So Many Sequels: A Movie Podcast

The course correction. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) brought Wes Craven back to the story and got the franchise back on track — and we're covering it for week three of So Many Scares.

First-time viewings for Josh and David (Garrett caught it at a Circle Cinema midnight screening), the superhero-team structure that made Josh call it "the best X-Men movie," the backstory debate (should Freddy just be a dream demon?), Patricia Arquette's film debut, "Larry Fishburn," a Dokken music video, Garrett's DJ Jazzy Jeff revelation, a $44.7M box office run on a $4M budget, and a score game where Garrett nails the Letterboxd average exactly.

Ratings: Josh 3, David 3, Garrett 3. Letterboxd average: 3.5 — only 0.2 behind the first film.

Chapters
00:00 — Welcome back to So Many Scares — Dream Warriors
00:24 — Garrett's DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince revelation
01:32 — Why So Many Scares rarely commits to a full series
02:18 — Before they were famous: Patricia Arquette, "Larry Fishburn"
03:38 — First-viewing verdicts (and Garrett's Circle Cinema midnight screening)
04:54 — Chuck Russell: The Mask, Eraser, The Scorpion King
06:35 — Freddy's backstory problem — dream demon or human?
09:19 — The mystery structure actually works this time
10:02 — The best kills so far
11:42 — Freddy gets a personality (and the one-liners start)
12:33 — Biggest budget yet: the effects showcase
13:56 — Beetlejuice vibes and horror homages
15:22 — Dream powers: lucid dreaming as agency
19:07 — Better acted: future stars and the creepy doctor
21:31 — "Welcome to prime time, bitch!"
22:25 — Delightfully eighties: the Dokken music video
23:23 — Box office: $8.8M opening weekend, $44.7M on $4M
24:48 — 1987: Three Men and a Baby — directed by Leonard Nimoy?!
28:54 — Our ratings: 3, 3, 3
29:30 — Letterboxd reviews
32:33 — The score game — Garrett nails the 3.5 exactly
34:23 — Next: Wes Craven's New Nightmare

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The weird one. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) ditches the original cast, loses Wes Craven, and has Freddy possessing a teenager instead of killing kids in their dreams — and we're covering it anyway for week two of So Many Scares.

Jesse Walsh moves into Nancy's old house, the title makes no sense (Freddy won last time — revenge on who?), horror gets a rare Scream King in the "final fella," Clu Gulager reps Oklahoma, the effects hold up even when the logic doesn't, and the Letterboxd crowd has thoughts about how sweaty Jesse is.

Ratings: Garrett 2, David 1.5, Josh 2. Letterboxd average: 2.8 — almost a full point down from the first film.

Chapters
00:00 — Welcome back to So Many Scares
00:41 — The Letterboxd synopsis
01:15 — Box office: $2.8M opening, $29.9M total
03:32 — No original cast, Craven walks away
04:26 — Garrett was wrong about Nancy
04:36 — Clu Gulager: another Oklahoman
06:22 — "Freddy's Revenge" — revenge on who?
07:41 — Re-learning lore in every horror sequel
08:50 — Reality is as weird as the dreams
09:25 — The effects hold up
10:41 — Craven's 1988 quote: "silly script"
11:51 — The "final fella" — horror's Scream King
14:43 — Freddy has a personality; Jason doesn't
18:12 — Jesse's only crime is living in that house
20:22 — Burnt weenie, smoker, midnight toker
21:09 — The Season of the Witch comparison
21:51 — The FU endings
23:42 — Our ratings: 2, 1.5, 2
25:27 — Letterboxd reviews
26:38 — The queer subtext + the sweaty movie club
28:00 — The score game — Josh wins by 0.1, again
29:31 — Almost a full point down from the first film
30:41 — Next week: Dream Warriors

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The late, great Tim Curry originated Dr. Frank-N-Furter on the London stage in 1973 and made his film debut in The Rocky Horror Picture Show at 28 — and became everybody's devil. We close out our September tribute series with the most iconic cult movie ever made.

The "who is your Tim Curry?" draft, the Joker role he lost to Mark Hamill, David's first-ever watch, a $1M flop that grew to $120M worldwide, Barry Bostwick and a baby Susan Sarandon, the Meatloaf timeline mystery, front-loaded bangers vs. the second-half slump, Letterboxd reviews, and a score game Josh and David split.

