The Cherry Picker

🧁 Hard to believe it's already been that long, but Happy Death Day is celebrating its  5th birthday this month! But is it really as good as you remembered it to be? Dive into this week's episode with us as we revisit this genre hit, where we will discuss why Tree is a Top 10 final girl , why the Babyface killer is kind of lame, the future of the franchise, and as always, we'll be c...

🐝 Celebrating its 30th anniversary this week, we are very excited to finally talk about the original Candyman. In this episode, we will discuss the idea of urban legend folklore , and what drew the character of Helen Lyle to seek out the legend of Candyman. We'll also discuss our many interpretations of the story, and why Candyman is anything but another senseless slasher villain. We'll...

⛓ In preparation for the upcoming release of the NEW Hellraiser movie, we're kicking off spooky season by revisiting the Clive Barker original, based on his novella The Hellbound Heart . In this episode, we cover everything from the first film, including the Cenobites, the fairytale characters, the nightmarish imagery, and we'll even touch upon some of the later sequels, as we'll pr...

🚒 Continuing our three month coverage of the Blumhouse Halloween trilogy from director David Gordon Green, this episode will be dedicated to the extremely polarizing middle chapter, Halloween Kills. To change up the pace a little bit, we will be organizing this episode into two parts. Since we don't want to come off as being completely negative, the first half of the podcast will be highligh...

🚿 Today we are diving into one of Eddie's ALL TIME favorites, and arguably one of the greatest horror movies ever made: PSYCHO! In this episode, we will be discussing what makes Psycho a PERFECT movie , track Alfred Hitchcock's journey towards filming it, we'll also make notes comparing the movie to the book (as well as the much maligned 1998 remake), as well as pick apart the psyc...

🍾 We cannot get enough of what A24 is putting out this year, and their summer released whodunnit is certainly riding this wave. In this episode, we will discuss the new trend of giving retro horror movies the arthouse treatment, which movies we think Bodies best emulates, how to craft an expertly written and paced murder mystery, why this also works as a commentary on Gen Z, and as always, we&apo...

👠 This week we are delving into Zack's favorite scary movie , the now 40 year old Italian giallo, Tenebrae. This being a murder mystery slasher that is not as widely known to North American audiences, we will spend the first part of this episode discussing the plot from a non-spoiler perspective, including director Dario Argento 's trademark style, the film's LGBTQ appeal, and how...

🔥 Summer is almost over, which means we're getting into spooky season. And what better way to celebrate that, and the upcoming release of Halloween Ends, than to start with the first chapter in the Blumhouse / David Gordon green directed trilogy. In this episode, we will engage in a very contentious debate over the merits and fallbacks of this franchise reboot , including the film's sto...

🎬 It's time for another Scream podcast, this time the infamously campy third instalment. In this episode we will discuss why Scream 3 deserves a lot more recognition than it receives, but also why it is still deeply flawed, and all of the changes that could have been done to make it better. This includes everything from the unremarkable opening scene featuring Cotton Weary, to the wasted pot...

👯‍♀️ Single White Female turns 30 years old this month, and we had an inkling to revisit this early 90s guilty pleasure. In this episode we will discuss the mini sub-genre of horror dedicated to the scorned and unhinged femme fatale, which includes Fatal Attraction, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and Basic Instinct. We will also talk about who almost got cast in the lead role, and how that would...

☁️ Jordan Peele's third film is finally upon us, and after much anticipation, we are ready to get sucked into the madness! In this episode, we will offer our individual rankings of Jordan Peele's film repertoire to date, we'll dissect the mysteries behind the Gordy's Home TV Show massacre, mull over the areas of Nope where we think Peele improves (and regresses) upon his alread...

🐐 In celebration of Wes Craven's birthday, we are revisiting his seminal horror classic! In this episode we will discuss the director's lasting legacy, Freddy Krueger as the ultimate boogeyman, talk about why Nancy Thompson is one of the most influential final girls there is, Eddie will regale us with the time he randomly met two of the film's stars, and of course, we'll also...

