Grave Tone: Horror Podcast

Grave Tone
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Grave Tone is a horror podcast covering the genre across books, film, TV, and games. From cult classics to fresh nightmares, we dig into the stories that scare us — and why we can’t stop coming back for more. Whether it’s a blood-soaked slasher, a slow-burn psychological thriller, or the horror novel everyone’s talking about, we cover it all. If it bleeds, reads, streams, or screams… it’s on Grave Tone.

  1. Obsession Review: The Best Horror Movie of 2026 Just Arrived

    4D AGO

    Obsession Review: The Best Horror Movie of 2026 Just Arrived

    Obsession (2026) review: Curry Barker's horror film is terrifying, hilarious, and emotionally devastating. We rate it 9.5/10. Arthur and Meaghan review Obsession, the new supernatural horror from 26-year-old writer/director Curry Barker. We break down Inde Navarrette's award-worthy performance as Nikki, the be-careful-what-you-wish-for premise powered by the One Wish Willow, Barker's rise from YouTube comedy (That's a Bad Idea, Milk & Serial) to a Focus Features horror classic, and why this might be the best horror movie of 2026. We cover the cast (Michael Johnston, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter), the TIFF premiere and $15M bidding war, comparisons to Get Out and Talk to Me, the comedy-to-horror pipeline, toxic relationship horror, and every scene that had our hands sweating. Discussed in this episode: Obsession (2026): The Horror Event of the Year      Written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker; produced by Blumhouse, Tea Shop Productions, Capstone Studios; distributed by Focus Features      Premiered at TIFF 2025 (Midnight Madness); screened at SXSW 2026; theatrical release May 15, 2026      Currently holds 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and 83 on Metacritic; sold to Focus Features for over $15 million after a 24-hour bidding war involving A24 and Neon      We rate Obsession 9.5 out of 10 digs; one of the highest scores we've ever given on the podcast Curry Barker: The Comedy-to-Horror Pipeline      Co-creator of YouTube comedy channel That's a Bad Idea with Cooper Tomlinson; rose to viral fame with the $800-budget short film Milk & Serial (2024), which hit 2.3 million views on YouTube [LINK: Milk & Serial on YouTube]      Follows the comedy-to-horror trajectory of Jordan Peele (Get Out), Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Weapons), and the Philippou brothers (Talk to Me)      Next project: Anything But Ghosts (Focus Features) starring Aaron Paul, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Violet McGraw; also attached to write and direct a new Texas Chain Saw Massacre    The Cast: An Ensemble That Hits Every Note      Michael Johnston (Teen Wolf) as Bear (Baron); a performance that keeps you locked into his guilt and desperation the entire runtime      Inde Navarrette (Superman & Lois) as Nikki Freeman; a star-making, award-worthy turn that shifts from charming to demonic in a heartbeat; comparisons to Mia Goth in Pearl [LINK: Inde Navarrette Interview Magazine profile]      Cooper Tomlinson as Ian, Megan Lawless as Sarah, Andy Richter (Conan) as Carter; the friend group chemistry feels genuinely lived-in    Be Careful What You Wish For: The Horror of the One Wish Willow      Premise rooted in the monkey's paw trope; Barker cites The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror as direct inspiration      Bear's wish ("I wish for her to love me more than anyone in the world") triggers a supernatural curse that strips Nikki of her autonomy and replaces her with something terrifying      Comparisons to Get Out (the sunken place), Black Mirror, Bedazzled, and Fatal Attraction    Psychological Horror and Toxic Relationship Themes      Obsession explores infatuation versus love, codependence, unrequited feelings, and what it means to remove someone's agency for your own comfort      Bear's natural chemistry with Sarah's character highlights how forced and artificial his "relationship" with cursed Nikki really is      The customer support hotline scene condenses everything great about the movie into two minutes: comedy, horror, and devastating emotional stakes all at once    Standout Moments and Horror Craft      The corner scene: Nikki standing in the dark at 3 AM with a slow, jerky shuffle; the entire theater shifted in discomfort      The duct tape door and lingering Smile-like grin; the demon-eye lighting at the front door; practical effects and a head-smashing scene that was trimmed to avoid an NC-17 rating      Barker's editing instincts: knowing when to ramp intensity and when to pull back for quieter character moments is remarkable for a filmmaker this young Follow us & Subscribe: SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    44 min
  2. At the Place of Ghosts Review: TIFF Standout Finally Hits Theatres

