Saturday Night Freak Show

Sean sees a need for law enforcement to police renegade Roombas in Runaway (1984), a what-if futuristic scenario from writer/director Michael Crichton that finds domestic robots turned homicidal killers. TV's Magnum P.I. Tom Selleck leads the charge against evil chip manufacturer Gene Simmons, who does look very sinister in a suit and tie. Listen as we dog on the movie for where its future technological prognostications went wrong, recall the dread of being called on in class, and we pledge to mindwipe Howard the Duck from the collective memory, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin doubts interspecies fishsex is anything but gross after watching Humanoids from the Deep (1980), a Roger Corman-produced schlockfest in which mutant fishmen attack a small seaside community to kill the men and rape the women in an attempt to further their biological evolution. Listen as we dive deep into the flipside of the Shape of Water and say NO to merman intercourse while finding joy in rubber monster suits, splattery gore, and find time to name our celebrity crushes, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela remembers what it was like to be a teen girl in the 90's when she catches Fear (1997). Cute-as-a-button Reese Witherspoon falls in love with unhinged sociopath Mark Wahlberg who displays increasingly aggressive behavior until her father (William Petersen) gets into the mix, triggering a violent showdown between her family and Wahlberg's gang of thugs. Listen as we talk a walk on the wildside with the Funky Bunch and decide Wahlberg's definitely not giving off good vibrations in this coming-of-age home invasion thriller by way of a gender-flipped Fatal Attraction. All aboard! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly ventures deep into the Amazon and gets wrapped up in the giant snake movie Anaconda (1997)! Jennifer Lopez and company set sail down the river and pick up Great Snake Hunter Jon Voight who proceeds to imperil the crew and chew scenery in his search for the biggest snake that ever lived. Listen as we take the wayback machine to the glory days of big budget, big studio creature features and face off against an animatronic snake and his CGI stunt double on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sean is heaven-sent and hell on wheels after choosing to watch The Wraith (1986)! A murdered teen exacts revenge from beyond the grave on the street-racing gang who killed him after the netherworld outfits him with a sleek black racing suit and a Dodge Interceptor. Listen as we take a look back at one of the 80's-iest of 80's movies, fawn over the rock n' roll soundtrack, explosions, drag racing, and ghosts on this week's exciting show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin introduces the Freak Show crew to their first proper Chuck Norris movie, The Delta Force (1986). Norris teams up with tough guy Lee Marvin in Cannon Films' "this is how it should have ended" re-staging of the 1985 hijacking of TWA 847, only this time climaxing with America's decisive and explosive victory at the hands of the steely-eyed, quick-footed Chuckster and Co. Listen as we discuss terrorism-themed movies in a post-911 world, try to fathom the cult of personality that surrounds Chuck Norris, and Colin tells way too many Chuck Norris jokes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela finds that spending time watching Nicholas Cage movies makes her want to Drive Angry (2011)! Cage stars as a dead man who breaks out of Hell to pursue the cultists on Earth who have abducted, and plan to sacrifice, his granddaughter to Satan -- and to do that he's gonna need muscle cars, supernatural shotguns and Amber Heard. Listen as we discus improbable hairstyles, battle sex, and 3D eye-poking mayhem on this week's exciting show!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly discovers that terror can come in any shape after watching Sphere (1998), an attempt by Hollywood's A-list to imbue geometric shapes with unworldly menace. After discovering an alien craft at the bottom of the ocean, the Navy recruits Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone and Samuel Jackson to investigate. Once in the murky depths, paranoia, hallucinations and death take hold. Listen as we try not to lose our own minds as we experience the Sphere-effect of retrograde amnesia while watching the movie, discuss other (better) aquatic sci-fi movies, and generally try to keep ourselves from dying of boredom on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin discovers that in Yor's world, he's the man, as we grovel before Yor: The Hunter from the Future (1983) in which we follow our musclebound hero (Reb Brown, TV's original Captain America) on a sword and sorcery quest to rescue fair maidens, defeat hideous beasts, and ultimately discover the mysterious origin of his people. Listen as we discover there's no bad movie magic like that of bad Italian movies; discuss the pros and cons of using action figures as your stunt performers; and, bemoan and the absolute disservice the Razzies awarded to Yor's epic theme song; all that and more on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela discovers that neither by hook nor by crook can she get rid of The Babadook (2014). A troubled youngster and his widowed mother find themselves pushed to the breaking point when a sinister pop-up storybook appears in their home, heralding the arrival of a malevolent spirit. Listen as we discus the critical vs audience reactions to the movie, what the Sundance hype train means for horror movies, and deep dive into the meaning behind