The Friday Nightmares Podcast: Top 30 of 2020 to 2024

Hello, and welcome to the 103, 103? 103 and so of The Friday Nightmares Podcast. I am one host of your premium professional podcasting team that acts as a role model to the smaller, lesser known podcasts out there, like Dummies of Horror, for example, Slasher Radio, the ones that are just trying to come up and make it in this world. We're going to show them what real hard work over four years looks like today. My name is Heather Powell.

Mr. Smokeshow Crawford, coming to you from the town of Swartz Creek in the county of Genesee, in the state of Michigan, in the United States of America, in the North American continent, in the Western Hemisphere, on the planet Earth, in the Milky Way Galaxy. I'm fully vaxxed, boosted and waxed and ready to climax. And if you can, please get me wet and feed me after midnight.

It's like when you go out for a special meal, right? You go out for a special meal once in a while, which is why we only record once a month. You know, we're not your daily bitches. We're the elite side chick that you take to the nice restaurant. Not like McDonald's, like you would do with some other podcasts. I've released an episode every two weeks.

Look at me.

Look at us. And a quick note, we are not talking about 2025 today. We are talking about Scott and I's journey over the past four years of being podcasters and all the movies we have watched. And we'll be giving our top 30 from, you know, a combined top 30 from the year of 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. And let me tell you, when I was making this list, you can see when things started to open for COVID because the watch list got less and less.

Yeah, like for me, I was kind of going through it and I'm going, oh, Invisible Man, that was the last movie I got to see in theaters before everything shut down.

Right. It's amazing how you remember stuff. But in terms of horror movies for 2025, I'm not going to give anything away, but I have only watched 15 and it is February 23rd because it has been, it has been hard. But I just want to let everyone know that Piglet is my number one movie so far of the year. And it's just everything you could want in a film. So if you haven't had a chance to watch Piglet yet, please get out and do that.

And I'm the one that turned it off about halfway through.

Which Scott isn't into the poo, the full poo universe. And yes, this movie makes absolutely no sense, but I was fucking here for it. Who cares if it makes sense? But we're not here to talk about Piglet and the 2025 lacklusterness that has begun of the year. We're here to talk about the journey that Scott and I have had in these top 30 films that premium podcasters watch, and only the best. And we again have no idea what will be on each other's lists.

Yeah, it was a lot of fun doing this. And yeah, I'm at about seven or eight 2025s. I figure I wanted to slow down because I wanted to focus on this list. I knew I would. Because if I started watching a bunch of them right off the bat, by the time we recorded our actual regular episode, I would forget. I'm going to be like, I saw this movie, I rated it this. I don't know anything about it. Can't remember it. So I figure I'll start.

Which means it's probably not that good.

More than likely. But I figure I'll give it a good old college try once we're done with this recording to get prepped for going back to our normal style episodes. We're going to try to do this in one whole episode. Guess just depends on time. Because it is 30 movies that we're each doing. So a total of 60. I'm sure we'll be fairly quick, but you never know. So this may be stretched into two or just this one. So we will see.

Scott and I do like to get in and out quickly though. So there's a good chance. We don't want commitment. We just want to be here and gone. We're not in it for the long grind.

And my full-out game is strong.

Same. We're there with you, buddy. We're there with you. So we'll jump right into it. We'll skip all the bullshit. Scott and Erica are doing great. Their wedding is coming up. Blah, blah, blah. They're super happy. They went on a date day. Wonderful. I went to Maine, Mexico. I went to Cancun, went swimming, drank a lot. Blah, blah, blah. It was great. Saw a bunch of Americans. They were very nice. We all got along. Everything was happy. And now, on to the next.

Yep. And I'll preface this by saying we are not going to do honorable mentions just because we figure we'll just jump in because top 30, it's already a lot of movies.

It is. And fuck, if they didn't make it to the list, then they don't make it to the podcast of premium podcasters.

That's right.

Fuck them. Do you want me to start or do you want to start?

Sure. Yeah, you go ahead and start. I'll say, I'm going to count up how many of each year I have real quick while you're doing it.

I was shocked that this made it to my top 10 this year. I was shocked that it made it to my top 3 this year. Never in a million years would I think Mr. Eggers would ever be on my list for anything. I'm lukewarm on The Witch. I didn't like The Lighthouse. But fucking Nosferatu is one of, is number 30, baby. This is such a divisive film. I totally get the people to think it's artistic and shoves it right straight up their ass that it's boring in the whole three days. It's funny.

And that's wow. Yeah, that is awesome because yeah, I know you're not a big fan.

So hearing that, I am not.

And it's funny because I was just on the phone with my mother before we recorded. And my mom was like, yeah, so my so Wayne and I were watching Paramount Plus last night. And I meant to message you. We watched a movie called Natsuratu and I'm going, no shit. She was talking about how much she liked it and everything. I'm going, that's awesome.

That's really cool. That's really cool.

But yeah, that is a top 30. Hell yeah. Good job. I'm proud of you, Heather.

Right.

You've come a long way.

You make a premium podcaster of me yet.

Exactly. So yeah, my number 30 was a film from 2023, and it was a holiday slasher film. And that movie is Eli Roth's Thanksgiving.

Fuck yeah.

It's just fun all the way through. Great kills, annoying characters that you want to see die, goes at a good pace, had a nice little twist to it. The carnage in the beginning with the Black Friday Madness was perfect. Yeah, this was just so much fun. And now is on the always watching it for Thanksgiving holiday season.

Agreed. I rewatched it a couple of times, and it is solid and was filmed up the street from my house. And every time I go to the gym, I look over at the school and I'm like, Hi, that's where Thanksgiving was filmed.

Yeah, that is that was really cool, because I remember you talking about when that was being recorded there or being filmed there.

Yeah, it was pretty cool. They filmed it over March break here. And I like ERR. Roth a lot. I think he's a really cool director. I don't think he's the best director in the world. But I think what he does, he does well. And he does gore very well. And that movie did gore very well. So my 29 is also one from 2023. And never in a million years did I think that a movie about a fucking giant ass lizard would make it to my top 30. But here we are today. And that baby is Godzilla minus one.

Fuck yeah.

These two, the 29 and the 30, were shockers. Both movies were movies that I was like, oh yeah, I'll go watch them because I had heard such good things. And I was not disappointed. I think Godzilla minus one hit me in all the fields. I thought that it was scary. It made Godzilla scary. And I really appreciated that. And that's why it's sitting at number 29 for me.

Hell yeah. Because I'm glad you put it on the list because it did just miss my list. Because I did have a few issues with it, but it's still a fucking good movie.

Awesome.

And Godzilla was terrifying in that.

He was. He was scary. He was like me in the morning after drinking. That's exactly what it looks like.

Run.

Yeah. Everyone in the neighborhood is running away from me. It's true.

All right. So you have the mine number 29 is a film from 2022, a theatrical release that was in my top 10. And yeah, it is Smile 2022. Like I, yeah, I just have a lot of fun with this one. I find it very creepy and it deals with like trauma in its own way. And I found the curse to be very like disturbing. I was hoping for so much more with part two, but part two kind of let me down. Like I think it kind of expanded out into a little too much, maybe. I'm not sure. But yeah, smile.

Yeah, that was in my honorable mentions. I had it in like the narrowed down and probably like we'll say the 50 that I started with and then breaking it down from there. Great fucking movie. Great fucking movie. Horror done right. And horror done differently, but yet still familiar. And I think that that's what that film did well. And I agree the second one, as interesting as it was, to me, the first one was better. But it is what it is, right? Well, My 28, this was a shutter film.

Oh, no.

I thought that movie was so sweet and endearing, and the brother and sister and the wrestling thing that they were getting involved in and just how these kids stuck out the alien attack. I've seen it once and it stuck with me two years later. And that's when I was doing this list, I thought about movies that have stuck with me, that I remember without having to look up what it was generally about is probably a good sign.

No, I'll say it was definitely like a really fun one. I am starting to like forget a lot about it because it's one of those that just for me, didn't stick with me as much. But it's still, I remember it being a lot of fun. Great choice. Then for me, I, my number 28, one from just last year that was also in my top 10, and it is a sequel, and that is Alien Romulus.

Fuck yeah, great film.

I had just so much fun with it. It had some issues, that's why it's kind of lower, but it was solid Alien sequel. Not much to say because we've talked about it recently, but yeah, very fun film.

Great film. Well, good special effects, like worth the high budget. We gave that award to it, I believe, in our end of the year, and it deserves it. So if people skipped over that last year, I would definitely recommend checking it out. And Alien films are horror films, just to be clear again, in case anyone missed that the first time we talked about it. My number 27, this was actually a low budget film, and this got me into low budget films.

