Horror Movie Talk

They dig into a gory, hilarious horror sequel that reunites sisters and expands a satanic conspiracy. There is debate over performances and chemistry between lead characters. The conversation highlights wild set pieces, weaponized ineptitude as satire, and a climactic wedding showdown packed with blood and laughs.

Synopsis Evy is a popular scary story podcaster recording a new episode from the home of her mother who is lying in hospice upstairs. As she takes care of her dying mother, Evy and her cohost listen to disturbing recordings sent in from an anonymous email. The more they listen to the recordings, the more Evy notices strange happenings in the house. Review I wanted to like this movie, but by the mid mark, I was just so bored. This is bad news for the movie, because it seems like it was tailor made for me. Having semi recently cared for a parent in hospice and being the host of a semi successful podcast with an annoying cohost, I was hooked immediately by the premise. I’ll even give credit where credit is due. The movie really does a great job of utilizing the theater of the mind of an audio format. However, it doesn’t pair the audio with anything particularly interesting to look at. I found myself thinking that truly this would have been better in an audio format as the camera Skinamarinked around aimlessly. If there was something interesting to see other than lighting changes for the first half of the movie, they were too subtle for my eyes. And by the time shadowy figures start appearing in the periphery, I was starting to doze off from the repetitive nature of the plot. I wanted to care more about the protagonist, but we aren’t given enough information about her motivations or history to really care about her. There were so many ripe emotionally fertile situations within the plot of the movie, parent dying, unexpected news, strained relationships, etc. However, when it comes down to it she seems like a cipher for the audience. Just a blank slate. I guess that might be what the filmmakers were going for, since the semi-stated thesis of the movie was the phenomenon of audio pareidolia, where the brain fills in random noise with recognizable patterns, such as speech. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s enough here to maintain the interest of the audience to have them try to fill in the blank spaces of the film with meaning by themselves. Score 4/10

Synopsis You’ve heard the story of Frankenstein’s monster many times. Once just a few months ago in fact. But that is only half the story. Something has long been missing. What we really need is a femininominon. The Bride is about a woman named Ida who is (I think) possessed by the ghost of Mary Shelly. After causing a scene she is pushed down a flight of stairs to her death. Meanwhile our boy Frankenstein’s monster, or as the kids call him, frank, meets with a therapist to talk about his loneliness. Just kidding he goes to a mad scientist and begs for a sexy wife. You can see where this is going. Now resurrected and missing her memory, Ida must make fundamental decisions about her life. Who is she? What is she? Was she really just created to be someone’s wife? And does she even want this life? For all this and more, watch the movie yourself or stick around for the spoilers section.  Review of The Bride! It wasn’t too long ago that we were recording an episode about a different take on Frankenstein, and going into the movie I was feeling a little burnt out by the story. I love Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (and by that I mean the book, not the movie that is literally titled Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein). But I am often left wanting when it comes to these movie adaptations. Luckily The Bride is a fairly unique take on the creature and the creates as they struggle in this world together. The movie has a strong emphasis on women’s rights. Based in 1938 we are shown lots of gender inequality in the workplace, as well as some pretty nasty misogyny and sexual harassment and assault of women. All problems that are still very relevant today. I enjoyed watching the Bride attempt to become her own person, while constantly being pulled in different directions from those around her, including the very wacky version of Mary Shelley that lives in her head.  Score 6/10

Vero (Veronica), a Texas horror fan who visits filming locations and loves fandom culture, joins the conversation. She shares tales of traveling to iconic sites and dives into Scream 7’s nostalgia, pacing, and killer reveals. Expect chat about cameos, franchise fatigue, memorable kills, and what the series might try next.

Brie Barron, horror fan and contributor who grew up on Twilight Zone and Rocky Horror, shares her origins and takes on Psycho Killer. She and the panel dissect weak detective work, thin satanist tropes, pacing problems, and a hulking killer aesthetic. They also debate the film’s missed emotional beats, odd tech anachronisms, and a novelty villain plot. The segment ends with a playful save-the-world game.

