The Fear of God: A Horror Movie Podcast

We continue our Spooky Season (AAHHHHH!) run through the entire PARANORMAL ACTIVITY franchise by examining what most fans and critics consider to be the strongest entry in the whole series. Taking the story back to when our protagonists from 1 and 2 were children, Paranormal Activity 3 is that rare prequel that actually further develops and expands the mythology rather than merely connecting narrative dots. It's tightly constructed, inventive, and -- not for nothing -- it's very, very scary.

We're joined by friends of the show (and PhDs) Brandon Grafius and Leland Merritt for a thoughtful and disarmingly observant discussion of the ways this entire franchise positions us as the audience to question what we see, what we hear, and what we believe. We laugh a lot and have some surprising depth of observation about one of the franchise's strongest films.

Also featuring a Patron-only survey of THE SIMPSONS, Treehouse of Horror XXII, this is a conversation you won't want to miss and that we really hope you enjoy!

6:02 - ANNOUNCEMENTS -- Including upcoming FoGgoween details

Patron Only Segment: THE SIMPSONS, Treehouse of Horror XXII

10:07 - PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3

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We're excited to bring you another interview episode this week for an upcoming theatrical release. NEVER AFTER DARK tells the story of Airi, a traveling psychic who helps lost souls move on in the spirit realm. When she accepts a job at a remote house, she soon encounters a powerful entity, dark secrets, and a deadly threat unlike anything she's had to face before. It's part supernatural thriller, part detective mystery and delivers a disarming emotional resonance once its secrets are all revealed.

Reed and Vera sat down with writer/director Dave Boyle and star of the film Moeka Hoshi to discuss the film's craft and inspiration. We hope you'll check out NEVER AFTER DARK -- exclusively in theaters Sep 25 -- and we hope you enjoy this interview!

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We continue our Spooky Season tradition of walking through an entire franchise by tackling the sequel to the landmark cultural phenomenon of Paranormal Activity. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 throws both the familiar and the inventive at the screen as it unfolds the story of Daniel and Kristi, who after welcoming their new baby Hunter to their home soon discover some inexplicable phenomena may be occurring right under their nose. Now they, and their teen daughter Ali, must navigate something they barely believe, let alone understand.

We're joined by friends of the show Matt Ruff and Julie Ahern for a lively and thoughtful discussion not only of the merits and demerits of this sequel, but also of the ways that dismissing what scares us can often give it substantive influence over us.

Also featuring a Patron-only segment where Reed and Nathan venture back to Springfield for TREEHOUSE OF HORROR XXI, it's a fun and thoughtful conversation that we really hope you enjoy.

Patron Only Segment: TREEHOUSE OF HORROR XXI

7:49 - Matt Ruff's upcoming novel

9:46 - PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2

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We have a really cool interview for you this week with two of our friends from Restoration Games about some of their upcoming releases!

Lead Marketing Alchemist Beth Erickson and Meeple Mover Josh Willenbrink sit down with Nathan to not only discuss some recent delights they've been playing in the board game world, but also to offer up a preview of two very exciting upcoming titles.

UNMATCHED: HELLBOY will become available this Fall and will feature Mignola's signature legacy comic book character in all of the thrilling gameplay you've come to expect from the Unmatched series. Josh provides some cool specifics about not only that release, but a few other exciting things on the horizon for that series.

Then, they unveil a preview of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE KING'S GAMBIT, a sprawling new epic battler that previewed at GenCon and has been eagerly awaited by fans (particularly its special Mithril Edition release).

It's a brisk and fun conversation about all things board gaming. We hope you'll check out and support Restoration Game's upcoming kickstarters and we hope you enjoy this conversation!

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The episode this week is special for a number of reasons. First, it's the first episode of this year's Spooky Season (AHHHH!). We're spending this September and October marching through the entire PARANORMAL ACTIVITY franchise. Beginning with a discussion we haven't revisited since 2018. The original Paranormal Activity was a landmark cultural phenomenon, building upon found footage characteristics popularized by The Blair Witch Project to shock and terrify audiences. The story of how it came to the screen is inspiring and also sparked the history of the groundbreaking Blumhouse Studios.

But this episode is also special because, for the first time in the history of the Fear of God, we recorded the episode LIVE for our patrons. It was a special chance to revisit this film alongside fellow FoGgers Vera Goudie, Matt Murray, Steve Beckley, and Jocee Worley. It's full of all of the laughter and thoughtfulness you've come to expect from the FoG. And we hope you enjoy this episode half as much as we did recording it with and for our friends.