I mean, it is sexy Matt Wood.

It is sexy Matt Wood. But I think, Matt, you would find it interesting at least. Like, I don't think it's like something that's going to blow your mind. But if you're listening to this and you missed this from 2020, and you can find it somewhere, it's called The Special. And it's based upon this crazy sexual experience that one gets from this box and the addiction that this guy gets to it. That started my love of low budget, truly up to that point.

That is awesome, because yeah, that was a very good body horror done right for low budget.

For low budget, and it stuck with me. Years later, it stuck with me, and I'm like, that's a sign, right?

Yeah, it's funny, because you're giving a lot of love to the indie films for the most part, and I'm going more of the big budget at the moment, but they're also higher in my list. Because my number 27 is one I just brought up earlier before we started this list, and that was 2020's Invisible Man.

Fuck yeah, great film.

Because yeah, that one, just the way it dealt with the relationship abuse situation and trying to get out of that horrid situation. The way it was covered was smart, it was well done, and still to this day, that floating knife in the restaurants killed just fucking horrifying.

Great Creel scene. And Elizabeth Moss' performance in that was just so fucking solid. Like a true portrayal of an abuse victim, not this like, independent woman, I can move on. The true trauma was reflected so well by her. I agree, Scottie. Great film.

Constant looking over her shoulders and everything else, and just terrified of what this guy's going to do. It's just like, yeah. That one, it didn't make my top 10 at the time, but after it's sitting with me over the years and I've watched it, like, yeah, it should have been in my top 10, because I had to sell a fucking amazing movie.

Totally. And then you kind of come back to it later. You know, I remember scenes. Again, something says to me that we watched this in 2020, and we can remember clearly five years later, five years around this time, what happened in that film, right? And I think that that speaks to a quality film. My 2026 was a film that I wasn't a big fan of the sequel, but I really liked the OG. I thought it was really unique. It was filmed 10 minutes from my house, which I always love.

Oh, that's good.

Yeah. Yeah. I thought she was fucking clever. I thought her revenge on the Nazi gang that attacked her was very something that we should see more of in 2025 of attacking Nazis. So it was very, very well done. And I thought she was a great anti-hero. She was a brat, but you also got behind her. And I think she just presented that so well. I think most people have seen Becky 2020, but if for some reason you've missed it, I do recommend checking it out.

Yeah, because I watched that shortly after Erika and the boys moved in. We watched it. And it was like the first time I'd watched it since I think we did that episode with Dummies of Horror way back in the day to review it.

Oh, wow.

And yeah, still holds up, still a lot of fun. Once This Place plays such a good villain, I think.

Is it Kevin Smith?

Yeah, Kevin James.

Yeah, or Kevin James. Sorry, Kevin James.

Yeah, I still to this day think he did a great job and was intimidating. And yeah, so much fun.

100 percent, baby. 100 percent.

And my number 26, still going with theatrical at the moment, is 2021's, I guess you would say, reboot, sequel, kind of in between there, Candyman.

Oh, fuck yeah.

The way this story was told and the fact that, you know, it just kind of gave you that grounds of the Candyman mythos of there has always been different versions of Candyman throughout the ages, and each one represents a different time in that generation of repression and all that stuff. And just the score and the effects and just the nice little nod to see Tony Todd come back to reprise his role at the very end. Rest in peace, Tony Todd.

Rest in peace, Tony Todd.

But that, yeah, movie was just phenomenal. This is one that I own on 4K, and, well, I have not watched it since I bought it, but I plan on rewatching it sometime soon, because I think the first Candyman is just a bonafide masterpiece, and this, I feel, is the true sequel it deserved.

I could not agree more with you. It's a fucking solid film. It follows the urban myth so well, it adds something new without taking away from the original, it modernized the story. It's whatever you want to see in a reimagining sequel, whatever you want to call it. It's what you want to see done. And they nailed it. They nailed it completely. My 25, we will have a couple of repeats, but I'm glad this is the first one, was The Invisible Man 2020.

Nice.

Yeah. So like you, we were very close. It was 26 for you, I think? No, 27.

27.

Yeah. So we were pretty close. I guess I liked it a little bit more than you did. But similar things. Everything you said and more, it was a great film. So what is your 25?

All right. My number 25 is one that's finally off. I'm off the theatrical for a minute and it's a streaming one. And it was streaming on Hulu in the year of 2022. And that is also another reboot, reimagining sequel of Hellraiser.

Oh, fuck yeah. That was a good one, too.

Yeah, having great because we all know the whole thing about the Hellraiser franchise. The sequels just go from they get weird, bad, weird, worse, to worse.

The DJ one is always hilarious, isn't it? Like the fucking club one. That one's always funny. The the the CD, like set of CD man.

Yeah. And the camera, the guy with the camera in his face.

Oh, Jesus. Yeah, those are those are funny.

But this one definitely made the set of bites absolutely terrifying again. And the balls to cast a female transgender character as the hell priest or hell priestess. And she did an amazing nail that was fucking creepy. The looks I love the look of the set of bites in this where their flesh was used as their outfits and they're not wearing like the BDSM. And yeah, some of the characters were annoying. You weren't really rooting for too many of them.

Yeah.

And bad shit happens.

And bad shit goes down. Totally.

And yeah, this is one that I've rewatched several times, and it is an amazing and worthy addition to that franchise.

100 percent. No, it's fucking solid. It was a great remake. And I remember people being so pissy about it. But unlike other remakes that we've seen over the years, that one was solid. Yes. Really well done. Well thought put into it. And a good way to update the story, because the original Hellraiser, as classic as it is, it is dated now. And it is nice to have more of a modern option.

And I hope to see a sequel of this at some point.

Well, we'll see, right? I don't think there's been enough buzz. But hey, you never know. You never know. Here's hoping. So My 24, maybe this is what started my love of Britain. I don't quite know if this is what motivated me to go there. And this was a reality. And my good friend Mark has talked about experiencing this back in the 80s when he lived in Britain in the censorship. And that movie is Censor 2021.

Nice.

It's really interesting talking to folks from Britain now in a little bit more detail that can remember when things were censored to that extent. Like it was a thing. And I thought that this was a portrayal of a woman who was haunted by demons that were so powerful trying to figure out what had happened to her sister and how it absorbed her life. And how at the same time she was watching all these fucking horror films being like, well, this can't be shown, that can't be shown.

Yeah, that one is a fascinating story. I've only watched twice now, I think, since we first talked about it. But yeah, very fascinating story, very intriguing all the way through. You're not sure what is happening in front of her eyes and what's not. Yeah, I highly recommend this one. That is a great pick.

Thank you.

And mine, now I'm kind of going on the streaming bit a little bit here. But my first, actually no, this is my second 2020 so far on this list. My number 24 is 2020's Scare Me that was on Shudder. Now, I got to preface this because I know there's been like three or four Scare Me movies since we've created this podcast and started recording. This is the one with where it's only two main characters, and then you get one guy that shows up towards the end.

And that says something, when two teenage boys can come out and stop talking and be a pay attention to a movie, like that's a standing ovation for that film, right?

I absolutely adore this film, and yeah, it's also one of the few I have in my collection.

It was a sick film. I remember when that came out, how much you dug it. And I really enjoyed it as well. Something different, again, something different, but familiar and well paced and just fucking great storytelling. And that was 2021, right? 2020. 2020. So the next one is my second favourite movie of 2021. It is not something that has been talked about a lot since then, and it is The Sound of Violence. So I'm going to read the synopsis.

That's right.

When she's told she might lose her hearing again, she escalates her gruesome sound experiments in quest to compose her masterpiece.

I forgot about this.

Yeah. Yeah. That's why I figured I better pull up the synopsis because it didn't get a lot of love back in the day. It is definitely a different type of film. Basically, the synopsis is a young lady who has struggles with her hearing, finds that her hearing comes back when there is harm to somebody caused. And as she's losing her hearing, she engages in violence acts towards others to maintain that hearing. And it is a very interesting film.

Oh, nice.

So it is available.

Yeah, because I forgot a lot about this movie, but the one thing that still sticks with me is the end sequence on the beach. That still sticks with you. As soon as I recognize what movie you're talking about, I'm like, oh yeah.

Takes you back, right? It does.

Yeah, that's a good one, because I don't think I would have thought of that one to add to your list if I was trying to pick it.

Yeah, because it kind of floated in the background, right? But in my top 10, it was my second of 2021.

Awesome. So yeah, I guess I'll go with my number. We're on 23, right?

23, sir.

