The Fear of God: A Horror Movie Podcast

We've spent the entire spooky season marching through each entry in the legendary Halloween franchise. As a kind of breath at the closure of that run, and as a special Halloween bonus, we decided to devote a unique epilogue episode to chart our favorite sequels in the franchise, answer some listener questions, solidify the Shape Kills Hall of Fame, and ponder the richer elements of the franchise and its characters that the previous installments didn't always permit us to discuss.

We hope you have a very safe and happy Halloween. And we hope you enjoy this special coda to our series #Halloween@Halloween.

Stay safe everybody!

10:50 - Listener Questions, part 1

26:39 - Ranking our Top 5 Halloween Sequels

48:23 - Listener Questions, part 2

59:17 - The Shape Kills Hall of Fame

1:30:14 - Final Questions and Final Thoughts on the Halloween Franchise

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So it comes to this. Following Rob Zombie's efforts to reimagine the horror of Michael Myers, the franchise lay dormant for nearly a decade until Blumhouse and David Gordon Green revived the franchise with a trilogy of films that both invigorated and occasionally frustrated fans, effectively bringing Michael Myers roaring back into cultural immediacy. They brought back John Carpenter to produce and compose the score for the films. They ignored all previous sequels in service of a fresh vision. And most notably, they brought back Jamie Lee Curtis for a final run as the ultimate final girl. 

In a rare opportunity to record in the same room, Nathan and Reed are joined by Quarterly Kings Ian Olson, Blake Collier, and Andy Whitfield to break down the new trilogy, with specific focus on Kills and Ends. This is a somewhat spontaneous conversation, featuring the sound and feel of friends around a table after getting home from the theater. We invite you to join us as we draw towards a close of this landmark franchise... for now...

We hope you enjoy hearing it as much as we enjoyed discussing it. 

5:21 - Business Time

7:38 - HALLOWEEN (2018) kills and toys

20:25 - HALLOWEEN KILLS

1:08:58 - HALLOWEEN ENDS

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This stop in our journey of Halloween @ Halloween was inevitable. In 2007, following years of developmental misfires for a sequel in the franchise, Rob Zombie was tasked with bringing his unique vision to a remake of the original Halloween. The result was a highly controversial -- but also highly successful -- film. Zombie then followed up with a sequel two years later (with much more reluctance and to even more controversy). In tackling these two films, we pivot away somewhat from our recent jovial banter to conduct one of our most thoughtful conversations in some time, as we wrestle with the context for engaging material as heavy and challenging as these films are while still striving to mature in our critical and spiritual perspectives.

Approach the material itself with discretion and caution; but approach this conversation with an eager and open mind. Also featuring a Patron-only segment discussing The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror V, this is one we think you'll really enjoy.

4:50 - Business Time

Patron Only Segment: THE SIMPSONS: Treehouse of Horror 5 #tvguideposts

5:53 - HALLOWEEN & HALLOWEEN 2, by Rob Zombie

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Our next stop in our October series Halloween @ Halloween features a returning legendary heroine and inexplicable kung fu as we explore HALLOWEEN H20: 20 YEARS LATER and HALLOWEEN RESURRECTION. Following the messy production and reception of The Curse of Michael Myers, the franchise recalibrated back to basics and brought back Jamie Lee Curtis to reprise her role as the iconic Laurie Strode. But following the impressive success of H20, the franchise followed up with a sequel featuring web-streaming, underground tunnels, and a whole lotta Busta Rhymes. We break it all down for you: the kills, the scares, and the dangertainment.

Featuring a lot of laughs, all our usual segments, and a Patron-only examination of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror IV, this is a very fun episode we hope you'll enjoy.

9:56 - Business Time

Patron Only Segment: THE SIMPSONS: Treehouse of Horror 4 #tvguideposts

13:00 - HALLOWEEN: H20 & HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION

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We continue our murderous parade through the exploits, the escapades, and the eviscerations of the one and only Michael Myers with a truly unique entry in horror franchise canons. The 6th Halloween film was much contested among its creatives as the production rights came into dispute, and the Haddonfield slasher came under new management at Dimension Films. This led to drastically different visions for the latest installment and, eventually, drastically different films. So this week, we are examining both cuts in dialogue with each other: the Theatrical version which was definitive for many years, and the famed Producer's Cut released a few years ago which restores the original creative vision for the story.

