238 - Jacob's Ladder (1990) & Overlord (2018) →

CW: PTSD, Rape

It’s Memorial Day on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey honor our nation's fallen military personnel by watching two movies with very different vibes all about military experimentation on human bodies. Don't worry—it's not all a downer.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode HERE!

The Classic Film: Jacob's Ladder (1990)
"Mourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death” (IMDb.com). Jacob's Ladder is some important and heavy stuff, but that doesn't give it a free pass that its message and its context are almost completely divorced from one another, leading to a dilution of both.

The Modern Film: Overlord (2018)
"A small group of American soldiers finds horror behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day” (IMDb.com). Overlord isn't much of a thinker, but it's consistently exciting and engaging for its entire runtime.

Audio Sources:
"Jacob's Ladder" (1990) produced by Carolco Pictures
"Overlord" (2018) produced by Bad Robot & Paramount Pictures

237 - Hide and Go Shriek (1988) & Dead in 3 Days (2006) →

CW: Homophobia, Transphobia, Suicide

It’s Graduation Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey celebrate their graduation by spending the night in a furniture warehouse with a killer! SHOCKING FINAL ACT TWIST: they killed another kid when they were eight!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode HERE!

The Classic Film: Hide and Go Shriek (1988)
"A group of teenagers spend the night in a furniture store for a graduation party. A psycho killer starts hunting them down one by one” (IMDb.com). An otherwise straightforward 80s slasher with some fun variations, Hide and Go Shriek's sketchy social mores are really where it lets you down.

The Modern Film: Dead in 3 Days [In 3 Tagen bist du tot] (2006)
"A peaceful mountain lake community is terrorized when a close-knit group of friends becomes the target of a mysterious deranged killer” (Vudu.com). The filmmakers here knew how to make a movie and knew what elements horror movies had, but they really didn't know how to put them all together, leaving the audience generally bored in spite of everything going on.

Audio Sources:
"Big Business" produced by Touchstone Pictures & Silver Screen Partners III
"Clerks" produced by View Askew Productions & Miramax
"Dead in 3 Days" produced by Allegro Film, et al.
"Face/Off" produced by Touchstone Pictures, et al.
"Hide and Go Shriek" produced by New Star Entertainment
"Robin Hood: Men in Tights" produced by Brooksfilms & Gaumont
"Young Frankenstein" produced by Gruskoff/Venture Films, et al.

236 - Prom Night II (1987) & Killer Prom (2020) →

CW: Suicide, Homophobia, Incest

It’s Prom Night on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey awaken a 47-year-old, bitter, undead prom queen and kill their sisters to take their families!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode HERE!

The Classic Film: Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)
"Thirty years after her accidental death at her 1957 senior prom, the tortured spirit of prom queen Mary Lou Maloney returns to seek revenge” (IMDb.com). Prom Night II was not originally intended to be a sequel to the classic, slasher original—and it basically still isn't. It's a little bit boring sometimes, but it's also bizarre and deranged in some of the best ways. For a good time, call Mary Lou.

The Modern Film: Killer Prom (2020)
"After losing her mother in an accident, a teenager and her father welcome a distant cousin into their home. Hoping to claim the family as her own, the psychopath hatches a devious plan to recreate the prom she never experienced” (IMDb.com). This isn't even a movie that the-one-Lifetime-fanatic-we-found-online-who-reviewed-it could love. Stilted, inelegant, and was that a Wilhelm Scream we heard?

Audio Sources:
"Bill Hader/Arcade Fire" (Saturday Night Live S43E16) produced by Broadway Video & SNL Studios
"The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" (The Simpsons S08E14) produced by Gracie Films & 20th Century Fox Television
"Killer Prom" produced by NB Thrilling Films 6
"Prom Night" (1980) produced by Prom Night Productions, et al.
"Prom Night II" produced by British Columbia Television, et al.

235 - Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) & Scream (2022) →

It’s Friday the 13th on Pod Sematary! Time for the fifth entry in both the Friday and Scream franchises! This week, Chris & Kelsey hallucinate famous killers and, by the end, become the killers themselves.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
"Still haunted by his past, Tommy Jarvis, who, as a child, killed Jason Voorhees, is sent to a secluded halfway house in the countryside, where the killing of a young man triggers a brutal series of murders in the area” (IMDb.com). The franchise has abandoned even Jason Voorhees in favor of a new killer and a plethora of f-bombs and tits, but we'll be damned if it's not still a little entertaining.

