It's that time of year again! We've hit the mid-year point, and everyone wants to know what the best horror movies of the year are so far. Certified Forgotten's Matt Donato is in charge of this special episode, and has enlisted the help of Bloody Digsuting's Meagan Navarro because, when you can, why not bring in the best? Listen in to their 30-minute discussion, and maybe you'll leave with a few titles to put on your radar.
Jul 04, 2025•35 min•Ep. 141
In the words of, I unno, the youths? Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, and the 28 [Insert Unit Of Time Measurement] franchise are so back. 28 Years Later marks the return of multiple 28 Days Later talents behind the camera, as Boyle embraces risks like there's no tomorrow. The Matts have a lot to talk about, from infecteds hanging dong and tracksuit mafias; 28 Years Later feels like multiple movies crammed into one. Is that a good thing, considering there are two more films planned and on the way? A ba...
Jun 20, 2025•34 min•Ep. 140
Was it Billy Joel who once said that working too hard could give you a shark attack-ack-ack-ack-ack? Probably not! But in this episode of Certified Forgotten, you will hear Matt Monagle and Matt Donato wax poetic about their love of Sean Byrne's new film, Dangerous Animals. Byrne, the director of modern classics The Loved One and The Devil's Candy, directs Nick Lepard's shark-slash-serial killer movie, and both genres are rarely this fun onscreen.
Jun 13, 2025•34 min•Ep. 139
When your first feature is a J-horror-inspired found footage film, audiences might expect a movie like Noroi: The Curse to be a prime influence. But here's the fun truth: one-half of our guests had not even seen Koji Shiraishi's horror masterpiece until a day before this podcast recording. In this episode, writer-director duo Paul Gandersman and Peter Hall join Certified Forgotten to discuss Noroi: The Curse and Man Finds Tape, their debut feature that premieres this weekend at the Tribeca Film ...
Jun 06, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 138
Before 2023's masterfully wicked When Evil Lurks, Argentine filmmaker Demián Rugna terrified horror audiences with ... well, Terrified. We're joined on the podcast by composer, DJ, and longtime horror advocate Dorina — known to her followers as "DJ Bruja" — to discuss the film that came before Rugna's When Evil Lurks. Dorina channels her Mexican roots to talk about American horror versus Spanish-language horror, with a magnifying glass on Terrified. Evil's been lurking throughout Rugna's entire ...
May 31, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 137
You couldn't find two different breeds of horror fans than Certified Forgotten hosts Matt Donato and Matt Monagle. So, how did they end up giving Final Destination Bloodlines the same score? In this week's Uncertified episode, the Matts talk about their vastly different experiences with the Final Destination franchise and how that informed their Bloodlines reactions. People are saying it's one of the best in the franchise ... [whispers] and people are right.
May 23, 2025•33 min•Ep. 136
Welcome to the 3-timers club, B.J. Colangelo! The intrepid co-host of This Ends At Prom and /Film staple returns with a 2000s horror comedy that is, for better and worse, a cultural time capsule: Monster Man. Misogyny runs rampant in this wannabe direct-to-video American Pie sequel, but to a comically exaggerated degree that shines a light on social norms of the period. Then the Joy Ride and Texas Chain Saw vibes take over, with eyeball chili and corpses crushed into ground beef. It's a raunchy ...
May 16, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 135
Think you've seen every possible version of the Cinderella story? Think again. In this episode of the Uncertified podcast series, Matt Donato and Matthew Monagle discuss Emilie Blichfeldt's The Ugly Stepsister, a mashup of regency tropes and body horror that has earned comparisons to The Substance. But whereas Coralie Fargeat's film leans into the grotesque, you may just find that The Ugly Stepsister is a surprisingly gentle take on unachievable body standards.
May 09, 2025•32 min•Ep. 134
Direct-to-video. Erotic thriller. Nineties vampires. Wings Hauser. These are just a few phrases we could use to describe Pale Blood, V. V. Dachin Hsu and Michael W. Leighton's underground vampire movie. Some of these descriptions — or maybe even all of them — would be enough to get the average horror fan to add Pale Blood to their watchlist. But is there more to the movie than nineties nostalgia? That, and so much more, is the focus of this episode with film critic and The Scares That Shaped Us ...
May 02, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 133
It's Sinners time, baby. Ryan Coogler's 1930s vampire flick is one of the year's buzziest horror movies for a reason, but does it live up to the hype? The answer is yes, to varying degrees. Monagle loves it. Donato likes it. This episode discusses what the film does so tremendously right (musical themes) and where it might drag for some (Donato has pacing issues). Listen to this episode to hear the Matts give their flowers to Sinners, which are all absolutely deserved.
