Cat Cave Cinema Podcast

On this episode we dive into Richard Shepard's 2019 horror film The Perfection. Join us as we talk plot twists, consent issues, intersectionality, and whether this film can handle the weight of the issues it takes on.

Its a mini. You know what it is. Learn about next week's movie and get our advice about whether you should watch it or not.

Continuing our masochistic quest to ingest this cultural phenomenon, this week we are dissecting The First Purge, a prequel that somehow proved even more divisive than the previous installments. Join us as we delve into exposition dumps, our theories about abandoned plot lines, plot holes, prequel future tech (that disappeared in the more distant future), and so, so much more. Skeletor give us strength.

On this mini-episode we get to hear the moment when Pierce breaks and just can't purge anymore. That right, next week we go back to our least favorite franchise to discuss The First Purge. Should you watch it? Is it better? Is it worse? Listen to this mini to get a hint.

Taking it all the way back to our first ever recording session, Pierce and J dive into the horrors of the internet as we dissect the sequel no one needed or wanted. Join us as we talk awkward transitions, bad writing, and the shame we felt when parts of this film actually sort of hooked us despite all the flaws.

You know the drill, a short musing about our next episode along with some quick rants about upcoming horror projects and recent horror news. Is it useful content to our listenership or just perfunctory filler? You be the judge.

J and Pierce dig into Andre Ovredal's 2016 horror film The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Join us as we talk about dead bodies as characters (as opposed to just props), practical effect, and whether this is ultimately a film about the failure to make amends or about some things being so broken that they just can't be fixed at all.

In this mini-episode we provide a brief aperitif to convince you to check out our next film (The Autopsy of Jane Doe) and get all sappy with a few heartfelt words to those of you that listen to this little labor of love.

Pierce and J break down the best and worst of 2018 (let the controversy begin) and make some bold proclamations about plans to get back on a regular podcasting schedule. Enjoy!

On this vault episode, J and Pierce are joined by special guest Lizz Mazer to discuss the John Landis classic American Werewolf In London. Listen in as we talk werewolves, Jewish identity, WWII, and whether this horror comedy is actually an incredibly bleak meditation on the utter meaninglessness of existence. But you know...in a fun way.

We have such sights to show you. That's right, Jay and Pierce get analytically kinky on this one with a deep dive into one of Jay's favorite horror films, Clive Barker's classic Hellraiser! Join us as we discuss inverted slasher tropes, the magic of 80s practical effects, and the importance of all things in moderation.

On this mini-episode, in addition to teasing our next film, we talk about some horror shows we have been enjoying, some upcoming films that have us excited, and even dip our toes ever so lightly into the horror gaming world.

Pierce and J get uncomfortable watching bad babysitter Emelie being very bad at her job. Join us for the discussion of discomfort based horror, getting out acted by a 4 year old, and how a few tweaks could have made this film the indie darling of 2015.

We're back! After another long hiatus (fingers crossed the last one but no promises) J and Pierce returned to the Cat Cave to tease out our next film, make excuses for our absence, and ponder just how long its actually been since we made an episode.

Trigger Warning: this week's episode contains a lot of discussion of sexual harassment, sexual violence, and the #metoomovement in relation to the film we watched. This week our journey through the video nasties brought us to an awkward and unforeseen confrontation with the worst elements of hollywood and horror movie culture wrapped up in one neat little package. In the midst of the #metoomovement, we suddenly found ourselves sitting down to watch Harvey Weinstein's 1981's confession...uh, I mean, "film," The Burning. Gotta be honest, this one broke our spirits a little bit (which may explain why it took us two months to getting around to actually talking about it) and, weakened by its truly abysmal political sentiments, sent us careening into a long and pessimistic diatribe about whether we are in a watershed moment of change, or just a momentary glitch in the patriarchal matrix of horror that is America (and the world more generally). But somewhere in there I think we talked about the film as well, but its all a blur of rage, confusion, and genuine disappointment. So have fun listening to our super upbeat and fun horror podcast!

WE'RE BACK! Life has been crazy, but that's when you need horror the most. Join us for our months late year in review, our excuses for the months of hiatus, and our tease of what the next film we will be discussing from the video nasties list will be (its a real fucking rough one for this day and age).

This week our journey through the video nasties has brought us to Greece. Specifically, to Nico Mastorakis' 1976 exploitation film Island of Death. Join us as we talk about goats, proto-slasher influences, the music of Nikos Lavranos, and how not to treat your mother. Joining us on this depraved adventure will be our guest and friend of the podcast Billups.

On this mini-episode we set the stage for our latest in the ongoing video nasties series as we debate whether or not we should tell you to watch the 1975 Greek exploitation film Island Of Death. We also touch on some of the offerings at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival and hear about Pierce's love for the lesser known Der Fan.

In our continued quest to experience all of the video nasties, we delve deep into Giulio Berruti's 1979 Nunsploitation film Killer Nun. Join us as we talk psychedelic murder trips, recycled film footage, blasphemy, political nihilism, and the positive representation of the sexual lives of the elderly.

