Now Playing Podcast Presents: The Fast and Furious Retrospective Series

Incoming Podcast!

By 1986, horror had gone mainstream. Freddy and Jason were minting money, and it was time to bring Leatherface back into the arena. Tobe Hooper returned to his own creation with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, aiming to revive the Sawyer clan for a decade that demanded bigger, louder sequels. With Dennis Hopper chewing scenery as a vengeance-driven lawman, Bill Moseley turning Chop-Top into a cult icon, and Jim Siedow reprising his role from the original, the film had pedigree and attitude. But Hooper didn’t just repeat 1974. He swerved hard into horror-comedy, dialing up the grotesque satire and turning the family’s madness into something louder and stranger. Did that tonal shift elevate the sequel into something daring, or undercut the raw terror that made the first film legendary? Brock, Stuart, and Arnie fire up the chainsaw to decide whether this follow-up earns its place among the 80s slasher heavyweights.

It's gonna be FUUUUUUNNNN!

In 1974, Tobe Hooper unleashed horror unlike any seen before and started the modern slasher genre with the seminal horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Audiences watched in terror as Sally and Franklin Hardesty and their three friends travel through a rural Texas town and pick up a hitchhiker, beginning their terrifying encounter with a crazed, cannibalistic family. It can easily be said that without Leatherface, we would not have had Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, or even Freddy Krueger. Join Now Playing Podcast hosts Arnie, Brock, and Stuart as they journey with Sally and Franklin deep into the heart of Texas and review all six Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, starting with the 1974 original. It is classic horror, but does it hold up in the 21st century? Listen to find out!

[Insert growl here]

After Lost Boys: The Tribe became one of Warner Bros.’ top-selling DVDs of 2008, another sequel was inevitable. Enter Lost Boys: The Thirst, with Corey Feldman once again suiting up as Edgar Frog. This time, Edgar is strapped for cash and forced to infiltrate a vampire-run underground rave scene led by head bloodsucker DJ X. Does this latest chapter recapture even a fraction of the 1987 film’s attitude and energy, or is it another case of direct-to-video diminishing returns? The hosts load up on holy water and decide whether the Frog Brothers still have bite.

It's ironic...usually you pay more for Angus, but here it was all they could afford.

After two decades and more than a few false starts, the franchise returned in Lost Boys: The Tribe. Instead of Santa Carla, the action shifts to a new California beach town, where Chris Emerson (Epic Movie's Tad Hilgenbrink) battles a fresh pack of bloodsuckers led by surfer-vampire Shane (Angus Sutherland, Kiefer's half-brother) to keep his sister from turning fully undead. Direct-to-video sequels don't exactly have a sterling reputation. Still, this one stacks the deck with a few familiar hooks: Corey Feldman returns as gravel-voiced Edgar Frog and horror icon Tom Savini pops up for good measure. But does The Tribe revive the swagger and bite of the '87 classic, or does it prove that some cult favorites are better left undisturbed? Our hosts sink their teeth into whether this long-delayed sequel earns its fangs or just coasts on nostalgia.

Have you ever looked up from his oiled breasts to notice how bad he's lip syncing?

Before he was Jack Bauer, Kiefer Sutherland was David, the charismatic leader of The Lost Boys, a motorcycle-riding vampire gang in sun-bleached Santa Carla, California. When single mom Lucy Emerson moves there with her sons Michael and Sam, a beachside romance pulls Michael straight into David’s orbit, and into a world of blood, boardwalks, and bad decisions. Directed by Joel Schumacher (St. Elmo's Fire), the film mixes teen angst, horror, comedy, and a heavy dose of ’80s cool, turning its undead villains into leather-clad rock stars. It became a cult favorite for its style, soundtrack, and quotable moments. But decades later, does The Lost Boys still have bite, or does it feel like a relic of its era? Our hosts head to Santa Carla to decide whether this vampire classic still rules the night.

Next week, Now Playing will defeat the 7 evil movie podcasts

Scott Pilgrim leaps from the pages of a cult comic series to the big screen in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, directed by Edgar Wright. Blending video game logic, indie rock attitude, and hyper-stylized action, the film follows slacker bassist Scott (Arrested Development's Michael Cera) as he battles his new girlfriend’s seven evil exes in increasingly absurd showdowns. With rapid-fire editing, comic-book visuals, and a star-studded cast, the movie aims to translate its source material’s quirky energy into cinematic form. But does the adaptation level up into something special, or does all the flashy style leave you reaching for a reset button? The hosts plug in to decide whether this one earns extra lives or fades to black.

They should have quit while they were a head (hah!)

When The X-Files ended, Mulder was a fugitive, Scully had left the FBI, and the alien colonization plot was still unresolved. After years in development limbo, the franchise returned to theaters with The X-Files: I Want to Believe, reuniting David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson for another case. Instead of diving back into the dense alien mythology, the film opts for a standalone investigation involving a psychic former priest and a grim organ-transplant mystery. It’s a deliberate pivot from global conspiracy to intimate thriller. But does stepping away from the overarching plot make for a stronger summer movie, or does it sidestep the very questions fans waited years to have answered? The hosts examine whether this one-off X-File satisfies longtime believers or leaves the truth still frustratingly out there.

We can't handle (or understand) the truth.

Federal buildings exploding. FEMA conspiracies. Alien colonists working with shadowy government figures. That dense mythology fueled The X-Files throughout the 1990s, as FBI agents Mulder and Scully chased paranormal cases while slowly uncovering a larger plot to enslave humanity. In 1998, the phenomenon went cinematic with Fight the Future, reuniting David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson for a big-screen chapter designed to satisfy die-hard fans while drawing in newcomers. Expanding the conspiracy and amplifying the spectacle, the film raises the stakes from television mystery to blockbuster event. But does this mythology-heavy story function as a standalone movie, or does it assume too much prior knowledge? And does the leap to theaters deepen the intrigue or simply inflate it? The hosts examine whether this cinematic case file earns its place in the franchise’s legacy.

All these movies with dreams, and yet still no going to school without your pants on.

Bursting onto the scene with Memento, Christopher Nolan has become one of the most-watched genre directors, breaking the box office with The Dark Knight as well as warping minds with The Prestige. So when one of this summer's biggest and most mysterious films of the summer is written and directed by Nolan, we at Now Playing Podcast take notice. With a dense plot concerning a malleable dream world, the film could be a revelation or an incomprehensible mess. Our hosts went on opening day to tell you if this is the film of your dreams or a total nightmare!

Yo, Adrien. Christian Bale called. He wants his Batman voice back.

It's been 20 years since they've had their own film, but thanks to Robert Rodriguez, the Predators are back on the big screen! Producer Rodriguez and director Nimrod Antal are taking the alien hunter back to his jungle roots, and with the Predators going up against Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne, and Danny Trejo, it's bound to excite both sci-fi and action fans. But this time are the Predators right on target, or have they again missed their mark? Listen as Arnie, Stuart, and Brock review this final film in the Now Playing Predator Retrospective Series!