Movie Oubliette

Isaac Sutton joins us for our first venture into Japanese anime! Takeshi Koike's visually dazzling animated sci-fi racing spectacle Redline failed to find its audience upon its release in August 2009 despite critical praise. Does it deserve the cult status it's been cultivating on physical media since then, or is it all rev and no substance? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Continuing our theme of exploring sequels to films we cover in the main feed, it was only natural that we'd want to follow the surprisingly good Psycho II (1983) with the surprisingly bad Psycho III (1986) in our Patreon feed. On paper, it looked like a slam dunk: Anthony Perkins was returning to his iconic role as Norman Bates and taking up the director's chair for the first time; the writer is Charles Edward Pogue, who was simultaneously drawing attention for his take on The Fly (1986); and it picks up at the motel barely weeks after the shocking finale of the second film. What could go wrong? Pretty much everything, it turns out. If you like what you hear, head on over to www.patreon.com/movieoubliette and become a Patron to get hours of exclusive bonus content, nominate films for us to cover and vote on the final verdict – all for $10 or less!

Belated sequels to monumental, genre-defining classics always walk on a knife edge! They can be a worthwhile elaboration upon the original, recontextualised for a new era, or they can be cynical cashgrabs forever consigned as a footnote to cinema history. Australian director Richard Franklin's Psycho II (1983) benefits from returning cast members Vera Miles and, of course, Anthony Perkins, a twisty turny psychological mystery script from Fright Night's Tom Holland, a disturbing score from Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography from John Carpenter regular Dean Cundey. But is it just a pretender in a classic movie's clothes? Or should it be released from custody to set up a new franchise? Find out! Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.

We challenge you to hear the title of this movie without the synth riff of a massive-haired 80s rock anthem popping into your head... Sorry, you'll be humming that all day now. Try blocking it out by listening to our examination of Don Taylor's 1980 sci-fi war fantasy, in which a U.S. aircraft carrier captained by Kirk Douglas is whisked through a James Bond title sequence into the past – the eve of the attack on Pearl Harbor, to be precise. Starring the U.S.S. Nimitz, lots of planes, more planes, and a cute dog... is this a forgotten gem of a movie that deserves to be restored to its place in film history? Or is it a waterlogged floater that deserves to be flushed?! Find out!   Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.

Here's a sneak peek at our Patreon exclusive minisode on Princess of Mars (2009) – The Asylum's adaptation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel that went straight to DVD a full 3 years before Disney stank up the box office with John Carter (2012). Could it possibly be worse? Sheesh... you betchya! If you like what you hear, head on over to www.patreon.com/movieoubliette and become a Patron to get hours of exclusive bonus content, nominate films for us to cover and vote on the final verdict – all for $10 or less!

Still the biggest box office bomb of all time, adjusted for inflation, John Carter (2012) was a brave attempt to give Edgar Rice Burroughs' influential sci-fi novel 'A Princess of Mars' the summer blockbuster treatment... 40 years after George Lucas and everyone else had pretty much raided all of its ideas for space opera hits. But is the film really that bad? Does it share the 'Mars movie' curse? Or did it just get lost in the shuffle in 2012 because of poor marketing? Find out! Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.

Here's a sneak peek at our new Patreon exclusive minisode on C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. (1989). This is the first time we've covered the sequel to a film we've covered in the main feed, and we had a blast! If you like what you hear, head on over to www.patreon.com/movieoubliette and become a Patron to get hours of exclusive content, nominate films for us to cover and vote on the final verdict – all for $10 or less!

Melinda Mock of RetroBlasting takes us back to 1912 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Somewhere in Time (1980), the time travel romance starring Superman-era Christopher Reeve and radiant beauty Jane Seymour, directed by the late Jeannot Szwarc based on a novel by Richard Matheson. Should these star-crossed lovers be re-united in the afterlife of their box office obscurity, or should they be doomed never to wander the shores of Mackinac Island? Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

