Morally Offensive

59:17

The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978): Sleazy Sexploitation...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/10/01

In Part Two of our discussion of The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), Bill and Kevin are joined by Ben Schneider from Reel Beans Podcast, and finally get into the movie itself. As part of the continuing American Giallo series, they walk through the plot, dig into the production and behind-the-scenes history, and see whether the Catholic reviews from Part One actually hold any weight.The crew goes over Faye Dunaway’s performance, Tommy Lee Jones' moralizing detective, the film’s strange blend of murder

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93:42

Re-release: The Exorcist (1973) - First Impressions...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/09/28

Since the Spooky Season is upon us, and we've gained a LOT of new listeners over the summer, we decided to restore one of our best early episodes, which unfortunately experienced technical difficulties during the recording process. Our Exorcist episode was famously interrupted by demons that got into our recording gear and caused a host of tech issues (or so the TikTok Exorcists tell us). As a result, we were never fully happy with the finished product. Now, armed with the very same technology used

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45:51

The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978): Sex, "Twaddle", & One...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/09/25

Bill and Kevin are back with another installment in the American Giallo series, and this time we’re staring directly into The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) with Ben Schneider from Reel Beans Podcast. In Part One, the guys dig through the Catholic reviews and internal memoranda on Irvin Kershner’s Faye Dunaway thriller, and apparently the “Catholics” had some thoughts. One reviewer dismissed the movie as “twaddle,” another wrote it off as grocery store schlock, and then there’s the surprisingly

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70:01

Body Double (1984): Relax, Don't Do It...When You...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/09/16

Bill and Jess continue their American Giallo series with Cisco Scartozzi for the second half of Brian De Palma’s Body Double (1984). Once again, Cisco is playing defense for De Palma, and Jess is dissecting some of the less savory subtexts within his films. This time, we dig into the behind-the-scenes stories surrounding the film’s second half, including the casting of Melanie Griffith, De Palma’s obsession with the Hitchcock blonde, and the unexpected Frankie Goes to Hollywood music video that

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1:00

Morally Offensive Podcast Trailer

Morally Offensive ·

2026/09/14

Do you like dirty movies? Did you grow up Catholic? Did you not grow up Catholic, but dislike censorship? Are you passionate about the history of film? Do you enjoy discussing film in the context of the past as well as modern social issues? Do you enjoy hearing weird personal anecdotes about DIY Exorcisms, being condemned by your own parents, or having your entire high school banned from a cathedral? Are you looking for a film podcast made by a bunch of native midwesterners who unironically use the

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101:21

Body Double (1984): Makes You Hot, Doesn't It? | Part...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/09/11

In this episode of Morally Offensive, Bill and Jess are joined by former co-host Cisco Scartozzi to take on Brian De Palma’s Body Double (1984), a voyeuristic erotic reimagining of Vertigo packed with Hitchcock references, murder, sex, bright red blood, and some of De Palma’s most controversial ideas about the male gaze, desire, and women.We read the Catholic condemned review of Body Double and dig into De Palma’s career, his obsession with Hitchcock, and the ongoing debate over his treatment and

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56:31

Alice Sweet Alice (1976): When Rigid Catholic...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/09/04

In Part 2 of Morally Offensive’s deep dive into Alice, Sweet Alice (1976), Bill and the gang look beyond the film’s Catholic imagery to examine director Alfred Sole’s career and the real-world religious and psychological ideas lurking beneath the movie’s murders, masks, and First Communion.The episode explores Sole’s two later feature films and his career as a production designer, before turning back to the film’s depiction of Catholicism and mental health. The discussion digs into the Catholic

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78:19

Alice Sweet Alice (1976): A Porno, An...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/08/28

In Part One of their two-part deep dive into Alfred Sole’s Alice, Sweet Alice (1976), Bill and Kevin are joined by Janecka Deer of Scream Queen Podcast to explore a now-classic Catholic adjacent horror films of the 1970s.Set in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1961, Alice, Sweet Alice follows twelve-year-old Alice Spages as her younger sister Karen prepares for her First Communion. When Karen is murdered, a mysterious figure in a translucent mask sets off a disturbing mystery involving childhood, first

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117:48

Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971): Sexploitation Meets...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/08/20

This week on Morally Offensive, past guest Ophelia Crane returns for Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971), Roger Vadim’s deeply unpleasant high school sex comedy/murder mystery, written by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. We went in knowing almost nothing. We came out wishing we still knew nothing.We get into Roger Vadim’s sleazy history, Roddenberry’s involvement and our subsequent ruining of Star Trek for ourselves, the curious casting of Rock Hudson, and Angie Dickinson shedding her Police Woman

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82:16

Dressed to Kill (1980): A Bloody Mess, or Bloody...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/08/11

In Part 2 of Morally Offensive’s American Giallo deep dive into Brian De Palma’s Dressed to Kill (1980), Bill, Jess, and Ava Davis get into the cast, production, infamous shower scene, and the choices that made Dressed to Kill one of the most controversial films of Brian De Palma’s career. The discussion looks at the film’s place between Italian giallo, Hitchcockian thriller, erotic thriller, and American horror, while taking a closer look at what has and has not aged well in De Palma’s most

