This week we mark five years of bringing you the Pod and the Pendulum by having a fun little roundtable discussion. Mike, Brian, Devaughn and Stephen got together to talk for awhile about what has caught their fancy as of late, as well as to reflect on some of their favorite moments on the show these past dew years and to throw out some pitches for franchises to cover in the future. Since t just wouldn't be an episode without an unhinged rant of some sort, this time around Mike offers the sort o...
May 14, 2024•1 hr 53 min
It's time to put this franchise to bed, and what better way to do that thank to put it all in order? Mike, Rachel, Ariel and Devaughn are on hand to rank the Paranormal Activity series from the dregs to the top tier. Will Devaughn be our chaos agent again when it comes to rankings? Will there be a surprise pick at the top? Will Ghost Dimension get knee capped like Micah at a feminist book club? Tune in and find out!
May 06, 2024•1 hr 28 min
The episode brings a riveting discussion about the final installment of the Paranormal Activity series, its backstory, the impact of COVID-19 on its production, and Ariel's passion for the "found footage" format. The hosts also share intriguing behind-the-scenes insights, including the studio's unique priority list for permissible movie content. After six movies and diminishing returns, it was time for a change of scenery, and that's what Next of Kin delivers, as the action shifts to Amish count...
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr 34 min
Get ready to enter the frightening world of the Paranormal Activity series with your favorite horror hosts. In this episode, we dissect the supposed final movie, 'The Ghost Dimension,' along with an analysis of the film's corporate maneuverings, & 3D technology use. We provide a brutally honest review of the film's reception, plot twists, and the unusual combination of high-end 3D technology within a found footage movie. We discuss shifting trends in the film industry, with a focus on the tr...
Apr 22, 2024•1 hr 33 min
This week we talk about the time the Paranormal Activity series took a deliberate turn away from focusing on wealthy, white, upper middle class families and turned toward the Latino communities of Los Angeles. Writer / director Christopher Landon called The Marked Ones more of a “cousin” of the previous four films rather than a true sequel, and perhaps making that diversion allowed or something looser and unbound by the formula that had gotten stale by the previous entry. The Marked Ones shifts ...
Apr 16, 2024•1 hr 59 min
This week it feels like we’re covering familiar territory. It feels like we’re playing the greatest hits. It feels like the activity is less paranormal and more all too familiar with its fourth entry in the series Paranormal Activity gives us a true sequel for the first time, but instead of forging ahead, the series feels stuck in neutral for the first time. Despite an excellent early performance from Kathyrn Newton, it relies on the same tropes and scares of the first three movies while rehashi...
Apr 08, 2024•1 hr 48 min
This week we're going back in time with what Mike calls the "Dream Warriors" of the Paranormal Franchise with its third installment. Rather than continue the cliffhanger ending of its sneak prequel, directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman travel back to the 80s to show audiences just how Katie and Kristi got mixed up with Tobi the demon to begin with (spoiler alert: it's those damned witches). The end result might be the most entertaining entry of the series, with scares coming from start to fi...
Apr 01, 2024•1 hr 33 min
This week we're back with more found footage, more spooky cameras, more demonology, and more things that go bump in the night with 2010's Paranormal Activity 2. Even better we double down on the toxic masculinity and toss in some casual racism towards are poor, amazing housekeeper to boot! (Daniel, you're the worst). This sequel does manage to build on the framework of the first film not only in how it captures footage, but also in building out the mythology and world that will follow over the c...
Mar 25, 2024•1 hr 59 min
This week we begin a new franchise. We are talking about Paranormal Activity which is arguably the most successful series of the 2000 tens. From its humble beginnings as a tiny independent movie meant to be shown small audiences to a global phenomenon that raked in hundreds of millions of dollars this is the series that launched so many other found footage titles over the next decade for better or worse. Along with special guest Mary Beth McAndrews (Dread Central, Scarred For Life) your cohosts ...
Mar 18, 2024•2 hr 42 min
We have a special treat for you this week this episode was originally recorded for the GHOULS MAGAZINE podcast with hosts Rebecca McCallum (Talking Hitchcock) and our own Ariel Hellraiser. While ghouls is on a temporary hiatus Ari was kind enough to offer this conversation between two of the brightest minds in horror on the 1st two Human Centipede films. They dive deep into the body horror of it all along with the gender dynamics in the history of the mad scientist archetype. It's a really fun c...