What better way to start the year than with a monster movie in which the creatures are literally crawling out of holes in the ground? It's simply ideal for Movie Oubliette! Nominated by our Patron, Philip O', C.H.U.D. (1984) is a New World Pictures production set in 80s New York City... so you better believe this is gritty and wild! Starring John Heard, Daniel Stern, Kim Greist and one-scene-CHUD-victim John Goodman, the film has a host of surprisingly well-drawn characters investigating the disappearance of homeless people in the city's labyrinthine underground world. But does it deserve to be the first film we save from the oubliette this year? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Melinda Mock and Michael French of RetroBlasting fame answered our bat signal at the eleventh hour to join us for this special festive episode after our original guest had to drop out. And boy, are we glad they did! Yes, it's a bit cheeky of us to cover Tim Burton's snowy sequel to his blockbusting hit Batman (1989) on Movie Oubliette. It's dubious to claim it has been overlooked in the years since, but it was certainly a box office disappointment for Warner Bros. when it debuted in 1992. Adjusted for inflation, it earned $420 million less than the original, and is the second-lowest-grossing live action Batman movie, beaten only by Batman and Robin.  But is this dark and kinky sequel, in which Batman appears for only 23 minutes, a freaky festive classic? Or a gloomy gothic mess? Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

To mark the film's 40th anniversary, we revisit Peter Hyams' 2010 – a brave follow-up to a literal monolith in science fiction film history. In what was then called a 'belated' rather than a 'legacy' sequel, the film adapts Arthur C. Clarke's novel and features a stellar cast of Roy Scheider, Helen Mirren, John Lithgow, Bob Balaban and, returning from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Keir Dullea and Douglas Rain as Dave Bowman and HAL 9000. Yes, it's full of stars. But it is a worthy follow-up that stands on its own? Or is it a pale imitation and a footnote? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Actor, writer and producer Amanda Jane Stern – whose psychosexual thriller Perfectly Good Moment has launched on Tubi this month – joins us to discuss David O. Selznick's production of Portrait of Jennie. Based on a popular novella by Robert Nathan that Ray Bradbury said "touched and frightened" him, the romantic fantasy won an Oscar for Best Special Effects in 1948, but was not a success. Set in depression-era New York, it starred Jennifer Jones as the titular Jennie, an enigmatic young woman who inspires an impoverished painter, played by Joseph Cotton. The film is well regarded among those who remember it or have rediscovered it, but it's not easy to come by on streaming services or physical media. Unless you stumble upon it on Youtube, of course. But does it deserve to escape the oubliette and be immortalised? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Dan and Conrad find themselves exiled to a leafy island that looks suspiciously like Queensland in this episode, where they explore Martin Campbell's No Escape (1994) – an airy, outdoor adventure set in the distant future of 2022. It stars Ray Liotta as the scarred military vet convicted for shooting his CO after he covered up a war crime, who teams up with fellow inmates Lance Henriksen, Ernie Hudson and Kevin Dillon to defeat the evil Stuart Wilson's 'tribe' of sadistic killers and expose the greater evils of private prisons. Produced on a $20 million budget by Gale Anne Hurd, the movie got Campbell the gig directing GoldenEye (1995), but quickly vanished from theatres. But does it deserve early release from the oubliette to ease 90s prison movie overcrowding? Or should it be hurled back in with no chance of parole? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook and Instagram. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Happy Halloween! Duncan Skiles, director of the chilling The Clovehitch Killer and the forthcoming comedy thriller Neighborhood Watch, went trick or treating into the oubliette and brought back a Peeping Tom. This proto-slasher from Michael Powell, one half of the famous British duo Powell and Pressburger, emerged in the same year as Hitchcock's Psycho and explores similar territory: a handsome, unassuming man with a homicidal compulsion spurred by parental abuse. But while one film was an instant box office sensation that became a landmark in horror history, the other was savaged by scandalised critics and destroyed its director's career. Rescued from obscurity over a decade later by Martin Scorsese, Peeping Tom has become an influential cult favourite. But does it deserve to escape the oubliette with a fulsome sack of calorific treats? Or should it be thrown back with some candy corn and a rotten apple? Find out! Follow Duncan Skiles on Instagram, Facebook or his website! Look out for Neighbourhood Watch in Spring 2025. Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook and Instagram. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Stuart Gordon's post-apocalyptic sci-fi featuring gladiatorial battles between giant mechs has to be one of Empire Pictures' most instantly recognisable titles, sitting proudly on video rental stores worldwide. Starring Gary Graham and Anne-Marie Johnson as the brave robot jockeys and Paul Koslo as their ruthless enemy, Robot Jox could be the brightest and breeziest dystopian action movie ever made. It was also one of the most ambitious film Charles Band's mini-major studio ever attempted, and may have precipitated the fall of his Empire! But does it live up to our childhood memories? Or is it as cringe-inducing as a fondly remembered Saturday morning cartoon? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook and Instagram. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

