The summer heat is oppressive. The school year is about to begin. These are the Dog Days of Summer. So of course we watched another talking dog movie! This episode Joe and Bradford experience A Doggone Christmas , a movie about a telepathic talking dog and the children he befriends as he escapes the government agents hellbent on sending him off for experiments, which isn't at all similar to a Steven Spielberg movie about a friendly space alien... Also along the way, Bradford winds up explaining ...
Aug 29, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 9Ep. 180
On this episode we've got Pac-Man Fever and it's driving us crazy! Just two short years after the debut of the arcade hit Pac-Man, Hanna Barbera produced a Saturday morning cartoon all about the denizens of Pac-Land. And, naturally, a Christmas episode was soon to follow! Joe and Bradford spend a good portion of this episode on video game chat, as you can imagine. But also we explain our original plans for this episode and why we had to scuttle them, as well as our nostalgia for defunct TV chann...
Aug 15, 2023•50 min•Season 9Ep. 179
This one's been a long time coming. On this episode we discuss a cult classic among holiday specials: Will Vinton's 1987 Claymation Christmas Celebration ! And to help us break it all down is special guest Gerry Davila, host of the Totally Rad Christmas podcast ! Claymation Christmas has a certain reputation in the pantheon of holiday specials. You either love it for its handcrafted stop-motion and off kilter sense of humor, or you hate it for being a half hour barrage of dad jokes. (At least, t...
Jul 18, 2023•46 min•Season 9Ep. 178
Ani-May strikes back for one last hurrah this week! Our pal Dr. Nick returns for this double-length episode to explain the myriad ins and outs of the Mobile Suit Gundam universe as we discuss the 1998 feature film Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz ! Earth is about to be invaded by one of its colonies on Christmas Eve, right after the planet decided to rid itself of its protecting force of giant mech suits. Our intrepid team must retrieve the suits before they crash into the sun, and hope they're not to...
Jun 20, 2023•1 hr 46 min•Season 9Ep. 177
And we're back! Ani-May continues with the Christmas episode of Mr. Osomatsu , which as far as this dumb American can tell is an animated sketch comedy series? Bradford referred to this one as being "no chill", but it turned out to be more this guy's speed than the previous episode. Also in this episode, Bradford gives us the skinny on the long history of this series, which dates all the way back to the 60s. Look, I can't promise any of what transpires here is going to make a whole lot of sense,...
May 17, 2023•35 min•Season 9Ep. 176
It's Ani-May once again, the time of year when Bradford takes the reins and forces us to watch a bunch of anime! Like moths returning to the flame, am I right? This week we look at the Christmas episode of Laid Back Camp , fittingly titled "Campmas". How do a bunch of anime girls camping at the foot of Mt. Fuji celebrate Christmas? By day-drinking and cooking good food over a campfire, of course! What more does one need out of life? Also in this episode, Joe and Bradford reminisce about their ow...
May 10, 2023•34 min•Season 9Ep. 175
Noirch Madness continues! This week we take a look at the 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's Lady in the Lake ! And to help us break it down, we welcome back our resident detective fiction expert Libby Cudmore! Lady in the Lake is the first feature film to be shot and staged entirely in the first person. The posters emphasized that the film's hero, detective Philip Marlowe, is played by "Robert Montgomery and you!" It's a fascinating gimmick, for sure, but how well does it help translate the ...
Mar 28, 2023•49 min•Season 9Ep. 174
Film noir is a genre we've only barely scratched the surface of here on Christmas Creeps. But that ends today! This March, we're highlighting some classic film noirs that also happen to be Christmas films. And what would we call such an event? NOIR-CH MADNESS! This week Joe and Bradford discuss the 1953 film I, The Jury , the film debut of Mickey Spillane's hard-nosed detective character Mike Hammer. In this film, Hammer vows to hunt down his best friend's killer, which leads him on a wild goose...
Feb 28, 2023•51 min•Season 9Ep. 173
Greetings and salutations on this NINTH season of Christmas Creeps! On our inaugural episode of 2023, we take a trip to our local Redbox to catch up with VIOLENT NIGHT ! What if the hero in a hard-R Die Hard riff were San/ta Claus? And not just any Santa Claus. This Santa Claus is played by Stranger Things ' David Harbour! That's the gimmick at the heart of 2022's hit holiday action flick. We were dubious of this one, but each of us found ourselves won over by the sheer absurdity of it all. It's...
Feb 07, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 9Ep. 172
Merry Christmas, Creepazoids! This Christmas Day we bring you an episode all about A Christmas Story Christmas! Yet another attempt at an ‘official’ sequel to Bob Clark’s holiday classic, this one finds Peter Billingsley returning as a middle-aged Ralphie, now tasked with giving his family the fabled Perfect Christmas. Is this a brazen attempt to cash in on our nostalgia? Or is it a genuine, warm-hearted plea to…er…cash in on our nostalgia? You may be surprised to hear where we land on this one!...