The Modern Film: Scream (2022)
"25 years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, Calif., a new killer dons the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town's deadly past” (IMDb.com). The self-referential style of Scream has now folded in on itself and even the meta is meta. The fifth installment hasn't brought the franchise to ruin without Wes Craven—in fact, there's a lot to like here—but the execution leaves much to be desired. 

Audio Sources:
"The Babadook" produced by Screen Australia, et al.
"A Claymation Christmas Celebration" produced by Will Vinton Studios
"Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th" produced by 1428 Films, et al.
"Friday the 13th: A New Beginning" produced by Paramount Pictures, et al.
"Juicy" written and performed by Christopher Wallace/The Notorious B.I.G.
"Justice League" (2017) produced by Warner Bros., et al.
"Let's Nab Oprah" (The Boondocks S01E11) produced by Adelaide Productions, et al.
"M. Night Shaym-Aliens!" (Rick and Morty S01E04) produced by Harmonius Claptrap, et al.
"Scream" (2022) produced by Paramount Pictures, et al.
"Skytanic" (Archer S01E07) produced by FX Network
"Tune Up #1" (from Rent -- Original Broadway Cast Recording) written by Jonathan Larson and performed by Anthony Rapp & Adam Pascal

234 - A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 (1989) & Under The Shadow (2016) →

CW: Rape, Abortion, Addiction, Eating Disorders

It’s Mother's Day on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey learn about the perils of motherhood and all the demons that come with it.
Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
"The pregnant Alice finds Freddy Krueger striking through the sleeping mind of her unborn child, hoping to be reborn into the real world” (IMDb.com). It's happened. Nightmare on Elm Street is bad now. But don't worry—it gets worse.

The Modern Film: Under the Shadow (2016)
"As a mother and daughter struggle to cope with the terrors of the post-revolution, war-torn Tehran of the 1980s, a mysterious evil begins to haunt their home” (IMDb.com). More Persian mythology as metaphor made by Persians, please.

Audio Sources:
"Lawnmower Dog" (Rick & Morty S01E02) produced by Harmonius Claptrap, et al.
"Let's Go" written by Ric Ocasek and performed by The Cars
"Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy" produced by Panic Productions & 1428 Films
"A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child" produced by New Line Cinema, et al.
"Under the Shadow" produced by Wigwam Films, et al.

233 - Double Feature - The Stepford Wives (1975 & 2004) →

It’s a Stepford Wives Double Feature on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey make perfect robot versions of each other, but the replacements just run off together.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Original: The Stepford Wives (1975)
"Joanna Eberhart has come to the quaint little town of Stepford, Connecticut with her family, but soon discovers there lies a sinister truth in the all too perfect behavior of the female residents” (IMDb.com). Just like Rosemary's Baby, which we love so much, this is yet another Ira Levin story about a woman undone by the selfish machinations of her husband after they move to a new home. Too bad this feminist thriller isn't nearly as effective as that.

The Remake: The Stepford Wives (2004)
"[Joanna Eberhart] has a hard time adjusting to Stepford's manicured environs and the overly accommodating attitude of the area women. Soon Joanna begins to suspect that something is not right, and she tries to uncover Stepford's secret” (RottenTomatoes.com). Just like Little Shop of Horrors, which we love so much, this is yet another over-the-top, satirical, horror remake from Frank Oz. Too bad this comedy isn't nearly as bold as that.

Audio Sources:
"Hercules" (1997) produced by Walt Disney Pictures, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"The Producers" (2005) produced by Universal Pictures, et al.
"Science Fiction/Double Feature" written by Richard O'Brien & Richard Hartley and performed by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
"The Stepford Wives" (1975) produced by Palomar Pictures International & Fadsin Cinema Associates
"The Stepford Wives" (2004) produced by Paramount Pictures, et al.
"The Truman Show" produced by Paramount Pictures & Scott Rudin Productions

232 - Little Shop of Horrors (1986) & The Happening (2008) →

CW: Domestic Abuse

It’s Earth Day on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey give off good vibes and talk in a very positive manner about plants—but are sure not to feed them!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
"A nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed” (IMDb.com). Little Shop of Horrors is wonderful and joyous and great and shut up if you don't like it.

The Modern Film: The Happening (2008)
"A science teacher, his wife, and a young girl struggle to survive a plague that causes those infected to commit suicide” (IMDb.com). The Happening is famously maligned as confirmation that M. Night Shyamalan's promising star had faded. You could argue that the wooden acting and silly-but-melodramatic premise are an intentional homage to 50s B-movies, but if that's the case, Shyamalan didn't go hard enough.

Audio Sources:
"An American Tail" produced by Don Bluth Productions, et al.
"Anne Hathaway/The Killers" (Saturday Night Live S34E04) produced by Broadway Video, et al.
"The Happening" (2008) produced by Twentieth Century Fox, et al.
"The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" written by Julie Brown, et al., and performed by Julie Brown
"Little Shop of Horrors" (1986) produced by The Geffen Company
"Nightmare on Mother Brain's Street" (Captain N: The Game Master S01E09) produced by Saban Productions
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Martin" (1992 TV Series) produced by You Go Boy! Productions & HBO Independent Productions
"Take My Breath Away" written by Giorgio Moroder & Tom Whitlock and performed by Berlin

231 - Day of the Dead (1985) & Train to Busan (2016) →

It’s Resurrection Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey have maybe seen one too many zombie movies, so it's a good thing both of these are pretty great.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: Day of the Dead (1985)
"Trapped in a missile silo, a small team of scientists, civilians, and trigger-happy soldiers battle desperately to ensure the survival of the human race. However, the tension inside the base is reaching a breaking point, and the zombies are gathering outside” (IMDb.com). The final installment of George A. Romero's original undead trilogy, Day of the Dead is a little slower than the others but a lot more brutal.

The Modern Film: Train to Busan (2016)
"While a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan” (IMDb.com). Zombie tropes and Korean melodrama are the order of the day, but Train to Busan is still exceptionally made and full of great characters and moments.

Audio Sources:
"Day of the Dead" (1985) produced by United Film Distribution Company & Laurel Entertainment Inc.
"The Door" (Game of Thrones S06E05) produced by Television 360, et al.
"The Langoliers" (1995 TV Mini-Series) produced by Laurel Entertainment Inc., et al.
"M1 A1" written by Damon Albarn & John Harrison and performed by Gorillaz
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Train to Busan" produced by Next Entertainment World, et al.

230 - The Sentinel (1977) & The Innkeepers (2011) →

CW: Suicide, Rape

It’s a Haunted Dwelling Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey just moved into their new home, so they're taking this week to... I don't know, scare themselves?

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: The Sentinel (1977)
"A young woman moves into an apartment in a building which houses a sinister evil” (IMDb.com). A Rosemary's Baby wannabe that makes several tasteless choices, The Sentinel is nevertheless a compelling tale that's generally well told.

The Modern Film: The Innkeepers (2011)
"During the final days at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, two employees determined to reveal the hotel's haunted past begin to experience disturbing events as old guests check in for a stay” (IMDb.com). As fans of Ti West's House of the Devil, Chris and Kelsey were gobsmacked that The Innkeepers could possibly have been made by the same person.

Audio Sources:
"Batman" (1966 TV Series) produced by 20th Century Fox Television & Greenway Productions
"The Innkeepers" produced by Dark Sky Films & Glass Eye Pix
"The Internet Is for Porn" (from Avenue Q) written by Jeffrey Marx and Robert Lopez & performed by Stephanie D'Abruzzo, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Robin Hood: Men in Tights" produced by Brooksfilms & Gaumont
"Rosemary's Baby" produced by William Castle Productions
"The Sentinel" produced by Universal Pictures & Jeffrey Konvitz Productions
"That Thing You Do!" produced by Twentieth Century Fox, et al.

229 - The Burning (1981) & Joy Ride (2001) →

CW: Sexual Assault

It’s April Fools' Day on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey commit a prank that—believe it or not—goes wrong!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: The Burning (1981)
"A former summer camp caretaker, horribly burned from a prank gone wrong, lurks around an upstate New York summer camp bent on killing the teenagers responsible for his disfigurement” (IMDb.com). If you're expecting us to have a lot of good things to say about The Burning... don't. For the sin of kickstarting Harvey Weinstein's career, it could've at least had the common decency to be interesting.

The Modern Film: Joy Ride (2001)
"Three young people on a road trip from Colorado to New Jersey talk to a trucker on their CB radio, then must escape when he turns out to be a psychopathic killer” (IMDb.com). 2001 was a hell of a time—movies like Joy Ride seemed a lot more compelling then. It's not bad by any means, but we both remember liking it more "back in the day."

Audio Sources:
"April Fools" (2007) produced by Links Entertainment & Pa Pa Productions
"The Burning" (1981) produced by Cropsy Venture & Miramax
"Club Dread" produced by Broken Lizard Industries, et al.
"The Fast and the Furious" produced by Universal Pictures, et al.
"Joy Ride" (2001) produced by New Regency Productions, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones