How to Survive

It's the first of our 2016 Christmas Specials! Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) tells the story of Kevin McCallister, a young boy who becomes separated from his family at the airport, and ends up fending for himself in New York City. To make things even more complicated, Kevin is facing off against his past foes, The Wet Bandits (who have now rebranded...). We talk about the importance of lea...

It's episode 71... and it's all hands on deck... Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) tells the story of a group of hapless teenagers who get killed by Jason Vorhees. Some of them get killed on a boat. 5 minutes of the movie takes place in Manhattan where some others are killed and then Jason gets killed (but he's probably not dead). There we saved you having to watch it. We tal...

It's episode 70... and everybody's favourite metamorphosing pets... Gremlins (1984) tells the story of Billy, a young man whose father buys him a strange mystical pet for Christmas. Before long, Billy accidentally causes the pet to multiply, generating dozens of gremlins who terrorise his town - and its up to Billy to stop them. We talk about the importance of clear communication when the stakes a...

It's episode 69... and there's magic in the air... Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) tells the story of Newt Scamander, a collector and protector of magical animals. Newt travels to New York city, where he immediately loses his magical animals and ends up embroiled in all kinds of mayhem while he hunts them down. (Also it's set in the Harry Potter universe) We talk about the lax appro...

It's episode 68... and the world's greatest movie dad is taking on some aliens! War of the Worlds (2005) tells the story of Ray, a deadbeat father who is forced to step up and be there for his children when everything they ever knew or loved is destroyed by aliens.  We talk about the worst father in movie history; the benefits of planning an invasion properly; and just how much someone can overact...

It's episode 67... and we've arrived... Arrival (2016) tells the story of a doctor of linguistics as she is enlisted by the US Army to help talk to some newly arrived aliens. Why are the aliens here? We can say literally nothing about it without spoiling it... We talk about the difficulties of teaching a non-human species to speak a human language; the relative futility of keeping an international...

It's episode 66... Konichiwa! Battle Royale (2000) tells the story of a class of Japanese school children (primarily through two classmates: Nanahara and Noriko). The class is kidnapped and taken to a remote island where they are then forced to fight to the death by their teacher, Kitano. Hilarity ensues. We talk about the merits of taking advantage of people's vulnerable emotional state; the bene...

It's episode 65... and may the odds ever be in your favour... The Hunger Games (2012) tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, a young woman who is forced to take part in a death match against other youngsters, but you can bet she'll make some friends along the way... We talk about some of the stupidest names in movie history; the best way to produce a death match for television; and our most fierce d...

It's episode 64... and the best movie we've ever seen which features a taxi driver being taken hostage by a hitman... Collateral (2004) tells the story of Max, an LA taxi driver who picks up the wrong fare. The wrong fare is Vincent, a hitman who forces Max to drive him around the city as he kills everyone on his list.  We talk about the importance of not leaving your work to the last minute; the...

It's Halloween, and a special treat for our favourite Halloweenies! This is the How to Survive:  Trick or Treat Extravaganza 2016 . This is the 'Trickt' episode, and we're talking about one of the scariest horror movies of recent years. Check back later today for the 'Trick' episode.

  It's Halloween, and a special treat for our favourite Halloweenies! This is the How to Survive:  Trick or Treat Extravaganza 2016 . This is the 'Treat' episode, and we're talking about one of the best modern horror movies of the past five years. Check back later today for the 'Trick' episode.

It's episode 63... and the greatest hitman horror ever... Kill List (2011) tells the story of Jay, a hitman who has been out of work for some time. Convinced to return to the job by his wife and his business partner, Jay's life is soon turned upside-down when he becomes embroiled in the world of the occult. We talk about the benefits of gun modification; the benefits of acting like a Hackney crack...

It's episode 62... and a lesson in the world of love... The Lobster (2015) tells the story of David, who lives in a society where anyone incapable of finding love will be turned into an animal after 45 days alone. David finds himself at an intensive relationship-building course at a hotel, with his deadline fast approaching. We talk about the animals best equipped to survive; the benefits of being...