On this mini-episode, we get back on track with out video nasties project and tease next weeks film, the 1979 Italian Nunsploitation oddity Killer Nun. We also briefly touch on the bonkers Shudder exclusive Kuso and try to figure out how many great prequels to terrible films exist in the world of horror (feel free to play along on our Tumblr or Facebook).

From the attic of a long abandoned theater in Italy to a screen in NYC, Pierce and J took a field trip to see the newly found uncut version of Suspiria in a real live theater. Join us as we talk Goblin, the politics of maggots, witches as capitalist allegory, the power of the cinema, and all the subtext we could squeeze out of Dario Argento's finest film.

We made it one week into our video nasties project and then we got distracted by something shiny! What might that be? Well you can find out on this here mini-episode. Nah, I ain’t gonna tease you like that. Next week we are entering Suspiria into the Cat Cave Vault and talking about our Cat Cave family outing to the Metrograph to see the newly discovered, uncut Italian 35mm print. If you don’t know what I am talking about, then you really do have to listen to this mini.

"Catch catch the horror taxi. I fell in love with a video nasty." And so it begins...In part 1 of our 72 part series delving into the infamous Video Nasties list, we dive into Lucio Fulci's gory clusterfuck and/or masterpiece The House By The Cemetery. Listen in as we try and makes sense of the passage of time, the lack of any fucks given by the characters, and whether Bob is an weird name for a small child.

On this mini-episode we tease out our first steps on our long journey into the Video Nasties list. That's right, next week's film is part 1 of 72 as we dissect Lucio Fulci's perplexing The House By The Cemetery. We also get skeptical about some upcoming horror films and mourn the loss of a legend.

After a stunning 4 cat review from Pierce on Purge Anarchy, the fate of the franchise now rests on the final Purge film. Will Purge Election year tip the scales towards mainly positive? Spolier: no, the answer is no. Still, you should join us on this adventure as we do our damnedest to figure out just what the fuck James DeMonaco was thinking with this film, what the most offensive line in the movie was, and whether this was a failed attempt at a film, or just a straight forward money grab.

Its that time again. Join us for part 2 of our 3 part franchise dissection of the Purge films. This time with more subplots, more characters, and a surprise podcast ending you won't see coming! What could it be?!?! No, we don't purge each other. But good guess.

Get ready to purge your emotions with the first installment of our 3 part franchise dissection of The Purge films. While this first installment somehow proved to be both far better and far worse than we imagined, I don't think either were prepared for how much we would have to say about this one. Listen in to our discussion and play a fun game with yourself as you try and pinpoint the moment that J totally loses it. Its gonna be a bumpy ride.

On this mini-episode we outline some ambitious new projects for the podcast moving forward and tease out our next episode where we begin our first full franchise dissection with The Purge.

On this episode, we delve into Sean Byrne's long awaited follow up to The Loved Ones, the heavy metal horror film The Devil's Candy. Join us as we talk soundtracks, demons, and the glory of Ethan Embry's indie horror comeback (and ripped bod).

On this mini-episode, we tease out our next film (the first in far too long!) Sean Byrne's The Devil's Candy. Also, as a special treat, J and Pierce talk in mild detail about a film that just didn't deserve a full episode: The Blair Witch sequel and/or remake. While we are generally in at least mild agreement, this is the first film since Unfriended that ended up with us screaming at each other rather than reaching any common ground.

Normally there would be a mini-episode teasing out the film. Normally we don't do films that are still in theaters. Normally we space out our releases. But Get Out isn't a normal horror film and we just couldn't wait to dig into Jordan Peele's directorial debut.

On this episode, guest Madison Rae enters the cat cave to help us dissect Ana Lily Amirpour's 2014 Iranian, feminist vampire tale A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night. Listen in as we talk social critique, soundtracks, arty shots, and just how hard it is to be a vampire.

We're BACK! Our slacking on episodes is abating for a least a little while here and we are stoked to be reentering the cave. We are also stoked to be joined by first time guest and all around great person Madison Rae to talk with her about her love for horror films, vampires, atmosphere, and Sam Neill. We also tease out next week's film, the 2014 genre bending modern horror classic A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.

Enter the Cat Cave as Jay and Pierce run down their top five lists for best and worst horror films of 2016 (and only about 2 months late!). Did your favorite make the list? Did you anti-favorite? Did we shit on your favorite movie of the year? Only one way to find out.

On this episode, we induct John Carpenter's 1988 Horror Classic They Live into the Can Cave Cinema Vault. Given the state of the world right now (both domestically and internationally), it seems like a particularly important time to revisit this one. So strap in to get dark with us as we put the glasses on and stare unflinchingly into our horrifying reality. They Live, We Sleep.

