Transcript
Kevin Dougherty: One.
Brandon: off to you.
Brandon: Good evening and welcome to Fright Central where we talk all things horror. My name is Brandon Keck. I'm here with Kevin Dock. And happy Friday the 13th, everybody. ah Tonight we're going to be talking about, um I guess you want to call it the best of 2025. I mean, what what we really enjoyed in ah film and television in 2025 in the genre. But before we get to that, I'm going to pass it off to Doc for a bit of news. What you got, Kev?
Kevin Dougherty: um Before I get to the news, happy Friday the 13th, like you said, did you make sure you left leave out um um premarital sex and drugs for Jason the night before?
Brandon: Happy Friday, 13th.
Brandon: Yeah, yeah. it yeah we We abstain on these Fridays, you know, for for the greater good.
Kevin Dougherty: uh yeah so i got a bunch of news since we haven't done it in a while sorry for the uh extra long uh break uh we probably won't go too deep into our uh best of probably won't go too deep into the best of since uh like maybe three episodes of it ago we did the chainsaw awards and most of those are ones we would agree with but um
Brandon: Wife gets you in the fucking way.
Kevin Dougherty: Going all the way back to, I guess, like, what was it, December, November, I guess, we could start with the the big news of um Warner Brothers ah selling to Netflix.
Kevin Dougherty: Well, you know, it was up between Paramount and Netflix. And I mean, I guess of the lesser two evils would be Netflix, but everything I've heard about
Brandon: and This is between Netflix and Paramount Skydance. Is that the?
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, yeah. Because Skydance never bought Paramount or whatever.
Brandon: And this is being sold. They're purchasing HBO. and Or is HBO in something else?
Kevin Dougherty: No, they're splitting um because it was Warner Brothers Discovery.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: And Netflix is just buying the Warner Brothers part.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: And Discovery is going to be like a either spun off into a separate thing again, or or that might ah sell. Paramount was trying to buy both.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: And the reason why I think that was bad was because, um, um, is it Larry Ellison is, you know, the father of, uh,
Brandon: Yeah, they're all fucking a bunch of sketchy motherfuckers.
Kevin Dougherty: well, yeah.
Brandon: I mean, don't
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. The, the, the problem is he, he's got like the back pocket uh, Trump and, you know, he wants to control all the media aspects of it, you know, so that, that would have been bad.
Brandon: There can be only one.
Kevin Dougherty: I think,
Brandon: i mean, there's pros and cons. I mean, I can see both arguments. But yeah, I mean, generally, like when you want to find out like what is the for the greater good, what's going to be better for the world, you just find out like what Donald Trump wants and you do the opposite.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, pretty much.
Brandon: And, you know, that's generally like what's better for the world.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: You can call that derangement. I call Trump derangement syndrome sanity. And so, you know what I mean? So like that's basically what you find out. You find out what Trump wants to do and you do the opposite. And that's generally the difference between right and wrong.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, the the big ah ah thing, ah ah the problem with Netflix is that, um you know, they want everything to go to streaming. They've said that right now, I mean, obviously this deal isn't going to go through completely, you know, regulatory process and everything until the end of this year.
Kevin Dougherty: But they said everything that's supposed to get a release in theaters now is going to get a release with that same 45-day window. But who knows after that, it might get a shorter window and be on Netflix sooner.
Kevin Dougherty: Like, I don't know. I think it should have just been somebody else that had ah came in and bought it.
Brandon: Yeah, I mean, in the in the perfect world, you'd want that.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: The more competition, the better it is for us consumers. um But, you know, it's just, it's going to come down to where there can be only one or where there's going to be like, you know, um Prodigy and Waylon, uh,
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, yeah.
Brandon: uh, or whatever. Yeah, it's gonna come down to where there's only like two or three companies.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: And, you know, you're just going to be either regionally locked and you know, you just take what you can get at that point.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. I know SAGAPRA had put out a, like, a notice about, like,
Brandon: Um,
Kevin Dougherty: hey, it's good for like the shareholders, but it raises serious questions about the future of the entertainment industry and like you know legacy movie movie companies.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: And then even the the Directors Guild president, Christopher Nolan, like planned to meet with Netflix to address major concerns. Because there was like the huge thing with Warner Brothers last, well, not last year, but during the pandemic, where they were doing that same-day release window and it made Christopher Nolan like,
Kevin Dougherty: not want to work with Warner Brothers anymore. So then, like, and this is like now,
Brandon: Wait, who owns Warner? Wait, which one is HBO under? Are they Warner Brothers? Yeah, that's what I thought.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Brandon: And then Discovery is, like, what's the major subsidiaries of Discovery?
Kevin Dougherty: So, like...
Brandon: Like, what would I...
Kevin Dougherty: Oh, it's usually, like, the, you know, like, Discovery Channel and, like, those
Brandon: Okay, so literally, like, the other... yeah Okay, so other random stuff, like...
Kevin Dougherty: And like the most of the new stuff and a lot of those like, um you know, reality and TV shows and stuff.
Brandon: Yeah, yeah. I'm not trying to delve too deep into it because you just go into a whole rabbit hole and then you're talking about something totally out. ah You know, you're talking about like corporate structuring and fucking, you know, big business mob.
Brandon: It's just, you know, I mean, it it it is a horror show when you think about it.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: but like you know It's not really like the discussion we want to have.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: So everything's fucked.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. I mean, it's,
Brandon: We're just hoping for the best.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, i mean, it is important. I mean, I was hoping, like, if we were going to have a major company buy it, I think out of all of them, I probably would have preferred, like, Apple. um But Apple was like, yeah, we're we're fine with, like, creating our own, like, IP. We don't need all that ah extra fucking hassle.
Kevin Dougherty: So they're all...
Brandon: I've been trying to talk my mother into getting a year purchase because she's been like, oh, I don't like this password sharing. We can't do anymore. ah And she's like – she was asking me if there was a streaming service that like I would – I'm like Apple.
Brandon: i was like Apple will give you a year of distractions, mother.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, yeah.
Brandon: Like it has, in my opinion – the best overall original content by far. And we already talked on the cast about ah sci-fi horror being like really prevalent on Apple, but I think Apple just has the best, like overall, like if I was going to choose just to get one, it would be Apple.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, at least when it comes to TV series.
Brandon: I think that's the most worth it. I mean, for a hundred bucks a year, I think that's pretty reasonable for an ad-free experience.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: So, I mean, that's, yeah. Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: Well, I just got a year free of Apple because I'm a season ticket holder of LAFC.
Brandon: Go fuck yourself up.
Kevin Dougherty: And since the MLS was like an extra plan on there, they ah got rid of the extra cost of it and just include it with Apple. And they just gave out everybody who has season ticket holders to any um MLS team gets a year free.
Kevin Dougherty: and then it kept
Brandon: that's actually pretty That's actually pretty cool.
Kevin Dougherty: So it's $100 worth ah of a streaming service. and you're just gonna get And I'll get that as long as I'm a season ticket holder. So i thought that was a pretty sweet deal.
Brandon: so And so that just adds on to, like, you're already purchased. So, like, next year you're going to have, like, a full year of Apple for free.
Kevin Dougherty: Well, i my ah I had bought it in like May, so I'd canceled it. And then once I ah like clicked it, it just automatically like did it for the.
Brandon: Oh, like Converter. Oh, that's awesome.
Kevin Dougherty: ah yeah
Brandon: Cool.
Kevin Dougherty: So i dont I won't have to like, so it's already paid through till May, but it doesn't matter at this point. It's just going free from now on. So um in actual horror news, though, um i don't know if you ever saw ah As Above, So Below.
Brandon: Yeah. Yeah.
Brandon: No.
Kevin Dougherty: It was like a found footage like um horror movie. forget what year it came out. But it was like about going into like the catacombs and like in Paris.
Kevin Dougherty: And it kind of starts out like ah you know most like found footage movies. But really goes into like this bizarre like psychological supernatural fucking like terrors and shit like that. And it gets real fucking wild. I thought it was fucking fantastic.
Brandon: So it's like vhs but like on steroids.
Kevin Dougherty: And I was really surprised for it.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah Well, VHS was more of a, like, each ah one was separate. This is all, like, more like...
Brandon: Yeah, they were each separate, but they were all like the found footage type.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah,
Kevin Dougherty: yeah all found yeah yeah like Blair Witch Project and all those.
Brandon: I like you. I like you.
Kevin Dougherty: and Yeah, yeah.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: I thought this one was one of the one of the better ones, to be honest. like and I was really surprised by it. But it's a officially getting a sequel with the original writer and director returning.
Kevin Dougherty: It was from 2014. There you go. ah But yeah, it's going to be like a new group of explorers descending into the famous infamous ah tunnels. So I'm looking forward to that. I thought the first one was pretty good.
Kevin Dougherty: But the same director of that is also doing a ah remake of the Cabot of Dr. Caligari. and um And Michael Shannon is set to star.
Brandon: Although for a second you were going to say a remake of Cabin in the Woods. I thought that was about to come out of your mouth for some reason.
Kevin Dougherty: no
Brandon: i don't know.
Kevin Dougherty: no but there is another remake coming up but uh i i i no no it's a something else uh yeah this was like if you're not familiar it's like a 1920s uh uh film like kind of in this like silent film the same vein as like the original nosferatu uh really bizarre
Brandon: Of Cabin in the Woods?
Brandon: No, okay.
Kevin Dougherty: um sets and everything. It was really a really cool movie if you haven't seen it. ah
Brandon: And what was the title of that?
Kevin Dougherty: Doctor... I'm sorry, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
Brandon: The Cabinet of Dr. Calgary.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, have you never seen that one?
Brandon: No.
Kevin Dougherty: Oh, dude.
Brandon: definitely Definitely did not.
Kevin Dougherty: It's definitely worth... ah it's It's like one of like the profound influences on like not just like German cinema, but like you know so the cinematic landscape as a fucking whole.
Kevin Dougherty: like Like, you see a lot of like the influence from it. like Once you see it, you'll be like, oh, okay. like the like You'll see a lot influence in like Edward Scissorhands or like Frankenstein.
Kevin Dougherty: you know like Shit like that. It's it's really fucking dope. um
Brandon: Yeah, have to check that out.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. But ah speaking of unnecessary remakes, Mike Flanagan is adapting another fucking Stephen King story.
Brandon: Hmm.
Kevin Dougherty: But guess which one this is?
Brandon: Uh.
