Open Mic Night of the Living Dead

This week's encore takes a detour: instead of riffing off of Smile 2, we're talking about us. How Open Mic Night of the Living Dead actually got made, why it's audio only, and what a full year and 52 episodes have taught us about making something together. Plus a new song, Float Away. Thank you for spending year one with us - onto year two.  

This week marks our first sequel: Smile 2. We follow pop star Sky Riley as recovery becomes performance and her own body becomes something for everyone else to manage. Choreography turns predatory, the curse goes public, and we talk about where Smile 3 might take this mythology. Plus two very different songs: one about floating away, one about falling for the wrong pop star. Citations Bennett, Ada...

We've been watching a lot of bad husbands. So we built a rubric. This encore to our Rosemary's Baby deep dive introduces our three-tier taxonomy of bad partners in horror - Trevors, Guys, and Billys - and the films that gave us each one. Plus the demo for our new song based on Rosemary's Baby.   Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:03:28 Tier 1: The Trevor 00:08:28 Tier 2: The Guy 00:16:46 Tier 3: The Billy 00...

Rosemary's Baby Part 2: we finish what we started. Rosemary, Guy, and the entire Castavet operation get the deep dive they deserve - coercive control, bodily autonomy, and the Rosemary's Baby curse. Then both original songs, live for the first time, with a split perspectives gimmick.   Chapters 00:00 Intro 05:24 Story Time: Characters 24:18 Story Time: Murder, Mayhem & Myths 47:55 Story Time:...

Rosemary's Baby is one of our all-time favorites, and it's easy to see why. Part 1 covers the film's production history, the real buildings behind the Bramford, the complicated legacy of its director, and the cinematography that turns a dream apartment into something much worse - all without a single special effect. No music this week, too much to cover everything in just one episode! Chapters 00:...

20 deep dives in, we finally settled it - a horror villain draft from every film we've covered. Mrs. Voorhees, the Thing, Pazuzu, the Overlook Hotel, and more are all on the table. We close with Breaking Our Silence, our new song demo based on A Quiet Place.   The Villains Ghostface (Scream) Pazuzu (The Exorcist) Deadites (The Evil Dead) Black and White Zombies (Night of the Living Dead ) Jerry Da...

This week we tackled A Quiet Place, and one thing we’re completely sure of is that our family absolutely would not survive. John Krasinski's 2018 PG-13 creature feature is 91 minutes of the most efficient horror storytelling we've covered. We dig into Industrial Light & Magic’s last-minute creature redesign, the cochlear implant debate, and what it means to watch a parent-child horror film whe...

We're taking a look at contagious curse horror - comparing Smile, It Follows, and The Ring on everything from how each curse works to the moral weight of passing one on, plus a few more curse films for good measure. Plus John's Smile Song studio demo makes its world debut!   00:00:00 Intro  00:04:29 Smile (2022) 00:07:14 It Follows (2014) 00:18:20 The Ring (2004) 00:28:34 Drag Me to Hell and Talk...

We dig into Smile (2022) - a film that works so hard to make you feel terrible that you can't help but respect it. Parker Finn's debut feature, Sosie Bacon's breakout lead, practical creature effects, and a trauma curse that hits different two years after a pandemic. Plus two original songs inspired by the film, gimmick: no names. Citations Eagan, Daniel. “Smile DP Charlie Sarroff Reveals Which Fi...

We just got back from Universal Studios - and what better way to decompress than talking about all the ways vacations go horribly wrong? This week we're doing something a little different: a vacation horror special. We cover Infinity Pool, Speak No Evil, Hostel, The Hills Have Eyes, Wolf Creek, Turistas, The Ruins, Midsommar, and more. Stay home. Trust us.   Citations "31 Days to Scare ~ The Ruins...

This week we're in the grocery store - and not for the weekly specials. Fresh off our Intruder deep dive, we wander the aisles of supermarket horror: Messiah of Evil, Alien Raiders, Bait, 28 Days Later, and The Mist. Plus, John debuts his demo "One More Shot" - a love song with a trunk and some red flags.  00:00:01 - Intro 00:06:12 - Messiah of Evil (1973) 00:09:34 - Alien Raiders (2008) 00:10:46...

The overnight crew at Walnut Lake Market is closing up shop - and someone is killing them off one by one. We dive into Scott Spiegel's 1989 cult slasher Intruder, the Michigan filmmaking crew behind it, and how a $130k grocery store shoot became the audition tape for the most important practical effects team in horror history. Citations   Hadden, Christine. "Friday Flashback: Intruder (1989) - Dea...