In our third and final bonus episode covering highlights from the Toronto International Film Festival, friend of the pod Joe Lipsett joins Conrad to review three haunted house movies from this year's programme: Steven Soderbergh's bold ghost P.O.V. mystery Presence, Karrie Crouse and Will Joines' dusty western Hold Your Breath, and Nick Toti and Rachel Kempf's rarely screened found footage chiller It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This. Conrad also reports on Mike Flanagan's latest Stephen King adaptation, the warm-hearted but oddly structured The Life of Chuck. Check out Joe Lipsett on Instagram and the Horror Queers podcast for more of his reviews from the festival and other fabulousness.   Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, and Instagram. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

For our second round-up reviews of horror films that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, special guest Joe Lipsett and I cover four more horror films. We start with two ghost stories: the frosty New Zealand drama Went Up the Hill, directed by Samuel Van Grinsven and starring Dacre Montgomery and Vicky Krieps; and the rambunctious Taiwanese horror comedy Dead Talents Society, directed by John Hsu and starring Gingle Wang. We also take a look at Scott Beck and Bryan Woods' psychological puzzle box thriller, Heretic, featuring a charmingly sinister Hugh Grant, as well as Joseph Kahn's monster-on-the-loose horror comedy Ick, starring Brandon Routh and Malina Weissman. Check out Joe Lipsett on Instagram and the Horror Queers podcast for more of his reviews from the festival and other fabulousness. Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Saurian cinema connoisseur Serge Bodnarchuk of Cold Crash Pictures joins Dan as guest co-host for a dinosaur sci-fi horror adventure from 1993. No, not that one. This is Movie Oubliette! It's the low-budget Roger Corman production Carnosaur, starring Laura Dern's mom, Diane Ladd, and Bryce Dallas Howard's uncle, Clint Howard! This adaptation of John Brosnan's novel hit 65 theatres a few weeks before Spielberg's blockbuster romped into box office history. Featuring astonishing special effects from Troll director John Carl Buechler, this alleged mockbuster is without doubt the scrappy underdog, but is it a charming creature feature that deserves to be rescued? Find out!   Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook and Instagram. We're not really active on the smouldering remains of the other one. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Conrad is joined by Joe Lipsett live and in-person at the Toronto International Film Festival to give early reviews of the horror, sci-fi and fantasy films that premiered at TIFF this year. In this first bonus episode, we're looking at the body horror films on the programme: including Coralie Fargeat's The Substance (winner of the People's Choice Award), Max Minghella's Shell, Marielle Heller's Nightbitch and Thibault Emin's debut Else. Follow Joe Lipsett on Instagram and the Horror Queers podcast.   Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Vincenzo Natali (director of Cube, Splice, Haunter) introduces us to the little known sword and sorcery film, Conquest, directed by splatter gore master, Lucio Fulci. We deliberate over Mace's nunchucks, magical laser bows, bargain bin wolfmen and Ocron's wardrobe choices to decide whether Conquest is an ethereal journey into a ritualistic ruthless fantasy world or rather a fever dream you can't wake up from. Also there's buckets of blood! Conquest awaits! ----------------------------------------------------- Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

