Slasher & the Final Girls

It’s Halloween, which means we’re talking about the horror movies we HAVE to watch every October.In this Halloween special of Slasher & the Final Girls, we’re breaking from our usual horror movie deep dives to share some of the films that have become part of our personal Halloween traditions, from House of 1000 Corpses and Trick ’r Treat to Final Destination and Haunt.Nikki brings the CSI and death investigation perspective to House of 1000 Corpses and Trick ’r Treat, including vivisection, postmortem dismemberment, and whether a cause of death can still be determined from dismembered remains. Austin revisits the glorious chaos of Final Destination, the horror of Death itself as an unstoppable villain, and why forensic details can make or break a movie for a former CSI.Courtney takes us inside the psychology of Haunt, where an extreme haunted house turns very, very real. We’re talking anticipatory anxiety, the fear that comes from surrendering control, and why haunted attractions become so terrifying when the unspoken agreement between performer and participant is broken.Then we head to the After Party for paired snacks and drinks, and one question every horror fan has an answer to: What’s your horror movie sweet spot, and what’s your absolute deal-breaker?Whether you love slashers, psychological horror, horror comedy, gore, creature features, elevated horror, camp, or a little bit of everything, consider this our love letter to Halloween viewing.Grab the candy, turn down the lights, and tell us: What horror movie do you HAVE to watch every Halloween?

What made you a horror fan? What was the first movie that truly scared the hell out of you? And which one left a scar you’re still carrying?This month, we’re getting personal and digging into our horror roots: the films that made us, scared us, and maybe traumatized us a little too much.From discovering Halloween way too young and falling in love with the Universal Monsters, to Final Destination inspiring a future CSI, The Ring prank that went WAY too far, and a trip into the deeply uncomfortable world of Speak No Evil, we’re tracing the movies and moments that shaped the horror fans we are today.We also crack open Robert Bloch’s Psycho, talk book-to-screen horror adaptations, and, of course, defend our questionable movie choices.So grab your emotional-support horror movie and come compare scars with us.What movie made YOU a horror fan? And which one still lives rent-free in your nightmares? Tell us in the comments!

What happens when you combine a Hawaiian surf movie, a campy slasher, and a killer surfboard? You get Plankenstein.In this special episode of Slasher & the Final Girls, we dive into the wonderfully weird world of Plankenstein, an indie Hawaiian horror-comedy that turns an unlikely object into its killer: a surfboard.Joining the conversation are Plankenstein director Diq Diamond, lead actor and producer Amy Jennings, and lead actor Shane Chisum. They take us behind the scenes of creating this offbeat indie horror film, from weaving their own family into the story to finding the perfect balance between horror, comedy, and pure B-movie absurdity.But underneath the blood, laughs, and killer-surfboard chaos is a surprisingly uplifting message. Diamond, Amy, and Shane share why Plankenstein is ultimately about giving audiences permission to escape, have fun, embrace being silly, and stop taking life quite so seriously.The conversation also explores why horror can be such a powerful form of escapism. From campy slashers and cult horror movies to the comfort of a good B-movie, the crew talks about finding humor, creativity, and even encouragement inside a genre known for blood and screams.If you love indie horror movies, horror comedies, campy slashers, surf culture, practical filmmaking, or delightfully ridiculous B-movies, this episode is for you.Grab your board, hit the waves, and meet Plankenstein, the surfboard slasher you never knew you needed.

Saw-tember is officially in session, and this time, we’re putting Jigsaw’s own philosophy to the test.Instead of breaking down the Saw movies themselves, we each picked three traps from across the franchise and asked one question: Would this actually be John Kramer-approved?Our criteria are simple: the trap has to be survivable, there has to be a clear lesson tied to the test, and (according to John’s own rules) no innocent people should be harmed.From Amanda’s very questionable handiwork in the Angel and Classroom traps to the Reverse Bear Trap, 10 Pints of Sacrifice, the Brazen Bull, the Blood Boarding Trap, Jeff’s emotionally devastating trials, and more, we’re digging into whether these games actually follow Jigsaw’s rules or expose some pretty massive holes in his philosophy.Expect strong opinions, questionable apprentices, justice for Detective Matthews, a Jeff rant that has been waiting almost 20 years to happen, and plenty of “NOT JOHN KRAMER APPROVED!”

