John D. Hancock’s Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971) is a moody, low-budget psychological horror shot in Connecticut, emerging at the uneasy dawn of the 1970s when American genre cinema was shifting toward ambiguity and dread rather than monsters and gore. Starring Zohra Lampert as the fragile Jessica, supported by Barton Heyman and Mariclare Costello, the film follows a small group retreating to a rural farmhouse where whispers of the past mingle with Jessica’s precarious mental state. Should this eerie curio languish in obscurity like a ghost no one believes in, or should it be acknowledged as a living, breathing classic of psychological horror?

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Dan returns to explore The Hidden (1987), a sci-fi horror directed with slick B-movie flair by Nightmare on Elm Street 2 veteran Jack Sholder! An alien parasite with a love of fast cars and automatic weapons is jumping from body to body in the neon-lit streets of L.A., pursued by Kyle MacLachlan's eerily blank FBI agent. Flashdance love interest Michael Nouri plays the increasingly confused detective trying to make sense of exploding boomboxes, possessed bank robbers, and his new partner's alarming method of taking alka seltzer. With a synth-heavy score, gory mayhem, and Reagan-era cynicism oozing through every scene, should The Hidden be unhidden to the world? Or was it hidden for a reason? Find out!

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Serge Bodnarchuk of Cold Crash Pictures joins Conrad to take on guest co-hosting duties while Dan goes on vacation – ironically, when we pull an Australian 80s sci-fi movie out of the Patreons' Choice nominations! It's another day, another ridiculous sci-fi bra for Carrie Fisher. The Time Guardian (1987) is an Ozploitation oddity directed by Mad Max (aka The Road Warrior) co-writer Brian Hannant, featuring a giant time-travelling dome, 'hoards' of menacing cyborgs, and a modern-day geologist trying to help a soldier from the future protect humanity's last hope. It's been largely overlooked and often difficult to find since its release. Even witty memoirist Carrie Fisher failed to mention it in her self-deprecating autobiographies. Should it be preserved for the ages in a time dome, or should it be blissfully forgotten? Find out!

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In this clip from our Patreon exclusive episode this month, we review the direct-to-video (DTV) sequel to The Secret of NIMH – often referred to as the worst sequel to an animated film and "every NIMH fan's worst nightmare" – and explore the DTV trend of the 90s.

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Zoe Wells and Mikey Neumann of FilmJoy join us to revisit Tim Story's superhero sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). Released 2 years after Fox's surprising box office success with the original, the film marks a transitional moment in superhero cinema. Neither beloved or entirely dismissed, it's a sequel that manages to improve on its predecessor with world-ending stakes while still feeling oddly weightless and safe. Arriving just before the Marvel juggernaut truly found its stride with the release of Iron Man the following year, it flirted with cosmic grandeur (reimagining Galactus as an ominous V'ger style space cloud) while keeping one foot firmly planted in the PG, family-friendly camp with its will-they-won't-they wedding B-plot. As a second attempt at a reboot tops the box office, is it worth revisiting this one and enjoying its strengths? Or is it rightly consigned to oblivion? Find out!

Check out Movies With Mikey and Deep Dive to hear more of Mikey and Zoe's insights, and look out for Borderlands 4 while being nice to Sam Winkler!

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Jonathan McIntosh, creator of the excellent Pop Culture Detective Agency, joins us to uncover The Secret of NIMH (1982). Often remembered as an example of the surprisingly dark and sombre animated children's films of the 70s and 80s, alongside Watership Down (1978) and Disney's own The Black Cauldron (1985), The Secret of NIMH lacks musical numbers, but is filled with striking imagery, glorious hand-animated effects, memorable characters and a sumptuously rich Jerry Goldsmith score. The film made an indelible mark among those 80s kids who caught it on VHS or TV back in the day. But were they scarred for life by a morbid oddity or forever elevated by a magical piece of storytelling? Find out!

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In this clip from our Patreon exclusive episode this month, we continue our Superman coverage by making Dan watch Superman II (1980), which he only vaguely remembered from childhood! Does it hold up? How does it sit with Superman Returns (2006) as an intended sequel? And why are there two cuts of it? We discuss all of this and more in our 1-hour bonus episode.

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Oliver Harper joins us to celebrate James Gunn's reboot of the Superman franchise by looking back at Bryan Singer's Superman Returns (2006), which tends to get lost in the mix when discussing previous attempts to revive the DC superhero. It boldly attempted to pick up the thread of the Christopher Reeve/Richard Donner era Superman and act as a sequel to Superman II (1980), with the charming (then unknown) Brandon Routh channeling Reeve in his portrayal of the man of steel and his bumbling alter ego. Despite its stellar casting, John Williams musical themes, and lavish production values, it failed to soar at the box office, leading to the cancellation of its sequel and a rethink that led us to Zack Snyder's series 7 years later. But is it a nostalgia pandering misfire or a misunderstood gem that deserves to return? Find out!

Check out Oliver Harper's retrospectives and reviews on YouTube, including his recent look back at Man of Steel!

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