Dana Gould is a horror geek of the first order. Armed with his passion for the genre and his unique comedic sensibilities he created an exceptional horror comedy show at IFC in Stan Against Evil. Join us at That’s My Entertainment as we sit down for an epic chat about all things Willard’s Mill with the man who created Stan.
Big Night in Willard’s Mill
TME: So, Wednesday is the big night. Stan and company have had a very great story arc which really showcased each character well. Tell our readers what you can about the finale.
DG: It culminates in Stan’s ill-advised desire to go back in time and also into the past which never turns out right. He will find that what it takes to get there leads to some terrible mistakes.
When he gets there, he makes more. It’s good intentions gone wrong. One of my favorite things to write about the law of unintended consequences.
This will definitely be an example of that. Even good ideas can go wrong and I don’t think this was ever a good idea.
TME: How do you think the fans will react to it?
DG: I think the fans are going to love this because all of the characters have their moments. I think it’s a very ambitious story for a half-hour horror comedy. I sort of wrote it the way I would have written a Doctor Who episode.
It tells a story on a big canvas. You get to see Willard’s Mill had things gone differently and then you go back and forth. I think the fans are really going to like it. The last episode is the most ambitious story I’ve told so far.
A Delicate Balance
TME: Stan is a great example of the two genres of horror and comedy marrying well. It can be a delicate balance.
DG: It is a very, very delicate balance. It happens to be the only thing I know how to do.
TME: How do you integrate your background in observational comedy into Stan?
DG: That’s a great question. Writing Stan gives me an opportunity to take some of my observations about the world and give them a voice.
A great example would be in episode five where Evie and Deborah are watching The Fiancé, which is our parody of the Bachelor. The whole monologue that Stan gives about those shows, “That’s why we know marriage is sacred. We give one away as a prize on a game show.”
Those are all things that I have said to my daughters when I’ve caught them watching the Bachelor. It just gives me an opportunity to work them into the show.
Comedy Boot Camp
TME: Do you think your time on the Ben Stiller Show served as a boot camp for writing & performing? Both of which you are doing on Stan Against Evil. How did this experience help you with your writing for Stan?
DG: We are going back in time. There’s no question. What I learned the most from the Ben Stiller Show which really set the template for Stan was how to take things that I was interested in and turn that into a piece of comedy or a piece of entertainment.
At the time of the Ben Stiller Show, I had a brief period where I was really into The Doors. I’m not proud of it. Some people get into drugs, I just get into bad music. Out of that came Oliver Stone Land and it gave me an opportunity to write about the stuff I was into at the time.
That’s really what Stan is, I am a big horror movie fan and this gave me the opportunity to take the stuff I love and live in that world. At the same time, I get to be funny which I sort of have no option when it comes to that. It’s very hard for me to write anything and not try to make it funny at the end of the day.
It Came from Collinsport, Maine
TME: There was definitely an homage to American Werewolf in London with the Werepony episode. What movie or television show started your love affair with monsters and horror?
DG: Dark Shadows. I got into when I was about four years old. My older brothers used to come home from school and watch it when I was a kid.
So much of Stan is influenced by Dark Shadows. The color palette is the same, the music is very evocative of it. Then when I was about ten, eleven and twelve there was a show I watched called Kolchak: The Night Stalker with Darren McGavin.
That cemented it for me. I also grew up watching the Universal classics, those horror movies when I was a kid. That was really what sort of set the die for Stan.
TME: You can definitely see Kolchak: The Night Stalker as a Stan influence especially with the monsters. I know that you said in another interview that you are dying to get the moss monster in the show one way or another.
DG: Yes, I am! I actually have a very good idea for next season so that I can have it.
Future Plans
TME: Now that season two is ending are you already hard at work planning season three? Do you have an idea of the general direction for next season?
DG: Yes, absolutely! Very much so. I am so lucky as a writer because in addition to working with other great writers like Jessica Conrad who wrote the finale, episode eight and in addition to having great collaborators as writers, I also have this amazing cast.
