Afterthoughts

Special guest Eric is back for a round of Recommend or Refute with the usual crew. As we ramp down from spooky season (and John makes the final push through Schlocktober), we've brought one last seasonal sampling of horror and schlock for your eager ears. Join us as we talk through an Italian Star Wars knock-off, Robert Rodriguez's latest attempt to make hypnotism thrilling, and two classic horror flicks about the undead and the unknown. 

We're capping off Spooky Season with an in-depth discussion of the most upsetting new movie of the year, Martin Scorsese's ambitious epic about family, betrayal, and America's original sin, Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).

Join the Afterthoughts crew for another round of Recommend or Refute. On the third and final 2023 Spooky Season edition, John brings us another Schlocktober entry with the redundantly titled Rage of Vengeance (1993). Ryan goes door to door with the horror anthology Trick 'r Treat (2007). And Dixon counter acts the schlock with Hitchcock as he pulls back the shower curtain on the classic horror thriller Psycho (1960). Are these all delicious films to add to your bag? Or is someone (*cough* John *cough*) handing out rotten apples?

We're closing out Spooky Season with a fuckin' doozy, folks. Join us as we break down the beautifully horrifying acid trip that officially launched the Nicolas Cage Renaissance, Panos Cosmatos' uncompromising, neon-soaked nightmare Mandy (2018).

The spooky season continues with more terrifying recommendations and refutations! Join John as he tries to keep loose cannons Ryan and Dixon in line. How many movies are those two maverick renegades going to sneak into this round of rapid fire reviews? Well if you read the title you already know there are four titles on the table, but the crew is hell bent on smuggling in tangential titles leading up to John's Schlocktober pick of the week. Don't hesitate to bring the hammer down on this episode, you just might find something new that's gonna shoot right to the top of your watchlist.

Enter the depths of Ingmar Bergman's dark, waking nightmares as we discuss his horror masterpiece Hour of the Wolf (1968), starring two of the greatest actors to ever grace the silver screen, Max von Sydow and Liv Ullman. This monumental film would go on to influence horror classics like Eraserhead, The Shining, Hereditary, The Lighthouse, and countless others. Today it remains one of the most chilling ghost stories ever told and a cornerstone of the horror genre.

We're back at it again. John embarks upon the pointless annual journey he calls Schlocktober with the movie that started it all: John Landis' directorial debut Schlock (1973). Ryan tackles another horror franchise with The Conjuring (2013), and Dixon probably gets a little too political with his discussion of Michael Radford's adaptation of the dystopian George Orwell novel 1984 (1984). Dixon is patiently awaiting his banishment from the internet while John and Ryan quietly talk to potential replacements. If you'd like to join the Afterthoughts team and don't hold any currently objectionable views, please contact us on Twitter @theafterpod.

It's Spooky Season and on this episode we rev up the horror factor with Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Does this horror darling deserve the acclaim and infamy, as well as the various disappointing follow-ups? Hop in a van with Dixon, Ryan, and John as they discuss which 25 year old "teenager" annoys them the most (it's Franklin), what meanings could be instilled in the slaughterhouse subtext of the script, and the sequel's hard tonal pivot, among other things.

It's that time of the week when we recommend or refute things. Dixon fawns over the original live action Beauty and the Beast (1946) and compares it to the modern Disney versions.  John breaks down the 70s classic The Amityville Horror (1979), and Ryan's back on his anime shit with One Piece (2023).

This week we're talking about a love letter to 1970s blaxploitation cinema, Michael Jai White's Black Dynamite (2009).  Throw on your leather coat, strut down the street, and give the episode a listen.