Unwatchables with Marc & Seth

FEVER CLOWNS author Caleb Bethea returns for two films where clowns are the *least* of our worries. We begin in the silent era with Victor Sjöström's 1924 psychological thriller HE WHO GETS SLAPPED, starring Lon Chaney as the most masochistically humiliated clown in screen history. Disturbing in a very different way is Victor Salva's 1989 slasher CLOWNHOUSE, which was somehow still release...

Holy shitty movies, Batman! Unwatchables' 3-part series concludes with two of Marc's childhood favorites, films that almost killed not just Batman but superhero films in general. Joel Schumacher's gaudy, "toyetic" takes on the Dark Knight are a far cry from Christopher Nolan's or Tim Burton's; we decide whether 1997's camp-fest BATMAN AND ROBIN lives down to its r...

For Part 2 of our 3-part series, our producer Tony picks two movies that have us wondering: could these get made today? First we shine the harsh light of 2026 on Alexander Payne's 1996 satire CITIZEN RUTH, a comedy that dares to make a farce out of both sides of the abortion debate. Then it's on to the enlightened era of 2008, where Ben Stiller's TROPIC THUNDER earned an Oscar nominati...

Today’s UNWATCHABLES looks back on two very different films about the September 11th terrorist attacks. Paul Greengrass’ UNITED 93 came out less than 5 years after the tragedy and was the first Hollywood film to dramatize the day that many people weren’t sure needed dramatized. We’ll discuss what recreating the attacks means today as well as back in 2006, and then consider the other end of the spe...

Today we're kicking off a three-part series where Seth, Marc, and our producer Tony each take turns curating an episode. First up are Seth’s picks, three ill-fated attempts to make feature-length films out of the songs of the Beatles: 1978’s Bee Gees-starring musical SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND; Julie Taymor's 2007 box office bomb ACROSS THE UNIVERSE; and Danny Boyle’s 2019 f...

Today UNWATCHABLES takes on the dark side of faith, and who better to help us than pastor and author Jonathan Martin? These films are highly unconventional but intensely emotional explorations of characters grappling with their devotion to an Old Testament-style God: Michael Tolkin's daring 1991 drama THE RAPTURE, and Lars Von Trier's punishing 1996 melodrama BREAKING THE WAVES.  You can find more...

Film writer Devan Suber joins us for two oblique character studies about internet-warped minds and the technology they—we?—use to mediate reality. Antonio Campos' 2008 experimental drama AFTERSCHOOL and Pascal Plante's 2023 psychological thriller RED ROOMS may be from opposite ends of the internet era, but both are tapped into the urges that keep their deeply troubled protagonists online.....

Today film critic Richard Lawson helps us take on the unwatchable franchise that followed from one of our most watchable classics. Steven Spielberg's JAWS is one of the most influential and enduring Hollywood blockbusters ever made, and its three sequels are... not. We take a look at what happened after Spielberg left: 1978's retread JAWS 2, 1983's Sea World-set JAWS 3-D, and 1987'...

Today we welcome Chris Evangelista of SlashFilm.com for two recent experimental horror films that challenge our ideas of what a horror film even is. First up is Kyle Edward Ball's 2022 avant-garde creepfest SKINAMARINK, possibly the most un-commercial horror film ever to get a wide theatrical release. And not far behind it is Chris Nash's 2024 slasher IN A VIOLENT NATURE, a slow cinema spl...

Today we're joined by Ryan Verrill of Disc Connected Media to look back at two modern survival horror classics. Greg McLean's 2005 Australian horror film WOLF CREEK is one of the most notorious of the 2000's torture porn boom, featuring a small cast brutally fighting their way out of an isolated setting over one long night. That also describes Jeremy Saulnier's gruesome 2015 thrill...

Big thanks to Akron's Nightlight Cinema for hosting the second live Unwatchables recording! We had a lively back-and-forth with the audience of a sold-out screening of HOWARD THE DUCK, the notorious 1986 flop that's since gained a cult following. We hear from some vocal defenders as we discuss what went wrong (or right?), why Cleveland looks so much like San Francisco, and what that duck n...

Big thanks to Akron's Nightlight Cinema for hosting the second live Unwatchables recording! We had a lively back-and-forth with the audience of a sold-out screening of HOWARD THE DUCK, the notorious 1986 flop that's since gained a cult following. We hear from some vocal defenders as we discuss what went wrong (or right?), why Cleveland looks so much like San Francisco, and what that duck n...