We're exploring the twisted underbelly of suburbia in Wes Craven's 1991 horror comedy The People Under the Stairs. Much like Craven's other non-Nightmare and non-Scream franchise-related outings, this one has remained hidden from popular consciousness despite a warm reception in the box office on its first release and an ardent cult following ever since then. Should The People be freed from their cruel incarceration and allowed to roam free in the daylight? Or should it remain an embarrassing secret in Craven's basement? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Joe Lipsett of the Horror Queers podcast joins us for a Long Weekend (1978), where bickering couple Peter and Marcia venture out into the Australian wilderness for a camping trip they might not live to regret. Colin Eggleston's psychological thriller, written by Everett De Roche (of 'Patrick' and 'Razorback' fame), won prizes on the festival circuit and is fondly remembered by filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, but it's been largely forgotten since. Does this Ozploitation revenge-of-nature horror deserve its day at the beach? Is it a quietly disturbing parable with a convincing air of growing existential dread, or is it a forgettable slog with two awful campmates and too much grotty symbolism? Find out! Follow Joe Lipsett on what was Twitter and Instagram, and check out his Youtube channel with Conrad, The Queer Gaze! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Christian Bale backflipped out of the oubliette dual-toting pistols, so we're forced to contend with Kurt Wimmer's Equilibrium (2002) – a sci-fi action extravaganza set in a totalitarian state where everyone has to complete the Kolinahr ritual and avoid content creation of any kind. Also starring Emily Watson, Taye Diggs and Sean Bea (although, of course, not for long), the film faceplanted on its release in December 2002 and has been dismissed as a lukewarm second serving of The Matrix (1999) ever since. Does everyone need to take a chill pill and appreciate this high-concept actioner for what it is? Or was everyone right first time? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Danny Boyle's debut feature film Shallow Grave (1994) was eclipsed by Trainspotting (1996) and remains largely forgotten outside its native UK. But is the dark comedy thriller worth exhuming? Dan and Conrad pack up their hack saws and head for the woods to explore this slice of 90s Britain!   Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Michael French of RetroBlasting joins us on a quest to Valhalla with Erik the Viking (1989) – Monty Python alumni Terry Jones' fantasy film starring Tim Robbins, Samantha Bond, Imogen Stubbs, Eartha Kitt, Mickey Rooney and John Cleese. This is the second historical adventure film from ex-Pythons we've covered this year that attempts to avoid treading on the comedy troupe's large coat-tails and trips rather spectacularly, stumbling out of the box office top 20 in under a week with less than $2 million on a $15 million budget. But is Erik's earnest quest to end the violent days of Ragnorok an overlooked rib-tickling masterwork or a tedious misfire? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Dan and Conrad venture into Disney's 'dark era' again – this time with a sci-fi twist! It's The Black Hole (1979), the mouse house's answer to the colossal box-office and cultural phenomenon of Star Wars two years prior. And like all dark era flops, it uncomfortably straddles mature themes (an egomaniacal scientist determined to journey through a massive black hole and willing to enslave his entire crew as zombified androids to do his bidding) with family-friendly fun (robots with Disney eyes having laser battles). The result is a grandiose, steampunk adventure with stilted dialogue, eye-popping visuals and a doom-laden score by John Barry at his finest... but is it any good? Or are Conrad's nostalgia goggles deceiving him? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Dan and Conrad join the British Armed Forces for a spot of hiking in the Scottish Highlands, only to find themselves in a siege horror surrounded by werewolves! Yes, Neil Marshall's debut feature Dog Soldiers (2002) has escaped its leash and scampered out of the oubliette for this episode. Often overshadowed by the director's wildly popular follow-up, The Descent (2005) – particularly in the U.S., where it didn't get a theatrical release – Dog Soldiers is a witty, action-packed lost patrol monster movie that punches above its weight and delivered some visceral practical werewolf goodness at a time when CGI was becoming a popular method of visualising lycanthropic transformations. But does it hold up 22 years later? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Marta Djordjevic – aka Marta McFly of McFly's Movie House podcast – joins Conrad and Dan for the delirious 2002 Japanese musical comedy horror The Happiness of the Katakuris directed by none other than prolific iconoclast Takashi Miike, who lensed 6 films in that year alone! In this case, Miike remakes Kim Jee-woon's disturbing black comedy The Quiet Family (1998) – about a family attempting to cover up a series of unfortunate deaths in their new guest house – as a genre-defying musical with karaoke and claymation sequences. The film eludes any kind of explanation, but is it any good? Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe the smouldering wreckage of Twitter. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

