MARCH MADMEN

Two very different takes on the haunted house movie go toe to toe in this one! It’s subtle found-footage spookiness vs. two scoops of '70s cheese! Don’t stiff the caterer, folks.

Recorded in June 2020, this episode sets the table for the next several matchups. First up: The Shining and What Lies Beneath. Prepare yourself for hotel-prowling big wheels and bathtub surprises squaring off against memory-challenged housewives and bathtub suspense. Whichever film wins, you’re gonna drown in horror!

In the final matchup of the first round, The Woman in Black duels What Lies Beneath. Can Harry Potter topple Han Solo? We've got suicidal kids, dead co-eds and a bath you won't find relaxing! One of these vengeful lady ghosts is goin’ home…

What happens when an insanely successful film shot on a shoestring budget (Paranormal Activity) takes on an old-school Hollywood star vehicle (The Amityville Horror)? Can Katie Featherstone oust Margot Kidder? Which invisible demon will out-arm-wrestle the other? Click play, kids.

We’ve got gritty SoCal spirits going up against casualties of the Vietnam War as ghosts in different decades and hemispheres collide on March Madmen. The Pact! R-Point! Which haunted-house flick will be exorcised? Find out now...

The Madmen are back, this time debating the merits of J.A. Bayona's The Orphanage (El Orfanato) and Steve Miner’s House. It’s bag-headed moppets versus disgusting muppets! Geraldine Chaplin! Richard Moll! Tough call...

It’s the scariest Parker Bros. game ever made going up against a trio of supernatural tales from across the pond! Tonight Ouija: Origin of Evil tangles with Ghost Stories. Don’t forget to say “goodbye”…

The Middle East battles the Eastern Seaboard as Under the Shadow and The Haunting vie for supremacy tonight. Will the Robert Wise classic hold up against its youthful Iranian challenger? It’s (more) undetonated ordinance against a flimsy spiral staircase and a whiny singleton! Something’s gonna go boom…

A delirious night of recording concludes with A Tale of Two Sisters vs. Paranormal Activity 3 and Below squaring off against The Changeling. Our first big upset breaks John’s heart and Vik faces a Sophie’s Choice moment.

In this episode four movies fight to the death (and beyond) to reach the Sinister Sixteen! Our matchups are The Innkeepers vs. The Legend of Hell House and The Devil’s Backbone vs. Stir of Echoes. Guess what? Ghosts play dirty...

Breaking a frighteningly long recording into “bite-sized morsels,” we begin with the mirror in Oculus squaring off against the hanged witch from The Conjuring. Which haunted house movie will prevail? It’s gonna be a bloodbath…

Tonight the first 10 movies go toe to toe in our tournament of haunted-house movies! Can "Hausu" knock out a heavyweight like "The Shining"? Will "Terrified" take out "The Others"? Tune in to find out…

This one goes out to the underdogs as the March Madmen pick the final 16 flicks competing for the title of “Best Haunted House Movie Ever Made.” Much debate goes into locking down the 32-film field, but one prediction will surely come to pass — blood will be spilled over ever-divisive “The Changeling.”

It's a new day for the Darkest Hour podcast as we re-brand and begin the search for the greatest horror film of all time! This season the March Madmen will whittle down the 32 best haunted house movies, tournament style, until one film stands above them all. Tonight, we select the first sixteen to compete...

Finally, the wrap-up show you’ve been waiting for. The fellas tie a bow on the Halloween series with a “Best Of” special honoring the highlights in categories like Best Michael, Best Kill and Favorite Loomis Line. Of course we've got Most Overrated and Underrated Movie, too. Finally, a look at Scream and where it stands in the slasher-verse.

The fellas complete their epic examination of Rob Zombie’s "Halloween II" and the franchise as a whole, contemplating this Michael’s place in the pantheon, the tragic journey of Laurie Strode, and where a third movie might have taken us. There's more here than meets the eye...

The boys begin an in-depth examination of the fascinating final leg of their Halloween journey, debating theories to explain Michael and Laurie’s shared visions of their dead mother, and wondering if Rob Zombie's explanation really matters.

The misbegotten love child of John Carpenter and Rob Zombie, 2007’s remake doesn’t reach its potential but it certainly sparks discussion as the guys delve deep into these befouled waters.

The guys are surprisingly warm to this largely unloved installment, which has Michael adrift after besting his nemesis (Laurie dropped the knife again). Busta Rhymes doesn’t inspire Michael, he confuses him, but that puts the Shape in situations no one could have seen coming... Like getting chewed out by his boss?!

The fellas clash over the quality of this one (H20), which has our socially underdeveloped antihero squaring off against his alcoholic nemesis and a cast with an absurd tendency to startle each other. Find out why fate and slatted-door closets are essential to the franchise!

It’s time for “the Paul Rudd one,” a Mad Libs approach to screenwriting that forces us to imagine Michael’s vinegar face and see parallels to F13, but mostly fails in every way.

We look deeper into the sequel (5) that is arguably most like the original, make Hitchcock comparisons and marvel at the unique relationship Loomis and Michael share. Also, car puns, “Cookie Woman” and one terrible rat costume.

After an absurd open comes a film that subverts expectations in fun ways. Tina is a divisive but striking stealth co-lead, Loomis is unhinged, and Michael takes his patient stalking to a new level.

John and Vik delve into David Gordon Green’s megahit Halloween (2018). Do we buy what Laurie’s 1977 scuffle has done to her? What is up with Dr. Sartain’s facial hair? Also, gratuitous references to yogurt and hermaphroditism.

We return to “The Return of Michael Myers” to finish our study of the Shape’s first stalk-and-stab session in ‘80s Haddonfield, a “soft reboot” for the franchise. Topics include slasher teleportation and Michael’s capacity to check his Hotmail account.