Mar 14, 2024•1 hr 23 min
This week we wrap our Frankenstein coverage with the movie that gave birth to the horror comedy. In just over a decade and a half, we're far from the serious, often somber tones of the original Frankenstein, and the most famous trio of Universal Monsters become punchlines to the madcap antics of the famous comedy duo. Still, this movie treats the Monsters with reverence, and contains a lot of laughs to this day. Mike, Brian, & Stephen talk about the careers of Bud Abbott & Lou Costello, ...
Mar 04, 2024•2 hr 41 min
This week we get another horror mashup as Dracula opens up his home to the Wolf Man, Frankenstein's Monster and a riff on Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. While it plays like a retread of the previous installment, there's a lot of fun to be had in this campy creature feature that gives us the bare minimum of Frankenstein on screen. We dive deep into the history of this one, say goodbye to some long standing featured characters and creative types, and talk about how the sands were shifting at Universal...
Feb 26, 2024•1 hr 47 min
This week we're back with a true monster mashup as Frankenstein's Monster meets up with the Wolf Man and Dracula, along with a mad scientist and hunchback for good measure. By 1944 it was clear to Universal they had squeezed all thw juice out of their horror lineup as they could in solo adventures. What to do then but have them combine forces in some decidedly not-scary, but highly campy adventures? Mike, Brian, and Devaughn break down what should feel like an epic monster smash up, but plays ou...
Feb 19, 2024•2 hr 6 min
Our first team up! This week finds two Universal icons getting together for one motion picture in the first of what will be a troubling trend for the back half of the Frankenstein movies as the creature takes a back seat in this Wolf Man sequel. Still, it's a fun affair as our two monsters play pretty nice together for a while before brawling as the castle blows up and floods around them. Brian, Mike and Steven team up to talk about what works in cinemas first attempt at a shared universe. Pleas...
Feb 05, 2024•1 hr 59 min
We’re back to finish our discussion on THEGHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN. Joining us this week is Andrew Fabry of the Dead Letters movie podcast. Universal once again pairs two of its iconic performers in one film. This time a returning Bela Lugosi as Ygor is joined by Lon Chaney Jr as the Monster. Would the man better known for turning into a wolf be able to fill Karloff’s boots? We have a fun discussion of what, to be honest, might be the nadir of the Frankenstein series. Please read Brian's Frankenste...
Jan 29, 2024•1 hr 36 min
This week we're back for the last of Karloff's turns as the Monster in the Universal Frankenstein movies. Mike, Brian and Jessica are joined by returning guest Nat Brehmar (author of PUPPET MASTER COMPLETE: A FRANCHISE HISTORY) for a candid talk about this often overlooked gem. Karloff himself would be overshadowed by Bela Lugosi playing Ygor, the hunchback friend that gave the Hungarian superstar his first juicy role in years after falling on difficult times. We talk about the Monster's self-re...
Jan 22, 2024•1 hr 59 min
We’re back to finish our discussion on THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. We had a lot to talk about this week, including the abundance of religious iconography present in this film, along with the myriad of ways the Hays Code took a hatchet to this movie but a ton of cheeky humor and themes still slipped through. We discuss the first true villain, the absolutely delicious Doctor Pretorious (Doctor Pretorius?) and how he offers the gateway to the many queer themes and suggestions that are front and cent...
Jan 18, 2024•1 hr 34 min
This week we're back to discuss what some have called the greatest horror movie of all time, and what might be the birth of queer cinema: THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. In the years following Frankenstein's success, James Whale would go on to put his campy, humorous touch on horror classics The Old Dark House and The Invisible Man before returning to create his masterpiece. Meanwhile Boris Karloff elevated from a struggling bit player to receiving top-of-the-bill status in a string of successes. Of ...
Jan 15, 2024•1 hr 18 min
The Monster is loose! We’re back with the second half of Universal’s FRANKENSTEIN. This week we talk about the masterful innovations director James Whale brought to the screen. We discuss how Frankenstein is an example of a horror movie with no true villain, and how Boris Karlof gives one of the most sympathetic performances in genre history. We talk about the tropes this movie started ( the hunchback side kick in Dwight Frye’s Fritz, the rampaging villagers armed with torches and pitchforks) an...
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr 44 min
This week we embark on a new cinematic journey and for the first time we travel back to one of the foundations of horror as we begin our exploration of the Frankenstein franchise. Adapted from the classic novel by Mary Shelley, James Whale created one of the true masterpieces of early horror cinema. Alongside Dracula, Frankenstein demonstrated that genre films could not only be artistic masterpieces but proved such box office successes that they could keep studios afloat. For the first of our tw...
