The Last Theater

Brightburn is a twisted version of the superhero origin story we’ve grown accustomed to over the years. It’s been advertised as a horror movie first and a superhero movie second. But is it scary? Does it even work as a horror movie or as a superhero story? Find out my thoughts as I discuss Brightburn in episode 23 of The Last Theater.

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Non-spoiler review: 0:00 – 19:16

Theme music: “Rising Game” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

The intermission & outro include the Brightburn theme music as composed by Timothy Williams

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Netflix’s new interpretation of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is chilling, heart-wrenching, dramatic, and at times rather scary. Listen to episode 22 of The Last Theater podcast for my take on what worked well, what fell a little flat, and how this new interpretation stacks up to the source material and some of its other adaptations.

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Non-spoiler review: 0:00 – 24:50

Theme music: “Rising Game” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

The following songs used in this episode are all by The Newton Brothers from The Haunting of Hill House score:

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We have reached the end, the end of it all. Join chris and Joey as they discuss the final film in John Carpenter’s Apocalypse Trilogy, In the Mouth of Madness! With such great movies to live up to, can In the Mouth of Madness live up to the standard set by The Thing and Prince of Darkness, or does the world finally end with a whimper? Listen as we share our thoughts in episode 21 of the Last Theater podcast!

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Total Run Time: 40:00

Theme music: “Rising Game” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Outro song: “In the Mouth of Madness” by John Carpenter, Jim Lang, and Dave Davies from the In the Mouth of Madness soundtrack

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Join chris and Joey as they discuss the second part of John Carpenter’s “Apocalypse Trilogy,” Prince of Darkness! With its focus on blurring the lines between science and religion, Prince of Darkness is a movie that touches on some deep philosophical ideas while still giving viewers plenty of murder and scares. But do those scares (and the special effects) hold up over thirty years later? Listen and find out!

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Total Run Time: 1:06:10

Theme music: “Rising Game” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Outro song: “Prince of Darkness” by Alice Cooper from the album Raise Your Fist and Yell

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Deriving its terror from over-the-top body horror as well as unnerving psychological uncertainty, The Thing is an absolute classic. It is a movie that works on multiple levels and contains themes that run deeper than casual viewers might realize. Join chris and Joey in episode 19 of the Last Theater on the Left Podcast as they begin their journey into John Carpenter’s Apocalypse Trilogy with a look at 1982’s The Thing!

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Total Run Time: 50:07

Theme music: “Rising Game” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Outro song: “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder from the album Talking Book

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Every year there seems to be a lot of debating about what is and isn’t a “real” Christmas movie. Does Die Hard count? What about Gremlins? (For the record, they both qualify.) And what about horror movies? Can a movie designed to frighten and disturb you really embody the holiday spirit? Well, with its focus on family, friends, and a mysterious man sneaking into a house to give gifts in the form of bloody murders, I say Black Christmas certainly qualifies as a film fit for holiday consumption.

With its stellar cast and clever direction by Bob Clark, the man who is also responsible for Porky’s and A Christmas Story, 1974’s Black Christmas is a holiday tradition at The Last Theater on the Left. Listen to episode 18 of the podcast as chris and Joey discuss why the film is so effective, how it served as a sort of midway point between the Italian giallo films and the American slashers that were to come, and how the movie’s chilling ending might have more to it than we see.

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Total Run Time: 51:04

Theme music: “Rising Game” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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The Crow is one of those rare films where everything seems to come together to create something that transcends the genre it exists within. It is a comic book tale of revenge, but it is so much more than that. It is a story of love and loss, and of the pain of letting go when people we care about are taken away from us. It is a story about Eric Draven, but it is just as much a story about the actor who brought him to life, Brandon Lee.

It is an extremely powerful movie for many reasons. From the filmmakers, to the supporting cast, to the star-making performance from Brandon, The Crow is a film in which means as much today as it did when it was made. Listen to episode 17 of The Last Theater on the Left podcast as chris and Joey break down the film from its comic book origins all the way up to what it means to watch the movie all these years later.

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Total Run Time: 1:16:22

Theme music: “Rising Game” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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The journey has come to an end. We’ve watched and discussed every film in the Friday the 13th franchise. So what else is there to say? Plenty.

Join chris and Joey as they rank every movie in the series from worst to best and discuss how the films fare in the eyes of critics, fans, and the box office. Beyond the lists and ranking, chris and Joey dig deeper into some of the movies and discuss stuff that hit the cutting room floor, some good, some really, really bad. They also dig into some of the themes within the series and reveal whether the “Jason as a defender of morality” theme is actually present in what happens on-screen.

Listen to all that and more (including chris’ dream cast and movie spin-off idea) in the finale of The Last Theater on the Left’s marathon of 13 daily podcasts covering the entirety of the Friday the 13th franchise!

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Total Run Time: 1:21:15

Theme music: “Rising Game” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Thanks for listening! If you like what you hear, please leave a review on iTunes. And if you have something you want to tell us about the show or anything else, leave a comment here or send us a message on Facebook!

After years of meandering away from the formula established in the early films in the Friday the 13th franchise (before going off the rails completely), Jason Voorhees joined so many other classic characters in getting a remake. This film is definitely a modernized reimagining of the series and characters, but is it any good? Does it feel like a Friday the 13th movie or is it just a part of the Voorhees legacy in name only? Listen to night twelve of The Last Theater on the Left’s marathon of 13 daily podcasts to hear chris and Joey discuss what worked and what didn’t (without being influenced by any of the automatic stigma that many people seemingly attach to any remake).

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Total Run Time: 1:07:26

Theme music: “Rising Game” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Thanks for listening! If you like what you hear, please leave a review on iTunes. And if you have something you want to tell us about the show or anything else, leave a comment here or send us a message on Facebook!

Jason is raised from the dead once again, but this time he’s not alone. Freddy sets Jason loose on Elm Street in order to sow fear into the minds of those who have forgotten him, but Jason isn’t the type of monster who is easy to control.

This was quite the event-movie when it was released, but does it hold up today? Is Freddy vs Jason the fight of the century, or were the hopes and expectations too high for it to ever be a success? And if the movie does work, does it work better as a Friday the 13th movie, a Nightmare on Elm Street movie, or a balanced combination of the two? Find out the answers to these and other questions on night eleven of The Last Theater on the Left’s marathon of 13 podcast episodes covering the entirety of the Friday the 13th film franchise!

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Total Run Time: 47:41

Theme music: “Rising Game” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Thanks for listening! If you like what you hear, please leave a review on iTunes. And if you have something you want to tell us about the show or anything else, leave a comment here or send us a message on Facebook!