We're excited to chat with Nat Segaloff about his new release, The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear. If you're interested in The Exorcist (in any version), you owe it to yourself to pick up this book. It's a delight for any movie fan! Find Nat: Website Facebook Buy the book Learn about his other books NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Foll…

Josh Bermont has written his first horror novel (Paperback Beasts) and you can read it right now! He and Kelly discuss his process, how it differs from his day job as a ghostwriter (with a sidebar discussion of ghostwriting etiquette) and what he's got coming up next! If you want something creepy and fun, this is the book you need. Buy Paperback Be…

Did you know we still have a podcast? We do! And we broke our accidental hiatus with a fantastic episode. We had a great time chatting about the amazing and completely over the top bonkers Evil Dead Rise with franchise superfan FinalGirlHannah. Things mentioned in the episode: Hannah's awesome Evil Dead 2 chainsaw Follow Hannah: Twitter TikTok NOTE…

We head to Manhattan this week to spend time with some of our old friends from Woodsboro. How does this stack up with the other five? We'll discuss. (Also on the table: where else should Ghostface travel? What are the best cold opens? Have we ever correctly identified any of the killers?) NOTE: Episode title is taken from Scream 6 dialogue. We actu…

We had an absolute blast discussing Se7en with Troy and Jason, the men behind the documentary Millennium After the Millennium! (Obviously their fantastic documentary and the TV show Millennium came up, as well.) The subject matter is grim but the conversation is not. LINKS: Millennium After the Millennium Speakeasy Noir Cast Millennium Group Sessio…

The PikeCast concludes their watchthrough of Netflix's The Midnight Club series by Mike Flanagan based on the works of Christopher Pike. This week is Episode 10: Midnight. Dr. Stanton interrupts the ritual, saving Ilonka and the other women's lives, but Shasta escapes. Ilonka realizes that Shasta tried to use her for a murder-suicide ritual that Sh…

We're joined by our friend Cooper S. Beckett to discuss the Psycho franchise (but primarily II and III). It's a rare franchise that keeps getting...we'll go with "weirder." Cooper S. Beckett: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CooperSBeckett Website: https://coopersbeckett.com/ Podcast: https://linktr.ee/ThePikeCast Buy his books: https://coopersbeckett.…

K3nd3ll and Racha3l join us to talk about M3GAN. (We love her and she is friendship goals.) NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Follow us: Twitter: https://twitter.com/PressPlayScream Website: https://pressplayandscream.buzzsprout.com/By Josh Bermont & Kelly Hager

Happy 2023 and welcome back! We're joined by author Gae Polisner to discuss The Exorcist. As you know, it's a theory of ours that everyone has that one horror movie they love and Gae (noted exact opposite of a horror enthusiast) picked The Exorcist! If you're only going to choose one, that's a great? Nonsensical? Terrifying? option. Either way, we …

Messy & Cassie's Fury. The PikeCast continues their watchthrough of Netflix's The Midnight Club series by Mike Flanagan based on the works of Christopher Pike. This week is Episode 8: Road to Nowhere Ilonka confronts Dr. Stanton about what she overheard. Dr. Stanton swears her to secrecy, but Ilonka tells Kevin. Ilonka believes she's the one who's …

The PikeCast continues their watchthrough of Netflix's The Midnight Club series by Mike Flanagan based on the works of Christopher Pike. This week is Episode 6: Witch. At Midnight Club, Kevin continues his story about the teenage serial killer, and Ilonka tells a story about a modern-day witch who tries to use magic to help her friends. Anya collap…

Josh and Kelly are joined by fellow horror enthusiast Kendell to discuss the recent release Barbarian! It's currently streaming on HBO Max and, if you haven't seen it, go in knowing as little as possible. NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Follow us: Twitter: https://twitter.com/PressPlayScream Website: https://pressplayandscream.buzzsprout.…

Josh and Kelly discuss the 1988 movie Maniac Cop. Conversation centers around the prescient nature of the movie, vigilante justice, an upcoming reboot and the absolute amazingness of Tom Atkins. CORRECTION: The reboot by Nicolas Winding Refn is going to be a TV series on HBO and not a movie. NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Follow us: Twit…