So kick back, relax, and enjoy this laugh-filled discussion about a distinctly fascinating entry in the horror genre. Also featuring a Patron-only segment on The Simpsons TREEHOUSE OF HORROR III, this is a fun and brisk conversation that we're sure you'll enjoy.

Patron Only Segment: THE SIMPSONS: Treehouse of Horror 3 #tvguideposts

7:24 - HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS, Theatrical & Producer's Cuts

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We are continuing our spooky season journey this week through the landmark Michael Myers franchise we call Halloween @ Halloween where we assess every adventure in the Halloween franchise. Our next stop is HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS and HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS. These two films made an intentional effort to course correct after Halloween III: Season of the Witch left audiences wanting more Michael, delivering a vision of Haddonfield that attempted to be more in the spirit of the original. Their success at doing so is negligible at best, but they do manage to anchor a mythos around the mysterious boogeyman that stays rooted in the legacy of his hometown, his family, and his ever-increasingly more eccentric doctor, Dr. Sam Loomis. 

We survey the hall of fame kills, propose a new line of potential Michael Myers toys, and try to wrestle down what these films were trying to accomplish with frequent guest Blake Collier and an excessive amount of laughter, including a Patron-only segment surveying The Simpsons TREEHOUSE OF HORROR 2. We hope you have as much fun hearing this episode as we had making it.

7:18 - Business Time

Patron Only Segment: THE SIMPSONS: Treehouse of Horror 2 #tvguideposts

12:09 - HALLOWEEN 4 & HALLOWEEN 5: THE RETURN & REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS

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We begin a new adventure at the Fear of God by making our way through an entire landmark franchise. We begin our journey though every sequel, every kill, and every jumpy music cue of the HALLOWEEN franchise. That's right, it's Halloween @ Halloween. Since we've already covered the original back on episode 10, we're starting this journey with HALLOWEEN II from 1981, the sequel that practically had to drag all of its talent back to make and which, while not without its charms, has some pretty noticeable faults as a result. This episode is large on laughs and light on theme this time around, but we have a whole lot of fun discussing it and we hope you have a lot of fun listening as well.

We also begin a list of nominees for the Michael Myers Kill Hall of Fame and -- in the Patron segment -- survey the very first Simpsons Halloween special: Treehouse of Horror. It's a lot of fun and we hope you enjoy it!

5:31 - Business Time

Patron Only Segment: THE SIMPSONS: Treehouse of Horror #tvguideposts

8:00 - HALLOWEEN II (1981)

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We conclude our summer of Stranger Things by diving into the details of episode 9, The Piggyback, and expressing our thoughts on the season as a whole with the Quarterly Queens: Vera Goudie, Asia Swartzentruber, and Jess Fischli. A mega series deserves a mega episode and not only do we take the season to task for its narrative missteps, we also highlight what makes the show such a resonant and affecting cultural phenomenon. We even play a few rounds of Stranger Things Trivial Pursuit while we're at it.

It's a hearty and fun-filled episode this week (also featuring a Patron-only "Whatcha" segment) that we think you're really going to enjoy.

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

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In celebration of the release of Season 5 of Cobra Kai to Netflix, please enjoy this special preview of our full B-Side conversation on Season 4 of Cobra Kai featuring friend of the show Josh Rouse. Hear the full episode by becoming a Patron at the $5 or above level and enjoy all of the additional bonus content that comes with that as well.

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We've made it to the last track on our #mixtape covering the major influences of Stranger Things. We trek our way alongside the pinnacle of adventure heroes with INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. While Temple of Doom may largely be regarded as the third best in the original Indy trilogy (for some understandable reasons), it still has a propulsive and fun energy and is anchored by the impressive charisma of Harrison Ford. It also offers an interesting observation about the pursuit of reclaiming sacred treasure and the value of when such journeys are undertaken on behalf of others.

Also featuring a discussion about Episode 8 of Season 4 of STRANGER THINGS, we hope you enjoy our trek through high adventure like a fast-moving rail car or an impenetrable life raft.

4:53 - Business Time

Patron Only Segment: STRANGER THINGS, Season 4, Episode 8 (with Josh Rouse) #tvguideposts

8:15 - The Best Actor & Character Pairings in Film

26:47 - INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM

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