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Welcome to Kicking the Seat!

Ian Simmons launched Kicking the Seat in 2009, one week after seeing Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia. His wife proposed blogging as a healthier outlet for his anger than red-faced, twenty-minute tirades (Ian is no longer allowed to drive home from the movies).

The Kicking the Seat Podcast followed three years later and, despite its “undiscovered gem” status, Ian thoroughly enjoys hosting film critic discussions, creating themed shows, and interviewing such luminaries as Gaspar Noé, Rachel Brosnahan, Amy Seimetz, and Richard Dreyfuss.

Ian is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. He also has a family, a day job, and conflicted feelings about referring to himself in the third person.

Ep853: Beyond Hammerland: VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960)

Ep853: Beyond Hammerland: VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960)

Ian Simmons

Creepy kid alert! Yes, this month Ian and AC stop by the Village of the Damned on their journey Beyond Hammerland!

Wolf Rilla's 1960 sci-fi thriller centers on the small English town of Midwich, whose residents mysteriously fall asleep one morning--and awaken to find that all of their women are pregnant with rapidly developing, blonde-haired psychic monsters. How will the Midwich grown-ups grapple with these hive-mind horrors--and just what is responsible for their sudden appearance?

In this spoiler-heavy review, Ian and AC place this smart and terrifying Red Menace allegory in its Hammer Films context; consider its legacy in the genre; and gush over the bloody-good movie year that was 1960!

Show Links:

Ep854: The JESUS REVOLUTION Will Not Be Politicized (Filmmaker Interview)

Ep854: The JESUS REVOLUTION Will Not Be Politicized (Filmmaker Interview)
Ep852: ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA (2023) - Round Table Review

Ep852: ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA (2023) - Round Table Review