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Horror Weekly

Horror Weekly

Written by: Brian Schell and Kevin L. Knights
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 Join Kevin and Brian for a weekly podcast episode. Every Friday, the guys release both a video and audio podcast episode that covers everything new in horror, along with a handful of great (and awful) movie reviews!

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Episodes
  • The Bride!, Dolly, Ready or Not 2, Souls Chapel, and Muck

    The Bride!, Dolly, Ready or Not 2, Souls Chapel, and Muck
    May 3 2026
    We’ve got several new-ish films this week. We’ll start off with “The Bride!,” then visit “Souls Chapel.” We’ll try to get lost with “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” and then hide again from “Dolly.” Lastly, we’ll look at 2015’s “Muck,” which we have strong opinions about.All this, as well as the latest issue of “Horror Monthly,” issue #55, is available! Check out all the back issues, as well as our other books, with one easy link: https://horrormonthly.comMainstream Films:2026 The Bride!* Directed by: Maggie Gyllenhaal* Written by: Maggie Gyllenhaal* Stars: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Jake Gyllenhaal, Penélope Cruz* Run Time: 126 minutes* Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment ZoneIn the 1930s, the Creature asks Dr. Euphronious to make him a Bride. It works, but they don’t realize she’s a murdered woman which causes complications when elements from her past life cross over. Plus, she’s a radical and feminist getting things fired up. It’s sort of Bonnie and Clyde meets horror meets weird romance. There’s a lot of humor and strangeness, and it’s entertaining, after a few minutes at the beginning, which was a questionable start. We both liked it much more than we disliked it.Spoilery SynopsisMary Shelley comes onscreen and tells us that she didn’t write what she really wanted to; that was too much for the time. Now, she’s in Purgatory or something and wants to get the story out of her head.The story begins with Ida, who is bored at a party. She seems to be possessed by Mary Shelly, who is using her to tell the story. She makes a major scene at the restaurant and gets thrown out. She then falls down the stairs and dies. Credits roll.In Chicago, Frank, aka Frankenstein’s Creature, comes to see Dr. Euphronious, who knows who he is. She examines him and is thrilled. He doesn’t want any kind of treatment at the institute, he’s here for “an intercourse.” Yes, he wants her to “reinvigorate” him a bride. He’s become very impatient over the many years since he was created.“I thought you were a mad scientist,” he says, which wins her over. Soon, they’re out digging up graves. Frank thinks the body they picked is too beautiful, but they can’t dig up more, so they go ahead. They throw the switch, sparks fly, and all the meters go off the scale.The Bride sits up and thinks she had too much absinthe last night; she’s weird. They explain that she’s to marry Frank, but surprisingly, the bride doesn’t remember him at all.Suddenly, Mary Shelley butts in and talks to the bride in her mind. Not long after, the bride and Frank break out of the lab, go to a movie and the red light district. She knows all the dance moves, but Frank’s not a dancer– but he does have an imagination. She dances most of the night, but eventually, her dance partners get carried away and Frank has to step in, violently.Soon, the pair are on the run from the gangsters about the two men Frank just killed. He says he’s been through all this before, and there’s gonna be a mob. He doesn’t want the bride mixed up in all this, but she’s got nowhere else to go.A couple of detectives, Wiles and Malloy, start investigating the murder, whose suspect looks like Frankenstein’s monster. Soon, “Frankenstein and his bride” are the headlines in the newspaper.She wants the two of them to have sex, but he’s missing an important piece of the necessary equipment. They arrive in New York City, hoping to see Frank’s favorite movie star, Ronnie Reed. They’re quickly recognized as “The Killer Monsters,” and start a riot, complete with angry villagers and torches.Frank and his bride crash a party, grab some food, and manage to spot Ronnie Reed, who is one of the guests. They have a conversation that’s very confusing for poor Ronnie. This soon turns into a dance number with “Puttin on the Ritz.”The detectives storm in, and Wiles recognizes the bride. The bride recognizes Wiles. She grabs a gun and takes Ronnie as a hostage. She uses the opportunity to tell the police that the mob boss is paying off cops and killing women. She shoots a cop, and they escape.They go on the run, and he gets her name tattooed on his chest. They have sex (I guess) repeatedly. Women all over the country start painting their faces like the bride’s face-marks. “Brain attack” is their new battlecry, causing mayhem everywhere as women revolt.Lupino, the mob boss, recognizes the bride as Ida, a woman he had killed. Her killers swear they did the job, but he obviously knows they didn’t.Detective Molloy realizes that the criminal pair has only been to places where Ronnie’s films took place. She wants credit if they solve this case, but he makes it clear that that’s not going to happen. She knows something is off about Wiles.Frank makes up a whole story about his and the bride’s engagement. They get pulled over by an abusive cop, and Mary Shelley tells the ...
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    33 mins
  • The Arborist, Diabolic, Maniac, Satellite in the Sky, and World Without End

