Episodes

This week marks the release of Ariel's long awaited book Millennial Nasties: Analyzing a Decade of Brutal Horror. We chat about how the book came to be, why these films still stick with us twenty years later, and why horror became more brutal and often bleak at the turn of the century. If you want your own copy of the book order it today from all major retailers, or directly from publisher Encyclopocalypse Publications: Print version and the e-book version If you like what you’re listening to ...

Mike and Brian talk about the last installment of the original FLY series. This one throws continuity out the window, and i a truly low budget affair. Still, while the lack of funds limit the sets and the performances, it offers a lot to chew on and tackles some fairly high concept ideas, even if it can't take them all that far. It's also the only FLY movie to date that seems to have a complete lack of its titular creature. If you like what you’re listening to make sure to subscribe wherever yo...

This week, the buzz is back! Brian and Mike tackle one of the great, underappreciated B-movies of the 1950s, with Return of the Fly. Vincent Price is the only cast member to return from the original cast and crew, this time getting top billing and lending his charm and winking good time of a performance style in order to deliver a mash up of a classic monster movie with more than a few nods to film noir. The end result is a movie that-for the first hour at least-truly slaps. From a great mustach...

This week we're all "abuzz" to start on a new franchise. We're dipping our toes back into classic horror with 1958's science fiction / horror tale of experimentation gone amuck with THE FLY. This is the film that made Vincent Price a horror icon (even though he's in a supporting role) and contains marvelous special effects, a fantastic creature reveal, and one of the most disturbing finales ever in a horror movie. This week Mike, Brian, and Nicole are joined by Shawn Murphy from the Men Who Like...

Our last batch of film coverage from Fantasia, plus an interview with Adams family directing team on their new feature Hell Hole. premiering on Shudder August 23rd.

If you like what you’re listening to make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcast feeds. Please take a moment to rate and review us on the Apple Podcast app, or rate us on the Spotify app. Reviews and five star ratings help new listeners find us every day, and we greatly appreciate the feedback and support. Here's the second part of of Fantasia coverage. We've got an eclectic line up of films from across the globe. From the UK we have the werewolf cum domestic drama starring Game of Th...

The 2024 Fantasia Film Festival is in the books and Mike has the first part of his coverage up. Celebrating its 28th year, Fantasia delivers on horror, suspense, fantasy and science fiction from around the globe For the first episode Mike breaks down his thoughts on the new holiday slash from trans filmmaker Alison Maio Mackay (CARNAGE FOR CHRISTMAS), a documentary on the zealotry of gun culture comprised entirely of social media clips (FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS), and a wild horror-comedy-musical ...

As we put another series to bed, Mike, Devaughn and Ariel decided to break away from the typical "ranking" formula and go for something a little outside the box. With almost 40 segments to choose from, we out together our own V/H/S mixtapes, choosing anthology segments to fit our own twisted themes like "Bigfoot and Other Monsters," "The Gods Must Be Crazy," "Betrayal," and more. We had some fun with talking about a smorgasbord of our favorites. If you want to hear one of our crew talk definitiv...

This week we’re diving into the horrific and darkly comedic world of *V/H/S 85*. Join us as we explore this anthology film’s unique blend of humor and gore. Getting back to their roots of providing a sandbox for up and coming genre filmmakers ‘85 had first time droppings from Mike P Nelson, Gigi Saul Guerrero and Natasha Kermani showcasing their wares. Longtime favorite David Brickner returns with his little buddy in the wraparound, and Scott Derrickson (The Black Phone) swings by for something ...

Mike and Devaughn talk about another strong entry in the back half of the VHS franchise. '99 brings a punk energy to the film and forgoes the wraparound framing device or something that feels like an old mix tape buried in the stack of video cassettes in the console. The end result is the most consistent and entertaining entry of the series to date.

ALL HAIL RAATMA! This week Mike and Rachel talk about the return of the V/H/S series after more than a half a decade absence with V/H/S '94. Conceived and created during the COVID restrictions, the entry features the first two segments directed by women and breathes some new life and ideas into the found footage anthology series after the disappointment of Viral. Fans seemed to think so, as it set streaming records on its new home of Shudder during it's release in 2021. Which segments hold up, a...

This week Mike and Ariel are on hand to take a look at the third installment of the found footage, anthology series V/H/S VIRAL. Considered by most fans to be the worst of the series, your co-hosts are hard to disagree at the jumbled, ugly-looking mess that is Viral. While we can offer kudos at the attempt at delivering a theme (the shorts are all concerned with their protagonists achieving internet fame and glory) only three films in and the series seems far removed from its intentions of repli...

This week we're talking more found footage anthology goodness with V/H/S 2. Like any anthology series, there are ups and downs, but this one has what might be the fan favorite of the series with Safe Haven. Plus, Mike and Ariel nearly trade blows over The Undertaker's place in wrestling history.

This week we start a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of a franchise where found footage and anthologies are smashed together into one horrific format. Mike, Rachel, Stephen and special guest Tucker (Disenfranchised podcast) talk about of of the grimiest series we've covered to date as we tackle V/H/S/. Now six entries (and two spinoffs) deep, this started out as a showcase for some of horror's up-and-coming directors to show their stuff in short form. The first entry alone features Ti West (X, Pearl, ...

We close out the Blade series with a wild one. Mike and Devaughn talk about a movie that has more going on behind the scenes than in front of the camera. We take our time to discuss and maybe even debunk the stories of improper behavior of series sta...

This week Mike, Devaughn & Steven are back to talk about BLADE II and the return of everyone's favorite vampire killer. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, it might be the perfect mix of horror and comic book heroics and offered the Spanish auteur hi...

We're back with the second half of our talk about 1998's BLADE. Jay Kreiger from the Genre Haze podcast is back with Mike and Devaughn to talk all things Daywalker. We talk about why Wesley Snipes was such an inspired choice to play the character and...

It's bedtime for suckheads in the first part of our double episode on 1998's horror and superhero hybrid, BLADE. Wesley Snipes steps into a role he seemed born to play as the vampire killing "Daywalker" in an R-rated romp that owed just as much to ma...

This week we mark five years of bringing you the Pod and the Pendulum by having a fun little roundtable discussion. Mike, Brian, Devaughn and Stephen got together to talk for awhile about what has caught their fancy as of late, as well as to reflect ...

It's time to put this franchise to bed, and what better way to do that thank to put it all in order? Mike, Rachel, Ariel and Devaughn are on hand to rank the Paranormal Activity series from the dregs to the top tier. Will Devaughn be our chaos agent ...

The episode brings a riveting discussion about the final installment of the Paranormal Activity series, its backstory, the impact of COVID-19 on its production, and Ariel's passion for the "found footage" format. The hosts also share intriguing behin...

Get ready to enter the frightening world of the Paranormal Activity series with your favorite horror hosts. In this  episode, we dissect the supposed final movie, 'The Ghost Dimension,' along with an analysis of the film's corporate maneuverings, &am...

This week we talk about the time the Paranormal Activity series took a deliberate turn away from focusing on wealthy, white, upper middle class families and turned toward the Latino communities of Los Angeles. Writer / director Christopher Landon cal...

This week it feels like we’re covering familiar territory. It feels like we’re playing the greatest hits. It feels like the activity is less paranormal and more all too familiar with its fourth entry in the series Paranormal Activity gives us a true...