<description>Split Picks finds the holiday spirit with a look at two episodes from the BBC's A Ghost Story For Christmas tradition.

No one would actually take something from a grave with an ominous warning written on it and then proceed to put said item in their mouth, right? Split Picks is back to give a definitive answer: no. But as author M.R. James and the BBC would have you believe, there is at least one person who would risk it all in the name of disbelieving superstition. Though ghosts and Christmas time may conjure images of A Christmas Carol, in the 1960s and 1970s, the BBC aired a yearly ghost story, often adapted from James stories at the holidays. With Bennett Glace and special guest, director of Mickey Dogface, Zach Fleming, they discuss the classic A Ghost Story For Christmas entires Whistle And I'll Come To You (1968) and The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974).

In Whistle, a growling professor on holiday finds some souvenirs come with risks. It also proves that horror is sometimes at its most effective when at its simplest and most elemental. In Abbot Thomas, a clergyman and his student seek the hidden treasure from an alchemist who left behind clues about his alleged fortune. Once discovered, the clergyman meets the goopiest entity in the BBC ghost canon.

Are the M.R. James original stories superior to their adaptations? Did the series reboot in the 2010s live up to the originals? Will Bennett's streak of saying "Lynchian" in every episode finally come to an end?</description>

Split Picks finds the holiday spirit with a look …

Split Picks finds the holiday spirit with a look at two episodes from the BBC's A Ghost Story For Christmas tradition.

No one would actually take something from a grave with an ominous warning written on it and then proceed to put said item in their mouth, right? Split Picks is back to give a definitive answer: no. But as author M.R. James and the BBC would have you believe, there is at least one person who would risk it all in the name of disbelieving superstition. Though ghosts and Christmas time may conjure images of A Christmas Carol, in the 1960s and 1970s, the BBC aired a yearly ghost story, often adapted from James stories at the holidays. With Bennett Glace and special guest, director of Mickey Dogface, Zach Fleming, they discuss the classic A Ghost Story For Christmas entires Whistle And I'll Come To You (1968) and The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974).

In Whistle, a growling professor on holiday finds some souvenirs come with risks. It also proves that horror is sometimes at its most effective when at its simplest and most elemental. In Abbot Thomas, a clergyman and his student seek the hidden treasure from an alchemist who left behind clues about his alleged fortune. Once discovered, the clergyman meets the goopiest entity in the BBC ghost canon.

Are the M.R. James original stories superior to their adaptations? Did the series reboot in the 2010s live up to the originals? Will Bennett's streak of saying "Lynchian" in every episode finally come to an end?

Split Picks: 'Whistle And I'll Come To You' Vs. 'The Treasure of Abbot Thomas'

<description>Snow Lietta's special creepy Christmas podcast continues with Roberta Findlay's 1988 cult favorite 'Prime Evil.'

Catholic satanists? Undercover nuns? A female director in the '80s?! Siblings Jason Michelitch &amp; Snow Lietta discuss Roberta Findlay’s Prime Evil (1988) in this creepy Christmas podcast.</description>

Snow Lietta's special creepy Christmas podcast co…

Snow Lietta's special creepy Christmas podcast continues with Roberta Findlay's 1988 cult favorite 'Prime Evil.'

Catholic satanists? Undercover nuns? A female director in the '80s?! Siblings Jason Michelitch & Snow Lietta discuss Roberta Findlay’s Prime Evil (1988) in this creepy Christmas podcast.

Snow's Season's Bleedings: 'Prime Evil' (1988)

<description>To ring in the holidays, Snow Lietta hosts a special new series on Christmas horror films. Up first is a look at two contemporary films about demon Santas. 

An old-world Santa emerging from an ancient mountain grave. An Americanized Krampus summoned by lost hope. Who will win in this Christmas monster match-up? Snow Lietta is joined by filmmaker and Cinesthesia host Jim Hickcox to discuss 'Krampus' (2015) and 'Rare Exports' (2010) in this creepy Christmas podcast. Season’s Bleedings!

