Siege-ons Greetings from the Video Monsters!! Tonight we present Part One of our two-part annual HOLIDAY SPECT-adequate (it’s fine): A Mini-Movie Madness where Nathan and Eric take turns selecting their recommendations for winter/snowy/holiday-adjacent siege movies! So grab some hot cocoa, decorate some cookies, lock the doors, board up the windows…

Tonight’s forecast: Cloudy with a Chance of CHAOS! The Video Monsters are braving the elements this evening with a Stormy Weather Popcorn Punchout, where we assemble our Video Rack Attack Bracket to decide which three storm, blizzard, tornado, hurricane, and/or other natural/unnatural weather phenomenon films will get the in-depth Video Monsters an…

The Video Monsters have decided to travel back in time to a much better, more optimistic period in our lives: Halloween 2024! Tonight we’re discussing 1991’s HAUNTEDWEEN, a low-budget, surprisingly charming regional slasher film that closed out this year’s Knoxville Horror Film Festival. But first, Nathan provides us with some dispatches from KHFF …

We think it is safe to say that, due to recent events, many of you out there are probably feeling a bit anxious about the future right now. We certainly are here at Video Monsters. We have always strived to make this silly little podcast a positive place to celebrate not just movies, but the sense of community that comes out of making, watching, an…

I see seas of blue, blue water too.The bright burning sun. The dark sacred soil.And I think to myself.... what a Waterful WorldThat’s right! The time has come for us to venture off into the aquatic wasteland of the far future known as WATERWORLD; the notoriously expensive flop that was (mostly) directed by Kevin Reynolds! So grab a glass of Hydro, …

The Video Monsters continue their discussion on the work of Kevin Costner with an under-the-radar, late-career gem: Thomas Bezucha’s LET HIM GO (2020). This is a tense, lean neo-western thriller with a huge heart and some excellent performances from a fiery Diane Lane and the Cos’ as her steady-hand husband who embark on a road trip across the 60s …

Director Kyle Kuchta and writer Jeanette Wall join the Video Monsters to talk about their new short film, OUCHIE, which recently screened at the Chattanooga Film Festival and is currently making the rounds on the festival circuit. After a discussion of the short, we each make our picks for a round of Mirror Movie Madness, discussing the best uses o…

Cancel the kitchen scraps, stop all merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas because it’s time to bow down before the almighty villainy Alan Rickman. Everything we do, we do it for him… and for the joy of catapulting ourselves into the castle of campy fun, crafty adventure, and questionable casting of Kevin Costner in the role of ROBIN HOOD: PRI…

The Video Monsters saddle up with special guest Robert Woods (filmmaker, An Ideal Host) for a Western-style showdown in tonight’s Kevin Costner Popcorn Punchout, where we assemble our Video Rack Attack Bracket and duel our way down to the line to decide which three Costner films will get the in-depth Video Monsters analysis. Will we find ourselves …

Grab your baseball bat, put on your cowboy hat, and prepare yourself for questionable accents/narration because the Video Monsters are about to rundown the career of maybe the most quintessential All-American leading man of the modern era*. Nathan, Eric, and Dan will make ten picks each to bring you our 30 recommendations in tonight’s Kevin Costner…

Grab your animal crackers, queue up Hurdy Gurdy Man, and meet us in a California basement because it’s time to finally close the book on our Journalism series with David Fincher’s ZODIAC (2007). If you enjoy this episode, come join the Video Monsters crew on Discord - be a part of the discussion and listen in live when we record our episodes!! Go t…

Grab a cigarette filter, strap on your tape recorder, and meet us at the carousel bar because it’s time to buy the ticket and take the ride through bat country with Terry Gilliam’s FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS.If you enjoy this episode, come join the Video Monsters crew on Discord - be a part of the discussion and listen in live when we record ou…

Unplug the phone, lace up your boots (but only if you want), dab the sweat off your brow, and put away that hefty shadow puppet because it’s time to listen closely as the Video Monsters broadcast their views on James L. Brooks’ BROADCAST NEWS!If you enjoy this episode, come join the Video Monsters crew on Discord - be a part of the discussion and l…