On this mini-episode, you get to sit in on Pierce and J's post-election therapy session. We try and makes sense of the fact we now live in a dystopian horror film, the role horror can play in dark times, and how to recognize privilege and responsibility while still maintaining sanity and self care. With all that in mind, it seemed like They Live would be a perfect choice for next weeks vault entry. Also, as a treat for those of you who stick out the ultra serious turn however, we also decided to give you a special mini-episode dissection of the Simpson's classic Citizen Kang!

Strap yourselves in for our journey to the roots of David Keating's 2015 folk horror tale Cherry Tree. We are joined on this confusing (though often pretty) journey by the one and only Lizz Mazer who, as you may remember from the mini-episode, has some strong feelings about this here film. What are those feelings? Well, listen and find out! As a quick aside, this episode was recorded before our culture decided that the Purge films actually seemed like a good idea for a political strategy and turned our reality into a horror film of its own. As such, this episode can act as an escape from our current reality for you. But on the next mini-episode, Pierce and I are going to be talking not only about our next film, but about our current reality, what place horror has in it, and what the fuck you do once you've run upstairs and are now trapped in the house with the monster.

On this mini-episode we tease next week's film, David Keating's 2015 witchy folk horror tale Cherry Tree. We also sit down with Lizz Mazer to get their take on what is great and terrible about the horror genre.

This week on the podcast we (arguable ill advisedly)welcome a Clown into the Cat Cave (the 2014/2016 body horror film Clown to be exact). Just us and our guest, Swikar Patel, as we discuss birthday cake cravings, clown fetishes, and how some good moments can't overshadow the inability to settle on a consistent tone.

On this mini episode we contemplate what brought us to discuss next week's film, the Eli Roth produced body horror/creature feature Clown. We also sit down with out latest guest, Swikar Patel, to talk about documentary film making, Hindu gods as gateways to horror, whether or not Jaws 3 was actually the best in the franchise, and finally decide to stick our feet in our collective mouth by discussing whether or not there are Bollywood horror films (spoiler alert, we are 100% wrong).

Trigger Warning: Discussion of sexual violence. On this episode we sit down with film critic Dominic Griffin to discuss Mickey Keating’s psychological horror freakout Darling. Join us as we discuss the power of ambiguity, the thin line between paying homage and being derivative, artistic representations of trauma, and whether or not this film ever had an ending.

On this mini-episode we tease out next week's film, Mickey Keating's "psychedelic freakout" Darling. Also, we sit down for a lovely chat with film critic, writer, and all around film buff Dominic Griffin about his love of horror, creative expression, and being the one person out there that liked Batman V Superman.

Things take a turn for the personal and introspective on this installment of the Cat Cave Cinema Podcast as we talk depression, abuse, and childhood while digging into Jennifer Kent's psychological horror film The Babadook. Still though, there is some fun movie talk in there too. Promise.

On this mini-episode we sit down with Kayla Greet, host of Skill Shot Pincast, frequent contributor to Razorcakes and New Noise Magazine, and all around badass to talk about their horror journey. We also tease out next weeks film, Jennifer Kent's 2014 psychological horror film The Babadook.

On the first even Cat Cave Cinema Live episode, we transported the cave to the stage of Washington DC's Black Cat to discuss horror films in front of a live studio audience of adoring fans (aka past guests and our friends). As we didn't want to face this new challenge alone, we decided to bring in our ringer guest Jackie Keller to help us out. Thanks to everyone who indulged us in this experiment. Enjoy.

On this mini-episode we tease out our first ever live screening and Podcast! Join us in DC on August 4th at 7pm at The Black Cat for a screening of Stagefright Aquarius and a live, post film discussion. We also break into some of the news, shows, and hype rocking the horror world while forgetting titles, directors names, dates, and rating scores. But in this post-truth world of ours, who cares about facts like that anyway.

On this episode we discuss our latest pick for the Cat Cave Cinema vault, the Tobe Hooper's 1974 classic "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre." Join us and our guest, Billups Allen, as we discuss the film's deep political subtext, behind the scenes rumors, and contemplate how this could have ever been seen as a PG rated horror/comedy.

On this mini-episode we sit down with Billups Allen, horror aficionado and mastermind behind the punk/horror/comic zine Cramhole and our guest next week for our latest induction into the Cat Cave Cinema vault. So take a listen and get his thoughts on horror, life changing events, and the discovery of a fascination with abandoned asylums.

Guest Noel Manzullo joins us in the cat cave for our discussion of As Above, So Below. This episode is rife with shameful confessions, pointed disagreements, profound hatred, and deep, burning questions such as "what that mummy?"

On this mini episode we tease out next weeks film, the 2014 found footage horror film "As Above, So Below," hear about Pierce's hate of found footage, and sit down with our latest guest, film buff Noel Manzullo.

On this episode we sit down with Lindsay Smyers to talk about Ken Russel's blasphemous classic Lair Of The White Worm. We also learn about British manners, the connection between kilts and mongooses, and how Lady Sylvia really turns Pierce's crank.