218 - The Best of 2021 →

2021 was yet another dumpster fire and Chris and Kelsey are looking on the bright side by paying tribute to the best movies they watched last year! Plus, our personal Top 10 lists and the 10 movies on which we disagreed with the critics the most!

To listen to these episodes and check out their individual source credits, click the links below:

10: https://bit.ly/3rcYm0O 
9: https://bit.ly/3zRZ9If 
7 (Tied): https://bit.ly/3HS1HsB 
7 (Tied): https://bit.ly/3fdDrou 
6: https://bit.ly/3tg8VCz 
5: https://bit.ly/34FQZav 
4: https://bit.ly/3F8W9Z2 
3: https://bit.ly/3tg8VCz 
2: https://bit.ly/3FgLfk6 
1: https://bit.ly/3K1pA31 

Additional Audio Sources:
"Bowie" (Flight of the Conchords S01E06) produced by Home Box Office & British Broadcasting Corporation
"Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" (Stranger Things S01E01) produced by Monkey Massacre, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Young Frankenstein" produced by Gruskoff/Venture Films, et al.

215 - The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) & Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) →

The Best of 2021 - #2 The Nightmare Before Christmas

It’s Actually Christmas Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey make this holiday season musical!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
"Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion” (IMDb.com). This is one of the Christmas movies that we watch every year, and we're still excited to talk about it.

The Modern Film: Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
"A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven—at Christmas—forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash, and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones” (IMDb.com). Anna and the Apocalypse is passable insofar as it's one of the few musical comedy horrors in existence, but it's a goldmine of a premise that isn't exploited for its opportunities nearly enough.

Audio Sources:
"Anna and the Apocalypse" produced by Black Camel Pictures, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" produced by Touchstone Pictures, et al.
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" (The Movies That Made Us S03E07) produced by The Nacelle Company

210 - Double Feature - Ghostbusters (1984 & 2016) →

CW: Suicide, Sexual Harassment

The Best of 2021 - #4 Ghostbusters (1984)

It’s a Ghostbusters Double Feature on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey find out what it is to be roasted in the depths of the Sloar this day, I can tell you!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Original: Ghostbusters (1984)
"Three parapsychologists forced out of their university funding set up shop as a unique ghost removal service in New York City, attracting frightened yet skeptical customers” (IMDb.com). Barring a minor amount of gags that didn't age very gracefully, this horror-comedy classic is exactly as genius as the current zeitgeist would imply.

The Remake: Ghostbusters (2016)
"Following a ghost invasion of Manhattan, paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann, and subway worker Patty Tolan band together to stop the otherworldly threat” (IMDb.com). Recasting the classic with women didn't ruin this movie. It not being very good did.

Audio Sources:
"Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" produced by Morgan Creek Entertainment
"Ghostbusters" (1984) produced by Columbia Pictures, et al.
"Ghostbusters" (2016) produced by Columbia Pictures, et al.
"Ghostbusters" (The Movies that Made Us S01E03) produced by Netflix
"Janine, You've Changed" (The Real Ghostbusters S06E01) produced by DIC Entertainment
"Lonesome Ghosts" (1937) produced by Walt Disney Productions
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones

204 - Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) & Coraline (2009) →

CW: Harm to Children

The Best of 2021 - #10 Coraline

It’s Wholesome Horror Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey ride the carousel backward and enjoy absolutely terrific horror movies made for kids to kick off October! This time, both movies are about evil entities posing as things kids tend to love in order to feed on their souls.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
"In a small American town, a diabolical circus and its demonic proprietor prey on the townsfolk” (IMDb.com). Ray Bradbury's script adaptation of his own novel is yet another 80s film that Disney seems content to forget about, but impeccable writing and a great performance by Jonathan Pryce make this movie a must-watch during the Halloween season.

The Modern Film: Coraline (2009)
"An adventurous 11-year-old girl finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets” (IMDb.com). Full disclosure: We are a Gaiman-loving household. But beyond the story, Coraline is a beautiful and disquieting stop-motion feat and possibly Laika's best.

Audio Sources:
"Coraline" produced by Laika Entertainment, et al.
"Get Out" produced by Monkeypaw Productions, et al.
"Ghost" (1990) produced by Paramount Pictures & Howard W. Koch Productions
"I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" written by Jim Steinman and performed by Meatloaf
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Something Wicked This Way Comes" produced by Walt Disney Productions & Bryna Productions
"The Trial of Jack McCall" (Deadwood S01E5) produced by HBO, et al.

198 - Double Feature - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974 & 2003) →

CW: Suicide, Torture, Ableism, Negative Depictions of Neurodiversity

The Best of 2021 - #9 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

It’s a Texas Chainsaw Double Feature on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey drive through Texas singing songs about other states—so, yeah, they deserve to die.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Original: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
"Two siblings and three of their friends en route to visit their grandfather's grave in Texas fall victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths” (IMDb.com). Famous for being a success story as both an indie and an exploitation horror, the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre is both gritty and grounded in a way that is guaranteed to disturb.

The Remake: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
"After picking up a traumatized young hitchhiker, five friends find themselves stalked and hunted by a deformed chainsaw-wielding loon and his family of equally psychopathic killers” (IMDb.com). When Kelsey saw this movie at 16, having not seen the original, it shook her so bad that she had to get up and leave before the end. It was just that norm-breaking and effective at the time. Now that she's older and has seen the original, she may want to bail for different reasons.

