The Pod and the Pendulum Mike Snoonian

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 antagonist that oozes privilege, sociopathy and toxic masculinity. All this wrapped in a package that subverts those warm and fuzzy memories of the John Hughes teen comedy and family friendly movies of the 80s and 90s. It's a fun discussion with Mike, Devaughn, Nichole and special guest Jason LeBlanc of the Boston Horror Society. 

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. Plus, how does Taylor Swift tie into the latest Hell House movie? Take a listen and find out. 

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 while also getting some crumbs that lead us now all new pathways to follow. Going back to the basics, the latest entry may be the best one since the original, and we can chalk it up to not one, not two, but a trio of ungodly and terrifying clowns. It's jump scares galore, and one of that should become a staple for horror fans every spooky season. Mike, Nichole and Rachel are here to break it all down. 

We're back with one last trip to SAW City to rank all ten entries in the franchise. 

We're taking a week of, so enjoy this clip from our recent patreon page. Mike, Nichole, Stephen and Brian put together their picks for an all night horror movie marathon. 
If you want this and almost fifty hours more of bonus content, become a patron today:
patreon.com/podandthependulum

Happy Halloween all. This week, we take a look at the latest entry in the Saw canon, the surprise hit of the fall, Saw X. The rare entry that's approved by both fans AND critics, this one finds Jigsaw seeking out surgery as a cure for his cancer, only to find out he's been grifted. I'm sure he'll take it all in stride. Mike, Ari, Brian and Nichole talk the shifting timeline, the back to basics approach, the traps, Kramer getting a true foil, the actual emotional arc of X, and the maybe queasy optics of white people torturing brown people for two hours. Strap i for one last ride through Saw City for now.