All right. So this one, we talked about a lot and gave a lot of love to it back in 2020. Rewatched it as this is one of the few that I wanted to rewatch to see if it'd make my list nowadays. Like I rewatched it recently just to see. And that is, Mom, Mother of Monsters.

Fuck yeah. You know, I saw that and I was thinking about it. So I'm like, that was a fucking great film.

Yeah, we were, Erica and I rewatched it. And I think what sold me to put it on the list was Erica's just gripping her chair, just so angry at the characters because they're not doing anything stupid. They're just so infuriating because of how they're treating each other. And just like, yeah, just seeing her raw emotion to it as well just made me go, yeah, this deserves to be on the list.

And that is where you may not have the budget, but who you cast makes the movie. And the casting of those two characters and how good they were at making you believe the situation that they were in is what sells that film. And I think, again, that was the year of low budget. You and I watched a lot of films that probably we wouldn't... Well, I know I went to have, I don't know if you would have watched something like that podcasting. Because we watched everything.

Yeah, exactly. And yeah, this one stood the test of the five-year time or whatever, because it was in my head, but I was like, all right, it's in my top 40 at the moment. I want to see if this will fit in my top 30. So I rewatched it and I'm like, yes, it deserves a spot.

That's awesome. I'm really glad our list continues to be, we've had one repeat so far. We may have a second, but I think overall, we've done pretty good with keeping it spicy.

Yes, I completely agree. I think we'll continue to have a nice Friday because you and I both have different tastes.

We do. We do. We have similar, but different. It's true. So my number 22, this was a movie that came out in 2021. This movie was a ghost story, but it was only a ghost story about death following you and trying to get you and what a husband will do for a wife to keep her alive. And that movie is called The Night House from 2021. This is a very, very emotional film about love and commitment and what one will do in order to keep someone going.

This was one that I thought was really good. It just did not stick with me as much as it did with a lot of other people. But I still, a lot of respect for this film. Very good, very haunting.

Absolutely, right?

Yeah, this one may come as a surprise because it's definitely one we haven't talked about quite some time. But that is my number 22 is from 2021. I think it was an Indonesian film on Shudder. And it was the, I think, remake or another sequel. I don't know what this one for sure, but Queen of Black Magic from 2021.

Yeah, it was a remake.

Yeah, I was like, I swore it was, but I couldn't remember off the top of my head. But yeah, we watched this for, I think it was our Indonesian horror episode. We watched it. Yeah. And goddamn was that. It is a very disturbing and gory film. Like these, the people finding the school bus full of children and what happened to the kids. Oh my god, that is like such a haunting scene. And then the rest of the film as basically they are suffering in their own personal hell.

Yeah, I remember the gore in that film and the special effects and Indonesian fucking horror. And that's the thing about Indonesian horror. They're like, yeah, you think everyone's going to be OK? Fuck you.

You're all fucked.

If you're not fucked, you're going to be scarred for the rest of your life.

Right. Everyone's mad. You're all dying. Ha ha. Fuck you. Right. And I love that about Indonesian films. Great pick, Scotty. Great pick. And I believe it's still on shutter. I think it's still on shutter.

I think so.

So if you missed it, please go check it out. It is definitely worth it. All right. We're into the we're just about to exit the 20s.

Right.

And as we got here, I tended to get a little bit more pressured on what I was going to pick. I was like, well, what kind of sat to me is a really, you know, what did I really enjoy? And it's hilarious because I'm not a big fan of this franchise. I'm not. I don't. Scott loves it. He worships Bruce Campbell. And he thinks that Bruce Campbell is the best thing since fucking Slice Bread. Everyone loves Bruce Campbell. And don't get me wrong, I like the Evil Dead's.

Yeah.

And that got number 21 on my list because fuck man, that movie was good. Fuck it was good. It was gory. It hit me in the feels. I liked all the characters. I didn't want anyone to die. I I loved how fucking evil the demon was. Fuck yeah. Evil Dead Rises. Fuck yeah.

Like it straight up did what the what I think the Evil Dead remake of 2013 kind of failed to do, and that is the sadistic, dark humor that the Deadites portray throughout all the Evil Dead franchise, except for in the remake. The remake, they don't really have any humor. But in Evil Dead Rise, it's their own sick humor, but it's like, yep, they're fucking with you. And that is exactly what I think they nailed that.

Fuck, yeah.

I was like, you know, my love for this franchise.

I know, I know, and it's always going on over here at Friday Nightmares. There's some big ones that I were in that in that list so far that I don't think you thought I was going to have on that list.

So that is one I definitely did not think you'd have there. Because they wouldn't ask for it to. So yeah, my number 21 then is one that I would be shocked if it's on yours at all. And that is 2020's Color Out of Space.

Great film. But no, it is not. You're correct. But very good film.

This one, not only is it just haunting and kind of just trippy and scary, it is beautiful. It is vibrant and colorful. Nick Cage going completely unhinged in not as typical Nick Cage fashion, but just literally just losing his fucking mind. And the shit that happens to this family and the people around him. And it's Lovecraft, one of the best Lovecraft adaptations in at least modern day.

Agreed.

Freaking fantastic. It would have been higher, but rewatching it, it didn't hit as hard as it did when it first came out for me.

Yeah, yeah.

But rewatching it, it's still obviously almost made it to number 20. So it's still a damn good film.

It's a solid fucking film. And it was very creative and again, did Lovecraft right. I'm not a big Lovecraft fan as you know, but I can appreciate what the film did. And it definitely deserves to be recognized. So as we do number 20, this is where it gets a little silly. This was a film that I don't think a lot of people loved. It was a Canadian film, of course. And that's not why I loved it.

As soon as you said consumerism, I'm going, yep, I know exactly what you're talking about. This fun movie.

Yeah, fun movie. And if you watch it from just a evil pair of genes perspective, that's been cursed. It's fun too, and the kills in it are fun. But if you watch it for more of what they're trying to say, from people storming the lobby for a sale and people getting hurt, to saying that things are ethically done in factories overseas where they're not, where it's basically rich white countries exploiting lower third world countries, you have that to it too, right?

Using influencers to promote this said product.

Yeah. And you can watch it just on surface value of a pair of killer genes, or you can see the other thing that we're trying to say here is just be like, we're not as great as we think we are just because you think you're being this ethical, like, I only buy from this. Do you really know? And I think that it did a great job of questioning that. It's a shame that just came out during COVID.

Yep, because even like me, I do like the political, social political messages sometimes, and this one, I totally get it. But for me, it was just a killer pair of jeans. I am here for it.

Here for it. Some of the kills were funny. They were pretty funny. But yeah, what's your 20?

My number 20. This is another one that I'm sure will not be on your list. Also comes from the year of 2020, and that is the resilient horror comedy that was on Shudder, Ghost Killers versus Bloody Mary.

Oh, man, that was a good movie. Yeah, that's great.

This one, it basically is, we're Paranormal Investigators going to a haunted house. Except it turns into evil dead slapsticky, gory comedy, just balls to the wall with the ridiculousness. What was there, like a giant poo monster dancing dead baby fetus that was peeing on people.

That was funny. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember it. I remember this.

Oh, it is so just it just gave me that like dead alive, evil dead slapsticky humor, but in a Brazilian style. And it was just so much frickin fun. And I am still trying to find a good copy of this somewhere to own. So far, all I've been able to find is a DVD and I want a fucking blu ray of it. Damn it.

Oh, man, it was fun. That was a fun fucking film. And I remember how much you liked it. And I'm glad to go down this memory lane with you.

And I remember you had such a hard time finding it because Shudder did not have it on here.

Oh, God, it was a pain. How did I eventually watch it? Maybe Plex?

Yeah, so you eventually found it on Plex. The first time you found it on Plex, there was no subtitles. So you gave up and then like a couple of months later, finally, they put subtitles, someone put subtitles to it.

Yeah, it took forever to watch it, but it was excellent. The gore. I remember the gore being fucking top notch.

I remember you messaged me going, this is a total Scotty film.

Oh yeah.

It was totally you. It's like how slack with me, right? Like there's just certain things that speak to you. So for number 19, for me, we're going to jump into 2022 and this is going to be the first film from 2022 I've had on my list actually.

Oh wow.

And this was a movie that starts off one way that you think this girl has found a really decent dude. And she goes on this romantic weekend away with him. And then she finds out that he's selling body parts to people that are rich to eat these chicks. And she's now part of the package of what he cuts up and sells to people to consume. And that movie is called Fresh. Yeah, that's right. This was a pretty popular film when it came out. So I'm not going to go into it too much.

Yeah, I think this was a Hulu original.

