We're back for a new round of investigations and to kick things off, we're opening up a case file on John Doe from Se7en. The premise of a serial killer whose crimes are patterned after the seven deadly sins is so simple and so good that it's a little surprising it didn't already exist before 1995, but that wasn't the only trail director David Fincher blazed with this incendiary thriller. Se7en's grimy, neo-noir aesthetic inspired a slew of knock-offs, but most of those imitators focused exclusively on the more superficial elements and completely missed what makes this film so effective. Even 25 years later, it remains an intensely visceral experience. Topics include: how Fincher's experience making Alien 3 helped transform him into the auteur he's regarded as today, the numerous battles over Se7en's controversial ending, a refutation of the suggestion that this was a precursor to "torture porn", the largely forgotten Anthony Hopkins movie that was almost a sequel to this, the comic book prequel that delves further into Doe's origin, your answers for Ultimate Match Up, and more!

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Alex Garland's debut thriller Ex Machina may be slight in budget, but its ambition is massive. Although we're centering our investigation around the character of Ava, it's just a jumping off point to sort through the film's complicated web of relationships and the themes Garland is exploring. Topics include: the numerous examples of "show don't tell" storytelling, how they transform this simple premise into such an effective pressure cooker, the way all three main characters are manipulating one another, why movies like this continue to fizzle at the box office, how our opinions on the ending have changed over the years, other films and TV shows this pairs well with, and much more!

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Despite the success of the first A Nightmare on Elm Street, New Line Cinema didn't walk away with a very big piece of the proverbial pie. They did, however, hold sole ownership over something that was potentially a lot more valuable - a franchisable character. They rushed A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge into production and decided to jettison the original writer/director, lead actress, and established rules of the previous film. And somehow, that's only scratching the surface of what makes this the most controversial Elm Street movie. Topics include: the quick turnaround time and slapdash production schedule, Robert Englund's temporary replacement, the decision to have a male "final girl", the screenwriter's intentional (or not) homoerotic subtext and how he handled the backlash, the lead actor's experience on and off set, why Freddy's abilities differ so wildly from the other films, Part 2's place in the larger franchise, the new Scream Queen documentary, and much more!

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When the filmmakers behind Species needed a creature that had to be as sexy as it was scary, H.R. Giger's name understandably shot to the top of their list. His Academy Award-winning work on Alien was exactly the aesthetic they were chasing. As the project evolved, however, Giger realized that there was perhaps too much reverence for (and adherence to) his previous efforts. Species is a mixed bag of largely unrealized potential, but it's not without its merits. On this episode, we investigate the real life program they used for the backstory, examine why the human characters don't totally serve the plot or themes they set up, and try to imagine how this might have turned out if the movie realized that Sil was more sympathetic than any of the actual protagonists.

We also discuss the impression films like this made on us during our formative years, the diminishing creative and financial returns of its sequels, what a more modern spin on this material might look like, and more!

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For all of its accomplishments, Phase I of the MCU was somewhat marred by what numerous critics referred to as "The Marvel Villain Problem" - and depending on who you ask, Red Skull was either the answer to that complaint or the epitome of it. So we're opening up a case file on one of Captain America's greatest foes to see if this character can help us understand whether or not The First Avenger ultimately succeeds because of its pulpy charm and throwback approach to serialized storytelling... or if this is proof positive that Cap is a more compelling hero when he's forced to confront problems that aren't so black & white. Topics include: the early days of the MCU and how Marvel Studios transformed a stable of leftover C-list characters into pop culture juggernauts, the original plan to have Red Skull team up with Loki in The Avengers, why Hugo Weaving didn't reprise the role for Infinity War and Endgame, the reason the first half of this movie works so much better than the second, the straight-to-video Captain America movie from the early 90s, the potential to give Red Skull a larger role in the next phase of the MCU, and more!

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The evolution of Little Shop of Horrors is not dissimilar from that of the killer plant at the center of it. It began life as a strange, little oddity - a quick, low-budget film that was shot in a couple of days by legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman. From those inauspicious beginnings, it transformed into a bigger and bolder off-Broadway musical. The success of that show paved the way for this more lavish feature film production, which firmly entrenched these characters (and songs) into popular culture. Although this adaptation is fairly faithful to the stage play, there are several important changes - including a major overhaul of the final act. What effect do those deviations have on the overall story? Is it possible the real problem wasn't actually the original ending? And what does all of that tell us about the direction the upcoming remake might take? We dig into all of those questions and more as we open up a case file on the mean green mother from outer space - Audrey II.

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Godzilla meets The Blair Witch Project. That high-concept premise for Cloverfield was pretty straightforward, but the execution of it was anything but. These days, it's probably remembered as much for the elaborate and immersive ARG campaign as the film itself.

It arguably stands as one of the most effective examples of J.J. Abrams' infamous "mystery box" marketing, but it might also represent the point where a backlash to that approach started to emerge. From its top secret development to the unlikely franchise that it spawned, we're opening a case file on Cloverfield and adding the first kaiju to our rogues gallery! Topics include: our memories of the ARG campaign and the marketing of the film, first reactions to the movie, some of the most common criticisms and a few easy fixes, our favorite sequences, how 10 Cloverfield Lane effectively transformed this into an anthology series, the disappointing way The Cloverfield Paradox then attempted to tie it all together, where the franchise goes from here, and much more!

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Like many of you, we're all practicing self-isolation for a couple of weeks and that made recording a regular episode a bit of a challenge. So instead, we're making the best of a less than ideal situation and doing our first mailbag episode instead. We asked our listeners to submit their questions via social media and they provided us with some amazing topics to cover. So we go over the story of how the podcast came to be, some of our favorite antiheroes, which horror franchise we'd reboot and how we'd approach it, subjects we're hesitant to devote an episode to, Chris' favorite Batman villains and some of the overlooked writers and artists, Kristen's go-to vampire movies, how Mike would battle our current pandemic, and so much more!

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We didn't expect to be heading back to Crystal Lake so soon, but we took a look at the calendar and couldn't resist. Plus, watching Part 2 in such close proximity to the original wound up being really beneficial when it came to comparing and contrasting them. The evolution of the Friday the 13th series is a fascinating one and although this represents an important step in its development, this entry still stands apart from subsequent sequels in several key ways. Topics include: the original creative team's desire to turn this into an anthology series, why Paramount was more interested in a direct sequel, all the questions raised by Jason's return, the more human approach to his character vs the mindless zombie he'd eventually become, why Ginny is probably the best final girl in the franchise, the awkward prologue, the even more baffling ending, how Chris learned to let go of the hockey mask and embrace sack head Jason, and much more!

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We're back! And to celebrate our return, we're shaking things up with an investigation into our first antihero - Blade. It's a deep dive on the Daywalker's comic book origins, how he was updated for the first film, the highs and lows of the sequels, other paths not taken, and where it all goes from here now that Marvel has reacquired the rights to the character. Other topics include: the state of comic book movies when the first film hit theaters in 1998, alternate casting choices for the title role and other notable directors who circled the project, the small changes Blade II makes to the character that have a huge overall impact, the turmoil behind the scenes of Blade: Trinity and how that effected their plans moving forward, a long list of potential spinoffs and crossovers that never materialized, speculation about Blade's upcoming introduction into the MCU, and much more!

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