Certified Forgotten

This (day after) Thanksgiving, we're thankful for a returning guest who is the best of all of us. Fangoria's Senior Editor Meredith Borders notches her second guest spot on Certified Forgotten to chat about an oddball Canadian gateway horror film. The Peanut Butter Solution has become a cult favorite, but only in smaller circles. Meredith joins the Matts to chat about Fangoria's upcoming initiativ...

Welcome to another episode of "The Great Oz Perkins Debate" here on Certified Forgotten. Your hosts, Matt Donato and Matthew Monagle, couldn't agree on Perkins' catalog until Longlegs, and then again with The Monkey. It looked like there might finally be peace between the Matts, but then Perkins went back to "basics" for his latest film, Keeper. Once again, your Matts are at odds over a new Perkin...

Do you like your cosmic horror with a dash of folklore? Or perhaps you prefer your folk horror with a dollop of the cosmic? Either way, you're the right audience for Nick Szostakiwskyj's Black Mountain Side, a wintry horror film that is one part aliens and one part elder gods. On this week's episode of Certified Forgotten, we're joined by tabletop designer Colin Le Sueur to talk about his Canadian...

To quote Donato's Predator: Badlands review: "It's official: Dan Trachtenberg is the Yautja whisperer." Between Monagle's love of the Alien universe and Donato's incessant quoting of Predator, the Matts dedicated this week's Uncertified episode to gushing about Trachtenberg's latest Yautja adventure. Does the heavy use of digital animation hold up? Can the inclusion of Weyland-Yutani stay in the b...

What happens when two podcasts that prioritize underseen horror movies collide? You get a crossover episode dedicated to Michael Schroeder's "frighteningly erotic thriller" Out of the Dark (1988). Certified Forgotten welcomes Puppet Masters/Castle Freaks co-host Jarrod Hornbeck, who brought his love for an underseen '80s slasher in full force. We'll talk about sleazy exploitation, killer clowns, a...

Hot on the heels of their conversation with writer-director Tina Romero at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Matt Donato and Matthew Monagle are jumping into their own conversation about Queens of the Dead. Romero's debut feature might borrow heavily from the zombie tropes created by her father, George A. Romero, but the queer horror-comedy that the younger Romero has crafted is a story all her o...

Is The Pit (1981) one of the crazier films we've covered on the podcast to date? Absolutely. You can thank filmmakers Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. Norman, the duo behind the runaway favorite V/H/S/Halloween segment, "Home Haunt." Micheline and R.H. graciously shed light on what it took to create their endlessly entertaining anthology segment, then dive into all the silly and perverted weirdnes...

It isn't often that a guest brings us a no-doubt future classic, but that's certainly the case on this episode of Certified Forgotten. This week, Matt Donato and Matthew Monagle are joined by author Jonathan Janz (Veil, The End of the World as We Know It) to talk about Erik Kristopher Myers's Butterfly Kisses. Join us for a wide-ranging conversation about writing, letting monsters be monsters, and...

When the first reviews for HIM were posted, Certified Forgotten's Matt Donato found himself on an island. He loved the film, but an overwhelming majority of critics took an opposing stance. Surprisingly, co-host Matthew Monagle is not one of those negative reviewers. In fact, HIM is a rare instance where both Matts can agree. Frankly, this is probably the only podcast episode about HIM where it's...

Somehow, by the might of too many individuals, another Fantastic Fest is in the books. This year marks the festival's 20th anniversary, which both Matts were able to cover. Donato was in Austin, soaking in all the cinematic goodness, while Monagle watched screeners from afar. In this episode, the Matts run down their favorite movies from Fantastic Fest, while also touching on as many other highlig...

After a short stint without a standard episode, Certified Forgotten is back for the full hour-long treatment. Matthew Monagle and Matt Donato are joined by Kate Sánchez, the editor-in-chief of pop culture site But Why Tho? , to talk about all things horror. In this episode, Kate reflects on how closely horror is tied to her heritage, and shares her appreciation for Metamorphosis, the 2019 South Ko...

It's finally the season for scare actors, haunted houses, and Halloween-themed adventures! Certified Forgotten's resident Los Angeleno, Matt Donato, attended the opening event of Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, along with countless other West Coast horror journalists. Since Matt Monagle did not, past guest Dorina "DJ Bruja" stepped in to run a full recap of the mayhem that went down. From Ter...

Fantastic Fest celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, with no signs of slowing down. In this 30-minute episode, Matt Donato and Matthew Monagle break down the dos and don'ts of Fantastic Fest for both movie lovers and press. We also sneak a peek at the lineup and share a few titles we're most excited to see in 2025.