How about a hammer murder, Scarecrow? The PikeCast continues their watchthrough of Netflix's The Midnight Club series by Mike Flanagan based on the works of Christopher Pike. This week is Episode 3: The Wicked Heart. Ilonka reads Julia's case file and finds drawings with a symbol and the number “292.13”. Ilonka tells Kevin about the visions and whi…

The PikeCast continues their watchthrough of Netflix's The Midnight Club series by Mike Flanagan based on the works of Christopher Pike. This week is Episode 2: The Two Danas. Ilonka tries to investigate Julia and Brightcliffe's past as the headquarters of a cult named "Paragon", but Dr. Stanton, who runs Brightcliffe, claims ignorance of both topi…

Josh and Kelly discuss the incredibly polarizing Halloween Ends. Is it really a farewell to Haddonfield and Michael Myers? Probably not. But if it is, we're both happy with the way it ended. NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Follow us: Twitter: https://twitter.com/PressPlayScream Website: https://pressplayandscream.buzzsprout.com/…

The PikeCast begins their watchthrough of Netflix's The Midnight Club series by Mike Flanagan. This week is Episode 1: The Final Chapter When cancer cancels her plans for college, star student Ilonka finds a sliver of hope at Brightcliffe, a mysterious hospice for terminally ill teens.

Josh and Kelly discuss Jeepers Creepers with Victor Varnado (actor, comedian, writer, patent-holder and podcast co-host). Topics include our roles in a Skynet situation (no, you're not missing anything; we really do start the episode in the middle of a conversation), the Creeper's hobbies and whether the locals are in on it. We also discuss WikiLis…

If you're a fan of movies, you know who William Sadler is. He's almost certainly been in at least one of your favorite movies (like the Tim Curry meme, it would be a good personality test to see what your first association with his name and face is) and we had the best time discussing his career. NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Follow us:…

Josh and Kelly discuss the latest installment in the Predator franchise with super-fan Jonah Keel. Sidebar topics include what exactly Predators do when they're not vacationing on Earth and killing humans and which movies could stand to have a Predator randomly dropped in. NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Prey is available to stream on Hul…

We're back with our most divisive episode yet! Josh "Brian" Bermont and Kelly Hager discuss The Shining and we put author Alex Grass in the middle. Is it a great movie? Who's to say? But it's definitely beloved by many people! Alex handles his tiebreaker status with flair and just as a warning, do not eat or drink during this episode because there'…

We're joined by our friend (and fellow horror enthusiast) Isaac to discuss the 80s horror classic Poltergeist! We discuss his horror origin story, whether Marty is the worst house guest ever and if the sequels are worth seeing (yes, but only Poltergeist II: The Other Side). NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Follow us: Twitter: https://twitt…

We're back with friend of the pod Allison Dickson to discuss Copycat! Sidebar topics include other serial killer movies, gay sidekicks, the fuckability of serial killers (spoiler: they aren't), the horror of the internet and the feminism of this movie. NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Follow Allison Dickson: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ms…

CW: Murder (specifically children murdered), implied sexual assault, child abuse, neglect Josh and Kelly are joined by friend of the pod Kathy Coe! We discuss The Black Phone, Ethan Hawke (both as a horror movie icon and actor in general), true crime and so many other things. There are spoilers throughout. Follow Kathy Coe: Website: https://t.co/TW…

CW: Sexual assault, assault, themes of consent Josh and Kelly are joined by friend of the pod Jason Klamm! (He's also the man behind the Stolen Dress Entertainment podcast network and one of our favorite people.) We discuss It Follows and what we would do in a similar situation (two-thirds of us would die as heroes, btw). There are spoilers through…

Did you know that we still have a podcast? We do! In this, we discuss (a) our extended absence, (b) Robert Englund's recent birthday, (c) Neve Campbell's announcement that she won't be in Scream 6 and (d) the recent release We're All Going to the World's Fair. Sidebar topics include our own past selves writing on the internet, the nature of interne…

Josh and Kelly are joined by friend of the pod Allison Dickson to discuss the Supreme Court draft that leaked recently that will likely overturn Roe v. Wade. This is an unusual episode in that we focus on the real life horror (which, as it happens, we can't turn off). There is a lot of swearing and some crying. This is not an edited episode; you wi…

Josh and Kelly discuss the new release X (available to rent across streaming platforms). Topics include aging, sex, feminism, music, body positivity and the difficulties of maintaining an honest relationship when you also have a tendency to murder people. There are spoilers throughout this episode. Follow us: Twitter: https://twitter.com/PressPlayS…

