Ep809: There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: THE VIRGIN SUICIDES (1999)

This week, Kicking the Seat looks at horror movies that most people don't instantly think of as "horror movies"!

Sofia Coppola's 1999 feature directorial debut, The Virgin Suicides, centers on a strict religious family living in the Michigan suburbs in the mid-1970s. The five teenage Lisbon sisters are the talk of their school: attractive, aloof, and totally mysterious, they inspire wild speculation in the adolescent boys who admire them from afar.

In adapting Jeffrey Eugenides' novel, Coppola frames The Virgin Suicides as a haunted reminiscence by one of those boys, who recalls the tragedy that befell the Lisbons and the ripples it caused decades later.

This spoilerific conversation finds Ian and Pat McDonald looking back on a film they hadn't revisited in nearly a quarter-century--and wondering just what kept them away. From the story's take on the so-called "male gaze"; to its kinship with a very popular, no-doubt-about-it horror movie; to the inclusion of a song that inspired Ian to create a new Film Rule, the guys delve into one of the most unique and insightful takes on the dark corners of nostalgia and the horrors of growing up.

Show Links:

• Watch the Virgin Suicides trailer.

• Keep up with Pat at HollywoodChicago.com.

• The Criterion Collection recently released The Virgin Suicides on 4K UHD Blu-ray, which you can order here.

• Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!