We're hopping on a motorcycle with a built-in 8-track player and getting zapped back the wild west for this Patreon's choice episode! Timerider (1982) stars Fred Ward as the lovable if slightly clueless motorcross racer, Lyle Swann, who finds himself transported back in time to 1877, where he falls in love with the fearless Claire (Belinda Bauer) and attracts the unwanted attention of ruthless bandit Reese (Peter Coyote). Directed by Harry and the Hendersons helmer William Dear, and co-written and produced with Michael Nesmith of The Monkees (who also provides a rocking 80s score), it's a notable precursor to a much more successful time travel adventure comedy that would emerge just 3 years later – and is alarmingly similar to one of its sequels! But, does it deserve greater recognition or should it be lost to the mists of time? Find out!   Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Retrospective reviewer extraordinaire, documentary filmmaker and action movie editor Oliver Harper joins us to probe the dark recesses of The Shadow (1994) – Russell Mulcahy's would-be summer blockbuster superhero adventure starring Alec Baldwin, Penelope Ann Miller, Jone Lone, Peter Boyle, Tim Curry and Ian McKellan (pre-Sir!). It has an action packed soundtrack from Jerry Goldsmith, a hero with mind control abilities locked in mortal combat with the last descendent of Genghis Khan, and a Taylor Dayne end title power ballad. What more could you want?! Well, moviegoers in 1994 who were hooked on Speed wanted a lot more, and stayed away in droves. But were they wrong? Who knows? The Shadow knows! Check out Oliver's retrospectives and reviews on YouTube! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

We're delving into Disney's Dark Period in the late 70s/early 80s in this childhood nostalgia episode on none other than the cult curiosity The Watcher in the Woods. Directed by John "Legend of Hell House" Hough and featuring Bette Davis in scowling hag mode, this tale of an American family experiencing spooky goings on in an Olde English house is surprisingly effective and perfect gateway horror for 80s kids. But it was also a troubled production, featuring on-set battles, a dramatic rethink after its premiere and reshoots to 'fix' the ending, as the House of Mouse struggled to come to terms with making PG-rated material. Does the end result stand the test of time for Conrad and does it work for newcomers like Dan? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Writer/director and cryptid enthusiast Serge Bodnarchuk of Cold Crash Pictures joins us for a expedition into previous unexplored territory for Movie Oubliette: 1950s Hammer Horror! But The Abominable Snowman (1957) isn't a gothic horror or even a monster movie. It's an atmospheric thriller starring Peter Cushing as a sweetheart botanist with a thing for yetis who foolishly joins a brash American expedition into the Himalayas to find the eponymous beast, despite the protests of his wife and sage warnings from the local Lama. Sort of The Blair Witch Project meets The Thing with a dash of Wolfen? But, crucially, does this largely forgotten gem from the famous studio deserve to be carried back to civilisation? Or should it be used as monster bait with an unloaded gun? Find out! Follow Serge's Youtube channel Cold Crash Pictures for excellent film essays – including one on cryptids! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

The spice must flow! And we have a feeling all kinds of spices were flowing during the making of Dune (1984), David Lynch's first faltering steps into the Hollywood mainstream. An ambitious attempt to realise Frank Herbert's seminal science fiction novel as a baroque, epic, intelligent, space opera, blockbuster yielded some indelible images – Sting naked except for a winged codpiece springs to mind – and flounders in the uncanny valley between a true Lynchian vision of a world some 8000 years in the future and a cleansed, PG-rated family film for the cinemagoing masses. The result is fascinating and curious – not least for having a jaw-dropping cast – but, crucially, does it deserve to leave the oubliette on its 40th anniversary? Or should it be left as a footnote in the great director's career, its memory erased in favour of Denis Villeneuve's box office smash hit remakes? Find out! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Rob Hill, author of The Bad Movie Bible, joins us on a medieval adventure into the solo directorial debut of Terry Gilliam: Jabberwocky (1977). The comedy fantasy features a veritable 'who's who' of British comedy: three Pythons, music hall star Max Wall, Harry H. Corbett of 'Steptoe and Son', John Le Mesurier of 'Dad's Army', Warren Mitchell of 'In Sickness and In Health', and Carry On's Bernard Bresslaw. It also has everything you want in a hero's quest: a terrifying monster, brave knights, a beautiful princess... and public urination. It sits somewhere between the Gilliam we came to know and love, and the Monty Python traditions he was trying to leave behind. But does it work? Find out! Buy Rob's book on Amazon.com or other, non-billionaire-funding outlets, and check out his Youtube channel. Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Dan and Conrad are invited to join Roddy McDowall's live action role play of 'Donkey Kong' – complete with homicidal primate and princess at the top level – as they check out Shakma (1990), thanks to our patrons' choice nomination! In it, McDowall plays a professor who experiments on baboons with mind-altering substances by day, but stages elaborate LARP-ing sessions with his students in the college building by night. In their latest game, Sam (Christopher Atkins), Tracy (Amanda Wyss), Kim (Ari Meyers) and their friends get more than they bargained for when one baboon goes berserk and starts to pick them off one by one. How will they defeat the primal rage of Shakma? Will pushing cutlery out of the window alert passers by? And why is the hero obsessed with moving around dead bodies? Find out if this is a hidden treasure or an experiment gone wrong! Follow us on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and maybe what's left of Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