Kevin Dougherty: It's already been done. and No, I will.
Brandon: The Langoliers.
Kevin Dougherty: That would have been a good one.
Brandon: The Tommyknockers. No, but that would have been awesome.
Kevin Dougherty: Also, yeah, no, ah a good, um a movie that's already good, that doesn't need a remake from a CD thing.
Brandon: Uh.
Brandon: The Shining? The Mist.
Kevin Dougherty: no it's The Mist.
Brandon: I mean, i think that good, calling The Mist good would be subjective, you know. um But, I mean, yeah, I mean, i guess I feel like The Mist was a little bit, like, kind of recent.
Brandon: Like I would have actually preferred him to, if he was going to do like another Stephen King adaptation, like I would have rather maybe like something like Cujo or something that was like, you know, like a lot more like in the past, but like the mist was like what in the early two thousands. So, you know, that,
Kevin Dougherty: and then it had that TV series.
Brandon: And it had pretty good special effects and everything. So, you know, it's not like it was like very like antiquated, like in, you know, the distant past.
Brandon: um
Kevin Dougherty: No.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: And
Brandon: So like we're talking about something more recent.
Kevin Dougherty: And it had the ah the tv it was you know that TV series that came out as well.
Brandon: Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's right. I forgot about that.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: Yeah. So, I mean, there's been. Yeah, that's kind of a a peculiar choice. I wonder why he decided to go with that, unless he made the terrible mistake of like asking Stephen King what he wanted, which is the worst thing you can ever do.
Kevin Dougherty: No, because that actually has like the the original ah Frank Darabont's Mist actually had like the better ending than the short story. And even King was like, yeah, this ending's better.
Kevin Dougherty: So it's like, how are you going to top that ending? It's like, that's what I'm saying. and like That shit was so devastating.
Brandon: I would just do the opposite of what Stephen King says assume would be good.
Kevin Dougherty: uh oh what happened there all right um then the uh but yeah so i don't know like it's planned again it's like come on dude like stop doing other things like work on the dark tower like yeah i swear he announced the dark tower fucking a few years ago and then he's done like four or he's either ah done or announced like three or four other projects since then like dude can you
Brandon: Guaranteed his fucking wife is going to be one of the main characters in this. Guaranteed. I put my life on it right now.
Brandon: Like, even if it says she's not going to be in it, like, in the last, like, days to, like, before post-production, she'll be in it. She's going to one of the main characters. Guaranteed.
Brandon: Guaranteed. What, do you think I'm wrong? Like, do you doubt that?
Kevin Dougherty: No, I don't think you're wrong.
Brandon: no.
Kevin Dougherty: I'm just saying, like, i why wouldn't you?
Brandon: His wife will not only be in it, but she will have a substantial part, if not like a co-lead.
Kevin Dougherty: i mean, i don't I think she's pretty good. i don't have a problem with her. I mean, wouldn't you want to work with your wife?
Brandon: Fuck it. Fuck his goddamn wife. I don't like that kind of shit. I don't like it that, like, you know, I'm going to put you in all my movies just because you're my wife. Like, when you could put, like, much, much more talented actresses in any of those roles.
Kevin Dougherty: well I mean honestly if I were director and I was making a movie I'd want to put you in the fucking movie so even if you weren't a good actor
Brandon: I wouldn't want you put me in the movie just because like we're friends. I would want you to put me in the movie if like I showed that I had the merit to actually be in those films.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: like you know i'm just saying I'm not saying that... like What's her name? Katie Segal? I'm not saying she's a terrible actor. I'm just saying like those roles could have gone to other people.
Brandon: um And...
Kevin Dougherty: You can say that about a lot of movies.
Brandon: It would have been better, but every single movie, it seems, every single like show, anything he has produced, he's put his wife in there. And I i just don't like that type of shit.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. ah Anyway, ah we got and ah anyway ah well we got Evil Dead Burn coming out this year, but there's another Evil Dead movie already beginning filming next month called ah Evil Dead Wrath.
Brandon: Fuck his wife.
Kevin Dougherty: And it is directed by Francis Galupi? If that's how you say his name, I want to say
Brandon: That sounds very, very familiar.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah And for some reason, I won't.
Brandon: I think you said it correctly.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. I mean, yeah, even if I didn't, it's it's whatever.
Brandon: Because I've heard that before.
Brandon: And so that is so Evil Dead Wrath. Wait, so Evil Dead Wrath is what is coming out in what?
Kevin Dougherty: Wrath.
Kevin Dougherty: No, Evil Dead Burn is evil that burns coming out this year.
Brandon: In the fall? Oh, burn. Yeah, in the fall, correct?
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. Yes, I have that date ah right here. i haven I made a list. we'll We'll definitely go into it when I talk about ah movies that I'm looking forward to this year, because boy, do I have a fucking list, that's for sure.
Brandon: And I know we haven't really discussed it on the show, but just in terms of like upcoming things, I noticed that, um, for all mankind, uh, season five, which I'm not sure if it's going be the final season, but I had been checking and checking and they finally have like an announced release date, which i believe is at the end of March.
Kevin Dougherty: But it is
Brandon: If you're into that kind of like, like, uh, it's not really hard, but I mean, i think it's been pretty good sci-fi.
Kevin Dougherty: know
Kevin Dougherty: March 27th is For All Mankind.
Brandon: yeah. Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: There's also a spinoff called Star City coming out as well.
Brandon: I heard about that. I didn't think that I thought that was like coming out in like 2027.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: I thought that was like a distant like, you know, like that's like a project that's like in the distant works that will be out in a couple of years or something like that.
Kevin Dougherty: It might be.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, I think it might. I don't know if that one has a release date. But yeah, that one definitely, I just noticed it was a spinoff and was like, oh, that's interesting. But then...
Brandon: it's The reason I've been in particularly impressed with that too is that um I think like their strength has been their ability to retain their cast over multiple seasons.
Brandon: And I think that's really given that show like a lot of the strength.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: So Star City, yeah, that would be something I would want to check out. It's it's pretty good sci-fi. I mean, not not very much horror, but like, I mean, I think it's been good sci-fi and very good storytelling, very good writing.
Brandon: So that's just something I'm psyched about. But sorry, moving on.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, for sure. Oh, sorry, the Evil Dead Burn comes out July 24th. But yeah, this ah this director who's doing Evil Dead Wrath, I'm looking at his IMDb, and it looks like he's only done a couple short films and then one major picture in 2023, The Last Stop to Yuma County, which I've never heard of.
Brandon: Okay.
Kevin Dougherty: So ah that's definitely interesting. He's done a couple music videos. And then like, you the last stop in Yuma County.
Brandon: Yuma County?
Kevin Dougherty: Y-U-M-A.
Brandon: Okay. Yeah, yeah, but Yuma, Arizona.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. Yeah.
Brandon: I assume.
Kevin Dougherty: So yeah, I don't know. ah So it'll be interesting. I don't know anything ah really about It doesn't look like it was a his previous work was a horror movie either. Just his crime drama the thriller. So that's ah that's interesting. But yeah, I mean, shit, I'll take more Evil Dead.
Brandon: Yeah, me too.
Kevin Dougherty: I'm not going to complain about that.
Brandon: Me too. I mean, personally, I think that, ah what was it? It was Ash vs. Evil Dead, the one that had three seasons. I think it went by that. I mean, I i've really thought that that could have gone on for a couple more seasons.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: I mean, I could have used, like, ah i mean
Kevin Dougherty: I could have at least used one more season.
Brandon: anyway i okay i think it would have been good. I mean, i i don't know. i mean, it was on Starz and that held it back. i It didn't get as much promotion. didn't get as much viewers. I mean, I understand like why it was like canceled. But like you know for me, just i thought it was like pretty well done. liked the effects. Um, you know, I thought some of the storytelling was a little bit cheesy, but I thought that Bruce Campbell did such a great job, like revitalizing the character. And, um, you know, I thought the supporting cast was really good. Uh, so, I mean, selfishly, I guess I, I think that there should have been a few more seasons, but you know, I, I do understand why they weren't able to continue, but yeah, I mean, any more evil dead. Yes, please.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, seriously. I mean, I hope... I would like to see Bruce Campbell return at some point, but I think there's still talks of...
Brandon: Well, is Bruce Campbell not going to be in any of these new evil deads?
Kevin Dougherty: As far as I know, he's not.
Brandon: Oh, fuck me.
Kevin Dougherty: I mean, unless that the less they're keeping a series... Because he said he was pretty much done with the character, but he said he would... like I believe he's supposed to do voice work for an animated series that they're doing.
Kevin Dougherty: so
Brandon: Well, fuck my ass and call me a bitch. That is not a fucking good. That is not a fucking good look.
Kevin Dougherty: I mean, Evil Dead Rise is really good. The last Evil Dead movie.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: So, like, I'm okay with, like...
Brandon: Yeah, that, that, that was, that was really, really good. But we're talking about a show, like i'm assuming spanning like, uh,
Kevin Dougherty: No, a movie.
Brandon: Oh, this is going to be a film. Okay.
Kevin Dougherty: Yes, yes.
Brandon: For some reason, I thought that Evil Dead Burn was going to be like a miniseries. I thought had like six parts.
Kevin Dougherty: No, no. It's another...
Brandon: So, okay.
Kevin Dougherty: It's another movie.
Brandon: All right.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: You know what? i was I misunderstood.
Kevin Dougherty: Okay.
Brandon: that sounds That sounds better. Okay.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Brandon: Okay. But still, i mean, even even if it was something where like Bruce Campbell just had like
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: a weak supporting part, you know what mean? Where he made like more or less like just like maybe a short cameo or just had like a small part where he was only on screen for five to 10 minutes.
Brandon: That would be really dope even.
Kevin Dougherty: I mean,
Brandon: yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: He might be. I mean, they I think they could be keeping it a secret if he is, but...
Brandon: Yeah, i dad that would have been that would have been something that you would promote. That's something you would put in trailers. you'd want People would want to see Bruce Campbell.
Kevin Dougherty: No, I think you would...
Brandon: I don't think that's something that you hide and keep secret.
Kevin Dougherty: I think...
Brandon: That's something that you're going to want advertise because it would strengthen it.
Kevin Dougherty: Nope. i think I think if he's just making a cameo, I don't think you announced that at all.
Brandon: Oh, yeah, if he's just making a cameo, I'm saying if he had a small role.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. Oh, yeah, if he had like a small supporting role, then yeah. But i I think if he's only kind of making a cameo and he's only in it for a few moments, then yeah, don't.
