The Shock Doctors Podcast

Despite being well-made and periodically effective, Danny and Michael Philippou’s film left us cold. We wouldn’t mind seeing the hand come back, though. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next movie you’d like us … Continue reading "Episode...

Samuel Bodin’s dramatically under-promoted film features a few good scares and some deft camerawork, but the parents were written without depth and the film is sometimes paced too much like a trailer. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got … Continue reading "Episod...

James Wan’s second franchise ends with a whimper. It’s not a trainwreck, but it’s also just not that good. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next movie you’d like us to check out? Feel … Continue reading "Episode 154 – Insidiou...

Anthony DiBlasi elected to remake his own film, 2014’s Last Shift, and frankly, he did better the first time. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next movie you’d like us to check out? Feel … Continue reading "Episode 153 – Malum"

A fairly run-of-the-mill adaptation of a minor Stephen King work, this film is not without craft, particularly in its careful control of just how much of the Boogeyman you see. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea … Continue reading "Episode 152 – The Boog...

A gorgeous and visually striking tone poem, Mark Jenkin’s film might leave you wanting in the story and character department. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next movie you’d like us to check out? … Continue reading "Episode 151 – Enys M...

A promising beginning is entirely drowned in a tidal wave of bad screenwriting and shoddy direction. Jena Malone and Danny Huston deserved better. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next movie you’d like us … Continue reading "Episode 150 – Conse...

Refreshingly not about capital-T trauma, Lee Cronin’s entry is another win for a franchise that, in 40 years, has yet to miss. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next movie you’d like us to check … Continue reading "Episode 149 – Evil Dead...

A few nice early touches and Nicolas Cage’s committed performance are undone by Renfield‘s being half a cop movie – and not a particularly good one, at that. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the … Continue reading "Episode 148 – R...

Featuring some Raimi-esque pulp and an engaging performance from Russell Crowe – ropey Italian accent and all – Julius Avery’s latest film is a solid entry in the exorcism subgenre. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea … Continue reading "Episo...

With his pitch-black pinhole glimpses of chaos in the desert, Robbie Banfitch clearly wants to put our imaginations to work, but he doesn’t leave us quite enough to work with. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea … Continue reading "Episode 146 – The...

Reaching a new low for the franchise, Scream VI spends most of its runtime insisting that everything is different and all bets are off, only to keep rehashing the same tired tropes. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got … Continue reading "Episode 145 – Scream VI"

For a sub-80-minute film, Sick feels weirdly bloated, and yet at the same time, suffers from a disappointing lack of ambition. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next movie you’d like us to check … Continue reading "Episode 144 – Sick (2023)"

Featuring good performances but a slightly flabby second act, Knock at the Cabin settles comfortably into the middle tier of M. Night Shyamalan’s oeuvre. It doesn’t really work as a climate change allegory, though. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune … Continue rea...

Drab, incoherent, and brainless from start to finish, Fear is the result of director Deon Taylor hurling a bunch of tropes at the wall and seeing what sticks – and nothing does. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got … Continue reading "Episode 142 – Fear (2023)"

Brandon Cronenberg adds another strong entry to his weird and unsettling oeuvre, while Mia Goth gives her third standout horror performance in the space of ten months. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next … Continue reading "Episode 141 – Infi...

A team-up of the talents behind Housebound and Malignant should have been a slam dunk, but don’t believe the hype – M3GAN is an assembly-line-style dud. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next movie … Continue reading "Episode 140 – M...

Skinamarink is not a perfect film, but it’s so weird and singular that we might not change a thing about it. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next movie you’d like us to check … Continue reading "Episode 139 – Skinamarink"

Nanny is visually gorgeous and chock-full of great performances, but eventually descends into “fugue soup,” and the overwhelming water motif spoils the ending. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next movie you’d like us … Continue reading "...

While intriguing and loaded with personality, Something in the Dirt would have benefited from a little more structure and stronger distinctions between John and Levi’s dialogue. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next movie … Continue reading "Ep...

While not quite up to the standards of his prior work, Luca Guadagnino’s cannibal romance road movie is moody, occasionally arresting, and driven by good performances all around. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the … Continue reading "Episode 136...

Even if The Menu doesn’t qualify as horror comedy haute cuisine, there are some tasty morsels knocking around in there. Ralph Fiennes is a delight. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next movie you’d … Continue reading "Episode 135 – The Me...

V/H/S/99 marks the series’ full-on tonal shift into Creepshow-esque horror comedy, which ultimately proves detrimental. Better than V/H/S Viral, but that’s not saying much. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for the next movie you’d like … Continue...

Prey for the Devil is a movie that is impossible to care about, a worse-than-average exorcism film in a subgenre where “average” is a pretty low bar to clear. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune In. Got an idea for … Continue reading "Episode 133 – Prey for t...

David Bruckner’s reboot of the 80s horror staple is a little too rigid, a little too sanitized… and frankly, just doesn’t raise all that much hell. But Jamie Clayton and Odessa A’zion are terrific. Please follow us on Twitter @ShockDoctorsPod, on Facebook at facebook.com/shockdoctorspod, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Tune … Continue reading...