We're celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jaws by looking back at Spielberg’s genre-defining original and its progressively wilder sequels. A quartet of films that not only redefined summer horror but also played a pivotal role in shaping contemporary fears of the ocean, the Jaws franchise embraced genre hybridity, influenced public perception of sharks, and contributed to the rise of the summer blockbuster. But are there other reasons that explain the original film’s enduring cultural relevance...
Jun 19, 2025•57 min
In this episode, we're exploring the intersection of environmental anxiety and horror cinema via the tangled roots of eco-horror. In Day of the Animals (1977), high altitude radiation stemming from the hole in the ozone layer triggers an animal uprising in the mountains and leaves a group of stranded hikers battling the elements and each other. In Nature's Grave (2007), a troubled couple descends upon a remote beach where their careless and, at times, cruel treatment of the natural world finally...
Apr 26, 2025•55 min
On today’s episode, it’s Nicholas Cage unleashed to somewhat questionable results in Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs .In the film, FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), a woman with possible clairvoyant abilities, is drawn into a series of murder-suicides spanning decades. A Lynchian crime procedural that leans into a fusion of supernatural and religious horror, Longlegs is a highly stylized descent intodarkness that has left audiences divided. We’re breaking it all down today with spoilers so stay tune...
Mar 25, 2025•51 min
In this episode, plastic smiles and perfectly coiffed doppelgängers are a veneer of perfection obscuring suburban darkness in Bryan Forbes’ The Stepford Wives (1975). Based on the novel by Ira Levin (1972), the film follows a woman named Joanna (Katherine Ross), who moves to a seemingly perfect suburban town only to discover that the women are being replaced with emotionless, submissive robots created by their husbands. Blending social commentary, satire and suspense, the film has been criticize...
Feb 28, 2025•55 min
With multiple Academy Award nominations under its belt, Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance (2024) is one of the most talked-about films of the year. Fusing body horror with a feminist twist, the film follows Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), a Hollywood star celebrating her fiftieth birthday. When she is unexpectedly released from her contract by network executives who suddenly deem her too old to host her long-running aerobics show, Elisabeth turns to "The Substance," a secret serum that promises to...
Jan 23, 2025•49 min
In today's episode, it’s Tim Burton’s fever dream masterpiece Beetlejuice —a horror-comedy classic with shades of surrealism that’s as colorfully bizarre as its namesake character! The film follows Barbara and Adam Maitland, a recently deceased couple, intent on scaring off the new living occupants of their home, the Deetz family. When their best ghostly efforts prove futile, they decide to enlist the services of Betelgeuse, a freelance bio-exorcist more interested in causing havoc than in helpi...
Aug 22, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 54
In today’s episode, it’s creature feature, B-movie summer horror with 1979’s The Great Alligator and 1980s’s Alligator . Despite their very different settings, both films lean into the carnage caused by their snappy, tail-spinning reptilian monsters while simultaneously suggesting that the true villains are more of the two legged variety. But do their eco-critical considerations resonate with today’s audiences? We’re breaking it all down today with spoilers, so stay tuned....
Jun 04, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 53
In today’s episode, Vincent Price helms House of Usher , a dark tale of decay inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s 1839 short story "The Fall of the House of Usher.” Released in 1960 as the first in the Corman-Poe cycle of films, the film follows Phillip as he visits the Usher mansion in the hopes of convincing his runaway fiance, Madeline, to return to him. But his efforts are continually thwarted by Madeline’s brother, Roderick, who warns Phillip that marriage to Madeline will result in total, person...
Feb 22, 2024•45 min•Ep. 52
In today's episode, “one, two, Freddy’s coming for you” in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Chuck Russell's A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). In the original 1984 release, a group of teens attempt to outsmart Freddy Krueger, a supernatural killer who stalks them in their dreams. In the 1987 sequel, a band of institutionalized teens attempt to defeat Krueger and save the life of an innocent by intentionally entering Dreamland together to dire consequences. Aided...
Jan 25, 2024•53 min•Ep. 51
In today’s episode, festive cheer gets a bloody makeover in Chris Peckover’s Better Watch Out (2016) and Tyler MacIntyre’s It’s a Wonderful Knife (2023). A subgenre of horror that turns beloved seasonal traditions into nightmarish fodder, Christmas horror is rife with malevolent Santas, homicidal elves, and many, many angry snowmen. But what happens when the source of the horror in these films takes a much more human form? We’re breaking it all down today with spoilers so stay tuned....
