FILM RANKINGS UPDATED AFTER EVERY EPISODE!!!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Today’s film is 825 Forest Road, a psychological horror trip where the vibes are bad, the furniture’s worse, and someone thought owning a life-sized mannequin named Martha was totally normal behavior. Tense, claustrophobic, and full of dread, it’s the kind of movie where every hallway feels like it’s judging you. Childhood trauma, bad vibes, and one extremely haunted town (like, the whole town) come together for a family reunion no one asked for. Come for the existential unease, stay for the pet mannequin who somehow has more emotional stability than anyone else in the house.

Instagram:

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Our Film Rankings:

⁠⁠⁠134 - 825 Forest Road (2025)

Email us:

adarkishcinemapodcast@gmail.com

Find our store on Facebook and Instagram:

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NOTE: When recording this episode, we failed to mention the end date for the secret word discount at the store. It is July 20, 2025.

Episode Segments:

1. Welcome
2. Outside The Podcast Discussion
3. Breaking News
4. What Is This Film About? - Synopsis and Themes & Insights (Curated by Sunni)
5. Vital Statistics
6. Things That Happen In The Film
7. Inspirations (Curated by James)
8. Trivia
9. Critical Reception (Including our rankings)
10. Final Thoughts

11. 
    

Music:

Exit The Premises, Loping Stings, As I Figure

By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Breaking News Intro

By: Luis Humanoide (Via pixabay)

Today’s episode is Chapter Five of our Atomic Monsters and Mutations Deep Dive, charting the emergence of giant monsters as a defining feature of atomic-era horror and science fiction. With films like Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, Rodan, and The Deadly Mantis, the genre shifted toward spectacle while still engaging with serious themes: nuclear testing, Cold War tensions, and the fragility of civilization. These weren’t just creatures, they were the embodiment of annihilation: massive, relentless, and often unstoppable. The films of this era turned mutation into metaphor and destruction into narrative structure, often carrying a sense of tragic inevitability. In this chapter, we explore how the giant monster became an international cinematic language for expressing postwar dread and scientific unease.

FILMS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters! (1956), Rodan (1956), 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957), The Deadly Mantis (1957), The Giant Claw (1957), The Giant Behemoth (1959)

Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/a.darkish.cinema.podcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email us:

adarkishcinemapodcast@gmail.com

Find our store on Facebook and Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/ashanddreamsokc⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Music:

Waltz Primordial, Galactic Rap, Exit The Premises

By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

FILM RANKINGS UPDATED AFTER EVERY EPISODE!!!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Today’s film is Hellbender (2021), a coming-of-age folk horror film where adolescence, witchcraft, and killer drone shots collide in the forest... because growing up is hard... especially when your family tree is rooted in blood rituals. Made by the insanely talented Adams Family (not the finger-snapping goth family from that sitcom, no, we are talking about THE powerhouse indie horror family), this is DIY filmmaking at its finest: they wrote it, shot it, scored it, acted in it, and probably summoned something in the process. It’s got forest spells, mother-daughter bonding, screaming into the void, and a soundtrack that slaps harder than puberty. If the characters from The Craft were homeschooled on a mountain and raised by filmmakers who are way too talented to be this nice, it might look a lot like this.

Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/a.darkish.cinema.podcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our Film Rankings:

⁠⁠133 - Film Rankings After Hellbender (2021)

Email us:

adarkishcinemapodcast@gmail.com

Find our store on Facebook and Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/ashanddreamsokc⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/ashanddreamsokc/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

NOTE: When recording this episode, we failed to mention the end date for the secret word discount at the store. It is July 20, 2025.

Episode Segments:

1. Welcome
2. Outside The Podcast Discussion
3. Breaking News
4. What Is This Film About? - Synopsis and Themes & Insights (Curated by Sunni)
5. Vital Statistics
6. Things That Happen In The Film
7. Inspirations (Curated by James)
8. Trivia
9. Critical Reception (Including our rankings)
10. Final Thoughts

11. 
    

Music:

Exit The Premises, Loping Stings, OctoBlues

By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Breaking News Intro

By: Luis Humanoide (Via pixabay)