Horror auteur Eli Roth is taking a stab at something new—his own film studio. Dubbed “The Horror Section,” this all-things-horror media company is also calling on gore hounds to put their money where the screams are as investors.
The Horror Section isn’t just creeping into theaters with original films—it’s sinking its teeth into horror TV, gaming, podcasts, and even live events, building a full-blown fright empire, The Hollywood Reporter explained in a recent interview.
Roth, the director behind hallmarks of horror like Cabin Fever, Hostel, and the 2023 slasher throwback Thanksgiving, certainly seems like a natural choice for such an endeavor of a horror-themed media company.
However, buried in THR‘s piece on the new company was a brief mention of Roth’s right-hand man, The Horror Section’s CEO, Jon Schnaars.
Schnaars might fly under the radar for the average Joe (or, as the horror crowd lovingly calls them, “normies”), but for die-hard scream aficionados, his name sparks recognition. He’s a cohost of the cult-favorite Bloody Good Horror podcast—an OG in the podcasting game that’s been serving up chills since 2007. Still going strong with a fiercely loyal fanbase, BGH lovers show up religiously for weekly livestreams, Patreon-exclusive Slack channels, and live meet-ups.
For long-time listeners, Jon Schnaars landing the role of CEO at a film studio feels like destiny fulfilled. Endlessly roasted over the years for his Duke degree and his role as BGH’s “business manager,” the numbers-loving horror nerd has finally turned his obsession with box office stats and film budgets into something more than podcast banter—he’s now running the show.
VICE hopped on a Zoom call with Schnaars to talk all things The Horror Section—and to find out if running a horror media empire might sharpen or soften his claws on Bloody Good Horror, which is beloved by fans for its brutally honest film reviews.
Eli Roth is an ‘Idea Machine’ & the horror section’s POTENTIAL first project
Schnaars, who connected with Roth through contacts he established during his previous role as an executive at Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast company, Pushkin (via its representative, WME), shared insights into the experience of collaborating with a creative powerhouse like Eli Roth.
“I’ll say this about Eli. I didn’t know this until I started working with him, but he’s an idea machine,” Schnaars said.
“[Roth’s] got a list of a lot of movies that we will make, you know, in theory,” he continued. “A lot of the conversation we’ve been having over the last couple weeks is like, ‘All right, well, what’s going first?’”
“[Roth] really wants to be camera in hand in June or July,” he added about the first potential film project from The Horror Section.
Eli Roth teased a possible idea at the recent Monster Mania horror convention in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, calling it a “really fucked up haunted house movie.”
“Yeah, I do know what he’s talking about,” Schnaars said of the tease. “It is going to be provocative, and it is going to be very fucked up, as he said. I think on stage at Monster Mania, he referenced the Fauci film The House by the Cemetery, which I’ll just admit I’ve never seen.”
Still, the avid horror lover plans to do his homework.
“It’s available in [horror streamer] Shudder right now, though. I literally put it in my Shudder queue. I’ll get to it,” he promised.
Schnaars also mentioned how being part of an ongoing horror podcast for pushing twenty years earns him some serious street cred.
“When we have a meeting, and Eli introduces me, he’ll be like, ‘Oh, this is Jon. He helps run the company, but he’s had a horror podcast’ for however long.”
The fact of the matter is that Schnaars has essentially seen at least one horror movie a week since 2007 (we’re talking well over 700 films at this point). He is steeped in the genre in a way that most folks working in the industry simply aren’t, something Roth pointed out to the budding CEO.
“Look, a lot of the people we meet or talk with or work with like they haven’t seen all the movies like you’ve seen all the movies like you,” Schnaars recalled Roth telling him.
“That’s the credibility,” Schnaars continued. “I know I’m in touch with the horror community in an organic way, in a way that a lot of people might not be.”
The Future of Bloody Good Horror in the wake of the horror section
Fans of Bloody Good Horror will likely be excited to see Schnaars in his new high-profile role, but they may also wonder what this means for the future of BGH. The long-running podcast prides itself on blunt, cutting reviews, with curmudgeon co-host Eric Newell routinely calling more artistically inclined horror offerings “fart house” films.
That said, Roth urged the veteran podcaster to stick with it.
“Eli’s feedback was like, you can’t stop doing the show,” Schnaars insisted about his future on the podcast.
The new CEO believes his role on the podcast will mostly stay the same. However, he admits he may need to be more diplomatic at times or avoid discussions about filmmakers he’s negotiating with or movies tied to The Horror Section. However, his long-time cohosts, the aforementioned Newell and Casey Criswell, have no such restrictions and will continue to be no-holds-barred.
“You know, here’s the thing: I don’t think the guys need to [hold back]. And I’ve told them that. I’m like, you guys say whatever the hell you want,” he added.
Before clocking out, we channeled our inner torture porn lover and grilled Schnaars about his favorite Eli Roth movie.
“I would say it’s between Cabin Fever and Thanksgiving for me,” Schnaars responded after some thought. “Which is weird because they’re like bookends in some ways,” he added since Cabin Fever made Roth’s name back in 2002, and Thanksgiving was his last horror film to date.
Perhaps hinting at his future diplomatic ways in BGH, he also mentioned Knock Knock being another favorite and that his kids loved Roth’s Jack Black starring children’s movie, 2018’s The House with a Clock in Its Walls.
Still, the budding CEO seemed to sweat the million-dollar question a bit.
“I mean, even Eli hasn’t asked me that,” Schnaars quipped.
The post Meet the CEO Shaping the Future of Fear With Eli Roth’s The Horror Section appeared first on VICE.