Extra! Extra! Read, er…. hear all about it! Tonight we’ve got a Punchout poppin’ on pictures about the press, and we’re gonna shout it! Well, Eric will take care of most of the shouting as the Video Monsters raise Hell over which Journalism films are Deader than the rest! So Fletch yourself a Shattered Glass of Medium Cool Candy, man, because it’s …

Grab your (catchy newspaper headline to be added by the editor after they decide if this will make it to the front page), put on your (stereotypical journalist accessory that you always see in the movies but rarely ever actually see in real life), and get ready to (exaggerated action sequence to spice up the facts for a movie - to be added in post)…

Grab a case of Faygo, put on your Gogo boots, and pick out your finest masque before joining us in a dimension of cinematic sight and sound to melt your mind as we have a devil of a good time with Chris Dortch and Dustin Kramer discussing the Chattanooga Film Festival…where the Fest is family!!Special guests: Christ Dortch & Dustin Kramer - Chattan…

Grab your lucky coin, open you blue letter, and don't forget your hat as we tunnel our way through humor, action, and existentialism in tonight's Ranking Popcorn Punchout: Video Rack Attack Bracket of the Coen Brothers' filmography!Special guest: Matt Mercer - Contracted, Dementia: Part II, Bliss, Beyond the GatesIf you enjoy this episode, come joi…

Grab your rotting apples, take a look in the mirror, and work on your sewing skills as we sing the praises of John Adams and Toby Poser in our interview and analysis of Where the Devil Roams!!Special guests: John Adams & Toby Poser - Hellbender, The Deeper You DigStay up to date with all Adams Family news at https://wonderwheelproductions.comOrder …

Top off your white lightning, refill your mega-sized popcorn bucket, and remember that wherever you go to listen to your podcast...there you are! Swap out the tapes because tonight is part two of our Popcorn Punchout to pick our main themes for the year - in the end, there can be only one....er.... eight.If you enjoy this episode, come join the Vid…

Grab your freeze dried ice cream, a mega-sized popcorn bucket, and try to keep your sanity as three good fellas roll the dice and sink their jaws into tonight's mega-sized Popcorn Punchout as we work from 32 themes down to our final 8 for the year!! And get ready to change the tapes midway through, because tonight is only part 1 of this two-part ep…

Grab your breadless bread, cozy up to the fire, and don't just listen....savor. Savor our analysis of THE MENU as we podcast on the edge of the abyss (which is where god works too)!Special guest: Sarah Stubbs - Geeks Who Eat, Final Girls FeastIf you enjoy this episode, come join the Video Monsters crew on Discord - be a part of the discussion and l…

Grab your trash cheese, put on your tiny chef's hat, and strike your best freeze frame pose as you let the combination of our cinematic tastes swirl around your head in our analysis of RATATOUILLE!! And remember, anyone can be a podcaster... but it takes true passion to be a Video Monster.If you enjoy this episode, come join the Video Monsters crew…

Grab your best bottle of crypt wine, take down the curtains, and fry up some bacon because the timer is running for us to deconstruct our thoughts in tonight's analysis of PIG!If you enjoy this episode, come join the Video Monsters crew on Discord - be a part of the discussion and listen in live when we record our episodes!! Go to linktree.com/vide…

The most OK-est of annual holiday traditions is finally upon us! And, as usual, it’s going to be SPECT....adequate (it’s fine. Totally fine.) This year the Video Monsters are going to do a ranking mini-POPCORN PUNCHOUT: Video Rack Attack Bracket to decide which three Christmas (or Xmas-adjacent) films we recommend you watch this holiday season. And…

It's a Big Night for the Video Monsters because it’s time for another POPCORN PUNCHOUT: Video Rack Attack Bracket, this time to decide which three Food Service movies we get to feast on over the next few weeks. As usual with these episodes, the game eventually reaches a Boiling Point as beloved films are eliminated, and none of us make it to the en…

