Kicking the Seat

The Oscars may be over, but the 2025 film discussion isn't finished until Kicking the Seat has a say!

This is Ian's first "Best of" list since before the pandemic, and the first time he's discussed his picks publicly with Earth's Mightiest Critics! In this opinion-packed episode, our robust roundtable will talk about Kicking the Seat's official Top 10--as well as some of the other critics' choices that don't appear on the list!

Join us for an award-worthy last look at a year bursting with memorable cinema! We also talk a little bit of Oscars and take your questions, comments, and SuperChats!

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• As mentioned in the show, Ian recently interviewed Oliver Laxe, the director of one his favorite 2025 films, Sirat. Check it out!

• For a sneak peak at how (or if) the panelists line up with Ian's picks, check out Earth's Mightiest Critics' individual "Best of 2025" lists!

  • Jeff York

  • David Fowlie

  • Mike Crowley

  • Don Shanahan

  • Cati Glidewell

• Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:

  • Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists.

  • Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.

  • Get seated with The Blonde in Front!

  • Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.

  • Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…

    • ...And Film Obsessive

    • ...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

  • Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue.

    • ...and We Got This Covered.

  • Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.

  • And save your celluloid soul with Dave Canfield’s Substack, "Creature Feature Preacher".

Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride! is one of the worst-reviewed, most financially disastrous films of the year.

But is "Bonnie and Clyde Meets The Bride of Frankenstein" really that bad? Or, like the Monster in Mary Shelley's classic horror novel--has the hated beast simply been misunderstood?

This week, Earth's Mightiest Critics take a long, spoilerific walk down the aisle to see if there is cause for celebration...or annulment! Join us as we renew our vows to confront escapism--even at its ugliest!

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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Show Links:

• Watch the The Bride! (2026) trailer.

• Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:

  • Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists.

  • Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.

  • Get seated with The Blonde in Front!

  • Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.

  • Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…

    • ...And Film Obsessive

    • ...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

  • Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue.

    • ...and We Got This Covered.

  • Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.

  • And save your celluloid soul with Dave Canfield’s Substack, "Creature Feature Preacher".

Ian and Sujewa engage in a monstrous battle over the new indie film, His Monster!

An Oregonian alcoholic named James (Gabriel Casdorph) struggles to overcome the dissolution of his marriage following a tragedy. Complicating matters is the sudden appearance of an ancient evil monster who begins attacking people in James' orbit.

This contentious, spoilerific deep dive is a prime example of how two people can take away two very different experiences of the same film.

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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• Watch the His Monster (2025) trailer.

• Follow Compassionate Disaster Films for info on all upcoming His Monster festival screenings:

• Watch Sujewa's recent interview with His Monster writer/director Erich Cannon.

• Support Sujewa's new film project, 53 Spaceships, the latest adventure of Cosmic Disco Detective Rene!

• Watch Sujewa's latest film, Cosmic Disco Detective Rene for free on YouTube!

• Rent The Secret Society for Slow Romance (the predecessor to Cosmic Disco Detective Rene).

• Follow Sujewa on X.

• Check out all the episodes in our “IndieSeen” Playlist!

Ian sits down with director Oliver Laxe, whose 2025 film Sirat will compete for Best International Feature at next weekend's Academy Awards!

In this harrowing story of grief, desperation, and alternative cultures, a father (Sergi López) attends a rave in the Moroccan desert to find his missing daughter. He has his young son (Bruno Núñez Arjona) in tow, and the pair wind up following a caravan of partiers deeper into the wilderness. There, they encounter tragedies beyond imagination, and face an existential crisis set to a cruel techno beat.

In this brief interview, Ian and Oliver talk about the co-writer/director's unconventional approach to screenwriting; shooting dangerous and complicated scenes in the desert; and how movies kill their audiences and bring them back from the dead!

Sirat opens in Chicago at the Music Box Theatre on Friday, March 6 (featuring a Q&A with Oliver and co-writer Santiago Fillol!). More info below.

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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Show Links

• Watch the Sirat (2025) trailer.

• Chicagoans! Sirat director Oliver Laxe and co-writer Santiago Fillol will be at the Music Box Theatre on Friday night! Catch the 7:15pm screening, and then stick around for a Q&A! Tickets and more information here.

Scream 7 dominated its opening weekend's box office, despite an overwhelmingly negative reception from critics and a tepid audience response.

Has Ghostface finally become a horror movie cliche--that of the exhausted (and exhausting) killer who doesn't know he's dead? Or is there actually something more to returning screenwriter-turned-director Kevin Williamson's film than people realize?

This week, Earth's Mightiest Critics look at the return of Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and the rest of the surviving Scream crew who, after 30 years, are still milking meta-horror for all it's worth.

Join us for a sensational, spoilerific slash through the sixth Scream sequel! We also take your questions, comments, and SuperChats!

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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• Letterboxd

• Instagram

• Facebook

Show Links:

• Watch the Scream 7 (2026) trailer.

• Watch Ian's reaction to last year's Scream 7 trailer.

• Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:

  • Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists.

  • Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.

  • Get seated with The Blonde in Front!

  • Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.

  • Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…

    • ...And Film Obsessive

    • ...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

  • Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue.

    • ...and We Got This Covered.

  • Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.

  • And save your celluloid soul with Dave Canfield’s Substack, "Creature Feature Preacher".

As one journey ends, another begins! Join Ian and AC as they continue their tour through the winding hills of classic horror in Kicking the Seat's latest series, "Castle Freaks"!

