The Pod and the Pendulum: A Horror Movie Podcast

Well, we put this one off for as long as we possibly could, but this week Mike & Jerry return to talk about thi sequel in name only to Romero & King's horror anthology masterpiece, Creepshow. The third time id decidedly not the charm here, as this one is a chore to get through. While a pair of the five segments show some promise with their script ("The Radio" & "The Professor's Wife" show kernels of good ideas) the execution is lacking. Still, we try to point out the week bit of good with a lot of the bad. On a brighter note, we take a brief side trip to talk about FX mastermind Greg Nicotero's relaunch of Creepshow as a television series on the Shudder network. The first season had a few bumps, but by and large, it captured the tone and spirit that made the first film such a classic. We wanted to take a few minutes to spotlight our favorite entries from the first season. 

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This week we're joined by Terry Mesnard (Gaily Dreadful, Scarred For Life podcast) to discuss Creepshow 2. The general consensus is without King and Romero steering the ship, this is a step down, but still fun followup. We explore what works and where it comes up short. Does Chief Wooden Head still hold up, or does it feel like we watch a town die in real time after being stuck in the general store for so long? What do we love and cringe about while rewatching The Raft. Plus, there's an animated discussion over the ethics of charging on a per orgasm basis and then jacking up the rate once sexy time has ended when we discuss The Hitchhiker.

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Mike & Jerry are joined by Nat Brehmer, Izzy Lee, Veronica, Brian, Johnny, Jacob, Erin, Diana Porter, & Mike Vanderbilt as Freddy himself, for a roundtable Skype reading that involved an early draft of ANOES5 and a lot of alcohol. We hope our listeners dig this bonus episode, and would love for you to tell us what script we need to do next.

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Imagine if Magic Johnson & Larry Bird both played for the Celtics in the early 80s. That’s what it was like in bringing two masters of horror, Stephen King and George Romero together for Creepshow, the finest horror anthology ever created. This week Mike, Jerry & Brian sit down to talk about the impact this movie had on their horror fandom, and take a deep dive into each of the five segments that make up the film. Creepshow remains a fan favorite almost forty years after its release due to its perfect blend of black humor, spectacular special effects, and grim morality tales that both terrify and tickle the funny bone. There aren't many movies that create this many iconic characters in such a short period of time: a cake-seeking zombie, a meteor-shit covered country bumpkin, a shrewish wife with a nasty word for everyone, & a racist Scrooge with a dislike for bugs to name a few. Along the way, Mike may or may not reveal a little too much about certain fetishes that pique his curiosity. We also take some time to answer questions and comments from our listeners regarding the Creepshow franchise.

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This week Jerry and Mike finish off the second half of their listener mailbag with their first ever live stream.

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This week we have a very special bonus episode for our listeners. Given that we're all trapped in our homes with the shelter in place orders in full effect, we're missing socializing and seeing our friends lovely faces. We had the idea of doing Skype table reads of classic horror movies, but that idea was one-upped by Mike Vanderbilt and Nat Brehmer by settling on reading some of the great unmade horror movie scripts. For our first time out, Jerry brought MAXIMUM KING to the table. It the kinda true, kinda exaggerated, you had to be there story about Stephen King's disastrous attempt at directing Maximum Overdrive. It has everything: cocaine, killer trucks, boozy binges, heavy metal, steamy sex, cocaine, people losing eyeballs on set due to gross negligence, cocaine, Cujo, cute kids, a heart warming reunion and cocaine. 

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This week Jerry and Mike put another franchise to rest with their look back at 2019’s CRITTERS ATTACK. First we catch up with what’s been keeping us sane during week number three of being locked down and cooped up inside our homes. Critters Attacks  has the distinction of being the first “R” rated entry in the franchise. While that makes for some impressive and gory visuals at times, we ask if it’s enough to overcome some uninspired performances and a tepid at best storyline. Plus your hosts detail what we have in store for our next couple of franchises to cover as well as some bonus content and events to keep everyone entertained during the COVID social distancing and self isolation. Remember to wash your hands everyone, and please, for the of God, stay the fuck home.

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We've got some bonus content for you, since we're all cooped up and if we don't start doing something to pass the time, it's going to turn into The Shining, Act Three very quickly around these parts. Mike & Jerry are here to answer your horror-movie themed questions, and thanks to your overwhelming response to our call out this is just the first half. Everything you wanted to know about horror movies but were afarid to ask? Well, not quite, but we've got some great questions lined up. What horror franchise cast of heroes and villains would prevail in a winner take all battle royal? Who would score a prom date faster, Freddy or Jason? What under appreciated one-off movie should have served as a springboard to a larger franchise? All this and many more this week. 

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It’s the episode no one thought would ever happen. For our fiftieth show, Mike gives in to talk about the movie he swore on his mother’s future grave he would never talk about, the 2018 action-horror jam MANDY. While most of the horror community and Film Twitter have embraced this one with open arms, Mike has bashed this movie at every opportunity, likening it to the day his dad passed away in terms of the negative emotions it stirs up. Thankfully we have Jerry on hand to keep things on an even keel and to extol the virtues of Panos Cosmatos’ art house horror flick starring Nic Cage doing Nic Cage things. We also check in with one another to see how we’re holding up during the pandemic, what we’re watching and what we’re doing to try and keep ourselves sane. 

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