    MAY 8

    At the Place of Ghosts Review: TIFF Standout Finally Hits Theatres

    At the Place of Ghosts is the kind of film that stays with you long after the credits. Bretten Hannam's Mi'kmaq supernatural thriller follows two estranged brothers, Mise'l and Antle, who are forced back together when a malevolent spirit from their shared childhood begins poisoning them from the inside out. Their only option: enter Sk+te'kmujue'katik, the Place of Ghosts, a forest where time folds on itself and the living walk alongside ancestors, future selves, and the traumas they tried to leave behind. Arthur and Meaghan break down everything that makes this Canadian indigenous horror film work so well; the nonlinear storytelling that never loses you, the stunning Nova Scotia cinematography by Guy Godfree, the powerhouse performances from Forrest Goodluck and Blake Alec Miranda, and the way the film explores generational trauma, queerness, two-spirit identity, and Mi'kmaq culture without ever shoving it in your face. Premiering at TIFF 2025 and now hitting Canadian theatres on May 8, 2026 via VVS Films, this is a slow burn supernatural drama wrapped in a ghost story wrapped back into a drama again. Meaghan goes 9/10. Arthur's at a solid 8. Neither of them can find much to complain about, and honestly that almost never happens. In this episode, we cover: • Why the nonlinear storytelling actually works • The film's exploration of generational trauma and two-spirit identity • Stunning cinematography and the technical achievement of shooting in remote forests • How this compares to the current wave of indigenous horror • Red Dress Day, Moose Hide Campaign Day, and indigenous heritage resources • Book recommendations: Highway of Tears, Five Little Indians, Bad Cree, Never Whistle at Night At the Place of Ghosts releases in Canadian theatres May 8, 2026.   About the Film At the Place of Ghosts (Sk+te'kmujue'katik) directed and written by Bretten Hannam; a Canada/Belgium co-production Starring Forrest Goodluck as Antle, Blake Alec Miranda as Mise'l, and Glen Gould as their father Cinematography by Guy Godfree; score by Jeremy Dutcher World premiere at TIFF 2025 (Platform Prize program); Canadian theatrical release May 8, 2026 via VVS Films Hannam's previous feature: Wildhood (2021), also exploring indigenous identity and brotherhood Mi'kmaq Culture, Two-Spirit Identity, and Generational Trauma The Mi'kmaq are indigenous peoples primarily residing in Atlantic Canada (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador) and parts of Maine The film features dialogue in both English and the Mi'kmaq language Exploration of two-spirit identity and gender fluidity within indigenous communities The impact of residential schools and colonialism on generational trauma, identity, and family dynamics Indigenous Heritage Days and Resources Red Dress Day (May 5): Commemorating missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people; originated from a 2010 art installation by Métis artist Jamie Black [LINK: Amnesty International MMIWG resources] Moose Hide Campaign Day (May 14): Grassroots movement engaging men and boys to end violence against indigenous women and children [LINK: moosehidecampaign.ca] National Day of Truth and Reconciliation (September 30): Also known as Orange Shirt Day Indigenous Literature Recommendations Highway of Tears by Jessica McDiarmid; nonfiction investigating missing and murdered indigenous women along Highway 16 in BC Five Little Indians by Michelle Good; fiction based on real events about children escaping the residential school system Bad Cree by Jessica Johns; supernatural indigenous horror novel Never Whistle at Night edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.; bestselling indigenous dark fiction anthology. Sequel (Back for Blood) coming August 2026 What's Next Next week: Obsession by Curry Barker (in theatres May 15). Barker recently tapped to direct A24's Texas Chainsaw Massacre reimagining Follow us & Subscribe: SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    51 min
  3. Annie Neugebauer Talks The Extra, The Other, and Horror That Won't Let Go

