Episode 168: Carry-On

Christmas Eve is the worst travel day of the year, which means an airport is also the best, most dramatic setting you can get for a Christmas movie. At least, that's what this week's film will have you believe. Carry-On is the latest holiday offering from the good people at Netflix: A tense, smartly-written thriller about TSA agent Taron Egerton trying to stop mercenary terrorist Jason Bateman from detonating a chemical weapon in a crowded airport on Christmas Eve. Along the way, we get a few classic holiday needledrops, some excellent action sequences, and a chilling villain turn from Jason Bateman. Also in this episode, we discuss the possibility that Carry-On may be the true ending to Arrested Development, the phenomenon of "Whamageddon," and the state of Netflix's original film slate. Check it out! Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 Outro: Carry On (fun.)

Our 2025 podcasting year begins in earnest with Golden Winter, an Asylum knockoff of an Air Bud spinoff about a family of golden retriever puppies who lose their mother, bring a family together, and help foil a bank robbery just in time for Christmas! Proving that there is always more and it is always worse, our descent into madness finds us discussing the films of The Asylum, pitching our own ideas for a Die Hard sequel, and questioning our own existence. You know, the usual topics for this podcast about Christmas movies! Anyway, we hope you enjoy it, and we promise a more coherent episode next time. Maybe. If you've been good. Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Happy New Year, Creepazoids! It's January, so you know what that means... It's time for our second annual Video Game extravaganza! The holiday season is behind us, so we're taking some time out of our winter break to discuss a few of our favorite things: video games!  Joe, Johnny-5 and Bradford countdown their five favorite video games of 2024. Also in this episode, we get into some honorable mentions, favorites from listeners in our Discord channel, and so much more! So crack open a cold one and get ready for 80+ minutes of quality video game shenanigans. Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

We have a tradition around here of spending our holiday break covering films other than Christmas films. So what better way to celebrate July at Christmas than with the best action movie of 1995? That's right, tonight we're discussing Die Hard with a Vengeance! You know the drill: In the next few hours, Simon is going to tell Lt. John McClane what to do. And Lt. McClane is going to do it. That's what the trailers say, at least. In truth, Hans Gruber's little brother is out for revenge against our old buddy John, who's just trying to kick a nasty hangover in the Big Apple. Along the way he teams up with Samuel L. Jackson, who wants absolutely nothing to do with him. It's great. So crack open a cold one, pull up a chair and join your holiday broskis as we chat about Die Hard, pinball machines, New York landmarks, and all the other random crap this podcast is known for! And, of course, we wish all of you a Very Happy New Year! Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro: Summer in the City (The Lovin' Spoonful) Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Merry Christmas, Creepazoids! This is our tenth year celebrating Christmas on this podcast. Can you believe that? This Christmas, Joe and Nikki take some time to discuss a few of the holiday movies they've watched this season. Primarily: Red One! Yes, friends. This is officially our Red One episode. But fret not! We also spend a little time discussing and rating two other new Christmas movies: The "Jack Black as Satan" comedy Dear Santa, and the surprise Netflix hit Hot Frosty. This episode is three reviews in one! It's a Christmas miracle! So crack open a cold one, pull up a chair by the fire, and enjoy some prime time holiday shenanigans. From all of us here at Christmas Creeps: We wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a most excellent New Year! Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro: Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (The Crystals) Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Season's greetings, Creepazoids! This December we're indulging in a few of this podcasts favorite things (there's a Christmas song in there somewhere...). On this week's stocking stuffer, Joe and Johnny-5 take a look at King of the Hill's season nine Christmas episode "Ms. Wakefield". Days before Hank Hill's Christmas party, an old woman (voiced by Happy Days' Marion Ross) shows up to reminisce about her old childhood home. Things then take a turn when Hank discovers Ms. Wakefield intends to die in his house on Christmas, forcing him to become the bad guy whose only crime was not wanting death to cast a pall on his family's Christmas. Also in this episode, Joe briefly touches on a few recent Christmas movies he's watched this season, and we discuss the odd ambiance of mid-December holiday malaise. Fun! Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Last time, we discussed the Christmas slasher P2. This week we follow it up with a look at that film's unofficial 2023 Hindi remake, simply titled "I Love You". Same premise, same setting, there's a holiday involved (in this case Diwali)... I don't know what surprised us more: The fact that we're even covering this movie on our podcast in the first place, or the fact that we all actually kinda liked it? For our purposes, we have a fun time comparing the two movies, and seeing what elements of the original translate to a film made halfway around the world. We fully realize three white Americans are the last people who should be discussing anything related to Diwali or Indian cinema in general, so we hope you'll bear with us as we tread some new territory for Christmas Creeps! Also! Returning guest Dr. Nick delivers a late-episode derail into video game chat about the Ace Attorney games. So never let it be said that this podcast doesn't stay extremely on-brand about absolutely everything... Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Welcome back, spooky friends! This week, our pal Dr. Nick returns to help us discuss the 2007 slasher flick P2. It's a solid contender for Worst Movie Title Ever, but as we'll discover, the movie itself is pretty solid! It's Christmas Eve, and office worker Angela finds herself stuck in her office building with lonely security guard Thomas. Things quickly take a turn for the worst as Thomas reveals himself to be a lovelorn psycho who takes her hostage and tries to have his way with her. She escapes, and a brutal game of cat and mouse ensues. We'll dig into what makes this movie tick, how it has or hasn't aged gracefully, and the use of Christmas music as diegetic plot devices. Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Greetings boils and ghouls! Home For The Horrordays continues this week as we bring you a Stocking Stuffer on the Tales from the Crypt episode "And All Through the House"! Based on the 1950s horror comics of the same name, Tales from the Crypt ran for seven seasons on HBO, and featured some of the biggest names in action and horror at the time. The episode we're discussing tonight comes from Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis! After killing her husband on Christmas Eve, murderous mom Elizabeth is besieged by a deranged serial killer dressed up as Santa Claus. She can't call the cops, because there's already a dead body in the house, so she'll just have to deal with it herself! It's a gruesome, gag-filled good time. Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Oh, you thought we weren't gonna cover Rare Exports? Think again, buddy. Home for the Horrordays continues as Joe and Bradford tackle the granddaddy of Finnish holiday horror. The scary folklore version of Santa Claus descends upon a farming community, killing caribou and kidnapping children, and it's up to young Pietari and his dad to find a way to save Christmas. Also in this episode, we taste test Coca-Cola flavored Oreos AND Oreo-flavored Coca-Cola in an effort to keep up with the gross gimmick food trends. Nothing but the best audio content for our lovely listeners! Questions/Comments? Email us at [email protected] us @ChristmasCreepsVisit us on the web at ChristmasCreeps.com! Join us on our Discord channel! Intro/Outro: Happy Christmas, You Guys! (Simon Panrucker) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0