Today Unwatchables tackles the most controversial hit of the year, a film about the one celebrity we can all agree on with nothing complicated whatsoever. We discuss our experience seeing Antoine Fuqua’s MICHAEL with a sold-out crowd, how it stacks up against other biopics, what its success tells us about our culture, and of course how it handles—or doesn’t handle—that other thing. Unwatchables is...

Today Unwatchables tackles the most controversial hit of the year, a film about the one celebrity we can all agree on with nothing complicated whatsoever. We discuss our experience seeing Antoine Fuqua’s MICHAEL with a sold-out crowd, how it stacks up against other biopics, what its success tells us about our culture, and of course how it handles—or doesn’t handle—that other thing. Unwatchables is...

Film critic Jesse Hassenger stops by UNWATCHABLES for two movies about serial killers and the media that loves them. These blood-soaked satires stirred up controversy for their graphic violence and dark senses of humor when they were released two years apart in the 90’s: 1992’s black comedy mockumentary MAN BITES DOG, and Oliver Stone’s hyper-stylized 1994 crime film NATURAL BORN KILLERS. You can...

In an UNWATCHABLES first, today’s episode captures our real-time reactions to 2025’s most gruesome documentary. In honor of our guest Roman Pessarov’s podcast CINEMA STROLLS, we finished watching Albert Serra’s bull-fighting doc AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE minutes before hitting record; we discuss the nature of first impressions, how much artistic merit can be found in two hours of animal torture, and...

Variety’s Guy Lodge returns to UNWATCHABLES for two films that faced similar controversies over their supposedly "irresponsible" use of child actors. Jonathan Glazer’s 2004 drama BIRTH made some viewers uncomfortable with certain scenes between Nicole Kidman and the ten-year-old boy claiming to be her character’s dead husband reincarnated. But that’s nothing compared to our other film, w...

UNWATCHABLES welcomes back film critic and author Nathan Rabin to discuss one of the most bizarre and reviled so-called comedies of the 90’s. Dan Akroyd’s first and to date only directorial effort was a big-budget bomb that asked the burning question, “what if Chevy Chase starred in THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE?” It may not have been a question audiences were interested in, but it resulted in some...

UNWATCHABLES kicks off Season 5 with our pre-Oscars special, where we ask the question: are these the worst Best Picture winners? Both of these films caused controversy when they unexpectedly took home the statue, and both happen to be white liberal filmmakers’ attempts at healing racism in America. What could go wrong? We’ll discuss the Oscars in general, why these films won, and if either of the...

For today’s season finale, we're joined by author Caleb Bethea for possibly our longest-awaited episode. Ruggero Deodato's 1980 video nasty CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST is on the shortlist for the most controversial films ever made, from its onscreen animal cruelty to the widespread bans and obscenity charges following its release. We weigh in on whether it’s beneath or slightly above contempt, and...

Today we're joined by Anthony Crislip of Akron, Ohio's THE NIGHTLIGHT cinema for the vanity projects of the two most controversial broadcasters of the 90's. Both Howard Stern and Jerry Springer helped reinvent their respective mediums, whether for better or worse, but they only ventured onto the big screen once (and within one year of each other). We see if these *very* 90’s star vehic...

Today we're joined by cartoonist Nathan Gelgud to tackle the most polarizing and some might say Unwatchable period of a legendary filmmaker's career. Jean-Luc Godard was one of the leading figures of the French New Wave, at least until he abandoned narrative filmmaking for experimental political films that alienated much of his audience. We'll be looking at two films from this most con...

UNWATCHABLES celebrates its 100th episode with film critic Mike D'Angelo, who joins us for two films about the ecstasy of agony. These movies are all about pain of the self-inflicted kind, one fiction and one non-fiction look at the line between self-harm and self-care: Kirby Dick's heart-rending, stomach-churning 1997 documentary SICK: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BOB FLANAGAN, SUPERMASOCHIST, a...

On today’s Halloween special, we’re joined by author and visual artist Christopher Norris for two films that are decidedly NOT The Exorcist. William Friedkin's 1973 phenomenon inspired plenty of imitators, but few rode its coattails as closely as these: 1974's Italian-made knock-off BEYOND THE DOOR—a minor hit that was sued for copyright infringement—and John Boorman's official, infamo...

Today UNWATCHABLES goes Down Under for two grim Australian thrillers with the help of film critic Laura Venning. These films faced controversy for their upsetting depictions of brutal violence—in one case, the unsimulated kind—but that's nothing compared to what they say about human nature: Ted Kotcheff's 1971 psychological thriller WAKE IN FRIGHT, and Jennifer Kent's 2018 revenge West...