It really is like a repertoire company. They get to play so many different things. They get possessed, they get to play demons. What I think will be a very interesting arc once we extricate ourselves from the corner I paint us into at the end, which I do every season, I would like to see Janet and John flip roles, not personalities.
Janet is the very open minded one and John is the hard ass. With the experiences they have had this season, I’d like to see that flip. I’d like to see Janet exert a little more control as Sheriff and try to bring this whole situation to a head.
John’s experience is going to force into play contrary to his natural role and he’s going to have to be a little more open minded. When Mulder becomes Scully and Scully becomes Mulder. I think that’s what season three should be about.
TME: When I think back to various episodes of the X-Files, there were several that pertained to the origins of characters on the show like the Lone Gunmen, the Cigarette Smoking Man and for season 11, Skinner’s backstory. Have you thought of doing something like that on Stan? We saw a bit of why Stan became a cop. Do you have any plans to go into the past for that type of story with any of the characters?
DG: Yes! The character that I think has the most potential for an interesting backstory and I sort of read into it a little bit this year is Kevin, the caretaker of the cemetery. All of those stories that he tells are true.
Just no one seems to care about them. I think at the end, at some point, so much of the curse of Willard’s Mill revolves around the cemetery, it’s not an accident that Kevin is in charge of it. I think that is all going to come together at the end.
You have to keep Evie sort of pure in the backstory because she is standing in for the audience. You have to keep her devoid of those influences for the audience’s perspective.
Will They, or Won’t They?
TME: With Denise and Kevin, the fans have a very Mulder and Scully type interest in them, in terms of their relationship.
DG: That’s exactly it! No one was more surprised than me and I play Kevin!
TME: Are there plans for future episodes to see their relationship develop?
DG: Oh, yeah! Absolutely! Because I believe in surprising the fans. People love Denise so much that they want her to be happy and if she likes this guy then they should be together. I absolutely think that there is a life for these two characters together but what that does is put Kevin in Stan’s orbit.
Kevin and Stan have a very strange relationship. I think it’s because John and I as people have a good relationship. Kevin isn’t someone that Stan would
normally like but there is a sense of respect there. Both of them are civil servants. I think we will see more of that.
The Real-Life Stan
TME: When most people think of their parents, they don’t envision them as stars of a horror-comedy show. What about your father inspired you to create Stan?
DG: It was because he was so wrong for it. I wrote a pilot for ABC called Nolan Knows Best. The premise of that show was essentially what if my father came to live with my wife and my kids and myself? That pilot got made.
I played myself. Brian Dennehy played my Dad and the show didn’t go to series but it did get made. When I saw the show, I realized that although the series didn’t go, the character worked. That you could have this intemperate, old school, misogynistic guy but most people would still like him.
To me what I want to do is take him and put him in a show where he didn’t belong. What if I took that guy and put him in the X-Files? What if Dana Scully was partnered with my Dad instead of Fox Mulder?
That was basically the origin of Stan. It’s that simple. What if I took that character and put him where he shouldn’t be but people had to deal with him anyway? It wasn’t that he did fit, it was that he didn’t fit.
What Makes Stan Tick?
TME: John C. McGinley said that Stan’s motivation in season one was “get to the chair.”
DG: Right. John’s a real actor. He has a very disciplined method that he works from and for John what motivated Stan in the first season was “get to the chair.” That’s all he wanted to do.
He was forced into retirement, so screw you. Now, with the second season he has a very different agenda. He wants to reunite with Claire to become whole. Not every episode of the second season was based on that journey.
So, what he is doing in those other episodes is he is resting and preparing for that journey. John is a very serious and dedicated craftsman. With the rest of the cast, nobody is phoning it in because everybody on the show is such a pro that’s not an accident.
Jumping the Shark Prevention
TME: Some shows, as you know when they go on in perpetuity there’s that theory of how do we not jump the shark. Do you ever think about that?