We're back at last! And what better way to start the year than being reunited with FilmJoy's Mikey Neumann and Zoe Wells for another Kevin Costner apocalypse movie? This time it's 1997's The Postman – the tale of a travelling one-man-and-one-mule Shakespeare company who, after his acting partner is killed and turned into paste by a roving fascist militia, accidentally starts a religion around a basic infrastructure service that brings hope to the ragged survivors of the third world war. It's heartfelt. It's three hours long. It strangely features most of Kevin's children – in one case, as a townsperson who makes a pass at him. But is it a bloated vanity project or a hidden gem that's more relevant now than it was in the 90s? Find out!   Follow FilmJoy on YouTube and, if you're brave, Mikey and Zoe on the smouldering wreckage of Twitter! Follow us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram and maybe Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Happy holidays! Writer Dan Wells joins us for our festive finale for the year to discuss the adaptation of his novel I Am Not a Serial Killer. The film stars Max Records as John Wayne Cleaver, a serial-killer-obsessed teenager who works in his mother's mortuary and has been diagnosed with sociopathy, and Christopher Lloyd as Bill Crowley, John's gentle old neighbour... who harbours a dark secret. When a killer terrorises John's snowbound midwestern town from Halloween to the holiday season, what begins as a hobbyist's investigation turns into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a monster even John struggles to understand. Can he stop the slasher before his family becomes the next target? Will he be able to keep his own dark impulses under control? And will his absentee father send him a decent gift this year? Find out! Check out Dan Wells' website to find out about his books, public appearances and gaming retreats! Follow us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram and maybe Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Isaac Sutton guest co-hosts with Dan (while Conrad is on vacation!) to talk all things underworld related in Highway to Hell (1991). We follow lovers, Charlie and Rachel, as they try to escape the clutches of the merciless Sargeant Bedlam, grotesque girlfriend doubles and Ben Stiller's entire family. It's a movie for the whole family! Strap in for Anarchy, Armageddon and Annihilation with the Satanic Mechanic. You're in for a hell of a ride! --- Follow Isaac Sutton on Twitter and check out his YouTube channel!   Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram Support us on Patreon to nominate future films and access exclusive bonus content  

Dan and Conrad resurrect an ancient wizard from a screaming coffin of tomato soup, hoist their triple-bladed shootin' sword and set off for the swashbuckling, headsplitting adventure of The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982) – the late Albert Pyun's directorial debut, featuring Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, Geroge Maharis and Richard Lynch. It's your standard orphaned son of a murdered king returns to avenge his father's death and restore freedom to the realm, except he's actually not bothered and only wants to shag the Princess who hires him. It has some shocking scenes of gore and copious amounts of unnecessary female nudity, which made it somewhat of a video rental treasure for pre-pubescent boys in the 80s... but does it stand up to scrutiny now? Find out!   Follow us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram and the thing that used to be Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Chris McKay, director of the thrilling horror comedy Renfield, joins us for our Halloween special for a tour of one of his favourite haunted house movies: The Legend of Hell House, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. It features a rag-tag group of psychics and physicians investigating a notoriously evil abode once inhabited by a deranged megalomaniac whose hobbies included bestiality, necrophilia and "a gamut of sexual goodies". Based on a novel by Richard Matheson and directed by John Hough, this 70s take on The Haunting stars Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, Clive Revill and Gayle Hunnicutt and features homicidal chandeliers, ninja cats and Roddy slapping a naked woman. But crucially, is it a spooktacular des res or a footnote in the haunted house listings? Find out!   Follow Chris McKay on the social media formerly known as Twitter and Instagram. Follow us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram and maybe Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Serge Bodnarchuk of Cold Crash Pictures joins us for a spooky season double-whammy spectacular. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the late William Friedkin's classic horror The Exorcist (1973) and the release of David Gordon Green's apprehensively anticipated rebootquel, The Exorcist: Believer (2023), we've scrabbled around in the oubliette and fished out not one but two Exorcist prequels: Renny Harlin's The Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) and Paul Schrader's Dominion: Prequel to the Excorcist (2005). That's two for the price of one! Well, more accurately, two for the price of two disastrous box office bombs based on the same premise with largely the same cast on the same sets but with different directors. It's quite simply the weirdest situation to ever befall a major horror franchise. How the hell did this happen? What are the differences? And crucially, are either of them worth exorcising and releasing into the world? Find out! Follow the immensely talented and insightful Serge on YouTube and Instagram! Follow us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram and maybe Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