Ratings: David 4, Josh 4, Garrett 4.5. Letterboxd average: 4.1 (1.4M logs).

CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome to So Many Sequels
00:58 Rocky Horror + the Tim Curry tribute
01:33 Is he a character actor?
01:52 Nigel Thornberry?! (voice career)
02:46 He was almost the Joker (lost to Mark Hamill)
03:55 Who is YOUR Tim Curry?
07:41 Tim Curry: everybody's devil
08:31 Kicking off spooky season
08:49 The longest-running movie ever? (midnight screenings)
10:34 The callback/callout culture
13:13 The Letterboxd synopsis
13:51 Box office: $1M flop to $120M worldwide
15:36 Never write off a movie after opening weekend
16:22 Originated the role on stage (1973), film debut at 28
16:53 David's first watch (Drew Carey Show Time Warp)
19:49 The songs: Time Warp is the peak, front-loaded bangers
21:18 That voice — pure stage command
24:21 Barry Bostwick & Susan Sarandon (Brad & Janet)
25:53 The Meatloaf timeline mystery
28:34 The 2016 Fox TV version (Laverne Cox)
30:55 Circle Cinema screenings?
31:19 Our ratings: 4, 4, 4.5
33:01 Letterboxd reviews ("horny and gay")
33:58 The score game: 1.4M logs, 4.1 average — split points
35:26 Wrap: see it with a crowd (a Thanksgiving movie?)

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The one that started it all — Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) — and the first episode of our October So Many Scares series on the Nightmare franchise.Garrett's Blockbuster-kid origin story with slashers, David's first-ever watch, a $1 million budget that turned into $57 million worldwide, Tulsa's own Heather Langenkamp as the final girl who fights back, the "old man writing what teenagers say" dialogue, David's modest proposal that Freddy get two claw hands, the ending nobody can agree was a dream, Letterboxd reviews, and a score game Josh wins by a tenth of a point.Ratings: Garrett 3.5, David 3, Josh 3. Letterboxd average: 3.7.

CHAPTERS00:00 Welcome to So Many Scares00:18 Kicking off Nightmare on Elm Street month00:52 The plan: ending with Freddy vs Jason01:55 The Letterboxd synopsis (reads like a VHS back)02:50 Box office: $1M budget, $57M worldwide05:41 Why this series + Garrett's Blockbuster days07:18 Only Robert Englund has played Freddy08:26 "An old man writing what he thinks teenagers say"09:49 David's first watch: dreams vs reality11:01 "Fred is a pervert"14:08 The glove: "get two claw hands"18:01 Dream logic that works (the sinking stairs)19:35 Tulsa's own Heather Langenkamp21:31 Nancy: the final girl who fights back23:25 Plot holes: how do the kids know about Freddy?26:35 Could Freddy work today? (Smile, It)30:04 The ending: was it a dream?32:13 "One, two, Freddy's coming for you"33:01 Our ratings: 3.5, 3, 335:44 Letterboxd reviews36:47 The Letterboxd score game — Josh wins by 0.138:08 Next week: Freddy's Revenge🌐 somanysequels.com | 📸 @somanysequelspod

The third film in the Bring It On franchise — the 2006 straight-to-DVD cheer-off starring Hayden Panettiere and Solange Knowles-Smith — discussed as a tribute to Hayden Panettiere.All three hosts went in with zero expectations. All three came out giving it the exact same score. Along the way: the "Bring It Oniverse," the straight-to-DVD theatrical rumor, the Heroes connection ("save the cheerleader, save the world"), Rihanna's gloriously bad green-screen music video, a Letterboxd score game with a direct hit, and a Blockbuster nostalgia spiral.CHAPTERS00:00 Welcome to So Many Sequels00:06 Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006)00:14 Tributes: Hayden Panettiere, Dolly Parton & Tim Curry02:04 Extremely 2006 — 20 years later02:18 Hayden Panettiere & Solange Knowles-Smith02:51 The "Bring It Oniverse": no connection to the original04:03 Straight to DVD + the theatrical rumor06:53 "Save the cheerleader, save the world"08:13 Remembering Hayden Panettiere's career10:03 First-time watches, zero expectations11:18 Race, class & "Hip Hop Barbie"14:47 Culture shock at Crenshaw Heights17:11 When the camp works (and when it doesn't)18:45 Rihanna's green-screen music video23:09 Body shaming, 2006 edition25:03 Our ratings: three 2.5s across the board27:19 Letterboxd reviews28:25 The Letterboxd score game — Garrett's direct hit30:03 Blockbuster & DVD-bin nostalgia33:08 Scoreboard update33:22 Next week: Rocky Horror + So Many Scares🌐 somanysequels.com | 📸 @somanysequelspod

