Unwatchables with Marc & Seth

Today we welcome Chris Evangelista of SlashFilm.com for two recent experimental horror films that challenge our ideas of what a horror film even is. First up is Kyle Edward Ball's 2022 avant-garde creepfest SKINAMARINK, possibly the most un-commercial horror film ever to get a wide theatrical release. And not far behind it is Chris Nash's 2024 slasher IN A VIOLENT NATURE, a slow cinema spl...

Today we're joined by Ryan Verrill of Disc Connected Media to look back at two modern survival horror classics. Greg McLean's 2005 Australian horror film WOLF CREEK is one of the most notorious of the 2000's torture porn boom, featuring a small cast brutally fighting their way out of an isolated setting over one long night. That also describes Jeremy Saulnier's gruesome 2015 thrill...

Big thanks to Akron's Nightlight Cinema for hosting the second live Unwatchables recording! We had a lively back-and-forth with the audience of a sold-out screening of HOWARD THE DUCK, the notorious 1986 flop that's since gained a cult following. We hear from some vocal defenders as we discuss what went wrong (or right?), why Cleveland looks so much like San Francisco, and what that duck n...

Today Unwatchables tackles the most controversial hit of the year, a film about the one celebrity we can all agree on with nothing complicated whatsoever. We discuss our experience seeing Antoine Fuqua’s MICHAEL with a sold-out crowd, how it stacks up against other biopics, what its success tells us about our culture, and of course how it handles—or doesn’t handle—that other thing. Unwatchables is...

Film critic Jesse Hassenger stops by UNWATCHABLES for two movies about serial killers and the media that loves them. These blood-soaked satires stirred up controversy for their graphic violence and dark senses of humor when they were released two years apart in the 90’s: 1992’s black comedy mockumentary MAN BITES DOG, and Oliver Stone’s hyper-stylized 1994 crime film NATURAL BORN KILLERS. You can...

In an UNWATCHABLES first, today’s episode captures our real-time reactions to 2025’s most gruesome documentary. In honor of our guest Roman Pessarov’s podcast CINEMA STROLLS, we finished watching Albert Serra’s bull-fighting doc AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE minutes before hitting record; we discuss the nature of first impressions, how much artistic merit can be found in two hours of animal torture, and...

Variety’s Guy Lodge returns to UNWATCHABLES for two films that faced similar controversies over their supposedly "irresponsible" use of child actors. Jonathan Glazer’s 2004 drama BIRTH made some viewers uncomfortable with certain scenes between Nicole Kidman and the ten-year-old boy claiming to be her character’s dead husband reincarnated. But that’s nothing compared to our other film, w...

UNWATCHABLES welcomes back film critic and author Nathan Rabin to discuss one of the most bizarre and reviled so-called comedies of the 90’s. Dan Akroyd’s first and to date only directorial effort was a big-budget bomb that asked the burning question, “what if Chevy Chase starred in THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE?” It may not have been a question audiences were interested in, but it resulted in some...

UNWATCHABLES kicks off Season 5 with our pre-Oscars special, where we ask the question: are these the worst Best Picture winners? Both of these films caused controversy when they unexpectedly took home the statue, and both happen to be white liberal filmmakers’ attempts at healing racism in America. What could go wrong? We’ll discuss the Oscars in general, why these films won, and if either of the...

For today’s season finale, we're joined by author Caleb Bethea for possibly our longest-awaited episode. Ruggero Deodato's 1980 video nasty CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST is on the shortlist for the most controversial films ever made, from its onscreen animal cruelty to the widespread bans and obscenity charges following its release. We weigh in on whether it’s beneath or slightly above contempt, and...

Today we're joined by Anthony Crislip of Akron, Ohio's THE NIGHTLIGHT cinema for the vanity projects of the two most controversial broadcasters of the 90's. Both Howard Stern and Jerry Springer helped reinvent their respective mediums, whether for better or worse, but they only ventured onto the big screen once (and within one year of each other). We see if these *very* 90’s star vehic...

Today we're joined by cartoonist Nathan Gelgud to tackle the most polarizing and some might say Unwatchable period of a legendary filmmaker's career. Jean-Luc Godard was one of the leading figures of the French New Wave, at least until he abandoned narrative filmmaking for experimental political films that alienated much of his audience. We'll be looking at two films from this most con...

UNWATCHABLES celebrates its 100th episode with film critic Mike D'Angelo, who joins us for two films about the ecstasy of agony. These movies are all about pain of the self-inflicted kind, one fiction and one non-fiction look at the line between self-harm and self-care: Kirby Dick's heart-rending, stomach-churning 1997 documentary SICK: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BOB FLANAGAN, SUPERMASOCHIST, a...

