Say it once, say it twice, say it five times and get wrecked. In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns stare too long into a rearview mirror of American horror and watch it reflect rot,  gentrified ghosts, legacy trauma, and bees with union grievances. Candyman returns with a paintbrush dipped in blood and ink, and the Xenoboys debate whether this reboot-sequel-refracted-nightmare sticks the landing or gets stuck in its own honey trap. Spoiler: art is pain, and pain is profit.

We talk Cabrini-Green, puppets that slit throats, and what happens when a myth fights back.

“I see dead tropes…”

For years, The Sixth Sense has lived in the shadow of its twist.

In this episode of Xenomania, we revisit M. Night Shyamalan’s breakout film with fresh eyes and less nostalgia. Yes, it’s a well-crafted ghost story with moments of genuine pathos, but how well does it hold up under scrutiny?

We unpack the emotional weight of Haley Joel Osment’s performance, the chilly atmosphere, and Shyamalan’s restrained direction. But we also ask harder questions about pacing, predictability, and the long-term impact of a film that may have taught a generation of viewers to look for gimmicks over depth.

The Sixth Sense is remembered for what it hides. We’re more interested in what it reveals.

In this year-end finale of Xenomania, Jon and Ryan slip into their shiniest disco suits and dial into New Year’s Evil (1980)—a sleazy, synth-laced slasher set during a televised NYE countdown. As a killer named “Evil” offs a victim at the stroke of midnight in each U.S. time zone, we discuss the film’s time-locked gimmick, glam-punk aesthetics, sleazy subtext, and its strange place in the slasher canon. We don’t explore the blend of punk nihilism and Reagan-era paranoia simmering just beneath the surface, but cap off the year with our favorite movies and episodes of 2025.

From voice modulators to pink champagne murder, join us as we toast to one last bloody night before the ball drops.

In this holiday massacre of an episode, the Xenomania crew unwraps Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022), Joe Begos’s neon-slick splatterfest where a military-grade robotic Santa malfunctions into a relentless killing machine.

Come for the grindhouse aesthetic, stay for the synth soundtrack, practical gore, and surprisingly sharp central performances. We dig into the subtext (is there any?), the style (hell yes), and how the film splits the sleigh bells between homage and full-blown absurdity.

It’s Silent Night, Deadly Night by way of The Terminator, with a double shot of J&B.

In this stark, brutal episode of Xenomania, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns set off down the desolate highways of The Long Walk — Francis Lawrence’s harrowing 2025 adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian thriller.

Fifty boys. One rule: never stop walking. Three strikes and the guns come out. No finish line. No mercy. Only one winner gets a wish and riches beyond belief — everyone else just collapses in the dust.

The hosts break down how the film turns a terrifyingly simple premise — keep moving or die — into a psychological survival saga full of pain, camaraderie, existential dread, and the crushing weight of unrelenting competition. They unpack Cooper Hoffman’s compelling lead performance, David Jonsson’s emotional depth, and Mark Hamill’s chilling Major, all while asking a haunting question: how far would you walk?

In this milestone 50th episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns strap on explosive collars and dive headfirst into Battle Royale (2000)—Kinji Fukasaku’s ultraviolent, emotionally raw, and politically charged cult classic.

They dissect its brutal allegory for youth disillusionment, the ethical rot of authority, and how the film paved the way for modern dystopias like The Hunger Games, Squid Game, and beyond.

What happens when a classroom turns battlefield? Who deserves to survive? And why does this film still hit harder than ever 20+ years later?

Spoiler: there’s no detention. Just death.

In this holiday-slasher episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns trim the tree with terror as they unwrap the controversial cult classic Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984).

From killer Santas to traumatic orphans, the guys explore how this low-budget bloodbath turned yuletide cheer into a moral panic—and became one of the most infamous seasonal slashers of the ‘80s.

They dive into Catholic guilt, VHS horror boom aesthetics, and why the line “Punish!” still hits like a sleigh bell to the face.

Come for the murder montage. Stay for the deranged Christmas carols.

Ho-ho-horrifying.

In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns gather around the blood-soaked banquet table to dig into Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving (2023), a pitch-perfect homage to holiday slashers, grindhouse grit, and small-town hysteria.

From Black Friday mayhem to Pilgrim masks and meat thermometers in all the wrong places, they dissect how Roth turns a fake trailer into a full-on feast of gore, gags, and gruesome cheer.

Who lives? Who gets basted? And is Thanksgiving the best seasonal slasher in years?

Tune in for talk of genre tropes, teen scream archetypes, Roth’s return to form, and the eternal question: what would John Carpenter do?

He’s stitched from the dead, soaked in sorrow, and newly born in Guillermo del Toro’s hands.

In this episode of Xenomania, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns break open the coffin lid on the upcoming Frankenstein, del Toro’s long-gestating adaptation of the gothic classic. What does it mean for the creature to feel? To love? To rage against his makers?

They discuss the early visuals, the tragic elegance of the new creature design, the casting of Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth, and Andrew Garfield, and how this version promises to be the most mythic, mournful Frankenstein yet.

Plus: literary roots, monster metaphors, and how grief becomes horror in del Toro’s universe.

In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns thread the film through the reel as they dive into Sinister (2012)—that grainy, grief-soaked descent into found footage and demonic legacy.

They dissect how Scott Derrickson weaponized Super 8 film, where Ethan Hawke ranks on the “horror dad breakdown” scale, and why Bagul might be the most anti-cinema entity in the genre.

From lawnmower jumpscares to ghost kids in the attic, the trio unpacks Sinister's brutal rhythms, the ethics of exploitation, and that final, gutting fade to black.

Spoiler alert: no one makes it out alive. Not even the home movies.