Audio Sources:
"Adventures in Babysitting" produced by Touchstone Pictures & Silver Screen Partners III
"Beautiful Texas" written by W. Lee O'Daniel and performed by Willie Nelson
"Die Hard" produced by Twentieth Century Fox, et al.
"Muriel's Wedding" produced by CiBy 2000, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Rocky Horror Picture Show" produced by Twentieth Century Fox & Michael White Productions
"Spaceballs" produced by Brooksfilms & Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
"Street Fighter" (1994) produced by Capcom Entertainment & Edward R. Pressman Productions
"The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" (1974) produced by Vortex
"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (2003) produced by New Line Cinema, et al.

195 w/ Jessie J - House (1977) & Midsommar (2019) →

CW: Suicide

The Best of 2021 - #5 Midsommar

It’s Guest Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey invite one of the Jessies back for some seriously great and bonkers movies!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: House/Hausu (1977)
"A schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted” (IMDb.com). House may be—and this isn't a joke—just about the most bonkers horror movie ever made. And it's magnificent.

The Modern Film: Midsommar (2019)
"A couple travels to Scandinavia to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult” (IMDb.com). You might already know what we think of Ari Aster as a horror filmmaker from our episode on Hereditary, and we get more of his signature auteur style with Midsommar. But is his sophomore feature film more or less evocative than his first?

Audio Sources:
"Fanta Commercial - Fantanas" via Brian Friedman @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F614uU3DsqM
"House" (1977) produced by PSC & Toho Company
"House (1977) Monster Madness X movie review #19" via Cinemassacre @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp_ZCuZHVtk
"I Know an Old Lady" performed by Burl Ives
"Midsommar" produced by A24, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones

193 - Rear Window (1954) & Disturbia (2007) →

CW: Suicide, Stalking

The Best of 2021 - #1 Rear Window

It’s Peeping Tom Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey discuss rear-window ethics and sing Rihanna a little too much.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: Rear Window (1954)
"A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder” (IMDb.com). We're back to the Hitchcock classics with one of the holy trinity (according to Chris), a suspenseful thriller that asks, "Will she change for him?"

The Modern Film: Disturbia (2007)
"A teen living under house arrest becomes convinced his neighbor is a serial killer” (IMDb.com). A blatant rip-off of the Rear Window concept (along with three other movies we've covered on the show), Disturbia may not wow, but it's pretty good teen fare at the very least.

Audio Sources:
"Aaron Burr (Advertisement)" produced by Propaganda Films
"Agent for H.A.R.M." (Mystery Science Theater 3000 S09E15) produced by Best Brains
"Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" produced by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, et al.
"Bill Burr/Jack White" (Saturday Night Live S46E02) produced by Broadway Video & SNL Studios
"The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" written and performed by Ross Bagdasarian
"Disturbia" (Film) produced by Dreamworks Pictures, et al.
"Disturbia" (Song) written by Brian Kennedy, et al., and performed by Rihanna
"Lovin' You" written by Minnie Riperton & Richard Rudolph and performed by Minnie Riperton
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Rear Window" (1954) produced by Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions
"When Harry Met Sally..." produced by Castle Rock Entertainment & Nelson Entertainment

183 - The Faculty (1998) & Cooties (2014) →

CW: Animal Harm

The Best of 2021 - #7 (Tied) The Faculty

It’s "Elijah Wood Goes to School" Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey grow from anti-establishment to pro-teacher between two movies. It's age, man. That stuff just happens over time.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: The Faculty (1998)
"When Casey Connor, Herrington High School's newspaper photographer, witnesses the murder of a nurse and sees her alive again, [he] decides to investigate the bizarre happenings” (IMDb.com). Kelsey can basically recite this movie from memory, but is it just nostalgia, or does this late-90s, teen horror actually hold up?

The Modern Film: Cooties (2014)
"A mysterious virus hits an isolated elementary school, transforming the kids into a feral swarm of mass savages. An unlikely hero must lead a motley band of teachers in the fight of their lives” (IMDb.com). Cooties has all the hallmarks of a silly horror comedy and it seems content to leave it at that. Not bad but... not good, either?

Audio Sources:
"Cooties" produced by SpectreVision & Glacier Films
"The Faculty" produced by Dimension Films  Los Hooligans Productions
"The Kids Aren't Alright" written by Dexter Holland and performed by The Offspring
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones

177 - Interview with the Vampire (1994) & What We Do in the Shadows (2014) →

CW: Suicide, Pedophilia

The Best of 2021 - #3 Interview with the Vampire; #6 What We Do in the Shadows

It’s Interviews with Some Vampires Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey say goodbye to sunrises and generally just mope around for a few dozen centuries.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
"A vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger” (IMDb.com). If you ask director Neil Jordan, Interview with the Vampire is a movie about the saddest vampires you'll ever see. It's also now an archetypical representation of vampires on film. So just watch these emo bloodsuckers if you haven't already, okay?

The Modern Film: What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
"Viago, Deacon and Vladislav are vampires who are finding that modern life has them struggling with the mundane - like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts” (IMDb.com). Taking inspiration from classic cinematic vampire stories such as Nosferatu, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Twilight, The Lost Boys, and yes, Interview with the Vampire, What We Do in the Shadows is one of the funniest mockumentaries of any genre, let alone horror.

Audio Sources:
"Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles" produced by Geffen Pictures
"Little Caesar" (1931) produced by First National Pictures
"Noises Off..." (1992) produced by Touchstone Pictures, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"What We Do in the Shadows" (2014) produced by Defender Films, et al.