Episode One: La Cabina (1974) and El Bar (2017) - claustrophobia and paranoia in Madrid

Welcome to the debut episode of The Horror Double Bill, a podcast that celebrates horror in all its unsettling, uncanny, and occasionally absurd forms. Inspired by the BBC2 double bills of the 1970s and early ’80s, each week we pair two films that share themes, tones, or a peculiar sense of dread that lingers long after the credits roll.

This week, we descend into the claustrophobic madness of Spanish horror with Antonio Mercero’s eerie TV classic La Cabina and Álex de la Iglesia’s explosive ensemble thriller El Bar. We talk BBC horror double bills, the Spanish civil war, Franco-era censorship, the golden age of spanish horror, urban paranoia, and why no respectable Spanish man would eve let himself become a werewolf.

New episodes every Sunday.

you can watch La Cabina here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H1_p6B4Ugo

main sources used for this episode

The Spanish Fantastic: Contemporary Filmmaking in Horror, Fantasy and Sci-fi by Shelagh Rowan Legg
The Spanish Horror Film By Antonio Lazaro-Reboll
Sex, Sadism, Spain and Cinema by Nicholas G Schlegel

Spanish Civil War resources:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH4to6F_MKfJGJf_4mSL_Xh6fVhHe86tB&si=Z-MPyHj13KBqbdVr
https://youtu.be/hjr3LrgqnuQ?si=t_SXOl99acunLple

La Cabina resources:
La Cabina Creating Horror from the absurd by Amyus: https://the-artifice.com/la-cabina/

El Bar resources:
https://anthemmagazine.com/living-legends-alex-de-la-iglesia/
https://cineuropa.org/en/interview/322757/
https://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/alex-de-la-iglesia-preps-my-big-night-and-the-bar-for-2015-1201374693/
https://youtu.be/EHNCNth6jxw?si=oJGPvoDd7zjNRh-7
https://youtu.be/EzwlBGDsffw?si=eusjzlk-VyfE2EYg

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📧 thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

artwork by Justin Parker
📸 jpkr_illustration