The HD Movie Podcast

Darren Gaskell
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Hayley Alice Roberts and Darren Gaskell take a look at cinema - any genre, any year, any quality, as long as they can have a bit of fun with it.

  1. 15H AGO

    Episode 185: K-Pop Demon Hunters

    Episode 185 of The HD Movie Podcast is here! Control those shoulders and relax on the couch (couch, couch) as Hayley Alice Roberts and Darren Gaskell talk about movies of any year, any genre and any quality. Although the podcast doesn't focus a lot on cultural phenomena, it's time to get a little out of the HDMP's comfort zone and it's our moment to take a look at K-POP DEMON HUNTERS! Unless you've been living under a rock you'll have at least heard of this animated film, which focuses on girl group Huntrix and their confrontation with a fresh new boy band who may be hiding something under their fan-friendly image. Will iconic pop stars Rumi, Mira and Zoey win over your hosts, even though neither of them is exactly this film's target audience? Regardless, there's a spot of impartial reviewing to be done, which leads to discussion - amongst other things - of the plot's satirical content, those catchy tunes, the PG-rated demon smackdowns and some side chat about anime in general. Who's golden? Mitch Bain, of course! He writes and performs the music you hear on this podcast and his tunes are better than anything the Saja Boys can come up with. You can find Mitch on Instagram if you look for "evertheoptimitch". You can follow and contact the Podcast on Facebook, X and Instagram by searching for "HDMoviePodcast". We're happy to hear from you. You can find the hosts on social media too! Hayley: @HayleyARoberts on X, hayleyaliceroberts on Instagram Darren: @darren_gaskell on X, darren_gaskell on Instagram, @darrengaskell.bsky.social on Bluesky and darren_gaskell on Threads We will not interrupt your snacking...

    33 min

  2. FEB 19

    Episode 184: VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL PART 2: My Bloody Valentine (2009)

    Episode 184 of The HD Movie Podcast is here! By now, you should expect Hayley Alice Roberts and Darren Gaskell to talk about at movies of any year, any genre and any quality and this episode is no different. We have extended the Valentine's season - our podcast, our rules - as we bring you the second instalment of our two-part Special. After the romance of 1981's MY BLOODY VALENTINE, it's time to get all warm and mushy once more but this time with 2009's MY BLOODY VALENTINE! Your hosts suit up, switch on their lamps and head to the remake mine with Patrick Lussier's take on the George Mihalka original. Darren and Hayley, having watched this movie in years past, now find it to be a different experience with 2026 eyes. There's plentiful gore being splattered around and a few nods to the original but, now in the director's chair, does the previous editor of a number of Wes Craven movies bring some of the maestro's verve to this genre piece? There are questions to be asked and some troubling issues to be discussed, including some of the least interesting folks involved in a toxic love triangle. Plus, Kerr Smith continues his "horrible bastard" cinematic character tour. Our podcast Valentine has not changed since last week - it's still Mitch Bain, writer and composer of the tunes on HDMP. You can find Mitch on Instagram if you look for "evertheoptimitch". You can follow and contact the Podcast on Facebook, X and Instagram by searching for "HDMoviePodcast". We're happy to hear from you. You can find the hosts on social media too! Hayley: @HayleyARoberts on X, hayleyaliceroberts on Instagram Darren: @darren_gaskell on X, darren_gaskell on Instagram, @darrengaskell.bsky.social on Bluesky and darren_gaskell on Threads Happy Extended (Bloody) Valentine's Day, listeners!

    53 min

  3. FEB 12

    Episode 183: VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL PART 1: My Bloody Valentine (1981)

    Episode 183 of The HD Movie Podcast is here! It's back for 2026 and, as always, Hayley Alice Roberts and Darren Gaskell will be taking a look at various movies of any year, any genre and any quality. It's time to get all romantic with the first of a two-part Valentine's Special and what could be more romantic than unfortunate Canadian folks getting their hearts ripped out in George Milhalka's MY BLOODY VALENTINE? A crazed miner seeks bloody revenge in an early 1980s slasher that incurred the wrath of the MPAA back in the day. As well as talking about the cuts made to the original theatrical release, your hosts reminisce about seeing an extended version at the Abertoir Horror Film Festival and just how much more gruesome those kill scenes are. There's also a discussion of the central love triangle, the different stylings inherent in a Canadian slasher flick, the tropes of the wider subgenre and much, much more besides. Our podcast Valentine is obviously the wonderful Mitch Bain, who writes and performs the music you hear on this episode and a whole load of the previous ones. You can find Mitch on Instagram if you look for "evertheoptimitch". You can follow and contact the Podcast on Facebook, X and Instagram by searching for "HDMoviePodcast". We're happy to hear from you. You can find the hosts on social media too! Hayley: @HayleyARoberts on X, hayleyaliceroberts on Instagram Darren: @darren_gaskell on X, darren_gaskell on Instagram, @darrengaskell.bsky.social on Bluesky and darren_gaskell on Threads Happy (Bloody) Valentine's Day, listeners!

