Death by Snails and the Heart of a Movie with Lucas Hardwick

What makes a movie work—even when it seemingly shouldn’t?Film critic, screenwriter and returning Mysterious Goings On favorite Lucas Hardwick joins Alex Greenwood to discuss his debut book, Death by Snails, Volume 2: How to Watch Anything Through the Art and Majesty of Film Criticism. A finalist for the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Book, Death by Snails collects five years of Lucas’ writing on more than 100 films, ranging from Apocalypse Now, The Birds and American Psycho to forgotten drive-in curiosities and deep cuts you may never have encountered. Lucas explains why he avoids plot recaps and hunts instead for a film’s “heart of gold”—the idea, choice or bit of subtext that makes the whole thing tick. He and Alex also tumble down several cinematic rabbit holes, including: • What Bugs Bunny has to do with American Psycho• Why Apocalypse Now may be about the one man actually getting the job done• The influence of Joe Bob Briggs• John Waters, Lloyd Kaufman and the beauty of cinematic garbage• Why Volume 2 exists even though there is no Volume 1• The exhaustion of franchise filmmaking• Whether analyzing a favorite movie can ruin it• Lucas’ movie recommendations • His forthcoming fiction about art forgery, artificial humans, provenance and identity• Why Star Trek Generations may deserve an MGO watch-along If you love film writing that is intelligent, funny and accessible—or enjoy discovering something worthwhile in movies other people dismiss—Lucas may change how you watch. FIND LUCAS AND HIS WORK Buy a signed copy of Death by Snails, Volume 2 directly from Lucas:https://lucashardwick.com/ Buy the book on Amazon:https://amzn.to/3T0ApeM Read “In Soviet Russia, Carrot Eats You,” Lucas’ essay on The Thing from Another World:https://lucashardwick.com/f/in-soviet-russia-carrot-eats-you Find Jackploitation, featuring Lucas’ essay on The Big Doll House:https://headpress.com/product/jacksploitation/ MORE MYSTERIOUS GOINGS ON Get 25% off a paid subscription and receive early access to selected videos and other exclusives:https://alex715.substack.com/subscribe Hear Alex’s conversations with movie legend George Stevens Jr.: FIRST INTERVIEW SECOND INTERVIEW Follow Mysterious Goings On wherever you get your podcasts—and give yourself a little break from reality. Missed recent interviews? Catch Matty Dalrymple on helping indie authors own their readers, and Pulitzer Prize-nominated historian James M. Scott on Empire of Ashes: ⁠[link: Matty Dalrymple episode]⁠ ⁠[link: James M. Scott episode]⁠. Mysterious Goings On is celebrating its 11th year of author interviews, craft talk, and the occasional trip somewhere you legally can't go. New episodes drop weekly — subscribe wherever you listen, and catch the video extras at ⁠⁠All the Fits That's News. ⁠⁠ CONNECT with ALEX: ​⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Fits That's News on Substack (Free or Paid)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ​⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex's Author Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy a Book!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Going to Killing City...Alex's True Crime Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book J. Alexander Greenwood for keynotes, panels, podcasts, and live conversations:⁠⁠⁠⁠Speaking & Media FAQ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mysterious Goings On Podcast episode was recorded and mixed at Green Shebeen Studios in Kansas City, Missouri. Copyright 2026 all rights reserved. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission.