Welcome back to More of a Comment, Really…, a weekly interview podcast hosted by Clint Worthington! Every episode will feature interviews with actors, filmmakers, producers, and more, giving you the skinny on the latest films and TV.

In an era when horror and ’80s nostalgia are having an incredible renaissance (hello, Stranger Things!), In Search of Darkness comes along at pretty much the perfect time. A sprawling, comprehensive four-hour documentary chronicling the bloody, gore-filled history of ’80s horror, In Search of Darkness structures itself year by year, subject by subject, interviewing horror filmmakers, actors, and aficionados to revisit horror movies big and small from the spookiest decade for cinema on record.

For a series of talking-head interviews, it’s remarkably insightful, working best as a refresher course to all the movies ’80s kids rented at the hidden aisles of Blockbuster, or saw at midnight screenings at their local rep theater. Reviewing for The Spool, our own Gena Radcliffe called it “thorough, affectionate, & endlessly entertaining,” and it certainly is that — especially if ’80s horror movies are in your DNA.

Entertainment journalist-turned-David Weiner takes a breezy, accessible approach to such a robust subject, drawing on his own clear affection for the genre and ease as an interviewer to draw out fun tidbits from the likes of Keith David, Tom Atkins, and Joe Bob Briggs.

For this week’s podcast, I sat down to talk with Weiner about his love for ’80s horror, finding the grace notes in his interview subjects, and what lessons we still have to learn from that blessed decade in spooky cinema. Along the way, we also opine on ‘elevated horror,’ practical vs. CG effects, and whether ‘final girls’ are regressive or empowering. Take a listen!

(More of a Comment, Really… is a proud member of the Chicago Podcast Coop. Thanks to Backblaze for sponsoring this episode!)

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