Dark Discussions Podcast

A weekly after show and discussion of each episode of the Hulu series, ALIEN: EARTH.

A weekly after show and discussion of each episode of the Hulu series, ALIEN: EARTH.

Lost on an island, during World War 2, with your sworn enemy? What do you do? Well, the new horror film MONSTER ISLAND (2025) helps answer that question when you are also sharing it with a monster. 

IMDB summary: “Set in the Pacific, 1942. A Japanese soldier and a British prisoner of war are stranded on a deserted island, hunted by a deadly creature. Two mortal enemies must come together to survive the unknown.”

After playing the festival circuit in 2024, the movie was released in the United States on Shudder in Q3 of 2025. This “bottle film” was written and directed by Mike Wiluan and stars Dean Fujioka and Callum Woodhouse. Though not noticed by many critics, the film has been promoted on Shudder on its front page. Your co-hosts are joined by actor Dan Lench to discuss this “little” movie.

A weekly after show and discussion of each episode of the Hulu series, ALIEN: EARTH

A weekly after show and discussion of each episode of the Hulu series, ALIEN: EARTH

A weekly after show and discussion of each episode of the Hulu series, ALIEN: EARTH

A weekly after show and discussion of each episode of the Hulu series, ALIEN: EARTH

The Fantastic Four has been brought to theaters multiple times, but each time the films have been critically panned … until now. The new Marvel Studio production, THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS, has received fabulous reviews and is Disney’s hope to rebuild the comic book film franchise for their company.

From IMDB: “Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer.”

The movie is directed by Game of Thrones veteran, Matt Shakman, and stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn as the Fantastic Four. Though the movie was a big box office success on opening weekend, the movie has dropped dramatically in revenue the follow up weeks since its release on July 25, 2025. You co-hosts take a look at the new film and its prospects as a franchise starter.

Another vampire film has been released to theaters, and this one has received fabulous reviews and become one of the highest profitable movies of 2025. SINNERS, a new film by director and writer Ryan Coogler, has him team up once more with Michael B. Jordan in a starring role.

From IMDB: “Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.”

Besides Michael B. Jordan playing twin brothers in the film, the movie also stars Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Lola Kirke, among many more. It was released at theaters on April 18th, 2025 and now has made its way to HBO Max. Your co-hosts take a look at the film and give their thoughts.

Dan O’Bannon, the co-screenwriter of ALIEN (1979), once stated (paraphrasing) that nothing is original but writers borrow from others. Well, the new science fiction horror film, ASH (2025), certainly does that. It has a bit of ALIEN, among other science fiction films, as well as the novels and works of Michael Crichton. 

From IMDB: “A woman wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed. Her investigation into what happened sets in motion a terrifying chain of events.”

Ash is the directorial feature length debut of the artist known as Flying Lotus based on a screenplay by Jonni Remmler. The film stars Eiza Gonzalez and Aaron Paul. The film includes science fiction, horror, and techno-thriller elements within it. Getting 71% good reviews by critics while only 54% by audiences, your co-hosts take a look at this highly debated film and give their thoughts.