Brandon: Yeah, yeah. If he's just making a cameo. I was saying like a smart a small role where he only had like 5-10 minutes of total airtime in the entire film, but that's a small role. ah You know, cameo is more something like 60 Seconds.
Kevin Dougherty: No, I think even five to ten minutes, I wouldn't announce that at all either. like like i'd want like I'd want to be surprised that he's in it and not like go to the movies thinking he's going to be in it a bunch and then it only being five Wouldn't you be disappointed, though, that you showed up to the movie and he was only in it for five, ten minutes?
Brandon: Yeah, I would put that in advertisements. I would try to get him on the poster. Like, I would want people to know Bruce Campbell's going to be in my shed. Like, that's just me.
Brandon: I don't care. It would be about maximizing the people that are going to come and see it.
Kevin Dougherty: No. No.
Brandon: that's what like That's what fucking studio execs and the's stuff are going to want to They're not going to, hey, let's cover up something everybody wants to see. would want people to know he's going to be in it.
Brandon: I don't know. I just think that makes common sense. But, I mean, hey, differently.
Kevin Dougherty: Well, not the way I would fucking do it.
Brandon: All right, different.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: I think I'd have a more successful production company than you, Doc.
Kevin Dougherty: I think you'd have people fucking mad at you that he was only in it for five to ten minutes after putting him on the poster and in the trailers.
Brandon: It doesn't matter because my company would soon buy everything.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: There would be only one. You would have to take what I give you.
Brandon: it This is not a democracy.
Kevin Dougherty: Big time productions. Speaking TV series though, A24, who also is doing Crystal Lake, they just the rights to Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Brandon: Moving on.
Kevin Dougherty: a twenty four you know who also is doing crystal lake
Brandon: I'm very aware of yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: i'll ski
Kevin Dougherty: they just ah got the rights to texas chainsaw massacre and They're going to be developing a TV series for that and on a new movie as well.
Kevin Dougherty: So I think that's a good choice. I think A24 is a good choice if you're going to have somebody take some of these older properties into into the new realm. Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah, I mean, A24 is usually, like, pretty solid. I mean, ah except, well, hey, it looks like Crystal Lake is definitely happening, um which, you know, it's taken a long time.
Brandon: It's almost gotten shut down multiple times, you know.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: You apparently had corporate embezzlement, which, you know, I mean, so, I mean, but, ah you know, for the most part, um I think most of the things I've seen that have been ah a twenty four stamped have been pretty dope Or even if they weren't, like, great films, they would be, like, unique, like, original ideas or maybe something, like, really, really twisted.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: yeah, i general generally is a good
Kevin Dougherty: And it looks like they're bringing back the some of the people who co-created the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, that they'll serve as ah executive producers.
Brandon: like
Kevin Dougherty: And the director will be J.T. Molnar, who directed our favorite movie from two years ago, Strange Darling.
Brandon: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: Great, great film. Great film. um
Kevin Dougherty: So I think that's a good choice to to direct this ah new series. No word on ah who's directing... the movie though but it's going to be the same producing team so we'll we'll have to keep an eye out on that for the future
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: um
Brandon: I mean, personally, I mean, there's just been so many goddamn Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. I mean, it, Hey, that's cool. I would have preferred something else, but, you know.
Kevin Dougherty: I think a TV series would be a good direction to take it into
Brandon: Oh, wait. this So this is going to be a TV series.
Kevin Dougherty: Yes, a TV series, and they're doing them ah they've announced a movie as well.
Brandon: Okay.
Kevin Dougherty: But the TV series is...
Brandon: Okay. So they're really going hard.
Kevin Dougherty: the tv sport I mean, that's the same thing what they're doing with Crystal Lake.
Brandon: Oh, least it's not the fucking Walking Dead.
Kevin Dougherty: They're doing a TV series, and they're doing a movie as well.
Brandon: Yeah. Crystal Lake hasn't like really had anything in like two decades though. Like it seems like there's been like, I can't even count the amount of Texas train.
Kevin Dougherty: True, yeah.
Brandon: So like re but there's been that at least gotta be at least five, six, something like that.
Kevin Dougherty: I think the last one was like... Yeah.
Brandon: Uh, including in the past five years, there's been like at least one, maybe two. So, I mean, it I think since 2000, there's been a good half dozen Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah,
Kevin Dougherty: yeah because i think the remakes were in 2000, and I think there was like ah but one of those legacy sequels that was recently on Netflix.
Brandon: I mean, it was just, you know, they're like, oh, the one with McConaughey, and then you don't know, and then you're like, oh, the one with Jessica Biel, where her ass pretty much was like the horror of the whole movie.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: It's just a smaller.
Brandon: Yeah. She actually, yeah, just real quick speaking of that, i had seen an interview with her and she was talking about, don't know what it whether it was.
Brandon: I never saw. She was talking about like some like nude modeling or something she did. And then the subject changed. to some things earlier in her career and they were joking about that.
Brandon: And she actually made the joke about how her butt and she was talking about hitting the stair stepper real hard. And she was like, well, Hey, you know, you take success, however you can get it.
Brandon: And they were taught talking about the poster that movie and how they enlarged their ass and put it.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: And, you know, she had like a really good attitude about it. You know, she's really, really funny. So, you know, I like Jessica Biel a lot.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah yeah I actually like that remake too i didn't think it was I thought it was pretty good I mean
Brandon: So, um,
Brandon: Yeah, I mean, i i barely remember. Like I said, i've I've gotten, like, so, like, they've... There's just been so many remakes that it seems like it's gotten, like, they're all, like, kind of blurred into one in my mind.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah well
Brandon: So...
Kevin Dougherty: There's like the sequel to that, then there's like a prequel, and then there's like a fucking...
Brandon: Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah, I just refer to them, like, you know, that piece with McConaughey, and then, don't know, there was that other...
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. That
Kevin Dougherty: one was like the 90s. That was the third one.
Brandon: And in the 90s, that was McConaughey?
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, wasn't that... there Wasn't that...
Brandon: I really don't.
Kevin Dougherty: all
Brandon: I i thought it was in the 2000s after the Beale one. um
Kevin Dougherty: Wasn't that Texas Chainsaw Next Generation?
Brandon: I don't know.
Kevin Dougherty: april
Brandon: I don't care. I don't want to get like into like a rabbit hole with Texas.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: tree There's been a whole bunch of them at the end.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah yeah that was next generation i want to say that was the 90s
Brandon: So, yeah. I'm just saying like I would have liked to maybe seen something else. But hey, yeah, cool. Whatever.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah but uh then um the final news pieces i have are friday the 13th crystal lake related um Harry Manfrini, who was the composer for a bunch of the original Friday the 13th, for most of them anyway, he's actually going to be doing the, composing the the Crystal Lake TV series as well.
Brandon: Oh, that's dope.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, he's...
Brandon: And for the record, Crystal Lake has now been filmed, correct?
Kevin Dougherty: Yes, yes, it...
Brandon: It has been completed.
Kevin Dougherty: it
Brandon: I think we discussed this a few casts ago. It has officially completed um after, I think, the final filming set. I could be wrong.
Brandon: I think it was in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. But... um I think right after the filming in Phillipsburg, which you apparently could go and watch, like you could get like some kind of like, um, like, uh, I don't know what it was, but apparently like there were, um, there was a thing in NJ.com and it showed like people like watching the filming of it. Like, I don't know who they were. They looked like people like right off the street, but, uh, Yeah, it looked like kind of fucking neat. um So I don't I don't know how long it was.
Brandon: i don't know if like you had to know somebody or you had to go through like some special thing. But, you know, ah or it was just like a single day. But yeah, I saw like it looked like a whole bunch of like.
Brandon: just residents like watching the filming and stuff like that. don't know if you get like autographs or stuff or it was maybe just watching special effects or something, but looked really fucking dope.
Brandon: And I was just like, damn, I really wish like I was around on that day. Um, because so if I knew I was going to go up and be able to like, even if it was like something where, you know, you were just going to watch a day of filming, like special effects, like whatever, just to, you know, see that, like, I would have gladly taken like the, uh, hour and a half drive up there.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: to just check it out, get dinner, something like that. That would have been, like really, really dope. But I don't know if it was actually a thing or if it was, you know, just people that were, like, working on the set or, you know, something like that. But, yeah. I'm just glad to know that it is definitely done. it is now in post-production. They're just doing edits and stuff. So this shit is going to be ready to – well, for all we know, it is ready to release.
Kevin Dougherty: Well, I mean, ah it wrapped in October.
Brandon: So,
Kevin Dougherty: There's no premiere date yet.
Brandon: okay, so yeah, it's not going, if it were out in October, yeah, it's going to be at least six months.
Kevin Dougherty: So it's probably, yeah, it's it's yeah it's definitely in post-production now. Yeah, they filmed a summer camp scenes in West Milford.
Kevin Dougherty: at Lake scenes were filmed in Ringwood with Blairstown standing in his downtown Crystal Lake.
Brandon: Oh, wow, so they did everything around here.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, and some filming also took place in South Orange Village.
Brandon: Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, that's dope.
Kevin Dougherty: So yeah.
Brandon: I mean, it's returning to your roots. I mean, the original Friday 13th, most of the filming was done in New Jersey.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: I don't know about the second one. And just a quick note, I mean, it's too late for most people, but I thought it was pretty dope that ah they released – the original and Friday 13th part two to be in theaters ah pretty widely.
Brandon: I think it was pretty much nationwide a year ago.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, re I think Regal was the theater that was doing that promotion. That was the only theater I saw at that at least major chain that was doing it.
Brandon: Yeah, yeah, but I mean, that's dope because they're, I mean, it's not like, ah what was that one thing we were trying to see, and like, I looked, and it was like, oh yeah, it was a Prey into like Badlands, and I like looked, and there was like, I think there was like one theater in Arizona, and like two theaters maybe in like ah Southern California, yeah and it was like the end.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: And I was like, you know, like what the fuck, like, may it sound like it.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Kevin Dougherty: Well, the ah Regal's doing that for every Friday the 13th this year. So the the next Friday the 13th, March 13th, they're playing up Part 3 and the final chapter as a double feature.
Kevin Dougherty: And then on November 13th, they're just playing Jason Lives. So they're skipping...
