Episode 6: Junji Ito: Layers of Fear

What if humans were made of layers, like trees?  In this episode, Crow introduces her to one of her many horror obsessions and a master of surrealism, existentialism, body horror, and even the occasional cosmic horror: Junji Ito. No one can transmogrify mundanity into works of abject terror quite like Ito. Whether it's dreams lasting a little longer than they should, an annoying lack of privacy, or the annual growth rings in trees, he somehow manages to leave us paranoid and examining corners for the possible horrors lurking just around them. But how, exactly, does he do that? In Layers of Fear we examine Ito's method of disconnecting us from his characters, and contrasting the normal, the beautiful, the mundane with the terrifying to create grisly stories like no other. This is the story of Reimi, a retired child actress whose life is turned on its head when she, her mother, and jaded sister Narumi get into a gruesome car crash. Join us to find out what it is exactly that Reimi's been hiding... Intro music: Beeckmans: Hymne for Theremin, Oboe, String Quartet and Piano (2018) - The Alba Septet (Listen to the whole thing on youtube, you'll thank us later). Outro music: Magic Hour by Three Chain Links Social Media Accounts:  Instagram: crowandfernsguide TikTok: crow_and_ferns_guide Twitter: @Crow_and_fern Email: [email protected]