Creature Feature Mayhem: Attack of the Spiders

This week on Mostly Film, we’re tackling the spider movie — and asking a simple question:

What’s scarier… giant mutant spiders, or the normal-sized ones living in your house right now?

We’re pairing Arachnophobia (1990) with Eight Legged Freaks (2002) and breaking down classic restraint vs. early-2000s CGI chaos. One goes for quiet, domestic dread — shoes, bathtubs, coffee mugs. The other? Big, loud, B-movie swarm insanity.

We talk:

• Exaggeration vs. realism

• Visibility vs. suggestion

• Camp vs. tension

• Why spiders hit differently than sharks or lions

• And which approach actually lingers longer

Plus: worst ways to die, terrible survival decisions, and whether we’d last 24 hours.

If you’re new here, welcome to Mostly Film — find us wherever you get your podcasts (like or subscribe 👀) and follow us on Letterboxd to keep up with what we’re watching.

Small creatures. Big anxiety. Let’s ruin your house forever.

Mostly Film — Goats, Bone Temples, and Mercy

This week on Mostly Film, we’re back in trailer court for another round of LIST IT or NIX IT — deciding what earns a spot on the watchlist and what gets left behind.

On the docket:
Pressure, Toy Story 5, Peaky Blinders, Over Your Dead Body, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, Slanted, Normal, Is God Is, and Beast. Some immediate adds. Some firm passes. A few heated debates.

Then we dive into What We’ve Been Watching. Jonathan checks in with GOAT, Mercy, and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, plus TV time with The Pitt. JP brings a mix of rewatches and first-timers — The Goblet of Fire, L.A. Confidential, and Mercy — alongside TV staples like Industry, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Sons of Anarchy, and yes, more Pitt. We talk about performances, tone, and what’s actually sticking with us right now.

And then… The News.

It’s a packed one:

• Tributes to Tom Noonan and Eric Dane

• Scary Movie 6 parody targets revealed (including A Quiet Place)

• Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and KPOP: Demon Hunters heading to the Criterion Collection

• Marty Supreme tying a BAFTA record (and not the good kind)

• Netflix’s potential Warner Bros. acquisition plan (and what it would mean for theaters)

• Plane 2 officially grounded

• Bad Bunny’s first lead role

• Bill Hader writing/directing a new horror film

• McKenna Grace as Daphne in live-action Scooby-Doo

• And yes… Martin Scorsese joining The Mandalorian & Grogu

It’s prestige, pulp, industry shakeups, and franchise chaos all in one episode.

Subscribe, follow us on Letterboxd, and let us know — what are you listing… and what are you nixing? 🎥

Mostly Film: Creature Feature Mayhem — Ep. 1: Man vs. Lion

We’re kicking off a brand-new series, and we’re starting with teeth.

Welcome to Creature Feature Mayhem, where each episode pairs a classic and a modern monster movie to figure out what actually makes this genre work. This week: The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) vs. Beast (2022). Prestige ’90s lion terror vs. modern survival-thriller chaos.

If you’re new here, this is Mostly Film: a movie podcast where we mix real analysis with a little bit of unhinged energy. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts (like or subscribe 👀), and follow us on Letterboxd to see what we’re watching.

In this episode, we break down:

• What the classic creature feature does best: slow-burn dread, mythic tension, and letting the monster lurk in the shadows.

• How the modern take shifts the formula: tighter scale, emotional stakes, and putting the creature front and center.

• Whether practical restraint beats digital spectacle.

• And how masculinity, vulnerability, and survival look very different across decades.

We dig into how The Ghost and the Darkness builds fear through atmosphere and legend… and how Beast turns the genre into an intimate, family-driven survival story.

Plus:

• Worst survival decisions

• Creature MVP moments

• And our official Creature Rank: Apex / Iconic / Mid / Forgettable

This is the first entry in a series in which we embrace monsters, chaos, and double-feature madness.

Welcome to Creature Feature Mayhem.

🎬 Mostly Film

This week on Mostly Film, we’re back in trailer court deciding what’s worth your precious watchlist space.

In LIST IT or NIX IT, we react to the latest trailers we might of missed over the past three-month break and make the call right up front — are we listing it… or nixing it? This round includes:

• Supergirl

• Super Mario Galaxy

• The Odyssey

• Disclosure Day

• Undertone

Then we dive into What We’ve Been Watching, breaking down the movies and TV that stuck with us this week (without spoiling the whole thing). Jonathan checks in with Marty Supreme and a TV lineup that includes Industry, Supernatural, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. JP brings Dead Man’s Wire into the mix alongside Marty Supreme and TV favorites like Industry, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and a return to Sons of Anarchy. We talk performances, tone, surprises, and what’s quietly working right now.

