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The Tingler and Heretic? with C. Courtney Joyner - Talking Pondo
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In this episode, C. Courtney Joyner joins the podcast. He brings along the movie The Tingler. Marty and Clif give Courtney the movie Heretic to watch.
Marty and Clif welcome screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner for a conversation that takes a detour almost immediately. The guys watched Heretic (2024), the Hugh Grant thriller about two young missionaries who find themselves trapped in a dangerous game of faith and manipulation. Courtney, however, heard the title and assumed they wanted to discuss Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), John Boorman's notoriously divisive sequel starring Richard Burton and Linda Blair. What follows is an unexpected deep dive into a film nobody else at the table watched this week, exploring Boorman's striking visual style, the troubled production, the movie’s reputation and whether it deserves a second look.
Next on the agenda: William Castle's The Tingler (1959), starring Vincent Price as a scientist investigating a strange creature that grows inside people experiencing extreme fear. Castle was never content to simply put a movie on a screen, and The Tingler is a perfect example of his theatrical showmanship, complete with the legendary “Percepto” gimmick that made theater seats vibrate when the creature was supposedly loose in the auditorium. Courtney brings a wealth of film-history knowledge to the discussion, sharing stories about Castle's promotional stunts, the studio system, the film's ingenious black-and-white and color effects and the creative choices behind it's most memorable moments. Meanwhile, Marty and Clif revisit the film's wonderfully odd plot, it's gloriously strange dialogue and it's unsettling imagery.
Along the way: Courtney shares stories about John McTiernan’s unforgettable lessons on storyboarding, Mystery Science Theater 3000, making a bad movie, “director jail,” the appeal of older films and how science fiction keeps inspiring real-world technology.
A huge thanks to C. Courtney Joyner for joining Marty and Clif for a fascinating, funny, and wonderfully unpredictable conversation as Talking Pondo wraps up Season 4. We’ll be back next week to kick off Season 5!
#TalkingPondo #Heretic #TheTingler #CCourtneyJoyner #VincentPrice #WilliamCastle #ExorcistIITheHeretic #HorrorMovies #MoviePodcast
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