As a regular listener of Certified Forgotten, you know we always want to focus on the underseen stuff. But when life gives you a brand new Alien series from showrunner Noah Hawley? Well, you talk about that, too. In this Uncertified episode of the podcast, Matthew Monagle and Matt Donato sit down to discuss Alien: Earth: its place within the Alien universe, its commitment to standalone storytellin...

Did you know that Han from the Fast & Furious movies directed a cutesy indie horror comedy? Believe it! Sung Kang's Shaky Shivers is a sugary-sweet, hokey-as-all-heck gateway horror comedy about zombies, werewolves, cults, cryptids, ice cream, and friendship. Here to defend its honor to the Matts is three-time returning guest Amelia Emberwing, who's been high on the film since the Overlook Fil...

Don't worry, we're still the podcast about horror movies with 10-or-less critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. That said, your Matts have had a helluva summer so far, and have needed these Uncertified episodes to regroup. Plus, why not get an early review of Weapons out there? Our own Matt Donato has seen the film, and he's joined by yet another very special guest: Collider's Perri Nemiroff! Listen i...

After several weeks of moving hell, Matthew Monagle is back on the podcast! In this bite-sized episode of Certified Forgotten, Monagle and Matt Donato catch up quickly on a month's worth of horror, including the highs (and mostly lows) of public domain slashers and the soon-to-be horror blockbuster that is Zach Cregger's Weapons. Special thank you to B.J. Colangelo and Meagan Navarro, who pinch-hi...

In this week's episode, we're headed back to Southport for a discussion about the new I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025). Certified Forgotten's Matt Donato is joined by another guest host, the perfect person to chat about sharp hooks and silly slasher vibes. B.J. Colangelo (This Ends At Prom) brings her love of I Know What You Did Last Summer to the table, counterbalancing Donato's less enthus...

It's that time of year again! We've hit the mid-year point, and everyone wants to know what the best horror movies of the year are so far. Certified Forgotten's Matt Donato is in charge of this special episode, and has enlisted the help of Bloody Digsuting's Meagan Navarro because, when you can, why not bring in the best? Listen in to their 30-minute discussion, and maybe you'll leave with a few t...

In the words of, I unno, the youths? Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, and the 28 [Insert Unit Of Time Measurement] franchise are so back. 28 Years Later marks the return of multiple 28 Days Later talents behind the camera, as Boyle embraces risks like there's no tomorrow. The Matts have a lot to talk about, from infecteds hanging dong and tracksuit mafias; 28 Years Later feels like multiple movies cramm...

Was it Billy Joel who once said that working too hard could give you a shark attack-ack-ack-ack-ack? Probably not! But in this episode of Certified Forgotten, you will hear Matt Monagle and Matt Donato wax poetic about their love of Sean Byrne's new film, Dangerous Animals. Byrne, the director of modern classics The Loved One and The Devil's Candy, directs Nick Lepard's shark-slash-serial killer m...

When your first feature is a J-horror-inspired found footage film, audiences might expect a movie like Noroi: The Curse to be a prime influence. But here's the fun truth: one-half of our guests had not even seen Koji Shiraishi's horror masterpiece until a day before this podcast recording. In this episode, writer-director duo Paul Gandersman and Peter Hall join Certified Forgotten to discuss Noroi...

Before 2023's masterfully wicked When Evil Lurks, Argentine filmmaker Demián Rugna terrified horror audiences with ... well, Terrified. We're joined on the podcast by composer, DJ, and longtime horror advocate Dorina — known to her followers as "DJ Bruja" — to discuss the film that came before Rugna's When Evil Lurks. Dorina channels her Mexican roots to talk about American horror versus Spanish-l...

You couldn't find two different breeds of horror fans than Certified Forgotten hosts Matt Donato and Matt Monagle. So, how did they end up giving Final Destination Bloodlines the same score? In this week's Uncertified episode, the Matts talk about their vastly different experiences with the Final Destination franchise and how that informed their Bloodlines reactions. People are saying it's one of...

Welcome to the 3-timers club, B.J. Colangelo! The intrepid co-host of This Ends At Prom and /Film staple returns with a 2000s horror comedy that is, for better and worse, a cultural time capsule: Monster Man. Misogyny runs rampant in this wannabe direct-to-video American Pie sequel, but to a comically exaggerated degree that shines a light on social norms of the period. Then the Joy Ride and Texas...