Saturday Night Freak Show

Michaela's chases her Cannon Films fixation directly into a chainsaw duel against The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986). It's 13 years later and the cannibalistic clan of psychos prowl the back roads of Texas, selling their own brand of BBQ and stalking a radio DJ while a vengeful ex-Texas Ranger named "Lefty" pursues them in order to meet out his own brand of justice. Listen as we ponder the cultural significance of the official sequel to one of the greatest horror films of all time, bask in awe and wonder at Bill Mosely's Chop-Top character, and try to kill the composer to one of the worst movie scores ever recorded on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sean gives up on life and happiness by subjecting himself and to the Italian-made Aliens/Terminator ripoff Shocking Dark (1989). Borrowing so liberally from James Cameron's films as so we're sure there was a lawsuit involved, a group of soldiers get trapped in a tunnel underneath futuristic Venice where slimy creatures are out to get them. And, there might be a Terminator. And time travel, too. Listen as we analyze the new Halloween trailer! But first, you have to listen to us talk about Italian rip-off artists and the films they've made, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin celebrates the 30th anniversary of the practical effects monster movie The Blob (1988). A meteor falls to earth carrying a sentient, gooey substance that grows larger by absorbing living organisms and soon grows large enough to threaten a small town. Only The Lesser Dillon and that girl from the Saw movies stand between humanity and a killer glob of alien goo in this sci-fi remake of the 50's classic. Listen as we talk about remakes, practical effects magic, and mullets on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela finds the soul for getting down to Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984) a Cannon-produced cash-grab sequel with one of the most memorable titles in all of filmdom. In this musical adventure, our heroes Special K, Ozone and Turbo find that an evil corporate developer wants to install a shopping mall (gasp!) on the site of their community performance hall. What can be done to save the day? Put on a dance show, of course! Listen as we begin 2018's Summer of Cannon with our own sequel show of sorts; invent a movie called Turntable Time Machine; and Sean nearly passes out from a summer cold, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly is pretty sure the makers of Samurai Cop (1991) don't know anything about samurai, police procedure or the fundamentals of filmmaking. In a film that's become a cult classic because of its enthusiastic ineptitude, man-of-action and chick-magnet L.A. cop Joe "Samurai" Marshall becomes the target of the Japanese mob and leaves a trail of bodies across the city on a crusade to wipe out "drugs and destruction". Listen as we marvel at the lack of samurai cops, badly staged chase scenes, cheap production value, corny dialogue, and paper-mache lion head trophies on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sean begins to think that tiny, ear-burrowing aliens are taking over the world in The Faculty (1998), as director Robert Rodriguez assembles a who's-who of 1990's screen talent to perform in Scream-writer Kevin Williamson's mashup of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Thing. Listen as we bring in a real-life teacher to confirm or deny the accuracy of onscreen events, talk about alien invasion movies, the curse of indie cinema directors, 90's wallpaper soundtracks and more on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin breaks his Bowie knife, explosive tipped arrowheads, and red bandanna out of mothballs in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Rambo III (1988). This time, Rambo has to go bail Colonel Trautman out of a Soviet jail in Afghanistan and along the way he blows stuff up so much he sets the silver screen on fire! Listen as we talk at length about shearing sheep, the tipping point of 80's action movies, Rambomania, and more on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela keeps one eye on the clock all through In Time (2011), a futuristic sci-fi yarn in which time has replaced money as the world's currency. Justin Timberlake finds he has all the time he needs once he's gifted 100 years by a random stranger. Soon, he's watching his time tick away while on the run from the Time Keepers as he tries to punch the clock of the rich and powerful masters of society. Listen as we declare "it's about time someone made Justin Timberlake an action hero!", debate the mechanics of how the movie's central premise actually works, and do our best to explore the film's subtext on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly discovers where the wild things are when ventures into the jungle to watch The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), the legendary Hollywood debacle that featured the combustible on-screen pairing of egomaniacs Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer, and obliterated the career of earnest-but-in-over-his-head director Richard Stanley. Listen as we try to determine why it's taken so long for us to review the movie, talk about the tortured behind the scenes chaos, and wonder aloud why Marlon Brando is considered one of the movies' greatest actors. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sean sees a need for law enforcement to police renegade Roombas in Runaway (1984), a what-if futuristic scenario from writer/director Michael Crichton that finds domestic robots turned homicidal killers. TV's Magnum P.I. Tom Selleck leads the charge against evil chip manufacturer Gene Simmons, who does look very sinister in a suit and tie. Listen as we dog on the movie for where its future technological prognostications went wrong, recall the dread of being called on in class, and we pledge to mindwipe Howard the Duck from the collective memory, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin doubts interspecies fishsex is anything but gross after watching Humanoids from the Deep (1980), a Roger Corman-produced schlockfest in which mutant fishmen attack a small seaside community to kill the men and rape the women in an attempt to further their biological evolution. Listen as we dive deep into the flipside of the Shape of Water and say NO to merman intercourse while finding joy in rubber monster suits, splattery gore, and find time to name our celebrity crushes, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela remembers what it was like to be a teen girl in the 90's when she catches Fear (1997). Cute-as-a-button Reese Witherspoon falls in love with unhinged sociopath Mark Wahlberg who displays increasingly aggressive behavior until her father (William Petersen) gets into the mix, triggering a violent showdown between her family and Wahlberg's gang of thugs. Listen as we talk a walk on the wildside with the Funky Bunch and decide Wahlberg's definitely not giving off good vibrations in this coming-of-age home invasion thriller by way of a gender-flipped Fatal Attraction. All aboard! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly ventures deep into the Amazon and gets wrapped up in the giant snake movie Anaconda (1997)! Jennifer Lopez and company set sail down the river and pick up Great Snake Hunter Jon Voight who proceeds to imperil the crew and chew scenery in his search for the biggest snake that ever lived. Listen as we take the wayback machine to the glory days of big budget, big studio creature features and face off against an animatronic snake and his CGI stunt double on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sean is heaven-sent and hell on wheels after choosing to watch The Wraith (1986)! A murdered teen exacts revenge from beyond the grave on the street-racing gang who killed him after the netherworld outfits him with a sleek black racing suit and a Dodge Interceptor. Listen as we take a look back at one of the 80's-iest of 80's movies, fawn over the rock n' roll soundtrack, explosions, drag racing, and ghosts on this week's exciting show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin introduces the Freak Show crew to their first proper Chuck Norris movie, The Delta Force (1986). Norris teams up with tough guy Lee Marvin in Cannon Films' "this is how it should have ended" re-staging of the 1985 hijacking of TWA 847, only this time climaxing with America's decisive and explosive victory at the hands of the steely-eyed, quick-footed Chuckster and Co. Listen as we discuss terrorism-themed movies in a post-911 world, try to fathom the cult of personality that surrounds Chuck Norris, and Colin tells way too many Chuck Norris jokes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela finds that spending time watching Nicholas Cage movies makes her want to Drive Angry (2011)! Cage stars as a dead man who breaks out of Hell to pursue the cultists on Earth who have abducted, and plan to sacrifice, his granddaughter to Satan -- and to do that he's gonna need muscle cars, supernatural shotguns and Amber Heard. Listen as we discus improbable hairstyles, battle sex, and 3D eye-poking mayhem on this week's exciting show!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly discovers that terror can come in any shape after watching Sphere (1998), an attempt by Hollywood's A-list to imbue geometric shapes with unworldly menace. After discovering an alien craft at the bottom of the ocean, the Navy recruits Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone and Samuel Jackson to investigate. Once in the murky depths, paranoia, hallucinations and death take hold. Listen as we try not to lose our own minds as we experience the Sphere-effect of retrograde amnesia while watching the movie, discuss other (better) aquatic sci-fi movies, and generally try to keep ourselves from dying of boredom on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin discovers that in Yor's world, he's the man, as we grovel before Yor: The Hunter from the Future (1983) in which we follow our musclebound hero (Reb Brown, TV's original Captain America) on a sword and sorcery quest to rescue fair maidens, defeat hideous beasts, and ultimately discover the mysterious origin of his people. Listen as we discover there's no bad movie magic like that of bad Italian movies; discuss the pros and cons of using action figures as your stunt performers; and, bemoan and the absolute disservice the Razzies awarded to Yor's epic theme song; all that and more on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela discovers that neither by hook nor by crook can she get rid of The Babadook (2014). A troubled youngster and his widowed mother find themselves pushed to the breaking point when a sinister pop-up storybook appears in their home, heralding the arrival of a malevolent spirit. Listen as we discus the critical vs audience reactions to the movie, what the Sundance hype train means for horror movies, and deep dive into the meaning behind the titular monster on this week's illuminating episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly suggests a better sacrifice to The Wicker Man (2006) might be the film itself, as the often-imitated-but-never-duplicated screen icon Nicholas Cage finds himself alone on an island populated by an all-female pagan cult; he thinks he's there to rescue a young girl from becoming a sacrificial victim but, well, you've seen the "not the bees!" memes. Listen as we are denied our moment of ultimate satisfaction by watching the theatrical cut instead of the unrated version; compare the film to the 1973 original classic; Sean gets a brain cramp; and Holly mistakes director Neil LaBute for 90's pop stars La Bouche, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.