Dec 25, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Season 8Ep. 171
Home for the Horrordays enters extra innings this week as we finally tackle a little film called SANTA JAWS ! You see, it's Jaws , but the shark wears a fun little Santa hat. Not surprisingly, this comes from the Syfy Channel stable of original movies, but somewhat surprisingly, this actually looks and feels like a real movie. Granted, that's not much to hang our hats on, but we'll take what we can get! Come join us as we discuss gross Mountain Dew flavors, how Santa Jaws stacks up to Regular Ja...
Nov 15, 2022•1 hr•Season 8Ep. 170
Home for the Horrordays continues with one of the more bizarre films we've ever covered: Blood Beat ! A family hunting trip in the Wisconsin wilderness is interrupted by the vengeful spirit of a dead samurai, and it's up to the two psychic women of the house to stop him. Or at least, that's what we think is going on here... Blood Beat is a bunch of loosely interpreted ends in search of a movie and it's our job to twist those ends into some kind of narrative sense. We also spend some time discuss...
Oct 25, 2022•55 min•Season 8Ep. 168
Grab your pumpkins and pour your ciders, kids, because the most wonderful time of the year is finally upon us: HOME FOR THE HORRORDAYS! Home For The Horrordays is our annual tradition of watching Christmas-themed horror flicks. There are more of them than you'd imagine, and this year we've picked some real oddballs! On this episode, we dig into the 1984 cult classic Night of the Comet! It's 11 days until Christmas and a passing comet has vaporized most of Los Angeles. Survivors Regina and Sam fi...
Oct 04, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 8Ep. 168
For years, internet sleuths have tried to identify a cartoon based on nothing but an old family Christmas photo. In an amazing turn of events, not only was the cartoon identified, but it turned out to be an obscure Christmas special titled The Christmas Gift of Light . So you know we had to watch that thing ASAP! And watch it we did. On this Stocking Stuffer, Joe and Johnny-5 break down this odd little relic, spending entirely too long looking into the IMDb profiles of most of the voice cast, po...
Sep 13, 2022•33 min•Season 8Ep. 167
There's a reason we don't often go to the made-for-TV well, and it's because we fear falling into that abyss never to be seen again. But sometimes a project intrigues you so much that you can't help but gaze into it anyway. This week we discuss the 1990 made-for-TV Disney film A Mom For Christmas ! Directed by George Miller—"Zeus & Roxanne" George Miller, not "Happy Feet" George Miller—this film frequently verges on becoming a weird bit of body horror involving mannequins, alive and otherwis...
Sep 01, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Season 8Ep. 166
This edition of Stocking Stuffers is unique, in that the episode of TV we're covering is only 7 minutes long. "All Through The House" is the lone Christmas episode of Netflix's animated anthology series Love Death & Robots . It's also a perfect fit for our show's often macabre and off-kilter grasp of the holidays. But since the episode is so short, Joe and Bradford take the opportunity to discuss a wide array of subjects. Bradford's experiments with DIY salsa, Brach's latest attempt to ruin ...
Aug 09, 2022•34 min•Season 8Ep. 165
Happy Christmas in July! On this episode, we're still knee deep in summer action season as we take a look at the Wesley Snipes/Woody Harrelson buddy cop flick Money Train ! They're two cops who also happen to be brothers, or is it two brothers who also happen to be cops? Either way, it's Christmastime in the Big Apple and Charlie owes a large gambling debt to a local mobster. What's a transit cop in need of cash to do? Why rob the money train, of course! Questions/Comments? Email us at XmasCreep...
Jul 28, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 8Ep. 164
We're back with more holiday action hijinks! This week, in honor of the recently departed Ray Liotta, we take a look at his 1997 airplane thriller Turbulence ! It's Christmas Eve and the feds need to escort a number of criminals, including the Lonely Hearts Strangler, from New York to Los Angeles. When all hell breaks loose and every officer and pilot onboard have been killed, it's up to flight attendant Lauren Holly to fend off the killer and safely land the plane. Turbulence is more of a Chris...
Jun 28, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 8Ep. 163
This Memorial Day, we're kicking off our Summer Holiday Movie Season! All summer long we'll be highlighting ridiculous summer action movies with a holiday bent! On this episode we're taking the modern surveillance state to task with Tony Scott's 1998 mistaken identity thriller Enemy of the State ! Will Smith is on the run from the NSA, who believe he's in possession of a videotape with incriminating evidence on it. In a shocking twist, he actually does have the tape, but he's still completely in...
May 31, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Season 8Ep. 162
Our pals Niall Flanagan and Dwayne Moloney, co-hosts of the Secret of the Sailor Madness podcast, join us this week to try and make sense of Rankin/Bass' 1967 Christmas special The Cricket on the Hearth ! Based on Charles Dickens' other holiday novella, Cricket plays fast and loose with its source material to make it suitable for television. Certain characters get cut out, new ones invented out of whole cloth, and no less than NINE musical numbers to fill up an hour of your valuable holiday view...
