Is It Horror?

Season 2 Episode 16 in which the right podcast in the wrong place can make all the difference in determining if Half-Life 2 is horror. We examine everything from the development to the enemy encounters to NPC attitudes. At an average of 10 to 13 hours a playthrough, there are a lot of sights to see and things to experience, certainly, there are horrific implications and moments but is that enough...

Season 2 Episode 15 in which the nerdy cast of Is It Horror does their best to break into the coolest clique at school where the shoulder pads are huge and all the girls are named Heather all to determine if yet another 80s classic staring Winona Ryder is horror. Heathers is a black comedy but does that make it horror? We also for good measure discuss our own high school experiences and weigh in o...

Season 2 Episode 14 wherein the recently deceased cast of Is It Horror brave sandworm attacks (possibly on Saturn) to discover the mysteries of the afterlife. The most important mystery: Is Beetlejuice horror/comedy or just comedy? Is there a difference between what's spooky and what's horror? And how exactly does the afterlife work in the Beetlejuice universe? Hell, how does being dead even work...

Season 2 Episode 13 wherein the cast of Is It Horror travels through the rabbit hole to the 1950s to dig through all the conspiracies and determine if Stephen King's novel 11/22/63 is horror! Can you dig it? We also discuss some of our thoughts on conspiracy theories, whether or not time travel is always sci-fi, and Stephen King's status as a horror writer! And we round it all out by discussing ho...

Season 2 Episode 12 wherein the ambitious rookie team of Is It Horror visit an infamous cannibal serial killer in order to determine if the Oscar-winning film The Silence of the Lambs is horror. We also discuss serial killers and the misguided opinion that some movies are too good to be horror. We hope you'll join us, perhaps while having a glass of your finest chianti!

Season 2 Episode 11 in which the spore-infested cast of Is It Horror tries to fight off infection while reviewing the first episode of HBO's new series The Last of Us. We talk about adaptations and whether The Last of Us needed one. We discuss how the first episode holds up for fans of the games and for people new to the franchise. We are also joined by a good friend of the show and long-time fan...

Season 2 Episode 10 wherein the graceful cast of Is It Horror seeks perfection in all things horror but analyzing Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. Aronofsky has a talent for making uncomfortable films and psychological thrillers but is that enough to make Black Swan horror? Also, we discuss the recently released Evil Dead Rise trailer and what horror films we're excited about in 2023! Trigger Warnin...

Season 2 Episode 9 wherein the extremely spooky but ultimately harmless cast of Is It Horror shift their focus away from genre (mostly) to settle an age-old debate: Is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? We delve into the origins of the film, the audience reaction, and break down the movie itself to help determine an answer. And because we do like to determine if...

Season 2 Episode 8 in which the innocent but imaginative cast of Is It Horror visits the magical land of Oz. But is it as magical as it once seemed or is it just a smidge on the terrifying side? We are diving deep into Walter Murch's cult classic 1985 film Return to Oz. Mr. Murch has spent years wondering why people found his film scary and we dig into his comments to see if he unintentionally cre...

Season 2 Episode 7 wherein the brash and rogue-ish Daikinis of Is it Horror check in on everyone's favorite Nelwyn, Willow. Willow faces many threats and near-certain doom but does he face horror? Join us as we analyze George Lucas and Ron Howard's classic film to determine if it's horror. We also discuss the similarities and differences between fantasy and horror. Plus a fantasy-themed Is It Horr...

Season 2 Episode 6 wherein the final girls and boys of Is It Horror briefly set aside their quest to define horror and instead review Halloween Ends. This week we're not asking "Is It Horror" but instead "Is It Horrible?" We discuss the final chapter in David Gordon Green's Halloween trilogy, the numerous reboots of the Halloween series, and also just how many baseball bats to the face evil can ta...

Season 2 Episode 5 in which the cast of Is It Horror bound by destiny travel to the mystical land of Prydain to search for the Black Cauldron and learn its deepest secrets...Is It Horror? Along the way, we discuss what defines children's horror and a little about The Black Cauldron's troubled production. Hope you'll join us!

