The Scariest Things Podcast Episode LIV: CULTS!

We’re talking Cults in episode 54! Mike and Eric are joined by our Patron pal Matt Howl for this episode. Start the Satanic Panic Propaganda!

Hello, please, take a flier! You’re new in town, right? Well, we at the Scariest Things would like to… wait, don’t go! Heh, sorry about that. Don’t let our name fool you, we’re all very nice people here at TST. We are having a gathering… a party… on Friday, at the Convention Center. We’d love it if you’d join us. We’re going to be talking about creating a monument, it will be fun! You did say you were a virgin, right?

Muaaaahahahaha! (Mike don’t forget to bring the ritual dagger with you!)

The hypnotic lure of belonging to a group that matters. That promises all that you ever wanted, for but the want of a little blood, or the devotion to a horrific being. Sure, that’s not so bad, is it? A respite for the desperate, for those who are lost in their own minds or who have nothing left to lose.

The promises are easy. You’ve been wronged. There’s a better way to live. We’ll make your rich! We’ll find you a place of belonging! We’ll let you find yourself! (A very effective ploy, that.) We’ll give you the family you always wished you had.

Hmmm? Oh, that? Yeah, don’t drink that. Not for now, at least.

Who knew that films about cults would be so varied? It’s not all about devils and demons, though some of the best of them are.

Our Patron Guest Matt went largely comedic with his picks.
Eric went with the Lovecraft themed Cosmic cults.
Mike went serious with his selections.
And they’re just a drop in the bucket for the genre!

All it takes, is someone charismatic. A charmer. Someone who can convince you, despite all of your doubts and the outlandishness of the promises, that THIS person will deliver you to a better place. And you’ll do anything for that person. It’s a great parable for our times, is it not?

Don’t be surprised if there is an increase of horror movies that pick up on the cult theme over the next few years. Art has a way of revealing the uglier sides of our nature. Whether it’s a parable for war, racism, xenophobia, or misogyny, horror films will pick up on the fears buried in culture. This era may well be defined in a fear of politics and our leaders, be it Brexit, the Syrian migration crisis, Russian political interference, or Trumpism, both by those who adhere to these beliefs, and those who can’t believe these things are actually happening.

Or, maybe we want to see teenagers trying to avoid being sacrificed by their parents before they lose their virginity. That works too!

Please enjoy The Scariest Things Podcast, Episode 54: CULTS! We gave you extra listening time for this one… one of US! one of US! one of US!

(Build that wall! Build that wall! Build that wall! Build that wall!)