Scary Thoughts

Backrooms (2026) director Kane Parsons became an auteur horror phenom through one of the strangest, but possibly increasingly common, paths imaginable: he built a YouTube-native story using open-source software and a meme. The original web series deserves the praise. It looks great. It's fun. It's creepy. And it speaks directly to a generation's fears. The film successfully expands that world while also working as a standalone movie in some interesting ways. In this episode, we talk about new ways films might get made, Lacanian psychotherapy, dead mall aesthetics, Viking liminalism in Valhalla, gold-plated AK-47s, and what it means when a horror movie makes Marvel money.

Obsession (2026) is a film for anyone who's ever been unlucky in love or wished for the impossible. It's won praise as an indie horror darling after making hundreds of millions of dollars, but what if it's really a romcom? In this loving conversation, we cover the pitfalls of working in the movie business, opine on what it takes to maintain decades-long romantic affairs, and ask the all-important question: should you really be careful what you wish for?

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026) picks up minutes after where the previous, and enjoyable, installment left off. If you liked the first one, you're in for a treat because this is, quite literally, more of the same.  This is one of those episodes where the film doesn't have much to say, we don't have much to say about it, and as a consequence, we descend into speculative madness.  Fear not! We still hit many of the classic Scary Thoughts topics: unlistenable music, final girls, The Devil, shitting on A24, and dream casting for The Rock.

Just because you're paranoid, don't mean the Andromedans aren't after you. Chad and Marc give a brief Stranger Things wrap up before disentangling this Yorgos Lanthimos madness. They explore the differences between alien conspiracy paranoia, and the Truth. After hearing Chad's lifelong appetite for conspiratorial thinking, you will want to believe. Marc wonders if maybe the Andromedans really do know what's best. That's not a conspiracy, that's just sensible species management.

For Halloween, we always like to do something a little special, and this year we decided to ask some of our fellow fiends (Meg Elison, Joshua Grannell aka Peaches Christ, Carmen Maria Machado, Daniel Coffeen, Steven Intermill and Monique Jenkinson aka Fauxnique) about the first film they remember that truly scared them, and how that shaped them into the ghouls they grew up to be.

28 Years Later (2025) seems to have divided fans of the franchise. The original film raged into theaters with an absolutely fresh take on the zombie, with new and prescient rules based on gain of function research, and a distorted digital aesthetic that still looks incredible. Plus it introduced us to the great cheek bones of Cillian Murphy. But this film? Chad loved it, Marc hated it. So get ready for a fun back and forth about what worked, and what didn't for your favorite horror movie podcast hosts. This episode hits on the past and future of the franchise as a whole, Alex Garland and Danny Boyle's filmography, zombie dongs, Jimmy Saville's villainy, and whether or not tracksuits are the proper clothing for apocalyptic battles.

Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) is the sixth installment in a (mostly) beloved franchise of fright films. Fans consider it one of the best in the series, and even the less enthused have found gems to enjoy. The opening sequence is a blast. The kills are hilarious and maximalist. And you even get a little bit of character development.  The conversation stays mostly on topic, but let's be honest, Bloodlines is like a new AC/DC album. You know what you're getting.  We stray into conversation about Japanese denim, ghost outfits and fast fashion, and the new Ryan Coogler film, Sinners.  Overall, this episode is a real hoot.

Companion (2025) comes to us at a great time in our culture's history. As of this writing, AI hucksters are incinerating the planet so anyone can prompt Harry Potter fan fiction and the innumerate can vibe code their way to enough series A funding to purchase one-way flights to the Martian refugee colonies of the ultra wealthy.  If those words are unfamiliar to you, just wait. Soon enough, the tech oligarchs will replace you with a subservient version of yourself that will. Or maybe they'll just make paperclips until we're all dead.  But don't be a sad android! This is a fun movie and we have a fun time talking about it. We discuss AI doomerism, loneliness, The Book of Love song "Boy", and of all things, the power of love.  Special note: this weekend is the @unnamedfootagefestival and we'll be out exploring the unhinged visions of our comrades with our rapidly deteriorating meatsuits. Be there!

In this episode, we sink our yellowed fangs into Nosferatu (2024). It's one of our best conversations in a while. Likely due to our occult powers ascending and a potent peasant stew of nicotine and caffeine. We talk about orthodox exorcisms, Lily-Ross Depp's rise as an actor, supernatural penises, and what kind of undead creatures we'd like to be. Robert Eggers has once again delivered an incredible looking film that shows what you can do with an absurd obsession for details. Are we all in on this mustachioed addition to the vampire mythos? Definitely. Though, we have our usual Statler-and-Waldorf-grade complaints.

The Substance (2024) is a nearly perfect example of what we like in movies. It's dripping with weighty ideas about bodies and power's putrid hold on humanity. The director is an alluring French woman who appears to be a deep fan of all the dark shit we're into. The actors are going for it hard. The effects are practical. It's absurdly gory and fun. To conversate and celebrate this body horror peak, we're joined by Monique Jenkinson–who needs little introduction to our audience–but just in case, she's an artist, choreographer, and writer best known for her work as a Bay-Area-based drag icon. She sometimes pastes magazine photography to herself, though not always to conceal the transformative effects of black market beauty regimens.  This is a focused episode where we get deep into the film and its perennial themes. We talk about the design of biohacker products, how youth is wasted on the young, our aging aches and pains, and the differences in how the male and female gazes approach butt shots.   If you've been enjoying our Alien run, fear not, we will be returning to that soon enough. We needed a break from Weyland-Yutani's corporate culture.  For now, enjoy this conversation about a great film that actually came out this year.