In this Patron's Choice episode, we're venturing into the territory of sword and sorcery master Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane (2009), M. J. Bassett's largely forgotten action adventure film starring James Purefoy as the brutal privateer turned Puritan avenger on a quest to rescue a young pilgrim girl from an evil sorcerer. This one vanished without a trace after a bungled release in the US, where it was held up by legal issues, so few genre fans had a chance to witness its glorious locations, gritty tone, bone crunching action and stunning stunts on the big screen. But does it stand the test of time, or is it an unremarkable addition to the post-Lord-of-the-Rings high fantasy boom of the noughties? Find out! Follow us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram and whatever we're calling Twitter this month. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

We're revisiting the big budget adaptation of Stephen King's Dreamcatcher at long last! Not only is the film celebrating its 20th anniversary, it's also a movie Dan's been wanting to cover since he started reading the book 5 years ago when we started this podcast! He's finally finished it, despite a canine mishap midway through, so here we are... And what a spectacle it is. An isolated snowy landscape, an alien invasion, possession, red fungal infections, a group of friends with psychic powers... there's a lot going on in this one! And the pedigree of the artists behind it is astonishing: Lawrence Kasdan, the writer of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back, directs and co-scripts with Misery adapter and The Princess Bride scribe William Goldman, with a cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Damian Lewis, Jason Lee, Timothy Olyphant, Thomas Jane, Tom Sizemore and Donnie Wahlberg. And special effects by ILM! What could possibly go wrong?! A lot, it turns out. But is it still worthy of freedom from the oubliette? Find out! Follow us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram and maybe Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