Apr 28, 2022•57 min•Season 8Ep. 161
When we discussed A Karate Christmas Miracle last year, we swore that we wouldn't touch its follow-up unless we had no other choice. Ladies and gentlemen, that day came far sooner than we expected. A Wrestling Christmas Miracle has the distinction of being the only Christmas movie to feature the late, great Gilbert Gottfried. Going into this, that was all we knew. Only now can we say that we have been well and truly snookered. Gottfried is only in this movie because it recycles footage from a co...
Apr 19, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 8Ep. 160
Please enjoy this week's Stocking Stuffer to tide you over until our next full episode. This week we're taking a look at The Norm Show , Norm Macdonald's foray into the world of late-90s sitcoms. In this episode, "Norm vs Christmas", Norm tries to show his co-workers how magical Christmas can be, with a non-denominational holiday party, a Secret Santa gift exchange, and surprise decorations at home. This inevitably ends with everyone visiting the hospital, where even more shenanigans ensue. Also...
Mar 22, 2022•32 min•Season 8Ep. 160
This week we return to world of Jim Henson with the 1992 holiday classic The Muppet Christmas Carol ! You know how this story goes: Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old turd who only loves his money. Three spirits show him the error of his ways, yadda yadda yadda Christmas is saved! But the Muppets put their own unique spin on this tale, with some help from Jaws: The Revenge star Michael Caine! Is it enough to overcome what an often dark and tragic story A Christmas Carol can be? Or do the Muppets ...
Feb 15, 2022•59 min•Season 8Ep. 159
Happy New Year to one and all, and welcome to Season 8 of Christmas Creeps! We kick off the new year with the little-seen 1987 animated Christmas special Christmas Every Day . Based on an 1892 short story by William Dean Howells, this cartoon seeks to answer the question: What would happen if we celebrated Christmas every single day? Not only does the situation send one family into crisis, but it also puts a huge strain on the global supply chain, and sends this very podcast into an existential ...
Jan 25, 2022•53 min•Season 8Ep. 158
Last week we pit the original Home Alone against its 2021 remake. Of course the remake didn't hold a candle to the original, but there is still a bit of unfinished business we need to discuss. On this podcast, we attempt to rank all of the traps from both films. First we rank all the traps in the original Home Alone . Then we do the same for Home Sweet Home Alone . How does the iron to Marv's face stack up against the blowtorch to Harry's head? A billiards ball to the face vs a barrage of thumb ...
Dec 29, 2021•43 min•Season 7Ep. 157
Merry Christmas to one and all! We don't usually pit two films against one another, but since it is Christmas we thought we'd give you fine listeners a little holiday treat. Home Alone is one of our generation's unassailable holiday classics. We've covered a number of its sequels on the show before, but tonight we're finally digging into the 1990 original. But because one Home Alone simply isn't enough, we're also doing a deep dive into the newest entry in the series, Home Sweet Home Alone , jus...
Dec 25, 2021•1 hr 28 min•Season 7Ep. 156
This week we discuss the nostalgia-fueled Nintendo frenzy of the film 8-Bit Christmas ! Inspired in part by A Christmas Story , the film tells the tale of young Jake, a kid like any other in 1988 who just wanted a Nintendo Entertainment System for Christmas. As you can imagine, this week's podcast is going to be wall-to-wall Video Game Chat. We understand if that might not be your cup of tea, but as three fans of video games ourselves, we each have firsthand experience with being a kid in the th...
Dec 08, 2021•1 hr 41 min•Season 7Ep. 155
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Or rather, Happy T-Hanksgiving! This week we dig deep into the Tom Hanks-filled 2004 animated feature The Polar Express, which somehow manages to turn Chris Van Allsburg's 32-page book into a feature-length adventure full of magical train-hopping hobos, swing-dancing elves, and one kid's quest to continue believing in Santa at all costs. Our discussion takes some wild turns, from musing on the film's intended audience, to The Polar Express 's influence on later anim...
Nov 25, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 7Ep. 154
On this week's episode, we attempt to explain the weirdo madness of the 1985 Rankin/Bass special The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus ! Based on a story by "Wizard of Oz" author L. Frank Baum, this special features a council of immortal wood nymphs, an army of invisible trolls, and an elf that may or may not have inspired a character from The Legend of Zelda. Oh, and somewhere in all that there's the origin story of Santa Claus. Also in this week's show, we take some time to sample a few new...
Nov 16, 2021•59 min•Season 7Ep. 153
We conclude Home For The Horrordays with James Wan's The Conjuring 2 ! Set against the chilly backdrop of Christmas, Conjuring 2 is based on the Enfield Poltergeist, a true haunting case from the late 1970s in which a ghost supposedly haunted a single mother and her four children living in the north of London. And joining us this week is our old pal Dr. Nick ! Last heard on our Black Christmas episode, Nick returns to help us break down all the spooks, scares and general quackery going on here. ...
Oct 27, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 7Ep. 152
