Get to know Isaiah Swanson, the nomadic writer responsible for HorrorFam.com’s “Izzy’s Eerie Indies” reviews! Lauren Spear chats with him about his werewolf alter ego, The Bitter Wolf; achieving an amazing milestone; life on the road; and his love for independent horror creators.

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LINKS for More Isaiah Swanson:

• The Bitter Wolf: Horror & Hijinks Website: https://realbitterwolf.com
• Isaiah Swanson on Instagram (@TheBitterWolf): https://instagram.com/thebitterwolf
• Isaiah Swanson on Twitter X (@TheBitterWolf): https://x.com/thebitterwolf
• Izzy’s Eerie Indies & Other Isaiah Swanson reviews: https://horrorfam.com/author/i-swanson/

FULL Written Transcript: HorrorFam.com Podcast Interview with Isaiah Swanson

*intro music*

Lauren Spear: Hi, Everyone! My name is Lauren Spear and you’re listening to or watching the HorrorFam.com Podcast.

And today’s guest is Isaiah Swanson; and you’ll probably know him from HorrorFam.com’s Izzy’s Eerie Indies reviews where he talks about indie horror films and the people who make them. Or, you might know him from his own site, The Bitter Wolf, where he reviews movies as his werewolf persona.

So, here he is: Isaiah Swanson! Hiiiiii!

Isaiah Swanson: Hi! Hi, Lauren! It’s so good to finally meet you.

Lauren: Yeah. Seriously! *laughs*

Isaiah Swanson: I mean…

Lauren: All these people that I’ve been working so closely with that I’ve only just started meeting via these interviews! *laughs*

Isaiah Swanson: Yeah! That’s exciting. And I think it’s been over a year now…?

Lauren: Yeah.

Isaiah Swanson: Since I started with HorrorFam.com!

Lauren: Yeah. I believe you did the review of… Let’s see… You did…

Isaiah Swanson: Ohhhhh.

Lauren: The “Christmas in July” horror movies. And then you had the Inhu… Inhuman… wi…

Isaiah Swanson: Oh, yes!

Inhumanwich!!

Lauren Spear: Yes!

Both: *laugh*

Isaiah Swanson: I forgot about that. THAT was the very first one! Yeah.

Lauren: Yeah. I believe that was the first one. *laughs*

Isaiah Swanson: Okay. Well, that was fun. That’s a great movie. *chuckles*

Lauren: And… well! Did you want to tell, like, about yourself? In your own words!

Isaiah Swanson: Sure. Sure. So, yes, I am Isaiah Swanson, as Lauren said. I write for HorrorFam.com where I do Izzy’s Eerie Indies, which is focused on independent horror filmmakers primarily.

I’ll usually talk about one per month, and then we’ll expand on a few movies they’ve done throughout their career. Or maybe just one movie. So, that’s what I do with HorrorFam.

And on my website, Real Bitter Wolf dot com…

Isaiah Swanson (continuing): It’s called THE Bitter Wolf but that was the domain that we went with.

So, The Bitter Wolf is where we have movie commentary and I write from the perspective of a lonely, isolated Wolf. Well, he’s SELF-isolated from the world. Because he wants to be away from humans and watch his horror movies in peace with his cat named Connie.

So, he loves to watch these horror movies and talk about them. And so that’s what he does over there. He has a series called “Friends of the Bitter Wolf” that spotlights guest writers as well. So, if you ever want to contribute to that, feel free to reach out to me.

And you can do that on X. Twitter. However you know the website. And you can find me there @TheBitterWolf — so, feel free to reach out if you’d like to send anything in.

But that’s what we’re doing right now.

We have some video content coming out in the future, but that’s… I think that’s it!

Lauren Spear: Okay!

I know that when we first met, you said that you were — and you just explained this a little bit as well, but… That you write sort of AS a werewolf on The Bitter Wolf and that we get your human persona! *laughs*

Isaiah Swanson: Yes. Yes. I say that a lot because the Voices are slightly different.

Lauren: Mmhmm.

Isaiah Swanson: The Wolf… I have “bitter” in there, but it doesn’t exactly describe his persona. He’s more… His humor… The “bitterness” comes out in his own self-deprecation. You know?