This year, the guys will look at the spine-tingling works of director William Castle, whose wild career intersected with the likes of Cary Grant, Orson Welles, Joan Crawford, Alfred Hitchcock, and Roman Polanski! Castle was known as a "gimmick director", who dreamt up fantastical, in-theatre scare stunts to accompany his most famous movies. But as we hope to show, his filmography is so much more than headline-grabbing tricks!

We're kicking things off with 1959's House on Haunted Hill, in which Vincent Price plays an unhappily married millionaire who invites five strangers to spend the night in a haunted house. Those who survive through the next morning will pocket $10,000 each. But are there really spooks in the walls, or just illusions meant to mask something much more sinister?

In this wide-ranging first episode, Ian and AC give an overview of William Castle's career and do a spoilerific deep dive into both the '59 House on Haunted Hill and the 1999 remake starring Geoffrey Rush!

We hope you join us throughout the year for more thrills, chills, and electrifying surprises!

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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Show Links:

• Watch the House on Haunted Hill (1959) trailer.

• As mentioned in the show, AC reviewed the Film Masters Blu-ray of House on Haunted Hill (1959) at Horror 101 w/ Dr. AC.

• He also covered House on Haunted Hill and The Tingler on the Horror 101 YouTube channel.

• "Castle Freaks" is the next leg in our classic horror journey. If you're new to the channel, catch up with our 5-year "Hammerland" series, which wrapped up last year!

Ian and Jeff recently caught up with the five Oscar nominees Best Animated Short Film, which they were fortunate enough to enjoy on the big screen.

In today's short(ish) review, the guys look at the unusually strong crop of 2026 contenders and pick their favorites! Jeff also offers a brief overview of the Live-action Shorts, and talks about why he doesn't think they measure up to their cartoon counterparts!

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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Show Links:

• Watch the trailer for the 2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films (and scroll down the page to see which theatres near you are showing these on the big screen!).

• Read Jeff's reviews of the Animated and Live-Action Oscar-nominated Shorts:

  • Animated Shorts

  • Live-Action Shorts

• Read David Fowlie's reviews of the Animated, Live-Action, AND Documentary Oscar-nominated Shorts (mentioned in the show):

  • Animated Shorts

  • Live-Action Shorts

  • Documentary Shorts

William Wyler's sweeping historical epic Ben-Hur is one of the OG blockbusters. It took home Best Picture for the 1959 Academy Awards, along with 12 other statues--making it one of the most awarded and beloved dramas of all time.

This week, Earth's Mightiest Critics look at the story of Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), a Jewish prince who is betrayed and forced into slavery. His winding journey of vengeance and redemption lands him front and center with the most significant event in human history.

Join us for a spoilerific look at Charlton, chariots, and the changing nature of blockbusters. We also make a case for this being a perfect film, and take your questions, comments, and SuperChats!

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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Show Links

• Watch the Ben-Hur (1959) trailer.

• Pick up the new Ben-Hur 4K UHD from Warner Bros.

• As mentioned in the show, Warner Bros also released a new 4K of All the President’s Men! Check the disc out here.

• And listen to Ian and Don Shanahan's "Reelpolitik" review of the film from few years ago.

• Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:

  • Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists.

  • Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.

  • Get seated with The Blonde in Front!

  • Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.

  • Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…

    • ...And Film Obsessive

    • ...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

  • Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue.

    • ...and We Got This Covered.

  • Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.

  • And save your celluloid soul with Dave Canfield’s Substack, "Creature Feature Preacher".

In the 1980s horror/comedy homage Blood Barn, a group of camp counselors celebrate the end of summer with a trip to Josie's (Lena Redford) deep woods family home. There, they relax and party in a massive, bizarrely furnished barn and unwittingly awaken demonic forces.

Today, Ian talks with Blood Barn director/co-writer Gabriel Bernini, co-writer Alexandra Jade, and star Lena Redford (granddaughter of Robert Redford, who passed away last year). From drawing on classic horror movies; to being the one of the few "straight" actors in a team of improv performers; and making the jump from short films to feature debut, this conversation looks at the grit and giggles of starting out in the movies.

Blood Barn is now streaming on Screambox.

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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Show Links:

• Watch the Blood Barn (2026) trailer.

This week, Earth's Mightiest critics bust out the fainting couches for a robust, rivalrous review of Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights!

Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie star in the latest big-screen interpretation of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel, which unleashed relentless humiliation, misery, and revenge upon the literary world. Or, as the film's marketing calls it, "The Greatest Love Story of All Time"!

The film topped its opening weekend's box office, despite mixed critics' reviews and scathing commentary by fans of the novel. But are audiences really past the point of caring if movies are faithful to their source material? And is this a more troubling sign of a lack of media literacy--and actual literacy?

Both sides square off in a dynamic duel of defenders and detractors!

Join us for a hot and bothered (mostly bothered) look at the latest IP smash-and-grab masquerading as an adaptation! We'll also take your questions, comments, and SuperChats!

Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, subscribe to us on YouTube, and follow us at:

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• Letterboxd

• Instagram

• Facebook

Show Links

• Watch the Wuthering Heights (2026) trailer.

• Support all of Earth's Mightiest Critics at their various outlets:

  • Keep up with Jeff York's criticism and caricatures at The Establishing Shot and Pipeline Artists.

  • Check out Mark "The Movie Man" Krawczyk's The Spoiler Room Podcast.

  • Get seated with The Blonde in Front!

  • Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.

  • Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…

    • ...And Film Obsessive

    • ...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.

  • Keep up with Annie Banks at The Mary Sue.

    • ...and We Got This Covered.

  • Make Nice with Mike Crowley of You'll Probably Agree.

  • And save your celluloid soul with Dave Canfield’s Substack, "Creature Feature Preacher".