The Pod and the Pendulum

Mike and Ari are happy to report that Wrong Turn 6 is one of the most unabashedly horniest movies we've ever covered on the show. Eschewing the traditional hot couples hooking up, this one has more of flair for kink, sadomasochism, and voyeurism. At least, it certainly does compared to most slasher movies, let alone the sixth entry in a long running, straight to video franchise. Is it a great movie? No, but it's a hell of a fun watch marked with some truly cheeky humor, a number of spectacular kill sequences and a standout performance from Sadie Katz as the villainous Sally, it just might be our favorite of the whole series

This week Mike and Ariel reach the nadir of the Wrong Turn franchise, with the third entry, Left For Dead. It's the film that dares to as who one would root for in this situation: a murderous Cartel warlord, a white supremacist, or the cops? Filled with poorly rendered CGI, dodgy acting from a cast that looks like generic versions of much better performers and an overstuffed plot, this one is a tough hang. However, we made the best of it, and talked about the important issues like Stone Cold Steve Austin's filmography, and how John Cena's heel turn is going.

Mike and Devaughn are on hand to talk a straight to video follow-up that just might improve on the original. Director Joe Lynch shot right out of the gate with a nasty, gory, funny splatter film that has the feel of an over-the-top 80s sequel while still being grounded in its own moment in time. Henry Rollins leads a rag-tag crew of wanna be stars into the woods for a survivalist reality TV series, only for the cast and crew to be hunted down by Three Fingers and more of his hillbilly mutant family members. Featuring fantastic practical gore, over 300 gallons of fake blood and some terrific set pieces, Wrong Turn 2 may be the fan favorite of the bunch.

This week, Mike, Ariel and Nichole have loaded up the jeep with our camping gear, a cooler full of beer, some beef jerky and a way out of date paper map as we’re about to break down WRONG TURN as we kick off our latest franchise. This nasty hillbilly horror bridges the gap between the second wave of slashers and the more extreme “torture porn” that SAW would usher in only a year later. Featuring one of the most attractive casts of the period, anchored by Eliza Dushku (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dollhouse) Wrong Turn serves as a tribute to the no frills, grimy exploitation and survivalist horror of the 1970s, and was enough of a success at the boxoffice to usher in five straight to DVD sequels and a reboot. We talk the history of the film, our own road trip disasters, and whether or not it’s rude to go through a stranger’s refrigerator if you’re only curious about what they have for snacks and don’t actually take anything. 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. Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog of shows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog, leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to www.podandthependulum.com to check it out. If you have the means, consider becoming a patron today and support the show. Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today at patreon.com/podandthependulum.

This week Mike, Rachel, Nichole and Devaughn are all on hand to talk about the best movies that features exorcisms (of a sort) that aren't The Exorcist. It's a wide ranging list and as we're prone to do, we get fast and loose with some definitions. This is what Mike loves to call the "notepad" style of episode, because we think listeners will want to jot down a handful of titles they maybe haven't seen or even heard of yet. 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. Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog of shows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog, leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to www.podandthependulum.com to check it out. If you have the means, consider becoming a patron today and support the show. Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today at patreon.com/podandthependulum.

Mike Stephen, and Ariel are back to wrap up another franchise with 2023's Exorcist: Believer. This one isn't divisive as audiences and critics alike hated this one seemingly from the moment David Gordon Green announced it would be his next project after Halloween Ends. What was planed to be a legacy sequel that would launch a trilogy wound up scrapped after the first film failed to recoup anything close to the $400 million (ouch) Universal shelled out for the rights alone. Between lazy callbacks, and an insulting use of the returning Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil, it certainly gave the haters plenty of cannon fodder. 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. Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog of shows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog, leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to www.podandthependulum.com to check it out. If you have the means, consider becoming a patron today and support the show. Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today at patreon.com/podandthependulum. 

We’re back to talk about ANOTHER prequel to The Exorcist (afilm so nice they had to tell the origin twice), but fortunately, this week Mike and Stephen are here to talk about the good one. Yes indeed, this week we’re here to talk about the most expensive DVD feature of all time, the completedvision of Paul Schrader’s Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. It’s the Gallant to Harlin’s Goofy, and as one might expect from a Schrader jam, it’s a contemplative rumination on man’s fallibility and culpability with regards toevil. It’s certainly not the rock ‘em sock ‘em straight forward horror movie Morgan Creek anticipated, leading to it being shelved for The Beginning. Perhaps a horror crowd that’s been raised on the sort of character studies A24has delivered over the past decade would be more receptive to the quiet character drama and standout performance from its lead Stellan Skarsgard delivered as a conflicted Father Merrin. If you like what you’re listening to make sure to subscribewherever you get your podcast feeds. Please take a moment to rate and review us on the ApplePodcast app, or rate us on the Spotify app. Reviews and five star ratings helpnew listeners find us every day, and we greatly appreciate the feedback andsupport. Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog ofshows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog,leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to www.podandthependulum.com to checkit out. If you have the means, consider becoming a patron today and support the show.Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries,exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today at patreon.com/podandthependulum. 