DG: Oh, yeah. Every time I start a script I’m afraid I’m going to jump the shark with it. I think to me the shark will not be jumped as long as the characters never make fun of their situation. The characters take the danger that they’re in very seriously.
The danger is always very real and the comedy comes from them behaving like regular people. That’s the American Werewolf template. The reason that movie works is because the guys don’t act like they’re in a werewolf movie. They act like regular guys.
Same thing is true of Stan. These people don’t really behave like they’re in a horror movie but a horror movie is happening around them. That would be the algorithm of the show.
TME: Because the characters play it straight while the horror is happening around them do you think that is why people identify with Stan, Evie, Denise and Leon?
DG: They behave in the way an audience would behave. It’s the reason that Brody is so important in Jaws because Brody is the only one who is afraid of the shark in the way that the audience would be afraid of the shark.
People who relate to Stan in these situations would still be making wisecracks and would also be nervous and scared. No one’s brave in the show. They are only brave when it is self-preservation.
Changing Weather
TME: There has been a shift in the industry to go a little more mainstream with entertainment. Being a fan of horror, Chiller met an untimely demise. As the creator of a horror comedy niche type of product how do you feel about that?
DG: It’s a little heartbreaking. We are the niches niche. I like to think that there is always an audience for it. I also think that horror is like comedy in that it’s not the main course. It’s a side dish.
That might have been the issue with Chiller. 24-7 of something. When I was a kid the great thing about horror movies is that they were on Saturday nights at 11:30. If you wanted to watch a horror movie, you had to wait for Saturday night.
We have a nice little niche in IFC’s schedule. All of their programming appeals to a very specific slice of the audience. I look at the schedule as a color wheel and I would like to think we have a place in that wheel.
Stan and Ash Fans Unite
TME: Were you aware that there is a movement to unite the fanbases of Stan with Ash vs Evil Dead? What are your thoughts on it?
DG: I’m incredibly touched by our fans. It’s so flattering to be a part of something that means so much to people that they would go out of their way to do that. I think Stan and Ash are absolute cousins. I totally get that. They share fans.
TME: The fans are very enthusiastic. They are out there asking for more with #KeepStanKilling and #ShovelsUpforSeason3. Do you have a message for the fans about the campaign?
DG: The thing I would stress to them is ask for more. Keep watching the show. Stay on social media and keep talking about it. The more people tune into the show the better it bodes for another season.
If we find ourselves “on the bubble” the fans will be the first to know. When they mobilize to keep a show on it’s the greatest thing. I’ve done it. My promise to them is if we get another season, I will definitely make it a season worth watching.
The Curse
TME: Since the curse is on the constable of Willard’s Mill and Evie is currently in that position, will John C McGinley eventually transition out of the show and remain behind the scenes as a producer? What is the plan for Stan’s character?
DG: The heart and soul of the show to me is the interplay between John and Janet. They are both cursed because they were both the Sheriff. I think they are sort of tied.
I know what happens to Stan at the end of the show. I’ll just leave it at that. Do I think there is a show there without Stan?
The heart of the show is Stan and Evie. They are Mulder and Scully. Without Mulder and Scully, The X-Files wasn’t that good.
The Wrap
TME: When you talked about the fans staying engaged on social media…
DG: The network pays attention to that. I get metrics every week on the ratings and what we did on social media.
TME: Anything else you would like to add, Dana?
DG: We really love our audience. I think of Stan like that little band you love that still plays. If you’re there for us, we’ll be there for you.
Catch the season finale of Stan Against Evil on IFC, Wednesday, November 22 at 10 p.m. Eastern 7 p.m. Pacific.
If you love the show tweet #KeepStanKilling #ShovelsUpForSeason3 to @IFC and @stanagainstevil on twitter.