And the bitterness ends up getting him into trouble! For example, when he gives into his instincts and he goes into the village and chows down on the villagers, he gets sentenced by the werewolf court to have to write – have to feature human voices on his website.

So, that’s kind of where his bitterness comes out! He’s like “ugh!” but he begrudgingly allows the humans to share their voices in his cave space.

So, that Voice is very different because it’s the character. But it’s still a character who loves horror and loves talking about independent horror primarily. So, it’s just a fun place!

He always tells a story from his life and then talks about a movie that’s kind of connected to that story in some way.

And then, the guest writers, they just write about whatever they want to write about.

I just wanted to highlight voices in the horror community. So, that’s the goal.

Lauren Spear: And you do that a lot with Izzy’s Eerie Indies as well! Like, you really focus in on each creator!

It’s so fun sharing your articles because…

Lauren Spear (continuing)…usually the creators see them and they’re like, “Oh wow! Somebody saw my movie!!”

Isaiah Swanson: Yeah.

Lauren: And, “Whoa. This guy knows a lot about me. How did he find out so much about me??”

Isaiah Swanson: *laughs* Yeah, exactly! That’s why I love doing the column because a. I get to talk in my Human voice, which is really nice and I don’t have to think about the character – I can just be myself – but, b. I can use my nerdy interests, like how these things are made and also the people who make them.

Because, like, a lot of times with independent horror it’s so collaborative. And that’s for a lot of budgetary reasons. And so a lot of the times, these people who make multiple movies for really low budgets are developing relationships with the same group of people. And so they’re developing their skills together. They’re working on similar themes.

And so you get to see them grow over time with their movies! And so it’s pretty amazing.

But it’s so hard to get distribution for people with limited resources. And so it really helps whenever you can spotlight their work. And I think that’s why I enjoy it. Yeah.

Lauren Spear: Yeah. I try to encourage people to send in their things so that we can, like, do SOMEthing with it! Just so that it can get out there!

Because there’s something for everyone. And you never know! It might be… This little indie film might be somebody’s favorite movie at some point later on!

Isaiah Swanson: Yeah!

Lauren: And you wouldn’t know that if you don’t see it!

Isaiah Swanson: You’re absolutely right.

Lauren: So, we try to get the word out.

Isaiah Swanson: You’re totally right.

And it’s competing with a lot of different forces. Like advertising and marketing and things. And, of course, the bigger budget movies are going to be more readily seen by everyone.

But I think it is worth it to log into Tubi

Isaiah Swanson (continuing): and dig into the… Well, it’s kind like browsing the old video store over there on Tubi! They have very particular curated sections that are great. And you can find things that you couldn’t imagine in your wildest dreams!

But it’s like, this is the creativity and the spectrum of horror! So, I think it’s definitely worth digging into.

Lauren Spear: Oh yeah. Tubi’s my dad’s favorite of the streaming channels. But he calls it Tubbi because “it’s fat with content.”

Isaiah Swanson: *laughs*

That’s pretty creative! I love that!

Lauren: *chuckles* Yeah.

And you were talking about going to the video store. And we’ve discussed this a few times before: Where I like to think of HorrorFam.com’s writers as, like, owning a local video store and each person has their shelf of Recommends.

Isaiah Swanson: Yeah.

Lauren: My dad’s got the really old movies, and you’ve got indie movies, and Christi’s got brand new movies, and then AJ’s shelf is like… books! *laughs*

Isaiah Swanson: Right. Right.

Lauren: Like, “Oh, yeah! He brings those in himself!”

Isaiah Swanson: Exactly! *laughs* Yeah!

Yeah. It’s great. It’s really nice!

Lauren: I just love that because the more people come back and they start to know all of us as writers, they start to learn, like, “Oh, THIS is the person who has the taste [in horror movies] that’s most similar to my own.” I love that. I miss doing that.

Isaiah Swanson: Exactly.

Lauren: Having physical stores and stuff like that and getting recommendations. So, it’s nice to…

Isaiah Swanson: Right. Exactly.

Lauren: …cultivate that environment with our site here.

Isaiah Swanson: Yes. And you can write much longer recommendations through this medium!

