Unwatchables with Marc & Seth

Today we’re kicking off Horror-tober with two classics from the undisputed master of body horror, David Cronenberg. And who better to help us than filmmaker and novelist Bobby Miller, the director of horror films like CRITTERS ATTACK! and 2016's THE CLEANSE starring Johnny Galecki and Angelica Huston. We’ll be discussing two films that blend horror, sci-fi, and grand tragedy in ways that churn you...

For the very first Unwatchables live event hosted by Akron's Nightlight theatre, Seth and Marc introduce a special screening of THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T, the only film ever written by Dr. Seuss— one deemed too dark and strange for family audiences when it flopped in 1953, but now rightfully beloved for its surreal production design and infectiously absurd musical numbers. Unwatchables is hosted...

Today we welcome Letterboxd’s own Swartacus for the 2nd edition of our CANNES-TASTROPHES series. The Cannes film festival is the most prestigious of its kind in the world, and these films had premieres so disastrous that hundreds booed and even fled the theater. First up is Vincent Gallo’s scandalous 2003 art film THE BROWN BUNNY, which Roger Ebert famously declared the worst film in Cannes’ histo...

Today’s UNWATCHABLES looks back on two very different films about the September 11th terrorist attacks. Paul Greengrass’ UNITED 93 came out less than 5 years after the tragedy and was the first Hollywood film to dramatize the day that many people weren’t sure needed dramatized. We’ll discuss what recreating the attacks means today as well as back in 2006, and then consider the other end of the spe...

Today we’re joined by author Derek Fisher for two eerily similar, and similarly miserable, family portraits. Both are the directorial debuts of renowned British actors who would never direct again; both follow dysfunctional working class families; and both star Ray Winstone as *the* worst dad of all time. Only one, however, was too much for one of our hosts to finish. Is it Gary Oldman’s 1997 slic...

On the conclusion of our two-part episode on the STAR WARS prequels, we somehow find both more AND less middle ground. ATTACK OF THE CLONES and REVENGE OF THE SITH are generally considered the worst and best of the prequels, respectively—so naturally, we can’t even agree on that. Topics include whether lightsaber Yoda is a high- or lowlight, how you whiff the casting of Anakin two times over, and...

On a special two-part UNWATCHABLES, our hosts opinions are galaxies far, far apart. George Lucas’ STAR WARS prequels were greeted with mixed to hostile reactions over 20 years ago, but these days some fans—even one on this podcast!—will argue that they’re worth defending. With help from our producer Tony, we’re tackling all three films in the most divisive STAR WARS trilogy of them all… but can a...

Today we’re joined by Zack Bornstein, the Emmy-nominated, WGA and Peabody Award-winning writer from shows like SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and SHRINKING, to answer the question: what if the Care Bears were in ANTICHRIST? The animated films of Alberto Vázquez are full of cuddly talking animals, but also graphic gore, human-looking genitalia, and possibly clinical depression. We’ll be discussing his two unr...

Unwatchables welcomes back Cinematary’s Michael O’Malley for two unhinged California cult curiosities that land somewhere between ROCKY HORROR and THE ROOM. Are they crazily inspired, or just crazy? They are: Timothy Carey’s 1962 Frank Zappa-scored satire THE WORLD’S GREATEST SINNER, and Richard Elfman’s 1980 absurdist musical fantasy FORBIDDEN ZONE. You can find more from Michael at https://www.c...

Today we welcome podcaster and musician Bob Ethington to discuss two ambitious, high-profile flops from two of the 1970’s most ambitious, high-profile auteurs. Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola were following up some of the most beloved American films ever made when they sunk huge budgets into experiments that blew up in their faces— and that might even share some blame for the end of the...

Today we welcome back Paul Keelan of CINEMATIC UNDERDOGS to discuss the abrasive, deliberately alienating character studies of Rick Alverson. Alverson works with alt-comedy icons like Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington, but his films are anything but normal comedies— whatever you call them, they’re dark, uncomfortable, and follow people you probably don’t want to spend much time with. We’re discus...

We’re thrilled to welcome Hit Factory hosts Aaron & Carlee to discuss the films of French provocateur Catherine Breillat. Breillat never met a male/female relationship she couldn’t dissect in harrowing fashion, often with explicit or downright shocking content. We tackle two of her hardest to stomach films: 2001’s pitch-black coming of age tale FAT GIRL, and 2004’s graphic arthouse provocation...