Follow Stan Against Evil on
Twitter @StanAgainstEvil
Facebook @IFCStanAgainstEvil
website www.ifc.com

Streaming
Thandel: A Riveting Journey Through Social Inequities and Human Struggles

Directed by: Rajesh Kumar | Written by: Rajesh Kumar | Starring: Vijay Sethupathi, Nayanthara, and Pasupathi
Genre: Drama, Thriller | Runtime: 2 hours 45 minutes
Available on: Netflix | Studio: Red Studios
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Thandel is a gripping drama-thriller that examines the deep-rooted social and political issues prevalent in rural India. Directed and written by Rajesh Kumar, the film brings to light the stark realities of human suffering, class divides, and systemic oppression while weaving a powerful narrative of hope and resistance. With stellar performances by Vijay Sethupathi, Nayanthara, and Pasupathi, this film offers more than just entertainment – it’s a powerful commentary on society.
The story centers around Karthik (Vijay Sethupathi), an idealistic young man who returns to his village after years of studying in the city. He quickly realizes that his community is being threatened by a corrupt political system that is destroying the very fabric of rural life. His attempts to restore justice and bring about change lead him into a whirlwind of tension, deceit, and violence. As Karthik allies with Anjali (Nayanthara), a strong-willed social activist, the two face constant opposition from powerful forces.
The narrative is slow-burning at first but quickly accelerates, with each twist revealing more about the characters’ motivations, fears, and hopes. The layered storytelling keeps you hooked until the very end.
Vijay Sethupathi delivers yet another powerful performance, effortlessly transitioning between the earnestness of his character and the complex moral dilemmas he faces. Nayanthara, as always, excels in portraying the fiery yet vulnerable activist, and her chemistry with Sethupathi elevates the emotional depth of the story.
Pasupathi, in a key supporting role, steals the show with his nuanced portrayal of a villain who is more human than one might expect, further adding complexity to the story.
Rajesh Kumar’s direction is both poignant and precise. His attention to detail in capturing the rural landscape of India creates a sense of place that is both beautiful and haunting. The cinematography is immersive, with sweeping shots of the village contrasted by intimate close-ups that highlight the emotional turmoil of the characters. The direction adds weight to the social commentary while never sacrificing the entertainment value of the plot.
The soundtrack, composed by Anirudh Ravichander, is another standout element of Thandel. The haunting score perfectly complements the film’s dark themes, while songs like “Thamizh Puthu” bring an uplifting energy to the narrative at the right moments. The sound design plays a crucial role in amplifying the tension in key scenes, immersing the viewer further into the tense atmosphere.
At its core, Thandel is a powerful examination of social inequality, the exploitation of rural communities, and the complex relationship between political power and the people. The film touches on corruption, justice, and the role of activism in driving societal change. Through its nuanced portrayal of its characters and their personal struggles, it urges viewers to think about the impact of systemic oppression and the importance of standing up for what is right.
Thandel is a thought-provoking, emotionally charged film that blends drama with thriller elements. Its intelligent screenplay, solid performances, and striking visuals make it an essential watch for anyone interested in socially relevant cinema. While the pacing may be slow for some viewers, the emotional payoff and the film’s profound message make it well worth the wait.
Rating: 9/10
Movie
Jaat (2024) – A Gritty and Pulse-Pounding Ride Through Rural JusticeJaat

Runtime: 2h 17min
Genre: Action, Drama, Crime
Director: Manoj Rathi
Writer: Veerendra Pal Singh
Studio: Rathi Films India
Cast:
Gavie Chahal as Veeru
Aarushi Sharma as Meera
Karamveer Choudhary as Chaudhary Saab
Manjit Singh as Inspector Malik
Rajendra Bhatia as MLA Dhillon
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Jaat comes galloping in with the firepower of a rural action epic and the emotional core of a revenge drama. Directed by Manoj Rathi, this gritty North Indian action film pulls no punches, delivering a hard-hitting tale about honor, family, and retribution.
