SSC 105: Halloween (Carpenter, 1978)

In Halloween, a masked killer returns to his quiet suburban hometown after escaping a mental institution and begins stalking a babysitter and her friends on Halloween night.Starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence and directed by John Carpenter, Halloween was released October 25, 1978.Recommendations:Tim — The Hitcher (Harmon, 1986)—where to watchTay — Halloween H20 (Minor, 1998)—where to watchFollow: SSC on Instagram Tim on Letterboxd

In The Shining, a family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence. The young son, gifted with psychic abilities, witnesses disturbing visions of the past and future.Starring Danny Lloyd, Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall and directed by Stanley Kubrick, The Shining was released May 23, 1980.Recommendations:Tim — Doctor Sleep (Flanagan, 2019)—where to watchTay — El Orfanato (Bayona, 2007)—where to watchFollow: SSC on Instagram Tim on Letterboxd

In Weapons, a small town is shaken when an entire third-grade class vanishes overnight, leaving only one child behind, and no clear answers as to where the children went. Starring Julia Garner and Josh Brolin and directed by Zach Cregger, Weapons was released August 8, 2025.Recommendations: Tim — The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 1961)—where to watchTay — Place Beyond the Pines (Derek Cianfrance, 2012)—where to watchFollow: SSC on Instagram Tim on Letterboxd

In 28 Years Later, a father and son leave their quarantined community on a remote island to venture into the zombie-infested mainland.Starring Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Jack O’Connell, and directed by Danny Boyle, 28 Years Later is was released June 20, 2025.Also, don't miss our other podcast, promoting the Peaks Central Asian Film Festival. Check out the latest episode here, and follow them on Instagram here.RecommendationsTim: A Bigger Splash (Guadagnino, 2015)—where to watch.Tay: Dead/Alive (Jackson, 1992)—where to watch.Follow: SSC on Instagram Tim on Letterboxd

In 28 Days Later, a man wakes up in an abandoned hospital to find the world devastated by a mysterious virus. He soon joins a group of survivors, they face both the infected and the horrors of what humanity has become.Starring Cillian Murphy and directed by Danny Boyle, 28 Days Later was released June 27, 2003.Also, don't miss our other podcast, promoting the Peaks Central Asian Film Festival. Check out the latest episode here, and follow them on Instagram here.RecommendationsTim: Re-Animator (Gordon, 1985) — where to watchTay: Southern Comfort (Hill, 1981) — where to watchFollow: SSC on Instagram Tim on Letterboxd

In Zodiac, policemen, journalists and a cartoonist become obsessed with identifying  the titular killer, whose cryptic letters and brutal murders haunt the Bay Area. As the years pass, the case consumes those chasing the truth.Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo, and directed by David Fincher, Zodiac was released March 2, 2007.Also, don't miss our other podcast, promoting the Peaks Central Asian Film Festival. Check out the latest episode here, and follow them on Instagram here.RecommendationsTim: Mindhunter (Fincher, 2017) — where to watchTay: All The President's Men (Pakula, 1976) — where to watchFollow: SSC on Instagram Tim on Letterboxd

In Prometheus, a team of explorers travels to a distant planet hoping to uncover the origins of human life. What they find instead is a threat beyond anything they imagined.Starring Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender, and directed by Ridley Scott, Prometheus was released June 8, 2012.RecommendationsTim: The Killer (Fincher, 2023) — where to watchTay: Hard To Be A God (German, 2014) — where to watchFollow: SSC on Instagram Tim on Letterboxd

Alien focuses on the crew of a commercial spaceship who investigate a distress signal and unknowingly bring a deadly alien lifeform aboard. One by one, the crew is hunted in the isolation of deep space.Starring Sigourney Weaver and directed by Ridley Scott, Alien was released May 25, 1979.Where to watch Alien.NotesPeaks Central Film FestivalChestburster in Spaceballs RecommendationsTim: The Hidden (Sholder, 1987) — where to watchTay: Repo Man (Cox, 1984) — where to watchFollow: SSC on Instagram Tim on Letterboxd

Annihilation is a sci-fi mystery about a group of scientists who enter the Shimmer—a strange, mutating zone to investigate a phenomenon no one understands. As they journey deeper, the landscape—and their minds—begin to unravel.Starring Natalie Portman and written and directed by Alex Garland, Annihilation was released February 23, 2018.Where to watch Annihilation.NotesAnnihilation and Decoding Metaphor (Folding Ideas)MandelbulbRecommendationsTim: Evil Does Not Exist (Hamaguchi, 2023) — where to watchTay: Rush (Howard, 2013) — where to watchJames: Devs (Garland, 2020) — where to watchFollow: SSC on Instagram Tim on Letterboxd

Ex Machina is a sci-fi drama about a young programmer who’s invited to test a humanoid robot’s intelligence. As the experiment unfolds, he begins to question the motives of both the robot and its creator.Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, and Oscar Isaac, and directed by Alex Garland, Ex Machina was released April 10, 2015.Where to watch Ex MachinaNotesPlayhouse CinemaPeaks Film FestivalThe Idea of "Bumping The Lamp" (via kaptainkristian, not Every Frame a Painting)RecommendationsTim: Companion (Hancock, 2025) — where to watchTay: Automata  (Ibáñez, 2014) — where to watchFollow: SSC on Instagram Tim on Letterboxd