Dec 20, 2023•59 min•Ep. 50
In today’s episode, it's an old school horror-comedy romp with Matthew Goodhue’s Slotherhouse (2023). The plot revolves around Alpha, a homicidal three-toed sloth who is abducted from her home in the Panamanian jungle by poachers. Upon killing Oliver, one of the poachers, she is taken in by Emily who believes Alpha just might be her ticket to the sorority house presidency. But when Alpha discovers Emily looking chummy with Oliver in an Instagram post, she unleashes her fury on the unsuspecting s...
Dec 01, 2023•42 min•Ep. 49
In today’s episode, we are finally tackling the film Roger Ebert called “a raw and painful experience” that “transcends the genre of terror, horror, and the supernatural.” We are, of course, talking about William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973). Based on William Peter Blatty’s novel of the same name, the film is an acknowledged classic trafficking in body horror and demonic possession, scenes of which have morphed into head turning, pea-soup laced pop culture shorthand. But is there more to this ...
Nov 10, 2023•58 min•Ep. 48
In today’s episode, Australian horror takes center stage courtesy of Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou’s Talk to Me (2023). In the film, Mia, who is grappling with the imminent second anniversary of her mother’s death, attends a party with Jade, her best friend, and Riley, Jade’s brother. There, they are given the opportunity to commune with the spirit world via an embalmed hand. Predictably, things do not go according to plan. With unrelenting hype and a domestic box office gross outpacing ...
Oct 26, 2023•46 min•Ep. 47
In today’s episode, we’re kicking off the spooky season with Michael Dougherty’s Trick 'r Treat (2007). Told in an anthology format with non-linear storytelling, the film is a virtual shoutout to Halloween lore making it a cult classic among horror fans. But does it deserve its reputation? We’re breaking it all down today with spoilers so stay tuned! Mentioned in this episode: Keetley, Dawn. “ Trick or Treating in Halloween Movies .” Horror Homeroom, 7 October 2016. McIntosh, Matthew A. “ Samhai...
Sep 22, 2023•46 min•Ep. 46
In today’s episode, it’s part two of our deep dive into shark horror with Renny Harlin’s Deep Blue Sea (1999). Blending science fiction with horror, the film follows a crew of researchers as they try to replicate in sharks the brain cells of people with Alzheimer’s Disease. Predictably, the experiment does not end well. Known for its divisive heroine, campy reinterpretation of animal attack tropes, and some truly epic CGI sharks, Deep Blue Sea is the rare shark horror film that resists demonizin...
Sep 08, 2023•49 min•Ep. 45
In today's episode, we are diving into the depths of cinematic terror with Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Shallows (2016) and David R. Ellis’s Shark Nigh t (2011). In The Shallows , a young woman on a pilgrimage to her late mother’s favorite surf haunt finds herself stranded on a rock as she faces off against a relentless great white shark. In Shark Night , a group of unsuspecting friends gather for a little lakeside R&R, only to find themselves being stalked by an assortment of toothy terrors. Wh...
Aug 21, 2023•55 min•Ep. 44
In today’s episode, it’s a disturbing journey into the misleading world of social media courtesy of Kurtis David Harder’s Influencer (2023). The story follows social media influencer Madison (Emily Tennant), who is in Thailand for what was supposed to be a romantic getaway with her boyfriend, Ryan (Rory J. Saper). But her lonely and mundane reality is shown to be completely at odds with the exciting, friend-filled adventures she portrays online. When a chance meeting with local CW (Cassandra Nau...
Jun 22, 2023•49 min•Ep. 43
On today’s episode, we’re diving into the magnificent world of creature features with 1998’s Godzilla . Directed by Roland Emmerich, the film takes the famous monster’s story and puts a decidedly American spin on it to questionable results. We’re talking about historical revisionism and what makes a really bad horror film on today’s episode so stay tuned!
May 12, 2023•46 min•Ep. 42
In today’s episode, we’re diving into Zach Creggar’s Barbarian (2022). Told in a three act structure, Barbarian vacillates between realism and absurdism in what is arguably one of the most unique horror films to drop in recent years. Following three characters and their relationship to a house located in the Detroit neighborhood of Brightmoor, the film plays with genre hybridity while also offering a powerful indictment of the power of cultural norms to mask what lurks beneath the surface. We’re...