Brandon: Yeah, that pisses me off that they skip. It seems like everybody likes to shit on A New Beginning because Jason wasn't actually in the movie. Well, I hate to tell you, one of the best fucking Halloween movies was Halloween Part 3.
Brandon: As a matter of fact, Halloween 3 probably was like one of the most Halloween movies in Halloween history, Season of the Witch. Michael Myers wasn't in it, and it was dope as fuck.
Brandon: And Friday the 13th Part 5, A New Beginning, was an incredibly good addition to the Friday the 13th, you know.
Kevin Dougherty: Well, I think it's just sticking with the Jason Voorhees story is what they're doing.
Brandon: Yeah, well, Friday the 13th Part 5 was needed for Jason to really rage up.
Kevin Dougherty: And that's why they're doing
Brandon: Like, you know, he needed that story going on. Like the copycat shit, he thought about that. That pissed him off.
Kevin Dougherty: Well, he was dead.
Brandon: That's why he was so angry. No, he's never really dead. Like he always is kind of knowing and seeing. And when he comes back to life, he knows.
Brandon: he Dude, he's like been up on history. Like he know he knows shit.
Kevin Dougherty: Well, he died.
Brandon: Like when he comes back, it's like he knows
Kevin Dougherty: He died in Final Chapter, then Jason lives. He's brought back to life by the lightning bolt.
Brandon: Dude, every time somebody's having careless sex somewhere, he's dreaming about it, dude.
Kevin Dougherty: In the graveyard. So he was dead during the beginning.
Kevin Dougherty: oh I'm sure he was.
Brandon: He knows.
Brandon: You know, like, you don't think, like, fucking Vic was just that angry on his own, dude. There was, you know, the curse of Camp Crystal Lake running through him, coursing through his veins.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: And it's why he was so out line.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. I can tell you, i can break down, they also announced like ah the director of each ah episode, too.
Kevin Dougherty: It is. They've got...
Brandon: Well, ah of Camp Crystal Lake?
Kevin Dougherty: Yes, yes, sorry. Michael Lennox, who worked on Dairy Girls, films episodes one through three.
Brandon: Dude, you don't have to go through every single director for every episode.
Kevin Dougherty: i don't know what Dairy Girls is.
Kevin Dougherty: No, it's it's like they each do, like two or three.
Brandon: OK.
Kevin Dougherty: Selene Held and Logan George, who did Caddo Lake, directs episodes four through six. And Quinn Taron, who did Sirens, directed seven and eight.
Kevin Dougherty: ala And then, yeah, it's... ah Yeah, it should be coming out at some point in 2026 on Peacock.
Kevin Dougherty: ah will When we find out the release date, we'll definitely... ah Tell everybody, don't worry about that.
Brandon: did I did check out the, um I guess this is news as well, that you had sent to me today about the Paramount thing. where um I actually went on Paramount Plus and I didn't find anything about on there. But um in the link you had sent me, it had talked about how um it was free on YouTube, the Friday at 13 stuff. I mean, it sounded like it was all, I think it was called Camp Crystal Lake.
Brandon: something and it's free on YouTube right now.
Kevin Dougherty: It's Camp Crystal Legacy.
Brandon: What's that?
Kevin Dougherty: It's Camp Crystal Legacy. The first two episodes are available, and it explores the lens of people who made it and audiences that can't get enough. And it's most of the interviews were gathered from last year's Crystal Lake Nightmares convention, which celebrated the franchise's 45th anniversary.
Brandon: Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: The interviews looked like they were like very recent, obviously. But I mean, from what I saw just watching like the... I only watched about Well, the first one I watched was only like five minutes long.
Brandon: And then I think there was another one that's like 10 minutes long. And I mean, I had watched Crystal Lake Memories, which was actually like, I think like a five and a half hour thing that was free on YouTube.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, we six hours. Yeah.
Brandon: but I watched that like twice. I got tell you that the five and a half hours, 11 hours of it, I guess I watched if I watched it twice, seemed to go by real quick for me.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, yeah.
Brandon: So, you know.
Kevin Dougherty: This is yeah those more recent interviews and they're going to dropping more, ah two more episodes next month on ah Friday, March 13th as well.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: So think i think they're slowly, I think this is the good way to fucking, you know, start getting, you know, the name back out there again. and then.
Brandon: It's sweet revenge was a great way. Like there's some other fan Well, there are a bunch of like different fan films, but Apparently there's something else that I had just seen.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: like I can't remember, it but it was like less than 10 minutes. i didn't I didn't watch It's on YouTube, but it's called something. it's called something Yeah, that's great.
Kevin Dougherty: It's called something, yeah.
Brandon: Great description.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, fuck
Brandon: if you like When I was searching, I think I had typed in like ah Friday the 13th, and it was like one of the first things that came up on YouTube. It was like a new thing.
Brandon: It said 2025, and I was like, wait, this isn't Sweet Revenge? you was something... And I mean, it looked like it was like, ah well, I don't know what AI now you can do a whole bunch of stuff.
Brandon: Like I was showing you that thing with ah it was like Jason versus the creeper from Jeepers Creepers. And you're like, hey, I stopped.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, refuse to watch it.
Brandon: I got tell you, the trailer, it looked really fucking cool. I was like, dude, I would go and see that movie in heartbeat. But anyway, moving on.
Kevin Dougherty: Slot. Garbage. Anyway, yeah. um The the ah producer also, sorry, the showrunner, Brad Caleb Kane, he had also said that ah it's not quite a slasher, but more of a psychological thriller.
Kevin Dougherty: that follows Pamela Voorhees before her son's death. it's it's He's quoted as saying, it's a paranoid 70s thriller. It has all the DNA of a slasher without quite being a slasher.
Kevin Dougherty: There are rivers of blood in the show. There are very, I think, ingenious kill sequences and deaths and murders, but it's all done in service of the character and theme and time and place. So...
Brandon: That's cool.
Kevin Dougherty: i think I think that should be good. So it's not going to be like the Scream series that came out where just kind of like a slasher and not really that great. But ah anyway, that's ah that's all the news I have for that.
Kevin Dougherty: um Do you want to just go quickly over some of the films that ah we liked from last year?
Brandon: No.
Kevin Dougherty: Yes, sir.
Brandon: I don't. Yeah, yeah sure. Why why not? um For me, in 2025, I think I had talked about it on the cast previously. um And I had said I thought 2025 was a very strong year for horror content. I thought it was a real, like,
Brandon: I know, like, revival year be after, like, you know, ah the disruptions we had for a couple years during the pandemic. um But then when I was, like, trying to, like, go over and see, like, all the stuff that I thought was, like, real dope about 2025, I realized that, like, I couldn't really think of that much. And I don't know if that's just because, like, you know, my memory is shit. Yeah.
Brandon: But for me, the best of 2025 that I enjoyed the most that I, you know, talked about ah as being like really phenomenal. And I wish I had seen it sooner even in theaters was Weapons.
Brandon: I mean, that was a really, really, really dope horror movie that I thought had something kind of for everybody. You know, it had comedy, it had with the story of the boy's parents and everything.
Brandon: And, you know, I thought it was like just really well written, really well done horror with a great cast. And i think that was maybe my top film for 2025 for me personally.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, I think when ah I remember you had mentioned that it was a good year and I was looking back and I was like, dude, i don't think you I was like, I think it was here. I was like, I think it was that great.
Brandon: Yeah, that you yeah you you said that.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: I remember you saying that.
Kevin Dougherty: And I was like, don't what you're talking about. i was like, there were some good movies, but I was like, overall, I was like, I don't think some of these would have made my list like even the year before. Maybe, maybe the, maybe like, I don't know.
Kevin Dougherty: I'd have to go back to see what was on my list from previous years. But like, I was just like, you know i sent you a list of like movies that I were like, well, here's the ones that I watched and I liked, but like, I wouldn't necessarily have put them in my top 10.
Kevin Dougherty: You know what i mean? Like, Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah, no, I get that. I'm just saying i had thought initially it was a really good year.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: And I think what had happened, the reason why I was saying that is we had just done the cast on the Chainsaw Awards. And I had realized that there was a lot of titles that I had not seen that had gotten like high praise.
Brandon: And i believe that um I had like several days where I was like ah very free. Like I just had tons of free time. And I had watched like a plethora of different horror movies.
Brandon: that were all like pretty well done. And I had watched them all that weekend. I think I was just like, Oh wow. You know, this has really been like, I even had watched, uh, in the chainsaw awards, they had something like the best Popeye movie.
Brandon: And I didn't even know there were Popeye horror movies.
Kevin Dougherty: Oh, yeah.
Brandon: And it turns out that in 2025, there were like three or four Popeye horror movies. And I had watched one that was called, well, the other ones were just terrible. I thought they were kind of unwatchable.
Brandon: Uh, well, I mean, not unwatchable. They were very, very bad, but I had watched one that was called Popeye the Slayer Man that had just kind of come on Tubi. Like, I wasn't even, like and like, went into something else and not, like, watching that.
Brandon: I really enjoyed it. And because I can watch Tubi on, like, Brave Web Browser without any commercial interruption, so there's no ads. And I had watched the whole thing, and, like, I was, like, really engaged, and apparently they're going to make another one.
Brandon: i was like, dude, even, like, The shitty movies seem good, but I think that's just because I had watched a wave of like really ah good films that I had not seen or even heard of at the time.
Brandon: And that's why I was kind of riding a high at the time from.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, and and with the Chainsaw Awards also includes some from the previous year because of the way they run their awards.
Brandon: Yes. And.
Kevin Dougherty: So that's why, Because, yeah, I would say from when they ran the awards, they from ah last fall to like or early to like the summer, I would say, yeah, that's so that was a pretty good window.
Brandon: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: But then like just looking back at just last year, like... I would say overall, i was like, yeah there were some good ones, but were they like great, great? Like, no, I think there's a lot more, which we'll get to on another cast of like things.
Kevin Dougherty: I'm really like, I have a whole list. I'm like, wow, I'm looking forward to that, that, that, that you know what mean? Like, so yeah, I would,
Brandon: Well, weapons was my favorite. What did what was your favorite of 2025? was awesome weapons?
Kevin Dougherty: absolutely with weapons absolutely yeah yeah without a doubt uh i know a lot of people really like sinners and that's up for a ton of awards and i mean i thought it was good but like was it great i think it was like 16 or something like that it was a lot of our our awards i mean we'll probably talk about it when the oscars uh happen uh
Brandon: yeah
Brandon: yeah
Brandon: We didn't get nominated for 20 awards, 19 or 20.
