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WHERE PSYCHOLOGY MEETS FILM

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    Episode 109: Grief and Guilt Can Take You on a Journey into Darkness — Herman (2025) with Dir. Andrew Vogel

    January 26, 2026 / 0 Comments

    Join Alex and filmmaker Andrew Vogel, director of the new psychological horror/thriller film, Herman (2025), as they discuss the themes and psychological concepts found within his directorial debut! The film follows a harrowing evening experienced by the titular character, Herman, played by Colin Ward. Herman is dealing with the grief and guilt losing his wife 40 years ago and it manifests as some form of darkness. The pair discuss these topics from a psychological perspective, including how religious psychology plays a role, as well as psychosis as meaning-making rather than a mental disorder. There’s a lot up to audience interpretation and Alex has a field day thinking up various ideas to prod the filmmaker!…

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    Alex Swan
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    Episode 049: Birthdays Are Random, Folks — Born on the Fourth of July (1989) with Anthony Zoccolillo

    July 4, 2022 / 0 Comments

    Join Alex and returning guest host Dr. Anthony Zoccolillo as they discuss the middle film of Oliver Stone’s Vietnam trilogy, Born on the Fourth of July (1989). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), patriotism, and activism are fantastic topics to explore in this war film based on the life of a real Vietnam veteran that went from blind patriot to leading antiwar activist, Ron Kovic. It really puts events of today in perspective, sheesh…

    Check out 50 States of Terror episode that Zocc was on for Mental Health Awareness Month, May 2022!

    Please leave your feedback on this post, the main site (cinemapsychpod.swanpsych.com…

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    Alex Swan
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    Episode 004: Don’t Mess Around in Cemeteries! Phantasm (1979) with Randy Stein

    October 21, 2019 / 0 Comments

    Join Alex and Dr. Randy Stein on this Halloween edition of the podcast, for a discussion of the psychological concepts in Don Coscarelli’s cult horror classic Phantasm (1979), starring Angus Scrimm as the horror villain, the Tall Man, in a role so-named because imagination and originality was used elsewhere in the film.

    Please leave your feedback on this post, the main site (cinemapsychpod.swanpsych.com), on Facebook (@CinPsyPod), or Twitter (@CinPsyPod). We’d love to hear from you!

    Legal stuff:
    1. All film clips and music are used under Section 107 of Title 17 U.S.C. (fair use; no copyright infringement is intended).…

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    Alex Swan

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