Film critic and author Alonso Duralde joins Jason for a holiday special packed with classic cinema, sharp takes, and seasonal martinis.

They dive into Christmas movie traditions, give a festive review of The Thin Man (1934), and talk about the newly expanded edition of Alonso’s essential guide, Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas.

If you like your holiday cheer classy and movie-obsessed, this one’s for you!

Alonso Duralde online:

Warner Bros. will be sold to the highest evil bidder, and a loss of major physical media may be around the corner. Explore the Top 25 Classic Warner Bros. Films every movie fan needs, complete with one-sentence synopses and current 4K, Blu-ray, and Warner Archive availability. From Casablanca to Barry Lyndon, Robin Hood to The Wild Bunch, we break down the essential WB classics from 1930–1990 you must own before streaming erases film history. Perfect for cinephiles, physical media fans, and anyone building a definitive collection.

Coming to you from the last video store in the universe, we step back into the ring to determine which Rocky film goes the distance and which ones hit the mat. We break down the legacy of Sylvester Stallone, the evolution of Rocky Balboa, and how the series reinvented itself with Michael B. Jordan in Creed and Creed II.

Films Ranked in This Episode:

Rocky (1976)

Rocky II (1979)

Rocky III (1982)

Rocky IV (1985)

Rocky V (1990)

Rocky Balboa (2006)

Creed (2015)

Creed II (2018)

We analyze the training montages, villains, emotional arcs, franchise highs and lows, behind-the-scenes details, and why this series still dominates pop culture 50 years later.

If you love Rocky, rankings, Stallone, deep dives, Creed,  franchise analysis, this is the episode to lace up for.

Subscribe for more film rankings, eliminations, and cult cinema deep cuts from Binge Movies.

From the last video store in the universe, we’re diving headfirst into the fleshscape.

We’re ranking five of the most nightmarish entries the genre has ever produced:

1. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989): Industrial noise. Screaming metal. The body as weapon.

We break down the gore, the metaphors, the transgressions, and the sheer cinematic audacity of filmmakers who dared to ask, “What if humanity was just… obsolete?”

Press play and prepare for mutation.

Credits

INSTANT REACTION: Edgar Wright returns with another flop at the box office, while Glen Powell does his best (?) with another "retread."

INSTANT REACTION: Coming to you from the last video store in the universe, it's Binge Movies.

Jason dives into Predator: Badlands, the latest chapter in the Predator saga. Is this return to the hunt a bold new evolution of the franchise or another casualty of nostalgia overload? Expect instant reactions, unfiltered opinions, and deep-cut franchise context—from Predator (1987) to Prey (2022).

New Slashers Season: Slashers Season 2

Shop the Show: Limited Run Merch

EPISODE 204: First-Time Filmmakers. 

Some directors arrive fully formed, kicking down the door with a debut that rewrites the rules.

In this episode, we rank the first films from some of cinema’s boldest voices:

Five debuts. Five filmmakers announcing themselves to the world.

New Season: Slashers Season 2

Slashers: 1984 (Rebroadcast)

Jason from Binge Movies (the B-movie sadist with a VCR full of pain), Megan from Spoilerpiece Theatre (the ever-resilient critic), and Paul from The Countdown (the man barely hanging on) reunite for one of the biggest turning points in horror history — 1984, the year Freddy Krueger was born and the slasher genre reached its fever pitch.

This episode’s Blood Pool:

Rocktober Blood — Jan 1, 1984

Fatal Games — Jan 1, 1984

Splatter University — Jul 13, 1984

Day of the Reaper — Oct 31, 1984

A Nightmare on Elm Street — Nov 9, 1984

The Initiation — Dec 7, 1984

From this Pool, the hosts fight to the death (or at least to the end of the tape) for:

Best Poster/Box Art

Best Cult Classic

Best Final “Girl”

Best Kill

Best Overall Film

Join the conversation on Letterboxd: slasherspodcast

Series theme: “Shattered” by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

Originally aired as part of The Slashers limited series — now revived from the grave for the Binge Movies faithful.

And remember… DON’T let them catch you.

(Color, 2 hrs.)

Broadcasting after hours from the last video store in the universe, host Jason rises from Spooktacular retirement to kick off Shock Horror with a full-on graveyard party. Joined by Paul (The Slashers, The Countdown), the boys dig up the entire Return of the Living Dead franchise, from punk rock brain-eaters and doomed romance to the cheap sequels that won’t stay buried.

Expect fog machines, local commercials, and more bad decisions than a midnight rental binge.

Instant Reaction: The Black Phone 2 (2025) — Spoiler-Free Review

Quick thoughts on performances, scares, story, and how it deviates from the original.

Credits