The Video Monsters are bringing you even more Chattanooga Film Festival 2023 goodness with tonight's discussion of SOUR PARTY - a feminist, punk, one crazy day, buddy comedy, with just a dash of magical realism that highlights how truly bizarre the world can be! Special guests Michael Drexton, Amanda Drexton, and Samantha Westervelt (all of whom wo…

The Video Monsters have prepared a feast for your ears with tonight's Food Service Monthly Movie Madness!! The Monthly Movie Madness episodes are a recent addition to our lineup in which Nathan, Eric, and Dan pick 10 movies each for the monthly theme, resulting in a curated list of daily recommendations of themed movies. We also use these 30 movies…

To celebrate the release of Blow Up My Life (2023) on VOD, the Video Monsters are blowing the whistle of praise and releasing from the vault our Q&A with Abigail Horten and Ryan Dickie from Chattanooga Film Festival 2023! Blow Up My Life has a great balance of humor and corporate thriller, great actors that really bring you into the movie, and some…

Don’t keep away from PUMPKINHEAD (1988),Unless you're tired of great movies.Watching it is mostly fun,But beware, it has a cruel streak30 minutes in and you're undoneBy a moving turn from Lance Henricksen,As he seeks vengeance for what was doneTo a small young boy, his only sonTime will not erase or blot,Stan Winston’s first directing appearance,An…

The Video Monsters have been exiled to the New England wilderness as we contend with the plague of horrors unleashed by Robert Eggers’s THE WITCH (2015). Is the film a touching family tragedy? A coming-of-age story about bad parenting as self-fulfilling prophecy? A cautionary tale about the extremes of theocratic patriarchal social structures? A li…

The Video Monsters kick off our series on Folk Horror films with an underseen 80s gem that features far more explosions than your typical witch-in-the-woods flick. Make sure to get your vision checked ahead of time because on today’s episode we’ll be discussing EYES OF FIRE (1983)! For those of you who have not heard of this film, just imagine a ma…

The podcast which you are about to hear is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five friends, in particular Kyle Kuchta and fellow guest, Wolfe MacReady. It is all the more tragic in that they volunteered for this. But, had they continued to podcast for a very, very long time, they could not have expected nor would they have wished to …

Pour out some salt and light some fires because it's time for another Popcorn Punchout: Video Rack Attack Bracket to decide on which three folk horror movies will be receiving the full Video Monsters' analysis! And joining the wild rumpus tonight is very special guest and friend of the podcast, Wolfe MacReady!! Along with adding to the chaos of the…

Hello, kiddies (because of course we had to start it this way)! The Video Monsters are closing out our 1995 horror series with the spooky, spine-tingling, and – dare I say – seductive siege flick, TALES FROM THE CRYPT: DEMON KNIGHT! Joining us for this ghastly good time is special guest and master of SCARE-emonies, Brian Salisbury of Junkfood Cinem…

The Video Monsters are joined by filmmaker Anthony Cousins (When Susurrus Stirs, The Bloody Ballad of Squirt Reynolds, Scare Package, Scare Package II: Rad Chad's Revenge) to discuss the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.! If you've been following the podcast for a while, you know that Super Mario Bros. holds a very special place in our hearts a…

The Video Monsters Halloween coverage continues as we prepare for October's theme of Folk Horror with our Monthly Movie Madness!! The Monthly Movie Madness episodes are a recent addition to our lineup in which Nathan, Eric, and Dan pick 10 movies each for the monthly theme, resulting in a curated list of daily recommendations of themed movies. We a…

The Video Monsters continue their 1995 Horror series with LEPRECHAUN 3!! With Brian Trenchard-Smith at the helm with over 20 years of experience, Warwick Davis bringing a bit more humor and personality to the role, and several seasoned actors that bring cartoonish characters to life with heart, this campy direct to video sequel has rightfully earne…