On today’s Halloween special, we’re joined by author and visual artist Christopher Norris for two films that are decidedly NOT The Exorcist. William Friedkin's 1973 phenomenon inspired plenty of imitators, but few rode its coattails as closely as these: 1974's Italian-made knock-off BEYOND THE DOOR—a minor hit that was sued for copyright infringement—and John Boorman's official, infamo...

Today UNWATCHABLES goes Down Under for two grim Australian thrillers with the help of film critic Laura Venning. These films faced controversy for their upsetting depictions of brutal violence—in one case, the unsimulated kind—but that's nothing compared to what they say about human nature: Ted Kotcheff's 1971 psychological thriller WAKE IN FRIGHT, and Jennifer Kent's 2018 revenge West...

Today we're joined by filmmaker/author Steven Bernstein for our tribute to intimacy coordinators, none of whom were present for these films. These painfully raw relationship dramas courted controversy not just for their explicit sex scenes, but also for the conditions under which they were shot: Bernardo Bertolucci's 1972 erotic drama  LAST TANGO IN PARIS , and Abdellatif Kesheesh's 20...

Hollywood has come a long way in depicting individuals with disabilities with candor and respect… these are not those films.  Dr. Ethan Lyon joins us for two movies it’s hard to imagine getting made today, though they say a lot about changing ideas of representation and political correctness: Lars Von Trier’s 1998 dark comedy THE IDIOTS, and THE “Gary Oldman as a little person” movie, Matthew Brig...

Today we’re joined by filmmaker Frank Ritz for what Freud would call our “Eros and Thanatos” episode. These two films blur the line between sex and death, including the rare look at necrophilia that’s… actually kind of sweet? The films are: Lynne Stopkewich's 1996 necrophiliac romance KISSED, and Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's 2009 avant-garde giallo AMER.You can find more from Frank at...

Today we’re joined by Cinematary's Grace Winburne to help us chart one film’s course from THE defining flop of the 90’s to midnight cult classic to the unlikely subject of critical reappraisal. But one question remains: does SHOWGIRLS actually not suck? You can find more from Grace at https://www.cinematary.com/ Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitt...

Today we're joined by Cinematary's Zach Dennis for the wild, weird, and (in one case) horrific films of director John Boorman. We take a look at his harrowing Hollywood breakthrough, 1972's disturbing survival thriller DELIVERANCE, and then its truly bizarre cult sci-fi follow-up: 1974's Sean Connery-starring ZARDOZ.You can find more from Zach at https://www.cinematary.com/ Unwatch...

Film critic Elena Lazic joins us for two films about “family annihilators,” the real-life phenomenon of husbands and fathers who kill their entire families. We discuss a long-unavailable 70’s downer, as well as it’s darkly comic slasher-film counterpart: Jeff Kanew's bleak 1979 drama NATURAL ENEMIES, and Joseph Ruben's 1987 horror film THE STEPFATHER. Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavi...

Amy Hensarling of WATCH THIS LIST returns to discuss two films mired in controversy for their depictions of victims of sexual violence. Sam Peckinpah's 1971 thriller STRAW DOGS has been both criticized and defended for decades for its notorious depiction of a woman seemingly embracing her attacker. We consider what it’s trying to say about men, women, and humanity as a whole, plus how it’s ans...

Today we’re diving deep into the bowels of THE DAILY WIRE’S film imprint with help from writer and conservative media expert Sami Gold. Our subjects are one “documentary” and one “comedy” that truly test the title of our podcast: 2022's WHAT IS A WOMAN?, a piece of transphobic propaganda hosted by conservative anti-personality Matt Walsh, and 2023’s LADY BALLERS, an anti-woke sports comedy tha...

Francis Ford Coppola is no stranger to highly publicized cinematic debacles, but few have been as long in the making as MEGALOPOLIS. The GODFATHER director put up $120 million of his own money to fund this decades-old passion project, a philosophical sci-fi epic plagued by trouble all the way from production to its disastrous reception. With help from VULTURE’s Bilge Ebiri, we consider whether it&...

Critic Jason Bailey, author of Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend, returns to UNWATCHABLES for two controversial films by the late, um, great(?) Joel Schumacher. 1993's FALLING DOWN may be THE angry white man vigilante thriller, a Rorschach test that either examines or celebrates racially charged grievance. Then there’s 1999's bleak psychological thriller 8MM, which answers th...