I think it was Hulu, yeah. So it's probably on Hulu, though you can probably rent it as well. So if you're interested, it's a solid film.

Yeah, I do agree. This was also not on my list, but I think it was in my top 20 of that year.

Yes.

I found it to be very entertaining, very engrossing. Don't remember a whole lot of it until you started talking about it. I'm like, oh yeah. Okay. Yeah. This one, my number 19, I'm just going to say it's not really much to talk about because we already talked about it, but 2024, Heretic. I just love the messaging of like, nice, kind of just bashing religions on how they're just copying each other and this and that from previous religions and this.

Agreed.

An amazing, just gripping movie in my eyes, like, and just definitely kind of points the finger at a religion and goes, yep, this is, these are your flaws. Here they are out in the open.

And the delivery of Hugh Grant, like we talked about, you know, he won Villain of the Year, like he and the characters and his sister Barnes and Sister Noble, I think. Fucking awesome characters. Like that's a, that's a must watch movie. 2024, for sure. So for my number 18, we're going back to 2021. Oh, yeah. And we're going back to a probably a very, a movie that probably people like Venom, Don and Ellie watched. I know you watched it as well. I don't know if a lot of other folks watched it.

Yeah.

And his dad has to treat him.

You just unlocked a core memory there for me, because I completely forgot about this movie. Even you saying the name of it, it did not ring a bell. I'm like, did I even watch this? And then, yep. Wow.

So a young boy who is deaf discovers this monster, this place, and his dad, and basically fights to save him. We'll leave it at that. So this is an IFC film. It is also on shutter still. So if you want to look on shutter for it, it is there. I enjoyed this. I find this kind of like a superstition, go supernatural film. The ending, I thought, was very clever. And I thought the young man in it was quite good.

You are bringing the...

I know, I'm keeping it spicy here.

Yes, you are. I'll say mine's not going to be spicy, though it is going to be a hot take because you and I both have argued about this being a horror movie, saying yes, this is absolutely a horror movie.

Okay.

So this is my number 18 is 2023's Bo Is Afraid by Ari Aster.

Yeah, it's a good film.

Yeah, so many people call this just a dark comedy that's more drama. I'm like, it's horror, his anxiety, the shit this guy goes to, absolute horror. But it is such a wild fucking ride when you watch this movie. It goes from... it's like three movies in one. It just goes from one thing to another to another. And Joaquin Phoenix does such an amazing job as Bo, and all the characters in it are so eccentric. And just once again, this is one of those that just stands out as a unique film.

It 100% fucking does. I thought it was a great, well-made film. And the annex ID that's presented in it is so fucking hashtag real and authentic. You know? It's a good movie. I don't know why people shit on it and say that it's not a horror movie. I don't know. It's definitely a fucking horror movie.

It absolutely is. If you deal with anxiety and depression, or yeah, any type of mental illness, this is like, oh yeah, this is what it's like living in your own head.

100 percent. Good one to bring to the table. So for 17, I went back to 2020. And in typical Netflix fashion, they're very good at bringing international horror. And this movie was remade, and the remake was fine, but the original was good, and that is hashtag alive.

That was, yeah, there was Safer at Home and then Host. I think the other one.

Host, right. But it also great, but kind of takes you back to that COVID time of being like, it's COVID, knowing it can go anywhere. Where hashtag alive went through what we were all going through, but it was based on a true zombie apocalypse or infection apocalypse. So I don't know if it's still on Netflix. I don't know if it's still there or if it's gone. Netflix sometimes gets rid of shit. But I believe it is. Is it?

I think so, because Erica and I recently watched that, probably within the last year, year and a half. And it was on Netflix.

So hashtag alive, if anyone's interested. I really enjoyed it at the time.

Great freaking pic, because, yeah, that movie is very intense and you feel for the character. The remake, the American remake was so fucking unnecessary. There it did nothing.

Right.

And it was nothing compared to what this one was. It was, yeah, intense from beginning to end.

Right.

Very good choice, because, yeah, that's another one that just missed my list.

Yeah, fair enough.

Right.

But number 17 for me, yeah, yeah, number 17. We are going to 2024, one that I've talked we've talked about before quite a bit recently, and that is Late Night with the Devil.

Fuck yeah, fuck yeah.

The acting, the set designs, the story, everything about it, just perfect. Excellent movie. Would have been higher, but there's a lot of good movies as contending with for me that stick with me.

And absolutely.

I wasn't trying to do recency biased on this. I was trying to be as fair as I possibly could.

Absolutely. I think that's fair, and that may come up again. Just to be clear, it may come up again. So my number 16. This was a film that we went on, and we talked about with Fresh Cuts, and we really analyzed it at the time. And this was during 2020. It was about a couple who goes to look at this model home and then never gets to leave, and that is Vibarium 2020.

Man.

So.

Yeah, you are bringing the underground hits. I love it.

Right? This movie basically talked about expectations of life. Short form of it, there's this couple, they're not married. They go to look at a model home, and they get left there, and they can't leave, and they get food delivered, and eventually this baby shows up that they have to raise. And now this all sounds really weird. You're probably listening to this if you haven't seen this movie, and like, well, why wouldn't they just leave? It's a very good question. They can't.

Yeah, that's this one. Yeah, we did a very in-depth review of this one with everybody at Fresh Cuts. I think that was before Donna Nellie. I think it was just Mike Merriman and Venom.

I believe it was, yeah.

But yeah, we went very in-depth talking about how the baby represents the cuckoo bird, because the cuckoo bird will kick another bird's baby out of the nest and replace it with its egg. It will be raised by another bird. And all this detail in it, and how it's kind of like a video game in a way, like the way everything's portrayed, and just kind of like the inside details and inner workings.

I'm glad that you also enjoyed it, though.

Oh, yeah, I love this movie. I got a text and screwed up what I was looking at. Okay, so there we go. So by number 16 is 2021, speaking of beautifully done, is Last Night in Soho.

Woo!

Good old Edgar Wright with his incredible editing stylings and just kind of cutting, especially during the dance scene with Anya Taylor-Joy, and I forget the other guy, but cutting in between and going from person to person to person to person. The way it is cut, it just goes with the music. It is so beautifully done.

I very much agree, and I can just say that it may come up again as well.

Ooh, all right.

Yes. I thought it was a standout movie. I praise it all the time. I encourage people to watch it. Even if you're not a horror fan, I think that you have to watch this movie in terms of just how it's made, and the acting. It's so fucking good. Now, my number 15 is not good acting, just to be clear. This is by no stand a good film.

The first one, not the second one, huh?

The first one, yes. You know why? Because you left. That's why. That ending scene, to me, is one of the best ending scenes in a horror film.

I knew this would be on your list somewhere.

Yes. I love that Pooh gave no fucks to Christopher Robin and was like, go fuck yourself. You got us in this situation. I'm not going to go on about Forever On It. Everyone knows my love of Winnie the Pooh, Blood and Honey. But funny enough, I never really liked the actual cartoon Winnie the Pooh. I found him fucking annoying. And same with Tigger and Eeyore and that whole fucking gang. So maybe this is why I like it so much, because they're everything that I found annoying in the cartoon.

Very good choice. Not on my list, but I fucking love those movies.

Right.

May not like the spinoff they are creating at the moment, but I am here for I'm still going to give every one of them a shot. Because I just got to.

You got to support the Pooh universe.

Exactly. The Pooh verse. Number 15 is one from 2023 for me. That was an adaptation of a book, and it was a Halloween themed movie. And oh, yes, I can't help but love this movie so much, but it is Dark Harvest.

Fuck yeah, Scotty. Fuck yeah.

The whole just sacrificing of someone turned them into the killer pumpkin that goes on a slaughtering spree every single year. And you find this throughout this town and the aesthetic. I think it was like the 60s or 70s aesthetic of it. The kills are top notch. Like, it's gory. It's creepy. The pumpkin monster is so awesomely designed, and it's one of the few times I will ever say this, but the movie is actually better than the book.

What?

Yeah. Might be because I watched the movie first, but I read the book shortly after I got back into reading like I have been. And yet the way it is told, it is not as gory. It's not nearly as good of a story, and it's told in a different way. But yeah, the movie just takes the things that are really good about the book and just ramps it up even more.

You know, I went by this movie and I thought about it. It was in my Honourable. It was definitely in my top 40. It's a great fucking film. Great fucking film.

This is one that I watch every Halloween now.

As you should. It is rewatchability. I know Tim Davis is a big fan of it too. And I think that it deserves to be acknowledged and talked about. So if someone has missed Dark Harvest, definitely check that bad boy out. It was a good fucking movie. Back during the time the 2020 theaters were open on and off, another Canadian film came out. And George and I were the only people in the theater to go see this movie. And both of us, we peeped our pants during scenes in this film.