The Video Monsters continue their Chattanooga Film Festival 2023 coverage by discussing THE HAUNTING OF HYPE HOUSE (2023) - an indie, horror-comedy that answers the question "what if you were haunted by a ghost...and everyone liked the ghost more than they like you?" - all through the lens of influencer culture. Nathan has been singing the praises …

The Video Monsters are joined by author and orator - with an extensive body of work spanning over two decades - Clay McLeod Chapman!! Clay's writing evokes both Stephen King and Clive Barker as he taps into the dark nature of humanity with heart and humor...all with a dash of southern charm. Join Nathan as he digs into the darkness and joy of Clay'…

Our 1995 Horror Month is off to an auspicious start as we discuss a movie that is nominally a 1995 movie but didn’t actually receive distribution until 1997… but nevermind its questionable eligibility status because we’re gonna talk about it anyway! The movie? Larry Fessenden’s seminal independent vampire film, HABIT (1995 [according to IMDb and Le…

Now that you've listened to us discuss our 1995 Horror recommendations in our Video Monsters' Monthly Movie Madness, it's time for hearts to be broken and for chaos to reign as we boot up another Popcorn Punchout: Video Rack Attack Bracket to decide on which three '95 horror movies will be receiving the full Video Monsters' analysis! And what bette…

What happens when an unavoidable cancellation leaves Nathan and Eric without an episode to record? Why, they record anyway! And in the process, they create a whole new segment for the show! Tonight you all get a bit of a peek at how the popcorn gets made with Nathan and Eric deciding in real time exactly what movies will be eligible to be tossed in…

Happy Almost-Fall Ya’ll! It’s our favorite time of the year because September is the official start of Spooky Season for the Video Monsters! And a new season means it’s time for another POPCORN PUNCHOUT, where we use our not-quite patented Video Rack Attack Bracket to determine our movie themes for the months of September, October, and November. We…

The Video Monsters are wrapping up our Top 100 Women-Directed Films of the 2010s, Based on Letterboxd Rankings series with TONI ERDMANN (2016) - a heartwarming, German character study centered around the relationship of a very career-focused woman and her independent spirit father who tries to help his daughter find humor in life. While this might …

The Video Monsters continue their Chattanooga Film Festival 2023 coverage by discussing AMERICAN MELTDOWN - an indie, dark comedy, buddy hangout movie with plenty of important (and timely) themes that make its "coming of rage" description a perfect encapsulation of the emotional journey you go on with the lead duo. Very special guests Andrew Adams,…

The Video Monsters kick off their Chattanooga Film Festival 2023 coverage by discussing the psychological horror relationship drama (that's light on blood, but very heavy on theme) TEARSUCKER! We are joined tonight by director/cinematographer/editor Stephen Vanderpool, writer/producer/actor Sam Brittan, and the star and emotional core of the film A…

The Video Monsters are back in the saddle again, out where a movie is a movie. Where the podcasters feed on analysis, yes indeed, we're back in the saddle again. So grab your pet racoon, put on some chaps, and watch out for barbed wire on your way to meet us at the rodeo for tonight's bucking discussion of Chloe Zhao's THE RIDER (2017).If you enjoy…

The Video Monsters are headed back in time to an island in 18th century France to discuss a beautiful, heart-breaking tale of longing, isolation, and finding solace in art. So grab your canvas, turn to page 28, and gather around the campfire as we sing the praises of Céline Sciamma’s PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (2019)!If you enjoy this episode, come…

We interrupt your irregularly scheduled programming to bring you a special preview of the 2023 Chattanooga Film Festival with the Founder of the Fest, Executive Director, Lead Programmer, and total mensch Chris Dortch II! Chris chats about the challenges and triumphs of creating a hybrid festival that’s returning to on-ground programming for the fi…

The Video Monsters have unlocked the truly unbelievable achievement of releasing 400 episodes of this podcast over the last 6-and-a-half years or so and we wanted to do something extra special for our 400th episode. So we decided to look back on our entire back catalog and resurrect the ghosts of pod’s past by putting together a ranking Popcorn Pun…