    The Arborist, Diabolic, Maniac, Satellite in the Sky, and World Without End
    Apr 26 2026
    We’ve got a fun mix of new & old this time around, beginning with “The Arborist” and “Diabolic,” both from 2025. Next, we’ll watch a really old one that surprised us with how graphic it was for being made in 1934: “Maniac.” We’ll round out the week with a pair of old sci-fi horrors, “Satellite in the Sky” and “World Without End,” both from 1956.All this, as well as the latest issue of “Horror Monthly,” issue #55, is available! Check out all the back issues, as well as our other books, with one easy link: https://horrormonthly.comMainstream Films:2025 The Arborist* Director: Andrew Mudge* Writers: Andrew Mudge* Stars: Lucy Walters, Hudson West, Will Lyman* Runtime: 1 Hour, 40 Minutes* Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment ZoneAn arborist in mourning and her somewhat surly son land a wood trimming gig, hired by a recluse living in a big mansion on big land. But there’s some haunting going on along with big loads of guilt and grief, and it’s not just a simple job. It’s beautifully filmed with a strong cast of just a few main characters, but it didn’t really connect with either of us.Spoilery SynopsisWe hear a woman shushing a baby as a large ball of woven vines rolls into the room. Credits roll.Ellie gets up in the morning and runs the breast pump. She goes looking for her son Wyatt, but then finds something very wrong with the baby.One year later, Ellie and Wyatt drive to a large estate where they have been promised work. She’s still grieving over the death of the baby. She meets Mr. Randolph, the owner of the house, and he mostly just wants her to cut firewood. Meanwhile, Wyatt finds a mysterious ball of woven vines near the truck that scares him enough that he hides from it. They move into the little gardener’s cottage.Wyatt asks about the old man living all alone in that huge mansion. He gripes about her drinking and then plays videos of the baby, which annoys her.In the morning, the two get to work. They find what looks like an old amphitheater in the woods and then argue over how to use a chainsaw.As Ellie works, Wyatt goes canoeing and sees something not quite human on the bank. Ellie finds him passed out on the bank and has flashbacks to the baby.Old man Randolph brings him a fishing pole to use, and Ellie asks him why hire an arborist when anyone with a chainsaw could do the work. Why those particular healthy trees?Wyatt believes that some thing killed his little sister, but Ellie explains it was just SIDS. A bit later, Wyatt sees the monster under the canoe, repeating his mother’s words. He also sees the vine ball again, as well as some kind of demon. “What killed her? What killed Rachel?” it asks.Ellie talks to Randolph about quitting, but she’s already been paid. The old man shows her that Wyatt has been inside the house for some reason. When confronted with the knife, Wyatt says he dropped it from the canoe. “It followed us here,” he complains. He’s clearly got some mental issues. He goes outside and talks to the creature in the trees, who says he is dying.Ellie finds a locked box in a hidden room in the basement. Inside, she finds many old photos of children. Also, there’s a news report about seven children dying on the estate. Randolph, upstairs, finds wet footprints in his bedroom, and he’s suddenly terrified of Wyatt.Ellie wants to pack the truck and leave, but Wyatt refuses and runs off into the woods. Randolph explains that his older brother, Victor, looked exactly like Wyatt. Ellie’s grandfather was Randolph’s cousin. Ellie and Wyatt are all that’s left of his family. He also explains about the tragedy; his brother Victor used the gas heater to kill a bunch of orphans who were there as a treat. Randolph killed Victor afterward by drowning him in the pond.Wyatt starts channeling Victor, and it’s clear that there really is something going on here. Ellie sees the thing in the woods as well. Outside, the ghosts of the dead children surround Randolph; they believe Wyatt is Victor and want their revenge. Since Victor is now inside Wyatt, they’re aren’t really wrong.Randolph explains that about a year ago, he started noticing things were weird in the area. This would have been around the same time Ellie’s baby died.That night, Randolph grabs Wyatt and tries to drown him in the swimming pool, but Ellie jumps in and saves only one of them.Later, Ellie finds the vine ball, and it’s got a baby inside. Wyatt-Victor stabs the baby and turns it into sticks. This leads Ellie to scream and melt the vine ball.In a dreamscape of their home in town, Wyatt explains what happened the night the baby died. He accidentally fell asleep on top of the baby and killed her.Some time later, Ellie and Wyatt return to the house, which has now been torn down. They’ve inherited what’s left from Randolph.Brian’s CommentaryI figured from the credits that the vine ball was guilt. Also, from the way it was filmed, it seemed likely the baby’s ...
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    33 mins
  • Mercy, Squirm, Frogs, Kingdom of the Spiders, and The Hills Have Eyes