    41 min

  4. 12/30/2025

    Episode 182: ...AND A PODDY NEW YEAR - New's Year Kiss

    Episode 182 of The HD Movie Podcast is here! Should auld acquaintance be forgot, don't panic because Hayley Alice Roberts and Darren Gaskell are in party mode and ready to take on a New Year-themed movie of any year, any genre and any quality. Our final episode of 2025 has your hosts looking at 2019's NEW YEAR'S KISS, which sees the podcast back in Hallmark-esque territory. A hotshot ad executive and a hotshot, er, accountant are meant for each other but will they ever meet? Santa is trying to make it happen but he doesn't seem to be trying particularly hard... Your hosts dive in to a film which has "New Year" in the title but seems to be somewhat short in New Year content. There's also the constant background music to contend with, a lot of supposed zingers which aren't, a bunch of supporting characters suddenly appearing in the final act and one of the most annoying Santas in cinematic history. Cheers! Let's raise a glass to Mitch Bain, who writes and performs this podcast's top tuneage, which is not irritating in the slightest. You can find Mitch on Instagram if you look for "evertheoptimitch". You can follow and contact the Podcast on Facebook, X and Instagram by searching for "HDMoviePodcast". We're happy to hear from you. You can find the hosts on social media too! Hayley: @HayleyARoberts on X, hayleyaliceroberts on Instagram Darren: @darren_gaskell on X, darren_gaskell on Instagram, @darrengaskell.bsky.social on Bluesky and darren_gaskell on Threads Happy New Year to all of our listeners and we will return in 2026!

    42 min

  5. 12/23/2025

    Episode 181: A VERY MERRY PODMAS... - Jack Frost (1997) and Jack Frost (1998)

    *** WARNING: This episode contains a brief discussion of a scene of sexual violence *** Episode 181 of The HD Movie Podcast is here! Deck the halls with boughs of holly because Hayley Alice Roberts and Darren Gaskell are in festive mood and ready to talk about Xmas movies of any year, any genre and any quality. We haven't been able to do a run of Christmas content this time around so we're bringing you two movies for this Yuletide episode, both released in consecutive years and both with exactly the same title. First up, it's 1997's comedy horror JACK FROST, then it's 1998's family friendly JACK FROST! Both of them have snowmen coming to life but the titular character goes about their business in very different ways depending on the film. Your hosts discover that the two movies have a little more in common than you would think, particularly in their uncanny renditions of a walking, talking snowman and some weird plot developments. There's also vastly differing approaches to the special effects involved in both titles and the odd subversion of tropes in otherwise predictable surroundings. One of our snowmen also has more than a look of a Hollywood superstar and you'll never get it out of your head once you know. Does this holiday double bill end up being "ho ho ho" or "no no no"? If Santa is checking a list for who's naughty or nice, then someone definitely on the "nice" list is Mitch Bain, who writes and performs the music featured in this podcast. You can find Mitch on Instagram if you look for "evertheoptimitch". You can follow and contact the Podcast on Facebook, X and Instagram by searching for "HDMoviePodcast". We're happy to hear from you. You can find the hosts on social media too! Hayley: @HayleyARoberts on X, hayleyaliceroberts on Instagram Darren: @darren_gaskell on X, darren_gaskell on Instagram, @darrengaskell.bsky.social on Bluesky and darren_gaskell on Threads A very Merry Christmas to all of our listeners!

