The hotly anticipated sequel to the hit supernatural horror film The Black Phone is here. Ethan Hawke returns as the strange and sexy villain The Grabber in Black Phone 2 which we think is a bit muddled and troublingly familiar. Also includes discussions of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Episode 100: The Texas Chainsaw Marathon
It’s our 100th episode! To mark the occasion, we stayed up all night watching the entire The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. From its humble, low-budget origins, Tobe Hooper’s shocker has given birth to a distinctly odd horror franchise that never seems quite sure what it wants to be. How do you expand on something that’s arguably perfect […]
Episode 99: The Conjuring Quadrilogy
After four movies and a few spinoffs we’re bidding adieu to Ed and Lorraine Warren and their adventures in The Conjuring series. We take a look at the way the now-classic first instalment has influenced the horror scene, and how the latest film The Conjuring: Last Rites wraps up their story. Also includes discussions of Hallow Road (2025), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) […]
Episode 98: Dystopia & Authoritarianism
In this episode we explore a set of terrifying tales that might get a bit too close to reality. We explore the potent desperation, fear and hope that define stories about dystopia and authoritarianism, and how these stories illuminate our real circumstances. Includes discussions of Black Water (2007), Punishment Park (1971), Terminal Island (1973), The Crazies (1973), Golem (1979), They Live (1988), Battle Royale (2000), They Cloned Tyrone (2022) and The […]
Episode 97: Weapons
Zach Cregger’s second feature Weapons has been one of the year’s most impactful horror movies. We take a look at what makes this alternately serious and silly movie tick, and why it’s been received with so much enthusiasm. What can we make of the loaded, potentially subversive symbolism at play in the film, and how does it tie […]
Episode 96: Mummies
The mummy has carved out an interesting place in pop culture that reveals some odd quirks when you peel off the bandages. We investigate the exoticism and neo-colonialism that colours the image of the mummy in horror literature and film. How did this shambling corpse become so iconic and yet so divorced from its origins? […]
Episode 95: 28 Days Later Trilogy
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s 28 Days Later is a film that holds up a lot better than a lot of its contemporaries. Following a disappointing middle entry, Boyle is back in the director’s chair with the epic 28 Years Later. We discuss the distinctive trilogy’s emotionally-charged place in the horror canon and the quirks of its writer […]
The Shrouds Review: Cronenberg’s most personal film is his least accessible
Be warned: this review contains spoilers. Everyone’s favourite techno-corporeal freak is back and this time he’s looking death right in the face – both metaphorically and literally. David Cronenberg, father of the body horror subgenre and the acclaimed filmmaker behind taboo-breaking cult classics like Videodrome, Crash (not that one) and Dead Ringers has just released […]
Episode 94: Splatter Films
Maybe grab a poncho because in our latest ep you will get wet! We take a look at the grisly, gleeful gore of the splatter sub-genre. The absurd, nihilism, and the tenuous nature of our society all underpin a genre that cuts much deeper than it seems on the surface. Includes discussions of The Shrouds (2025), The Great […]
Episode 93: Bring Her Back
The Philippou Brothers’ follow-up to the record smashing hit Talk to Me is here and it’s grosser, weirder and… sadder? We investigate the powerful melancholy of Bring Her Back, which is both a terrifying gross-out horror movie and a nuanced, thoughtful exploration of grief. Also includes discussion of The Front Room (2024), Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973), and Stalked by My Amish […]