    Mercy, Squirm, Frogs, Kingdom of the Spiders, and The Hills Have Eyes
    Apr 19 2026
    Only one new film this week, “Mercy,” which just came out. We’ll then do a little bit of the Nature-gone-wild subgenre with “Squirm”(1976), “Frogs” (1972), and “Kingdom of the Spiders” from 1977. Lastly, we’ll watch the remake of “The Hills Have Eyes” from 2006.All this, as well as the latest issue of “Horror Monthly,” issue #55, is available! Check out all the back issues, as well as our other books, with one easy link: https://horrormonthly.comMainstream Films:2026 Mercy* Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov* Written by: Marco van Belle* Stars: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Kali Reis, Annabelle Wallis, Chris Sullivan, Kylie Rogers* Run Time: 100 minutes* Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment ZoneIn the near future, a detective stands trial accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced A.I. Judge he once championed, before it determines his fate. Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson star in the high-tech action-thriller Mercy. Own it now on 4K, Blu-ray™ and DVD.The technology is believable, but it is a stretch to think it will be that advanced only three years from now, in 2029. There’s some suspense, with an arbitrary running clock, and a mystery being solved. It’s a science fiction thriller, certainly not horror, but the Horror Guys did their duty. We both thought it was interesting, pretty entertaining, very well made, but not quite a solid film when you give it a lot of thought.Spoilery SynopsisChris Raven wakes up strapped to a chair. We then cut to an ad talking about Los Angeles’s crime epidemic and the Mercy program, which judges criminals with AI as judge, jury, and executioner. Crime has fallen 69 percent. Chris is the next prisoner who is to be judged, case #19. Judge Maddox is the AI in charge of the case.Chris is not sure why he’s there, and she explains that he’s being tried for the murder of his own wife. He watches a video where his dying wife says he was the one who stabbed her. He pleads “Not Guilty.” He has ninety minutes to prove his innocence or he’s going to be executed.She recites the facts, and he says she’s lying. But she has a video to back up everything she says. He claims he doesn’t remember any of it. She replays scenes of their wedding, birth of their child, and lots of fighting and arguing. He uses his phone calls to talk to his daughter Britt and partner Jaq. With Jaq’s assistance, they all go over the crime scene and evidence.Jaq traces a phone in downtown Hollywood, which is a riotous wasteland now. She chases a sketchy chef across the rooftop and questions him. He’d been having an affair with Nicole, and they used burner phones for privacy. He also has a video alibi for the time of the murder.We get more video that shows us Chris’s partner’s death, which was partially Chris’s fault.He calls the affair partner again, and he has some information about Nicole’s job, maybe doing some shady stuff. There was a BBQ at Chris’s house last weekend, and it’s possible that one of the guests stayed over and hid in the basement. Could it be Nicole’s co-worker Holt, who may have been stealing UG chemicals, an ingredient in meth, from work.Chris calls Holt, who says Rob, Chris’s AA sponsor, may have put him up to all of it. Rob was off yesterday, so he has no alibi for the murder. At this point, it seems that Chris is really on to something, so you’d expect that the judge would pause the countdown timer, but no. Instead, the judge starts stuttering and showing issues.A search of Rob’s house shows a lab and lots of evidence that he might be making explosives, not meth. He’s got a whole container truck full of explosives, so he’s heading toward something big. Turns out, Rob’s secret brother was David Webb, the first man Chris brought to Mercy for execution. Rob’s also got Britt in the cab with him as a hostage. This is all a crazy revenge plot against Chris and Mercy, he wants to take them both out.The judge admits her logic has failed her and Chris is innocent. He tries to talk her into helping him stop Rob. Chris and the judge work together with the police to stop Rob’s truck, which is quickly approaching the Mercy building.The judge releases Chris, who runs downstairs to confront Rob personally. The judge offers Rob a chance to prove his dead brother’s innocence. Chris gets the drop on Rob, but at the last minute, Jaq comes in and kills him. Turns out, Jaq was behind David Webb’s false verdict and shot at Rob to cover it all up so that Mercy would be seen as a success.Jaq is arrested, and the trial ends.Brian’s CommentaryThere’s a lot going on here with “the surveillance state” and tracking of people and devices that aren’t too far from reality, although I doubt we’ll be that far along in 2029 (the date on the videos). I think the whole idea of phoning people to testify in court is unlikely; I hang up on 80% of the phone calls I get.There’s no follow-up to...
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    35 mins
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