Let’s keep the party going (to an unadvised second location). We’re following up the teen thrills of Ma for the decidedly adult chills of Karyn Kusama’s indie masterpiece The Invitation. Bhavna Sharma of the Bloody Broads Podcast joins us to talk about cults, grief, cats, and our own worst party experiences in an episode sure to keep you on the edg…

We’re starting Season 3 off in splashy fashion with a series devoted to celebration. Parties in horror movies are never a good idea for the characters but always a great idea for the audience. This week’s guest, the Stoker-nominated author R.J. Joseph, recommended the 2019 film Ma to us as a must-see in the party-gone-wrong canon. We had a blast wi…

It’s January, so let’s twirl into it with a return of snowy dread. For Winter’s Revenge month, we bring back frequent guest Cal Walker to follow-up on last year’s viewing of Dead Snow to get their take on Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead. We discuss magic n*zi zombie arms, a plethora of Martins, and where disgust fits into the horror genre. Then, we switc…

Let’s give a cheer for one more night of holiday fear! Queen Trashley and TayyySlayyy, the rap duo known as GLITTER MONEYYY, join us on a very special Xmas episode to talk about Nacho Vigalondo’s 2018 Into the Dark entry Pooka! We explore the dark side of the holidays, at least one gift that keeps on giving all year, and best practices when making …

We’re finding some creature comforts this Christmas season with our movie selections! This week, we have the joy of welcoming writer, TikTokker and podcast host extraordinaire Ryan Kinney (Brother Ghoulish) onto The Calls to discuss the childhood wonder of Gremlins. We get into the weeds of consumerism run rampant and gremlin self-actualization. An…

From man-eating plants to man-eating mans, this week we're exploring cannibalism in a feast for the senses. First, Emmy Colón-Geistlinger joins us to talk about why The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is the perfect Thanksgiving movie. Then, we make a recommendation for our double-meat double-feature, the 2010 Mexican film We Are What We Are. Follow Emmy …

It's Zombies and Other Man-Eaters Month on The Calls Are Coming from Inside The Podcast, and we couldn't think of a better place to start than the movie(s) that reversed all we knew about the food chain. That's right, we've got the original people-eating plant themself, Audrey II, making appearances through both the 1986 musical adaptation and the …

Oh, looks like you're still not picking up. Well, I just wanted to give you a quick call to tell you about the movie I just saw, SALOUM.

We're completing our meal and continuing our 1-year anniversary celebration by pulling Dame Helen Mirren into the mix. We think that you all need a lesson in Teaching Mrs. Tingle, a quintessential “what the hell is this?!” ‘90s movie. One of our very first guests, Rachel Perzynski, returns to discuss the madcap antics, Exorcist reenactments, and so…

It’s our one-year anniversary and Glamp Month is coming to a close, so we had to celebrate with the crown jewel of glamorous, camp masterpieces, Death Becomes Her. We bring back guest-friend Cal Walker to talk about the hypergender drag of it all, the high-jinks that ensure when you become undead, and the hilarious line readings that make this such…

This week, we’re putting our calls on hold to bring out our second Super Chiller episode. This audio essay focuses on why Camp is such an integral part of horror and what we really mean when we call something campy. This essay acts as a tentpole between the two halves of our Glamp Month coverage, allowing us to better understand all the wonderfully…

Hey, guess you're not answering your phone. Just wanted to send a quick message to tell you about the movie I just saw, WATCHER.

We’ve made it through the wilderness, and now it’s time to feel like a virgin as we make our debut into Society. This film is the definition of 1989, with wall-to-wall denim, fashion mullets, and Day-Glo swimwear, and we couldn’t resist putting former guest Ian Voltaire Deanes through the trials and tribulations of the bizarre Shunting. Then, we pa…

Pack up your bags because it’s time to go glamping! This week, we kick off Glamp Month, as we look at Camp horror films that don’t take place at a summer camp. We’re starting off with a recent hall-of-famer, Malignant, and joined by returning guest Matthew James Marquez to gush about Gabriel, unpack all James Wan’s horror references, and try to dec…

This week, we’re injecting you with the last hit of our sugar rush on the Sweet Treats of Summer. We’re staying put and making the treats travel light-years to come to us as we welcome back guest David Nesbitt Taylor to talk to us about the Killer Klowns from Outer Space–cue cotton candy cocoons, pregnant popcorn, and flesh-melting cream pies! We’r…

In our first Super Chiller bonus audio essay, we explore the themes of Neil Jordan's 1984 film, The Company of Wolves, most importantly, the connection between horror stories and folk tales. We tackle how unconscious desires, coming-of-age narratives, and the werewolf trope all boil together to offer us a different perspective on genre, gender, and…

Sweet dreams are made of… well, Annie Lennox has yet to tell us. But we do know that dreams and nightmares play a role in our featured film this week, Coraline, as well as our super-secret bonus movie to be revealed. Writer C.M. Crockford joins us to talk about Coraline’s impact as a gateway horror, its clever use of stop-motion and digital animati…