It's episode 61... and he's still out there... waiting... Friday the 13th: Part VII The New Blood tells the story of Tina, a young woman with psychic powers (no, really) who has returned to Camp Crystal Lake to recover from the memories of killing her father there using her psychic powers (no, really) many years ago. The rest of the film is Jason Vorhees killing teenagers. We talk about just how f...

It's episode 60, and are you seeing what I'm seeing? Don't Breathe (2016) tells the story of Rocky, a young girl who attempts to rob a blind man's house in the dead of night along with her friends. They soon learn that being blind doesn't make this particular man any less mean, and the tables are quickly turned... We take survival advice from an old video game; dust off some old survival favourite...

It's episode 59... and a movie to remind you why The Blair Witch Project was so good... Blair Witch (2016) tells the story of James: a young man whose sister went missing during the events of The Blair Witch Project (1999). Twenty years later, James heads into the woods to find her, taking his hapless friends and a bunch of high tech video equipment with him - but predictably, things don't pan out...

It's episode 58... and the deepest, bluest episode yet. Deep Blue Sea (1999) tells the story of an off-shore research facility which becomes overrun by super-smart, super-strong, super sharks - and it's up to Dr. McCallister and her team to try to fend them off. We discuss the risks of using rescue equipment to celebrate birthdays, the benefits of even the most rudimentary fail-safes in coast guar...

It's episode 57... and our gnarliest episode yet!  The Shallows (2016) tells the story of Nancy, a surfer who travels alone to a secluded beach in Mexico and is attacked by a shark. She then spends the rest of the film trying to survive against the shark.  We compare notes from around the web on shark survival tactics; confuse two factory-made British Girl Groups; and establish once-and-for-all th...

It's episode 56... and a lesson in gardening... The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1976) tells the story of a Matthew Bennell and Elizabeth Driscoll, two officers at the Department of Health. The pair become embroiled in a fight for their lives when the population of the earth begin to be replaced by alien invaders. We discuss the relative merits of living in an emotionless society; the benefits ...

It's episode 55... and we're having an identity crisis... The Thing (1982) tells the story of a group of researchers in the antarctic who are infiltrated by an alien which can take on the form of any living thing it comes into contact with (but not before killing them first). We discuss the difficulties of discerning between Scandinavian nationalities; the intricacies of the world's most advanced...

It's episode 54... and we're trying to cover the fact that we're actually cold, dead robots with a look at one of the coldest robots in modern cinema... Ex Machina (2015) tells the story of Caleb; a young man who travels to visit the home of an elusive genius in order to carry out a turing test on the world's first fully intelligent robot - but all is not what it seems... and before long Caleb is...

It's episode 53...which means How to Survive has been going on every week for a whole year, and we will not stop, ever, until you are dead. This week we confront one of the most emotionless, mechanical, soulless creatures in Hollywood history - James Cameron! But wait, it's back when he was good! That's right, it's The Terminator (1984), with Arnold Schwarzenegger making his How to Survive bow as...

It's episode 52...but have no fear little ones, we are here to protect thee! This week we're diving into British horror classic The Omen (1976) to tackle cinema's most enduring troublesome tyke. US ambassador Robert Thorn is happily married with their child Damien in tow, but is the boy in question all he appears? Could he, or possibly an international satanic conspiracy dedicated to him, be respo...

It's episode 51... and a welcome return for cinema's greatest character! Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (1986) tells the story of Tommy Jarvis (again) and his fight to overcome a hockey-masked murderer for the third time in a row. It will shock you to learn that some teenagers die in unbelievable ways, but it will shock you more to learn that the franchise has finally grown a sense of humour...

It's The How to Survive Survivor's Hall of Fame 2016! It's episode 50, so we're looking back over all the movies we've covered and deciding who should enter the How to Survive Hall of Fame for 2016. Keep the Tweets coming in: @howtosurvivepod Email us at: howtosurviveshow@gmail.com Another classic film solved by the best movie podcast in the world.