    MAY 5

    Annie Neugebauer Talks The Extra, The Other, and Horror That Won't Let Go

    Annie Neugebauer is a two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated horror author, and her work gets under your skin the way only the best psychological horror can. In this interview, we sit down with Annie to talk about The Outsiders Sequence, her series of wilderness horror novellas published through Shortwave Publishing, including her debut novella The Extra and the upcoming follow-up The Other, dropping June 9, 2026. We get into the big questions: what draws a writer to horror fiction in the first place, and why does the genre still carry a stigma when books like Interview with the Vampire and The Shining have been proving otherwise for decades? Annie talks about the power of mundane horror, how grounding a story in everyday life lets it slip past the reader's defenses, and why short fiction gives horror writers the freedom to take risks that longer formats don't always allow. We also dig into the concept Annie calls the "force field" in horror storytelling: the mechanism every horror writer needs to keep characters trapped in the story. From Stephen King's The Tommyknockers to Cabin in the Woods, and the very real problem that cell phones created for the genre (R.L. Stine agrees, by the way), this conversation covers the craft of building dread in a modern world that makes isolation harder and harder to pull off. Annie shares the books that stuck with her the most, from A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay to Broken Harbor by Tana French, and we play a round of horror survival scenarios that tells you everything you need to know about her relationship with the genre. She also teases two major unannounced projects that she describes as "dream come true level." Whether you read literary horror for the slow-burn dread or just want a good popcorn scare, this one is for you. Annie Neugebauer: Horror Author and The Outsiders Sequence Annie Neugebauer is a two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated short story author, nationally award-winning poet, and horror novelist Her debut novella The Extra is the first book in The Outsiders Sequence, published by Shortwave Publishing; her short story collection You Have to Let Them Bleed is from Bad Hand Books The Other (Outsiders Sequence #2) drops June 9, 2026; a couple meets their doppelgangers on a hiking trail; The Spare follows in spring 2027 Annie teases two major unannounced projects described as "dream come true level" — follow her at [LINK: annieneugebauer.com] and @AnnieNeugebauer on Instagram Literary Horror vs. Popcorn Horror: The Case for Both Annie makes the case that literary horror and commercial horror both have value; sometimes you need popcorn, sometimes you need to be challenged The conversation covers how Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire was proof that horror can do "important things and deep things and powerful things" Discussion of Ari Aster films (Midsommar, Hereditary) vs. franchise horror like The Conjuring and what each gives the audience Mundane Horror and the Art of Slow-Burn Dread Annie's approach to mundane horror: grounding stories in real life to get under the reader's defenses before the horror fully lands The horror that stays with you; Annie's "stuck in me" criterion for what separates good horror from unforgettable horror Books that achieved this: A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay, Broken Harbor by Tana French, The Shining, Salem's Lot, Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman The Force Field Problem and Cell Phones in Modern Horror Annie's concept of the "force field" in horror: every story needs a mechanism to trap characters in the situation From Stephen King's The Tommyknockers to Cabin in the Woods: literal and metaphorical containment strategies R.L. Stine recently called cell phones the worst thing to happen for horror, and Annie agrees; wilderness settings provide a natural force field for modern horror Short Fiction vs. Novels: Different Beasts, Same Genre Annie writes everything from poems to epic novels, but short fiction lets her take risks with faster reader buy-in The practical side: publishers can gamble on an unknown short story author in an anthology more easily than on a 120,000-word debut novel How The Outsiders Sequence evolved: each novella can stand alone but connects through a shared world; editor Alan Lastufka accidentally planted the seed for the series Horror Survival Scenarios and Childhood Scares Annie plays a round of horror survival scenarios: would survive the Overlook Hotel, would lose her psyche at Hill House, would make it decently far in Cabin in the Woods, and accepts her fate in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery Childhood horror confessions: Annie was deeply traumatized by both Anaconda and E.T. as a kid (the stuffed animal scene especially) Discussion of horror in the school curriculum: Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from seventh grade through high school Follow us & Subscribe: SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    51 min
  4. Hokum Review: Damian McCarthy's Best Horror Movie Yet?

    MAY 1

    Hokum Review: Damian McCarthy's Best Horror Movie Yet?