9 to 5 is remembered as a groundbreaking comedy, but rewatching it today reveals a movie that casually pivots into kidnapping, false imprisonment, and accidental corpse theft.In this episode of So Many Sequels, Josh Gammon, Garrett Powders, and David Prock revisit the 1980 classic. They discuss Dolly Parton’s flawless acting debut, the film’s massive $103.2 million box office run, and how a movie about a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical boss still feels entirely relatable today.In this episode:-The unexpected madcap tone of the second act-Why Dolly Parton was the ultimate anti-ego movie star-The film’s massive 1980 box office success against The Empire Strikes Back-The animated fantasy sequences and unhinged plot twists-Final ratings and Letterboxd community scoresSo Many Sequels is your book club for movies.Follow along:-Website: somanysequels.com-Instagram: @somanysequelspod

Some post-apocalyptic movies are about surviving the infected. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is about surviving Jack O'Connell and a cult named Jimmy.In this episode of So Many Sequels, Josh Gammon, Garrett Powders, and David Prock review the second part of the new 28 Years Later trilogy. They break down the film's stark departure from standard zombie tropes, Dr. Kelson’s (Ralph Fiennes) bizarre behavior in the wasteland, the introduction of an Alpha infected, and whether the movie tries to juggle too many unconnected storylines at once.In this episode:-Why human evil is scarier than the Rage virus-Ralph Fiennes’ unhinged "Devil" performance-The terrifying lore behind the Jimmy cult-Does Spike’s storyline actually belong in this movie?-Box office struggles vs. high critical praise-Our predictions for the Cillian Murphy finaleSo Many Sequels is your book club for movies.Follow along:Website: somanysequels.comInstagram: @somanysequelspod

Chris Hemsworth. Mark Ruffalo. Halle Berry. Barry Keoghan. A $90 million budget. And a box office run that didn't come close to covering it.

In this episode of So Many Sequels, Josh Gammon, Garrett Powders, and David Prock kick off a streaming catch-up series with Crime 101 — the heist thriller that bombed in theaters and found new life on Prime Video. They break down the movie's tangle of subplots, debate whether Barry Keoghan quietly stole the whole thing, and land on three different star ratings.

In this episode:

• Why Crime 101 made $72.9M against a $90M budget
• The "cool guys doing cool crimes" test, applied
• Barry Keoghan vs. the rest of the cast
• Steve McQueen and Bullitt comparisons in the car chase scenes
• Three ratings, one Letterboxd guessing game

So Many Sequels is your book club for movies.

Follow along:

• Website: somanysequels.com
• Instagram: @somanysequelspod

Josh, Garrett, and David close out Mythology Month with Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey — five stars across the board, a case for practical effects over CGI, and a theory about the Trojan horse that reframes the whole movie.

In this episode:

• Why The Odyssey landed five stars from all three hosts
• How Nolan shot giants, a Cyclops, and a full ship's crew almost entirely practically
• Matt Damon's months of real archery training — no CGI arrows
• Anne Hathaway's "I want Odysseus" scene, and the case for more Penelope
• David's theory on what the Trojan horse really represents in this version
• The Letterboxd guessing game (David wins with a direct hit at 4.4)
• Black Panther 3 and Ryan Gosling's Ghost Rider news, straight from Comic-Con

So Many Sequels is your book club for movies.

Follow along:

• Website: somanysequels.com
• Instagram: @somanysequelspod

In this episode of So Many Sequels, Josh Gammon, Garrett Powders, and David Prock dig into Disney's 1997 Hercules for week three of Mythology Month — the extremely American, gospel-choir version of the Greek myth that somehow still works.In this episode:-The wild casting history behind Hades-Why the Muses might be the best storytelling device in any Disney movie-Disney's Americanization of Greek mythology, and why the backlash from Greece makes sense-Ranking "Go the Distance," "Zero to Hero," and "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)"-The Michael Bolton needle drop nobody saw coming-Three different star ratings — and the real Letterboxd numberSo Many Sequels is your book club for movies.Follow along: Website: somanysequels.com Instagram: @somanysequelspod