A preview of this weekend's CFF with festival director and lead programmer Chris Dortch. 

This week kicks off our coverage of the Alien franchise. We’re joined by Daily Dead’s Lindsay Traves (@smashtraves) to dissect perhaps the greatest science fiction and horror hybrid of all time, Ridley Scott’s Alien. From the iconic image of the chestburster, the immense and terrifying scope of HR Geiger’s surrealist vision to the machine-like Xenomorph itself, Alien proved that while in space no one can hear you scream, audiences can be heard loud and clear shrieking in terror even forty-plus years later.

As always, there are spoiler galore as we dig deep into the history of Alien and what went into making the teaming of writer Dan O'Bannon, director Ridley Scott and visual artist HR Geiger such a groundbreaking team. We examine the way the film views class structure, feminism and imperialism, all while delivering one hell of a proto-slasher film. The legacy of Alien looms large over almost every science-fiction horror movie today and we tackle the myriad of films that have it in their DNA. 

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We have a bit of a twofer for listeners this week. Jerry and Mike break down a film John Carpenter called "a documentary" with a special one-off look at THEY LIVE. We examine how the film challenged 8 years of Reaganism, what made Roddy Piper such a charismatic performer and how the film still resonates today. 

As an added bonus, after our deep dive into the film, Mike sat down with a pair of WWE Hall of famers: Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page. They talk about their roles in the new indie horror film PENANCE LANE, what the transition was like moving out of the wrestling ring, and trade some stories about life on the road. 

Well, we put this one off for as long as we possibly could, but this week Mike & Jerry return to talk about thi sequel in name only to Romero & King's horror anthology masterpiece, Creepshow. The third time id decidedly not the charm here, as this one is a chore to get through. While a pair of the five segments show some promise with their script ("The Radio" & "The Professor's Wife" show kernels of good ideas) the execution is lacking. Still, we try to point out the week bit of good with a lot of the bad. On a brighter note, we take a brief side trip to talk about FX mastermind Greg Nicotero's relaunch of Creepshow as a television series on the Shudder network. The first season had a few bumps, but by and large, it captured the tone and spirit that made the first film such a classic. We wanted to take a few minutes to spotlight our favorite entries from the first season. 

Next week, we're back with a one off John Carpenter film that you the listeners can vote on, before we tackle the granddaddy of science fiction horror: the ALIEN franchise. 

This week we're joined by Terry Mesnard (Gaily Dreadful, Scarred For Life podcast) to discuss Creepshow 2. The general consensus is without King and Romero steering the ship, this is a step down, but still fun followup. We explore what works and where it comes up short. Does Chief Wooden Head still hold up, or does it feel like we watch a town die in real time after being stuck in the general store for so long? What do we love and cringe about while rewatching The Raft. Plus, there's an animated discussion over the ethics of charging on a per orgasm basis and then jacking up the rate once sexy time has ended when we discuss The Hitchhiker. 

Mike & Jerry are joined by Nat Brehmer, Izzy Lee, Veronica, Brian, Johnny, Jacob, Erin, Diana Porter, & Mike Vanderbilt as Freddy himself, for a roundtable Skype reading that involved an early draft of ANOES5 and a lot of alcohol. We hope our listeners dig this bonus episode, and would love for you to tell us what script we need to do next. 

Imagine if Magic Johnson & Larry Bird both played for the Celtics in the early 80s. That’s what it was like in bringing two masters of horror, Stephen King and George Romero together for Creepshow, the finest horror anthology ever created. This week Mike, Jerry & Brian sit down to talk about the impact this movie had on their horror fandom, and take a deep dive into each of the five segments that make up the film. Creepshow remains a fan favorite almost forty years after its release due to its perfect blend of black humor, spectacular special effects, and grim morality tales that both terrify and tickle the funny bone. There aren't many movies that create this many iconic characters in such a short period of time: a cake-seeking zombie, a meteor-shit covered country bumpkin, a shrewish wife with a nasty word for everyone, & a racist Scrooge with a dislike for bugs to name a few. Along the way, Mike may or may not reveal a little too much about certain fetishes that pique his curiosity. We also take some time to answer questions and comments from our listeners regarding the Creepshow franchise.

This week Jerry and Mike finish off the second half of their listener mailbag with their first ever live stream.