The incredible Vincenzo Natali, director of Cube, Splice and In the Tall Grass, joins us to explore Paul Verhoeven's final Dutch-language film before he launched his Hollywood career: The Fourth Man (1983). It's a visually stunning, darkly erotic thriller, with a Hitchcockian blonde, eye-popping and leg-crossing effects, and some subversive religious imagery. But is this hard-to-find tale of a drunken writer encountering a sultry widow of not one but three husbands a mischievous treasure... or a fever dream best forgotten? Find out! Follow Vincenzo Natali on the app formerly known as Twitter!   Follow us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram and maybe Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Dan and Conrad find themselves itching compulsively while padding around in a tinfoil-covered motel room searching for aphids. Yes, we're revisiting Bug (2006), the late William Friendkin's adaptation of Tracy Letts' play starring Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Lynn Collins and Harry Connick Jr. It's an intense psychological thriller set largely in a single room focusing on two lonely outcasts who go crazy in love... literally. Or maybe they really are the focus of a giant conspiracy involving medical experiments, child abduction, genetically modified insects and one giant mother super bug. We picked this one out of the oubliette before the sad news of the director's passing, so this comes as an unplanned but timely retrospective on the film Friedkin called his most intense piece of work. Where does it sit in his legacy? Find out! Follow us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram and maybe Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Melinda Mock of RetroBlasting and Dreamland guest co-hosts and, while Dan is away, leads Conrad into the weird fairytale horror of Troll (1986), Empire Pictures' second-highest-grossing b-movie, which has since been overshadowed by the internet memes of its largely unrelated and famously awful sequel. Featuring Noah Hathaway (The NeverEnding Story), Michael Moriarty (The Stuff), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (!) and Sonny Bono (!!!), it tells the story of the young Harry Potter Jr. – yes, you read that right – discovering a world of magic and terror when his family moves into a new apartment building infested by the titular Troll. It has everything you'd want in a video rental: Sonny Bono turning into a quivering green turd, June Lockheart brandishing a spear and a singing magic mushroom. But is it any good? Find out! Check out Melinda's podcast Dreamland and the RetroBlasting YouTube channel. Follow us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram and maybe Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Manika Dulcio of the 'I've Been Meaning to Watch That' podcast visits us with a dusty old board game from 2005 called Zathura: A Space Adventure, and before we know it, we're thrust into a wild sci-fi adventure with meteors, dinosaur aliens and frozen older sisters! Jon Favreau's first big effects movie has been eclipsed in popular culture by the first adaptation of a Chris Van Allsburg children's book, Jumanji – with which it bears a striking resemblance – but it has a lot going for it. It features early appearances by Josh Hutcherson and Kristen Stewart, with Dax Shepherd and Tim Robbins as the responsible adults, some striking visuals and a captivating combination of practical and CGI effects. But did it deserve to fall into the memory hole, or should a new generation of kids give it a spin? Find out! Check out Manika's podcast on iTunes, Spotify or wherever good podcasts are streamed! Follow us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram and maybe Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Avast, ye space mateys! Con and Dan haul anchor and set sail for the 80s yet again for a slice of semi-spoof space operatics in the form of The Ice Pirates (1984), which stars Robert Urich, Mary Crosby, Michael D. Roberts and features early appearances from Anjelica Houston and Ron Perlman. Set in another galaxy far, far away, where water has become a rare commodity, the film starts out as a heist caper, then takes a weird left-turn into castration and slavery before ending with a battle in a time warp on the way to finding a fabled water-rich planet. It has lasers and robots, but also knee boots, chain mail, cutlasses and an alarming amount of swinging on ropes. Not to mention something called 'space herpes'. But is it still entertaining when you're no longer 10 years old? Find out!   Follow us on Threads, Facebook, Instagram and maybe Twitter, if it's still functioning. Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Dan and Conrad join the ranks of the best and the brightest (and bored billionaires) as they blast off into low Earth orbit with Kate Capshaw, Lea Thompson, Tate Donovan, Larry B. Scott, Kelly Preston and a Leaf-like Joaquin Phoenix (yet to fully bloom in this early role). Yup! Our Patreons forced us to sign up for SpaceCamp (1986), the sci-fi adventure whose release was timed to capitalise on the teacher-in-space excitement of the Space Shuttle Challenger's 10th mission... but sadly limped out into the box office in the wake of a national tragedy. But, crucially, is this tale of teenage teamwork and survival against the odds an overlooked inspirational boost or just a painful memory? Find out! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Film critic and Horror Queers co-host Joe Lipsett joins us to explore the body snatching invasion thriller The Puppet Masters (1994), an adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's 1951 sci-fi novel starring Donald Sutherland, Eric Thal, Julie Warner, Keith David, Will Patton and Yaphet Kotto. Astonishing practical effects abound as parasitic manta rays from space leap merrily onto the backs of unsuspecting cast members, turning them into mindless drones bent on world domination. Their only giveaway? They have no interest whatsoever in Julie Warner's cleavage. Seriously, this is a plot point. It's gleeful straight-to-video fun from the height of the X-Files era, but does it hold up? Find out! Follow Joe Lipsett on Twitter, read his work on Bloody Disgusting and check out the Horror Queers podcast! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!

Writer, actor, comedian and all-round wonderful human being Mary Jo Pehl joins us as we try to untangle the twisted tale of Brian De Palma's Sisters (1972). Starring Margot Kidder (of Superman and The Amityville Horror fame) in the dual roles of demure French Canadian model Danielle and her psychotic, groin-stabby twin Dominique, and Jennifer Salt as the hard-boiled investigative journalist determined to prove the murder she witnessed from her apartment window, Sisters is at once a delirious Hitchcockian fever dream that would define the direction of De Palma's career and dark exposé of the forces ranged against the women's liberation movement. But is it a thrilling thriller or a shrill, tiresome pastiche? Find out! Find out more about Mary Jo Pehl on her website, watch her show at Dumb Industries, buy her book and listen to her pointedly hilarious riffs with Bridget Nelson at Rifftrax! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram Support us on Patreon to nominate future films, vote on whether films should be released or thrown back, and access exclusive bonus content!