Lauren: *laughs*

Isaiah Swanson: So, you get to know the person’s personality and it shows how much they love something that somebody created for them to enjoy. And, pretty much:

If someone creates something, there’s going to be someone out there to enjoy it!

Isaiah Swanson (continuing): So, that’s my perspective whenever I talk about the movies that I talk about on there.

I think, if you’re very passionate whenever you talk about these things, and make a personal connection, then you can convince someone to watch almost any crazy movie! *laughs* Including my parents!

Lauren Spear: *laughs* My dad’s watched a few of your recommendations!

Isaiah Swanson: Oh, has he??

Lauren: Oh, yeah.

Isaiah Swanson: *huge laugh* Well, I apologize ahead of time if any went south! But that’s great.

Both: *chuckle*

Lauren Spear: What got you into indie film? And

Why did you pick that as your niche in terms of the horror genre?

Isaiah Swanson: Well, I’ve always been into horror. But I think it’s like you start out with the big stuff and then you slowly start to realize, once you gain access to things, that it’s so vast of a spectrum.

There’s so many things! There’s so many subjects, so many genres, so many budgets that people work with. And it’s just so huge that you start to dig a little deeper.

And I’ve always had an interest in filmmaking. So, I’ve always wondered. Because I grew up as a poor kid. So, whenever we were kids… You know. You don’t have many resources. You just have to get very creative!

So, you’re telling your own stories in the summertime because you’re not going to summer camp. You know what I mean?

Lauren: Mmhmm.

Isaiah Swanson: And so I think when you start thinking of like, “Well, we just gotta figure out how to DO it!” And so that translated over into making a connection with the spirit of these independent filmmakers who’re trying to… Just using as much creativity as they can to tell these stories!

And within the horror genre, it’s doubly creative. Because I consider it to be the most limitless in terms of like, “Yeah. That’s horror. It’s allowed in this genre.”

Like, you can’t have…

I just watched Body Melt again a few days ago. And you can’t have crazy tentacles coming out of people’s faces in a rom-com! Y’know?

Lauren: *laughs*

Isaiah Swanson: So, it’s like… I just think it’s like… Yeah. There you go.

Lauren: Have you ever made a film yourself?

You said that you’re interested in filmmaking. Have you ever made one yourself?

Lauren Spear (continuing): I don’t think I’ve ever asked you that!

Isaiah Swanson: Yeah. Well. Never a horror film. But I’ve written several screenplays. Especially in the last year. I started working and being a lot more productive – doing treatments and things. So, I’m very interested in that.

And I have been working with one guy in California on his horror movie, doing some producing type stuff. So, when that starts taking off I’ll have more to say about it. But I’m slowly getting involved over the past two years.

However, a decade ago, roughly, I did make a documentary film when I was living in Memphis. And so I co-directed that film.

It was about a two-month shooting process and probably one or two months of post-production stuff. But we did it! We filmed it, we edited it, and did all the… We did everything! So, that was a really great experience and I really loved it.  

And I don’t know why I didn’t just stay on that path. Probably just out of practical reasons related to paying bills in life.

Lauren Spear: *knowing freelancer chuckle* Yeah.

Isaiah Swanson: But, I feel like… Because of HorrorFam, actually! That was the first time I…

I’ve always been writing, too, but that was when  I was like “Why don’t I combine these passions into something? I could talk about movies and I could talk about horror movies in particular.” And so I just submitted to you! And it kind of reawakened the passion!

You know? So… I’m a late bloomer!

Both: *laugh*

Lauren Spear: But you’ve come so far! Even since you started writing on HorrorFam.com!

You announced on your Twitter just the other day that you’re one whole year sober!

Lauren Spear (continuing): And I think that’s amazing!

Isaiah Swanson: Yeah!

Lauren: Frank and I have been rooting for you this whole time because you stopped your drinking right after you met us.

Isaiah Swanson: Yeah!

Lauren: We were like, “Yes! Do it!” *laughs*

Isaiah Swanson: Yeah! You’re… Thank you so much!

I do sincerely credit it a lot to the support of the horror community. Because I’ll post about it or something and…

The posting about it was really a good motivational thing because a lot of people in the horror community are also going through a similar type thing. Whether it’s drinking, whether it’s smoking cigarettes, or anything else. People can relate to that.

