Companion (2025) comes to us at a great time in our culture’s history. As of this writing, AI hucksters are incinerating the planet so anyone can prompt Harry Potter fan fiction and the innumerate can vibe code their way to enough series A funding to purchase one-way flights to the Martian refugee colonies of the ultra wealthy. 

If those words are unfamiliar to you, just wait. Soon enough, the tech oligarchs will replace you with a subservient version of yourself that will. Or maybe they’ll just make paperclips until we’re all dead. 

But don’t be a sad android! This is a fun movie and we have a fun time talking about it. We discuss AI doomerism, loneliness, The Book of Love song “Boy”, and of all things, the power of love. 

Special note: this weekend is the @unnamedfootagefestival and we’ll be out exploring the unhinged visions of our comrades with our rapidly deteriorating meatsuits. Be there!

In this episode, we sink our yellowed fangs into Nosferatu (2024). It’s one of our best conversations in a while. Likely due to our occult powers ascending and a potent peasant stew of nicotine and caffeine.

We talk about orthodox exorcisms, Lily-Ross Depp’s rise as an actor, supernatural penises, and what kind of undead creatures we’d like to be.

Robert Eggers has once again delivered an incredible looking film that shows what you can do with an absurd obsession for details.

Are we all in on this mustachioed addition to the vampire mythos? Definitely. Though, we have our usual Statler-and-Waldorf-grade complaints.

The Substance (2024) is a nearly perfect example of what we like in movies. It’s dripping with weighty ideas about bodies and power’s putrid hold on humanity. The director is an alluring French woman who appears to be a deep fan of all the dark shit we’re into. The actors are going for it hard. The effects are practical. It’s absurdly gory and fun.

To conversate and celebrate this body horror peak, we’re joined by Monique Jenkinson–who needs little introduction to our audience–but just in case, she’s an artist, choreographer, and writer best known for her work as a Bay-Area-based drag icon. She sometimes pastes magazine photography to herself, though not always to conceal the transformative effects of black market beauty regimens. 

This is a focused episode where we get deep into the film and its perennial themes. We talk about the design of biohacker products, how youth is wasted on the young, our aging aches and pains, and the differences in how the male and female gazes approach butt shots. 

 If you’ve been enjoying our Alien run, fear not, we will be returning to that soon enough. We needed a break from Weyland-Yutani’s corporate culture.  For now, enjoy this conversation about a great film that actually came out this year.

David Fincher’s first film, Alien 3 (1992), is a notorious example of studio meddlers clashing with an auteur-minded director, leaving a franchise in the khazi.

It’s a shame, because xenomorphs are basically money makers. The film has some solid performances and a gloriously grimy setting.

But alas, the film (both cuts) is a mess. The special effects are majorly downgraded from Aliens. The plot is full of more holes than a pair of old Weyland-Yutani panties. But they did manage to give Sigourney the noble death she wanted along with a suitcase full of money.

We keep fairly on topic this episode. Marc’s hatred for the film simmers beneath, while Chad tries to conjure Kanye conjecture. It’s a solid one.

Alien$ made an enormous amount of money because James Cameron asked “What if there were a lot of aliens?” and “What if there were a ton of machine guns?” Answering “Yes, and” to these bold questions guaranteed a hit in the 80s. What a time to be alive!  

In this episode, we discuss Weyland-Yutani’s corporate culture, life in the Colonial Marines, the history of Jews in Mexico and their theoretical role in space, great sci-fi industrial design, and the tyranny of Fox Studio suits. 

It looks like we’re going for it with this Alien series, god help us. Though we may squeeze in a few side quests here and there. Stay tuned.

Behold! In part two of our conversation about Alien (1979), we get more into speculative territory about UFO sightings, how a trillion dollar space-faring company might operate, and how notes from studio suits always ruin things. 

We get more into HR Giger’s influence on the film and his firm grip on 90s mall goth aesthetics. We also cover some advice about how to survive in the Alien universe (don’t look inside wet eggs) and imagine what products you might make from harvested xenomorph pieces (boner pills). 

Also, dear listener, what do you think about us making our way through the franchise? We’ll definitely do Aliens; but after that—maybe?

Alien (1979) is a perfect movie. Which is why there is an entire Weyland-Yutani freighter worth of commentary about it.

In this, our first ever two-part episode, we explore what makes the film exceptional and we explore the conversation around popular critical touch points—like Ripley’s panties.

As working class heroes ourselves, we bring new thoughts to the class dynamics of the ship’s mission and the role of middle management in making things worse for everyone.

If this leaves your chest bursting with anticipation for the next episode, fear not! It’s in the can and will be released shortly, just as MOTHER intended.

Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) is responsible for dozens of film studies books and an inexhaustible number of undergrad student theses–and now a new episode of your favorite podcast featuring our unofficial third co-host Monique Jenkinson (AKA Fauxnique).

We cover all of the hits: color theory, suspense, costuming, heroic ladies, weird cops, set design, relationships, whether or not Marc should powder his whole body to combat global warming, and of all things, rolling suitcases.

Chad and Marc return from the prison of their career commitments to the nihilist hellscape of Amazon Prime’s dystopic series Fallout

Marc is a noob to this take on this apocalypse-as-western. His guide Chad, has spent some time building his own vault in the time-incinerating Fallout Shelter game. 

They discuss Walton Goggins’ reign, Prime vs. Netflix, Cormac McCarthy, how Lucy is no Mary Sue, Kyle MacLaughlin’s classic Americana charm and whether a positive mental attitude will serve you as you navigate the wasteland.

Clueless (1995) is one of those films that almost everyone has a soft spot for. It defined a time and place, riffed on a classic, upholds pretty good values, is extremely quotable, and makes you feel happy when you watch it (unless you are truly dead inside).

So why are we covering it on a horror podcast? Well, it’s Marc’s favorite movie, and Chad prefers it to all horror movies. It’s an episode we’ve joked about doing forever.

Recently, we both read “As If!: The Oral History of Clueless, as Told by Amy Heckerling, the Cast, and the Crew” by Jen Chaney, so what better time than now? (It’s a fun book that goes deep into everything we missed in our episode, so if you’re a Clueless fanatic, it’s essential reading.)

We also chat about whether or not the elevated horror wave has crested. And we sneak in some Barbie vs Oppenheimer talk near the end. It’s a real rambler.

When faced with the recent dreary Christmas horror offerings of the past year or two, we felt nothing but apathy. Which is a terrible position to be in when you’re looking for a holiday episode idea.

But fear not! Or rather—Fear No Mort—the season seven finale of Rick and Morty is pretty great.

It sticks the landing on an overall decent season that could’ve been much worse. But it’s smart, funny and brings up a lot of themes that we’ve spent years covering: the nature of fear, creativity in mass entertainment, hypersanity, really all of the hits.

So sit back, and enjoy the last few days of 2023 with your favorite parasocial conversationalists.