The Pod and the Pendulum: A Horror Movie Podcast

Folks, we don’t even know how to keep track of everything going on with this series anymore. This week we’re talking about the second prequel of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series, which is also the second entry titled Leatherface. Alexander Bustillo and Julien Muary bring some of that French extremity vibe and a lot of style to a story that tries to answer questions no one really asked. Mike is j...

This week we get together to talk about the most unfairly maligned film in the Chainsaw series. In a franchise filled with high peaks, and low-lows, TCM 3D seems to have few defenders. Why? We make the argument that there needs to be MORE movies where grandmas leave their grandkids palatial mansions that come fully equipped with a family graveyard,  a carnival over the backyard fence, and a 300 po...

This week, Mike and Nicole talk the prequel that answers all the burning questions fans had in the wake of the 2003 TCM remake: How did Sheriff Hoyt get that sweet law enforcement gig? How did he lose his teeth? How did Uncle Monty lose his legs? Where did Tommy "Leatherface" Hewitt get his first chainsaw? How are the Sons of Anarchy involved? We talk this, plus dive into the remake boon...

Is this going to be one of our most controversial episodes? Possibly. The Michael Bay produced remake is one of the most talked about horror movies of the past twenty years, and it's responsible for the deluge of remakes and reboots that followed over the course of the next decade. For some horror fans,  "Platinum Dunes" were fighting words, like someone insulted their mother. Does this...

This week the gang is infiltrated by the Illuminati to tell you there's nothing to see here except perhaps one of the most understood slasher sequels of all time. Is this maligned, underseen, box-office bomb starring pre-stardom Rene Zellweger and Matthew Mcconaughey secretly brilliant? Listen now and find out Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our...

Mike and Jessica are joined by Andrew Fabry of The Dead Letter Movie podcast to talk Leatherface, the third entry in the Chainsaw series and the first of two movies with that title. As the 80s closed and the box office fortunes of Freddy and Jason began to taper off, New Line Cinema needed a new hit franchise. Picking the bones of Cannon films, they thought they'd have a name brand icon that they...

How do you follow up one of the scariest, most unnerving movies of all time? By making a straight up comedy of course! This week, Mike and Stephen take a long look at a movie that was a decade plus in the making. From diving into the behind the scenes troubles that nearly torpedoed the movie, rating Stretch as a final girl, trying to determine just how much blow Dennis Hopper was on during filming...

The second half of our discussion gets to the good stuff. We talk about the most iconic introduction of a horror villain ever committed to the big screen, the insanity of the dinner party, have it out over Franklin, discuss the social, economic, and political factors that influenced the making of this movie and examine its legacy. With guests Brian Keiper, Devaughn Taylor and Nichole Goble. If you...

This week we kick off a brand new franchise with the greatest horror movie of all time, Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This episode promises to be a massive one, and we've broken our talk down into multiple parts. For part one, we talk about the confluence of events that went into Hooper and writer Kim Henkel's script, the absolute hell it was to make this movie, where Hooper ranks amo...

This is the bonus show Mike has wanted to record for a long time. This week, Jessica Scott comes on to talk about her love for 1999's dark comedy and cult classic Jawbreaker, a movie about some real mean girls that aren't above covering up a murder or two. After that Mike talks about the might Jawbreaker-the three piece punk/emo stalwarts from the East Bay. It's Mike's all time favorite band and w...

We bring you the second half of our dive into 2022's SCREAM. This week we look at how the legacy characters fare, why this is Dewey's movie, explore the nature of fandom, talk about what we want next, and ask what the hell a requel is anyways? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week we FINALLY get to sit down and talk about one of our favorite movies of the year, the fifth installment of the SCREAM series. It's a massive talk so we broke it into two pieces. This week Mike, Rachel and Stephen are joined by shoe designer and pop culture writer Andrew LaSane. Part one delves into the making of the movie, how the new crop of characters stack up and the elevated violence...

