Anatomy of a Scream Pod Squad

Terry and Joe are back on the Cronenberg side of the pod, which finds the director unofficially completing a trilogy after Videodrome and eXistenZ . There's a lot of classic Cronenberg elements here, even if Terry doesn't feel it all comes together. Joe has grown to appreciate the film's interest in exploring what the future could be...albeit without offering concrete answers. Plus: transhumanism...

Nichole is taking a look at a recent favorite: 2021’s Malignant. This episode-slash-TedTalk will cover teratomas, parasitic twins, conjoined twins and fetus in fetu while contemplating why the “excised” twin in films in this specific horror subgenre are always the villains. Additional Reading: Fuck Cancer: James Wan’s Malignant – The Horror Doctor Want to share your thoughts on Maliginant or sugge...

Who's ready for a little cry? Terry and Joe return to Twin Peaks for an episode recorded the week David Lynch passed and...we're just a little emotional. From Ed and Norma's well deserved reunion to despair from the realization that the Pod is nearly done, it's all just a little raw. Plus: more frustration over Audrey, Terry's issue with the 18 hour model, setting things up for the finale, and why...

Jenn and Rachel fly in from boarding school to rescue special guest Justin Gerber from a forklift and chat about love spells, amusement parks, and fabulous witches in Jeannot Szwarc’s Supergirl (1984)  Wanna keep up with the show? @girlsontheboys > Jenn: @jennferatu - @LosersClubPod, @theladykpod, @SfAntagonist, @MurderMFiction  > Rachel: @VinylGrrrl - @HalloweeniesPod, @LosersClub...

Strap in for an unconventional erotic thriller as Jenn, Gena, and Joe discuss Perfectly Good Moment (2024), which is streaming for free on Tubi. C/W: emotional abuse. We're very on board with the non-linear narrative from writers Julian Seltzer and Amanda Jane Stern (who also co-stars), as well as the way director Lauren Greenhall shoots the sex/intimacy. Plus: debate about the Good For Her ending...

Terry and Joe return to discuss Maps to the Stars (2014), David Cronenberg's fucked up (half baked?) Hollywood satire. In addition to incest and celebrating the death of a child, we're tackling bad behavior by a bevy of stars including Julianne Moore, John Cusack, and Mia Wasikowska. Plus: Moore as the MVP, dark clinical comedy, a "ghostly" alternative draft, and debating if this is more of a Wagn...

The girls get emotional as Rachel and Jenn are joined by special guest Mac Gerber for the 2024 documentary Super/Man. We’re not crying, you’re crying! Wanna keep up with the show? @girlsontheboys > Jenn: @jennferatu, @LosersClubPod, @theladykpod, @SfAntagonist, @MurderMFiction  > Rachel: @VinylGrrrl, @HalloweeniesPod, @LosersClubPod  > Mac: @wolfman_mac_gerber, @HalloweeniesPod,...

It always make Nichole happy when a film featuring a disability – a rare disease, no less! – is on the big screen. In the freshly baked, just released film Novocaine , a man with a rare disease Congenital Insensitivity to Pain (CIP) goes hard and brutal to save the first person he has had a true, intimate connection with. We see: accommodations! Disclosing your disability! Real brutal fights! Pie!...

Listen to that true crime podcast en route to your date because we're talking the new Lucy Hale comedy thriller Fuck Marry Kill (2024) This movie is about a woman who has to figure out which of her three blind dates is actually a serial killer. It's fun, even if we dislike its portrayal of podcasting! Plus: hot guys aplenty, killer stilettos, marriage material, and whether we would watch a sequel....

Terry and Joe return to Lynch's Twin Peaks: The Return to tackle a trio of episodes that feel somewhat more plot-focused than usual. Plus: Terry's lament that the show isn't investing in its new characters, a breakthrough regarding the show's treatment of dying small towns, Laura Dern's height, and an extended conversation about Lynch's trollish tendency to let scenes run for too long. Wanna conne...

Rachel and Jenn complete their detour into Charles Bronson’s filmography with the bizarre and bombastic Death Wish 3 (1985).  They killed the Giggler!!! Wanna keep up with the show? @girlsontheboys > Jenn: @jennferatu - @LosersClubPod, @theladykpod, @SfAntagonist, @MurderMFiction  > Rachel: @VinylGrrrl - @HalloweeniesPod, @LosersClubPod  If you like the podcast, please rate, r...

For this episode, Nichole dives into the messy thriller waters of 1992’s The Hand the Rock the Rocks the Cradle. Maybe not a film that wears the horror genre on its sleeve but there are twists, turns, and a couple fairly brutal kills. This episodes focuses on Solomon, the family handyman with an intellectual disability played by Ernie Hudson. No matter how many years pass or how many rewatches, Ni...