Jan 08, 2024•1 hr 33 min
Before we get dragged kicking and screaming into 2024, Mike, Brian, Nichole and Rachel take a look back at what has been a solid year yet again or horror. From the creation of "meme horror" we loved in M3GAN and Talk To Me, to a continuation of "Fuck 'dem Kids" nastiness in Where Evil Lurks, Evil Dead Rise and others to classic monsters getting reimagined and reborn in Godzilla Minus One it was a strong year all around. We each give our top ten picks, and want to hear from you-what did you love ...
Jan 02, 2024•2 hr 22 min
Happy holidays everyone. For our second annual non-horror Christmas movie deep dive, we're covering the greatest adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic. What do you get when you cross a miserly, penny hoarding, vindictive Scrooge with the loveable Muppets? You get the absolute holiday classic The Muppet Christmas Carol. Featuring Michael Caine in the starring role, it was the first Muppet motion picture after the tragic passing of Jim Henson in 1990. By playing Dickens' material mostly straight,...
Dec 24, 2023•2 hr 17 min
You better watch out...he's made his list and he knows who is naughty and who is nice. This week we wrap up our holiday horror series with a classic killer Santa movie: CHRISTMAS EVIL. No less a luminary than John Waters calls this his favorite Christmas movie and its easy to understand why. With a gritty, 70s feel that recalls Taxi Driver, black humor, and truly remarkable performance that alternates between humanistic and unhinged rom Brandon Maggert as a man who only wants to be Santa. This o...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 40 min
NOTE: Mike uploaded the incorrect file yesterday so all apologies. We'll leave the 2020 patron episode up as a thanks, but here our actual episode for the week) He's making a list. He's checking it twice. He's going to find out who's naughty and should be stuffed in a sack then beaten with a switch before being fed to murderous elves. It's Krampus! From Mike Dougherty (Trick 'r Treat) comes another contemporary holiday horror classic. Rachel and Stephen break this one down. They talk about how D...
Dec 12, 2023•1 hr 34 min
Quick note: Mike uploaded the wrong file and this is the Patreon episode we recorded way back in 2020. For giggles, let's leave it up. If you like what you’re listening to make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcast feeds. Please take a moment to rate and review us on the Apple Podcast app, or rate us on the Spotify app. Reviews and five star ratings help new listeners find us every day, and we greatly appreciate the feedback and support. Check out our website for easy access to our ful...
Dec 11, 2023•1 hr 32 min
It's the end of the world as we know it, and we feel fine. This week we're talking the Christmas-set 2021 British horror comedy Silent Night. When the Earth spits up a toxic gas that promises to wipe out humanity, a posh family and their closest friends and loved one gather at the family manor for one last holiday party before taking their suicide pills. Hijinks are sure to ensue, right? We were mixed on whether the comedy landed, but had a spirited discussion on the themes of class, privilege, ...
Dec 04, 2023•2 hr 2 min
Seasons Greetings everyone! We're taking a month off franchises and raising our glasses to toast some of our favorite one off holiday and Christmas inspired horror movies. Up first we have the black comedy "home invasion" thriller from Chris Peckover, Better Watch Out. This is one of the more divisive titles we covered as fans either love how it subverts the viewers expectations when it pulls the rug out from them at the end of the first act, or they can't stand Luke, the smiling, slimy central ...
Nov 27, 2023•2 hr
Happy Thanksgiving listeners. As a holiday bonus, we have a little treat. Mike sat down with Stephen Cognetti, writer and director of all the Hell House LLC films to talk about how the latest (Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor) came to be. We talk what it was like to step back into this world again after a few years off, the direction future installments might go, how it felt to leave the Abaddon hotel behind for an equally creepy location and just why those clowns are so damn scary. ...
Nov 23, 2023•42 min
This week we're back to talk about the brand new entry to the Hell House LLC series. Dropping just before Halloween on Shudder, "Origins: The Carmichael Manor" leaves the Abaddon Hotel behind for brand new story. This time we follow a true crime youtuber and her girlfriend as they try to unravel the mystery of what happened to the Carmichaels decades prior. Over the course of the tale we find out just how this seemingly unrelated murder mystery ties directly into the events of the first trilogy ...
Nov 20, 2023•1 hr 37 min
We're back with one last trip to SAW City to rank all ten entries in the franchise.
Nov 13, 2023•2 hr 17 min