Season 2 Episode 4 in which the colorful cast of Is It Horror does the Time Warp to answer the ultimate horror classification question! Is The Rocky Horror Picture Show a horror movie? Sure it has horror in the title. Sure it's a Halloween holiday classic but is that enough to push it over the edge? Have your squirt gun at the ready, throw rice at your phone, snap your gloves, and join us as we di...

Season 2 Episode 3 in which the cast of Is It Horror visits a simpler more innocent (and yet more disturbing) time to determine the fate of Fido. We answer all the important zombie-related questions. Can a zombie apocalypse without the apocalypse truly be horror? What's a zombie without the desire to eat human flesh? Can Carrie-Anne Moss absolutely slay in pinup attire? At least one of these answe...

Season 2 Episode 2 wherein the thrill-seeking cast of Is It Horror examines a horror baseline, Neil Marshall's The Descent. Certainly, The Descent is horror but why are we so sure that's the case? We also take some time to explore feminism in the horror genre. The Descent may be horror but is it also feminist horror? Joins us for a little philosophical spelunking...unless you're claustrophobic. &n...

Season 2 Episode 1 where the usually law-abiding cast of Is It Horror flirt with folk horror in a quest to decide if a buddy cop comedy just might be a horror movie in disguise. Join us as we discuss Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's second entry into the Cornetto Trilogy, Hot Fuzz!

Season 2 Bonus Episode wherein the cast of Is It Horror returns from their century-long imprisonment to explore dreams within dreams and divine whether Neil Gaiman's original masterpiece, The Sandman, published through DC Comics' Vertigo line is horror and furthermore whether Netflix's adaptation of said masterpiece is horror. Also, there is talk of skunks and reminiscing about other comics from l...

Episode 20 wherein the cast of Is It Horror celebrates the completion of Season 1. We discuss other podcasts we enjoy, our favorite and least favorite movies we've covered, and what we've learned about horror this season. We also play a game of Horror/Comedy/Romance (think Marry/F***/Kill but with movie genres). Then we end things with a Lightning Round of Is It Horror; No preparation just gut ins...

Episode 19 wherein the unsuspecting expert crew of Is It Horror are taken to a dinosaur-filled theme park in Costa Rica. We explore the important questions like: How do Raptors wear skirts and most importantly is Stephen Spielberg's Jurassic Park horror? Join us and find out where we stand! 

Episode 18 wherein the relatable cast of Is It Horror (complete with mysteriously tragic pasts) go back to their quirky/ominous family home to investigate whether the video game What Remains of Edith Finch is horror. Not only that but we explore what it takes for video games to be horror and delve into the effects of generational trauma (in a safe and accepting environment)! It's all the fun and h...

Episode 17 in which the crew of Is It Horror cozy up with their favorite book, the Necronomicon Ex Mortis. We delve into its secrets to find the right passage to see if either or both Evil Dead II or Army of Darkness are horror. We also discuss some of our most haunted vacations. Join Us!

Episode 16 wherein the resistance fighters of Is It Horror dive into the middle of a war to discuss Guillermo Del Toro's classic film, Pan's Labyrinth. Not only do we have to determine if this dark fairy tale is horror but also if anything magical truly happened! Join us for all that and a little random art history!

Episode 15 in which the olde timey forever black and white crew of Is It Horror takes up the manning and maintenance of a lighthouse. But not just any lighthouse! No! Why Neptune himself (or more likely Cthulhu) has called our humble podcast to analyze Robert Egger's The Lighthouse and not just to determine what in the southside of a seagull we think is going on but of course, to ask Is It Horror?...

Episode 14 wherein the last hope of humanity, Is It Horror, travels back in time to determine if James Cameron's original Terminator is horror. Some say it's a slasher, some say it's got notes of body horror but one thing is for certain it doesn't have phased plasma rifles in the 40-watt range. Join us in the self-consistent time stream!

Episode 13 in which the naive millennial social media stars of Is It Horror head down to Texas unwittingly running into the long-dormant chainsaw-wielding maniac himself, Leatherface. However, we won't be asking is it horror but rather is it horrible? Join us a find out our thoughts about the newest installment of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise and discover which cast member shares an injur...