Brandon: Yeah, yeah, we're we're we'll cover sinners. We're going to break it down a bit. But I mean, look, I didn't think it was a terrible movie. I thought it was just an average horror movie.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, yeah.
Brandon: That's where I was at.
Kevin Dougherty: I mean, it got a lot of...
Brandon: I thought it was average horror.
Kevin Dougherty: It got a lot of comparisons to from Dusk Till Dawn, which, like, I can see, but, like... From Dusk Till Dawn...
Brandon: I like Dust for Dawn a lot more.
Kevin Dougherty: Oh, yeah, absolutely. But I mean, like, the fact that it starts off as, like, one movie and then it turns into a vampire movie at the end it is the is the main comparison between the two. But the I think the problem with Sinners was, like, once it got to the vampire part and, like, they actually do, like, the attack on the on on their um the the spot, it was, like, too too quick. It was, like, over.
Kevin Dougherty: And then, like, they'd set up, like, you know, that native tribe in the beginning and then they'd never come back again in the end.
Brandon: Never have.
Kevin Dougherty: And like they were like vampire artists.
Brandon: Yeah. but to
Kevin Dougherty: was like, that's an interesting part of the story. Why are you not like dipping into this? But I thought the music was great. thought the cinematography was great. like I thought though the um Michael B. Jordan playing both parts and that the this the the way they you know were able to do that and with CGI and doubles, I thought it looked really good. Yeah.
Brandon: I agree with that. I thought it was good. I mean, I thought that was good. um i liked some of the original music they had in it. I thought it was like kind of cool, but like ah I know. feel like, um I don't know. I just, I personally feel like a lot of it was like,
Brandon: i don't know. There was like lot like racial elements and stuff like that. And I think that played a a factor into, I mean, the Academy is like sort of a more like liberal type of organization.
Brandon: so i
Kevin Dougherty: Well, I mean, the time period it takes place in, of course it's going to be racial.
Brandon: Yeah, I know that.
Kevin Dougherty: but
Brandon: I'm just saying I feel like that had – I thought it was a little wokey and stuff. ah It's just my personal thing. i don't think it was a i don't think it was a particularly good movie where it should have been – nominate it for you know almost 20 awards or something like that.
Kevin Dougherty: if
Brandon: I just don't think it had those kind of chops. I thought it was like an average movie, an average story, and i thought the writing was, well, pretty goddamn average. So that's where I'm at.
Kevin Dougherty: I mean, we talked about this a little bit off the cast about ah the Oscar nominations for this year, which we're not going to about now. We'll get to it But like when I was looking at the the movies that were nominated for Oscars, I was like, all right, some of these were good, but like, were they great?
Kevin Dougherty: would they Do they deserve to be even nominated, let alone receive an Oscar? I mean, there was only a couple that I hadn't seen, but like, I don't know. It just wasn't very in an impressive year for movies overall for me.
Kevin Dougherty: I thought it was a little weak. But ah anyway, some of the other movies ah that I
Brandon: Well, I mean, you have to also... well I mean, are you talking about like just horror, or are you talking about like just film in general?
Kevin Dougherty: know in general, in general, I mean, I didn't see everything that was nominated, ah but I think that overall, I still thought it was like, yeah,
Brandon: so I think there's a lot more you get nominated than Sinner's. just saying. i think I think there are a lot of things that could have taken the nominations in Sinner's place.
Kevin Dougherty: I mean, f one got nominated, and i'm sure, did I like the movie?
Brandon: That's just my opinion. Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: Did I think it was entertaining? I think it was really well shot? Sure. Do I think it deserves an Oscar nomination? i don't know about that. So, yeah, there's a lot of movies that were up for Oscars, like I said, that I think are probably on the same level as Sinners.
Kevin Dougherty: But again, it was kind of a weak year, I thought, overall.
Brandon: I guess. I don't know. I thought Sinners could of have had like two or three. Maybe.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah so
Brandon: Anyway.
Kevin Dougherty: But anyway, some of the other ones I enjoyed from last year were The Monkey, which we had ah talked about on the cast.
Brandon: Yeah. Yeah. I had seen the monkey twice because I had watched it again with um a friend of mine I had seen it once.
Kevin Dougherty: just a fun movie.
Brandon: What's that?
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. So it's just a fun movie. It was a great film.
Brandon: Yeah. I mean... There is like a very stale part like I had noticed when I was like re-watching it. i was like ah but like the Where it popped, it really popped.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: and you know i mean, its just... I mean, the overall story towards the end was just really ridiculous how that guy, like, flipped out and, like, was like, you know, oh, she was my mother, too, and how he, like, had his own, his old, like, funeral outfit on.
Brandon: It reminded me of something I told, like, my friend Mike about how, like, If I ever, like, really lost it and got depressed, I'd hang myself in, like, my old Boy Scout uniform. And it just made me think about that, like, why he was in that, like, loud funeral outfit.
Brandon: Kind of reminds me of um those shirts that your brother Keith used to rock with the fucking flames on the side of the car.
Kevin Dougherty: Was the guy for Ares shirts?
Brandon: yeah And, you know, but ah yeah, i mean, it was a fun it was it was a fun movie. i definitely think it was one of the best horror movies of 2025.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. ah the other one ah i thought was great that I think you've seen as well was Companion.
Brandon: Yeah, I mean, i didn't think it was great. i thought I thought it was pretty average story, like that whole AI tech thing. I mean, i thought it was cool, and i' really liked the um actress. What's her name? um Is it Sophia Thatcher?
Brandon: Is that how you – yeah, something like that.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, that sounds right. I think what I really liked about Companion was that at least the it was at least the first trailer for that movie didn't give anything away.
Brandon: She's from Yellow Jackets.
Kevin Dougherty: Because it's a massive spoiler that she's a like a that she's a robot. like She's an android AI, but that she doesn't know that she is.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: And going into the movie and watching it not knowing that I think i think makes it makes it an even better movie.
Brandon: I would have bought that robot.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah yeah i would sort
Brandon: That's all I'm going to say. like if Any more details will expose my perversion. It's way too So anyway, yeah, I would purchased that robot.
Brandon: Moving on.
Kevin Dougherty: um we both uh ended up watching ugly stepsister after we had saw the amount of uh love it was going door and chainsaw awards and and
Brandon: It was dope. I thought I really deserved that love.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, and I do too. and i was like well and And it's one of the rare ones that we actually had a chance to like, oh, this got nominated? Let's check it out and watch it. and And we did. And yeah, it was definitely worth worth the time.
Kevin Dougherty: it's It's obviously a...
Brandon: And what I really liked about it too, and, you know, I will probably talk more about it in a future cast is that like up until like maybe,
Brandon: the last like 20 minutes of the movie, I was kind of questioning like, is this really horror? Like, because, you know, I had gotten all that stuff for a chainsaw awards is like, you know, being one of the best.
Brandon: And then like, in the last like 20 minutes, was like, Oh yeah, this is fucking grim. Like it seemed to get real grim all of a sudden.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: Like I had thought I had seen everything that it had to offer. And i was like, yeah, but like, it's also like funny, like, you know, like, yeah and then like the last, like maybe like funny, 15 minutes especially, i was like, God damn, that is fucked.
Kevin Dougherty: you know
Brandon: like you know And that's where I was like, alright, yeah, that's that that's horrible.
Kevin Dougherty: i think I think when you were at a start, I think you were watching it, you were like, oh, i'm watching Ugly Stepsister now, and you were like, she's not even really that ugly. And I'm like...
Brandon: Yeah, well i that I thought it was going something like that, like Snow White. yeah And I was like, yeah, that steps.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: Like, I knew.
Kevin Dougherty: Well...
Brandon: i could tell they were trying to make her look ugly.
Kevin Dougherty: Cinderella.
Brandon: And i was like, oh, yeah, she's smoking a lot. And then, you know, I i figured it out.
Kevin Dougherty: it's it's It's Cinderella, not ah Snow White.
Brandon: Yeah, Cinderella.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, yeah.
Brandon: Whatever. Snow White was hot.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, but... Yeah, i was like I was like, oh, just wait. i was like, she becomes fucking ugly. And it was more about being ah kind of ugly on the inside and you know trying to like do whatever it took to like you know get out of the situation you was in.
Brandon: Yeah, yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: But ah um some other ones that I liked, Killer of Killers, Predator, Killer of Killers, I thought was really well done.
Brandon: Yeah. I mean, especially like, I mean, um, I mean, some people had told me like, Oh, you're going to put that on your list because it was an animated thing.
Brandon: It wasn't like, Oh, like, yeah, I don't know, man. Like I was like, it was work of art. I know you mean. It wasn't like a live action, like normal, like movie, movie, like, but like, yeah, I mean, I understand how some people might say you keep the two separate, but, uh,
Kevin Dougherty: way home I don't discriminate against live action or animated. Yeah.
Brandon: i I mean, I thought Killer Killers was a work of art. It was one of the best animated ah films I'm going to say I've ever seen for me.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: I really thought it was one of the best because I'm really not into a lot of those animated things. like They're just not for me. I don't really – I mean, I very rarely watch them.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, you rarely do.
Brandon: It's usually just not – But this was, i mean, i was taken back by I thought it was really excellent. So, I mean, that would have been up there.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: I mean, realize it's not really hard. It's just more like science fiction. But, um
Kevin Dougherty: We talk horror and sci-fi here, buddy.
Brandon: yeah, um that but this this was, ah I mean, this was a real standout for me.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: And we've already gone over it. very in-depth in another cast, and if you want to know more about it, for our opinions, I encourage you to check that out.
Brandon: But yeah, that was outstanding.
Kevin Dougherty: And then some of the other ones I had on my list that you had not seen were The Long Walk, I thought was really well done.
Brandon: Well, before we get into that, ah the ones we had seen together, um I mean, we there's something else.
Kevin Dougherty: thought we covered...
Brandon: I mean, i would say one of my other, like top of 2025 would have been Frankenstein.
Kevin Dougherty: Oh, Frankenstein. Yes, yes. I forgot about that one. Yeah, I thought that was really good, too.
Brandon: And yeah, that is kind of a big deal. ah and I would say that it had been universally pretty well received, especially, uh, compared to other Frankenstein ish attempts made where it wasn't like actually a movie called Frankenstein, but there's been like a lot of like, ah for Well, I can't think of off the top of my head a good example, but like ah you know what I'm talking about, I think.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: It's no young Frankenstein, that's for sure. That's the best adaptation.
