Xenomania

Say it once, say it twice, say it five times and get wrecked. In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns stare too long into a rearview mirror of American horror and watch it reflect rot,  gentrified ghosts, legacy trauma, and bees with union grievances. Candyman returns with a paintbrush dipped in blood and ink, and the Xenoboys debate whether this reboot-sequel-refracted-nightmare sticks the landing...

“I see dead tropes…” For years, The Sixth Sense has lived in the shadow of its twist. In this episode of Xenomania, we revisit M. Night Shyamalan’s breakout film with fresh eyes and less nostalgia. Yes, it’s a well-crafted ghost story with moments of genuine pathos, but how well does it hold up under scrutiny? We unpack the emotional weight of Haley Joel Osment’s performance, the chilly atmosphere...

In this year-end finale of Xenomania, Jon and Ryan slip into their shiniest disco suits and dial into New Year’s Evil (1980)—a sleazy, synth-laced slasher set during a televised NYE countdown. As a killer named “Evil” offs a victim at the stroke of midnight in each U.S. time zone, we discuss the film’s time-locked gimmick, glam-punk aesthetics, sleazy subtext, and its strange place in the slasher...

In this holiday massacre of an episode, the Xenomania crew unwraps Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022), Joe Begos’s neon-slick splatterfest where a military-grade robotic Santa malfunctions into a relentless killing machine. Come for the grindhouse aesthetic, stay for the synth soundtrack, practical gore, and surprisingly sharp central performances. We dig into the subtext (is there any?), the style...

In this stark, brutal episode of Xenomania, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns set off down the desolate highways of The Long Walk — Francis Lawrence’s harrowing 2025 adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian thriller. Fifty boys. One rule: never stop walking. Three strikes and the guns come out. No finish line. No mercy. Only one winner gets a wish and riches beyond belief — everyone else just collapses in the d...

In this milestone 50th episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns strap on explosive collars and dive headfirst into Battle Royale (2000)—Kinji Fukasaku’s ultraviolent, emotionally raw, and politically charged cult classic. They dissect its brutal allegory for youth disillusionment, the ethical rot of authority, and how the film paved the way for modern dystopias like The Hunger Games, Squid Game, and beyond....

In this holiday-slasher episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns trim the tree with terror as they unwrap the controversial cult classic Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984). From killer Santas to traumatic orphans, the guys explore how this low-budget bloodbath turned yuletide cheer into a moral panic—and became one of the most infamous seasonal slashers of the ‘80s. They dive into Catholic guilt, VHS horror...

In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns gather around the blood-soaked banquet table to dig into Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving (2023), a pitch-perfect homage to holiday slashers, grindhouse grit, and small-town hysteria. From Black Friday mayhem to Pilgrim masks and meat thermometers in all the wrong places, they dissect how Roth turns a fake trailer into a full-on feast of gore, gags, and gruesome cheer...

He’s stitched from the dead, soaked in sorrow, and newly born in Guillermo del Toro’s hands.   In this episode of Xenomania, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns break open the coffin lid on the upcoming Frankenstein, del Toro’s long-gestating adaptation of the gothic classic. What does it mean for the creature to feel? To love? To rage against his makers?   They discuss the early visuals, the tragic elegance of...

In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns thread the film through the reel as they dive into Sinister (2012)—that grainy, grief-soaked descent into found footage and demonic legacy. They dissect how Scott Derrickson weaponized Super 8 film, where Ethan Hawke ranks on the “horror dad breakdown” scale, and why Bagul might be the most anti-cinema entity in the genre. From lawnmower jumpscares to ghost k...

Beauty is pain and perfection is just the prettiest form of rot. In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns inject themselves straight into The Substance (2024) — Coralie Fargeat’s visceral, body-horror masterpiece starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. From Hollywood’s obsession with youth to the brutal metamorphosis of envy and identity, we peel back the skin of this glittering nightmare to see w...

No Michael. No knife. Just masks, murder, and a jingle that’ll rot your brain. In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns peel back the latex on Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), the black sheep of the franchise that traded slashers for sci-fi sorcery. From Stonehenge conspiracies and sinister corporations to Silver Shamrock’s cursed commercial, we dig into how this fever dream of a film went...

