The Fear of God: A Horror Movie Podcast

Continuing in our new series covering the influences of the hit show Stranger Things, and specifically revisiting more of the works of the legendary John Carpenter, we delve into the basement to find the secret of the ooze in PRINCE OF DARKNESS. Carpenter's fascinating premise puts science and religion in direct dialogue as a group of young scientists study a recently uncovered vat of swirling gre...

We start a brand new series this week, selected by you the patrons where we revisit the work of the legendary master of horror, John Carpenter. Having previously covered his landmark films like Halloween and The Thing, we are joined by Dave Courtney to turn our attentions now to IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS, his mid-90s apocalyptic vision which thrusts profound questions about the nature of influences...

We are back once again friends and FoGgers with another special installment of the Quarterly Queens, this time with Asia Swartzentruber and Vera Goudie discussing the claustrophobic found footage thriller, AS ABOVE SO BELOW. This remarkably effective frightener about an ill-fated expedition through the French catacombs received largely uneven reviews when it was initially released, but Vera and As...

We bring our series #docuscared to a close with a discussion of some of the best -- and worst -- of the creative filmmaking process. In 1990, a notorious film named Troll 2 was made and released to nearly unanimous derision. However, in the years that followed, a very specific and enthusiastic fan base arose surrounding the film. The documentary BEST WORST MOVIE, directed by one of Troll 2's origi...

We continue our journey through #docuscared exploring horror-themed documentaries, this week examining the documented account from Daniel Lutz, who as a child lived and experienced strange phenomena in the famed Amityville house. Danny's story is a captivating but complicated one, raising several doubts about reliability while also presenting certain details which prove hard to dismiss. The result...

Our episode this week is specially curated by our guest, Andrew Nelson. The Exorcist is arguably the most iconic landmark in horror film cinema, and in this intimate and lyrical documentary, he is given full attention to share his insights into the crafting of the film, its cultural impact, and its enduring legacy. There are remarkable observations about the mystery of faith, the human experience,...

In our brand new, patron-voted mini-series for the FoG, we are covering a handful of horror documentaries, starting with a film that is arguably more frightening than any fictional film we've ever discussed. Rodney Ascher's terrifying film THE NIGHTMARE explores the mysterious and haunting reality of sleep paralysis through the stories of 8 individuals who have suffered from it. In addition to bei...

It's that time once again friends and FoGgers to explore the vast and influential world of Stephen King. This week, in coordination with the recent release of a new film based upon his landmark work, we're discussing the one and only FIRESTARTER. After having a grand old time ranking our favorite Stephen King villains (limiting ourselves to only what's been covered on the pod), we explore this sto...

We've finally arrived at Castle Dracula for the ultimate discussion of Seasons 1 & 2 of Netflix's CASTLEVANIA as our concluding conversation on #scaretoons. The series has proven to be quite subversive, particularly when considering the game franchise upon which it is based (games which get some special attention in a bonus patron segment). What the series and its approach to the iconic charac...

In our penultimate installment of #scaretoons, we received a specially curated episode at the request of special guest and continuity guru Steve Beckley for the 1988 Japanese OVA special DEMON CITY SHINJUKU. It's a swift epic in miniature about a madman who has made a deal with the demon realm to unleash monsters upon the earth, and the only one standing in his way is a novice young man with a fam...

We continue on our journey through spooky animated features, #scaretoons with a conversation about an undeniable classic. In the early 80s animator Don Bluth and several of his peers left Disney to pursue different projects, the first of which was THE SECRET OF NIMH. Layered with incredible animation, outstanding vocal performances, and a genuinely thrilling and emotional narrative, The Secret of...

We continue our walk through patron-voted, animated horror features by exploring Laika studios flagship film, CORALINE. We're joined once again by Vera Goudie, where we tackle the wondrous craftsmanship that goes into a stop-motion film like this before taking an honest and open-hearted look at the necessity to sometimes not receive what we want. We so desperately want to receive good things that...

We begin a new mini-series this week where we look at animated frights and fantasies, some gruesome and some whimsical and some a bit of both on #scaretoons. The first entry comes from master animator Hayao Miyazaki, SPIRITED AWAY, which won the Academy Award for best animated feature and remains one of the most acclaimed animated films in history. It is stunningly rendered and is vividly imaginat...