Gavie Chahal commands the screen as Veeru, a former army man turned vigilante who returns to his village only to find it ravaged by corruption and political thuggery. Chahal brings stoic intensity to the role, capturing both the silent rage and explosive force required of a righteous hero. Aarushi Sharma as Meera provides warmth and emotional grounding, while Karamveer Choudhary adds gravitas in his portrayal of an old patriarch trying to hold on to fading traditions.
The film’s biggest strength lies in its raw action sequences, beautifully choreographed and grounded in realism. Hand-to-hand combat, shootouts in mustard fields, and gripping chase scenes through narrow village lanes are highlights that keep you on the edge of your seat.
What Worked:
Authentic setting: The dusty lanes, village politics, and vibrant Haryanvi culture feel lived-in and immersive.
Powerful soundtrack: Folk-infused music enhances key moments, especially during confrontations.
Action choreography: Brutal, believable, and satisfying for fans of grounded action.
Strong lead performance: Gavie Chahal delivers a breakout role with screen presence and emotional depth.
Pacing issues: The second act lingers due to subplots that could have been trimmed. Predictable plot points: The revenge arc follows a familiar path and would benefit from more unexpected twists. Underdeveloped antagonist: Although the villain is effective, they lack depth and backstory, which would make the rivalry more engaging..
Rating: 7.5/10
Verdict: Jaat is a must-watch for fans of desi action with heart. It wears its rustic flair with pride and delivers a satisfying punch of drama, action, and cultural resonance. While it doesn’t reinvent the genre, it revs up the rural revenge saga with style and sincerity.
Streaming
Simhadri

Language: Telugu
Genre: Action | Drama | Masala
Director: S. S. Rajamouli
Producer: V. Doraswamy Raju
Studio: VMC Productions
Runtime: 171 minutes
Release Year: 2003
Lead Cast:
Jr. NTR as Simhadri
Bhumika Chawla as Indu
Ankitha as Kasturi
Mukesh Rishi as Bhai Saab
Nassar as Ram Bhupal Varma
Simhadri is a landmark Telugu masala action film directed by the now-legendary S. S. Rajamouli in his sophomore effort. It was a turning point for Jr. NTR, catapulting him from rising star to full-fledged mass action hero.
The film follows Simhadri, an orphan adopted by a wealthy family who leads a dual life—loyal servant by day, ruthless protector of justice by night. The story blends traditional Telugu family sentiment with high-octane action and melodrama, perfectly aligned with the masala genre.
S. S. Rajamouli’s direction is explosive and ambitious. Even in his early career, Rajamouli had a knack for balancing mass appeal with emotional resonance. He crafts action set pieces with remarkable intensity and paces the film to maintain constant engagement, especially for fans of dramatic twists and adrenaline-pumping sequences.
Jr. NTR’s performance is nothing short of a powerhouse. He balances the fiery, vengeance-fueled action hero with tender vulnerability, particularly in scenes with Bhumika Chawla’s Indu. His screen presence is magnetic, commanding during action scenes and soulful in emotionally heavy moments. Simhadri became a benchmark role that showcased his physical agility, command of dialogue, and capacity for deep emotional expression.
The supporting cast adds weight, especially Mukesh Rishi, who delivers a memorable performance as the antagonist. Bhumika Chawla brings sensitivity to her role, though her character remains more reactive than proactive in the plot. The music by M. M. Keeravani bolsters the emotional arcs and gives Jr. NTR some memorable songs to dance and emote to.
Visually, the film carries the early 2000s aesthetic—slightly exaggerated but vibrantly stylized. The fight choreography is brutal and kinetic, and even two decades later, it retains a raw energy that many modern films lack.
Simhadri is a quintessential Telugu action-drama that delivers on spectacle, sentiment, and star power. It cemented Jr. NTR’s place in the pantheon of Telugu cinema and hinted at the grandeur Rajamouli would later bring to Indian cinema globally.
Rating: 8.5/10 A must-watch for fans of Jr. NTR, Rajamouli, or Indian mass entertainers.