I remember going to the theater to see this one as well. I think it was based on your recommendation because it was shortly after theater started opening up here. And yeah, I think there was like three or four other people in the theater with me. Granted, I went to a matinee because that's how I always rolled back in the day. And yeah, I don't remember a whole lot about it nowadays because it wasn't one that stuck with me nearly as much as it did you.

I remember you enjoyed it. Yeah. Yeah. I knew it isn't going to stay with you, but I remember you liked it at the time.

Yeah. So I'm liking that we've been bringing like completely different styles to our lists. Though this one, I copies you.

That's OK.

Number 14, 2023, one of the best horror franchises out there, and that is Evil Dead Rise.

Very nice.

I fucking love this movie so much. It made me so happy and I cannot wait for the next, I guess, two sequels coming out of Evil that are planned. Evil Dead Burns is one of them. I don't know what the other ones are going to be called, but I'm here for it. Brit, give me all the Evil Dead's.

I'm here for it too. If it's anything like Evil Dead Rise, I'm down for it.

I think it's from the same director. So yes, give me more.

I'm excited for that. My number 13 is a movie that was filmed in Michigan. We both loved it when it came out for the twist that's in it. It starts off like Airbnb Horror Gone Bad. Yeah, Airbnb Horror Gone Bad. And it kind of turns around to be something that you never really thought. Justin Long plays such a fucking asshole in this film. And it is Barbarian from 2022. If anything, watch this movie for Justin Long's performance. He plays such a piece of shit.

Oh, he so does.

It's great.

And yeah, for some reason, it just wasn't dawning on me. But we'll be talking about that later as well, because.

Yes.

Yeah, yes. Fuck yeah.

Yes. Fuck yeah, right?

I went to the theater for that one, and that one just put such a huge smile on my face because I'm like, this is a theatrical release. This is insane. I love it.

It was insane that that was released in the theaters when you think about it, right? It was kind of insane. Yeah.

Oh, baby smile. But awesome. That makes me happy. And my number 13, I also copies you again. And my number 13 is from 2024. I believe it was your number 30. And that is Nosferatu.

Three days.

The one thing we didn't bring up when you talked about it was the look of Nosferatu. Fucking creepy. And that pullback at the end when it's showing his full body and how decayed and rotted it was, it's like, oh, that is fucking creepy. I loved everything about this movie, the way it was filmed, the acting story. I mean, it's a story that's been told a million times, but I watched it a few weeks back, finally, because I wasn't able to catch it before we did our award show.

Yeah.

And just fucking loved it.

It's a good film.

Yeah. Perfect movie. It was close to my top 10, but it just got pushed out just by a few others.

Hey, you know, it's still pretty good when you think of the top 30 of all the films we watched, because we literally have watched hundreds of films. So for it to be that high is pretty good, right? Yeah. My number 12 was the OG of a movie that was remade this year. And it was much better. But I watched the remake. The remake is fine. James McAvoy did a great job in the remake. He's fine. But nothing beats the original. And the original is Speak No Evil 2022.

Fuck. Talk about a movie that just gets under your skin and you're so fucking frustrated with the characters because of the decisions they make. And it's not like dumb horror movie character decisions. It's just dumb people decisions like, why? Why would you do that?

It's such a movie that explores the concept of being polite.

Yes.

And the concept of not wanting to rock the boat, and the emasculation, and so many other things. And the original is by far superior to the remake. 100 percent. The remake is fine. Not to shit on it. I think it's a great movie on its own accord in the sense that it's entertaining. But if you're looking for the actual creepiness and message, then I recommend the OG.

100 percent.

Yeah. So what's your number 12?

My number 12 is another international film. I believe this was Korean. But that is one that was very over the top with the gore, and the violence, and just the horrific nature of what people will do when their inhibitions are left unchecked. And that is 2021's The Sadness.

I knew what you were going to say.

Oh, my God. The depraved acts that happened in this and it just ran. It's like hashtag alive with the infected.

Yes.

The infected just have their inhibitions unleashed, and they can do whatever they fucking want.

And there's some fucked up scenes in that.

Yeah, there's some really fucked up, disturbing scenes, which is probably one of the reasons why it sticks with me after four years.

You know, when I was doing my list, I went past it, and I paused, and I was like, yeah, that was a really good film. I'm like, but did I like it? Well, I liked it. But I'm like, nah. So it's in my top 40 as well, because it is a great fucking movie, and it's dark. Like, it's real dark. So if anyone's interested in checking it out and you missed it, you want fucking dark. You're going to get dark. Like, it doesn't hold back. So be prepared.

And I just found out, too, the director that made this movie is going to be doing the crossed comic series, which adaptation into a movie, which is what I thought the sadness was an adaptation of already because of what the people in the crossed do to others. So I'm going, oh, so if he's actually going to adapt the crossed comics. Oh, oh, he's going to show some shit. OK, I'm here for it. Oh, wow.

Well, hey, see what he comes up with, right?

Yeah, I'm here for it. But yeah, that sadness is one of those movies where I watched it, think twice, and it's just haunted me.

It's like 100 percent it is. And the ending is haunting, too.

It's one of those where it's so disturbing and haunting. But at the same time, I can't help but go back and rewatch it.

It's good. That's why it's a solidly fucking made film. My number 11 is something you've already said, and it's Candyman, Candyman, Candyman.

Fuck yeah.

2021. I don't think I need to add anything else to it, just that I agree with you. Great fucking movie. It was my number 11. I enjoyed it so much.

Hell yeah, that is awesome. And just because you knew this title of this movie would have to be brought up at some point by me. But for my number 11, 2022, stop on by the Clown Cafe, stop on by the Clown Cafe. So, terrifying too. Art came back in a huge fucking way with this movie, a two and a half hour long, insane romp of a movie. Some of the most disturbing kills I've seen put on screen. The fact that it did so damn well in theater shocked everybody. And just sment it.

I love it. I love it. Yeah, and he has made himself a horror icon. And that is something that has definitely come out of the last couple of years.

Yeah, I say the fact that you can go to Spirit Halloween and see Art the Clown costumes up on shelves, it's just like, yep, that's where he's at now.

You know you've made it, right?

Yeah.

You know you've made it. As we get to number 10, and we get to our top 10, this is where I'm curious to see where Scott and I will overlap. And this is one that I'm wondering if he's going to bring up Hi, Erica. Hi, Erica's here.

Hi, Erica.

She's his number one. She's actually all of our number ones of 2022 to 2024.

I was going to say she's definitely my number one. But yeah, Heather just said you're our number one from 2020 to 2024, babe.

She's the best thing to come out of that. Besides this movie, of course. Just kidding. So this movie, I think you may have in your top 10. I'm excited to see because I want you to know something, Scott. Not only does Erika love you, but Benny loves you. And he loved you back in 2021 before Erika was even here.

Oh, no, no.

Well, it didn't make it.

Number 10 for me, baby. Benny loves you.

Yeah, Benny loves you. Benny loves you.

Got to be. And I'm not sure if I love this so much because Brandon Orlich from the Exploding Heads movie podcast, and Scott and I have a group chat, and we would constantly say that to each other all the time. So I don't know if it's just the leftover from the good times of us making those ridiculous jokes to each other. But I thought this movie was so cute, so funny. Benny is so fucking cute, but scary. And the fact that the guy wrote it, directed it, acted in it, did it all.

Yeah, this is one that I've rewatched multiple times to, and it should have been on my list, actually, now that I think about it.

Yeah.

There are some other movies that could have taken out of there. I don't I regret it now because Benny Loves You is just so much fucking fun.

You know what you can use, Benny still loves you.

OK, good. I love Benny. But yeah, Tickle Me Elmo basically on steroids and crystal meth.

Best description, best description.

So we're going to go from cute, cuddly and terrifying to just straight up, oh, I'm unnerved and I'm uncomfortable. And why is this? Why am I watching this movie? So my number 10 is 2023's When Evil Lurks.

Oh, man. Good fucking film. I was going to put it on my list. Fuck. Oh, so dark.

So goddamn dark and such a punch in the gut with some of the things that happened in this film. Like if you if there are people out there that have not seen this yet, do yourself a favor and be prepared to be horrified. But this is pure horror in this. I want to look up the director because I know he did Terrified. Not Terrifier, but Terrified.

Terrified, which was also very creepy.

Yes. Damien Rugna.

Ah, yes.

And I think this was also Indonesian. I could be wrong on that. But either way, this is a must see, especially and also watch Terrified before that, because these movies are incredible. But at the same time, it leaves you feeling just drained and home and just just done. Like it's one of those horror films that literally will get under your skin.