We close down our exploration of Nic Cage films by visiting one of his most maligned and (possibly) misunderstood films, the Neil LaBute directed remake of THE WICKER MAN. We covered the 1970s original film back on episode 55 of the show. This remake tells largely the same story, but with some noteworthy differences of the central clash which prompts a thoughtful examination of the ways we can, by...

Last week's heartfelt discussion about Pig definitely went horror-lite. Well, we've arguably over-compensated this week on our weekly series #uncaged by discussing the vibrantly visualized and horrifically envisioned COLOR OUT OF SPACE. When a meteorite lands in the front yard of a reclusive family's farmhouse, it begins to spread a beautiful but transformative color to everything in its vicinity....

Continuing our mini-series #uncaged on films starring the one and only Nicolas Cage, we stop by one of his most recent -- and most critically acclaimed -- features, about a reclusive former chef on a mission to find and rescue his stolen truffle pig. When PIG was first promoted, most of us didn't know what to expect, whether it would be another bonkers Cage-rage adventure or a quirky B-movie thril...

We continue on with our series on Nicolas Cage by diving out of the frying pan and into the flaming skull (and back into the MCU) with GHOST RIDER! Although it was a passion project for Nic Cage (who loves the character and even has a tattoo of him), the film struggles to deliver anything less than pedestrian quality with any of its elements.  Despite the uniformly mediocre presentation, we m...

It's time to unleash the most unpredictable and fascinating actor the Fear of God has ever witnessed as we peruse through a series of films starring the one and only Nic Cage! Our first stop in this patron-voted series is WILLY'S WONDERLAND, a simple and very fun b-movie romp wherein Cage plays a man who -- in order to pay for repairs on his damaged car -- agrees to spend the night cleaning up the...

The Oscars -- as you may have heard -- occurred yesterday. But that same weekend, we at the Fear of God hosted our very own awards show honoring the best of the year in horror: The First Annual FoGgy Awards! Joined by a host of voices both new and familiar to the show, we debated, discussed, and delivered awards for the Best Picture, Director, Lead and Supporting Performances, Writing, Production...

We're back with another special installment this week which not only acts as the coda to #2021moretime with another great discussion about a film from last year, but it also formalizes Ladies Night (now dubbed Quarterly Queens) as an official recurring staple of the Fear of God catalog.  That's right, this week Reed and Nathan turn the reins over once again to Vera Goudie, Asia Swartzentruber...

As a special coda to our recent string of conversations about Midnight Mass, we invited three ministers: Frances Cutshaw, Josh Bowron, and Charlie Baber, to join us for an open discussion about the Netflix original series from Mike Flanagan: MIDNIGHT MASS. This is a truly special discussion, rooted in brave vulnerability and hopeful soul-searching, as we examine our respective relationships with t...

For the past 6 weeks, we've been slowly marching our way through this series to this night, where we look back on all that has been said, explored, feared, and inspired about Mike Flanagan's Netflix original series, MIDNIGHT MASS.  In this episode, we dive deep into episode 7 specifically and look at the series as a whole, including what was "So Right" and what "Ain't Right", particular quibb...

As a special episode in our series looking back on films from the past year (#2021moretime), we take a special look at the independent documentary VALLEY OF THE SHADOW: THE SPIRITUAL VALUE OF HORROR, which was co-written by Tyler Smith and Reed Lackey, and hosted by Bill Oberst, Jr. The documentary's subject is not a strange one to Fear of God listeners, as the film walks you through four major ca...

As part of #2021moretime, we take a trip across the pond and back in time this week for a look at Edgar Wright's stylish, kinetic thriller LAST NIGHT IN SOHO. We're joined by horror enneagrammarian Asia Swartzentruber to explore the twists and surprises in this inventive film, as well as the complex ways it tackles gender commodification, our distorted fixation with nostalgia, and so much more. Th...

We carry on with our journey through some of your favorite horror films of last year (#2021moretime) by visiting the snowy lodge of Josh Ruben's WEREWOLVES WITHIN. This sharply scripted horror-comedy based on the VR video game from Ubisoft is remarkably funny, surprisingly thoughtful, and ultimately just a ton of fun. We unpack its myriad of delights and insights as we gauge the odds of maintainin...