4:14 - ANNOUNCEMENTS (including details about FoGgoween)

10:56 - Conclusion of the Annual FoGgerknocker

15:57 - PARANORMAL ACTIVITY REDUX

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We have an exciting interview for you this week! If you're a fan of either 2014's Creep or 2017's Creep 2, you'll likely have caught up with the first two seasons of THE CREEP TAPES, which expands both the lore and the victim population of the titular, prolific, socially awkward serial killer.

Patrick Brice starred as the victim in that inaugural film and is credited as director for every installment in the franchise. Ahead of the premiere of Season 3 of The Creep Tapes, Nathan and Reed sat down with Patrick to discuss how the franchise began and also what makes it so inventive and perpetually fascinating.

It's a brisk and fun conversation that you won't want to miss and we really hope you enjoy! Season 3 of The Creep Tapes premieres on September 14th on AMC+ and Shudder.

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In the autumn of 2023, we marched our way through all six installments (at the time) of the SCREAM franchise. Since a brand new entry in that series hit theaters this year, we wanted to prelude our upcoming Spooky Season (AHHH!) by covering this latest film -- including updating our franchise rankings and our kills hall of fame.

Scream 7 was a woeful production from its inception, with behind-the-scenes controversies and talent exits weighing it down almost irretrievably. But the creatives at play pressed on, bringing back original writer Kevin Williamson to not only script a new film but direct it as well. Neve Campbell was back as Sidney, and most of the still-surviving cast members returned as well (including a few faces who HADN'T survived).

But as exciting as it was to get a new Scream film, was the end result worth it? Does this new film have something of substance to contribute to the franchise's legacy? Debating every corner and cobweb of that argument are Reed, Nathan, and Vera, our primary hosts (and a cameo from one special guest). There are a lot of laughs in this one as we wrestle down all of the good, the bad, and the ghostface of 2026's SCREAM 7. Enjoy!

5:57 - ANNOUNCEMENTS (including details about a live episode)

Patron Only Segment: Half Baked Takes on Scream 7

8:09 - SCREAM 7

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We have another special interview to share with you this week about a book Reed personally dubbed, "It's more than a page turner, it's a page ripper." THE HOUSE THAT EATS THE DEAD is the debut novel from Max Doty. It tells the story of a family who finds a sprawling mansion for an unbelievable price, only to discover upon moving in that the house consumes any organic matter that has died. It also, importantly, erases all memory of that thing except in the minds of the husband and wife who own the house.

What starts as a fantastical anomaly quickly becomes a moral, even spiritual, dilemma. When you have a way to erase tragedy, including its memory, would you take that option? What happens in the moment when you realize that there's not only a way to erase your losses, but your sins?

It's a thrilling and suspenseful story about grief, memory, and the choices we make when we know we can get away with anything. Max's novel is available wherever books are sold as of August 18th. We hope you'll check it out and we hope you enjoy our conversation!

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Back in July of this year, our illustrious co-host Nathan Rouse joined Gorey Gamer Matt Murray in Indianapolis for GENCON, the annual board gaming convention attended this year by a record-breaking crowd of more than 70,000 people.

To talk about the experiences of the convention, they're joined in this bonus episode by AJ Porfirio and Evan Derrick of Van Ryder Games, creator of the blockbuster gaming hit Final Girl. They discuss their experiences at the convention, including a life-size Final Girl board set up, games that caught their attention, and what's new for Final Girl.

If you haven't checked out all of the cool things at Van Ryder Game (especially Final Girl), you owe it to yourself to give them a look. And meanwhile, we hope you enjoy this debrief of GenCon 2026!

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This week ends our mini-series curated by friend of the show, the Rev DeAnna Daniels PhD by discussing a bold film from earlier this year. Adapted from her play of the same name, Aleshea Harris's IS GOD IS contains multitudes. It is a Southern Gothic revenge epic. It is a microcosmic history of inherited trauma. It is a darkly comic, allegorical odyssey. And it is a theological exploration of all that we perceive about -- and act in response to -- our understanding of God. It follows two twins -- Racine and Anaia (Kara Young and Mallori Johnson) who, injured from a young age by their elusive and absentee father (Sterling K. Brown), are contacted by their estranged mother (Vivica A. Fox -- aka God) and told to go on a quest to "Make [their] Daddy dead."

We're joined by a host of recent friends of the show, including DeAnna herself, Leland Merritt PhD, and cultural theopoet de'Angelo Dia for a rich discussion about what we talk about when we talk about God. We touch on the ways this film has the power to both inspire and infuriate, as it holds up a mirror to some of our worst suppositions and our fiercest tendencies.

It's a thoughtful and rewarding final chapter in this mini-series that has explored multiple facets of the horrific and the divine. We want to thank Dr. DeAnna Daniels again for curating and programming it and we really hope you enjoy it.

Patron Only Segment: Whatcha Watchin' / Readin' / Listenin' To?

6:00 - IS GOD IS

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