Brandon: like yeah But yeah, oh that that that was fantastic.
Kevin Dougherty: true
Brandon: But um yeah, I i thought frank and i thought the that ah Frankenstein was really well done. I liked it a lot.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, and it was
Brandon: I had forgotten some of it. I had recently gone back and just done a little skimming run on it. um Because you were like, Christopher Revolts was in it. And I'm like, he was?
Brandon: And yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: Christoph Waltz, yeah, yeah. And Arthur Isaacs.
Brandon: And and i was just like, yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, yeah.
Brandon: And it was really well done. ah Mia Goeth was, you know, fantastic as
Kevin Dougherty: And Mia Garth. Yeah.
Brandon: She just seems like she's not really able to do anything but give brilliant performances. So, yeah, I mean, that I would say, aside from weapons, I would probably say Frankenstein is in my top three of 2025.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: see that.
Brandon: I'm trying to think of what else would fit in there. I mean, I guess Killer Killers would probably... It would probably be it would probably go something like Weapons, Killer Killers, and Frankenstein out of like you know pure horror sci-fi.
Kevin Dougherty: that
Brandon: you know That would have been that would have been my that would probably been like my top three that i really
Kevin Dougherty: what What I liked about Frankenstein as well was like it was it was a little bit different of a story than what you were ah used to seeing too. It wasn't like the regular...
Brandon: yeah yeah
Kevin Dougherty: um you know story but basically from young frankenstein that's that's my everything for me it goes young frankenstein and everything just trying to be as good as young frankenstein so anytime i see a frankenstein movie that's not like on that level i'm like eh like you might as well just put put the monster in and in another movie you so yeah i thought this was really well done uh
Brandon: Yeah.
Brandon: And you know what? I did not – I thought that the CGI effects that they did use were – I thought they were pretty well done. i didn't – I – the one thing going in because i had seen like some trailer and I was just like, i think this is going to be like really CGI-y.
Brandon: And, ah you know, obviously there was like CGI as you're going to have in a movie like that. But like, I thought it was well integrated with the practical effects. And I i didn't think they went overboard in either field, practical or computer generated. I thought it was well done. So that that that was something that I was impressed with too. Because I initially thought that they were going to go really, really heavy into computer generation. an AI generation too, because like that's just like a whole new thing with the AI crap. So ah yeah, I thought it was very, very well done.
Kevin Dougherty: oh no i like I really like a lot of these movies that are are now being like no AI generative ah images were used in the and the making of this.
Brandon: Oh yeah, well yeah, that's it's kind of like a no GMOs or something like that.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: no no No, it's more like no animals were harmed in the making of this. It's like no no no but no ah AI art was fucking used to steal other people's
Brandon: Well, unless you want to do something like HBO did with Locke, where like they killed like three or four horses, where it was just like, if you're a if you're like someone that likes animal cruelty, Locke would have been like, mad animals were armed the Maked Dish show.
Brandon: um But yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: Off topic real quick. I thought it was funny. I saw like there were some ah firefighters had rescued a bunch of pigs from a burning building. And then six months later, the the farmer like gifted the firefighters sausages that were made from those pigs.
Brandon: Oh, man, that's brutal. I did not hear about that. Yeah, that that's that's fucked up.
Kevin Dougherty: I mean, but that's what the farm was for, was to raise those pigs to a healthy age to be turned into sausages.
Brandon: ah
Brandon: Why didn't you just let him burn up then and, you know, just, you know, it's a free pig roast.
Kevin Dougherty: They weren't ripe for the age.
Brandon: Like, you know what mean?
Kevin Dougherty: thought they weren't ripe but or ripe when i made
Brandon: It's going to die soon anyway.
Kevin Dougherty: but Anyway, back to the movies. um So some of the ones you hadn't seen were Stephen King's The Long Walk, which I thought was really well done and worth checking out.
Kevin Dougherty: don't i don't know if you're familiar with the story at all, but it's ah about a group of ah boys competing in an annual contest known as Long Walk, in which they must walk at a certain pace or get shot.
Kevin Dougherty: And like they just walk and they just keep walking until there's only one person left. And then that person, like you know they win a ah but bunch of money.
Brandon: Yeah, I saw the title, and I was like, I just didn't really want to watch a movie about people walking.
Kevin Dougherty: It's really well done for a movie about walking.
Brandon: but It's like, with the the reader, you're like, oh why do I want to watch a movie about a guy that just reads? That's what you told me. When I was like, dude, did you see the reader? You're like, yeah, I don't know. I didn't really want to watch a movie about a guy that just, like, read. And I'm like, dude, there's, like, more to it than that.
Brandon: and so but uh no it's it's it's something on my list i definitely plan on what i mean within the next month i'll have watched it um
Kevin Dougherty: yeah i think i think it was really well done especially for a movie with that was yeah like you said just about uh people walking
Brandon: Yeah, and same thing with ah Dust Bunny is like on my list, and I know that was something else that you wanted to talk about. You said that that was ah one of like your, like I guess not favorite of 2025, but you said that was in your upper echelon?
Kevin Dougherty: Oh, I think it might be. I think it might be in like my top five. It was like, I mean, it's, if you're not familiar, it's with ah Mads Milkinson.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: And it's basically,
Brandon: Yeah, I know. you You had to explain the plot. So, yeah, I knew about that.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: But, yeah, go ahead.
Kevin Dougherty: it's very, it reminded me um a bit of um The Professional. where you know the the girl gets like her parents killed, so she hires the hitman that lives in her building.
Kevin Dougherty: It's pretty much like the same ah thing, right but she's hiring a ah hitman to kill the monster under her bed.
Brandon: Did it have that pedophile-like vibe to it that Leon had? Okay. Okay.
Kevin Dougherty: no
Brandon: and we okay
Kevin Dougherty: I mean, that one does have that vibe, but if you really look at the story, it's just about like a man who can't like emotionally connect with people, and he's just it's not really like he's trying to like have sex with her, you know what mean? like But yeah, i can it can definitely come off
Brandon: She seemed like she was trying to have – dude, there was a lot of fucking sketchy shit going on with the filming of that. And and now E.
Kevin Dougherty: that.
Brandon: Portman is sketchy.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, but... ah Yeah, so she hires Mads Milkeson to help kill the monster that lives under her bed that thinks she like that ah that she thinks ate her family.
Kevin Dougherty: And like it's so well done. It's by Brian Fuller, who did Hannibal. um and it's just it's just you know send the is so well done and it keeps you guessing on whether like uh there are there is an actual monster under the bed or or is she just seeing things uh so i thought that was i don't know it was it was just one of my favorites and you have to watch and i don't want to give anything else away without uh without spoiling it um
Kevin Dougherty: couple of my favorites were, I really liked Begonia. i know you don't like Emma Stone for some reason, but it's Jesse Plemons is really good.
Brandon: There's a lot of people that don't like Emma Stone. don't know. I just – I don't have anything personal against Emma Stone. Like if I saw her, I'd be like, hi, are you doing?
Brandon: I'm a big fan of your work.
Kevin Dougherty: You went and got me like, punch her in the face is what you did.
Brandon: Mine.
Brandon: oh i No, I would not go up and assault that woman.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: No, I would say, oh hello, Miss Stone, nice to meet you.
Kevin Dougherty: I'm just saying like
Brandon: I'm a big fan of your work. And as I lied to her, I would be like, yeah, so how's it going? But I'll...
Kevin Dougherty: I'm saying you don't like her as in you're you're not interested watching anything she's in is what I mean by
Brandon: I just don't like really – don't know what it is. I just don't like her as an actress. ah you know But I'll tell you, like one thing I did find out about her in the last few years is that she –
Brandon: She has direction, like she can direct, and she is a very good writer as well.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: So, um you know, I certainly respect her. I don't know what it is. I'm just not a real big fan. Ever since, like, I think she was in Superbad, and I was just like, why are you here?
Brandon: So, anyway.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. Yeah, it only takes like one movie for you to be like, in an often all performances.
Brandon: Yeah, I think that's what it was. I think Superbad fucked me up with her.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: So, don't know.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah I love that movie. But anyway. ah But yeah, Begonia is about two conspiracy-obsessed young men. a One of them was Jesse Plymouth, and they kidnap a high-powered CEO played by Emma Stone, and they're convinced she's an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
Brandon: Was she?
Kevin Dougherty: I'm not going to spoil it. You'd have to watch it. I'll tell you all fair, since you have plan on not watching it.
Brandon: Okay.
Brandon: This is a fucking spoiling motherfucking podcast.
Kevin Dougherty: Okay.
Brandon: We don't fucking hold shit back. We let you know what the fuck is up.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, we've both seen something. And not things that are like recent.
Brandon: This shit is non-scripted.
Kevin Dougherty: ah I'm not going to spoil something that i want that i think you should watch. But i'll I'll tell you all that.
Brandon: Very well. I'm probably never going to watch it, but anyway.
Kevin Dougherty: Alright. ah But ah another really good one was Bring Her Back.
Brandon: Yeah, now this is something I had planned to see actually before we did this cast, but due to certain factors I was not able to, but that's something that I am interested in seeing.
Kevin Dougherty: I thought that was
Brandon: That's probably something I'll see in the next like 72 hours. So. so
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. Yeah. If you'd like to talk to me, i think you'll really like bring her back.
Brandon: yeah
Kevin Dougherty: ah I, it does deal like, kind of like what talk to me did. It does deal a bit with grief. so be prepared for that.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: um Make sure you're in the right mindset for it. Yeah.
Brandon: I'm always in the mindset for grief. It's a pretty much daily occurrence for me in this house. So, yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: exactly
Brandon: Yeah. ah yeah um um Now, is that pretty much all you have for film? Because we were talking about, like, do we want to, like, integrate?
Kevin Dougherty: I had two more together, which I thought was really well done.
Brandon: What else do you have on, like, the film front?
Brandon: Okay, yes. that was the That was the one you had the listed that.
Kevin Dougherty: and
Brandon: i i didn't – I thought you were – when you had sent me that, I thought you were, like, ah actually using together as, like, you know, just a word.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: or
Brandon: but I didn't realize what you're talking about.
Kevin Dougherty: you
Brandon: I had not heard of Together.
Kevin Dougherty: like like
Brandon: I didn't even, wasn't even aware of its existence.
