The Average Podcast: Movie Reviews for Social Settings

Pack your bags and grab your bug spray, because we are officially kicking off our brand-new themed month: SUMMER CAMP SLASHERS!   For the next few weeks, we are leaving the comfort of the studio behind to head deep into the woods, exploring the campgrounds, the urban legends, and the creative kills that defined the golden age of 1980s horror.   We are launching the series with...

Welcome back to week two of Martial Arts May! Tonight, we are leaving the high-rises behind and heading straight to Thailand to witness the film that launched a martial arts revolution and introduced the absolute phenomenon that is Tony Jaa. We are reviewing the 2003 masterpiece: ONG-BAK: THE THAI WARRIOR.  When a sacred Buddha statue head is stolen from a peaceful village, a young martial ar...

Welcome to the series premiere of Martial Arts May! This month, we are trading our horror masks for hand-to-wraps as we dive into the films that redefined action cinema. We are kicking things off with the absolute pinnacle of modern choreography: THE RAID: REDEMPTION (2011).  When an elite SWAT team becomes trapped in a high-rise tenement run by a ruthless drug lord, the only way out is throu...

Welcome back to The Average! Tonight, we are throwing the rulebook out the window for one of the most gloriously unhinged genre-mashups of the 1980s. We’re reviewing DEAD HEAT (1988)—the definitive, high-octane buddy-cop zombie masterpiece you never knew you needed.  When Detectives Roger Mortis (Treat Williams) and Doug Bigelow (Joe Piscopo) stumble upon a case involving a suspicious butcher...

The journey through our Sword and Sorcery Series reaches the center of the universe tonight! We are traveling from the high-fantasy realms of Willow and Krull to the neon-soaked, cosmic world of Eternia—which, for some reason, looks a lot like 1980s California.  Joining us in the booth to navigate the cosmic keys and interdimensional rifts is our good friend David from Journey with a Cinephil...

Welcome back to The Average! We are charging full-speed into Part 2 of our Sword and Sorcery Series, and tonight we’re traveling to the planet Krull to witness one of the most ambitious, visually stunning, and wonderfully chaotic films of the 1980s.  Joining us in the booth to navigate the shifting walls of the Black Fortress is the incredible Ricky from @thenightclubpodcast! Together, we’re...

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 5 of The Average. Tonight, we’re putting down the pickaxes and picking up the magic wands as we kick off our Sword and Sorcery Series with the 1988 George Lucas/Ron Howard masterpiece: WILLOW.  But there’s a catch: the movie you saw on screen is only half the story. Tonight, we’re joined by the incredible Kelsi (@superkickingit / Kelsi’s Nostalgic Life) to dive de...

Heart-shaped boxes and gas masks: The ultimate horror summit starts NOW! ❤️⛏️  Welcome to Season 4, Episode 4 of The Average. Tonight, we are skipping the corporate romance and descending into the gritty, blue-collar mines of Valentine Bluffs to break down the 1981 cult masterpiece: MY BLOODY VALENTINE.  We are incredibly humbled to be joined by a powerhouse panel of horror creators to d...

The doors are closing and the luck is running out! 🚅💥  Welcome to Season 4, Episode 3 of The Average. Tonight, we are stepping onto the fastest train in Japan for a high-speed, neon-drenched deep dive into the 2022 action-extravaganza: BULLET TRAIN. Joining us in the cabin tonight is the fantastic Evan from @thekiltandtheredneck! Together, we’re breaking down why this movie—directed by Brad...

Is this the ultimate "So Bad It’s Good" 80s masterpiece? 🧖‍♂️🩸  Welcome to Season 4, Episode 2 of The Average. Tonight, we’re trading the psychological dread of our premiere for neon spandex, exploding blenders, and the most haunted gym equipment in cinematic history. We are breaking down the 1989 cult classic: DEATH SPA.  To help us survive this workout, we’ve brought in a powerhouse...

Season 4 of The Average is officially HERE! 🎬 We’re kicking things off with the highly anticipated supernatural thriller, Bring Her Back. From the minds of the Philippou brothers (Talk to Me) and starring Sally Hawkins, this movie has a lot to live up to.  To help us break it down, we are joined by a great friend of the show, Travis from @thenightclubpodcast!  WANT TO JOIN THE REVIEW? ✍...

🌼 The Final Night. The Final Season. The End of The 13 Nights of Halloween. 🌼  For our grand finale, we’re closing the circle with MIDSOMMAR (2019) — Ari Aster’s sunlit nightmare of grief, ritual, and rebirth. Joining Tim and Johnathan is Ricky from @thenightclubpodcast, bringing his sharp insight into folk horror, psychology, and the human cost of belonging.  Together, we unpack one o...

