Fear of the Dark

On the second episode of our Nazi Zombie mini season, we chat about the very weird and fascinating 1966 film, The Frozen Dead! The film is set two decades after the end of World War II and follows the villainous Nazi scientist Dr. Norberg attempts to reanimate frozen Nazi soldiers. Join us as we chat about disembodiment, authority, and how this film thinks through the pivotal transformations of the zombie and the Nazi figures.
Film: The Frozen Dead (1966)
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.
Follow us on Instagram @fearofthedarkpod!

We kick off our first episode of the Nazi Zombie mini season with King of the Zombies (1941)! Join us in our conversation about this comical B film, which follows an American pilot (and company) who crash-land on an island in the Caribbean. There they discover a Gothic-like mansion owned by a Dr. Miklos Sangre, who is attempting to create and control zombies through voodoo.
Film: King of the Zombies (1941)
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.
Follow us on Instagram @fearofthedarkpod!

Welcome to Fear of the Dark's third mini season on: the NAZI ZOMBIE. Stacey and Matthew sit down to introduce the season and chat about this intriguing and ever-prevalent trope in movies, TV, and video games! When and how did zombies and Nazis come to first intersect in the cultural imagination? On the front lines, are fast or slow zombies easier to deal with? And with what degree of seriousness (if any) are we supposed to treat the Nazi zombie in contemporary media? Join us as we tackle these questions in our quick season intro.
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.
Follow us on Instagram @fearofthedarkpod!

We're back! Matthew and Stacey return from their spring break to talk about what we've seen (and haven't seen) since the break. Join us for this quick catch-up as we chat about recent releases in horror and out: Project Hail Mary, Wuthering Heights, Faces of Death, Scream 7, and more.
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.
Follow us on Instagram @fearofthedarkpod!

On this special episode, Matthew and Stacey are joined by Bianca Hand, Assistant Professor of Classics at UC Davis. Bianca also has a particular taste for South and East Asian horror as well as found footage, which is why we've invited her on to talk about the chilling Taiwanese horror film, Incantation (2022)! Join us for a fun conversation about our fears of religious horror, the harmful discourses around good and bad mothers, and what found footage horror wants (and is able) to show us today.
Film: Incantation (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, mixed, and mastered by Stacey Baran.
Follow us on Instagram @fearofthedarkpod!

Hello Fear of the Dark listeners! This is Stacey dropping in to let you all know that Matthew and I are taking a little spring break from the podcast. In the meantime, we’ll still be watching lots of horror (the good and the bad), brainstorming new ideas and films to critique and discuss, and especially thinking about Michael B. Jordan’s and Amy Madigan’s well-deserved Oscar wins. If there’s anything on your mind that you think we should be watching, reading, or listening to, we would love for you to drop a line and let us know. You can do that here, on whatever platform you’re currently listening on , or through our Instagram. Thanks for tuning in for this quick update, and we look forward to getting back in the “studio” and releasing new episodes in just a few weeks. Until next time!
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.
Follow us on Instagram @fearofthedarkpod!

Stacey and Matthew continue with Part 2 of the combined episodes on Invasion of the Body Snatchers: today, we talk about the 1978 film starring Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Driscoll, Jeff Goldblum, and Veronica Cartwright. Join us for the rest of our Invasion conversation as we discuss the political parallels across both films, the intersecting crises of climate change and the industrial food system, and the horror of the vegetal.
Film: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Philip Kaufman, 1978)
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.
Follow us on Instagram @fearofthedarkpod!

Today we air an episode recorded back in April 2025: Part 1 of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, where we discuss the 1956 film directed by Don Siegel. Go back in time with Matthew and Stacey as they talk about the first cinematic appearances of the pod people!
Film: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegel, 1956)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.
Follow us on Instagram @fearofthedarkpod!

On this mini episode, Stacey and Matthew talk white innocence and Sam Raimi today with his new horror comedy film, Send Help (2026), starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien. Groovy!
Film: Send Help (Sam Raimi, 2026)
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.
Follow us on Instagram @fearofthedarkpod!

On this episode, Stacey and Matthew reflect on their undergraduate days with Mariama Diallo's 2022 horror film, Master. The film circulates around the stories of three Black women navigating the politics and social structures of higher education: Gail (Regina Hall), the master of the prestigious New England school Ancaster; Jasmine (Zoe Renee), a first-year English major; and Liv (Amber Gray), an English professor who is about to go up for tenure. Join us as we talk about the terrors and anxieties of racial minoritization in the university, as well as what the film's uneasy conclusion suggests about the possible ways forward for academia and higher ed.
**Please note: the film and our discussion of it address sensitive topics, specifically suicide. As always, listen with discretion and know that you are not alone. You can contact both the national suicide prevention hotline (988) and, if you are at UC Davis, you can text RELATE (741-741) anytime.
Film: Master (Mariama Diallo, 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.
Follow us on Instagram @fearofthedarkpod!