    Hokum review: Damian McCarthy's new horror movie is a near-perfect Irish folk horror film starring Adam Scott. We break down everything. Hokum just dropped, and we had to talk about it immediately. Damian McCarthy, the director behind Oddity and Caveat, delivered something special here. Adam Scott plays Ohm Bauman, a horror writer who checks into a remote Irish hotel to scatter his parents' ashes and ends up locked in a haunted honeymoon suite with a witch, a missing woman, and a conspiracy that's entirely human. This is a full spoiler review (with a warning before we get into it). We cover Adam Scott's performance, McCarthy's visual style, the incredible use of lighting and sound design, comparisons to Stephen King's 1408 and The Shining, and why this might be one of the best horror movies of 2026.   DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Hokum (2026) — Dir. Damian McCarthy — Neon Cast: Adam Scott, David Wilmot, Peter Coonan, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, Will O'Connell Also referenced: Oddity, Caveat, Severance, 1408, Secret Window, The Shining, Amnesia: The Dark Descent   Hokum: The Movie and Why It Works Damian McCarthy's third feature after Caveat (2020) and Oddity (2024); currently sitting at 90% on Rotten Tomatoes Adam Scott stars as Ohm Bauman, a reclusive horror novelist who checks into a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents' ashes Folk horror meets haunted hotel; supernatural elements wrap a deeply human story about grief, guilt, and who the real villains are Distributed by Neon; premiered at SXSW in March 2026; theatrical release May 1, 2026 The Cast of Hokum: Who's Who at the Bilberry Woods Hotel Adam Scott as Ohm Bauman; David Wilmot as Jerry (you'll love him); Peter Coonan as Mal Florence Ordesh as Fiona the bartender; Michael Patric as Fergal the groundskeeper; Will O'Connell as Alby the bellhop Adam Scott watched Oddity, got obsessed, and essentially cast himself by cold-contacting McCarthy directly Damian McCarthy: From Electrician to Horror Auteur McCarthy was a working electrician in West Cork while making micro-budget shorts on weekends After festival rejections, he uploaded "He Dies at the End" to YouTube; it went viral and launched his career The character name "Ohm" is a nod to the electrical unit of resistance (and to McCarthy's own resistance to returning to that career) McCarthy edited Oddity himself on weekends over eighteen months; had an early draft of Hokum in the drawer the whole time Atmosphere and Visual Style: Horror in the Dark Cinematographer Colm Hogan returns from Oddity; heavy use of natural light, oil lanterns, and oppressive shadow The lighting doubles as character work: Ohm's darkness is literal and metaphorical from the opening scene Comparisons to Amnesia: The Dark Descent for the lantern-only exploration sequences Stephen King Vibes and Genre Comparisons Strong parallels to 1408 (grumpy writer, haunted hotel room), Secret Window (writer psychology), and The Shining (isolated hotel) McCarthy's recurring device: objects from previous films appear (Caveat's bunny in Oddity; Oddity's bell in Hokum) The film's title itself means "nonsense" — reflecting how the characters (and maybe the audience) first treat the witch folklore Coming Up on Grave Tone Interview with horror author Annie Nugabauer on her upcoming projects Interview with Rye Barrett (Johnny in In a Violent Nature) on the sequel and the Canadian horror scene May 2026 horror slate: Obsession, Saccharine, Corporate Retreat, Passenger, Backrooms, Pitfall Follow us & Subscribe: SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    47 min
  5. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) Traumatized Us, Here's Why

    APR 24

    I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) Traumatized Us, Here's Why

    I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) revisited — the post-Scream slasher that traumatized a generation. Full review and breakdown. The Childhood Trauma series is back on Grave Tone Podcast. Megan was nine years old when this movie shut her down, and we're going back to figure out exactly why. Wild production history, the convoluted plot decoded, and an honest look at whether this Kevin Williamson slasher holds up against Scream almost 30 years later. We cover the cast that was almost completely different (Reese Witherspoon, Jeremy Sisto), the reshoot that accidentally created the best jump scare in the movie, Sarah Michelle Gellar's hundred-splinter nightmare, and the original ending that was so bad Jim Gillespie sabotaged it on purpose. Plus Megan's full story of being terrified in a creaky basement at age nine. Featuring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Freddie Prinze Jr., Kevin Williamson, Lois Duncan, the 2025 requel, and the state of the slasher revival in 2026. Follow us & Subscribe: SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website Production History & Behind the Scenes ▸ I Know What You Did Last Summer hit theaters October 17, 1997, less than a year after Scream cracked open the slasher market ▸ Budget: $17 million; worldwide gross: $125 million (7.4x return) — held #1 for three consecutive weekends including Halloween ▸ Kevin Williamson wrote the screenplay before Scream but couldn't get it greenlit until Columbia reversed course after Scream's success ▸ Shot primarily in Southport, North Carolina; opening sequence filmed in Sonoma County, California The Cast That Almost Wasn't ▸ Reese Witherspoon passed on Julie James; Jennifer Love Hewitt originally auditioned for Helen, switched mid-read ▸ Ryan Phillippe landed Barry after Witherspoon recommended him (they were dating at the time) ▸ Sarah Michelle Gellar was cast two weeks before shooting based on the unreleased Buffy pilot ▸ Freddie Prinze Jr. lost the Billy Loomis role in Scream to Skeet Ulrich, auditioned four or five times for Ray, almost quit after a stunt went wrong ▸ Gellar and Prinze Jr. met on this film and never share a single line of dialogue with each other Megan's Childhood Trauma: The Full Story ▸ Nine years old, newly moved into a creaky 1960s bungalow, watching alone in the basement on VHS rental ▸ The Helen chase sequence through the family store combined with unfamiliar house noises created real panic ▸ Had to stop the movie; didn't finish it for two years ▸ Revisiting it now: nostalgia carries the film more than genuine scares, but the jump scares remain effective Script, Plot Structure & the Scream Comparison ▸ Adapted from Lois Duncan's 1973 YA suspense novel [LINK: I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan] ▸ Duncan was critical of the slasher adaptation; the novel features no deaths and focuses on psychological trauma ▸ The Ben Willis / David Egan backstory creates a convoluted puzzle that the film doesn't fully explain on screen ▸ Johnny Galecki's character Max was reshot as a kill to solve a 35-minute pacing gap with no deaths ▸ Original ending (Julie gets an email) was deliberately shot poorly by director Jim Gillespie to force a reshoot The I Know What You Did Last Summer Franchise in 2026 ▸ The 2025 requel brings back Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. alongside a new cast led by Madelyn Cline ▸ In a Violent Nature 2 starring Ry Barrett is in post-production for a 2026 release ▸ Scream 7, also written by Kevin Williamson, continues the 90s slasher franchise revival trend ▸ The broader slasher revival reflects audience fatigue with "elevated horror" and a hunger for visceral, nostalgic genre thrills See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Follow us & Subscribe: SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    57 min
  6. Lee Cronin's The Mummy Review: Is Blumhouse's R-Rated Reboot Actually An Evil Dead Movie?

    APR 17

    Lee Cronin's The Mummy Review: Is Blumhouse's R-Rated Reboot Actually An Evil Dead Movie?

    Lee Cronin's The Mummy review, Blumhouse's R-rated possession horror reviewed, with full spoilers, ending explained, and a spoiler breakdown of what actually happens to Katie Cannon. Arthur and Meaghan sit down to review Lee Cronin's The Mummy (2026), the Blumhouse and Atomic Monster reimagining from the director of Evil Dead Rise. Starring Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, Shylo Molina, Billie Roy and Verónica Falcón, this is not a Brendan Fraser sequel; it's something much gnarlier. We cover first impressions, where the tone breaks down, the wheelchair scene everyone's talking about, the viral May Calamawy wound-prosthetic premiere moment, Natalie Grace's incredible physical performance, and a full spoiler breakdown of the demon, the Magician, the possession, and the ending. Plus Meaghan's Frédéric Bourdin impostor-case spiral, why this feels more like Evil Dead with a mummy filter, and a look ahead at Evil Dead Burn (July 2026), Brendan Fraser's Mummy 4, and Mārama. ⚠ Full spoilers begin around the 22:00 mark. What we're reviewing Lee Cronin's The Mummy (2026) — directed and written by Lee Cronin, released April 17 by Warner Bros. PicturesProduced by Jason Blum (Blumhouse) and James Wan (Atomic Monster) with Cronin's Wicked/Good (formerly Doppelgängers)Rated R, a standalone reimagining (explicitly not connected to the Brendan Fraser films or Universal's 2017 Dark Universe attempt) What worked The mummy design itself — wrappings as skin, a containment spell written on the underside, genuinely unsettling every time she's on cameraNatalie Grace's physical performance (a 22-year-old actress playing a mummified, demon-possessed child)Practical effects across the board — prosthetics designed by Arjen Tuiten, gore work that went viral when May Calamawy wore a wound prosthetic to the April 9 LA premiere and the clip pulled 20 million viewsSound design — teeth-tapping, shifts in chairs, small details that amplify every serious momentThe house itself — secluded, colonial, almost a character in its own rightThe kid actors, consistently (Cronin proved this in Evil Dead Rise too)What didn't The wheelchair-up-the-stairs scene (goes on for almost two minutes, never explains why no one just carries the chair)Unwanted camp — the little girl pulling out her teeth and inserting Abuela's dentures is supposed to be unsettling, lands as funnySilly musical cues dropped on top of brutal deathsThe split-diopter shot is used so often it stops being an effect and starts being a distractionThe Egypt setting feels shoehorned in once the film relocates to New Mexico — the mummy stuff never fully integrates with the possession story40 minutes of denial from the parents that Katie is obviously not okay Follow us & Subscribe: SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast WebsiteSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Follow us & Subscribe: SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    44 min
  7. Exit 8 Review: Japan's Liminal Horror Loop Is Better Than the Game

    APR 13

    Exit 8 Review: Japan's Liminal Horror Loop Is Better Than the Game

    Exit 8 is a 2025 Japanese psychological horror film directed by Genki Kawamura — the producer behind Your Name and A Silent Voice — and it's based on the 2023 indie video game The Exit 8 by Kotake Create. After earning an eight-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and grossing over ¥5.2 billion in Japan, it's finally arrived in North American theatres via NEON, and Arthur and Megan are here for it. This is Part 2 of Grave Tone's Double Feature Weekend, and they come prepared. Unable to get the game running on Arthur's Xbox (a whole saga), they did the next best thing: watched Markiplier's full playthrough, catalogued the anomalies, and then headed to the theatre. The result is one of the most informed discussions you'll hear about this one — game vs. film, anomaly mechanics, what the adaptation does differently, and whether the emotional depth they've layered onto a basically plotless video game actually works. Spoiler-free section covers the game's premise, the film's setup in a looping Tokyo subway tunnel, the rules the lost man must follow to reach Exit 8, and first impressions from both hosts. Then it's full spoilers: the multiple POV structure (including the Walking Man's storyline), the themes of societal passivity and fatherhood anxiety, the sound design that makes silence terrifying, the tsunami siren sequence, the ambiguous ending, and what they think it all means. Arthur lands at a 7/10, Meaghan at an 8/10 — and both agree it's a film that earns its Cannes reception. Liminal horror is having a real cultural moment right now, with A24's Backrooms arriving in May 2026, and Exit 8 is exactly the kind of film that shows you why the genre works when it's done right. Follow us & Subscribe: SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Follow us & Subscribe: SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    40 min
  8. Faces of Death (2026) Review: The Cult Classic Gets a TikTok-Era Upgrade

    APR 11

    Faces of Death (2026) Review: The Cult Classic Gets a TikTok-Era Upgrade

    Faces of Death (2026) review: Arthur and Meaghan break down Daniel Goldhaber's TikTok-era cult horror reimagining, starring Barbie Ferreira and Dacre Montgomery. In theatres April 10 via IFC Films / Shudder. Is the 2026 Faces of Death worth seeing? We went opening night and came back with some thoughts. Here's the honest take, no nostalgia for the original, no safety net, just the movie on its own terms. ⬇️ WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE → The 1978 original: John Alan Schwartz's mondo horror cult film, its fake-and-real deaths, PSA Flight 182 footage, $450K budget / $35M box office, and why it lives exclusively on old VHS → The 2026 reimagining: content moderator Margot (Barbie Ferreira) at short-clip app Kino flags videos appearing to recreate murders from the original film, and the killer, Arthur Spivak (Dacre Montgomery), is filming them for viral fame → Dacre Montgomery's performance: Dexter-level methodical, physically built for the role, genuinely disgusted by blood, completely unhinged in the best way → Barbie Ferreira's arc: a woman trying to disappear from the internet after her sister's death went viral, slowly forced back into the spotlight → The social commentary: content moderation, the algorithm, and the very human fascination with violent video online → The kills: more restrained than the marketing implies, visceral because they're realistic, not because they're gratuitous → What doesn't work: a third act that over-explains its thesis when the quieter moments were landing just fine 📊 RATINGS Arthur: 6.5 / 10 Megan: 6 – 6.5 / 10 🎬 FILM DETAILS Title: Faces of Death (2026) Director: Daniel Goldhaber Writers: Daniel Goldhaber, Isa Mazzei Cast: Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Aaron Holliday, Jermaine Fowler, Charli XCX Distributor: IFC Films / Shudder Runtime: 98 minutes | Rated R Follow us & Subscribe: SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Follow us & Subscribe: SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    44 min
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About

Grave Tone is a horror podcast covering the genre across books, film, TV, and games. From cult classics to fresh nightmares, we dig into the stories that scare us — and why we can’t stop coming back for more. Whether it’s a blood-soaked slasher, a slow-burn psychological thriller, or the horror novel everyone’s talking about, we cover it all. If it bleeds, reads, streams, or screams… it’s on Grave Tone.

Information

  • Creator
    Grave Tone
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Grave Tone Podcast
  • Show Website
    Grave Tone: Horror Podcast

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