On Night 12 of our haunted countdown, we dive into the bleak, bone-chilling world of Robert Eggers’ The Witch — a slow-burn folk horror masterpiece steeped in historical dread, religious paranoia, and a talking goat named Black Phillip.  Join Tim and Johnathan, along with special guest filmmaker Adam Gall, as they break down this 2015 modern classic. We dig into the film’s Puritanical roots,...

Tonight, we’re summoning something dark. Join Tim and Johnathan, along with special guest Shawn from @TheHorrorVision, as we dive into Pyewacket — the 2017 folk horror film that proves the most dangerous rituals are the ones you don’t fully understand.  Written and directed by Adam MacDonald, Pyewacket follows a grieving teen who turns to the occult to lash out… and calls forth something she...

It’s Night 10 of 13 Nights of Halloween, and we’re heading to the eerie, windswept fields of Iceland for one of the strangest entries in modern folk horror: Lamb (2021).  Directed by Valdimar Jóhannsson and starring Noomi Rapace, this slow-burn A24 film blends rural isolation, ancient superstition, and deep emotional grief—with a sheep-headed child at the center of it all. Is it horror? Is it...

Tonight we wander into the whispering fields of Nebraska with Children of the Corn—Stephen King’s short story-turned-long movie that features killer kids, confusing theology, and some of the wildest child acting this side of a school play gone wrong.  🎙️ Join Tim, Johnathan and Rook as they battle through 1984’s Children of the Corn, a movie that asks, “What if the real horror… was organized...

It’s Night 7 of our 13 Nights of Halloween series—and this one’s extra special. We’re joined by our friend and horror archivist Steven from After Hrs Video to help us celebrate our 100th episode of The Average Reviews!  And what better way to mark a milestone than by getting lost in the woods with one of the most iconic horror films of the last 30 years: The Blair Witch Project.  Release...

It’s Night 6 of The 13 Nights of Halloween: Folk Horror Edition — and tonight, we’re heading down to the Louisiana bayou for The Skeleton Key (2005). 🌙✨  Tim and Johnathan are joined by Travis from @thenightclubpodcast, who brings his deep knowledge to help us unravel this Southern Gothic gem. Together, we explore the movie’s unique mix of hoodoo magic, decaying mansions, and generational c...

🎃 Night 5 of The 13 Nights of Halloween: Folk Horror Edition! 🎃  Tonight, we’re heading deep into the dark woods for The Ritual (2017) — a chilling blend of grief, guilt, and Norse mythology that proves some paths should never be taken. 🌲🔥  Tim and Johnathan are joined by GC from @facethemovies to explore one of the best modern folk horror entries of the last decade. Together, they u...

Tonight we’re digging into Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made (2018) — a film wrapped in urban legend and cursed cinema mythology. Marketed as a “lost” 1970s film that supposedly killed its audiences, Antrum leans on its reputation as the “most dangerous movie ever made.” But does it actually deliver the scares, or is it all smoke, sigils, and no fire?  We break down the setup, the Blair Wi...

In this episode, Tim and Johnathan dive into the grim, atmospheric world of Pumpkinhead (1988) and welcome special guest Aaron from A&B Horror to break down why this revenge-driven creature feature perfectly fits our Folk Horror theme. From rural curses to supernatural justice, we explore the movie’s eerie mood, practical effects, and lasting impact on horror fans.  📚 Want more horror? C...

It’s Night 2 of our 13 Nights of Halloween: Folk Horror Edition, and tonight we’re burning bright with the one that started it all—The Wicker Man (1973). 🌾🔥  Join Tim and Johnathan (no guests this time!) as they dig into the haunting legacy of this cult classic. From its influence on folk horror to its jaw-dropping ending, we’re unpacking why this film still sends chills down our spines—wit...

🎃👻 Welcome to the FINAL season premiere of The 13 Nights of Halloween! 👻🎃  We’re opening our last haunting journey with A Dark Song (2016), one of the most chilling modern entries in the folk horror canon. This Irish indie gem blends grief, ritual, and the occult in a story about a mother so desperate she’s willing to undergo a months-long magical operation to summon her guardian angel. B...

We’re back with another cult favorite—House (1985)! This bizarre blend of haunted house chills, creature effects, and offbeat comedy is one of the strangest horror films to come out of the ‘80s—and tonight we’re breaking it all down.  Tim, Johnathan, and special guest Rook dive into the story, direction, effects, and legacy of House. From its over-the-top creature designs to its unexpected th...

🎬 The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) – Livestream Review  The Warrens return one last time… but is it a triumphant finale or a tired whimper? Tonight, Tim and Johnathan are joined by GC from Face the Movies to break down The Conjuring: Last Rites in a livestream!  This episode is a pseudo-sequel to the Cinema Rewind collab where Tim joined GC and Jordan to revisit the original Conjuring—a...