Sunday Scaries: Appreciating Kevin Smith’s Horror Output (Part One)

The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! Today, we start up a miniseries within this series, one that concerns a favorite filmmaker of mine…

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Kevin Smith. Not just one of my favorite filmmakers (Chasing Amy is my second favorite movie of all time, with Clerks in the top twenty), he’s just one of my favorite talents. A solid portion of the podcasts I listen to are hosted by Smith, while I’m even a subscriber to That Kevin Smith Club. So, in the same way some folks are gaga for Wes Anderson or Denis Villeneuve, I’m over the moon for Smith. Naturally, that doesn’t just extend to his comedies, either. His three (so far) horror-type offerings are among his most interesting titles, with two of them being incredibly underrated. Considering that the Sunday Scaries series is meant to often highlight flicks of that nature, I’ve long been building up to these titles. Now, the time has come!

So, which films am I talking about here? Well, those would be Red State, Tusk, and Yoga Hosers for sure, but perhaps even his still in-development Moose Jaws. The latter three movies would complete his True North Trilogy if/when that happened. With a lot of my attention turned towards the Toronto International Film Festival and my impending trip up there, it only seems apt to begin getting in this mind frame. Plus, if I want to go longer, there’s also his segment in the anthology tale Holidays, as well as the shot but not yet released Killroy Was Here, which was being sold as an NFT. Whether you realize it or not, Smith traffics in horror a fair amount.

In the weeks to come, I’ll be mixing in these Kevin Smith flicks with other Sunday Scaries pieces, as well as having other writers contribute to the latter. However, expect a dive into Smith’s movies, not just because I adore two of them, but because they’re all worthy of discussion. Consider this a way for me to put my Smith knowledge to use. I’ve defended him for the decade and change I’ve been writing professionally, but interestingly, not a ton in the near year that Awards Radar has been in existence. Obviously, it’s not for any reason, just that I’ve been saving Smith-centric pieces for the right time. Well, that time is now coming, folks.

Look out for the series to truly kick off in a week or two, with Red State. Whether that’s next week or not just depends on how things go up at the Toronto International Film Festival. In the meantime, try and revisit Red State (admittedly hard to find, but more on that soon), Tusk, and Yoga Hosers, or, if you’ve yet to see them, finally give them a shot…

Stay tuned for the second installment in this series, tackling Kevin Smith’s Red State!