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92:45

Dressed to Kill (1980): Catholics Condemning Sexism,...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/07/29

Bill and Jess are joined by filmmaker and actor Ava Davis to kick off their discussion of Brian De Palma's highly controversial film Dressed to Kill (1980). Starring Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, and Keith Gordon, Dressed to Kill blends Hitchcockian suspense with the stylish murder mysteries of Italian giallo, helping define the American Giallo movement while becoming one of the most influential psychological thrillers of the 1980s. Upon its release, the film ignited fierce debate

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81:36

American Gigolo (1980): Paul Schrader's Naked Man in...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/07/17

Bill and Kevin are joined once again by Milwaukee journalist Michail Takach to conclude their discussion of American Gigolo (1980), the first film in the American Giallo series.The conversation covers the film's second half, from Julian Kaye's downfall to its quietly redemptive ending. Bill argues that Paul Schrader's screenplay, informed by the filmmaker's strict Calvinist upbringing in rural Michigan and the spiritual questions that run throughout his work, ultimately tells a deeply Christian—and

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102:48

American Gigolo (1980): The Film that Announced the...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/07/07

Bill and Kevin kick off a brand new season of Morally Offensive with American Giallo, a series exploring American thrillers from the 1970s through the 1990s that borrow the style, themes, and visual language of Italy's legendary giallo films. Their first stop is American Gigolo (1980), Paul Schrader's sleek and controversial neo-noir starring Richard Gere in the role that transformed him into an international star. Joining them is Milwaukee journalist and LGBTQ historian Michail Takach to examine

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42:35

Ms. 45 (1981): New York's Alright If You Like...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/06/23

Bill and Stephanie are joined once again by author and screenwriter J. Patrick Hanley for part two of their discussion of Abel Ferrara's Ms. 45 (1981), the controversial cult classic revenge thriller starring Zoë Tamerlis Lund. This episode focuses on the film's second and third acts as Thana evolves from a traumatized garment worker into one of the most infamous vigilante figures in 80s exploitation cinema. The conversation explores Thana's origin story as a female vigilante, and how Ms. 45

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74:51

Ms. 45 (1981): The Patron Saint of Vengeance (Part 1)

Morally Offensive ·

2026/06/11

Bill and Stephanie are joined by author and screenwriter J. Patrick Hanley to discuss cradle Catholic Abel Ferrara's cult classic Ms. 45 (1981), one of the most controversial, influential, and widely debated revenge films of the 1980s.The conversation explores the film's place in New York exploitation cinema, Ferrara's early career, and the unforgettable performance by Zoë Tamerlis Lund as Thana, a mute garment worker whose life is shattered by violence and her autonomy reclaimed through bloody

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51:05

The First Omen (2024) Part 2: The Anti-Christ and the...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/06/02

Co-Hosts Dr. Jess and Bill are joined again by Tif Robinette for part two of their series on The First Omen (2024), focusing on the film’s third act, religious horror themes, and connections to the larger Omen franchise.They get into the film’s cinematography, the obvious influence of Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, and the way director Arkasha Stevenson blends psychological horror, Catholic horror, and themes of bodily autonomy, pregnancy, and church control. The conversation also turns toward

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88:03

The First Omen (2024) Part 1: The Anti-Christ Goes to...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/05/26

Bill and Jess are joined by horror author and screenwriter Tif Robinette for the first of a two part discussion on The First Omen. What starts as a conversation about the newest entry in the Omen franchise turns into a much larger discussion about Italy in the 1970s, institutional power, the antichrist, apocalypse, conspirituality, and what this films does to differentiate itself, while still being part of an iconic horror franchise. The episode covers the Years of Lead and the atmosphere of

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80:24

Killer Nun (1979): So Offensive That One of Us Walked...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/05/18

Bill and Stephanie are joined once again by returning guest Christopher Hoppe, previously heard on the show’s Stigmata episode, to discuss the notorious 1979 nunsploitation film Killer Nun starring Anita Ekberg and Joe Dallesandro. Inspired by a real, true crime case, the film follows Sister Gertrude, a morphine dependent nun whose grip on reality steadily collapses inside a convent hospital.The episode covers the strange intersection of Catholic imagery, Italian exploitation cinema, psychological

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70:21

Benedetta (2021) Part 2: Burning Charismatics &...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/05/04

In Part II, Bill and Stephanie get into the plot of Benedetta, and break down the story, the performances, and why this film stirred up so much controversy around Catholic mysticism, sainthood, visions, and miracles. They are once again joined by co-host of the Leave, Laugh, Love Podcast, Veronica Novotny, who once contemplated convent life.In this episode, the three address Benedetta’s ecstatic visions, the plague backdrop of the film, they address THAT Virgin Mary statue, and ask whether or not

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90:54

Benedetta (2021) Part I: Vocation, Rejection, &...

Morally Offensive ·

2026/04/24

Bill and Stephanie are joined by Veronica (Leave, Laugh, Love) to talk about Benedetta—starting with her own experience discerning religious life, and the moment that path ended when she was denied entry to a convent because she’s a lesbian.From there, the conversation moves through fundamentalist Catholic spaces and the charismatic movement, touching on ideas like vocation, discernment, religious orders, and what it actually means to be “called” in a system with hard boundaries. We also get into

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