Apr 26, 2025•36 min•Ep. 132
Is there anything more tantalizing than time loop horror? In this episode of Certified Forgotten, our hosts are joined by Megan Norman, Events Coordinator and host with Crypticon Seattle, to discuss the fun of being a later-in-life horror fan, the importance of regional conventions, and the heady horror-comedy of Madellaine Paxson's Blood Punch.
Apr 18, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 131
This week's Uncertified episode tackles Flying Lotus' new sci-fi horror freakout, Ash. In theaters now, and coming to Shudder soon enough, the multi-hyphenate creator tells a cosmic horror tale heavily influenced by genre video games. Donato's a harder sell on space-set scariness, while Monagle couldn't be more of an Alien slash Event Horizon fanboy. Where will they land on Flying Lotus' "smaller budget, big idea" thriller starring Eiza González and Aaron Paul?
Apr 11, 2025•36 min•Ep. 130
You may think you've seen every flavor of zombie movie, but you'd be wrong. Aimee Kuge joins Certified Forgotten to talk about the flesh-eating fun of her new film, Cannibal Mukbang, and the bleak undead nightmare that is Scooter McCrae's Shatter Dead.
Apr 04, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 129
Who rules? James Ashcroft's The Rule of Jenny Pen rules. In this episode of our Uncertified podcast series, Matt Monagle and Matt Donato discuss Shudder's latest release, where pits Geoffrey Rush against John Lithgow for retirement home supremacy. At times uncomfortable, at times unforgettable, The Rule of Jenny Pen is a fascinating mash-up of elder horror themes and concepts.
Mar 28, 2025•32 min•Ep. 128
When you're an independent film made for less than $10,000, it doesn't matter if horror fans consider you one of the great zombie movies of the 21st Century: you're still well below the radar of the average moviegoer. In this episode of Certified Forgotten, journalist Michelle Swope discusses her lifelong love of horror and her particular appreciation for Jeremy Gardner's The Battery.
Mar 22, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 127
In this week's episode, we're swapping an "M" for an "M" to keep the formula correct. Certified Forgotten's Matt Donato covered South by Southwest 2025 from start to finish, but Matthew Monagle did not. So, Donato called in backup to help with an entire episode dedicated to the horror films of SXSW. Please welcome back Bloody Disgusting's Meagan Navarro, one of the tippy-top horror journalists working today. Listen in to hear about all the rad horror titles you should keep an eye out for in the ...
Mar 17, 2025•35 min•Ep. 126
We're doing something a little different this week for Certified Forgotten! It's South by Southwest time for the Matts, as they check out the slate of cinematic offerings at Austin's biggest film festival. In honor of SXSW, Donato and Monagle have picked some of their favorite festival titles, old and upcoming. It's easy for festival films to fall through the distribution cracks—hopefully our picks don't suffer that same fate.
Mar 10, 2025•33 min•Ep. 125
If you're a longtime Certified Forgotten listener, you know how co-hosts Matt Donato and Matthew Monagle feel about Oz Perkins. They've debated The Blackcoat's Daughter, reviewed Longlegs, and have made their stances known. So where does The Monkey fit into their discussion? It's the least "Oz Perkins" of any Oz Perkins movie, much to Donato's pleasure. The question is, will this ultra-gory, weirdly humorous, more "Midnighter" Stephen King adaptation also work for Monagle?
Feb 28, 2025•35 min•Ep. 124
It's a privilege and a shame that we can cover a Kiyoshi Kurosawa title on the podcast. How is Lionsgate burying a Kurosawa movie that gets 0 Rotten Tomatoes reviews upon release and only 2 more over the last decade and a half? That's the conversation O.G. horror podcaster and filmmaker Elric Kane starts on this week's podcast. We talk about Kane's new haunting release The Dead Thing (now on Shudder), and how Kurosawa's Retribution is a strange cousin (as well as Kurosawa's legacy). Dating apps,...
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 123
No, we're not talking about Mary Poppins. This week's episode highlights an underseen Shudder original that delves into the surreal, sinister, and psychosexual. Mercedes Bryce Morgan's Spoonful of Sugar is a fairy tale that gets nasty in multiple ways, about a babysitter and family who are never what they seem. We welcome horror journalist Vannah Taylor (Fangoria, Moviejawn) as our esteemed guest, who thinks you're due for a dose of Morgan's filmic medication. Journey down the rabbit hole as we ...