It is. That is the best fucking description. Super fucking dark. Very different from Benny Loves You. So it's good that we're keeping it very, very fluffy and fresh here.

Number nine.

Number nine. Now, this if this isn't on your list, I don't know if we can podcast together anymore because you love this film like a lot. But maybe you forgot. So we'll see. This was a one set movie, and it was based on a family in a situation that they can't get out of. And it was We Need to Do Something from 2021. Is it on your list?

It's not.

Scotty.

It was. It was.

I can't get it off.

I took it off at the last minute because we rewatched it recently. Yeah, I still fucking love that movie. But like, yeah, I it didn't hit me nearly as much, though. To this day, I am a good boy is still fucking terrified me every time. It and I love it so much that I found out that this was based off a book and I found the audiobook and listen to it. And it is like damn near scene for scene like the movie. Like it was an amazing adaptation.

Like that is awesome.

Yeah. So this movie is a high Scotty recommend, but it was one of those where I'm looking at all these movies on my list. I'm going, I don't know which one's got to go. I think this was literally 31, like when I had 31 movies and I was like, just thinking, I'm like, OK, which one? Which one? And at the last second, that's the one I decided to cut.

That's fair to me. I was non-negotiable that this would be in my top 10.

I'm glad it is.

Yeah. It stood out to me. I thought it was like one set done well, the acting in it, the characters, how the anxiety that they were able to develop, the family dynamics that come into play. It's just such an all-around great film. Even Scott had it at 31, that means it was in his top and we've watched hundreds of movies. So it's still very much worth your watch. It is we need to do something from 2021. So if this isn't your number nine, Scott, I am dying to see what your number nine is.

Well, you know me and my...

I thought I knew you, just to be clear.

Well, you know my style of movie of how I like the slapstickiness, goriness and ridiculousness and body horror stuff. This is one that came out last year, 2024. It was in my top 10, and it started off as something very serious with a sociopolitical message, and then by the third act, ramped into some fucking bonkers body horror, dead lifestyle. So I am talking about Demi Moore's amazing performance in The Substance.

Oh, yeah.

Like, if it would have stayed with the just very serious tone that it did, like for the first two acts, if it would have stayed that way, the entire film, I don't think it would have been here right now.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That third act where it just goes fucking bonkers, and I'm like, I am here for this.

I love it. We will talk about that as well.

Again, yeah, Monster Liza Sue.

Yeah, it was a great fucking film, and it had something for both you and I, which is why we will be bringing up again. We talked about it a lot as well, last not that long ago. So we won't delve into it. If you haven't seen The Substance, go watch it. It's the best advice I think we can give. My number eight is a film that I talked about last year. It is from a Cronenberg, and it's from Caitlin Cronenberg. Wow. And it is humane. I really thought about it, and it really hit a nerve for me.

The Cronenberg family. They all have talent. They are all amazing. But yeah, that is awesome. I did not expect to hear that one in the top.

Yeah, I know.

Keeping it spicy.

All right. So my number eight. This one you had brought up fairly recently as well. It is 2022's Barbarian. The way this movie is filmed, it's two completely different, or yeah, technically three different movies that just kind of like come back together by the third part. Each act is like a different style and movie. Like, I love it. And you don't know what that when you even when you watch the trailer, they kept everything from you on what this movie was truly about.

Oh, he's such a dick. He's such a dick. He's so good, though.

And yeah, just all around amazing and horrifying. And once again, I can't believe they showed this in theaters.

Yeah, like, absolutely. If you missed Barbarian in 2022, please go. And not Barbarians. That's a different film that we're talking about. Barbarian from 2022, both home related, but one good one bad. So my number seven is the substance.

Fuck yeah.

So I don't feel like we need to talk thoughts about it. Go watch it. What is your number seven?

My number seven. Now, this one, if I was in a different spot in my life today, where I am today, would probably be higher on the list now. But now, it's dropped because of where I'm at in my life.

Because you're in love and shit?

Yeah, pretty much. But.

Oh, gay. In a good gay, though.

I championed this for years and years and years, and I will always champion it. It was my number one of 2020. And this is the movie that got me through a hard part of my life. And that is After Midnight.

You know, I'm glad that you're still giving it some love, even though you are in love.

Yep, I'll say I'm in a different spot now, like where I was five years ago.

Oh, fuck yeah, you are.

Oh, man.

But at that time, this movie had a lasting impact on me and helped me through such a difficult time. And I rewatched it with Erica, like I think shortly after she moved in with me, and like it still hit me in the feels, like it's just such a great dialogue heavy, relationship heavy film about just dealing with the... If people don't know what this is about, it is basically about a guy that is getting attacked by a monster at his home every single night after his fiance left him.

I remember how much it impacted you, so I'm glad to see it come up again. Really good film. Really good film. I guess we're at number six now.

Yeah. We're getting close to our top five.

I was in one of these in Mexico. They had them at the resort that I was staying at, but they didn't have the other body double shit. So it's Infinity Pool from 2023. You know, and the impact of that. And less said about this, the better. It's not going to be for everybody. It is a Cronenberg film. It does have a lot of metaphoric shit in it. But if you're interested, it's Infinity Pool from 2023. So what's your number six?

That is an excellent one that did not make my list, but it's a fucking great movie. My number six is one of two films that's just straight up fun and puts a smile on my face that are in my top ten. This one was from 2023, and part of what helps me with this was not only is it a Christmas horror movie, but it is a, and it's not the one you're thinking, I guarantee it. But it is also a wonderful, wonderful homage to Gremlins, and that is Something in the Barn.

Oh, the little dwarves, yes.

The little gnomes.

Gnomes, gnomes, gnomes, sorry, gnomes.

This one was just so fucking fun. I love it.

It was fun.

I've watched it so many times, and it is literally, you could tell the director was like, I want to recreate Gremlins, but with gnomes, because this is exactly what fucking happens. And they even have their own rules, just like the gremlins do. And it's just so fun, the family.

It's a fun movie. I'm glad you brought it. It was a fun film.

That's because I know what you were thinking, and we may talk about that later.

Oh, no, I thought you were going to say, Christmas, bloody Christmas. Oh, that's what I thought you were going to say. Because that also came out in 2023. So that's why I just thought you were going to say that one.

No, no, no. I re-watched that one this year. It doesn't. It is fine.

Yeah, it's just fine. Okay. Okay, that's fair. Gnomes, Gnomes for life. Gnomes. My number five was the one that did not make it for you, but still stands up for me. Even though it was a very simple low-budget film from 2020, I feel it shows what low-budget can do, true low-budget, and that is live-screen.

I knew you would still have this on your list.

Yeah. It definitely, if I go back to how I felt at the time, and when I still think of the concept, I think it's fucking clever. I think as time goes on, it doesn't age as well, which is fine. That happens. And also, once the gig is up, the gig is up. But I do really value what this movie did. I thought it was something different, and I value what they did with such a limited, true limited budget. So and I'm I know that there was a sequel that I'm waiting to get my little fingers on.

So hopefully I get to watch it. Looks like it is now available. Like it must have came out in late October last year, but it's now available to rent on Amazon here in the US.

I'll have to start checking.

It's not available for free for us to watch anywhere. But, yep, I did notice it's available to rent on Amazon. I'm very tempted to watch it. Doesn't have Gunnar Willis at this time. No different characters. But, yeah, we, Erica and I recently watched this because it was one of the few movies I was like, okay, will this still be in my top 30? So I wanted to watch it. And, yeah, it's still damn good.

100 percent.

And that was number five for you, correct?

That was.

All right. So my number five is a, I believe, South Korean. I did. Yeah, I think this is South Korean, but it's from 2021. And that is the thriller slash horror film about a deaf mute girl who ends up witnessing a murder.

Yes.

And then this serial killer starts hunting her and her family and friends down. That movie is Midnight.

Midnight was good.

This movie just had you in the feels. You were rooting for these characters. They were... Her and her mother are just such a good chemistry between the two of them. She was a smart final girl in the way that she outsmarts him in almost every corner. And the cockiness of this guy as he's stalking her because he thinks he can fuck with her and have fun with it. And Jesus Christ, this one is just like intense from beginning to end.

It is.

And yeah, you just feel for the characters. Like it is so well done.

I couldn't agree more, Scott. And it's you know, it's a film that didn't get a lot of buzz and it deserves its day. So if people haven't watched it, please go and take a look. It's twenty twenty one, right?

Yep. This was I would never have watched it if it was not. Uh, it wasn't thanks to our good friend Xander or, as people know, Dave Bailey. He recommended it to me and I fucking fell in love.