The Sweet Treats of Summer continue to drip deliciously. Suspiciously deliciously. This week, we talk with Mr. Hollywood Burlesque himself, Viktor Devonne, about Larry Cohen’s 1985 creepy dessert satire, The Stuff. Some topics include why horror needs some sweetness, the dangers of corporate marketing, and Murder, She Wrote connections. Then, we ca…

Welcome to our Sweet Treats of Summer coverage! What’s a hot summer day without a refreshing ice cream treat? We’re kicking off this month's saccharine horrors with the 1995 cult classic, Ice Cream Man. We talk with Dr. Marianna Staroselsky about Pied Piper allegories, depictions of mental illness in horror, and clown cones, and we answer the real …

Pride Extension! We’re finishing up our month dedicated to queer horror bypassing America’s birthday and traveling over to France to cover the giallo-splashed gay porno horror love letter, Knife+Heart (Un couteau dans le couer) with writer and performer Chelsea Fiddyment. We discuss the complicated relationship of being a queer monster, reclaiming …

This week, we’ve got two reunions to make: former guest Emmy Colón-Geistlinger and the dream demon himself, Freddy Krueger. We take a look at the queer underbelly (or just regular belly) of the original Nightmare sequel to understand the suburban repression of the Nightmare series, what value queer people can find in this movie, and the straight ob…

We're sure we left you hankering for more of that new flesh after Tetsuo went full Iron Man in the first half of our coverage on queering the body horror genre. Today, we follow up with artist, writer, and the partner of our host, JI YAng, as we get his fresh perspective on David Cronenberg's 1996 film, Crash, following his first-time watch. Will K…

This week, we’re splitting in half thanks the flesh-rending power of body horror! We’re kicking off our Pride Month coverage by queering the 1989 Japanese cyberpunk classic Tetsuo: The Iron Man with our special guest, horror writer and podcaster John Patterson. Then stay tuned later this week when we release our discussion on another body horror cl…

This week, we’re counting down from 10 to help you prepare and take stock of all your horror favorites before we hit the midpoint of 2022. This Top 10 list covers exciting new horror films that are available for streaming or on VOD, with many celebrated and underseen titles amongst our picks. We also provide some comparison films for each entry to …

We’re wrapping up our horror-comedy month here at The Calls Are Coming from Inside The Podcast, but not before we wrap our hands around some themes! We’re not only unpacking the themes of the two movies we’re watching today, we’re also relating them to theater, feminism, technology, and surveillance with our guests. First, we chat with Sharai Bohan…

Let’s have a celebration! 25 episodes in, it’s not our birthday but we’re finally ready for a death day. We’re joined by Fear Queers co-hosts Beyza Ozer and Chase Hauser to chortle over the 2017 Blumhouse smash, Happy Death Day. Listen along as we talk creepy and problematic school mascots, infinite time loops, why you shouldn't trust a birthday cu…

For the second week of our horror-comedy focus, we’re going back to the ‘80s! We take a flashback to the greatest slasher spoof of all time, Student Bodies, with our guest, tattoo artist-musician-comedian Christian Bernal. Then, we let you in on one of the best-kept secrets, Flesh-Eating Mothers, a mad ride through suburban restlessness and materna…

April Fools Day may be over, but the month of the fool is still going strong. Our first round of horror-flavored laughs comes courtesy of some gateway horror films that made us and our guests fans for life. First, we talk with DeVaughn and Garrett of the Bloody Blunts Cinema Club podcast about that ghost with the most, Beetlejuice. And then we swit…

Spring is about to bust through your window! But before winter blows away, why not cozy up by the fireplace one more time and program yourself a movie marathon with these six additional wintry horror and thriller films. We begin with a discussion about what makes cold season horror so effective, and then, we’ll talk you through our six picks that g…

CONTENT WARNING: Discussions of sexual assault and sexual harassment. Don’t let the directors get you down! This week, we’re doing a theme within a theme, and we needed the support of two guests to do it. We’re talking with Chicago actors Jessica Kearney and Morgan Eliza Cooper about the double-bill of actresses in trouble in a snowy landscape of C…

Another week, another snowy fright: we’re finally getting our Thing on! We explore if this is the ultimate winter horror movie, the representation of otherness in gender and race The Thing presents us with, the gloopy, gloppy unmatched practical effects and what exactly happened with that remake-prequel. First, we talk with the Bloody Broads Podcas…

We’re putting ourselves into isolation for this part of our Winter Horrors series. Whether we’re stuck on ski lift in the middle of a winter storm or rekindling with our exes in an isolated Icelandic cabin, our two films this week look at loneliness and isolation in different ways. First, we discuss with Jessica Scott, of We Who Walk Here, Adam Gre…

The sun still has not risen on our 6 More Weeks of Winter coverage. This week, we’re joined by Mike Brown and Bobby Torrez of The People Under the Scares podcast to talk about 2007’s 30 Days of Night. We share our love of all different types of vampire stories, the class system of movie monsters, and who would we spend 30 days in the dark with if n…

And so begins six more terrifying weeks of winter. Since we’re in our own deep freeze, our next six episodes until spring will cover the major and minor snow-blown, winter-cold horrors out there. We’re starting off in one of the northernmost countries, Norway, with a taste of regional ‘00s horror movies in Dead Snow and Cold Prey, and welcoming bac…