Terry and Joe are back to discuss David Cronenberg's 2012 adaptation of Don DeLillo's novel Cosmopolis. This is a challenging, occasionally unsatisfying film: the film wasn't particularly well received, though star Robert Pattinson is great. Plus: a wild cast (including a last minute antagonist), finance and tech-speak, a souped up stretch limo, and "environmental storytelling" Wanna connect with...

Rachel and Jenn hitch up their saddles and ride on out to Utah to talk about widows, outlaws, assassins, and harmonicas in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West. You brought two pods too many. Wanna keep up with the show?@girlsontheboys > Jenn: @jennferatu - @LosersClubPod, @theladykpod, @SfAntagonist, @MurderMFiction  > Rachel: @VinylGrrrl - @HalloweeniesPod, @LosersClubPod ...

Nichole continues to explore the theme of metal meets flesh. For this episode, she explores new film Companion , which has a couple of ideas and themes that made it a must-cover. Bodily autonomy, how and what we define as human, and who deserves agency of their own being? Yep, we’re going there. Additional Reading: Vincent D Amante. Companion (2025) and Toxic Transactional Relationships: Social Ex...

Joe and Terry return to the world of Twin Peaks to talk about the series' most explosive episode (Part 8) which features the birth of Bob in the Trinity nuclear bomb test. Lots to discuss, including the arrival of Diane (Laura Dern), how Twin Peaks: The Return is a synthesis of all of Lynch's interests to date, and our reactions to various side characters and random subplots (Ashley Judd is being...

Fret about hot dogs because Jenn, Gena, and Joe are discussing Todd Haynes' impeccable character piece, May December (2023). C/W: grooming and sexual abuse. Expect a lot of talk about how both Gracie (Julianne Moore) and Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) as monsters, feeling sorry for an infantilized Joe (Charles Melton), and how the film works as an indictment of made-for-TV true crime adaptations and...

Rachel takes Jenn behind enemy lines with a rebellious Army Major and his rag-tag group of convicted murderers on a death-defying mission to explore masculinity in Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen (1967). Wanna keep up with the show? @girlsontheboys > Jenn: @jennferatu - @LosersClubPod, @theladykpod, @SfAntagonist, @MurderMFiction  > Rachel: @VinylGrrrl - @HalloweeniesPod, @LosersClubPo...

Let’s get a little personal, shall we? For this episode Nichole chats about 1989’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man, an experimental cult sci-fi horror film that follows the horrific nightmare and reality of man becoming metal. She watched this film after a valve replacement surgery that began her own metal mission and, as a result, the film hit a profound way. Following more viewings and additional research...

Let's get psychologically sexy! Terry and Joe unpack David Cronenberg's historical drama featuring a trio of hot leads in Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen. Alas, there's something...lacking about this one. Plus: Knightley's accent, boring stretches, a scene-stealing Vincent Cassel, and an intriguing finale. Overall, however, we spend a lot of time questioning whether Cronenb...

Rachel and Jenn dig into another Bronson text and chat about kitchen timer bombs, faux love letters, and 70s spy houses in Michael Winner’s The Mechanic . Wanna keep up with the show? @girlsontheboys > Jenn: @jennferatu - @LosersClubPod, @theladykpod, @SfAntagonist, @MurderMFiction > Rachel: @VinylGrrrl - @HalloweeniesPod, @LosersClubPod If you like the podcast, please rate, review, and subs...

Continuing January’s theme of “Faves from 2024,” Nichole covers arguably the most talked about horror film of the year: THE SUBSTANCE. After appearing on The Pod and the Pendulum Patreon episode on this film, Nichole is excited to explore the film with the wonderful Wes Harkness from Disabledland; this time from an explicitly disabled angle. Boy howdy, do we have things to say about ageism, ableis...

Terry and Joe return to the world of Twin Peaks: The Return , but the former is struggling with the balance of screen time given to each of the series' many, many characters. Plus: killing (or nearly killing) kids, Joe's hatred of Wally Brando, a beautiful trip with Amanda Seyfried, why Duchovny's Denise feels like drag, and enjoying the musical acts at the Bang Bang Club. Wanna connect with your...

We've got what you want...but it's not an erotic thriller! To kick off 2024, Jenn, Gena and Joe check out Halina Reijn's Babygirl (2024) about a high powered female CEO who explodes her life for a sexual affair. Up for discussion: sex, power, and nudity, refuting the term "brave", defining babygirls and softboys, Romy's backstory, as well as Nicole's work with female creatives. Wanna connect with...

Rachel and Jenn kick off the first movie of their Bronson side quest by travelling back to 1974 to talk about masculinity, cowboys, and vigilante violence in Michael Winner’s iconic Death Wish (1974). Wanna keep up with the show? @girlsontheboys Connect with your co-hosts: > Jenn: @jennferatu - @LosersClubPod, @theladykpod, @SfAntagonist, @MurderMFiction > Rachel: @VinylGrrrl - @Halloweenies...