At The Devils Ball

Vampire Month Rises From The Tomb continues with 2024's beautiful but oddly shallow Nosferatu, a mixed bag of astonish visuals, odd performances, and occasionally clashing thematic choices. The guys tackle monstrosity, the spiritual vs the physical, and other subjects!

Vampire Month Rises From The Tomb begins in earnest with NEAR DARK, a vampire western that likely needs no introduction. The guys talk subtext, vampire "cures," and great casting.

The guys bridge the gap between Werewolf month and their next Vampire month with UNDERWORLD, the 2003 movie that showcases the mass hysteria Pete Vehkman was talking about. The guys talk silly fun, superficial storytelling, and other entertaining subjects!

Werewolf month concludes with an obscure and ambitious entry to Werewolf cinema in the form of Romasanta:The Werewolf Hunt! The guys discuss the "true crime" nature of the film, Lycanthropy, the late (great) Julian Sands, and bright spots in an otherwise fair-to-middling period piece.

Werewolf month rolls on with Wolf, an exceptional little film filled with excellent performances, highly intelligent filmmaking, and possibly the best pee-related scene in cinema history! The guys talk power fantasies, narrative twists, and moral relativism, and also Werewolves.

Werewolf month continues with the funny and strange An American Werewolf In London! The guys deal with the problematic nature of the director and, when that is out of the way, discuss the similarities to The Wolf Man, the themes of guilt and shame, and other fun topics! CW: Suicide and Self Harm, please listen responsibly.

The guys begin their first Werewolf month with the (nominally) original Werewolf film with 1941's The Wolf Man! We talk the invention of the tropes that drive the entire subgenre, power fantasies, persecution, and the tragedy of Larry Talbot (and how good Lon Chaney Jr. is in this picture).

The guys wish a RIP to character actor Tom Noonan with a conversation on Michael Mann's neo-realism crime fiction film MANHUNTER! Noonan was phenomenal in the role, and the film is solid, please enjoy!

The guys conclude "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" with Oz The Great And Powerful, which does nothing good for either of them. They talk the problematic misogyny, the problematic James Franco, like The China Doll Girl, and are just kinda mad.

We continue "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" month with, well...YellowBrickRoad, a spirited low budget film that we find long on ambition (and some skill) but not entirely enough depth. We talk the films unique style and structure, clever technique, and a frustration with execution. So come associate food with colors and enjoy your picture show!

Continuing on the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road month with 1985's weirdly aggressive Return To Oz, an often overlooked piece of childhood nightmare fuel! We talk visual stylings, troubled productions and other topics as we revisit Oz once again!

A new theme begins with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, in which the guys cover various Oz films based on the works of L.Frank Baum! We talk use of color, edgy takes on the material, and other fun conversation topics!

Across The Reiner-verse concludes with a second visit from special guest Glaive Steele and a conversation on 1990's MISERY! Topics include changes from the source material, the films' sense of humor, and the incomparable Kathy Bates. A final send off to legendary director Rob Reiner!

Across The Reiner-Verse continues with The Princess Bride, possibly Reiner's crowning achievement, and a nearly perfect film. The guys talk Inigo Montoya, love stories, and fencing as they attempt to do justice to this incredible romantic fantasy.

Across The Reiner-Verse continues with Stand By Me, possibly the greatest "coming-of-age" films ever made, and an excellent adaptation of Stephen King's novella The Body. The guys are joined by special guest Glaive Steele, who does a wonderful job relaying their own experiences and viewpoints to the meaningful story.

Across The Reiner-verse (and 2026) begins with 1984's This Is Spinal Tap, one of the most influential and brilliant comedies in history. We talk the magnificent improv, jokes that last forever, and celebrate the beginning of the career of the great Rob Reiner.

We close 2025 with our annual Flanamania (and whatcha gonna do?!) episode with special guests Maggie S (of Insane Troll Logic), Emily Fabrizio, and filmmaker Jamie Alvey, discussing Doctor Sleep! We talk trauma, sequels and attractive villains, and Jamie tells us a bit about her upcoming short film The Second Circle! Happy New Year from us at At The Devils Ball!

Ho Ho Ho Merry Axe-Mas! Our final holiday film is Better Watch Out, which we try to apply our positive and constructive methods to (spoiler: it doesn't go well), and we also talk unconventional Christmas films, the finale of Welcome to Derry and other festive topics. Have a frank and productive holiday, Children.

Merry Axe-Mas continues with the musical comedy zombie movie ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE. With special guest filmmaker and frequent guest Mi Chelle Nessk, we talk mood dissonance, zombies and christmas.

Merry Axe-Mas continues with the remake of Black Christmas! Joined by special guest Sarah Sinn, the guys talk the films top-flight cast, adaptational choices, and generally enjoy this nasty little serving of X-Mas Pudding.

Merry Axe-Mas begins with a film that is just barely qualifying to be seasonally appropriate (your mileage may vary): Cobra, Sylvester Stallone's creepily right-wing ode to police brutality. Beyond that icky stuff is a movie so generally weird that it falls in the guys wheelhouse. So come misinterpret some criminal justice programs with us! Happy Holidays!

The guys put a name of their pain, and it is Batman (wait 'til they get a load of us...)! The guys talk Jack Nicholson's performance, the commentary on consumerism and art, and talk a little about comics in general. So come listen to us talk about Batman and dance with the devil in the pale moonlight.

"Down for Whatever" continues with 1408, one of the few good horror films to deal with hotels. The guys grapple with evil rooms, a sprawling climax, and two very good actors. So don't let wolves eat your brother on the Connecticut turnpike and listen to us instead!

The guys try once more to weather the eternal storm of internet issues to discuss A Tale Of Two Sisters with special guest Ben Hasler of Reels of Justice! They fail! But Ben is a great sport, and there is at least some insight given on the very interesting and engaging film!

This month, At The Devil's Ball is down for whatever! Or we had to ask our friends to pick stuff for us because we're too lazy. Either way, we begin with 2020's moody fairy tale GRETEL AND HANSEL with our friend Micah! We talk various themes, unpack the mildly opaque story and generally marvel at the film's gorgeous cinematography and composition.