Yeah.

And I actually own it. And I own a physical copy of it now, too, because of it.

Oh, solid. It's a solid film. I'm glad you brought that. I forgot about that memory unlock. That was one memory unlock you did for me. I forgot about that when it was a good movie. Everyone should go check it out if they haven't had a chance to. It's definitely worth it. My number four is from my number one of twenty twenty two. And I'm not going to go into it too much because the movie's been talked about quite a bit, but it's Don't Worry Darling.

Oh yeah.

Yeah. I really was a big fan of that film. Social political, oppression of women, getting my pussy eaten on a table. Who wouldn't want that done? Vicious, like very enthusiastically too, might I add. The most enthusiastic oral sex scene I've seen since bloody Christmas. And like, I don't know, a life of living at the spa, that is not what it seems to be. Florence Pugh always delivers a solid performance. Harry Styles was great in this too, actually.

That is an excellent movie. Like, I had that one in my, I'd say it was top 40 to 42, somewhere around there when I was still trimming down the list.

Nice.

And it was one of those where we also argued, is it horror? Fuck yes, it is.

Fuck yeah. Fuck yeah, it is.

Well, I guess I will jump into my number four now. And it is the last 2024 film I will be talking about on this list. And it's a sequel to a sequel I already brought up. And it's also another Christmas movie. It was my number one from last year. And that is fucking terrifying three baby. This one, like I had talked about when we recorded our award show, I watched this four times. And rewatching for me in that small amount of time is a huge fucking deal.

That is true.

She comes back in this and she's left traumatized from what happened in part two. And she still does an amazing job and still ends up being a badass. But yeah, Art the Clown, amazing. I've talked about this. I've gushed about it a million times. Fuck yeah, Terrifier 3, my number four. I absolutely love this movie.

Fuck yeah. And my number three is, well, when I went to London the first time, I sent Brandon and Scotty a picture of me in SoHo. And I said, looks like I'm in the last night in SoHo. So number three is last night in SoHo and I got to go to SoHo. So, you know, we did it all. Great fucking movie. We've already talked about it. I don't need to reiterate it. If you haven't seen it, go see it. It's fucking horror movie, British films, everything done right.

Fuck yeah. Great choice. Glad to see it's been up giving love up top. Yeah, absolutely. My number three now, I would be very shocked, very, very shocked. This is not on your list of what's left. But it came from 2020. It was my number two of that year, if I remember correctly. And if I also remember correctly, it was yours and Brandon's number one. And that is a video dating site movie with basically just a few characters. But you felt for this guy until he fucking snaps.

It is tragic.

But it is one of those movies that it's it will stick with you after you watch it.

Well, it will definitely be brought up.

Good.

I have to and we're going to narrow it down because I'm going to give you my number two. So you're going to know where it stands. But that's OK. My number two is Late Night with the Devil 2024.

Oh, wow. Nice.

So when I thought about films that I have enjoyed, I just I've rewatched this recently and I can't get over David. I can never say his name right.

Dushni? Dushni?

Dushni? Something like that. Performance. Like, I just think he's so fucking good in that film. And it nails it for me. Nails it. So it is my number two Late Night with the Devil 2024.

All right. So wow. I'm happy to hear these.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yay. So I'm number two. It's one of the greatest movies ever made. But I rewatched it recently, and it made me smile like a giant kid from ear to ear. The special effects are incredible. The humor is awesome. The characters are hilarious. Even the psychotic one that is the main character that a lot of people seem to hate and can't stand. And I am talking about PG Psycho Gorman. Not my hunky boy.

Good old Psycho Gorman.

I fucking love this movie so damn much. We re-watched it just a week ago, and Eric was like, this movie is fun. It is one of those just bad movies, and it's so dumb, it's fun. I went, how dare you call it a bad movie and so dumb.

And that's when you called off the wedding, right?

I was like, we can't stand for this. I am disappointed in you. It is not a bad movie. It is a fucking masterpiece.

She's like, all right, babe. Yeah, yeah, you got it right up there.

But yes, this is like forever quotable. I own two different shirts, one of them thanks to Brandon. I just love these characters. Mimi is a psychotic little girl that probably ends up growing up to be a serial killer. And that's kind of why I fucking adore her because it's just like, yep, she is psycho and she's messed up. And I was saying, I know Daniel Luffy is probably just going, oh, no, hey, it's our fucking show.

We like what we like.

That's right, Loof Loof or Mushroom.

I am so glad to hear that it was on here. I was a little worried that you weren't going to bring it up, but I'm glad I still know you. Great film, Canadian film, great special effects. Very fun. I'm glad that we're giving it some love. You knew my number one. You already talked about it. It's Rent-a-Pal from 2020.

That is so fucking awesome. It is that spot.

It is not. And you know, when I thought about, you know, and this was a really good experience for us doing this, because I thought about, I looked at all my my number one movies and I was like, OK, like really, you know, that's what's going to be in the top here, right? Like, you know, my number one films, I'm going to have to include them somehow. And I looked at like I looked at all of them and I'm like, yeah, Rent-a-Pal. Still, to this day, Rent-a-Pal.

Well, first, I want to say with Rent-a-Pal, this is one I wanted to rewatch too, just because I was like, I know it's going to be number three for me, but I still want to rewatch it because I know Erica hasn't seen it, and it's nowhere to be found now. I got to rent it, actually buy it or rent it, and I just didn't have the money at the time, but I plan on revisiting it because it is such a good fucking movie.

What?

Yeah, that's cool. That's cool.

It has that freaking evil dead sense of humor. It is slapsticky. He does the freaking influence, the annoying influencer so fucking well. He is the director with along with his wife, if I remember correctly. He wrote this as well. The fact that you can rewatch this movie and just pay attention to the live stream chat and get a whole different aspect and how they nailed the what is used in streaming chat as dialogue. Like the way these people talk is like, oh yeah, you nailed the Internet.

I'm like, yep, that would like exactly what would be said.

Yeah. And but yeah, just like the fact that he's one of those douchebag influencers that just gets his comeuppance and just basically gets Bruce Campbell and Evil Dead to just shit beat the hell fucking tormented and tortured. It is such a fun fucking movie and endlessly rewatchable for me. I have watched this.

I couldn't agree more.

Seven, at least seven times now.

Well, there we go. Like you brought in a heavy hitter from Shudder as you're ending. I brought in a random VOD.

I think it might have been maybe even been on Hulu for a while.

And I think I think we had what? Like two or three crossovers, maybe three or four.

I think we had about five or six.

Five or six. Okay, that's not bad for 30. Yeah, that's not bad.

I thought we were going to have more, but like I knew our top tens would be a bit different. Just like what hits us differently. But yeah, that you brought some that I just didn't even think of or ones that I just couldn't put on the list for one reason or another. And I'm so glad that they were brought up.

Yeah. And I found that definitely 2020 and 2021 were my years that I definitely and maybe it's because we watched more then. I don't know if we just watched more or we were seeing the stuff. Because that wasn't filmed during COVID, right? That would probably be pre-COVID or whatever. And then we're getting the aftermath now. But yeah, we'll see. Because I've known this so far for 2025, this has been the slowest. And I've seen one movie, I saw Hard Eyes that I thought really stood out.

Psycho Gorman for me when that came out in January. I was like, this is gonna be my top 10.

Yeah, you knew, right? So I don't know, we'll see how this year goes. But I'm glad that we got to revisit and talk about, as premium podcasters like ourselves do, bring up the true gems for people to see, right? So hopefully, everyone enjoyed that. Sorry, go ahead.

I did want to bring up too, though. I did count out the years of my list. So, yep, 2020, I had seven on my list.

Very nice.

And then there is a three-way tie. 2021, 2023, and 2024 all had six on my list.

Wow, you were pretty fair, huh?

Yeah, and then 2022 only had five. So yeah, but yeah, I was kind of shocked to see that. Like, oh, wow, I thought it would be more of the older years.

That's a good question. So 2020, I had one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. So definitely 2020 was my highest, and I can just tell by the numbers that 2021 was my second. And then 2022 and 2023 and 2024 were all kind of hit and misses. I do notice that, I'll be honest, I have a higher nostalgia for what I watched in 2020 and 2021 than I did for what I watched definitely last year.

It's just certain things.

Something might hit you more than others.

Yeah, I do notice here where I have Censor, Sound of Islands and Night House. They're all from 2021. And The Djinn from all from 2021 as well. Same with Slacks. And I felt like those were all very unique and different. Yeah. And I think that horror goes through waves, right? Like anything, fashion, everything else, it goes through waves. So it will be interesting to see what comes out this year. I'm really excited to see The Monkey has been dropped. I want to go see that in theaters.