Finally, we hit The News, covering a packed week in Hollywood:

• The passing of Robert Duvall

• Warner Bros. circling Paramount (again)

• Disney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro

• Baywatch and Charlie’s Angels reboots in development

• Early impressions from the new Spider-Man

• And yes… Jason Statham starring as “Jason Statham” in an action-comedy titled JASON STATHAM STOLE MY BIKE

It’s trailers, rewatches, prestige TV, studio shakeups, and at least one movie title that sounds fake but isn’t.

Hit subscribe, follow us on Letterboxd, and let us know: what are you listing… and what are you nixing? 🎥

🎬 Mostly Film — We’re Back (and We Brought Opinions)

After a three-month break, Mostly Film is officially back. This episode is less “normal format” and more welcome back, let’s catch up, here’s where we’ve been and where we’re going.

We jump into what we’ve been watching while we were gone. No “best of” pressure, just four movies each that stuck with us for one reason or another during our break. Expect personal picks, lingering vibes, and a few films we can’t stop thinking about.

Next up: The biggest surprises and disappointments of 2025. The movies we expected to be “fine” but loved, performances that caught us off guard, and the releases that should have worked but absolutely didn’t. Some takes will hurt. Some will age poorly. That’s the fun.

Then it’s time for Oscars talk. No spreadsheets, no deep stats—just vibes. We lock in predictions across the major categories, from acting to directing to Best Picture.

We close by laying out the Mostly Film 2026 roadmap—why you should stick around and what we’re excited to dive into next year. Creature Feature Mayhem. Disaster Film Hall of Fame. Deep dives on Nolan, Scorsese, and Christian Bale. And yes, we’re finally taking on the AFI Greatest Films list.

It’s a loose, honest reset episode. Thanks for sticking around (or coming back). Next episode, we’re back to the usual chaos.

🎥 In Review: Guillermo del Toro — Love, Ghosts, and Waterlogged Fairy Tales

In the final chapter of our del Toro deep dive, we explore two of his most romantic and haunting visions — Crimson Peak and The Shape of Water — where monsters, mansions, and mermaids all blur into something achingly human.

🩸 The Body: Building the Monster
From the bleeding walls of Allerdale Hall to the shimmering glow of a Cold War lab, del Toro crafts living worlds that breathe, ache, and fall in love. We break down how Crimson Peak channels classic Gothic romance through practical effects and handcrafted sets, while The Shape of Water turns Cold War paranoia into a sensual fairy tale of empathy.

💔 The Soul: What the Monster Means
Both films reimagine love as rebellion — Edith’s ghosts in Crimson Peak don’t haunt, they warn, and Elisa’s bond with the Amphibian Man transcends language, species, and fear. We discuss how del Toro weaves silence, sensuality, and sorrow into stories that find beauty in the broken and redemption in the monstrous.

🏆 The Legacy: Footprints in the Dark
Though Crimson Peak was misunderstood at release, it’s now a Gothic cult favorite, while The Shape of Water swept the Oscars and sealed del Toro’s status as a master storyteller. Together, they mark his evolution from dark fantasist to romantic visionary — proving that even in his strangest worlds, love is the most powerful magic of all.

Join us as we close the book on del Toro’s universe — where every ghost has a heart, every monster has a soul, and every story bleeds beauty.

🎬 Mostly Film

This week on Mostly Film, Jonathan and JP unwrap a new batch of trailers, revisit some classics, and wade through the latest in movie madness — from Middle-earth to Chicago crime rings.

🍿 LIST IT or NIX IT
From the Jonas Brothers Christmas special to Scream 7, Fackham Hall, and Dead Man’s Wire, the guys decide which trailers make the Letterboxd watchlist and which get left on the cutting room floor. Expect some strong opinions, especially once Crime 101 enters the chat.

🎥 What We’ve Been Watching
Jonathan’s keeping it epic with The Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King) and a few of 2025’s buzzy releases like The Lost Bus. JP’s going full genre — mixing crime and horror with Fright Night, An American Werewolf in London, Thief, and Snatch.

🗞️ The News
The headlines are as unpredictable as ever: Netflix might buy Warner Bros., Toy Story 5 is reportedly “all about Jessie,” and Taylor Sheridan is jumping from Yellowstone to Call of Duty. Mia Goth’s seeking bear-based revenge in Hey Bear, Jason Statham’s reuniting with Guy Ritchie for Viva La Madness, and Guillermo del Toro’s roasting AI in style (“My concern isn’t artificial intelligence — it’s natural stupidity”).

From holiday pop chaos to classic heists and modern monsters, Mostly Film brings you the perfect mix of movie love, low-stakes debates, and cinematic deep dives — one trailer at a time.

🎥 In Review: Guillermo del Toro — Puppets, Prometheus, and the Pursuit of Humanity

This week on In Review: Guillermo del Toro, we close out the series with two of the filmmaker’s most soulful creations — Pinocchio and Frankenstein — stories about life made by human hands, and the heartbreak that follows.

