Fear of the Dark

Ma (Tate Taylor, 2019)

In this episode, we get a little too close to the friendly woman who lives in town... Today, we discuss Ma (2019), the horror film starring Octavia Spencer as Sue Ann ("Ma"), in which a group of high school students get wrapped up in her pursuit of vengeance against those who wronged her when she was younger. Join us as we talk about the the horrors of service and hospitality, the aestheticization of Black femininity, and, interestingly, Octavia Spencer's recent turn to network television cooking shows.
Film: Ma (Tate Taylor, 2019)Intro Music: “The Army of You” (Library of Congress Free Music Archive)Outro Music: “Late Night Indigo” (written and performed by Stacey Baran)
Fear of the Dark is a film podcast about race and horror, hosted by Matthew Vernon and Stacey Baran. Episode edited by Matthew Vernon. Mixdown and mastering by Stacey Baran.
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Pearl (Ti West, 2022)

Matthew and Stacey sit down to talk about Ti West's 2022 slasher Pearl, starring Mia Goth as the titular antiheroine in this prequel to X. Join us as we discuss the film's representations of the American (immigrant's) dream and the history of cinema, as well as whether we might consider this film a contemporary contribution to American folk horror.
Film: Pearl (Ti West, 2022)Intro Music: “The Army of You” (Library of Congress Free Music Archive)Outro Music: “Late Night Indigo” (written and performed by Stacey Baran)
Fear of the Dark is a film podcast about race and horror, hosted by Matthew Vernon and Stacey Baran. Episode edited by Matthew Vernon. Mixdown and mastering by Stacey Baran.

It Comes at Night (Trey Edward Shults, 2017)

In this episode, Stacey and Matthew sit down to talk about Trey Edward Shults' It Comes at Night (2017), starring Joel Edgerton, Riley Keough, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. This post-apocalyptic horror film explores the dynamics of two families who decide to live in the same house in hopes of increasing their chances of survival, and whose secrecy and mistrust eventually lead to a horrific set of tragedies. In this conversation, we discuss how alienation factors into racial tensions both between and within the two family units, and how commensality and shared spaces might function in times of crisis. 
Film: It Comes at Night (Trey Edward Shults, 2017)Intro Music: “The Army of You” (Library of Congress Free Music Archive)Outro Music: “Late Night Indigo” (written and performed by Stacey Baran)
Fear of the Dark is a film podcast about race and horror, hosted by Matthew Vernon and Stacey Baran. Episode edited by Matthew Vernon. Mixdown and mastering by Stacey Baran.

Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)

On this special, slightly-out-of-the-ordinary episode of Fear of the Dark, Matthew and Stacey celebrate the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg's classic, Jaws. Join us as we geek out over the film together. We chat about our favorite lines and funny moments, the iconicity of the shark in horror, and how a movie like Jaws imagines the animal as compared to the apex predator in Jordan Peele's Nope (2022).
Film: Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)Intro Music: “The Army of You” (Library of Congress Free Music Archive)Outro Music: “Late Night Indigo” (written and performed by Stacey Baran)
Fear of the Dark is a film podcast about race and horror, hosted by Matthew Vernon and Stacey Baran. Episode edited by Matthew Vernon. Mixdown and mastering by Stacey Baran.

His House (Remi Weekes, 2020)

On this episode, Matthew and Stacey talk about the 2020 horror film His House directed by Remi Weekes. The film stars Wunmi Mosaku as Rial and Sope Dirisu as Bol, a South Sudanese couple fleeing to London for asylum, as they find themselves struggling to conform to the pressures of belonging in England while also being haunted by the ghosts of their past. Tune in with us as we discuss historical and personal trauma, anxieties around cultural assimilation, and the function of the haunted house in the film.
Film: His House (Remi Weekes, 2020)Intro Music: “The Army of You” (Library of Congress Free Music Archive)Outro Music: “Late Night Indigo” (written and performed by Stacey Baran)
Fear of the Dark is a film podcast about race and horror, hosted by Matthew Vernon and Stacey Baran. Episode edited by Matthew Vernon. Mixdown and mastering by Stacey Baran.

Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968)

In this episode, we stave off the zombie apocalypse by heading to the second floor and taking out the staircase... Join us as we talk about George A. Romero's 1968 film, Night of the Living Dead, the symbolism of the farmhouse in the 60s, the doomed heroism of our protagonist Ben (played by Duane Jones), and the sociopolitical milieu of the film's release.
Film: Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968)Intro Music: “The Army of You” (Library of Congress Free Music Archive)Outro Music: “Late Night Indigo” (written and performed by Stacey Baran)
Fear of the Dark is a film podcast about race and horror, hosted by Matthew Vernon and Stacey Baran. Episode edited by Matthew Vernon. Mixdown and mastering by Stacey Baran.

Final Destination (2000) and Bloodlines (2025)

"AUTOPSY IN PROGRESS"...
On this episode of Fear of the Dark, Stacey and Matthew chat about Final Destination (2000) in tandem with the newest installment in the franchise, Final Destination Bloodlines (2025). We reminisce a bit on what it was like for us to first see the original, and then we discuss the role of William Bludworth, played by the late Tony Todd, to think about the actor's cinematic history playing "dark" characters, the (dis)embodiment of Blackness, and the personification of Death in the films.
Films: Final Destination (James Wong, 2000) and Final Destination Bloodlines (Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein, 2025)Intro Music: “The Army of You” (Library of Congress Free Music Archive)Outro Music: “Late Night Indigo” (written and performed by Stacey Baran)
Fear of the Dark is a film podcast about race and horror, hosted by Matthew Vernon and Stacey Baran. Episode edited by Matthew Vernon. Mixdown and mastering by Stacey Baran.

Blink Twice (Zoë Kravitz, 2024)

On this episode, Matthew and Stacey are joined by Rosette Simityan, a fellow UC Davis colleague in the English Department. Join us as we talk about Zoë Kravitz's 2024 psychological thriller, Blink Twice, which stars Naomi Ackie as Frida, a cocktail server, and Channing Tatum as Slater King, a tech CEO who invites Frida and her friend, Jess (Alia Shawkat), to his private island. Once there, Frida and Jess start to realize that they and the other women there are trapped in a horrific cycle of brutal abuse at the hands of Slater and his invited male guests. Together we discuss how the film engages with new directions in the purchase of horror and depictions of graphic violence, as well as how racial difference is imagined in the context of memory and experience.
Content warning: Blink Twice contains graphic depictions of sexual violence, abuse, and assault, which may be upsetting for some of our listeners to hear. Please listen with discretion if conversations around these themes might be particularly triggering or disturbing to you.
Film: Blink Twice (Zoë Kravitz, 2024)Intro Music: “The Army of You” (Library of Congress Free Music Archive)Outro Music: “Late Night Indigo” (written and performed by Stacey Baran)
Fear of the Dark is a film podcast about race and horror, hosted by Matthew Vernon and Stacey Baran. Episode edited and mastered by Stacey Baran.
 

Midsommar (Ari Aster, 2019)

On this episode of Fear of the Dark, Stacey and Matthew talk about Midsommar, the 2021 broad-daylight horror film directed by Ari Aster that came out six years ago this month. The film stars Florence Pugh as Dani, a young woman who has just tragically lost her immediate family and decides to join her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor), and a handful of other doctoral students on an extended stay at a small commune in Sweden over the summer. Join us as we talk about the representations of Black knowledge in academia through the character of Josh (William Jackson Harper) and the ecological horrors of whiteness in the film. (Production note: this episode was recorded in November 2024.)
Film: Midsommar (Ari Aster, 2019)Intro Music: “The Army of You” (Library of Congress Free Music Archive)Outro Music: “Late Night Indigo” (written and performed by Stacey Baran)
Fear of the Dark is a film podcast about race and horror, hosted by Matthew Vernon and Stacey Baran. Episode edited by Matthew Vernon. Mixdown and mastering by Stacey Baran.

Ex Machina (Alex Garland, 2014)

Do you know the thought experiment of Mary in a black and white room? Join Matthew and Stacey as they discuss Ex Machina, the 2014 sci-fi thriller starring Alicia Vikander as an android named Ava, who is put to the Turing test by a programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) under the watchful supervision of his CEO (Oscar Isaac). We chat about binary gender constructs, aspirations to the heteronormative human, and the film's invocations of the racialized female body.
Film: Ex Machina (Alex Garland, 2014)Intro Music: “The Army of You” (Library of Congress Free Music Archive)Outro Music: “Late Night Indigo” (written and performed by Stacey Baran)
Fear of the Dark is a film podcast about race and horror, hosted by Matthew Vernon and Stacey Baran. Episode edited by Matthew Vernon. Mixdown and mastering by Stacey Baran.