🦈 Continuing our celebration of summer with the seminal " aquatic horror " adventure, JAWS! In this episode we will talk about our history with Steven Spielberg's classic, offer our own personal takes on why this might be an imperfect movie, discuss the meaning of PG rated horror, delight in the pretty gruesome gore effects, marvel at the technical achievements set out by the film...

🍊 For this week's episode we're going with something a little more under-the-radar, and highlighting this twisty, whodunnit thriller from the early 2000s. If you haven't seen Identity yet, I recommend you watch it before listening, but we've kept the first 30 minutes of this episode spoiler-free in case you do want to switch us off and find the movie before finishing. Otherwis...

✂️ With the release of his newest movie "Nope" just around the corner, we're taking a look at Jordan Peele 's sophomore horror entry to get ourselves prepared. In this episode we will discuss the many influences Peele brings to the movie - from The Twilight Zone to The Sixth Sense, how we can never expect the same film from him as a director, Lupita Nyong'o's extraord...

📞 The latest horror release from Blumhouse studios and director Scott Derrickson is here, and we're ready to give it our full attention. In this episode we will discuss the differences between Derrickson's previous horror film, Sinister, as well as reference and influences from horror properties such as The Shining, Doctor Sleep, Misery, Silence of the Lambs, It, and Stranger Things. We...

🎣 Summer is here!!! And we're starting the season off right by revisiting this 25 year old slasher that was the first to hop on the wave of the 90s teen horror trend that was started by Scream one year earlier. And in true 90s fashion, IKWYDLS's script just so happens to also be written by Kevin Williamson . So in this episode we will be talking about the screenwriter who had his finger...

🧫 John Carpenter's The Thing is celebrating its 40th anniversary this week, and what a milestone indeed! In this episode we will be talking about the legendary director himself and the interesting relationship he has with Hollywood, we'll also hit upon the film's initially poor release and eventual massive cult following , Rob Bottin's unparalleled special effects, the amazing...

🎟 It's time to Scream again, as we jump back into wildly popular franchise that started the 90s teen slasher wave. In this episode, we are dissecting everything in Scream's sophomore sequel, from Wes Craven's legendary direction, to Gale Weathers' transcendent character arch, asking the question of what makes a really good murder mystery, laying out all the little clues you mig...

☕️ We're gearing up for the highly anticipated release of Jordan Peele 's third movie by revisiting his first. So in this episode we are talking all about Get Out, a film that redefined the genre, and made elevated horror appeal to mainstream audiences. Join us as we discuss why this is a perfect movie, dip out toes in the deep well of hidden symbology, question whether Rose Armitage is...

🤡 Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Poltergeist is among one of the most treasured childhood horror movie memories we have, so we figured we would take the opportunity to stroll down memory lane and go directly into the light. In this episode we will discuss the film's legacy in terms of its symbology, lasting appeal, and infamous legend of being cursed. We'll also touch upon...

🤼‍♂️ If there was ever a more fitting title for a movie, it would be Wes Craven's Cursed, which infamously went through three reshoots overs the course of two and a half years, leaving behind a completely different movie, that will likely never see the light of day... or the full moon! In this episode we will be deconstructing Cursed, which is possibly more remembered for its production than...

✏️ Welcome Deadites! Won't you please join us in some light reading material as we go through the Naturom Demonto, otherwise known as The Book of the Dead ... just kidding! No books here, just the movie The Evil Dead. In this episode we will continue our 80s horror streak with Sam Raimi 's modestly produced, first feature length film, where we will discuss its impact on the horror genre,...

🛶 We are celebrating the first and only Friday the 13th of 2022 by reliving the original classic, which also happens to be the first 80s horror movie we're covering on the podcast, believe it or not. In this episode we will discuss  why the original Friday is much better than it gets credit for, the infamous lawsuit which has left the franchise at a creative impasse for the last several year...

🐸 It's been a few weeks since we've talked slashers , and figured now would be the perfect time to dive into the first season of the brand new Chucky television series that debuted last fall. Join us as we talk about how the Child's Play franchise continues to be the most inclusive, hilarious, and respectful-of-its-fans horror franchise, and as we delight in all of the juicy perfor...