This week we kick off our coverage on arguably the greatest franchise in horror film history: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Born from the childhood nightmares of Wes Craven, Freddy Kreuger transformed from a horror villain to a pop culture icon that appeared on MTV, awards shows, lunch boxes, comic books, action figures, posters and anything else you could print his likeness on. That's quite a feat for a burned up, child-killing dream demon. As portrayed by Robert Englund, Freddy was a monster with personality. 

For our first episode we're joined by writer/producer Thommy Hutson (Never Sleep Again, Crystal Lake Memories, Scream: The Inside Story, author of Y/A thriller Jinxed) to breakdown why this movie resonates 36 years later. From Freddy's development as a villain, to the tenaciousness that separates Nancy from other horror heroines, to Craven's own psychological demons that informed his work-especially the way the sins of parents come back to traumatize the children-we are just scratching the surface on what will be a two part episode of the debut film. 

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This week we're joined once again by Nat Brehmer (@NatBrehmer) for a super fun commentary on Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. We answer the important questions: What if they kept the bandaged look for Michael, when did the Shape morph into Jason and why are there so many damn photos of Abe Lincoln in the garage? 

Plus, stick around after the credits for a brief excerpt of our patreon exclusive IT FOLLOWS with guest Chris Dudley of Under Oath. 

For fans of Nat's commentary and writing, he recently published a series of essays that covers the entirety of the franchise. If you want some essential reading on Halloween, here's a link to his FREE chap book, Reading the Boogeyman, Essays on Halloween.

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This week we look at the 2008 straight-to-video thriller JOY RIDE 2. Yes, Rusty Nails is back, and this time there's a lot more of a torture porn feel to the proceedings. More importantly, Mike and Jerry discuss what exactly a "third wave emo punk" exactly is. 

Heading into the weekend, we have a special bonus episode with filmmaker Charles de Lauzirika as he discusses his history with the Alien franchise as the director of the incredible behind the scenes documentary included on the Quadrology box set. 

Coming at the tail end of the teen slasher revival, Joy Ride knows exactly what it is. A fun, popcorn movie that’s part car chase, part noire-thriller and part road trip movie. Released October 2001, this feels like one of the final films of a specific era of horror, where genre wasn’t afraid to mix a lot of fun and lightheartedness into the scares. 911 changed that, and it wouldn't be long before this style would give way to the over the top gore and misery porn we’d see when films like Hostel, Saw and House of a 1000 Corpses started to take over the big screen. Coming out before the Fast and Furious franchise took off and made Paul Walker a star and when studios were trying to do the same for Steve Zahn,  Joy Ride proves itself to be the kind of effortless B movie that was a stroke of Sunday afternoon cable TV.

Guests: Mike Vanderbilt (@MikeVanderbilt) and filmmaker Alex Secker (@AlexSecker)

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This week we’re joined by Sarah Stubbs (@geekswhoeat) and filmmaker Josh Stifter (@joshstifter) to talk about Ridley Scott’s followup to the divisive 2012 Prometheus. Pressed by studio and fan reaction that rebelled against the purer sci-fi and philosophical tone of the Alien prequel, Scott delivered a more straightforward Gothic horror movie in line with the tone of his 1979 classic. This still managed to run a lot of people the wrong way, leaving Scott’s plans to continue the story through the beginning of Alien, and the future of the franchise as a whole, up in the air. 

We talk about the directions Covenant goes in by choosing to ignore the ending of the previous film. The result is a dark, nihilistic vision of humanity.  

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In 2012 Ridley Scott returned to the Alien universe, looking to answer the question “who the hell is the space jockey?” The result, Prometheus, divided audiences that came to theaters expecting a straight forward prequel to Alien but instead found Scott in a more contemplative mood. Set in the same world as Scott’s masterpiece, Prometheus explores creation myths and asks if science and faith must be mutually exclusive from one another. The end result is a movie that asks more questions than it cares to answer but still leaves the viewer with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the 1979 sci-fi horror masterpiece. This week Mike and Jerry are joined by first time guest Danielle Ryan (@danirat) and the returning Alienverse expert Lindsay Traves (@smashtraves) for a deep dive into the movie.

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This week we're joined by Daily Grindhouse's ROB DEAN (@neuroticmonkey) to break down the 1997 sci-fi horror romp, Alien Resurrection, a movie that could only exist between 1992-1999 for all the good and bad that entails.