ETCH CAST

This week on ETCH CAST, Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King are joined by Cassie Workman to discuss the early reaction to CASSIE WORKMAN IS WITCHY AF, the response to the first clips released online, and some favorite behind-the-scenes stories from making the series. Then it's Movie Club as Cassie dives into Hereditary and Constantine, two films that helped inspire the tone, themes, and supern...

Welcome back to the shadows. On Episode 19 of ETCH CAST, co-hosts Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King step inside the House Spaceship with Captain Skinner and director/co-creator Allen Cordell to talk about the making of Art Show! with Captain Skinner . From Super Deluxe origins and DIY filmmaking chaos to Space Cowboy lore, Carny Dad, surreal animation, wizard jokes, and filming two episodes a da...

Philip Gelatt is joined by Morgan Galen King and special guest Jeremy Selenfriend , head artist of Monster in My Closet, for a conversation centered on practical effects, horror, and the craft of building something real. Jeremy shares how he got started in makeup FX and what it means to create physical transformations in an increasingly digital world. From texture and imperfection to the presence...

Episode 17 of ETCH CAST launches our new Movie Club format. Host Philip Gelatt is joined by Morgan Galen King and special guest Skinner — artist and the creative force behind Art Show With Captain Skinner . This episode centers on two films that inspired Skinner: The Dark Backward (1991) and Unwelcome (2023) . The conversation moves through filmmaking, outsider art, creative influences, and the st...

Philip Gelatt is joined by Will Battersby to revisit The Bleeding House , the film that started it all. They talk through the realities of making a first feature — writing and shooting under tight limitations, instinct-driven choices, and the lessons learned along the way. The conversation also includes stories from the set, from building sets by hand to production mishaps, catering chaos, and why...

Episode 15 of Etch Cast looks outward. Philip Gelatt is joined by Morgan Galen King, Will Battersby, April Merl, and Belle Del Sesto for a conversation about the films and television that defined 2025 — not as critics chasing consensus, but as filmmakers focused on craft, risk, and intent. No rankings. No hot takes. Just a reflection on what lingered, what worked, what didn’t, and what these stori...

Episode 14 of ETCH CAST is a pause at the threshold — a moment to look back before stepping forward. Philip Gelatt is joined by Will Battersby and Morgan Galen King to reflect on Etch’s first full year as an independent creative studio: what was built, what surprised them, and how the work found its shape. They discuss released and upcoming projects including First Word on Horror , Art Show with C...

Bad Ideas Only is back. And it’s worse than ever. Episode 13 of ETCH CAST marks the return of Bad Ideas Only —a live script development challenge where the Etch team brings their worst movie pitches to the table… then dares each other to make them viable. Hosted by Philip Gelatt and joined by Morgan Galen King, Will Battersby, April Merl, Belle Del Sesto, and Lacey Gilleran, this episode features...

Philip and Morgan join forces with Skinner to explore the psychology, texture, and cosmic weirdness of monster design — why we fear them, why we love them, and why the creature in the dark always matters.

Composer Peter Scartabello joins the Etch Cast to dig into the mechanics and mysteries of horror scoring. Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King explore Peter’s process—where he begins, how he shapes mood, and why horror thrives on contrast: delicacy beside brutality, silence beside dread. They delve into his influences, his fascination with the strange and the uncanny, and the ways he built the musi...

Episode 10 sends the Etch Cast crew — Philip Gelatt, Morgan Galen King, and special guest Joe Dwyer — deep into the year’s strangest cinematic discoveries. After months of double features and questionable viewing decisions, they sift through their shared Letterboxd list to reveal the films that stuck with them, delighted them, or left them wondering what exactly they’d just watched. Expect odd gem...

In this episode, Philip Gelatt, Will Battersby, April Merl, and Belle Del Sesto dive into the movies they probably shouldn’t admit they love — the chaotic comfort watches, the flawed favorites, and the cinematic oddities that refuse to let go. They explore what makes a true “guilty pleasure,” why horror comfort films hit differently, the blurry line between bad and beloved, and how nostalgia shape...

The Etch Cast team launches a brand-new recurring series: Bad Ideas Only — where the worst movie pitches imaginable get a shot at redemption. Fever-dream concepts, cursed Notes App entries, and cinematic chaos all collide as Morgan Galen King, Will Battersby, April Merl, Belle Del Sesto, and Lacey Gilleran attempt the impossible: making bad ideas… actually good. It’s unhinged. It’s creative madnes...

Author Paul Tremblay ( A Head Full of Ghosts , Horror Movie , Another ) joins Philip Gelatt to talk horror tropes, ambiguity, and why the uncanny is essential to fear. A sharp and entertaining craft conversation — plus a hilarious horror movie recommendation disaster. 👉 Listen & subscribe: etchstudio.substack.com

Every film begins with an idea — the flicker before the fire. In this first From Script to Screen installment, Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King sit down with director and producer Will Battersby to talk about how stories are born, shaped, and sometimes haunted. They explore where ideas come from, how tone and theme guide early choices, and what separates a concept from a story worth chasing. It...

Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King, joined by Etch team member Belle Del Sesto, descend into the world of horror video games. They explore why fear feels different when you’re holding the controller, games that scarred them, and why we keep going back for more. Plus: What Lurks in Our Queue. Follow us on social @etchfilm and get more at etchstudio.substack.com .

Welcome back to the shadows. In Episode 4 of ETCH CAST , it’s just Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King — two friends, two filmmakers, and one long conversation about the strange, exhausting, and occasionally transcendent act of animating dark fantasy. This time, Morgan moves from co-host to guest as we trace the decade-long creation of The Spine of Night , unpack the beauty and brutality of rotosc...

Editing is where horror takes shape. In this episode of ETCH CAST, hosts Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King sit down with Etch editor April Merl to explore how editing creates rhythm, tension, and atmosphere. They discuss April’s path into editing, the unique challenges of cutting horror, and why silence and pacing can sometimes be more powerful than screams. Plus, in our recurring segment What L...

The Etch team pulls back the curtain on the making of FIRST WORD ON HORROR — from lighting interviews like paintings to turning each author’s story into its own cinematic world. We talk doors that became portals, the challenges of filming Laird Barron, Paul Tremblay, Mariana Enríquez, Elizabeth Hand, and Stephen Graham Jones, and why sometimes a “podcast” has to become a documentary. Hosted by Phi...

Meet the minds behind Etch Productions: Philip Gelatt (writer/director, Love, Death & Robots ), Will Battersby (producer, President of Production at Etch), and Morgan Galen King (co-director of The Spine of Night ). In our premiere, we share the films and books that scarred or inspired us, debate why genre is more toolkit than cage, and confess to childhood obsessions ranging from Gremlins and...