Kevin Dougherty: okay
Brandon: All the other titles like I had heard of before, but I didn't know that Together was a film.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah together um directed by Michael Shanks I'm not really familiar with his work but it's with Dave Franklin yes yes
Brandon: Was this one of your top films of the year? Okay. Okay.
Kevin Dougherty: okay yes uh dave franco and allison brie which like i didn't realize till after the movie that they had been married for like 10 years because like was like man they have really good chemistry in this movie and then i look at it and then i see some interview and like oh that's why because they're fucking married But they play like a couple that are like, you know, at a crossroads in their relationship when they like move to the country so she can start a new job.
Brandon: really?
Kevin Dougherty: And he like still wants to like be in a band and stuff. And there's like a, um ah you know, there's, you know, an unnatural force ah that i kind of brings them back together, let's say.
Brandon: Well, you know, when dealing with dark powers of this nature...
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah ah Yeah, it was it was really well done and definitely worth fucking checking out and you're gonna want to stick all the way du to the end too. ah Yes, I highly recommend.
Kevin Dougherty: And then another one that I mentioned that I thought was ah was a pretty good for being really low budget was a Good Boy, which is from the perspective of a dog,
Kevin Dougherty: in a uh in a hole and he like you know discovers supernatural forces and is trying to like you know protect his uh human companion and uh the dog actually won an award uh at the astrofilm awards for best performance in a horror thriller
Kevin Dougherty: So I thought that was a cool little indie flick and a, and a nice different perspective and no, the dog does not die. That was like a big concern with everybody but when that movie was announced.
Brandon: All right.
Kevin Dougherty: But, uh,
Brandon: Well, yeah, not everything's old yeller. Wait, wasn't there like that thing where ah ah they were going to make like, i don't know if it was supposed to be satirical. Well, obviously i think it was going be satirical, but was something like um some horror film where like it was like old yeller, but like old yeller, like found the cure for rabies and like end up killing the family. Like it got like the drop on the family and like killed them first.
Kevin Dougherty: I've never heard of this. well
Brandon: I don't know.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: Maybe it's just in my head.
Kevin Dougherty: so
Brandon: But yeah, anyway.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, those those were my recommendations. ah You should check out ah most of those, if not all of those.
Brandon: Yeah, I mean, well, and like I said, just very briefly tapping on television shows like we're thinking about. But I think we found that there is only like in our like toolbox, there is probably only like five or six like real solid, like worthy horror shows in 2025.
Kevin Dougherty: I would say that there was only five or six that I had even seen.
Brandon: Yeah, but I don't think that there were many, like, at least like of note where we would talk about like, you know, the sound, this stands out as like, exceptional.
Kevin Dougherty: oh
Brandon: um Now, I know it Welcome to Dairy was very well received and got the backing of HBO and has been incredibly successful.
Kevin Dougherty: And was definitely my favorite from last year.
Brandon: So yeah. Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: thought it was phenomenal.
Brandon: You know, and I'm the polar opposite. It was one of my least.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. Yeah.
Brandon: um i I thought The Witcher, although it got completely trashed, the reviews on IMDb are like overwhelmingly appalling.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: I personally, now I did not read the books, neither did you. So I know that like, you know, fans of the novels have a unique perspective on this. But I did not think that the show was anywhere near reflective of the appalling reviews that it got on the IMDb website, which I have for the past couple of years been saying I've been drifting further and further from their opinions.
Brandon: um I'm not saying that I thought The Witcher was one of my favorites of 2025, but like I definitely think it's worth checking out. So I would not like discount The Witcher...
Brandon: And just one note, I thought, was this Liam Hensworth? Is that his? Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: yes Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Brandon: um I thought for what he was up against as, you know, fucking h you know coming out of HTA, like fucking, I thought he did a really good job. I mean, he even nailed the voice so he sounds just like Henry Cavill.
Brandon: I thought he did an excellent job of filling in an impossible role. So, um you know, I would say if you have not seen it based on like how bad the reviews are and, you know, you're like me who has said like, you know what, I'm not going to continue watching this because of this.
Brandon: I personally think you should just give it a glance. And I don't think it was nearly as bad. So while I'm not saying it's one of the best, I don't think it was one of the worst.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, I mean,
Kevin Dougherty: I think, I mean, it was mediocre at best. I think it had some good, like, proof
Brandon: Larry Fishburne was in it. it had like It had good actors. It obviously had a decent budget. um Again, didn't read the books.
Brandon: Only know the story from the games. Although I could even tell from the games it was story deviating. i can kind of see like why Henry Cavill was so adamant as to get out.
Brandon: with I don't understand what the fuck the writers are even thinking about going in this Because they're such good writing.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, I don't either.
Brandon: But, you know, um I'm just saying i think it's worth checking out. We're going to talk more in depth about this at a later cast. um oh Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: Are we? I think we should just talk about it now. But ah I think the best parts were with Yennefer and the Witch's Battle, and then the two sidebars where they battle the monsters...
Kevin Dougherty: And then everything else was them walking through the woods and hanging out and telling stories. And then the, uh, the stupid rats, which I'm glad they all fucking died at the fucking end.
Kevin Dougherty: ah
Brandon: Yeah, well, we're going to talk. I mean, there was a whole thing with the story about the rest. I mean, the rest really went out really, really bad. I mean, this is going we're to talk more about it. But anyway, moving on from that, um another series that I had seen in 2025, of course, was the incredibly successful and incredibly popular conclusion, The Stranger Things.
Brandon: um Now, I have have not – what's that?
Kevin Dougherty: You did watch it You did watch it or you didn't?
Brandon: I've watched maybe half of it. I don't really plan to finish it because I just haven't liked it the past few seasons. But it had – I mean, everybody has been talking about it, and it has been – pretty well received as the final chapter. So, I mean, ah just because i don't like something, like, I'm not going to discount the success it has and, you know, the joy that it's sp brought others. So, I might have not liked it, but it was, you know, I believe from what I've read was pretty well, like, received by fans. um a like that it was a good final
Kevin Dougherty: um mean I don't know about that.
Brandon: install I mean, wasn't it the final episode even in theaters?
Kevin Dougherty: I did.
Kevin Dougherty: yes i did
Brandon: i'm just going by what people have said, what has been written about it, user reviews and whatnot.
Kevin Dougherty: i
Kevin Dougherty: I saw in theaters um and the final episode like kind of rushed the end battle a bit and everybody was talking about like, oh, this isn't the the last episode.
Kevin Dougherty: There's actually a secret episode where like it's all in Vecna's head and there's going to be a real ending, but it wasn't any of that. It ended, I mean, I thought it wrapped up a lot of things nicely, but there were some things that it just kind of like glassed over completely at the end that where you were like, wait, how are you just going to ignore this whole fucking thing with the military at the fucking end of the fucking show?
Kevin Dougherty: That was like a major thing.
Brandon: Yeah. You know what I think they should have done? um Not mean to interrupt you the way I did, but um I think obviously what happened to Stranger Things was the pandemic.
Brandon: ah You know, it halted filming.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: I mean, Millie Bobby Brown is married with child. I know people like to point out, adopt it. Millie Bobby Brown is married and is a mother
Kevin Dougherty: Yes.
Brandon: So, I mean, this shit was supposed to have ended five years ago.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. It's opposite or not.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: And, ah you know, I would have, if I were them, I can't think of their names right now.
Kevin Dougherty: The Duffer Brothers.
Brandon: that ah Buffer Brothers.
Kevin Dougherty: Duffer.
Brandon: Fluffer Brothers?
Kevin Dougherty: Duffer. Duffer.
Brandon: Oh, Buffer Brothers.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: Okay. ah the fuuff the Duffer Brothers, um if I were them because of that, what I would have probably tried to do is maybe um either do a limited miniseries to have just wrapped things up or made a movie.
Brandon: That's what I probably would have done.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: I'm just saying that that's what I would have done.
Kevin Dougherty: Netflix was like giving them the money, so why not try to do your best?
Brandon: Oh, yeah. Well, if they had no choice, if Netflix was like, yo, ah you know, give us what we paid for or, you know, we're going to sue you and you're going to end up in like pipe hitting like ass rape jail.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. They had a deal with them. Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: I would have finished it up. But, ah you know, if in the perfect world, I think that would have probably been like the better direction to go in.
Brandon: with such a long break in production because, I mean, it just looked ridiculous.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, yeah, the biggest was them aging up fast. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Brandon: The inevitable, like, progression of linear time, like, you know, time and space and shit like that.
Kevin Dougherty: no
Kevin Dougherty: yeah yeah
Brandon: Like, we can't, you know, there's no going back in the real world, man. And, yeah, there's no going back.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, I mean, i don't I don't mind the story that much. It was just like, yeah, they just suddenly are like in their 20s now, and they're like juniors in high school.
Brandon: And they are, are they all in their twenties? Like, I mean, i thought they did a decent job with like the makeup and stuff to try to make them look younger.
Kevin Dougherty: I think so.
Brandon: Um, and, I don't know that one kid, cause the one kid, uh, I think Dustin, the one that like loses his mind and stuff, he actually still looked really fucking young.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: Oh, no, not.
Kevin Dougherty: Dustin was the curly hair with the, that's not the one that lost his mind.
Brandon: Yeah. That,
Kevin Dougherty: That was Will, the one that got kidnapped in the beginning, in the first season.
Brandon: No, i'm I'm saying he lost his mind because, like, he won, like, a Hellfire Club, and, like, all the kids all the kids were saying, like, yo, I think he's losing his mind.
Kevin Dougherty: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: oh yeah, yeah.
Brandon: I'm talking about the character, you know.
Kevin Dougherty: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Brandon: And, you know, he looked really young to me still. Like, he kind of looked as young as he did, like – almost starting off in the first episode. And I don't know if that was just like a brilliant um design by the wardrobe department and makeup.
Brandon: But, um you know, I thought he looked, I thought they made him look very young.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah out of the out of the kids yeah out of the kids he did i think the older uh kids i think they uh aged well because they i don't think they went much older because they were already like in their 20s at the time uh you know like um steve and uh and you know whatever fuck everybody else's name was
Brandon: yeah
Brandon: And, I mean, is, I mean, Millie is, like, what, 22, like, going into this?
Kevin Dougherty: Into the final season? Probably.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: I'm just talking about, like, ah from the first season, like the like, Will's older brother and, you know, ah the the girl and Steve and all those guys.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: I think they age appropriately.
