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An unauthorized sequel, a comb-over with its own screen credit, and a shark that showed up to work harder than most of the cast. This week we cover: Why 1979 was secretly the best year ever — disco demolition night, the birth of hip-hop, and the rise of the synth that would score every Italian horror film for a decade The copyright crime scene that gave this movie four different titles Fulci's love of eyes, maggoty conquistadors rising from the dirt, and the shark scene that earns its Shark Month invite Fabio Frizzi vs. Goblin, and Guillermo del Toro's coke-bottle-glasses fanboy origin story A stirring argument that fast zombies aren't zombies — fight us Plus a lightning-round ranking of recent horror, from Send Help to 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

Mentioned in this episode The show: True Detective Season 1 (HBO), written by Nic Pizzolatto, dir. Cary Joji Fukunaga. Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey), Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson), Maggie Hart (Michelle Monaghan), Reggie Ledoux, Errol Childress, Billy Lee Tuttle, Sheriff Steve Geraci, Dora Lange, Marie Fontenot, Ginger & the Iron Crusaders. Filming locations: Fort Macomb, LA; "Cancer Alley." Books & authors: Robert W. Chambers, The King in Yellow / "The Repairer of Reputations" • Thomas Ligotti, The Conspiracy Against the Human Race • H.P. Lovecraft, "Supernatural Horror in Literature" • Emil Cioran • Flannery O'Connor ("Christ-haunted") • Stephen Graham Jones. Films & TV in the conversation: Se7en, Zodiac, Heat, The Departed, Brooklyn's Finest, Lethal Weapon, Sideways, The Thing (and the "Who Goes There?" source story), The Wicker Man, Midsommar, Men, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Last Exorcism, Watchmen, My Cousin Vinny, Boardwalk Empire, Deadwood, The Boys — and our own Chernobyl episode.

Film: Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in), 2008, dir. Tomas Alfredson — the original Swedish version, not the American remake Oscar as the kid who fell through every crack in the social safety net — absent parents, unchecked bullying, zero adult intervention The film's place in the Nordic noir tradition alongside The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — horror as a lens on the failures of Scandinavian social democracy Eli as an ageless predator disguised as a child — the anti-romantic vampire, feeding scenes played as animal attacks rather than seduction The castration subplot: the book, the brief film moment, and how it connects to the history of the castrati and the "monstrous trans" trope in horror (Silence of the Lambs, Sleepaway Camp) That pool scene — one of the top 10 horror scenes ever committed to film, don't @ us The grooming debate: Is the ending a love story or a tragedy on repeat? (Spoiler: it's the second one) Top 3 vampire films: Let the Right One In, Coppola's Dracula, The Lost Boys (According to Johnathon) What We've Been Watching: 28 Years Later, Abraham's Boys, The Thing, The Abominable Snowman, The Shining, Together Coming Soon: Scream 7, Undertone (A24) Next Month: True Detective Season 1 with the Baldwin Boys!

The gang's all here to bid 2025 a fond (?) farewell. We're ranking the year's horror offerings, from Guillermo del Toro finally delivering the Frankenstein film Levi's waited 30 years for, to Sinners' hot-and-bothered vampires that some of us couldn't be bothered to finish. Weapons confused us until it didn't. The Long Walk made Levi cry. 28 Years Later pissed off Jonathan because The Walking Dead ruined everything. And somewhere in there, we imagined Lloyd the bartender giving Jack Torrance relationship advice. Films Discussed: Frankenstein, Sinners, Weapons, The Long Walk, 28 Years Later, Bring Her Back, Companion, The Monkey, The Ugly Stepsister, Silent Night Deadly Night, Welcome to Derry, Nosferatu, and—of course—Maximum Overdrive. Coming in 2026: Werwolf (it's spelled that way, we checked), Clayface, and whatever nightmare the Pinocchio public domain is cooking up. Give Caleb's wine podcast Natural State of Wine a listen—he's a level two sommelier and will make you a better person, probably.

Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025): A remake that decided "what if we made the killer sympathetic and also gave him a Venom-style relationship with his murder suit?"  Rowan Campbell returns to horror after Halloween Ends, once again playing the tortured guy nobody trusted  The Nazi barn scene: Makes zero geographic sense. Maximum entertainment value. Very Indiana Jones.  A spirited debate about why modern horror will gleefully show you intestines but treats consensual nudity like radioactive material  Budget: $750k. Box office: $3 million. Verdict: Added to the annual Christmas horror rotation.  Brief tangent about Luigi Mangione, because of course  Levi's history lesson on Christmas drinking traditions—turns out our ancestors got absolutely hammered for 12 days straight and we've been cowards ever since  Coming up: New Year's episode with the Baldwin boys

What We're Carving Up: Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023)Things We Discussed: Why Christopher Robin abandoning his woodland friends turns them into rage-fueled killers (relatable)The beauty of democracy: bastardizing beloved characters the second copyright expiresWhere's Tigger? (Answer: safe in copyright jail until the sequel)That surprisingly decent animated opening vs. everything that follows80s slasher vibes meet sexist trash aestheticsWhy elevated horror fatigue is real and trash cinema has its placeOther recent disappointments: Keeper, Shelby OaksLooking forward to: Nosferatu, Silent Night Deadly NightThe Verdict: Tasty trash or tasteless trash? You decide. Either way, bring friends who can handle knowing you watched this.

Caleb's podcast: The Natural State of Wine Film Discussed: Velvet Buzzsaw (2019), directed by Dan Gilroy Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, John Malkovich, Toni Collette, Zawe Ashton, Tom Sturridge Wines Featured: Lovehammer Cabernet 2020, Pine Mountain, Slow Jam's VineyardDominique Renard Rosé ChampagneJordan Chardonnay 2022Key Discussion Topics: The pretension and exploitation in the contemporary art worldAuthenticity vs. hype in wine, art, and cultureHaunted/cursed art as a horror subgenre (references to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Pickman's Model)Why visual art gets more latitude for b******t than other art formsThe film's morality play about respecting an artist's final wishesMemorable deaths: the sphere, Hobo Man, paintings that literally killReferences: HP Lovecraft's "Pickman's Model," The Devil's Candy, Candyman (2021), Nightcrawler, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Ongo Gablogian

The Return Back from a 6-month break (Levi's "summer slumber")Spooky season timing couldn't be betterBeer of choice: Maharaja IPA from Avery Brewing ("battery acid in a can")Phantoms (1998) Directed by Joe Chappelle (Halloween: Curse of Michael Myers)Written by Dean Koontz, adapting his own novelStarring baby-faced Ben Affleck as a sheriff/ex-FBI agentFeatures Peter O'Toole bringing gravitas to exposition dumpsRose McGowan and Joanna Going in peak Miramax era rolesPlot Discussion Small Colorado town mysteriously empty (before it was cool)Ancient enemy that's basically primordial ooze meets ChatGPTLovecraftian influences mixed with The Thing vibesPacing issues: "It's a four-act movie pretending to be three"CGI that aged like milk left in the sunPeter O'Toole Appreciation Corner From Lawrence of Arabia to... thisSurvived pancreatic cancer in the '70s (absolute legend)Professional drinker, occasional actorDied in 2012 at 80October Horror Plans Pumpkinhead (Kentucky hillbillies and monsters)Witchfinder General (Vincent Price at his cruelest)Discussion of recent releases: Sinners, Weapons, The Long WalkRandom Tangents SSRIs and their gill-growing propertiesThe bridge troll health guru phenomenonWhy cigarettes are actually good for you (they're not)Ben Affleck's chin as a character unto itselfRating: Mixed bag - great concept, questionable execution, worth it for Liev Schreiber's creepy giggle alone

In this episode, we dive deep into *Deliver Us From Evil* (2014), a blend of supernatural horror, crime thriller, and buddy cop movie — featuring our special guest, Lindsay Brown. Episode question: Is a bad Brooklyn accent worse than complete spiritual depravity? Spoiler: The answer is yes.

We also reflect on Levi's viewing of "Nosferatu," examining its stylistic choices and societal themes. As we rank our favorite horror films from the past year, we highlight the connections between storytelling and audience reactions. We wrap up with our exciting plans for future projects and genre explorations in podcasting.

The episode opens on an emotional note for Jonathan as he acknowledges the bittersweet moment of watching his mentee, Levi, select a film that he deems one of the worst ever made. The duo can't help but dive into the absurdity, as they reminisce about the film's gratuitous nudity, poor acting, and the unforgettable presence of Clint Howard - whose performance, while dubious, is not to be dismissed too lightly.

Special guest Lindsey joins Levi & Johnathon for a look at Needful Things, an underrated adaption of Stephen King's novel by the same name. Do you idolatry? We idolatry.

This week Levi and special guests Caleb and Luke consider the odd man out in the Halloween franchise, Halloween III.

They're eating the dogs and they're eating the cats. But it's cool, because there are 12 sequels in the Friday the 13th franchise alone.

It's Lovecraft's birthday month, and the boys have words. Join us as we track his influence from The House by the Cemetery to Alien Romulus.