The Pod and the Pendulum: A Horror Movie Podcast

This week we're joined by filmmaker Alex Secker and Halloweenies' Mike Vanderbilt for a fun and spirited look at Dream Master. The crew is feeling pretty loose this week as we talk putting the special in special effects, Freddy at the peak of his popularity, New Line stretching what can be done with these movies when you have someone like Renny Harlin pointing the camera, the Elm Street foray into television with Freddy's Nightmares and more. Plus, Mike is joined by his daughter Ada at the end of the show for a breakdown of the Freddy's Nightmares episode "Killer Instinct." 

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This week we're joined by Terry Mesnard (Gayley Dreadful, Scarred for Life podcast, We Are Horror 'zine) and Kelly Gredner (Spinsters of Horror) for the first of our two shows on Dream Master. Freddy's back and this time he has a whole new gang of kids to terrorize in this fan favorite from the late 80s. Since we had so many people want to guest on this discussion, we've set aside two shows for this one.

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Cue heavy metal high pitched warbling because we are back with a MEGA episode about series fan favorite Dream Warriors. Jerry had to duck out of this episode lest he feel the wrath of our panel for him sharing his belief that this is "meh" at best but we're joined by Brian Keiper (Dread Central, Bloody Disgusting) and author Cynthia Pelayo (Poems of my Night, The Missing). We also have a pair of bonus guests including Patrick Hamilton from the Kill By Kill podcast as well as the return of Mike's daughter Ada to give her thoughts on her favorite Elm Street to date. 

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It's been called "the gayest horror movie of all time" by some, and it's appalling treatment of star Mark Patton in the press by director Jack Sholder and writer David Chaskin has been a source of controversy and criticism  since its release. This week we're joined by Jay Alary of Daily Grindhouse and Grumpire & Sam Wineman, director of the upcoming LGBTQ horror documentary for Shudder and the writer/director of award winning short The Quiet Room (available to stream on Shudder now) to talk the history of this film, queer representation in horror, why this might be Freddy at his scariest and whether it not it "breaks" the rules of the franchise. 

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We continue our breakdown of Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street with a chat on how the standout practical effects of this movie influenced a generation of effect artists, Bob Shaye's role in bringing the film to life, how Nancy used the psychological tactic of lucid dreaming to fight back against a monster, and the influence a great score has on influencing the tone of a horror movie. Jerry had to sit this one out, but Mike is joined with J. Blake Fichera, author of SCORED TO DEATH: Conversations with Some of Horrors Greatest Composers (Amazon Link) and cohost of the Saturday Night Movie Sleepover podcast. 

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This week we kick off our coverage on arguably the greatest franchise in horror film history: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Born from the childhood nightmares of Wes Craven, Freddy Kreuger transformed from a horror villain to a pop culture icon that appeared on MTV, awards shows, lunch boxes, comic books, action figures, posters and anything else you could print his likeness on. That's quite a feat for a burned up, child-killing dream demon. As portrayed by Robert Englund, Freddy was a monster with personality. 

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This week we're joined once again by Nat Brehmer (@NatBrehmer) for a super fun commentary on Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. We answer the important questions: What if they kept the bandaged look for Michael, when did the Shape morph into Jason and why are there so many damn photos of Abe Lincoln in the garage? 

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This week we look at the 2008 straight-to-video thriller JOY RIDE 2. Yes, Rusty Nails is back, and this time there's a lot more of a torture porn feel to the proceedings. More importantly, Mike and Jerry discuss what exactly a "third wave emo punk" exactly is.

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Heading into the weekend, we have a special bonus episode with filmmaker Charles de Lauzirika as he discusses his history with the Alien franchise as the director of the incredible behind the scenes documentary included on the Quadrology box set.

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