This week we’re talking about Renny Harlin’s The Exorcist: The Beginning because we’re contractually obligated to due to the format of the show. Mike and Stephen are here to talk about hot moms, the 1995 coming of age movie Angus, (featuring not one but TWO Oscar winners), the Angus soundtrack, what makes up the weakest entry in the Back to the Future series, whether or not Paul Schrader directed Clifford the Big Red Dog, the latest addition to our soundboard and so much more. All right, we talk about the movie a little bit, and ask the question whether it is better to be a serviceable, feels like it’s made for television feature, or a wild swing and massive miss like The Heretic? Plus, we ask the question: Has there ever been a successful exorcism in any of The Exorcist movies? Ultimately, The Beginning is “The Goofus” to Dominion’s “Gallant”: a big, dumb, spectacle of a movie with poorly rendered, early aughts CGI that passes a couple hours but has all the lasting power of a stick of Juicy Fruit gum. 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. Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog of shows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog, leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to www.podandthependulum.com to check it out. If you have the means, consider becoming a patron today and support the show. Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today at patreon.com/podandthependulum.

After what Mike called the low point of the show in terms ofmovie we’ve covered, this week we’ve rebounded with a minor classic, WilliamPeter Blatty’s The Exorcist 3. Or is it Legion? Or is it The Exorcist 3:Legion? Or is it The Exorcist 1990? As you can see already, this one had a long, winding, andoften confusing path to the screen. From creative differences that led toBlatty ultimately taking the helm, to forced reshoots, and a wedged in exorcismin the third act, to recasting three of the principal characters, it’s a hellof a tale. Brad Douriff alone would replace Jason Miller, only to be replacedby Miller after test screenings, only to replace / team up with Miller to playthe same character after replacing him didn’t work. It’s stunning a coherentfilm even emerged, let alone one that’s as smart, scary and thoughtful asExorcist 3. Featuring one last powerful turn from a late in his career George CScott, Brad Douriff at his scariest (coming off Child’s Play no less) and oneof the best jump scares in movie history, this one packs a wallop.

After last week's episode on the background of the movie, Brian and Mike are back to dive into The Exorcist proper. We discuss where it fits in the canon of the great 70s, auteur driven works, how Friedken's insistence on reality lifted this above genre conventions and gave birth to the modern horror movie, and how making the Church the heroes in this narrative hasn't aged so well for modern times.

What a wonderful day to talk about The Exorcist. This week Mike, Brian, and Stephen start our discussion on one of the foundational films in modern horror, 1973’s The Exorcist. For the first half of our two parts on this title, your hosts share their initial reactions to this masterwork, as well as how our thoughts on the film have evolved as we’ve grown older. From there we take a deep dive into the history of the film, including a look at its architects, director William Friedken and writer William Peter Blatty. We explore the exorcism case that inspired Blatty to write his novel, and the challenges in adapting the film without “creating a commercial for the Catholic Church” in Friedken’s view. We discuss the brilliant cast, Dick Smith’s astonishing makeup and the standout locations. From there we talk about the “curse” of The Exorcist as well as the unconventional and unsafe methods Friedken often employed that put his performers in harm’s way. Finally, we explore the cultural impact of The Exorcist on its release as well as its place in horror’s pantheon more than fifty years later. It’s one of our largest, most in-depth episodes to date, and its only the beginning.