This week we wrap up our latest franchise with one of the most controversial movies we've ever covered. The Child's Play remake had longtime fans of the series up in arms as the movie and characters were ripped from series creator Don Mancini in an attempt by United Artists to cash in on the Child's Play IP. This seemed to doom the reboot from the start, as horror fans wanted little to do with s C...

This week the crew talks about the last movie in Don Mancini's Child's Play franchise Cult of Chucky. We talk about Nica as the most tormented character in horror history, Mancini's original vision for putting Chucky on a train, how multiple Chuckys opened up whole new avenues for the series and how Seed feels like the middle chapter in a longer sage (now playing out on the series Chucky.)   Read...

Reboot? Requel? Sequel? We're not sure but we do know we're back to talk about the time they made Chucky scary again. Mike is joined by regular panelists Jessica Scott & Devaughn Taylor along with special guest Justin Gerber (Halloweenies, The Losers' Club) to break down the 2013 slasher film Curse of Chucky. This one feels like a soft remake of the original film, yet Don Mancini retains the h...

This week Mike is joined by Brian Keiper as we talk the horror comedy delight  Seed of Chucky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week guest Matt Donato (Certified Forgotten, Bloody Disgusting) joins  Mike, Stephen and Jessica to talk about the high point of the Child's Play series. The only thing better than one killer doll is two, especially when one is brought to life by the stunning Ms. Jennifer Tilly. This week we talk bad romance, queer horror and puppet sex and so much more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz compa...

In this special bonus episode, Mike had the chance to sit down with the filmmaking quartet the Adams family. This husband and wife directing duo of Nick and Tobey Adams have made seven feature films along with their daughter Zelda, who co-writes and co-directs with them, and their daughter Lulu Adams who appears in their latest film, Hellbender. Currently streaming on Shudder, Hellbender tells the...

We're back with a new episode that asks the important question: would you buy a doll if that doll was a named Larry? That's right we're talking about Child's Play 3. This Rachel Reeves (@vinylgrrrl) swings by to discuss this underappreciated slasher movie from the early 90s. It's the one with the new Andy and it's the one that's set at military school. It earns the rare distinction of being a slas...

Mike & Devaughn have a brief talk about what's been on their plate lately. We talk Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, Kevin Can F Himself, Yellowjackets, what the best entry  of the Big Four is, and more. Mike comes off like an old man yelling at clouds when he talks about music. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use...

Sorry Jack. Chucky's back. This week we cover Child’s Play 2. This week we take a fond look back at the sequel to the hit 1988 slash movie and we ask why isn't this one as fondly remembered as other beloved sequels like Friday the 13th two or Halloween two? This 1990 slasher takes all the things we love about the original movie and builds on them including with a massive finale set in a toy factor...

Do you want to play?  This week we kick off a brand new franchise with a look back at the 1988 slasher film Child's Play. Chucky might be small in stature, but this pint sized horror was no joke-at least not in this first installment which plays the horror straight. Mike is joined by Rachel Reeves, Jessica Scott and Devaughn Taylor to talk about what makes this such a classic 80s horror and why it...

This week we bring you part two of our revisit of SCREAM, the 1996 slasher movie that gave the horror genre a shot in the arm. Ahead of this week's fifth installment, Mike and guests Elbe (grumpire.com) and Brian Keiper (Bloody Disgusting, Movies For Life pod) talk about what distinguishes Sydney from other final girls, reckon with the legacy of Randy and fanboy culture, what made Billy and Stu ti...

Ahead of the fifth installment, this week we go all the way back to the beginning and take another deep dive into the movie that gave the horror genre a serious shot in the arm in 1996. It's no secret that SCREAM is one of Mike's favorite movies and franchises, and he's never going to skip an opportunity to talk about it. Sometimes it's fun to go back and have a do-over.   This week he's joined by...

After the success of Gremlins, a sequel seemed inevitable. Yet despite the massive box office success and pop culture impact of the first movie, it seemed like no one aside from the accounting department at Warner Brothers wanted to make the new thing. It took a lot of coaching, a massive upgrade in pay and the promise to let him do anything he wanted as long as Gizmo and gremlins were involved to...