Before the skyscrapers, before the commandos — the hunt began on the plains. In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns stalk through Prey (2022), the lean, vicious reimagining of the Predator mythos. We break down Amber Midthunder’s powerhouse performance as Naru, the stripped-back tension of Comanche survival against extraterrestrial terror, and how this film brought the franchise back to its primal...

Some calls come from deeper than the grave - Xenomania 42 When a disconnected rotary phone starts ringing in the middle of the night, the voice on the other end isn’t asking for help—it’s giving instructions. Jon traces the history of the device through a trail of grief and disappearances. Ryan digs up an unsettling number of Cold War death cults. And Kearns wonders: what if the signal isn’t comin...

It takes all kinds of critters… to make Farmer Vincent’s fritters. In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns hit the road to Motel Hell (1980), a grotesque and gleefully unhinged slice of backwoods horror where hospitality meets homicide. Between cannibal barbecue, buried victims, and a man in a giant pig’s head wielding a chainsaw, we explore how this satirical cult classic carved its place in grind...

Two men wake up chained in a filthy bathroom. A voice on a tape recorder tells them the rules. And horror cinema is never the same again. In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns dive into James Wan’s Saw (2004) — the grimy, low-budget indie that became a cultural juggernaut and redefined the horror genre. From the claustrophobic tension of its traps, to the moral rot at its core, to that infamous e...

Seventeen children vanish. One remains. And a community fractures under the weight of grief, suspicion, and something darker than anyone admits. In this special episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns unravel Weapons (2025), Zach Cregger’s twisted mystery-horror about loss, secrets, and the quiet horror of what we accept when we refuse to ask what’s really going on. From the chilling moment at 2:17 AM when...

What happens when your childhood pet doesn’t just survive the sewer flush — but thrives? In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns wade into Alligator (1980), the cult creature feature where a reptilian nightmare grows fat on urban decay, discarded science experiments, and human arrogance. From satirical jabs at consumer culture to some of the best practical monster mayhem of the era, we track how th...

Wolves don’t just howl at the moon — sometimes they howl for blood. In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns sink their teeth into The Howling (1981), Joe Dante’s cult werewolf classic that reinvented lycanthropy for a new generation of horror fans. From groundbreaking transformation effects to the film’s sly satire of cults, media, and primal hunger, we explore why this bloody, bone-snapping fever...

Cornfields aren’t quiet. They whisper. They hide. And sometimes… they kill. In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns dig into Clown in a Cornfield — Adam Cesare’s brutal, blood-soaked slasher that asks what happens when small-town rot collides with a painted grin. From the legacy of classic slashers to the menace of masks and Midwest decay, we pull apart why this story of a killer clown lurking betw...

The Conjuring may be one of modern horror’s biggest franchises, but the truth behind it is far murkier than the movies suggest. This week, Jon takes aim at Ed and Lorraine Warren, exposing how the so-called “paranormal experts” built their fame on shaky foundations, exploiting grief, fear, and faith with snake oil salesmanship dressed up as spiritual warfare. Ryan and Kearns join in to pull apart...

Before Aliens and Terminator, James Cameron made… Piranha II: The Spawning. A seaside buffet of flying fish, gnawed tourists, and B-movie madness, this cult sequel has been called both “the best flying piranha movie ever made” and “a cinematic shipwreck.” In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns dive headfirst into Cameron’s chaotic first directorial outing, the cursed production that nearly sank hi...

Forget Jaws—this week, the boys dive mouth-first into a blood-soaked lake filled with genetically engineered aquatic nightmares and unapologetic B-movie brilliance. In Episode 34, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns sink their teeth into Joe Dante’s Piranha (1978), a horror-comedy creature feature where the gore is plentiful, the budget is questionable, and the fish have an agenda. What begins as a government o...

In 2002, Bill Paxton’s Frailty crept into theaters—a Southern Gothic fever dream of divine visions, buried secrets, and a father’s terrible mission from God. Jon, Ryan, and Kearns descend into the film’s humid, haunted moral swamp, where angels and demons walk in human skin, and family loyalty can damn you just as surely as it can save you. Was it madness, prophecy…or something far worse?

This week, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns step inside one of the darkest rentals in horror history as they unpack Barbarian (2022), the sleeper hit that turns Airbnb anxiety into outright terror. What makes Barbarian stand out amid modern horror? Is it the cleverly twisted narrative, the chilling exploration of hidden spaces, or its deeper commentary on trust, predation, and trauma? The Xenomania team tack...