Feb 14, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 122
In this very special episode of the Certified Forgotten podcast, Matt Monagle and Matt Donato are joined by actor and filmmaker Kate Siegel (Midnight Mass, Hush) who goes behind-the-scenes on the making of her V/H/S/Beyond segment "Stowaway" and then kicks off a fun discussion about Lesley Manning's Ghostwatch. What starts with references to The Human Centipede ends with a call to get active in your community, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 121
When is a spoiler not a spoiler? In Drew Hancock's Companion, one of the most important parts of the story is introduced in most of the marketing material, which begs the question as to whether you can talk about the movie without talking about... well, you know. In this episode of Certified Forgotten's Uncertified series, Matt Monagle and Matt Donato tackle this and other pressing questions tied to Companion. Here's a non-spoiler alert: one of the Matts absolutely loved it, but you'll have to l...
Jan 31, 2025•32 min•Ep. 120
Who's ready to talk about a movie about body horror and beauty that made headlines this week? No, the other one! In this episode of the Uncertified podcast series, Matthew Monagle and Matt Donato talk about Sasha Rainbow's Grafted, a New Zealand horror film that, like many upcoming body horror releases, will get comparisons to The Substance but actually deserves them, too.
Jan 24, 2025•33 min•Ep. 119
Who better to discuss a film like Rawhead Rex than the current king of low-budget horror? In this episode of the Certified Forgotten podcast, we're joined by Jordan Downey - co-writer and director of The Head Hunter, ThanksKilling, and the opening segment in the Critics' Choice Awards-nominated V/H/S/Beyond - to talk about his favorite Clive Barker adaptation - or at least, his favorite Clive Barker adaptation where an ancient Irish demon gives a deacon a golden shower.
Jan 17, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 118
A slow-burn period piece with atonal music and undertones of guilt? You heard right, it's time for the first Monagle Movie of 2025! In this episode of Uncertified, Matts Donato and Monagle discuss Thordur Palsson's The Damned, a horror film set in the Arctic circle in the 1800s. Listen now to learn why it's a perfect companion piece for films like The Wind or AMC's The Terror.
Jan 10, 2025•33 min•Ep. 117
New year, new ambitions, same Certified Forgotten. We're ringing in 2025 with an absolute dream of a guest: David Dastmalchian. We're double-dipping on this episode because podcast fans would be correct to remember we covered 2012's Entrance with Jackson Stewart. We don't see that as an issue — it's pretty rad that multiple guests would want to champion such a "small" film. Plus, we have plenty to chat with David about, considering he's up for a Saturn award, releasing comic books, and appearing...
Jan 03, 2025•58 min•Ep. 116
It was only a matter of time before Tammy and the T-Rex found its way onto Certified Forgotten. Part romantic comedy, part mad scientist experiment, part gory survival-horror flick? Paul Walker's brain ends up inside a gigantic dinosaur prop that lusts after Denise Richards? Longtime entertainment journalist Eric Goldman brings us back to the 90s with this absurd blast from the past, emphasizing this movie as a total blast. It's unquestionably a Donato movie, but is it a Monagle movie also? Tune...
Dec 27, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 115
We're turning back the clock on Christmas Horror and chatting about Jennifer Wexler's The Sacrifice Game. Why, you ask? With these Uncertified episodes, we're giving "recent" a longer leash when we say we'll highlight recent releases. The Sacrifice Game happens to be one of Donato's favorite Christmas Horror titles released in the last few years, and 'tis the season, so why not? Killers, demons, and bloody dinner parties await in Wexler's fantastic sophomore feature.
Dec 20, 2024•32 min•Ep. 114
Are you craving a greasy, sloppy bite of fast-food horror sleaze? This week's episode travels back to the bygone era of 2007, which feels like an alternate universe of nu-metal and poor behaviors. Horror journalist Julieann Stipidis brings The Matts what she describes as one of her "Holy Trinity of Bad Aughts Movies," ready to champion Horny the Clown. Kitchen deaths, demonic mascots, and inappropriateness galore await whoever dares watch Horny's Hella-Burger massacre — one of the most 2000s-ass...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 113
This week's episode is a bit of holiday fun — a chance to get to know your Matts a tad better. There's no single movie focus, no prime directive. We're just chatting about things we're thankful for this year as horror fans. It's an episode of shared reflection, highlighting what's excited us most in 2024. Listen along as you lay on your couch in a food coma, stuffed like yesterday's turkey.
Nov 30, 2024•33 min•Ep. 112