With Adam Scott, Toni Collette, and David Koechner, 'Krampus' follows a young boy (Emjay Anthony) who has lost his faith in Christmas. In doing so, he summons the evil Krampus, his minions, and a blizzard like no other. With an awkward dynamic between in-laws, the family has to find a way to keep Krampus away or suffer his consequences.

In 'Rare Exports,' a mining project in Finland uncovers a Christmas miracle — a creature appearing to be the real Santa Claus. But soon, a young farm boy, Pietari (Omni Tommila), and his father (Jorma Tommila) face off against an army of elves aiming to revive Santa to his full-powered glory.</description>

To ring in the holidays, Snow Lietta hosts a spec…

To ring in the holidays, Snow Lietta hosts a special new series on Christmas horror films. Up first is a look at two contemporary films about demon Santas. 

An old-world Santa emerging from an ancient mountain grave. An Americanized Krampus summoned by lost hope. Who will win in this Christmas monster match-up? Snow Lietta is joined by filmmaker and Cinesthesia host Jim Hickcox to discuss 'Krampus' (2015) and 'Rare Exports' (2010) in this creepy Christmas podcast. Season’s Bleedings!

With Adam Scott, Toni Collette, and David Koechner, 'Krampus' follows a young boy (Emjay Anthony) who has lost his faith in Christmas. In doing so, he summons the evil Krampus, his minions, and a blizzard like no other. With an awkward dynamic between in-laws, the family has to find a way to keep Krampus away or suffer his consequences.

In 'Rare Exports,' a mining project in Finland uncovers a Christmas miracle — a creature appearing to be the real Santa Claus. But soon, a young farm boy, Pietari (Omni Tommila), and his father (Jorma Tommila) face off against an army of elves aiming to revive Santa to his full-powered glory.

'Krampus' Vs 'Rare Exports': Snow's Season's Bleedings

<description>Tripping through the witching hour, stumbling out of the pre-dawn aura, Jim and Jason wandered into the yard at Split Tooth headquarters. Chocolate smeared across their faces, staring into the middle distance, they started talking. And they wouldn't stop. They said something about aging and death, desire and pain. And Cronenberg. They chewed through our landline and they sealed our cell phones inside rotting pumpkins. Please, call animal control. Tell them it's Cinesthesia. They'll know what to do.

Join a filmmaker (and sometimes film teacher) and a film teacher (and sometimes filmmaker) as they venture into the dark heart of their own befuddled relationship to culture, the youth, the internet, friendship, love, hate, time, space and, of course: *m*o*v*i*e*s*. Come hear what we see.</description>

Tripping through the witching hour, stumbling out…

Tripping through the witching hour, stumbling out of the pre-dawn aura, Jim and Jason wandered into the yard at Split Tooth headquarters. Chocolate smeared across their faces, staring into the middle distance, they started talking. And they wouldn't stop. They said something about aging and death, desire and pain. And Cronenberg. They chewed through our landline and they sealed our cell phones inside rotting pumpkins. Please, call animal control. Tell them it's Cinesthesia. They'll know what to do.

Join a filmmaker (and sometimes film teacher) and a film teacher (and sometimes filmmaker) as they venture into the dark heart of their own befuddled relationship to culture, the youth, the internet, friendship, love, hate, time, space and, of course: *m*o*v*i*e*s*. Come hear what we see.

THE CINESTHESIA 2023 HALLOWEEN HANGOVER

<description>To close out the series on Japanese Horror, Spit Picks looks at a director known for testing the limits of violence on film.Takashi Miike is best known for three things: He is prolific, versatile, and is no stranger to using extreme gore. With 115 directorial credits listed on his IMDb page (at time of publishing), he has made films in just about every genre imaginable. But from blood-soaked epics like Ichi The Killer and 13 Assassins to a glut of Yakuza films, and even a death-centric musical comedy in The Happiness of the Katakuris, Miike's films are never shy to show off fountains of gore with no sense of shyness. But through them all, Miike always injects his unique style, no matter the genre.

