Episode 53: Uncharted Waters

Steph and Casey are back to dissect the tenth entries in a couple of horror’s most beloved franchises. First, they travel back in time to debate the merits of a once-maligned entry in the FRIDAY THE 13TH series that has now become a cult classic, JASON X. Then it’s on to a widely praised recent release that gives us the return of John Kramer and arguably strong return to form for a struggling franchise, SAW X. If you think one should be free from fireworks, you haven’t been listening long!

In our first ever “in theaters now” discussion, Casey and Steph debate the merits of two Blumhouse joints, both of which sail on sacred waters by revisiting beloved properties. Does “The Exorcist: Believer” rekindle any of the original’s magic, or is it an unholy mess? Is “Five Nights at Freddy’s” a fan service treat or another tragic video game adaptation? Tune in to find out!

Set sail with us as we talk about MARY (2019) and THE BOAT (2018). After another long break, Casey and Steph try to get back on course with a little boat horror. Casey recommends a film featuring the great Gary Oldman that looks absolutely smashing on paper. While Steph goes for a critically acclaimed but underseen arthouse indie that’s her siren call. As usual, get ready for lots of bickering and turbulent waters ahead.

After a brief hiatus, Casey is back to talk about Canadian horror in honor of his homeland, while performing a public service and finally dispelling the American myth that Canadians are friendly and easy going. Hear us dish about his, THE VOID, and Steph’s pick, INFINITY POOL. Did Casey pick The Void because it’s the only Canadian horror film he’s heard of? And did Steph pick Infinity Pool because it’s artsy and weird and guaranteed to piss Casey off? Tune in to find out!

This week, our co-host Casey (aka Loathing) is on vacation. So Steph (Cheer) is joined by special guest Jamie Marino for a wild discussion about the surprise hit COCAINE BEAR and the surprisingly unhinged COCAINE SHARK. COCAINE BEAR promises hilarious hijinks and a ridiculous romp filled with gore, humor, and a berzerker bear. Does it deliver? COCAINE SHARK is an upcoming Syfy-esque shark movie hoping to cash in on the coked-out killer animal craze. It truly is absolute insanity. But is that a good thing or a bad thing? Tune in to hear us talk about expectations vs. reality, when cuddly bears attack, Jamie's obsession with Shark Exorcist, the problem with too much plot, special effects that aren't so special, when bad is good and good is meh, and so much more. It's possible this is when the podcast finally jumps the shark, but you're going to have to listen to find out for yourself! If you enjoy the show, PLEASE consider leaving a five-star review on Spotify. 

This week, we have a very special episode for you: our 50th! We’ve been bound together for 50 episodes, so our theme is TIES THAT BIND, and we’ve got two films about familial relationships and how the past so often seems to haunt the present and destroy the future. Because it’s a special episode, we’re mixing things up a bit and trying an experiment. Since Casey tends to hate everything, Stephanie had the challenge of picking a film she thought he might actually like. She went for the recently released supernatural horror film MALUM, a reboot of 2014’s sleeper indie horror hit LAST SHIFT. And since Steph loves everything, Casey picked a film he thought she might hate, choosing 2018’s serial-killer-with-a-conscious flick starring Seann Willam Scott. Tune in to see how well they did and whether Cheer and Loathing really do switch roles for this episode, or if it’s bloody business as usual!

Spring has sprung, and beautiful co-eds everywhere got to enjoy a break from the books and fun in the sun. But hopefully most avoided the backwoods bayous of the Deep South. Because, as this week’s episode proves (as if it needed proving), the only good thing to come out of the South is our co-host, Cheer! Join us as we welcome the return of oddball Crispin Glover to the show, giving it all he’s got in an insane dual performance as psychotic twins in 2006’s SIMON SAYS. Plus, we dig up an obscure 80’s slasher, SHALLOW GRAVE (1987), that brings the requisite T&A but forgets to bring the cheesy fun.

Cheer and Loathing are back, and boy, did we pick a doozy of an episode to follow our Season 4 premiere. Things are about to get weird...really, REALLY weird. Picking two experimental horror films to discuss — the surprise Shudder hit SKINAMARINK and the insane film fest darling RAZZENNEST — is a recipe for disaster. Loathing (aka Casey) was already angry at Cheer (Steph) for insisting that he sit through every minute of SKINAMARINK, no matter how much he felt he'd seen it all by the first ten minutes. To soften the blow, we brought on a special guest, Morbidly Beautiful contributor and avid film connoisseur Jamie Marino, to help referee this smackdown between a WTF film lover and a "Are you f*ck*ng kidding me?!" fighter. Is Jamie Team Cheer or Loathing? Tune in to find out! D10 Go Fund Me Link: https://gofund.me/4ba67a05

After a long delay, we're finally back in the saddle. And we're kicking off 2023 and Season 4 of Cheer and Loathing by talking about evil AI. Of course, we'll be talking about the campy horror hit that will hopefully herald in a killer year of horror, M3GAN. For our second film, we picked a much less heralded 'AI Gone Wrong' film from 2020 that went way under the radar, THE ALPHA TEST. Does that make it a hidden gem or a stone better left unturned? Tune in to find out.

It's October, which means we get the long-awaited return of two iconic horror franchises. Both Pinhead and Michael Myers are back in the spotlight and the public discourse. While one was widely heralded, the other became one of the most divisive films in recent years, polarizing the fanbase and lighting up social media. Does that mean we're going to fight about it, too? Come on, faithful listener, what do you think?!