The Franchise Forum Podcast

After surviving the Evil Dead franchise, the boys head across the pond to kick off Edgar Wright's Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy with Shaun of the Dead (2004). What happens when a romantic comedy, a zombie apocalypse, and a trip to the local pub collide? Greg, Erik, Adam, and Ross unpack Wright's inventive filmmaking, razor-sharp British humor, brilliant musical moments and the surprising emotional depth hiding beneath all the blood and laughs. Grab your cricket bat, mind the vinyl and head to the Winchester. We've got some red on us.

The Coen Brothers Director Series continues with Fargo (1996)! Greg assesses the accuracy of this Minnesota showcase, while getting into the nuances of the writing and composition. Might murder, prostitutes, wood chippers, and the Gophers enter the conversation about this Academy Award-winning classic? You betcha. As always, this episode can be experienced in two parts: listen to the first half, watch the film, then come back for the second half as everything you just saw gets broken down. Darn tootin'!

The Director Series kicks off a new set with the Coen Brothers and Miller's Crossing (1990)!   What's the rumpus? Greg starts his deep dive on the most prominent directing duo of all time, investigating how their work is impacted by their Jewish upbringing in his own home state of Minnesota. Ross is along for the ride on this episode to help provide some context to the brilliant elements of the film. The two share their hot takes about the writing, acting, and symbolism as they debate both sides of a critically polarizing movie. And they talk about hats... lots of hats.    As always, this episode is designed to be experienced in two parts: listen to the first half, watch the film, then come back for the second half as everything you just saw gets broken down. Look into your heart and let's dangle!

Grab your mop, find the marble in the oatmeal, and tell the kids we’re going to Spatula City... The Franchise Forum is heading to U62! After winning trivia twice in a row, Ross abuses his newfound power to select 1989’s gloriously unhinged UHF for our Third Frantasy episode: a movie that never became a franchise…but absolutely should have. The guys revisit a childhood favorite built from satire stacked upon satire, where every 30 seconds brings another parody, sight gag, fake commercial, cultural reference, or blind man attempting a Rubik’s Cube. We rank the station’s unforgettable weirdos, celebrate Stanley Spadowski and Wheel of Fish, unpack the astonishing “Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies” sequence, trade favorite scenes and quotes, and ask whether UHF was simply too strange or just decades ahead of our doom-scrolling brains. Then we build the franchise Hollywood denied us: corporate-network sellouts, alien transmissions, a Spatula City origin story, and the inevitable trilogy of UHF, VHF, and UFO. SUPPLIES!

The Quentin Tarantino Director Series wraps up with Inglourious Basterds (2009). From the unforgettable opening farmhouse scene to the legendary performances from Christoph Waltz and Brad Pitt, Greg breaks down the film’s wild alternate-history take on World War II, its unforgettable characters, razor-sharp dialogue, dark humor, and explosive moments.   We'll explore what makes the movie so compelling, why Hans Landa is one of cinema’s most memorable villains, and how Tarantino turns history into a stylish, unpredictable revenge fantasy. Listen to the first half, watch the movie, and come back for the breakdown - there’s plenty to discuss with this one. This might just be a masterpiece...

Franchise Forum closes out the original Evil Dead trilogy with Army of Darkness, the point where Sam Raimi more or less abandons horror and turns the whole thing into a medieval fantasy-action comedy. Greg, Adam, Ross and Erik break down Bruce Campbell’s full evolution into Ash, Raimi’s wildly inventive filmmaking, skeleton armies, practical effects, Three Stooges energy, endless one-liners, and one very dependable boomstick. Then it’s time for the Franchise Forum Awards, followed by a razor-close round of trivia that decides who picks the next franchise. Three movies. One chainsaw. Hail to the king, baby...

The Quentin Tarantino Director Series continues with his directorial debut - Reservoir Dogs. Greg digs into the low-budget breakout film that not only put Tarantino on the map, but impacted the way filmmakers incorporated stylized dialogue and references to pop culture. This episode breaks down the iconic soundtrack, the acting performances, and the unconventional decision to focus on the aftermath rather than the heist. Listen to the first half, watch the film, then come back for the second half as Greg breaks down everything you just saw. Just make sure to leave a tip before you go and don’t ask why you have to be Mr. Pink…

Widely regarded as one of the greatest horror sequels ever made, Sam Raimi's 1987 cult classic blurs the line between remake and sequel, transforming the relentless terror of the original into a manic blend of horror, slapstick comedy, and groundbreaking visual invention. Greg, Adam, Ross, and Erik break down Bruce Campbell's iconic performance as Ash, Raimi's wildly kinetic camerawork, the film's Looney Tunes-inspired physical comedy, unforgettable practical effects, and why Evil Dead II feels less like a traditional horror film and more like a live-action cartoon possessed by demons. Along the way, they debate whether this sequel truly surpasses the original, uncover behind-the-scenes stories from the production, and celebrate one of horror's most influential films. Join the gang for the full scene-by-scene breakdown, horror movie draft, trivia and plenty of laughs.

Our Director Series continues with Quentin Tarantino and Pulp Fiction. One of the most influential filmmakers of the modern era, Tarantino takes center stage as Greg explores how Pulp Fictionshattered storytelling conventions and forever changed independent cinema. From its nonlinear structure to its unforgettable dialogue and cultural impact, this episode dives into what makes Tarantino's masterpiece one of the defining films of the 1990s. As always, this episode is designed to be experienced in two parts: listen to the first half, watch the film, then come back for the second half as Greg breaks down everything you just saw.

This week, we dig into Sam Raimi’s 1981 cult classic, a movie that none of us fully knew how to process but all of us had to respect. Is it enjoyable? Not exactly. Is it inventive, relentless, gross, weirdly charming, and somehow one of the most impressive student-film-feeling debuts ever made? Absolutely. We talk micro-budget filmmaking, stop-motion gore, suspiciously smooth tree branches, demonic sound design, the world’s most stressful cabin, and the way Raimi turns the camera itself into the villain. Ross explains why the movie is basically the best lengua taco he’s ever had, Adam goes deep on the splatter-film era, Erik tries to understand why horror fans love being punished, and Greg leads us through the chaos with plenty of production history and trivia. Join us. Join us.