Do you want to play a game?Welcome to SAWtember, we’re diving into Saw X—the 2023 installment that takes us deeper into the mind of John Kramer and the twisted philosophy behind Jigsaw’s games.Courtney breaks down the psychology of why the Saw franchise is so disturbing, from anticipatory anxiety and vicarious pain to disgust, medical distrust, moral dilemmas, and the uncomfortable moment when you find yourself empathizing with the man building the traps.Meanwhile, Austin and Nikki bring the forensic science. We’re examining some of Saw X’s most brutal traps, including Valentina’s bone marrow trap and Mateo’s brain surgery trap, to ask the question every horror fan secretly wants answered: Could anyone actually survive this?Plus, we talk favorite Jigsaw apprentices, questionable medical procedures, John Kramer’s spectacular hypocrisy, and which trap from the entire Saw franchise we think we could survive.Grab your Gigli saw, hit play on the tape recorder, and prepare yourself. The game is about to begin.

What if the serial killer next door was the person everyone trusted?This month on Slasher & the Final Girls, we’re heading back to 1984 for bikes, paper routes, neighborhood festivals, teenage crushes…and one seriously suspicious neighbor. We break down Summer of 84 through forensic science, crime scene investigation, and psychology, from hidden bodies and sodium hydroxide to blood evidence, authority bias, and suburban paranoia.We also dig into what makes a killer hiding in plain sight so unsettling, and why the film’s nostalgic summer setting makes its final act hit even harder.Plus, we head to the Afterparty for 1984-inspired snacks and drinks and debate which is scarier: the obvious monster, or the familiar person you never saw coming.

This month we enter the colorful, campy, and dangerously romantic world of The Love Witch.Austin and Nikki break down Elaine’s deadly search for perfect love, from suspicious heart failure and a hastily buried body to a ritual dagger attack that raises serious questions about blood spatter, wound depth, toxicology, DNA evidence, and how investigators uncover clandestine graves.Courtney explores the psychology beneath the film’s glamorous surface, including the fear of rejection, the pressure to perform, desirability, and the danger of falling in love with a fantasy instead of the person standing in front of you.Then, join us at the Afterparty for vibrant Love Witch-inspired cookies, cocktails, and mocktails as we answer the question: What is your favorite example of horror using beauty to make something feel even more unsettling?

Celebrate summer horror with Slasher & the Final Girls as we close out Red, White, and Blood Month; our salute to Americana horror, sun-soaked slashers, creepy campgrounds, and vacations from hell.In this episode of What We Watched, we share our latest horror movie, thriller, and book recommendations, including Founder’s Day, Dead Calm, Evil Dead Burn, There’s Something Wrong with the Children, The Farm, Darkest Hour, The Bay, The Burning, and the werewolf cult classic Silver Bullet. From political slashers and yacht nightmares to found-footage eco-horror, summer-camp killers, and brutal creature features, we are covering plenty of ways your summer plans could go horribly wrong.For our horror book club, we head to Long Island with Hunter Shea’s The Montauk Monster, a fast-paced cryptid horror story filled with secret military experiments, government chaos, mutated creatures, and extremely questionable survival instincts.We are taking a short break from our regular WWW episodes in August, but our July full-movie episode should still be headed your way. Until then, stay out of suspicious lakes, avoid abandoned campgrounds, and prepare yourselves for our most exciting theme yet: Saw-tember.

So many streaming services, so many unhinged little horror gems, and somehow still not enough time.This month on Slasher & the Final Girls, we’re diving into indie horror. The weird, scrappy, beautiful, deeply upsetting corner of the genre where the budgets are smaller, the vibes are stranger, and the emotional damage is usually handmade. We’re talking It Follows, They Look Like People, Backrooms, Green Room, The Void, November, Maeve Fly by CJ Leede, and more.Expect cursed hookups, cosmic nightmares, punk bands making terrible booking decisions, animated zombies, existential dread, body horror, black-and-white folk weirdness, and at least one movie that made us say, “I don’t think I got it, but I respect the chaos.”Grab a snack, clear your watchlist, and come hang out while we break down what we watched, read, loved, hated, and emotionally survived this month.

This month, we’re trading jump scares for folk songs, flower crowns, sabotaged seaplanes, and one very bad May Day itinerary. Join us as we wander into The Wicker Man, where the villagers are friendly, the rituals are fertile, and the harvest demands a little more than rain. We’re breaking down the forensics of fire, the psychology of sacrifice, and why cheerful singing around a giant wicker effigy is, actually, a huge red flag.