🩻 The Body: Building the Monster
Del Toro trades latex and makeup for wood and stop-motion in Pinocchio, crafting a fascist-era fable where love defies obedience and grief carves its own creation. Then, he resurrects his long-dreamed passion project: Frankenstein, the ultimate story of maker and monster. We explore how del Toro uses animation, gothic design, and mythic scale to explore what happens when the act of creation collides with the fear of imperfection.

💀 The Soul: What the Monster Means
At their core, both films wrestle with the same question — what does it mean to be alive? Pinocchio redefines the wooden boy’s journey as a lesson in individuality and unconditional love, while Frankenstein gives voice to the forsaken, showing that the real horror isn’t creation… but rejection. We trace how del Toro’s empathy for his monsters turns tragedy into transcendence.

👣 The Legacy: Footprints in the Dark
With Pinocchio, del Toro expanded his universe into the realm of animation and earned one of his most acclaimed films yet. With Frankenstein, he returns to gothic roots to complete a lifelong creative cycle. Together, these stories mark the culmination of his career-long fascination with makers and monsters — from puppets to gods, from the hand that builds to the heart that breaks.

Join us as we explore how Guillermo del Toro’s monsters have always been mirrors — not of our fears, but of our longing to be loved.

🎬 Mostly Film:

This week on Mostly Film, Jonathan and JP are diving into a jam-packed slate of trailers, reviews, and movie news that’s as unpredictable as a Taylor Sheridan plot twist.

🍿 LIST IT or NIX IT
There’s only one trailer on the docket this week — Crime 101 — but it’s got the guys talking all things heist, heat, and Hollywood cool. Is this one headed straight to the Letterboxd watchlist, or getting locked out of the vault entirely?

🎥 What We’ve Been Watching
Jonathan’s been on a run through some of 2025’s most intriguing releases — from the explosive Big Bold Beautiful Journey and A House of Dynamite to the haunting Anemone. He also dives back into prestige TV with Oz, Black Sails, and Mare of Easttown (finally).
Meanwhile, JP’s been balancing crime and chaos with Blackhat, The Long Walk, and A House of Dynamite (again — consensus incoming?), plus TV time with The Chair Company.

🗞️ The News
Hollywood’s latest round of headlines includes everything from Crash Bandicoot getting an animated series to Johnny Depp haunting your holiday season as Ebenezer Scrooge in Ti West’s dark A Christmas Carol. Guillermo del Toro’s back in the spotlight, swearing off AI (“I’d rather die”) while teasing a Phantom of the Opera reimagining. And if that’s not enough — Margot Robbie might be taking an axe to Wall Street as the lead in Luca Guadagnino’s gender-swapped American Psycho.

From practical stunts to preposterous remakes, Mostly Film is your weekly hangout for movie talk that’s part insight, part chaos, and all popcorn.

🎥 In Review: Guillermo del Toro — Myth, Machines, and the Monster’s Heart

This week on In Review: Guillermo del Toro, we dive into two of the director’s biggest and boldest creations — Hellboy II: The Golden Army and Pacific Rim — exploring how del Toro evolved from gothic storyteller to full-blown mythmaker.

🩻 The Body: Building the Monster
From the faerie kingdoms of Hellboy II to the towering Jaegers of Pacific Rim, del Toro crafts spectacle with soul. We unpack how The Golden Army turned comic-book fantasy into romantic myth — filmed in Budapest, powered by practical effects, and filled with luminous creatures straight from the director’s sketchbook. Then we jump into Pacific Rim, del Toro’s love letter to kaiju and mecha cinema, where every punch between robots and monsters still feels strangely personal.

💀 The Soul: What the Monster Means
Both films ask the same haunting question — what makes something human? In Hellboy II, Prince Nuada becomes a tragic prophet of extinction, fighting for a forgotten world while Hellboy wrestles with love, destiny, and fatherhood. In Pacific Rim, connection replaces conflict; empathy becomes literal through the “Drift,” a neural bond that forces two pilots to think — and feel — as one. We explore how del Toro turns myth and machinery into metaphors for compassion, sacrifice, and renewal.

👣 The Legacy: Footprints in the Dark
Hellboy II remains one of the most visually imaginative superhero films ever made — its Troll Market sequence alone is a miniature museum of del Toro’s imagination. Pacific Rim, meanwhile, scaled up his heart to blockbuster size, blending Japanese monster tradition with Hollywood emotion. Together, they bridge del Toro’s career from mechanical myth to emotional intimacy, paving the way for Crimson Peak and The Shape of Water.

Join us as we chart the rise of a filmmaker who proves that even the biggest monsters — and the biggest movies — can still have a pulse.