In honor of Mother’s Day, we’re joined by horror author Emma E. Murray to take a look at the Unwatchable side of motherhood. Today’s films aren’t afraid to put both small children and pregnant women in peril; they include possibly the single bloodiest film of the New French Extremity horror wave, as well as a truly demented (and underseen) Hitchcock riff. They are the 2007 French slasher film INSI...

Today we’re going back to 1928 for what might be the most harrowing film of the silent era. Carl Theodor Dreyer’s intense, claustrophobic THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC was like nothing at the time and arguably still isn’t; we’ll talk about the film’s controversial history, what makes it so radical, and whether it might be too much for some viewers. Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Tro...

Unwatchables welcomes Erik Davis, managing editor of Fandango.com , to discuss possibly the most heart-wrenching film we’ve yet covered. Erik wrote the first review of 2008’s true crime doc DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER after its Slamdance premiere, and anyone who’s seen it knows it’s not the kind of movie you ever forget. We discuss what makes it so uniquely devastating, how it...

Today we welcome back Jetta Weinstein, aka Letterboxd's theironcupcake, to discuss the film that scarred a generation of HOME ALONE fans. Macaulay Culkin was at the height of his child stardom when his father/manager signed him on for HOME ALONE 2 under one condition… that his next role be the murderous child sociopath in 1993’s R-rated thriller THE GOOD SON. We’ll talk about who this movie wa...

Today’s film is so controversial it’s never actually been released. In 2017, comedian Louis CK wrote, directed, and starred in I LOVE YOU, DADDY, which was pulled just a week before release after a New York Times article detailed his sexual misconduct; as if that timing wasn’t bad enough, the film itself concerns a director known for his sexual indiscretions with minors. We talk about how it fits...

Unwatchables is thrilled to welcome back Amy Hensarling of Watch This List for our special pre-Oscars episode! Jonathan Glazer’s harrowing Holocaust drama THE ZONE OF INTEREST may be the most unconventional Best Picture nominee in years, if not ever; we discuss Glazer’s entire career, his uniquely unsettling approach to a familiar unsettling subject, and whether in this case he went far enough. Yo...

Today’s Unwatchables looks back at a stretch of the 2000’s when seemingly every grimy horror classic was getting a slick, ultra-gory remake. Author and podcaster Mallory Smart joins us to discuss contemporary updates of two of the most iconic and disturbing guerilla horror films of the 70’s, and whether they might actually be *more* sadistic than the originals. They are Marcus Nispel’s glossy 2003...

Today’s Unwatchables is all about the loquacious, shockingly brutal modern exploitation films of S. Craig Zahler. Special guest Matt Belenky helps us discuss Zahler’s artful approach to extreme violence, the controversy around his perceived politics, and whether his films are actually as regressive as their inspirations. On deck are 2015’s grisly horror Western BONE TOMAHAWK, and 2017’s face-smash...

Unwatchables kicks off Season 3 with one of the most notorious outsider cult films of the 2000’s. With help from video essayist Jacob Sleezer, we dissect the surreal provocations of filmmaker Damon Packard, starting with his epic, vomit-drenched, copyright-infringing magnum opus, 2002’s REFLECTIONS OF EVIL. Topics include Packard blowing his inheritance, whether he might actually be unwell, and hi...

For the Unwatchables Season 2 finale, we’re tackling the highest-grossing— and we do mean gross— documentary series of all time. In this special “Producer’s Pick” episode, our producer Tony Scarpitti helps us discuss the JACKASS phenomenon, how the films evolved over the years, and which parts we found too painful to endure. In the end, we rank all four theatrically-released films… a stunt that sh...

Film critic Mike D’Angelo returns to Unwatchables with our most unexpected guest pick yet: Bobcat Goldthwait’s 2006 dark comedy SLEEPING DOGS LIE. We discuss what makes it so queasy yet unexpectedly moving, how Mike’s opinion has shifted over the years, and whether this is the first rom-com to pivot on an act of bestiality. ALSO: Stay tuned after the discussion for our first Unwatchables guest que...

Today’s guest is Robert Daniels, associate editor of http://RogerEbert.com, to help us discuss a controversial fugitive drama that takes a provocative look at police violence against Black Americans. 2019’s QUEEN & SLIM is the feature debut of Melina Matsoukas— director of the iconic music video for Beyonce’s “Formation”— and stars Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya. So why has it become potentially over...

Who better to join our Halloween special than film critic Katie Rife, aficionado of all things horror? She proves her strong stomach by exposing us to two of the most harrowing serial killer films ever made, starting with 1986’s hugely influential HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER. We discuss its revolutionary approach to depicting violence, how it comments on the true crime genre, and one of its...