Varicon Video: A Movie Podcast

We're back to wrap up our Impostors & Doppelgangers theme with a Chevy Chase comedy! Charge any and all expenses to the Underhills!

In this episode, we investigate a rivalry between two magicians, one with a closely guarded secret that the other desperately wants. We discuss this tale of obsession and turn-of-the-century intrigue while unpacking Nolan's narrative design and approach to storytelling. Prepare for loads of Michael Caine impressions.

In this episode, we travel to the not-too-distant future of Andrew Niccol's minimalist sci-fi drama to take a hard look at how it addresses bioethics, eugenics, and determinism. Also, Gore Frickin' Vidal is in this movie.

In this episode, we wrap up our theme on classic serials by heading west to California to explore a story that starts in 1821 during the Mexican War for Independence from Spain, featuring a masked hero dressed in black...

The sun is shining…but the ice is slippery, just like Alec Baldwin's performance. He's running around with a big schnoz, ripping off his face, and cackling in the breeze, while a madman is running amok and Ian McKellen stands around with nothing to do. This might be the first movie we've covered that gets us some mail. Who can say? The Shadow nose.

In this episode, we fight the evil Ming the Merciless and save the lovely Dale Arden with the help of Prince Vultan as the music of Queen plays triumphantly in the background! We tackle race representation, camp, and queerness in the film, and we do exhaustive Brian Blessed impressions to entertain ourselves. And you, of course.

Today we head across the pond to follow the intersecting lives of four flawed, very conflicted, contradictory people... a love- and lust-seeking quartet trying to find themselves and what they want in a partner…or rather, a stranger.

In this episode, we discuss a curious entry set in the Mamet-verse that's all about sleight of hand and what could be Gene Hackman's last great movie. We're here for the gold; it makes the world go round. Join us as we unpack David Mamet's affectations and his take on the heist genre!

In this episode, we go to the most beautiful place in Europe -- it's like a fookin fairytale or somethin' -- to talk about Martin McDonagh's cleverly written directorial debut!

In this episode, we take on a detective case, or maybe it isn’t, about a body in a lake, a rich man and his daughter, two sisters running in different directions, a pink wig, and a finger in a dog’s digestive tract. If it sounds like it’s right out of a dime novel, there’s a reason for that.

In this episode, we examine and scrutinize the relationship between an aging Hollywood director and his yard man, and we also discuss queer representation in front of and behind the camera in Bill Condon's award winning film.

Today we’re traveling back to 1962 for the premiere of Lawrence Woolsey’s monster movie, Mant!. We had to sign a waiver in the lobby because it’s that scary! And now, we’re settling into these plush seats with our popcorn and snacks before the picture goes up , and the crowd is electric. Join us!

Seasons greetings! Today we’re taking you to Gotham City at Christmastime, to deliver a dark chapter in the story of the caped crusader. It’s the bat, the cat, and the penguin, together at last!

Today we’re talking about a time travel thriller that many people might have missed or probably haven’t given much thought since its release, so we’re traveling back 20 years to revisit Frequency! In this episode, we’re going to be testing out a totally new format for the show, so be sure to let us know what you think!

Today we’re singing show tunes while we globetrot from New York to Rome to Castle da Vinci, dodging the double-crossing CIA, a Catholic secret society, and an insane, megalomaniacal couple with an interest in alchemy hellbent on destroying the global economy!

Today we settle into our second episode of our chat series with special guest Roger L. Jackson, a man with over 230 voice acting credits whose voice you’re sure to recognize. Halloween ain’t over until Ghostface speaks!  

Today we’re raiding the Addams family fortune for da DUBLOONS! We find our way to some dark territory in this one and head straight to the vault! If it's not clear, we absolutely adore this movie.  

We have a fugitive on the loose! We’ll be joining Sam Gerard and his quirky team of U.S. Marshals to do a hard target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, and doghouse in the Cook County area for the elusive, resourceful vascular surgeon on the run, Dr. Richard Kimble! So hurry up and get your Provasic prescription filled and join us for one helluva manhunt as we do a Peter Pan right into today’s episode!

Today we’re testing out a new satellite system with 666 channels you can’t get on regular TV. We’ll be channel surfing programming intended as “light amusements” for “one very demanding viewer below”! Join us for the ultimate television adventure in today's episode on STAY TUNED with special guest Marc Halem from That's Not Quite All Folks!  

This is the first episode in our new chat series, where we sit down with someone who works in the film industry and has some connection to a culturally significant film from the video store era. To kick things off, guest-host Louis from Random Movie Roulette (and co-host of sideshow The Gory Picture Show) joins Brandon to talk with actor and producer Ira Heiden, the Wizard Master himself from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST 3: DREAM WARRIORS!

We're back! Today we set off across Mississippi during the Great Depression with chaingangers Ulysses Everett McGill, Delmar O'Donnell, and Pete to find a buried treasure if we can make it past the gangsters, klansmen, and lawmen along the way!

