Many of us film fans out there attend theaters throughout the year, whether it be a national chain or one of the art house theaters. Then there are some that are even hitting some of the film festivals, special screenings, and those crazy enough, the marathons. For these kinds of events to happen though, there has to be some mad geniuses behind them to make them become a reality. That is a little of what a film programmer is, though what they do is so much more. From tracking down film prints, the best quality ones available, and even harder sometimes is who actually owns them, so they can screen them. A lot of times it might come down to the sheer passion they have for these offbeat, awkward, or just downright strange and fucked up, that makes them want to pass that along to new viewers. In other words, helping new fans Discover the Horror!

One of those mad geniuses is Will Morris, who is one of the programmers for the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, and has been programming the 24-hour marathon, The Music Box of Horrors, for close to a decade now, as well as programming their yearly January Giallo festival, and much, much more. We invited Will to come on the show to not only explain a little of what he does, but why. Get ready for a fun and wild ride.

Movies mention in the episode:

964 Pinocchio (1991), Abby (1974), Alleluia (2014), Aswang (1994), The Beyond (1981), Blood of Ghastly Horror (1967), Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (1974), Café Flesh, Calvaire (2004), The Carrier (1988), The Children (2008), Child’s Play 2 (1990), Class of Nuke ‘Em High Part II: Subhumanoid Meltdown (1991), Corruption (1983), Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956), The Demons (1973), Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein (1972), Dr. Caligari (1989), Emaneulle and the Last Cannibal (1977), Ernest Scared Stupid (1991), Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead 2 (1987), The Exorcist (1973), Fiend with the Electronic Brain (1967), Fuck the Devil (1990), Fuck the Devil 2: Return of the Fucker (1991), Ganja & Hess (1973), Ginger Snaps (2000), The Granny (1995), Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), The House on Haunted Hill (1959), Last House on Dead End Street (1973), Mystics in Bali (1981), Nekromantik (1988), Jaws (1975), Jurassic Park (1993), Meet the Feebles (1989), Mirror Mirror (1990), Organ (1996), A Patch of Blue (1965), Possession (1981), Psycho a Go Go (1965), Of Unknown Origin (1983), REC, Repulsion (1965), Roman Holiday (1953), Santet (1988), Sex Demon (2019), Shaun of the Dead (2004), The Snorkel (1958), The Tenant (1976), Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), The Thing (1982), Torso (1973), Vaya luna de miel (1980), When a Stranger Calls Back (1993), Witch with the Flying Head (1982), A Woman’s Torment (1977)

Show Notes: 

The Mondo fanzine mentioned: https://www.instagram.com/themondomaniac
The Music Box Theatre – https://www.musicboxtheatre.com