Psychic powers make for some of horror's best and weirdest movies. This week we tour five of them - Carrie, Scanners, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, and Spellbinder - and talk about what it means when your mind is the weapon. Plus the demo for "Completely Normal Individual." 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:08 Carrie (1976) 00:07:23 Scanners (1981) 00:09:...

We're back in the Overlook for part two of our deep dive on The Shining (1980). We dig into the Steadicam innovation that changed horror forever, the blood elevator's year of prep work, and Wendy Carlos's groundbreaking score. Then we make the case for Wendy Torrance, unpack Jack's alcoholism through a recovery lens, and ask the question the film never answers - did the hotel make him a monster, o...

The Shining finally got the two-part treatment - because some movies just won't fit in a box. Part 1 covers our personal histories with the film, how it landed (badly) when it first came out, and how it became one of the most analyzed pieces of horror cinema ever made. We get into Kubrick's adaptation choices, the famous tension between his vision and Stephen King's novel, and what it actually loo...

John opens this episode by announcing himself as "the man of the duo." Rachel introduces herself as "John's wife, defined by her role in the life of a man." Then we talk about feminist horror for 30 minutes. Inspired by The Slumber Party Massacre, we're asking what actually makes a horror film feminist - and whether it matters who made it. We work through The Descent, You're Next, Midsommar, The L...

This week we're taking a deep dive into The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) - a 77-minute slasher that's weirder and smarter than its reputation suggests, and honestly more fun than it has any right to be. Written by Rita Mae Brown as a feminist parody and shot as a straightforward exploitation film, the result is this fascinating hybrid that we genuinely cannot stop thinking about. We dig into what...

In this encore episode, we dig into the fascinating history of horror movies at the Academy Awards. From early classics like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Phantom of the Opera to modern favorites like Get Out, Pan’s Labyrinth, and this year’s record-breaking Sinners, we explore which films from the genre have scored Oscar nods and wins. We discuss trends in how horror films are recognized - often in...

In this episode, we dive deep into the 2025 horror sensation Sinners. We explore its genre-blending brilliance, unpack the cultural and social themes woven throughout, and discuss everything from the film’s remarkable dual performances and historical context to its award-winning music and jaw-dropping practical effects. We share our personal experiences watching the film, debate its critical recep...

In this encore episode, we dive into the urban legends that inspired horror classics, focusing on how they shaped Candyman. We unpack stories like the Hookman, Bloody Mary, razor blades in Halloween candy, babysitter terror, and killer alligators lurking in city sewers. We also explore modern creepypasta legends like Slenderman and the elevator game, discussing how old and new myths fuel our deepe...

This week, we dive deep into the chilling world of Candyman (1992). We share our personal memories and first impressions of the film, break down its origins - connecting Clive Barker’s The Forbidden to Bernard Rose’s haunting adaptation - and discuss how the movie transcends the typical slasher genre. We examine the film’s complex themes, including urban legends, systemic racism, and the power of...

This week on Open Mic Night of the Living Dead, we check into the world of “hospitality horror” - those unsettling stories set in hotels, motels, inns, and even Airbnbs! Following up on our discussion of Psycho, we run down our favorite (and wackiest) creepy lodgings, from Motel Hell and The Shining to recent entries like Barbarian, Superhost, Bone Lake, and more. We share firsthand horror viewing...

This week on Open Mic Night of the Living Dead, we take a deep dive into Alfred Hitchcock’s groundbreaking 1960 classic, Psycho. We revisit our first-time experiences with the film, discuss its production backstory, and marvel at Hitchcock’s lean, suspense-driven style. Together, we explore Psycho's pivotal place in horror history, analyzing its impact and revolutionary cinematography. We unpack c...

In this encore episode of Open Mic Night of the Living Dead, we dive into the world of horror on television. We reminisce about iconic shows like The Twilight Zone, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Tales from the Crypt, Stranger Things, and so many more, exploring how TV has shaped our love of creepy stories. We compare newer series like Welcome to Derry and Stranger Things season one, debating why some...

In this episode, we dive deep into the world of Final Destination (2000), exploring the movie’s innovative premise, iconic death scenes, and the way fate, free will, and mortality are woven into its story. We share our personal connections to the film, discuss how it was made, and break down the memorable performances of Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, and the rest of the cast. We also look at the movie’s...