199 - Alien 3 (1992) & Life (2017) →

CW: Rape, Suicide, Harm to Animals

It’s Space Alien Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey celebrate Chris' birthday by wrapping up one of his favorite franchises: Alien! Yup! There are no more Alien movies after this!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: Alien 3 (1992)
"After her last encounter, Ellen Ripley crash-lands on Fiorina 161, a maximum-security prison. When a series of strange and deadly events occur shortly after her arrival, Ripley realizes that she has brought along an unwelcome visitor” (IMDb.com). Alien 3 may have been an absolute mess of a production—so much so that David Fincher disowned it entirely—but it may not be as bad as you've been led to believe.

The Modern Film: Life (2017)
"A team of scientists aboard the International Space Station discovers a rapidly evolving life form that caused extinction on Mars and now threatens all life on Earth” (Sony Pictures). This movie has more than what it takes to be a banger—great actors, terrifying thrills, and a clean premise—too bad it all rests on an infuriating script.

Audio Sources:
"Alien" produced by Brandywine Productions
"Alien 3" produced by Twentieth Century Fox & Brandywine Productions
"Fight Club" produced by Fox 2000 Pictures, et al.
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956) produced by Allied Artists Pictures & Walter Wanger Productions
"Life" (2017) produced by Columbia Pictures, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Spirit in the Sky" written and performed by Norman Greenbaum
"Strong Bad Email #45 - Techno" via homestarrunnerdotcom @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwZwkk7q25I

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

146 - Aliens (1986) & Alien: Covenant (2017) →

Best of 2020 - #1 Aliens

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

It’s another Alien week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey creep deeper into the Alien Franchise with what some refer to as the best installment. Chris is not one of those people.

The Classic Film: Aliens (1986)
“Ellen Ripley is rescued by a deep salvage team after being in hypersleep for 57 years. The moon that the Nostromo visited has been colonized, but contact is lost. This time, colonial marines have impressive firepower, but will that be enough?” (IMDb.com). I mean, come on, it’s Aliens. You know what’s up.

The Modern Film: Alien: Covenant (2017)
“The crew of a colony ship, bound for a remote planet, discover an uncharted paradise with a threat beyond their imagination and must attempt a harrowing escape” (Twentieth Century Fox). With Prometheus and its place in the Alien timeline winding up a little too bizarre and esoteric for the average Alien fan, it seems Ridley Scott and Fox felt compelled to compromise and bring its sequel closer to general expectations. In doing so, they’ve managed to make a relatively good movie that’s the worst of both worlds.

Audio Sources:
"Alien: Covenant" produced by Scott Free Productions, et al.
"Aliens" produced by Twentieth Century Fox, et al.
"Blade Runner" produced by The Ladd Company, et al.
"Clerks" produced by View Askew Productions & Miramax
"It's Raining Men" written by Paul Jabara & Paul Shaffer and performed by The Weather Girls
"Mad About You" written by Paula Jean Brown, James Whelan, & Mitchel Young Evans and performed by Belinda Carlisle
"Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie" produced by Best Brains & Universal Pictures
"The Naked Now" (Star Trek: The Next Generation S01E03) produced by Paramount Television
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Take Me Home, Country Roads" written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, & John Denver and performed by John Denver
"The Terminator" produced by Cinema '84, et al.
"Thank You for Smoking" produced by Room 9 Entertainment
"Tombstone" produced by Hollywood Pictures, et al.

113 - Alien (1979) & Prometheus (2012) →

CW: Rape, Pregnancy

Best of 2019 - #3 (Tied) Alien

Read our afterthoughts for this episode at https://twitter.com/PodSematary/status/1200989603081023489

It’s Alien Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey intercept a distress signal and then never make a good decision ever again.

The Classic Film: Alien (1979)
"After a space merchant vessel perceives an unknown transmission as a distress call, its landing on the source moon finds one of the crew attacked by a mysterious lifeform, and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun” (IMDb.com). Like… it’s Alien, dawg. What are you even doing?

The Modern Film: Prometheus (2012)
"Following clues to the origin of mankind, a team finds a structure on a distant moon, but they soon realize they are not alone” (IMDb.com). So maybe it has a “Mystery Box” problem. Maybe the plot is only propelled by characters making the absolute worst decisions at every turn. But there’s a lot there to enjoy and it’s certainly not as bad as everyone made it out to be.

Audio Sources:
"Alien" produced by Brandywine Productions & Twentieth Century-Fox Productions
"The Beginning: Making Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" produced by Lucasfilm Ltd.
"How to pronounce Charlize Theron & Emily Blunt Interview THE HUNTSMAN & THE ICE QUEEN" via CELEBRITY INTERVIEWS Parviz Khosrawi @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMWeu8Bqj8w
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Prometheus" produced by Twentieth Century Fox, et al.
"Thank You for Smoking" produced by Room 9 Entertainment, et al.