    1h 12m

  6. 10/30/2025

    Episode 180: Our Favourite Scary Movie Characters

    Episode 180 of The HD Movie Podcast is here! Hayley Alice Roberts and Darren Gaskell are in Halloween mode and ready to talk about movies of any year, any genre and any quality... ...except there's a bit of a change for this episode. It's a bumper Halloween Special in which your hosts list fifteen of their favourite scary movie characters down the ages - actually, sixteen to be precise as one of our stop offs features a dynamic duo. We start off way back in the 1920s and end with a soon to be genre icon from 2025! There's also discussion as to why these characters are such landmarks in filmic fear. Other than that, we don't want to give away too much. One of our favourite non-scary folks is, of course, Mitch Bain. He's a top writer and performer of great tunes, including those for this very podcast, and you can find Mitch on Instagram if you look for "evertheoptimitch". You can follow and contact the Podcast on Facebook, X and Instagram by searching for "HDMoviePodcast". We're happy to hear from you. You can find the hosts on social media too! Hayley: @HayleyARoberts on X, hayleyaliceroberts on Instagram Darren: @darren_gaskell on X, darren_gaskell on Instagram, @darrengaskell.bsky.social on Bluesky and darren_gaskell on Threads Happy Halloween, lovely listeners!

    1h 43m

  7. 08/28/2025

    Episode 179: Summer Of Screams #7 - I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer

    Episode 179 of The HD Movie Podcast is here! Hayley Alice Roberts and Darren Gaskell don't always know what you did last summer but they know that last summer they covered films of any genre, any year and any quality. Mostly shark ones. The Summer Of Screams miniseries comes to a close as your hosts round off the coverage of a certain franchise with I'LL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER! None of the original cast returned for this 2006 entry, which follows a new group of characters in a new location. There's also a new accident which triggers the ensuing, bloody mayhem, so is there a new killer? Well... Hayley and Darren didn't like this on first watch and were wondering about including this title at all in Summer Of Screams, so did their late inclusion of this one result in an improved opinion of the film? Not really but the discussion was pretty lively. There's talk of a troubled production which makes various attempts to invoke the spirit of the original and doesn't succeed much of the time. Also, there's a technical term for the ropey picture quality, a two word summary of the film and growing annoyance on Hayley's part at the performances, dialogue and *that* decision about the identity of the killer. You want some killer tunes? Look no further than Mitch Bain. You all know it by now - he writes and performs the music you hear on the podcast and you can find him on Instagram if you look for "evertheoptimitch". You can follow and contact the Podcast on Facebook, X and Instagram by searching for "HDMoviePodcast". We're happy to hear from you. You can find the hosts on social media too! Hayley: @HayleyARoberts on X, hayleyaliceroberts on Instagram Darren: @darren_gaskell on X, darren_gaskell on Instagram, @darrengaskell.bsky.social on Bluesky and darren_gaskell on Threads "Can a movie really be this bad?"

    35 min

  8. 08/21/2025

    Episode 178: Summer Of Screams #6 - The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

    *** WARNING: This episode contains occasional graphic descriptions of certain incidents which take place in The Hills Have Eyes *** Episode 178 of The HD Movie Podcast is here! When Hayley Alice Roberts and Darren Gaskell aren't spying on unsuspecting families in the desert*, they're here to cover movies of any year, any genre and any quality. This week, your hosts cover THE HILLS HAVE EYES but it's not the 1977 one, it's the 2006 remake which was produced rather than directed by Wes Craven. They also talk about the 1977 movie but most of the focus is on the 2006 version. They also talk about both of the sequels and risk a whole load of confusion.  There's discussions about the similarities and differences between the two films, including a discussion of how each film handles its portrayal of some fairly shocking violence. Hayley and Darren also chat about the remake's unsympathetic attitude to certain characters, even if they're played by well known actors, plus a quick look at the R-rated and unrated versions of the movie and a digression into new (at the time) French extreme cinema and what the best Alexandre Aja double bill might be (Hayley's suggestion is much better than Darren's more doom-laden choice). Mitch Bain is a true original and there's no need to remake him at all. He writes and performs the music you hear on the podcast and you can find him on Instagram if you look for "evertheoptimitch". You can follow and contact the Podcast on Facebook, X and Instagram by searching for "HDMoviePodcast". We're happy to hear from you. You can find the hosts on social media too! Hayley: @HayleyARoberts on X, hayleyaliceroberts on Instagram Darren: @darren_gaskell on X, darren_gaskell on Instagram, @darrengaskell.bsky.social on Bluesky and darren_gaskell on Threads *Hayley and Darren do NOT spy on unsuspecting families in the desert

    45 min
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About

Hayley Alice Roberts and Darren Gaskell take a look at cinema - any genre, any year, any quality, as long as they can have a bit of fun with it.

Information

  • Creator
    Darren Gaskell
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2020 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The HD Movie Podcast