With Bennett Glace and Jim Hickcox, Split Picks finishes its special series on Japanese Horror by comparing Miike's masterwork to one of his most extreme depictions of violence — an almost hour-long school shooting. With Audition, Miike follows a widowed man, Shigeharu (Ryo Ishibashi), after his friend suggests they set up a film audition to help him find a new wife. When he meets Asami (Eihi Shiina), they quickly fall in love, but everyone around Shigeharu tells him to notice the red flags, which he gleefully overlooks, until he finds himself in a scenario that ranks among the most infamous torture scenes on film. It's a testament to Audition that, in an era when most successful Asian films were remade by Americans, still no one has remade this tale of revenge.

Lesson of the Evil finds a popular and handsome teacher on a path to violence against his own students. With a code of morals that makes sense to only him, he tries to stop his students from cheating on tests and uncovers various scandals in the school. As his background comes into focus, he doubles down on what he learned during his time in the United States and. with the assistance of a talking shotgun, he decides to solve his problems in the worst way possible.

The pairing of films provides some fascinating contrasts in tone, and some striking similarities in their overall structure. In this episode, the gang discusses how Audition bends time, if Lesson of the Evil crosses the limits of acceptable violence on film, and how As The Gods Will might be the spiritual sequel to Lesson of the Evil that makes black humor work in a similarly morbid scenario.</description>

To close out the series on Japanese Horror, Spit …

To close out the series on Japanese Horror, Spit Picks looks at a director known for testing the limits of violence on film.Takashi Miike is best known for three things: He is prolific, versatile, and is no stranger to using extreme gore. With 115 directorial credits listed on his IMDb page (at time of publishing), he has made films in just about every genre imaginable. But from blood-soaked epics like Ichi The Killer and 13 Assassins to a glut of Yakuza films, and even a death-centric musical comedy in The Happiness of the Katakuris, Miike's films are never shy to show off fountains of gore with no sense of shyness. But through them all, Miike always injects his unique style, no matter the genre.

With Bennett Glace and Jim Hickcox, Split Picks finishes its special series on Japanese Horror by comparing Miike's masterwork to one of his most extreme depictions of violence — an almost hour-long school shooting. With Audition, Miike follows a widowed man, Shigeharu (Ryo Ishibashi), after his friend suggests they set up a film audition to help him find a new wife. When he meets Asami (Eihi Shiina), they quickly fall in love, but everyone around Shigeharu tells him to notice the red flags, which he gleefully overlooks, until he finds himself in a scenario that ranks among the most infamous torture scenes on film. It's a testament to Audition that, in an era when most successful Asian films were remade by Americans, still no one has remade this tale of revenge.

Lesson of the Evil finds a popular and handsome teacher on a path to violence against his own students. With a code of morals that makes sense to only him, he tries to stop his students from cheating on tests and uncovers various scandals in the school. As his background comes into focus, he doubles down on what he learned during his time in the United States and. with the assistance of a talking shotgun, he decides to solve his problems in the worst way possible.

The pairing of films provides some fascinating contrasts in tone, and some striking similarities in their overall structure. In this episode, the gang discusses how Audition bends time, if Lesson of the Evil crosses the limits of acceptable violence on film, and how As The Gods Will might be the spiritual sequel to Lesson of the Evil that makes black humor work in a similarly morbid scenario.

Split Picks: Takashi Miike's 'Audition' Vs. 'Lesson of the Evil'

Split Tooth Media is an independent publication based in Portland, Oregon, that still believes in long-form journalism and in-depth podcasts about music and film. Home of "Split Picks," a head-to-head showdown series about the career trajectories of filmmakers and musicians, created by Craig Wright; Jim Hickcox and Jason Michelitch's film criticism series "Cinesthesia;" and Rob Delany and 'T' Trimble's guide to exploring the world of art cinema with "Arthouse Drive-In."

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