Brandon: She's a girl.
Kevin Dougherty: I can't remember everybody's name right fucking now.
Brandon: Yeah. Yeah, no, it's fine.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah, but anyway, yeah, Nancy, nancy how I like Nancy.
Kevin Dougherty: You know I'm talking. Nancy. Nancy. Nancy. Yeah. Like, don't... All of them ah aged, ah I thought, pretty well, um appropriately, yeah.
Brandon: Appropriately, yeah. Appropriately, yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: But for everybody else, and God, I hated that fucking girl, the Robin character drove me nuts.
Kevin Dougherty: Robin, I liked Robin. Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah, I did not.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: um But, you know, my point is, is that um I think it was overall, like, objectively, like, pretty well received and people liked it.
Brandon: So, you know, um for 2025, I think Stranger Things needs to be a worthy mention as a contender for Best of 2025, just because, you know, it was pop it it was a very popular, very successful show that has now concluded you know, There was a lot of hubbub and, you know, dope.
Kevin Dougherty: I've now
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Kevin Dougherty: i only just started watching last season of us season two of Last of Us, which came out last year.
Brandon: Yeah, i was that was what I was just about to mention.
Kevin Dougherty: I've only watched the first episode so far, so i I thought it was pretty good. I didn't realize there was a five-year time jump And I was like, wait, what, when? ah Was there a five-year time jump in the game?
Brandon: This was something that I was ah against them doing because there was a debate as to whether or not they were going to stick like point by point to the timeline of the game.
Brandon: And there was, what's that?
Kevin Dougherty: Is there a five-year time jump between one and two in the game?
Brandon: There is a large jump. I don't know all this stuff.
Kevin Dougherty: OK.
Brandon: I would encourage you to read about it. um
Kevin Dougherty: Yes.
Brandon: But there was a debate as to whether or not like certain characters were going to be killed off in a certain progression. or they were going to try to do something a little bit different for the show, which I think would have structured the show a lot better and made it... I thought the story would have come off better, like, as a series than it did as a video game narrative. But, you know, they decided to go more hands-on with the game and...
Brandon: That really was a turnoff for me. I wish they had gone in a different direction. Last of Us Season 2 is one of the best received by users on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes.
Brandon: I think it's got a 9.2. That's one of the best most successful horror shows that I've ever seen in terms of critical ratings. So, I mean, it's got to be something that, like, we talk about in the future.
Brandon: And, yeah, I mean, for, I guess, in terms of, like, the ratings, that would probably number one of 2025.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, when I finish watching it.
Brandon: you just back
Kevin Dougherty: Nah. Darius is number one.
Brandon: No, if you just go by what its success in terms of like IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, the rating the rating system like ah critics or you know user critics have rated. ah you know I mean, those are like Game of Thrones type numbers.
Brandon: So, anyway.
Kevin Dougherty: Really, was season two rated that high? Let's see. 7.2, 9.1, 6.7, 6.1, 7.1, 8.4, 6.2.
Brandon: Doc, don't know.
Kevin Dougherty: I think Welcome to Dairy higher Okay.
Brandon: Yeah. and
Kevin Dougherty: 8.0 for Dairy, by the
Kevin Dougherty: i think welcome to dairy was ah higher rated than that
Brandon: I was just talking about the show as a whole has been incredibly successful and well-received, but I really don't want to go down this like rabbit hole right now.
Brandon: Um, but, uh, yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: okay eight point zero for day by the way ah
Brandon: Great.
Kevin Dougherty: but Alien Earth was another one that was really good last year
Brandon: Um, and,
Brandon: Yeah, I was yeah trying to move on. Alien Earth was my favorite show of 2025 in terms of like a horror series.
Brandon: I mean, I watched it twice. um Yeah, i
Kevin Dougherty: i still think that last episode kind ended a little rushed yeah
Brandon: it was terrible. Yeah, there were some real dud episodes.
Kevin Dougherty: But the first like flu four or five?
Brandon: I mean, I'm really glad that it was renewed for season two.
Kevin Dougherty: Yes.
Brandon: um i'm looking forward to it i thought timothy aflant like you know like i said i thought he stole the show i thought his performance i mean he's one of the i mean out of all the actors in there i mean he's probably the most established but you know his performance was excellent like all the kids that they had well I mean, I guess they weren't really kids, but, you know, yeah, I thought it was really well done.
Brandon: And that was, in terms of TV, that was my favorite of 2025. And I'll look really forward to that in the future.
Kevin Dougherty: okay
Brandon: Other television of 2025 that you have note? Yes. Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: ah Yellow Jackets Season 3, but we'll talk about that when Season 4 comes out.
Brandon: yes yeah
Kevin Dougherty: We'll talk about both of those.
Brandon: Yeah, we had said we were going to do that.
Kevin Dougherty: Because I need to re-watch Season 3.
Brandon: Yeah, it's hard for me. You never watched season three?
Kevin Dougherty: No, I said I'm going to need to re-watch Season 3 before we talk about it.
Brandon: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. um yeah I'm going to definitely do some like cliff notage or something like that.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: but um Now, Yellow Jacket season three came out in early 2025, correct?
Kevin Dougherty: Well, the fourth season is going final season, so...
Kevin Dougherty: Yes. It was like January, February, I think.
Brandon: Yes. Yeah. Cause I was kind of like thinking that, and then, um, we decided that we're going to talk about, uh, fallout, which did premiere in 2025, but I mean, it ended in 2026.
Brandon: And you said that you felt that it was more appropriate to count that and went 2026. And I think I agree.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: I think I agree with that.
Kevin Dougherty: It came out like the end of...
Brandon: I mean,
Kevin Dougherty: It came out like December and only two episodes premiered last year and most of it were this year.
Brandon: Yeah, so only two episodes premiered in 2025?
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: Okay, yeah, so it's more of a 2026 thing.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: um But, I mean, yeah, I was a big, I'm just saying, like, I was a fan of it. And, you know, we're going to be getting into that in the not-too-distant future.
Brandon: So if you were like, oh, wait, but Fallout did premiere in December, so it did start in 2025, our justification is it just feels like it's more of a 2026.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, and it's not like something you could talk about in 2025 because it didn't end until but recently.
Brandon: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. So fair enough.
Kevin Dougherty: so And I still have, I mean, it's so recent that I'm like, i still have a couple episodes left.
Brandon: It's just, you know.
Kevin Dougherty: I'm a little behind.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: One
Brandon: And and if we were to do if we were to do our best of 2025 in early January rather than mid-February, we would be like dead set in the middle of the season.
Kevin Dougherty: of your first two, yeah.
Brandon: So we wouldn't have even been able to discuss it either.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: So the idea that like you should be talking about in 2025 doesn't really make any sense.
Kevin Dougherty: No, yeah, absolutely.
Brandon: so well i just I'm just mentioning it because it did begin 2025. so
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: Anyway, and oh by the way, just real quick sidebar while talking about Fallout, I just found out when I tried to start playing Fallout 4 that because of the season of Fallout, they did a another update just this past November, which has completely broken the modding system of Fallout 4.
Kevin Dougherty: i'll Other than that,
Kevin Dougherty: Oh,
Brandon: I'm enraged. I do not think I will be playing Fallout 4 because it fucked things up so bad. And as everybody knows, with Bethesda games, especially the sci-fi horror titles that they put forth, the modding community massive.
Brandon: Massive. And it's almost like you need to. Because you can mod on consoles. Not only PC. Which is really rare. To allow such a modding community. Like with Skyrim and stuff like that. So fucking to completely break a game.
Brandon: Twice in a year. And this is a game that was running well for nearly a decade. And they decided to do this. I just thought it was something I had to quickly rage mention while mentioning Fallout because the breaking of Fallout 4 very much happened 2025.
Kevin Dougherty: yeah
Brandon: So anyway, the last update November, I think I'm going to just remember Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas. Moving on. Doc, is there any other shows or anything else you want to add?
Kevin Dougherty: I don't think there is anything else that I can think of that I can off the top of my head or
Brandon: There are a few borderlines. I saw a show I was told that was going to be horror called Paradise. Um, yeah, it was sci-fi and had some horror elements, but I don't really think it qualifies for this podcast.
Brandon: Um, Pluribus was decent science fiction, but I would not say it like, uh, delved into the realms of horror.
Kevin Dougherty: I mean, i thought it was really good, but I definitely wouldn't say it's not sci-fi horror.
Brandon: Um, Yeah, it was really good. that There were a lot of titles that were really good, but they're just not in our wheelhouse.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: So, you know, I don't think you could really consider them like a genre appropriate into like deep horror, deep sci-fi, or even a combination of both. So that's really pretty much all I have. Is there anything else you want to mention at the end or?
Kevin Dougherty: ah No, the but I am looking forward to having an entire cast of the list of movies and TV shows that I'm looking forward to this year. because I think this year, I think we are back from like, you know, post-pandemic.
Brandon: Yeah.
Kevin Dougherty: We are back from writers' strikes and production strikes. So I think this is, despite what's going on the rest of the world, I think this is going to really good year for movies TV shows.
Kevin Dougherty: And I like the list I sent you that it was just of horror and TV. And there's a bunch of other like non-related sci-fi and other, you know, non-genre films and TV movies that I'm looking forward to this year as well.
Kevin Dougherty: So, yeah, I think it's going to be good year.
Brandon: All right. Well, hey, you heard Dr. Damas. He says that ah fucking 2026 is going to be a great year for the horror and sci-fi genre.
Brandon: And we'll just have to wait and see whether he's right or not.
Kevin Dougherty: I mean, i always hope everything I see is good, but it always doesn't turn out that way.
Brandon: So, yeah. Yeah, I know. you're You're very, very, very hopeful.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: Anyway, that's all we have for you guys tonight.
Kevin Dougherty: Yeah.
Brandon: Happy Friday the 13th. And, you know, ah fuck, I'm not going to say happy Valentine's Day. um But, ah you know, I hope everybody had a good time for Friday 13th.
Kevin Dougherty: well
Brandon: You know, follow us, watch us, listen to us on all your appropriate social networking shit shows, and we will be discussing a whole myriad of these topics, especially like Welcome to Dairy and some other movies that we talk about, like Senators, more in-depth incoming casts.
Kevin Dougherty: but
Brandon: Thank you for joining us, and good night, and good luck.
Kevin Dougherty: Happy Valentine's Day.
Brandon: Fuck you.
Kevin Dougherty: Lee.
