Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Squaring the Strange


Squaring the Strange brings evidence-based analysis and commentary to a wide variety of topics, ranging from the paranormal to the political.

 

Investigating ghosts. Debunking conspiracies. Dodging chupacabras.

If a claim seems strange, Ben and Pascual will try to square it with the facts.

 

Squaring the Strange is a fan-supported podcast. Please visit us at our Patreon page to help support as well as receive some great perks!
If not, please head over to iTunes and give us a review!

Jun 12, 2020

We are joined today by filmmaker and encyclopedia of weird film knowledge Erik Kristopher Myers. The notion of a "snuff film" is a strange convergence of conspiracy thinking, urban legend, moral panic, and actual film trivia, and we tour the genre--or, rather, things that have been assumed part of this elusive genre--from the Manson family to Faces of Death to an early found-footage gore fest called Cannibal Holocaust. Have any real snuff films ever been uncovered, or any black market snuff rings investigated? What are the factors that play into our belief in, and fear of, these monstrous commodifications of our mortality? And how have moviemakers and underground video producers capitalized on the idea?