249 - Predator (1987) & Prey (2022) →

CW: Homophobia, Harm to Animals

It’s Predator vs. Prey Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey get to the choppah!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode HERE!

The Classic Film: Predator (1987)
"A team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior” (IMDb.com). Crossover classic Predator is the best of both worlds: 80s Action and Killer Monster Horror. If you like both of these things, you'll enjoy Predator. If you don't like either... you'll still enjoy Predator.

The Modern Film: Prey (2022)
"Naru, a skilled warrior, fights to protect her tribe against one of the first highly-evolved Predators to land on Earth” (IMDb.com). Prey may lay... it on thick, but isn't that was Predator movies are for? Either way, it's still the best entry since the original.

Audio Sources:
"The Beginning: Making Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" produced by Lucasfilm Ltd.
"Coneheads" produced by Paramount Pictures
"Hackers" produced by United Artists & Suftley
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" produced by Warner Bros., et al.
"Predator" (1987) produced by Twentieth Century Fox, et al.
"Prey" (2022) produced by 20th Century Studios & Davis Entertainment
"Showdown" written by Jeff Lynne and performed by the Electric Light Orchestra
"Terminator 2: Judgment Day" produced by Carolco Pictures, et al.
"Voice of Optimus Prime is also The Predator (vocalizations by Peter Cullen)" via TFcon @ https://youtu.be/gpjhI-eRE6c

167 - End of Days (1999) & Midnighters (2017) →

CW: Rape, Suicide, Addiction

Worst of 2020 - #4 (tied) Midnighters

It’s New Year's Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey shoot the devil with a grenade launcher and also make some very bad decisions.

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!

The Classic Film: End of Days (1999)
"At the end of the century, Satan visits New York in search of a bride. It's up to an ex-cop who now runs an elite security outfit to stop him” (IMDb.com). Arnold Schwarzenegger stars (for some reason) in one of many turn-of-the-millennium religious thrillers, and you know what that means... shooting Satan with a ton of bullets!

The Modern Film: Midnighters (2017)
"Midnight, New Year's Eve: when all the hopes of new beginnings come to life - except for Lindsey and Jeff Pittman, whose strained marriage faces the ultimate test after they cover up a terrible crime and find themselves entangled in a Hitchcockian web of deceit and madness” (IMDb.com). Wow, that plot summary is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Midnighters is dim, contrived, and not very inspired. It's beyond us why this film is as highly rated as it is.

Audio Sources:
"Adventures in Babysitting" produced by Touchstone Pictures & Silver Screen Partners III
"Chicago" (2002) produced by Miramax, et al.
"End of Days" produced by Beacon Pictures & Lucifilms
"Midnighters" produced by Graystone Pictures
"Moral of the Story" written by Ashlyn Rae Willson, Casey Smith, & Noah Conrad and performed by Ashe
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Usual Suspects" produced by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, et al.

154 - Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) & Ex Machina (2014) →

Best of 2020 - #2 Terminator 2: Judgment Day

It’s Sentient Robot Week on Pod Sematary! Chris & Kelsey perform the Turing test on a liquid-metal android assassin!

Read our afterthoughts for this episode here!  

The Classic Film: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
"A cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her teenage son, John Connor, from a more advanced and powerful cyborg” (IMDb.com). It's T2! You know we're going to gush.

The Modern Film: Ex Machina (2014)
“A young programmer is selected to participate in a ground-breaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a highly advanced humanoid A.I.” (IMDb.com). Much more contemplative than the action-packed Terminator 2, we actually had more to say (good and bad) about Ex Machina.

Audio Sources:
"The Beginning: Making Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" produced by Lucasfilm Ltd.
"Ex Machina" produced by A24, et al.
"Get Down Saturday Night" written by Kevin McCord & Oliver Cheatham and performed by Oliver Cheatham
"Jurassic Park" produced by Universal Pictures & Amblin Entertainment
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
"Porkchop Sandwiches" produced by Fenslerfilm
"Princess Bride" produced by Act III Communications, et al.
"Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II" produced by Stoopid Monkey, et al.
"Silence of the Lambs" produced by Strong Heart/Demme Production & Orion Pictures
"Terminator 2: Judgment Day" produced by Carolco Pictures, et al.
"Tiffany on the Wild Side" (Unhappily Ever After S03E15) produced by Touchstone Television

109 - The Terminator (1984) & Morgan (2016) →

Best of 2019 - #7 The Terminator

Read our afterthoughts for this episode at https://twitter.com/PodSematary/status/1191101921525940224

It’s Manufactured Assassin Week on Pod Sematary! Chris gets pedantic about robot terminology (what else is new?) and Kelsey sings Burnin' in the Third Degree! Thanks to listener Harry for the recommendation!

The Classic Film: The Terminator (1984)
"A seemingly indestructible robot is sent from 2029 to 1984 to assassinate a young waitress, whose unborn son will lead humanity in a war against sentient machines, while a human soldier from the same war is sent to protect her at all costs” (IMDb.com). The first film in the Terminator franchise is probably the closest the series ever gets to straight-up slasher-horror. Don’t worry; we don’t bicker about the logic of time travel.

The Modern Film: Morgan (2016)
"A corporate risk-management consultant must decide whether or not to terminate an artificially created humanoid being.” (IMDb.com). Chris & Kelsey saw this movie when it came out and subsequently forgot everything about it beyond the premise. After they watch it again, this entirely passable flick (that doesn’t seem at all concerned with being anything beyond superficial) reinforces precisely why it doesn’t stick in your brain.

Audio Sources:
"Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton Respond to IGN Comments" via IGN @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1d_CtQOh54
"Arnold Schwarzenegger Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters | GQ" via GQ @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srksXVEkfAs
"Beverly Hills Cop" produced by Paramount Pictures, et al.
“Morgan” produced by Scott Free Productions, et al.
"Pet Sematary" written by Dee Dee Ramone & Daniel Rey and performed by The Ramones
“The Terminator” produced by Hemdale, et al.
"Terminator 2: Judgement Day" produced by Carolco Pictures, et al.
"Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" (Deleted Scene & Arnold Schwarzenegger Commentary) produced by C-2 Pictures, et al.