Today we follow an unassuming family man computer salesmen who actually works for a secret government agency called the Omega Sector who shoots and blows up bad people and saves the world for a living, but his wife and daughter think he’s kind of dull. He is Harry Tasker, and some terrorist assholes stole some nukes and that’s his problem now, as is the suspicion of his wife having an affair -- oh my!

Today we’re trying to get home in time for turkey dinner!  We’ll be trying to make it from New York to Chicago, battling motel clerks, rental car agencies, and airlines, all while GOING THE WRONG WAY!

Today we venture off to ToonTown with our friends from Random Movie Roulette: Louis, Mike, and Jack! We muse on how toons procreate, the severity of Eddie Valiant's rampant alcoholism, and who thought this would be appropriate for children, among many other things.

We start off in Gainesville, Florida, but we soon head to New York City to help hotshot defense attorney Kevin Lomax pick a jury — he’s never lost a case! And we help his wife, Mary Ann, pick the right shade of green for their apartment. We also encounter dressing room demons, Coach, baby fever, baby holding bloody ovaries, Don King, subway Spanish, throat cutting, Trump’s golden New York apartment, ghost joggers, sexual fantasies, perversion, incest, really big sculptures that come to life and burst into flames, the worst FL panhandle accent in cinema history, and a disgustin’ pig mawnster.

Today we’re flying to Salem, Massachusetts, to dance All Hallows Eve away with the Sanderson Sisters — they will put a spell on you. We’ve got spells and magic, black cats and pointy hats, grab a broom n’ hide yo kids, it’s HOCUS POCUS from 1993!

Today Mando and Patrick from THEMATIC ELEMENTS come on the show to talk about a curious little gem of the early 90s that we all appreciate called JACK THE BEAR! It’s an emotional coming of age story with just enough of the macabre for those Monster Kids out there!

Here's a little snippet of our Patreon exclusive episode on TWISTER (1996)! If you're not a patron of the show and want to learn more about how that works, head over to www.patreon.com/variconvideo for more information!

Today we take a trip to Woodsboro to see what the hell’s going on with this horror movie-luvin’ Ghostfaced killer who is slicing and dicing his way through town! Thanks to our patrons: Collin, James, Ryan S., Ryan M., Test Pattern, Pete, Mando, Jonathan, Mike, Jack, Louis, and Annette!

Today we’re packing up and heading west to Arizona because silver has been discovered there, and there are some cottages coming up for rent in a little mining town called Tombstone full of sash-wearing cowboys, opium addicted women, and no law. Join us as we lay it down!

Here’s a little snippet of our Patreon exclusive episode on WHAT ABOUT BOB?! If you’re not a patron of the show and want to learn more about how that works, head over to www.patreon.com/variconvideo for more information!

Here’s a little snippet of our Patreon exclusive episode on JACOB’S LADDER! If you’re not a patron of the show and want to learn more about how that works, head over to www.patreon.com/variconvideo for more information!

Wow, Joseph and I didn’t realize there would be so much to unpack in this one, so we brought along guest host Chris: Red to Joseph’s Andy. We have some laughs, some deep dives, and even a few existential questions that still need answered. What is Death? And WHO. IS. JOE. BLACK? Special thanks to our patrons Annette W., Collin S., James D., Louis O., Ryan M., Mando M., Test Pattern: A Horror Movie Podcast, Jonathan W., Mike P., Ryan S., Pete I., and Jack P.!

Varicon Video and Random Movie Roulette join forces and check out the Park Plaza Mall and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in today's episode! We also talk about some really, really random stuff.

Today we’re in Gotham City for its 200th anniversary birthday festival, despite it being overrun by the clown prince of crime, The Joker. We dine with Bruce Wayne and talk to reporter Vicki Vale and Alexander Knox to find out if there really is a six foot bat in Gotham City — THIS TOWN NEEDS AN ENEMA! Special thanks to our patrons Annette W., Collin S., James D., Louis O., Ryan M., Mando M., Test Pattern: A Horror Movie Podcast, and Jonathan W.!

Here's a little snippet of our Patreon exclusive episode of ROBOCOP! If you're not a patron of the show and want to learn more about how that works, head over to www.patreon.com/variconvideo for more information!

Today we’re jockeying the cash registers at the Quick Stop and RST Video to deal with (and talk about) unsavory customers — buncha savages — with our first guest host (and patron) Ryan! Grab a tabloid and some Gatorade because we’re chatting about shitty jobs! And spare 12 minutes for a hockey game and some sex jokes! Special thanks to our patrons Annette W., Collin S., James D., Louis O., Ryan M., Mando M., and Test Pattern: A Horror Movie Podcast! Check out Annette and Hayden’s podcast “How to Make a Monster Kid,” James’s short film “The Monster”, Mando and Patrick’s podcast “Thematic Elements,” and the best horror movie podcast in cyberspace “Test Pattern”!