And everyone in the horror community is very encouraging and supportive. And I don’t think I could’ve done it without them!

Lauren Spear: Yeah. It’s amazing how… Just how loving the horror community is!

Frank’s going to be one year clean of nicotine tomorrow.

Isaiah Swanson: Oh, yes! Congratulations, Frank!!

Lauren: Yeah! *laughs happily*

Isaiah Swanson: That’s amazing!

Lauren: And I’m 10 years clean from self-harm as of earlier this month.

Isaiah Swanson: Exactly.

Lauren Spear: And I think it’s really important to share and celebrate those milestones because it encourages people.

And I don’t know if this has happened to you yet, but in the years that I’ve been announcing like, “Okay. It’s been this many years, this many months” people have written to me — usually privately because mine’s a bit more… not as… uh…

Isaiah Swanson: Yeah. Of course.

Lauren: Just how helpful it is to have somebody else say that they’ve done it.

So, I’m very proud of you! And that you were willing to share that with people as well.

Isaiah Swanson: Oh, thank you so much! Yes! Yeah!

Lauren: I think it’s important. *laughs*

Isaiah Swanson: I totally agree! Yeah. To be vulnerable in that way is not easy per say.

Lauren: Mmhmm.

Isaiah Swanson: And so… yeah.

And that’s great that you’re able to connect with people as well. Privately, as you mentioned. And I’ve talked to a few people as well in my private DMs. It’s awesome.

Lauren: Yeah. Saving lives!

Isaiah Swanson: *laughs*

Lauren: Starting with your own!

Isaiah Swanson: Exactly.

Lauren Spear: And, um, yeah!

You’ve been on sort of a Nationwide tour for the past several months.

Lauren Spear (continuing): You live a bit of a nomadic lifestyle, much like your werewolf counterpart.

Both: *laugh*

Lauren: Did you want to talk about that at all, or…?

Isaiah Swanson: Sure! Yeah. It started like six years ago.

I was living in Memphis, Tennessee. Which is a city that I love dearly. It’s very creative. Whenever you go there you just feel inspired, you know? It’s like… I just want to make stuff!

But, anyway, I decided to leave Memphis just so I could pursue my passions for traveling. And so I… I had always wanted to travel since I was a kid, but I finally was like, “I want to do this before I turn thirty!”

And so I just left and then started traveling abroad. And I did that for a while until COVID started happening and then it brought me back to the States. And that’s whenever I was like, “Well, I still want to travel… But how can I do that realistically?”

And the van idea presented itself. So, I bought a van and we built the camper out of it. And then I started moving around.

So… yeah! Now… Right now, I’m in Oregon, and I’ve been running away from wild fires all month. So, I’m glad I’m in a good spot now to talk to you!

Lauren Spear: Yeah! We weren’t sure how to make this work for a little while. Because, like, you didn’t have the internet capabilities and there was just so much going on.

Isaiah Swanson: Yeah.

Lauren: You’re in outer space right now! *gestures to Isaiah’s Zoom background, chuckling*

Isaiah Swanson: I am! I am! I’m up here with the Elon Musk satellites that power my Starlink. It’s like the double-edged sword: I have to give money to Elon Musk in order to talk to you right now.

Both: *laugh*

Isaiah Swanson: That’s what the space represents, I suppose.

Lauren: Has anything, like, horrifying happened in your travels? Like, have you seen…

Have you stumbled across any dead bodies or anything?

Isaiah Swanson: Oh god! You know…

Both: *laugh*

Isaiah Swanson: It’s funny you say that because yesterday I was doing an interview with Brandon Perras who directed Saint Drogo and Death Drop Gorgeous, and we were talking about the movie Horror in the High Desert… Have you seen that?

Lauren: No, I haven’t. But I did read your review of Saint… Saint Dra… I can’t pronounce words!

Isaiah Swanson: Yeah. Yeah. Saint Drogo. Yeah.

Yeah, so, but Horror in the High Desert is a found footage film about a guy who goes missing in the high desert. In Nevada, I think? And, I mean, it seems like a very simple plot, but it’s just SO well done and so effective. And the sound design is really impactful and terrifying.

Because watching the found footage of this guy who went missing in the desert and what he saw, as someone who is currently in the high desert, is kind of frightening to think about!

