Well Listen to This!: Werewolf Ambulance Podcast

I know that I yell at you all a lot. WATCH THIS! KICKSTART THAT! TRAILER OTHER! Yeah, I tend towards hyperbole but it's out of love. Love for pop culture. Love for those who love pop culture. Most of all, love for the new. In that regards I yell at you again to LISTEN TO THIS!

 Podcasting has exploded in the past couple years and I am thankful for it. Not only have we found a new medium for discourses we also have yet another venue to express our love for popular culture and nostalgia. Everyday a new podcast seems to pop-up and keeping track of them all can get a little difficult so I decided to devote a feature series with the intent of highlighting some podcast that I'm currently listening to and think you should check out (if you feel like it. See, I'm done yelling).

In recognition of both Halloween and Jawsoween I thought I'd begin this series with a podcast that works for both. Today I wanted to recognize Werewolf Ambulance.

Started in October 2014, Werewolf Ambulance is a Pittsburgh (#Saviniwatch2015) horror movie podcast hosted by friends Katie and Alan where they review films from various eras and rate them accordingly. Yeah, sounds like every other horror podcast under the sun right? It could be if it wasn't for its hosts, who make everything feel very welcoming. Many horror podcast usually concern self-identified experts taking to task various films for whatever genre trap they fall into while singing the praises of scared cows. Katie and Alan, while clear horror film fans, tend to be less formal in their reviewing. They pepper their description of the films with flashbacks to nostalgic memories, even when it may not have anything to do with horror. I love this. Here at work is a larger universe rather then the tiny horrorland that many podcasts tend to live in. It shows that although our hosts are horror fans they do have other interests, which is true with most of us. "Werewolf Ambulance: Explorers of other worlds". It makes listening to every episode like having a conversation with your friends, like calling Zach Galligan's character from Waxworks "Billy" the entire episode.

Why was there no tiny monster wax scene in Waxwork? Missed moment.

It's what you do when watching horror movies with friends. We go on tangents that involve other genre films or personal recollections. Film is largely a two part process: the narrative itself and our perceptions. It's why the same film can elicit different reactions each time you watch it. Your not the same when you re-visit it. Werewolf Ambulance recreates this feeling of watching horror films with friends and having a blast doing it. One host reminded me so much of a certain old friend of mine that I reached out and we began talking again. "Werewolf Ambulance: Bringing people together".

Speaking of bringing it all together, the episode I wanted you all today to sample is based on Tuesday's JAWS Rip-Off Trailer THE LAST SHARK

The reactions and review of this "Jawes" makes me want to do something I never thought I would....watch The Last Shark. "Werewolf Ambulance: Miracle Workers".

For many, films are based on our own personal perspective. I already mentioned this above but it's true, half of what makes a film complete is how it is perceived. This makes reviewing difficult because the point of film critique is for the purpose, in some small way, of validating film as an art form. How can you judge a film based on your own views? That all being said, horror film criticism is still needed to validate it as an art form. Without it it's just that dirty secret on the far side of the genre spectrum.

Horror fans tend to really try to champion the genre, flaws and all. But we have our own personal perspectives, our own personal taste, and the films we simply hate. Sometimes they are indeed worthy of hate (We Hate Movies coming soon) but other times you want a more lighthearted take on film criticism. This is where I feel Werewolf Ambulance really works. The friendly atmosphere combined with a sincere love of the genre makes the most bitter movie pill go down smoother. For that we salute Werewolf Ambulance and are proud to scream...
LISTEN TO THIS!!!

  
The name "Werewolf Ambulance" is taken from a score track from The Monster Squad. I'm assuming the scene where the wolfman breaks out of the ambulance. I could be wrong (but I don't think so).