Today we’re trekking to Springwood, Ohio to cruise down Elm Street and check ourselves into Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital. We’ve been having bad dreams about this guy who’s burned, wears a red and green striped sweater, and has knives for fingers. Join us for group therapy, only straight talk here, and help us take down the murderous slasher of our nightmares, Freddy Krueger, the bastard son of a hundred maniacs! Special thanks to our patrons Annette W., Collin S., and James D.! Check out Annette and Hayden’s podcast “How to Make a Monster Kid” and also James D.’s short film “The Monster”!

You're about to hear two podcasters in a fledgling video store watch a film from 1983, one based on a popular television show ripe with societal commentary. Soon they’ll be transported, as will you, to the fifth dimension. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition. That’s the signpost up ahead — your next stop: Varicon Video! Brandon created the musical transitions based on the Twilight Zone intro theme by Marius Constant. This episode also includes “The Waster (OST)” by Scott Buckley; this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Special thanks to our patrons Annette W., Collin S., and James D.! Check out Annette and Hayden’s podcast “How to Make a Monster Kid” and also James D.’s short film “The Monster”!

Grab your rock hammer because we’re going to prison! We meander off the beaten path a few times to indulge in some digressions, but revisiting this award-winner film was a treat, and we bet you three cigarettes and a pin-up poster that you’ll enjoy it, too. Or are we being obtuse?

We follow actor Ricky Coogan and his pal Ernie down to Santa Flan to check out FREEK LAND in today’s episode! Co-written, co-directed, co-produced and co-starring Alex Winter, this is a fun cult film for all to enjoy! Just stay away from that Zygrot 24 because hey, you’re not supposed to have that stuff!

Happy New Year to all! Today we trek up to a New England mansion called Hill House back in the 50s for a dinner party, and get to the bottom of a string of murders. We find out WHODUNNIT, WHERE, and WITH WHAT.  Join us for the mystery, and perhaps for fruit or...dessert? Brandon recreated some music cues from the score by John Morris for today’s episode.

We’re sledding back to 1989 to rap about ginormous Christmas trees, attack squirrels, flying sheets of ice, non-nutritive cereal varnish, and the jelly of the month club. Clark W. Griswold, Jr. will show you where to put a tree that big in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation! Grab your moose mug and scoop up some eggnog because we’re getting ready to empty the shitter, dream about a new swimming pool, and get down with the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nut house!

Today we drop into the sewers to rap with Leo, Donnie, Mikey, and Ralph to battle the evil Shredder and his Foot clan in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from 1990! The highest grossing independent film at its time, this movie is still jammin’. And Brandon recreated some bits from John Du Prez’s score for this episode! Enjoy! And Happy Thanksgiving!

In today’s episode, we delve into the posh ranks of 1980s Wall Street yuppies and their shallow, materialist world to pontificate about that memorable satire American Psycho starring Christian Bale. It’s a laugh riot — a playful but mysterious little film; you’ll love it. Also, do you like Huey Lewis and the News?

Halloween might have just passed, but we’re not through with it yet! Joseph and Brandon take a trip to Sleepy Hollow and revisit Tim Burton’s gothic take on Washington Irving’s tale of the Headless Horseman. We had a lot of fun with this one, and we hope you do, too! The Horseman rides again!

We’re baaaack after a little break, and today’s episode digs into a story about a boy and his killer doll possessed by a madman and where the Chucky franchise got its start. Put on your favorite Good Guys jammies and get ready for some child’s play! Brandon performed and produced a snippet from Joe Renzetti’s score for this episode.

Get your Bubba Gump shrimp cookin’ however you like it! Today we’re talking Forrest Gump, running, and a bit about destiny. This Academy Award winner needed fresh eyes to give it due credit, so we hope you enjoy it. Due to some technical issues, our primary recording track got corrupted, but fortunately we had a backup recording from the computer mic, so the quality isn't quite up to par, but it's definitely listenable -- we apologize! Brandon contributed a brief performance recreated from Alan Silvestri’s theme for this movie for today’s episode.

We’ve got a jealous killer car with a taste for vengeance! Based on the novel by Stephen King, this adaptation by John Carpenter is a landmark horror film in which a sentient 1958 Plymouth Fury and a geeky high schooler fall in love, and no shitter ever comes between a boy and his car. As a little bonus, Brandon performed and produced selections from John Carpenter’s score in today’s episode.

Bring your merry men! We have a great chat about this 1991 action flick and muse about some of the plot holes and humor that are peppered throughout Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves! And remember: everything we do, we’ll do it for you.

This episode has a little bit of everything: overbearing mothers, imaginary friends, Carrie Fisher, and dog poo. It’s a romp of a comedy classic that’s reached cult status, and we’re excited to share our thoughts as we have a look at Drop Dead Fred!