Lauren: Mmhmm.

Isaiah Swanson: But I have watched that movie in the desert before. And Dutch Marich, the director, always says to watch it with your headphones on for the heightened effect. And I’ll say it: It did scare me.

So, my own imagination combined with that movie, it kind of freaked me out a little bit, being out here. But, I have not seen a dead body of a human! I have seen a dead body of other things in places that I go. Because I do a lot of boondocking in remote areas.

Lauren: Yeah. You must have, like, pretty good survival skills and stuff to feel confident enough to do that at all! So…

Isaiah Swanson: Well, you have to learn some things, I think. But I also have equipped myself well enough where I don’t necessarily need that. I mean, I have a fridge here. And that will last me for 14 days. You know?

Lauren: Very nice.

Isaiah Swanson: So, I do 14 days max. But usually about halfway through that, I’ll go do a supply run.

I do like being in remote areas, but I also like going to interact with people every now and then. *chuckles*

Lauren: But you gotta keep yourself in seclusion when you transform.

Isaiah Swanson: Right! Exactly! *laughs* Whenever you become the werewolf, you have to be out in the high desert.

Lauren: And make sure your fridge is packed! *laughs*

Isaiah Swanson: Exactly! Oh god. Yeah. I mean, I’ve learned a lot the hard way out here.

Both: *laugh*

Lauren Spear: Well, we’ve got about five minutes left. Did you…

I want to make sure people know how to get to your socials and everything…

Lauren Spear (continuing): So, if you could, like, let everybody know that one more time?

Isaiah Swanson: Sure! Yeah. Thank you!

So, the website is www.RealBitterWolf.com and you can follow me X – or Twitter – at @TheBitterWolf

And…um… Oh! I’m also on Facebook now. I just have a Facebook page that you could follow and I’ll share my updates there if that’s easier. You can find it at “The Bitter Wolf: Horror and Hijinks.”

Soooo… yeah! Hopefully, in September, that’s when we’ll start doing the YouTube stuff. *waves hand around above his head*

Sorry. There was a fly in here. *laughs*

Lauren: Oh, that’s okay. *chuckles*

Isaiah Swanson: So, that’s it!

Lauren: Okay! Um… Did…

Did you have anything else that you wanted to share?

Lauren Spear (continuing): Any hints about upcoming Izzy’s Eerie Indies or anything like that…?

Isaiah Swanson: I have some things in the works for Bitter Wolf right now involving an exciting interview project. So those will start rolling out some interviews with people in the horror community. Filmmakers, artists, things like that. But I don’t know exactly the date so I can’t say that.

Lauren: Oh, yeah. I know that some of your stuff is secret for now.

Isaiah Swanson: Yes. There’s some other things that are secret. But the…

Izzy’s Eerie Indies comes out once a month. So, go to HorrorFam.com for that! And also lots of other great content there.

I don’t know exactly who’s going to be the one for September, but I’ve narrowed it down.

Lauren: Okay. Yeah.

Isaiah Swanson: *laughs*

Lauren: I remember you tossing around a few ideas! *laughs*

Isaiah Swanson: Yeah. So, I’ll let you know!

Lauren: Okay.

Well, I guess that’s about it? Unless…? Um. Yeah! *laughs*

Isaiah Swanson: That’s it!

Lauren: Okay! I guess that’s about it.

Isaiah Swanson: I can’t think of anything! *laughs*

Lauren: All right! Well, stay safe out there!

Isaiah Swanson: Thank you, Lauren! It’s so great to meet you!

Lauren: You too!

Isaiah Swanson: Well, I mean, SEE you.

Lauren: Yeah.

Both: *laugh*

Lauren: In motion! *does a lil dance with her arms*

Isaiah Swanson: Exactly. Exactly.

Lauren Spear: Well, I guess that’s about it! So, that was Isaiah Swanson AKA The Bitter Wolf who writes HorrorFam.com’s Izzy’s Eerie Indies review. And I’m Lauren Spear. You’ve been listening to and/or watching the HorrorFam.com Podcast, Episode number 24! Byeeeeeeeeeee!

Film images were purchased via CineMaterial. Images of Isaiah Swanson and The Bitter Wolf were provided by Isaiah Swanson.