This week on Just The Thing, we head into space again with Predator: Badlands, and for the first time in the show’s history, Joel and Chris find themselves on opposite sides of the battlefield. Joel had a surprisingly good time with this new entry in the franchise… Chris, on the other hand, absolutely did not.

Along the way they revisit the original Predator, discuss where the series has gone since, and Chris gets stuck on an important piece of world-building: do Predators use toilets?

Eventually, as always, the conversation circles back to the real question: what happens when you drop the creature from The Thing into a Predator hunting ground? Would the ultimate hunter recognise the ultimate imitator — or would it already be too late?

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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

In this episode of Just The Thing, Joel and Chris turn to one of cinema’s oldest monsters as we explore the legacy of Frankenstein — from its gothic roots to Guillermo del Toro’s lush, tragic reinterpretation. Joel and Chris dig into a story already obsessed with life, death, and very bad parenting decisions to try to answer the eternal question: who would win in a fight between The Thing and Frankenstein's monster?

We unpack del Toro’s visual flair, the shifting portrayals of Victor and his Creature, and the recurring themes of responsibility, masculinity, and birth that have haunted the story for over two centuries. There’s dark humour, questionable science, performance chat, and the inevitable spiral into philosophical territory.

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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

This week on Just The Thing, John Carpenter’s shapeshifting nightmare crashes head-first into peak JCVD as we drop The Thing into Double Impact. Joining Joel and Chris for a third time is filmmaker Ross Boyask (I Am Vengeance, Ten Dead Men), bringing expert insight to this epic action classic.

Can The Thing outmanoeuvre not one but two Van Dammes? Along the way, we veer gloriously off course into Renegade, Chris’s increasingly persuasive theory that JCVD has a real-life twin, and—inevitably—a detour into the strange world of Steven Seagal.

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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

This week on Just The Thing, Chris and Joel are joined by returning guests Alex Jessep and Matt O'Dwyer. Together, they take on festive nightmare fuel by dropping John Carpenter’s shapeshifting horror into The Polar Express. What happens when a story built on belief, warmth, and hot chocolate meets a creature that thrives on mistrust and imitation? Can paranoia derail Christmas magic? And at will Chris, Alex and Matt be able to beat this year's musical Christmas quiz?

Music:

Hark the Herald Angels Sing by Gravsten

All I Want For Christmas by Ethereal Delusions

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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

This episode on Just The Thing, we’re jacking in and glitching out as the Antarctic shapeshifter meets David Cronenberg’s fleshy virtual reality fever dream, eXistenZ. Joined by returning guest Dr. Geraint D’Arcy, Associate Professor and Head of Media at the University of East Anglia (who also helped us put The Thing into Slipstream, link below), we dive deep into questions of identity, simulation, and what happens when The Thing enters a world that’s already mutating.

It’s parasites vs players, bodies vs bioports, and reality itself might not make it out alive.

Check out Geraint's previous appearance on the pod here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1990618/episodes/15933123

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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

This week on Just The Thing, we’re doing something a little different. To give you a taste of what goes on over at our Patreon, we’re sharing one of our exclusive bonus episodes right here on the main feed.

Join us as we dive into Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, unpacking the stunts, the twists, and whether Tom Cruise has finally out-run the laws of physics. Obviously, we'll also put the creature from The Thing in there somewhere. If you want more like this, you’ll need to head to our Patreon, where a new bonus episode drops every month.

Think of it as your mission… should you choose to accept it.

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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

Just The Thing is back from a summer break, and we’re kicking things off with a horde! This week, the Antarctic nightmare takes on the hammer-swinging, parasite-jawed zombies of Resident Evil: Afterlife. Can a creature that thrives on stealth and imitation survive against enemies who are already dead? We break down viral logic, video game adaptations, and why Chris believes this is the greatest zombie movie of all time.

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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

In a bold detour from our classic creature-feature clashes, this episode of Just The Thing crashes John Carpenter’s icy existential dread into the warm, irony-soaked glow of Wayne’s World. Can a postmodern comedy duo rooted in parody and pop culture survive a deadly force that thrives on isolation and imitation? We dig into the genre dissonance, ask whether you can have too many pop culture references and deep dive into the careers of Mike Myers, Dana Carvey and director Penelope Spheeris. It’s horror vs hangout, tension vs tone, dread vs dudes, and—somehow—it kind of works. Excellent!!!

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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio