The Pod and the Pendulum Mike Snoonian

Mike and Devaughn talk about another strong entry in the back half of the VHS franchise. '99 brings a punk energy to the film and forgoes the wraparound framing device or something that feels like an old mix tape buried in the stack of video cassettes in the console. The end result is the most consistent and entertaining entry of the series to date. 

ALL HAIL RAATMA! This week Mike and Rachel talk about the return of the V/H/S series after more than a half a decade absence with V/H/S '94. Conceived and created during the COVID restrictions, the entry features the first two segments directed by women and breathes some new life and ideas into the found footage anthology series after the disappointment of Viral. Fans seemed to think so, as it set streaming records on its new home of Shudder during it's release in 2021. Which segments hold up, and which ones feel maybe like relics from the previous era? We're here to talk about all that and more as  rat gods, zombies, VHS death cults, killer cyborg abominations, and wannabe nazis are all on the table this time.  around. 

This week Mike and Ariel are on hand to take a look at the third installment of the found footage, anthology series V/H/S VIRAL. Considered by most fans to be the worst of the series, your co-hosts are hard to disagree at the jumbled, ugly-looking mess that is Viral. While we can offer kudos at the attempt at delivering a theme (the shorts are all concerned with their protagonists achieving internet fame and glory) only three films in and the series seems far removed from its intentions of replicating the glory days of analog rights captured on video cassette. It doesn't help that the segments themselves are pretty tepid, nonsensical and just plain ugly to look at. 

This week we're talking more found footage anthology goodness with V/H/S 2. Like any anthology series, there are ups and downs, but this one has what might be the fan favorite of the series with  Safe Haven. Plus, Mike and Ariel nearly trade blows over The Undertaker's place in wrestling history. 

This week we start a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of a franchise where found footage and anthologies are smashed together into one horrific format. Mike, Rachel, Stephen and special guest Tucker (Disenfranchised podcast) talk about of of the grimiest series we've covered to date as we tackle  V/H/S/. Now six entries (and two spinoffs) deep, this started out as a showcase for some of horror's up-and-coming directors to show their stuff in short form. The first entry alone features Ti West (X, Pearl, Maxxxine), Adam Wingard (Godzilla vs Kong), David Bruckner (Hellraiser), and Radio Silence (Scream VI, Abigail). The results can be uneven, but when they work V/H/S can be a hell of a lot of fun. Also, is this the most dirtbag of all the franchises? We discuss. 

We close out the Blade series with a wild one. Mike and Devaughn talk about a movie that has more going on behind the scenes than in front of the camera. We take our time to discuss and maybe even debunk the stories of improper behavior of series star Wesley Snipes on the set of Trinity, his animosity towards writer/director David S Goyer and costars Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel, how Patton Oswalt's off the cuff remarks became accepted truth, and Snipes legitimate frustrations as both an executive producer who felt ignored and the franchise star who felt the series being taken away from him. There's also a whole ass move it discuss, and, well it's not great. Yet it's not as bad as people who have you believe. With a stacked cast, including indie darling Parker Posey having the time of her life, decent action set pieces and sweaty one liners delivered by Mr. Reynolds, this one has more going on for it than we remembered, despite the presence of one of cinema's weakest portrayals of Dracula. We also speculate on the future of the series, and ask with everything being so up in the air, "Why not Snipes?"