Yep. I will definitely say it's fun and worth watching. Just it's interesting. I will say that much.

I plan on watching Companion tonight. I think it's an unplex.

I want to try to watch that one tonight as well, actually, because now that we're getting this recorded and out of the way, Scottie is going to start jumping into the 2025 is a little more.

And I may skip over some of the ones I've watched that I don't think are worth talking about when we record next time, especially the ones that I know no one's going to watch, like ones that I dug to see that I know no one's going to. I'm not going to recommend it. What's the point? But we do have time and stuff is being dropped. So hopefully, what was the one, the kangaroo one that we both really liked last year was called Rippy.

It'll be Tim. Tim will be Rippy in this one.

Yes. Oh, Popeye Returns is our revenge. Sorry, Popeye Revenge. I'm here for it. I'm going to tell you right now that movie is going to be watched, and I will definitely be talking about it.

Boy, yeah.

Fuck, yeah.

Fuck, yeah. There's three Popeye movies coming out this year, I believe.

Fuck, yeah.

Popeye the Slasher Man, Popeye Revenge, Popeye something else.

When I watched the Peter Pan one, I thought that was interesting.

Oh, yeah.

I'll get to that.

Yeah, I'm still waiting on a better version of that one.

Yeah, you know what? I'm all about the dirty cam versions, you know?

I know you are.

Put all those stuntmen out of business.

Thank you so much, Eddie.

I know I am. It's just scandalous, you know? I just really live life on the badass. Did you just take your shoe off?

Yeah, my foot was itching.

Oh, that's fair. You're like, shoe off for this conversation, Heather. You start spawning me.

Oh.

Right? I love it. Well, we'll be back again. Scott and I will, with how our schedules are, realistically, once we stop recording, before he hangs up, I'm going to ask him to commit to a date. So we have it in our calendar. So we actually have something to do, because this is also one of the few times we talk and hang out. We talk every day because we're besties for life. Don't worry, everybody. We're still brother and sister, and we're still besties. Better besties than Tim and Daniel.

That's what happens when you're comparing beef Wallington to a Tomahawk steak.

Right. Yeah, it's true. But they at least live in the same country. Our countries are a terror force. So soon it's going to cost me 25 percent terror for Scott, 25 percent terror for us to send text messages to each other. So we'll see how that goes. So we'll pick a date and we'll get back to our 2025s. And by then, hopefully, we have something to recommend. I know we have a couple that hopefully-

Yeah, I definitely have one that's already at my number one, but I will save that for the show.

Oh, good. That's exciting.

I think I told you about it, but yeah, I'll make sure to mention it after we record.

Nice. I'm pumped for this. On other side note, I've been watching autobiographies and usually I save them for the plane because I'm very well traveled as Rob knows. He likes when I talk about my trips. But I watched the Elvis film, The Elvis Biography, and of course it's sensationalized. And Tom Hanks plays the colonel who is his manager. And let me tell you, if a fraction of that is true, that colonel was a piece of shit, and Real took advantage of Elvis and really worked him like a dog.

Give me all the horror.

They're like, you watch squid games? I'm like, no, I watch indie films. What kind of films? I'm like, the special from 2020. Have you heard of it? It's a very unique, better box that gives sexual pleasure. And they're like, uh-huh. I'm like, mm-hmm. And I smile and I bite my lips, but not with the bottom lip. So it looks like I look really seductive then.

Anyway, I'll bring up one too real quick that was non-horror.

Okay.

I did tell you about it. But it was that animated movie called Flow.

Oh, yes. Yeah.

Animation in that is like watching a fucking water painting come to life. It is beautiful. And yeah, it's just no dialogue. It's all it's kitty. It's a campy barra. It's a lemur. It's a golden retriever puppy to show you the animal mannerisms are so freaking spot on. And it's just so cute and fun and hilarious. And like also kind of like, oh, it gets you in the fields, but not in a bad way. It's just like, oh, this is so good.

It touches you in the right spot is what you're saying.

Like it's what I it's this will say something. It's one I want to buy on 4K. I don't buy non-horror films. I want to buy this and own this.

That's pretty impressive. That's pretty impressive. Look, she's like Flo.

Yeah, she loves Flo.

She's like, thank God, not another fucking horror movie. Jesus Christ.

Oh, no, she's all about it.

She's like, I told this guy I like horror movies, which is true, but I didn't realize he was a premium podcaster and what that was going to evolve. So we will be back. But as always, we want to thank you for listening. We want to thank our fellow podcasters at The Horror Returns, Dummies of Horror Slasher Radio, The Exploding Movie Heads Podcast, Fresh Cuts, and a shout out to the Rotten Round Table. I know they're taking a step back right now.

The Horror Cast.

I guess they don't do the Rotten Round Table anymore.

Well, Rotten Round Table is part of Horror Cast.

That was just their special episodes. Yeah, right, right. So I hope that... Sorry, go ahead.

I'll say, yeah, I completely understand and respect their decision if they decide to be done.

Yeah, it's a lot. Like Scott and I have dropped down to recording once a month, which I feel, despite the rumors that we're going to retire, I don't think we will now, because I think once a month works for Scottie and I.

Yeah.

And we pick a date and we stick to it, and it's a good time for us to hang out, and I think it works well. So I can see once a month being the thing that we do moving forward, and that's great, but it's hard, and they were very regular.

And four people trying to get four schedules to line up. It's very difficult.

And I don't know if you remember, there was one time where Mark Nader was curious if we would be interested in joining them on their regular show. And both you and I had struggled with committing to the time. And that was back when there was nothing going on. It was just COVID. So I give credit for that. It's not easy. It's Scott and I have been lucky that it's been the two of us, and we've been able to kind of like ebb and flow.

You know what?

Before we leave, before we ever stop, we should do one last. We should do Friday Nightmares and then do a special like while we're recording, go back to our controllers up, cards down segment and just do something quick.

So happy.

Right. But yeah, and we used to do top five. So there's lots of stuff in our library. Please go back and listen. But you will notice that our style has changed over the years. Our themes were one way, and now we kind of just focus more on new watches, and that works for us. And I think we won't be going anywhere, Tim.

So I know him calling us out like that. You motherfucker.

He's so hot, though. You know what? He can get away with it. They're all so sexy.

He's my sexy boy from down under.

Yeah, he's definitely a sexy boy. He's just not a boy toy. He's a sexy boy.

He's my boy toy.

Forever a boy toy, right? But yes, we are proud members of the Legion Podcast Network. Five years going strong. Thank you so much, Legion, for continuing to back us and support us, and let us, our little podcast-y, be part of your network. Both Scott and I are Patreons. We have continued to support them over the last several years because they do so much for podcasters like ourselves. If you would be so obliged, Scott has one question for you when it comes to supporting indie podcasts.

What the fuck are you waiting for?

What are you waiting for? What are you waiting for?

And in a William Shatner style, what are you waiting for?

What are you waiting for?

Join us.

So Scott's cat's tail is right in the camera right now, so Scott's talking and all I can see is his big ass fucking tail. He's like, join us. And the tail is like, looks like it's going to go up his nose because it's so fucking fluffy.

And that is, you know, five years going and nothing has changed. The same cats keep interrupting.

They sure do. They sure do. Only now Scott has two teenage boys, a wifey, two dogs. How many cats?

Three cats and the Gecko.

Oh, yeah, the Gecko.

I forgot about the Gecko.

You can never forget about my mini-dream.

Never forget about Blaze, right? Yeah, it's been it's been a journey. It's been a journey. So we'll see what 2025 brings, Scotty.

Yeah.

I feel like we may have to do a new category of like unlicensed or what is it, off-licensed or licensed expired films and public domain films, public domain characters, and give an award this year because they be coming.

So there's a lot.

There's a lot. And I think we should get rid of like out of the dark and put that in its place because I think that that would be fun to do because we'll watch them. We both know we're going to watch them.

Oh, absolutely. Might not make it through all of them, but I'll watch every one.

No, but we'll watch them, right? Anyway, we look forward to seeing you all soon. Look for a next episode to come out probably sometime in March. And whenever Scott gets around to editing this, we'll probably be a week or two, and then we'll record sometime in March and we'll come out with a 2025.

Yes, and thank you very much for sticking with us for these five years of podcasting. And this was fun kind of having that nostalgia trip, going back and revisiting what we started with when we first started this show and what we watched. And it's been a journey and lots has changed, but it's all been good. And once again, thank you all for supporting us and sticking with us and the ones that have been here from the beginning. We love you. We love all of you.