Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)

Join the Afterthoughts crew for a Recommend or Refute featuring a trifecta of new 2026 films. John defends the big swing of Alejandro Iñárritu's Digger, Ryan debates whether Toy Story 5 should exist, and Dixon discusses Mahershala Ali's new film Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother about a morally conflicted assassin.

Buckle up and crank the radio, The Afterthoughts Podcast is about to cruise around the Los Angeles of yesteryear as Dixon, John, and Ryan talk Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). With a body of work this rich and dense in period accurate details and send-ups, we hope you find this episode to be just as much of a hangout experience as the film itself.

It's a spooky season Recommend or Refute.  John breaks down Zach Cregger's new Resident Evil (2026) reboot, Ryan tackles another prolific horror franchise with Witchcraft (1988), and Dixon discusses the existential dread of Charlie Kaufman's Anomalisa (2015).

Don't google this movie title without additional keywords like "plot", "film" or "netflix". Otherwise you'll just get a hotline number and some consolation. What's spookier in the spooky season than a fever dream trip to visit your current dating partner's parents? Well, there's plenty of existential concepts that Charlie Kaufman wants you to consider. Join Dixon, Ryan, and John as they attempt to navigate I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020), the unsettling Charlie Kaufman horror / thriller / existential head trip adapted from a novel of the same name.

Welcome to a spooky edition of Recommend or Refute. Ryan tackles another horror franchise with Terrifier (2016), Dixon reviews a scary twist on Barney and Friends with Casper Kelly's new film Buddy (2026), and John delves into the existential dread of Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York (2008).

Spooky Season is upon us and Ryan has hand picked a lesser known horror film to share with the crew. The simplistically titled Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971) is about exactly what it sounds like, but is there more to it than that? What would compel a studio to name it with such bluntness? What kind of budget does it have? Is it actually scary? Should you add it to your Spooky Season watch list? Dixon, John, and Ryan are here to help you determine that and dig a little deeper while we're at it.

Welcome to another Recommend or Refute episode!  Dixon discusses Jane Schoenbrun's meditative sexual take on horror reboots Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026), Ryan breaks down the independent anime film Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express (2026), and John delves into his family history with the Dolly Parton classic The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982).

This week we're discussing the 1976 stone cold classic Network written by Paddy Chayefsky, directed by Sidney Lumet, and starring Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, and Robert Duvall.  Undoubtedly the smartest and funniest dissection of television ever put on film, Network predicted Fox News, MSNBC, Alex Jones, and countless other for-profit programs pretending to be news.  It feels more relevant with each passing day as the increasing absurdity of national news coverage leaves us with little choice but to laugh or despair.

On this episode of Recommend or Refute, Ryan bring his Marvel Movie of the Week™ with Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), John brings an ambling, amusing indie feature with Person to Person (2017), and Dixon revisits a classic and pivotal Jim Carrey film about the surveillance state and reality tv with The Truman Show (1998). Who's recommending what? Is anyone refuting? Is anyone abstaining? Guess you'll have to listen to find out.

On this episode of Afterthoughts, John brings Dixon and Ryan an overlooked, under-seen period piece romance/thriller with a southern drawl and a Texas attitude --it's Carolina Caroline (2026)!