Welcome to Season 2! We couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than to do a Birthday Battle between two classic birthday horror movies: it's Frogs vs. Happy Birthday to Me! Hot Florida swampland vs. cold Montreal prep-school, young, hot Sam Elliott vs. ingenue Melissa Sue Anderson, creature feature vs. classy slasher. Find out which movie take…

The Horror Holiday Vacation continues as we gear up with two school teachers from Down Under. First, we’re talking with playwright and theatre artist Cal Walker about the 2019 zombie comedy Little Monsters. We go over a brief history of the zombie film, discuss the character growth that happens in this movie, and spare a minute for a way-too-horny …

Join us on our globe-trotting Horror Holiday Vacation as we start off this leg of our journey by hopping over to Spain. I team up with Candice and Logan Conner to go ghost hunting through the sad story of Laura, Simón, and the children of The Orphanage. Along the way, we talk Peter Pan, playing games, and even share a bit of insight into what color…

We’re wrapping up November Nostalgia month with 13 movies that have a strong sense of nostalgia for our host. These movies are unranked (because how could we choose?), but we have placed them in four categories to help you navigate a mini-marathon based on your tastes: Gateway Films, Dark Fairy Tales, Retro Throwbacks, and Underseen Gems. Give us a…

Just in time for Thanksgiving (or Friendsgiving), we have two guests who are always welcome at the feast! First, actor, writer, and so much more David Nesbitt Taylor digs up the buried memories of My Buddies past and finds Chucky the killer doll from the very first Child’s Play movie. Then, we make our host's brother, Tom Sparrow, watch a much newe…

November Nostalgia continues with a look into the dream world. We're calling up comedy cabaret all-star Brittny Congleton to share her fond, fraidy memories of Mr. Freddy Krueger in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street. Along the way, we chat sleepovers, horror musicals, and the universal childhood fear of quicksand. Then, we cross into the realm…

This week, we’re kicking off our November Nostalgia month with a look back on some well-worn creature features. We go deep inside Jeff Goldblum’s wormhole with 1986’s The Fly, as our horror correspondent Mikey P Jr. introduces us to the topic of nostalgia in horror and we discuss the triumph and tragedy of the Cronenberg remake. Then, we bust out o…

In this super-sized, super special episode, we’re debating the best timeline in the HALLOWEEN franchise (at least, the Michael Myers parts of it). In a four-way debate between Calls Inside host Kevin, Homies of Horror’s Erika, former guest Emmy Colón-Geistlinger, and upcoming guest Matthew James Marquez, we present our cases for the four main Hallo…

It’s Halloween week and time for a celebration! In honor of the 30th anniversary of The People Under the Stairs (released November 1, 1991), we fawn over the movie with actor and writer Ian Voltaire Deanes. This episode is jam-packed with tingly tales as we talk about the uses of art in horror, Craven’s exploration of masculinities in the film, man…

This week, the walls come crumbling down, and we reveal their gnarly innards as we look at a couple horror films depicting housing crises across the world. First, we talk with Chicagoan Emmy Colón-Geistlinger about the original hometown horror, 1992’s Candyman. Along the way, we discuss our feelings on bees, the gothic nature of the movie, and the …

This week, we're looking at the sub-subgenre of horror comedies set in the world of porn filmmaking. We talk about One-Eyed Monster (2008) with playwright Hannah Ii-Epstein, and we also chat about dinosaur erotica, choosing audition monologues from a horror film, and our love for Amber Benson and confusion with her role in this film. Then, we offer…

It’s episode 6, and we’re slicing it up about Saw VI (2009), with Chicago wrestler Mateo Valentine (Jay Garcia), to talk about healthcare and horror, the internet’s favorite sexy Billy puppet, and perhaps the most famous trap in the Saw franchise. Then in our horror correspondent segment, we double-up on everything for 12 Hour Shift (2020) with Geo…

In this week’s episode, we discuss representations of sex work within horror between our two films. First, we call up Shirley Blazen to talk Frank Henenlotter's oddball grand opus, Frankenhooker (1990). Topics include iconic quotable lines, exploding mannequins, and secret connections to My Little Pony. Then in our horror correspondent segment, we …

On this week's call, our guest Rachel Perzynski discusses being horror-averse and seeing Oculus (2014) as her first horror movie. We analyze the use of mirrors and reflections of trauma in horror movies, and then we invite in horror correspondent G.G. Graham to discuss our double-feature selection, the 1990 supernatural slasher Mirror, Mirror (begi…

In this week's episode, we go back almost 50 years to unpack the classic horror film The Exorcist (1973) with singer-songwriter Jill M. Stone. We touch on bad babysitters, bad neighbors, and why you shouldn't slap that priest. We then match up themes of religious trauma in horror films to talk about our double-feature selection Saint Maud (2020). Y…

We traced the calls, and they’re coming from inside the podcast! In this introductory episode, host Kevin Sparrow describes the format of the show and the reasons for this podcast. We also preview some of our upcoming episodes. We’re so glad to be on the line with you. Follow us on social media: Twitter: @callsinsidepod Facebook: @callsinsidepod In…