Gina Teeters, a horror fan who shares her favorite scares and reactions. She walks through first impressions of Iron Lung, discusses its claustrophobic submarine setting, pacing and runtime complaints, the film’s faithfulness to the game UI, Markiplier’s intense performance, and the movie’s shift into cosmic horror and unsettling imagery.

Synopsis Peter Dinklage plays Winston, a janitor working for a super polluter company called Body Talk Healthstyle, who struggles to support his stepson Wade after his mother dies of cancer. When he is diagnosed with cancer of his own, he appeals to his boss for an insurance policy that will cover his medical expenses. Like all good bosses, he denies this, so Wade attempts to steal the money only to be caught by henchmen and thrown in toxic waste. But to everyone’s surprise, the sludge only makes Winston more badass. Under the new name of the Toxic Avenger, Winston fights crime and kicks ass. Review of The Toxic Avenger (2023) I will admit that I may have originally misjudged The Toxic Avenger. Our Facebook group has mentioned this movie multiple times, and it just never looked very appealing to me. I am personally just not very interested in crass, overly explicit shock gore movies. But to be honest, I found myself laughing a lot more than I expected to. There are some genuinely funny moments in this movie, and the cast is stacked with actors like Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood, and, of course, Peter Dinklage, who carry this movie on their backs. It’s still not really my cup of tea, and I actually think the movie got progressively less interesting as it moved through act 3, but it’s still a decent movie that affords some good times. Score 6/10

Mitch Peart, a frequent contributor who joined via an audition voicemail, joins the conversation. They break down Send Help’s crash-and-survive premise, praise Rachel McAdams’ commanding performance, debate Raimi’s playful gore and overused CGI, and compare the film to Misery, Cast Away and Triangle of Sadness. Lively banter, scoring, and a spooky boar set-piece round out the chat.

Two couples share a luxurious lake house and tensions quickly escalate into invasive, uncomfortable behavior. Hosts compare the film to a similar thriller and debate whether its scares are derivative or stylish. Conversation shifts to social anxiety, boundary-setting, and how relationship dynamics fuel suspense. The show also praises the movie’s visuals and gruesome final moments while calling out some storytelling flaws.

Synopsis The Bone Temple, in addition to what I call my bedroom is the latest installment in the 28 days later franchise. It picks up almost directly after 28 Years Later leaves off. Spike (Alfie Williams) is forced to prove himself to join the Jimmies, a sadistic cult fashioned after the media personality Jimmy Savile, led by the leader Jimmy Crystal. Meanwhile, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) furthers his research into the rage virus and befriends Samson, the Alpha. Review of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple I found 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple enjoyable, but not particularly meaty compared to it’s predecessor. The humanity and reverence for death found in the last film are spare in this film, which mostly focuses on the chaos brought on by the jimmies, and Dr Kelson’s descent into hopelessness. The Script by Alex Garland, is high quality, but unfortunately just feels like a retread of similar story lines in The Walking Dead. Nia DaCosta’s Direction is respectful towards Danny Boyle’s style established in the previous films in the series, while showing her own style with stylistic flair.  The standouts in the film are Jack O’connel, who played Sir Jimmy Crystal, and of course Ralph Fienes as Dr Kelson. O’Connell balances the two sides of portraying a cult leader well. Maintaining a believable facade of delusion and inspiration, while also showing the con-man manipulator that lurks behind the curtains. O’connell takes the great dialogue and makes it come alive through his performance, and is as enjoyable to watch in this as he was in Sinners. Ralph Fienes gets to play around a little more in this film. Instead of the stolid and enigmatic character from the last film, we get to see his humanity, practicality, and loneliness filled out and explored in this film. The best part of the film features him getting to display his own theatrics to the Jimmies, which left me laughing out loud. If you didn’t like 28 Years Later because of the lack of zombies, you will be disappointed here as well, they play almost no part in this film with the exception of the tranquilized Samson. Overall it was highly enjoyable, although slightly less so than the last film Score 8/10