowable might be horrific as a result of we are able to’t perceive what it’s and what it needs. We don’t know what the Monolith did to the astronaut or what the star child is on the finish. It seems that Bowman was reborn as the following step in evolution, however look what occurred with the final evolutionary step! Homo sapiens worn out the earlier species and took over. So, 2001: A House Odyssey doesn’t essentially have a cheerful ending. It simply has an ending: “Prepare for no matter comes subsequent.”
Science fiction movies and horror movies are intently aligned as a result of they’re all warnings. They’re like our collective unconscious making an attempt to inform individuals to get up, watch out, and be careful for hazard. However their classes are ignored. We’ve been warned about AI for many years, however the tech lords odor cash and they will make AI occur whatever the penalties.
My third selection is Forbidden Planet. That’s one of many first nice science fiction movies, and it has a monster that rips individuals aside, so it’s horror, however the actual horror is its message: people can go to the outer reaches of outer area, however we’ll take our issues with us. We take our goodness, however we additionally take our jealousies and petty hatreds, the traits we predict that we now have transcended. We might imagine that we aren’t animals, however beneath that’s nonetheless what we’re. It’s a message that will get repeated in a current science fiction movie I actually love referred to as Aniara, which is a Swedish-Danish film that I wish to name “the nightmare model of Wall-E.”
What do you hope audiences will take away from the season?
Kurt Sayenga: I hope that audiences will reply to our appreciation of the craft of moviemaking and that they’ll search out the wide selection of flicks that we study and rejoice. Horror takes many types, and there are lots of subgenres, and I actually imagine there’s something in horror for everybody, no matter your style.
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Horror’s Biggest Season 2 is now streaming on Shudder.