Apr 21, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 41
In today's episode, we’re diving into Smile (2022), a film that has almost single-handedly reinvigorated debate over the importance of trigger warnings. Written and directed by Parker Finns, the film follows Rose (Sosie Bacon), a doctor who cares for patients at a psychiatric facility while navigating her own mental health journey. Following the death by suicide of a patient in her care, Rose begins to suspect that she is the new target of a demonic entity who won’t be happy until she’s dead. Wi...
Apr 05, 2023•56 min•Ep. 40
In today's episode, it is early horror with an unexpected feminist twist in 1946’s The Spiral Staircase , directed by Robert Siodmak. Set in 1906, the film follows Helen (Dorothy McGuire), a woman with traumatic mutism, who cares for Mrs. Warren (Ethel Barrymore), the difficult and bedridden lady of the manor. When a serial killer begins killing off women with so-called afflictions, Helen is warned that she may be next. Adapted from Ethel Lina White’s novel Some Must Watch (1933), the film takes...
Mar 22, 2023•56 min•Ep. 39
In today's episode, it's an old-Hollywood tinged journey into repression and murder via Ti West’s Pearl, the sequel to his massively successful X . Set against the final days of World War 1, the film follows Pearl (Mia Goth), a young woman who feels trapped by her mundane farm life and who yearns to take her place alongside the Big Screen stars she idolizes. But when those dreams get dashed, the film segues into unadulterated horror territory. With its sympathetic look at madness and its homage ...
Mar 01, 2023•46 min•Ep. 38
In today's episode, the Horror Homeroom crew dives into John Hyam’s SICK (2022). Situated in the early days of the pandemic, the film follows friends Parker and Miri as they quarantine at a remote lake house owned by Parker’s parents. They are joined unexpectedly by DJ, Parker’s friend with benefits, who is eager to make their relationship exclusive. But their idyllic reprieve is soon interrupted when an unexpected threat starts stalking them. We’re going to spoil the hell out of it today so sta...
Feb 17, 2023•46 min•Ep. 37
In this condensed episode, Dawn and Liz are chatting about 2020’s CIRQUE BERZERK by Jessica Guess. Part of the 'Rewind or Die' series, the story takes place 30 years after a group of kids went on a killing spree at a local carnival; a massacre that left a dozen people dead. Decades after the tragedy, a group of students, including best friends Sam and Rochelle, decide to visit the theme park for one last hurrah. But sometimes, the past refuses to stay dead. We’re going to spoil the hell out of t...
Feb 08, 2023•27 min•Ep. 36
In this episode, we’re deep diving into John Logan’s highly polarizing They/Them (2022). A slasher film that takes place at a conversion camp, the film drew early criticism on social media with many wondering if there aren’t some topics that should be off limits. But what does that mean for a genre like horror that is predicated on exploring taboo and violating social norms? We’re spoiling the hell out of this movie, so stay tuned!
Aug 12, 2022•1 hr
In this episode, horror and pornography become not so strange bedfellows in Ti West’s "X". A love letter to 1970s low budget filmmaking, the movie blends humor, heart and lots of boobs to create a shockingly effective meditation on the complexities of aging. We’re going to spoil the hell out of this film today so stay tuned. Join us at Horror Homeroom for more in-depth horror analysis! Follow us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram...
Jun 08, 2022•1 hr 3 min
On today’s episode it’s creepy kids meets arthouse violence with 1976’s Alice, Sweet Alice . Arguably more Giallo than classic slasher, this film merges religious iconography with straight up taboo to reflect a specifically 1970s horror sensibility. But despite a rabid cult fanbase, this movie never quite ascended to the heights of other well known slashers of the era but why? We’re breaking it all down on today’s episode so stay tuned.
Apr 21, 2021•40 min
In this episode, we are heading back to 1987 with Joseph Ruben's The Stepfather . Inspired by the horrific murders committed by John List, this movie doesn't just deconstruct the myth of the nuclear family, it detonates it...and sets it to a slamming 80s soundtrack. We're talking conservative values run amuck on this episode, so stay tuned!
Mar 03, 2021•42 min
How much do we love Adam Cesare's CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD (2020)? So much that we braved Zoom just to bring you this episode! From its in the moment politics to its creative deployment of slasher tropes, Dawn and Liz are explaining why this novel deserves its buzz on this episode so stay tuned! SPOILERS ABOUND IN THIS EPISODE SO TAKE HEED .
Oct 06, 2020•33 min
Killer kids take center stage in this episode in which we break down The Prodigy and Eli. Both dropping in 2019, these films center children and evil in ways that both reflect and challenge conventional depictions of childhood monstrosity. So stay tuned!
Mar 06, 2020•46 min
