The Pod and the Pendulum: A Horror Movie Podcast

This week Mike and Nichole check in for the five season A&E horror-drama, Bates Motel, a creative prequel and reimagining of Psycho. Starring Vera Farmiga and Freddy Highmore as Norma and Norman Bates, the show explored the psychosexual dynamic of the mother / son duo while offering a sympathetic portrayal of a mom who would protect her increasingly unhinged and dangerous son from consequences at any cost.

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Mike, Brian, and Stephen pay tribute to the late Bud Cort and look back at the failed pilot/TV movie for Bates Motel

Watch the movie here-https://youtu.be/_uRu6TqIqTQ?si=RsAaeD0tJ0CvqSpl

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This week Mike, Stephen, Devaughn, and Brian talk about one of cinema’s most head scratching disasters: Gus Van Sant’s near shot for shot remake of Psycho. From head scratching decisions when it came to casting, to the odd insert shots, and bizarre additions to the text like having Norman tug one out when watching Marion undress, everything about this one screams “bad idea.” You know what’s not a bad idea? Listening to our epic sized episode dissecting this one, from exploring the cocaine fueled boardrooms that greenlit the remake, Van Sant flushing any Oscar nomination good will right down the toilet, to the outright hostile response it received on release, we leave no stone unturned. 

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Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today for as little as $2 at patreon.com/podandthependulum. 

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This week the crew is joined by Kinnel from Sinister Cinema to talk about the final entry in the main Psycho series. It may be the only movie ever greenlit in order to promote the opening of a theme park. This made-for-cable movie was written by the original film’s writer Joesph Stefano, but it’s clear that without Hitchcock, the screenwriter was a one trick, “boy I sure do like Sigmund Freud” pony. The crew is talking about weird incest, talk radio tomfoolery, Anthony Perkins giving director Mick Garris the what for on set, and so much more. 

Please take a moment to rate and review us on the Apple Podcast app, or rate us on the Spotify app. Reviews and five star ratings help new listeners find us every day, and we greatly appreciate the feedback and support. 

Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today for as little as $2 at patreon.com/podandthependulum. 

Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog of shows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog, leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to www.podandthependulum.com to check it out. 

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This week Mike, Stephen, and Brian are joined by Kinnell of Sinister Cinema to talk about the trashy fun of Psycho 3. Coming at the tail end of the slasher craze of the 80s, just as horror cinema was starting to cash in on repetitive sequels, this one ramps up the gore, the kills, the sex, and the camp or something that was way too overlooked and underappreciated upon its release in 1986. While it lacks the finesse of Hitchcock's classic, it remains a un, lurid watch.

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This week Mike, Brian, and Stephen take on the task of breaking down one of the most daunting sequels ever made, Psycho 2. Following in the footsteps of his idol, director Richard Franklin (with a major assist  from writer Tom Holland) crafted a two decades later follow up to Hitchcock’s horror masterpiece. The result is a better-than-it-has-any-right-to-be sequel that explores the fractured psyche of Norman Bates as he tries to maintain his sanity and live a life of normalcy. Bolstered by a stellar cast including Meg Tilly, a returning Vera Miles, a then-unknown Dennis Franz, and orange juice pitchman extraordinaire Robert Loggia, Anthony Perkins returns as the haunted Norman Bates, and delivers a performance that rivals his star-making original turn. 

Please take a moment to rate and review us on the Apple Podcast app, or rate us on the Spotify app. Reviews and five star ratings help new listeners find us every day, and we greatly appreciate the feedback and support. 

Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today for as little as $2 at patreon.com/podandthependulum. 

Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog of shows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog, leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to www.podandthependulum.com to check it out. 

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This week we kick of our first franchise of 2026 with one of the tentpoles of modern horror. Alfred Hitchcock's black and white foray into horror delivered one of cinema's all the great and most sympathetic villains in Norman Bates, played masterfully by Anthony Perkins. What was meant to be a quick, cheap B-movie became the Master of Suspense's most well-known and lucrative film. This week Mike, Nichole, and Brian are joined by guest Alex Pagliuca the history of the film, it's enduring legacy and the characters and events that make it so memorable

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Please take a moment to rate and review us on the Apple Podcast app, or rate us on the Spotify app. Reviews and five star ratings help new listeners find us every day, and we greatly appreciate the feedback and support.

Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today for as little as $2 at patreon.com/podandthependulum.

Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog of shows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog, leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to www.podandthependulum.com to check it out.

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By the 1950s, not only was Alfred Hitchcock regarded as the master of suspense he became a brand himself as his smash hit television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents put the droll director in the homes of tens of millions of households every week. Over the course of the 1950s, he hit his creative peak & broke away from the constraints of David Selznick and launched his own production house.  Over the course of the decade Hitchcock directed many of his most beloved works, including Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, North by Northwest & Vertigo. While Hitchcock seemed to be on a roll, the latter film’s poor commercial and critical reception, alongside up and comers like Les Diaboliques’ Henri Clouzet being hailed as “the new Hitchcock,” and a slew of cheap horror films gaining steam at the box office left the director, now four decades into his career, looking to prove he still was the Master of Suspense.

This week, before we begin our coverage of Hitchcock's most famous and commercially successful film, Mike and Brian look back on the director’s work in the 50s, as well as the outside forces that shaped him.

If you like what you’re listening to make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcast feeds.

Please take a moment to rate and review us on the Apple Podcast app, or rate us on the Spotify app. Reviews and five star ratings help new listeners find us every day, and we greatly appreciate the feedback and support.

Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today for as little as $2 at patreon.com/podandthependulum.

Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog of shows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog, leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to www.podandthependulum.com to check it out.

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Heading into the new year we take one last look back at the year that just passed. Mike, Brian, Ariel, & Devaughn are on hand to give their ten favorite horror movies from 2025.

Please take a moment to rate and review us on the Apple Podcast app, or rate us on the Spotify app. Reviews and five star ratings help new listeners find us every day, and we greatly appreciate the feedback and support.

Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today for as little as $2 at patreon.com/podandthependulum.

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It's a Wonderful Orgy! Or is it? For our annual Xmas bonus show, Nichole has chosen the final film from the maestro himself, the elusive, unknowable Stanley Kubrick. Starring the Hollywood couple at the time Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, this exhausting, 400 day shoot was marketed as an erotic thriller, but instead explored the darker, richer themes of repressed longing & desire, and the deeply ingrained but hidden insecurities of a certain kind of successful male. So gather a cup of eggnog and unwrap one of our finest episodes to date.

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