Scratching the Surface

Special guest Collin Vetter and guest Tyler Schroeder join STS to cover the recent release of Immaculate. During this episode we define the Catholic subgenre of horror, praise the performance of rising star Sydney Sweeney, and examine the insidious motives withheld by the leaders of the convent. For table talk we discuss our favorite subgenres of Catholic horror. This episode does contain spoilers!

STS covers its second Blumhouse film of 2024 with the new release of Imaginary. The end product is a middle of the road horror film with little substance. We discuss meaningless characters, ineffective scares, and an absurd, half-baked final act. In our table talk we have open conversation about our favorite subgenres and what they mean to us. This episode does contain spoilers!

Guest Cynthia Schroeder joins STS. We discuss M. Night Shyamalan's 2016 film Split. Over the course of the episode, we unfold the horde of personalities within our main antagonist, touch on topics of abuse, and connect the dots in the Unbreakable trilogy. For table talk, we each choose a horror villain or monster we'd trade lives with.

Take a trip with us to the 80's where slashers got their roots. This one in particular is an icon. In episode 19 you'll hear topics including the rise of horror during this decade, the use of POV shots and off-screen deaths, and some questionable choreography. We briefly go over the franchise as a whole, namely touching on who Jason truly is and where he gets his power. We do keep five, cut five for our table talk.

Special guest Collin Vetter makes an appearance on STS. We review The Lodge from the directors that brought us Goodnight Mommy (2014). We look back on some of the most important moments of the film, discuss themes of mental illness, and debate the plot's significance. Our table talk for this episode is blind rankings.

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A recent release from Blumhouse Productions yields middling results. Within this episode Money and I talk about the admittedly fresh premise in Night Swim, a deficiency of good characters, and an ending that had us shaking our heads. We question whether the Blumhouse name is still an indicator of quality horror. We do blind rankings for our table talk.

A well contained horror film with a plethora of scares, The Descent strikes all the right cords. We descend through the episode covering several high-stress moments, loss of trust amongst our protagonists, and the existence of the frightening creatures lurking below. We do blind rankings for our table talk.

STS tackles its first foreign film with Ringu. Critics seem to think this is peak modern horror; we test that opinion. During the episode we talk about the phenomenon Ringu became, the eeriness of the imagery, and an ending that was well received. We do blind rankings for our table talk.

Let's reexplore the 1982 film The Thing. An instant horror classic; groundbreaking for its time. In this episode we discuss the memorable characters, unmatched practical effects, and thrilling moments of speculation. Who contains the thing? We also introduce our first table talk to STS which occurs at the halfway point.

X pays homage to the backwoods subgenre in stunning fashion by utilizing extreme long-shots, and providing fun, memorable characters. One thing the film gets wrong is the plot, which we talk over. We also decry the characters of Maxxine and Pearl, two very similar women in different stages of life.