This week we're unlocking our patron vaults and giving everyone a taste of what you get when you become a subscriber. Mike, Brian, and Stephen joined forces to break down the Oz Perkins smash hit, and one of the most commercially and critically successful genre offerings of 2024. With Nic Cage as the titular serial killer, audiences could expect a wild ride, but what really surprised our crew was just how much of a homage this was to the psychological thrillers of the early 90s, and how at its core, just how much this is story about how far a mother will go to protect their daughter. If you like what you've heard this week, and want to unlock another 60 hours of bonus content (including Ariel's incredible and exclusive coverage of the I Spit on Your Grave franchise, Brian's upcoming series on the Nosferatu films, and later this year our look back at the Back to the Future trilogy) you can unlock bonus episodes by become a patron here: www.patreon.com/podandthependulum

Before we go out with the old and in with the new, your fearless crew is taking one last look back at 2024. Mike, Devaughn, Steven, Brian, and Ariel are all on hand to unveil their top ten genre films of the past year. While there was near unanimous consensus on our number one movie of the year, each of lists represent just how wide a net horror covers. From horror comedies, to noirish thrillers, slashers, the supernatural, serial killers, body horror, teen angst, coming out horror and classic monster pictures, we cover just about every major subgenre in our five lists. Plus, near fisticuffs break out over Nosferatu. Strap in for pure chaos deal listeners as we have all this, plus a visit from our dear friend Admiral Ackbar.

For the folks that asked, "What if Ghostbusters, but with none of the jokes?" we present "Afterlife." In 2021 Jason Reitman heled a sequel to his dad's two entries from the 80s, ignoring the existence of the 2016 movie altogether. The result is a good looking, well acted, well directed, two hour slog of a film filled with Easter Eggs and nostalgia bait meant to pull at the heart strings of every guy that said the previous film "killed their childhood." Mike, Brian, and Ariel are here to talk about this one, and boy do we try not to.

This week we're back to talk about one of the most (unfairly)maligned sequels of the 80s. Facing strong headwinds on the road to getting made, Ghostbusters 2 was criticized as a carbon copy of the first, and it struggled to capture even half of the box office of the 1984 classic as Batman fever swept the nation, and sequels from Back to the Future and Indiana Jones took up moviegoers attention. Credited for "killing the franchise" for decades, Ghostbusters 2 is a solid example of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" filmmaking, and this week Mike, Devaughn and Jessica are on hand to weigh its pros and cons. 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.  Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog of shows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog, leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to ⁠www.podandthependulum.com⁠ to check it out.  If you have the means, consider becoming a patron today and support the show. Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today at ⁠patreon.com/podandthependulum⁠.

Mike and Brian take one last look back at the summer of George, and deliver our crew's rankings of the six Romero films alongside the two remakes.

The Title says it all! This week we're celebrating our 300th episode with a supersized countdown of the best horror movies of the century so far. It's an all hands on deck episode and as a bonus, we welcome back former cost Lindsay Traves as a special guest! In order to come up with such a momentous list, not only did we all weigh in, but a special thanks goes out to Joe Lipsett, Sarah Stubbs, Kinnell, Richard Newby, Kat Hughes, Alex Pagicula, Mae Shultz, Rocco Thompson, Jay Krieger, Tori Potenza, Zoe Rose Smith, Amber T, & Garrett McDowell for taking part. Special Thanks to our listeners, from those who have been wit us since day one, to anyone who is hopping on for the first time today. 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. Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog of shows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog, leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to ⁠www.podandthependulum.com⁠ to check it out. If you have the means, consider becoming a patron today and support the show. Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today at ⁠patreon.com/podandthependulum⁠.

This week we tackle one of the best remembered remakes of the 2000s with the directing debut of a young Zac Snyder as he teams up with writer James Gunn for the remake of Dawn of the Dead. Mike Ariel and Devaughn  break down what makes this one so fondly remembered as it manages to update the George A Romero classic but puts its own style and signature on this new movie with an emphasis on action over horror at times. Along with 28 Days Later it sparked the Great “should Zombies run?” debate. Stacked with a fantastic cast and some exhilarating moments and will always be in our hearts for the introduction of the zombie baby.

This week Mike and Ariel are joined by Tucker (Disenfranchised podcast) to talk about the often maligned official remake of NOTLD, penned by Romero himself, with special effects guru Tom Savini stepping into the director's chair. Stacked with a cast of horror royalty, and building on more than two decades of modern horror (which the original film helped kickstart), this one deserves the critical reappraisal it has received since its underwhelming release. We talk the updated themes, what worked and where we thought it disappointed at time. This remake does what far too many don't as it manages to honor the spirit of the original while managing to do its own thing and even surprise the audience more than a few times.

The Summer of George hits the dog days of august with a dog of a movie. Romero's last film ever, and the final film in the original Living Dead canon lacks the creative spark of his original trilogy, and is marred even further by shoddy effects, stock characters, and wooden performances. While there's not much to recommend here, Mike, Devaughn and Stephen do their best to keep it entertaining.