We're joined by our friends Ben, Keith and Brad from the Movies & a Meal podcast to discuss the horror-adjacent movie Assault on Precinct 13! It's John Carpenter's second movie and it's very fun to discuss. Follow Movies & a Meal: Subscribe to Movies & a Meal: https://t.co/DILJujXenx (they're also on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and anywhere e…

We had an absolute blast discussing Event Horizon with Chris Hanada and Tanner Kling (from Retrofit). Their series Breakwater is on Snapchat; you'll definitely want to check that out! As always, there are spoilers in this episode. (Also a discussion of actual haunted things/places we've experienced.) Also, there is a part in this where Kelly refers…

Wait! Don't! The sharks! They– Eeeehh! The PikeCast finishes out a trilogy that we began way back in episode 16 by digging into Christopher Pike’s 1995 book Remember Me 3: The Last Story. As it had been prophesized, Grady Hendrix, author of The Final Girl Support Group, My Best Friend's Exorcism, and Paperbacks from Hell, has returned, fulfilling h…

We love a good possession movie here, and so you can imagine how delighted we were to discuss Agnes with director/screenwriter Mickey Reece and its star, Molly Quinn. While it starts as a religious horror movie, it becomes an exploration of what happens when you don't process your trauma (SPOILER: nothing good). NOTE: There are spoilers in this epi…

We're back and discussing werewolves with Mishna Wolff, who wrote Werewolves Within! We discussed two staples of the genre, both from 1981: An American Werewolf in London and The Howling. Join us and keep off the moors and as far away from the Colony as possible. NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Next week, we're discussing Agnes with . Fol…

Author Hailey Piper returns The PikeCast to dig into another of Christopher Pike's adult novels, 1994's The Listeners. While touching on many of Pike's recurring themes, including ancient lizard races, The Listener finds a way to be truly terrifying, often as it draws us into a group that may or may not be a cult.…

This week, we explore two different abandoned asylums with our friend and 80s High podcaster Chris Armstrong! We start with Session 9 (actually shot in Danvers!) and finish with House on Haunted Hill. NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Next week, we're discussing The Howling and Am American Werewolf in London with Mishna Woolf. Follow Chris …

Here's the second part of our George C. Scott double feature with Allison Dickson! We discuss Exorcist III, debate the better ending of The Exorcist and also do a quick round of This or That. NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Follow Allison Dickson: Twitter: https://twitter.com/MsAllieD Website: https://t.co/uTDzHZzqLf Buy The Other Mrs. Mi…

We planned to have a double feature with bestselling author Allison Dickson but, as tends to happen, we talked too much. Here is part one of our discussion; we talk about horror in general and the George C. Scott movie The Changeling! Part two (Exorcist 3) will be up later this week. NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Follow Allison Dickson:…

This episode is a real treat--writer and producer Rodney Barnes joins us to discuss Blacula and Scream, Blacula, Scream. We chat about blaxploitation as a whole, voodoo and vampires, the perfect Dracula performance and some fun Hollywood stories (and much more)! NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. Next week, we'll be discussing The Changeling…

Social media influencer and horror fan Jessica Blevins stopped by to chat with us about Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween and Scream! (Three of our most favorite horror movies and franchises.) We touch on other installments and other horror movies, plus a fun round of "this or that." NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. In our next two episod…

What's your favorite scary movie? So far (and for this year, at least), our answer is the 2022 Scream. We love the references, the "requel" term, the triumphant return of "Red Right Hand" and the #forWes return to brutality. This movie is a love letter to fans and that love is very requited. NOTE: There are spoilers in this episode. We discuss it v…

We chose a double feature based on religious horror and found an accidentally perfect pairing. Both deal with the result of unprocessed trauma and its impact on religion (in Saint Maud, it leads to a powerful attachment to an offshoot of Catholicism and God; in The Vigil, it led to a renunciation of faith from a formerly Orthodox Jewish man) and wh…

Katie Lilly, the artist behind The Haunted Outfit, joins us to "run the series" as we begin tackling the Final Friends Trilogy from Christopher Pike. It won't take long for you to figure out that, well, we weren't to crazy about it. But at least Katie, who's read all three, assures us that SOMETHING happens in the other two books.…