the titular monster on this week's illuminating episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly suggests a better sacrifice to The Wicker Man (2006) might be the film itself, as the often-imitated-but-never-duplicated screen icon Nicholas Cage finds himself alone on an island populated by an all-female pagan cult; he thinks he's there to rescue a young girl from becoming a sacrificial victim but, well, you've seen the "not the bees!" memes. Listen as we are denied our moment of ultimate satisfaction by watching the theatrical cut instead of the unrated version; compare the film to the 1973 original classic; Sean gets a brain cramp; and Holly mistakes director Neil LaBute for 90's pop stars La Bouche, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sean sends us all to the madhouse after watching Cathy's Curse (1977), a Canadian Exorcist-rip off about a little girl who becomes possessed by the spirit of her dead aunt (we think) or her dead great-uncle (could be), which may have taken control of her doll (possibly) and now wants to kill everyone else in the family (definitely). Listen as we try to deal with a series of anti-climaxes, uncomfortable situations, crazy psychics, creepy neighbors and foul mouthed youngsters on this week's exciting show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin unwittingly brings back rubber-suited monsters from space after coming in contact with The Green Slime (1968)! After destroying an asteroid on a collision course with Earth, the space station Gamma 3 finds itself host to a green, slimy substance that transforms into a horde of electricity-sucking, tentacled creatures that threaten all life as we know it. Listen as we talk about this slice of 60's sci-fi cheese, swinging martini parties, beehive hairdos, and dish out love for the film's swanky title song on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela spends time trapped in a box with Ryan Reynolds in the thriller Buried (2010). Reynolds plays an American contractor, taken hostage in Iraq, who awakens to find himself buried alive in a wooden coffin and - armed only with a cigarette lighter and a cell phone - must try to figure a way out. Listen as we talk about the "one man show" movie genre, Holly's fear of snakes, claustrophobia, and more on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly earns a Flawless Victory by accepting a challenge to appear in the Mortal Kombat (1995), a martial arts tournament held on a secret island, the outcome of which will affect the fate of the entire world! In this colorful adaptation of the popular fighting video game, the god of lighting, Lord Rayden, gathers a disparate group of fighters to battle the forces of evil wizard, Shang Tsung. Listen as we talk about puppet performers, EDM, the history of the Mortal Kombat franchise, bloodless fatalities and more on this week's exciting show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sean wonders why the dead won't stay dead in Cemetery Man (aka Dellamorte, Dellamore, 1994), an existentialist Italian zombie movie from Dario Argento protege Michele Soavi, which stars Rupert Everett as the beleaguered caretaker of a rural cemetery where the dead return to life. Listen as we talk about zombie boy scouts, severed head romances, odd Italian burial practices, and commit Sean's Last Will and Testament to the permanent record on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We wrap up 2017 with our 2nd annual Best and Worst Movies of the year episode. Listen as we go around the table and attempt to distill a very good year in film down to our choices for the 5 best movies and the one we think was the worst. Will your favorite make the cut? Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin considers assault and battery charges against Andrzej Zulawski's Possession (1981), which chronicles the apocalyptic implosion of the marriage between Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani in Cold War-era Germany. While he gets kicked around by her effete German lover and sleeps with her doppelganger on the sly, she has sex with a slimy, tentacled creature that she may have given birth to in the subway. Listen as we break down reality, wonder about pink socks, lost shoes, God, relationships, Armageddon, and try not to lose our minds on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela makes the case for Lindsay Lohan's I Know Who Killed Me (2007), a 8-time Razzie award winning thriller in which Lohan plays dual roles - as a diligent student and a exotic dancer - one, or both, of whom are targeted by a blue-glove wearing serial killer who has a fondness for torture and amputation. Listen as we try to unravel the film's color-coded plot mechanics, debate Lohan's questionable stripper techniques, and determine if the film qualifies as an American giallo, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly learns the Way of the Samurai for a Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991) which features a potentially epic team up between action superstar Dolph Lundgren and the late Brandon Lee, starring as two renegade cops thrown together to stop the rise of the Japanese Yakuza in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo neighborhood. Their mission escalates into an explosion of bloody mayhem after Lundgren recognizes the head Yakuza as the man responsible for his parents' murder! Listen at we marvel at Brandon Lee's bad acting; Lundgren's capacity for carpentry; and the absurdity of taking on Dolph Lundgren in a street fight; all this and more on this week's exciting show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.