Somewhere in America, a chilly breeze is blowing, people are wearing sweaters, and everything smells like pumpkin spice. In Georgia, the home of The Needle, we're just happy it's under 100 degrees, and the arrival of October means we have an excuse to watch horror movies. Since this episode is posting on the eve of Spooky Season, we decided to turn our attention to a trio of underknown and underappreciated slasher films.

The Cold Prey trilogy from Norway introduces a hulking killer known as The Mountain Man. Does he deserve to be on the Mt. Rushmore of horror icons with Jason, Michael, and Freddy? Does the formula of original film, sequel, prequel feel fresh or stale? Your hosts will walk you through these frozen horrors, but since this is a recommendations podcast, you probably already know whether they think these films are worth your time.

Cold Prey can be found on Amazon Prime Video for $ 3.99.

Cold Prey 2 can be found on Amazon Prime Video for $ 3.99.

Cold Prey 3 can be found on YouTube.

The Wave can be found on Amazon Prime (subscription), Fubo, Philo, The Roku Channel, Hoopla, Kanopy and VOD.

Remember that streaming contracts come and go, so when in doubt consult the JustWatch app for the up-to-the-minute whereabouts of the films mentioned on the show. (No. They're not a sponsor. We just love their app.)

You can reach Scott and Eddie at theneedlefilmpodcast@gmail.com with your questions of suggestions for Needles they should discuss on future episodes.

Thanks to songwriter But Perryman for the theme for The Needle and the various music bumpers that were taken from his song "Faded Memory" with his express permission.

Eddie O'Blivion Instagram: @eddie_oblivion

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Scott Phillips Instagram: @mscott_phillips

Scott Phillips Bluesky: @mscottphillips.bsky.social

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From the 1950's to the 2020's, Scott Phillips and Eddie O'Blivion look at streaming needles in the haystacks of the Western genre. Scott leads off with a rare lead performance by character actor extraordinaire Tim Blake Nelson in the 2021 indie western Old Henry. Then Eddie carries his torch for the 1967 spaghetti wester Day of Anger from Italian director Nino Valerii.

For his second featured pick of the episode, Scott stays in the 21st century with 2008's Appaloosa co-written by, directed by and starring Ed Harris. Eddie heads back fifty years before Appalloosa to discuss Gary Cooper's final film role in 1958's Man of the West. Each of your co-hosts offers a runner-up as Scott advocates for the simple pleasures of 2013's Slow West, and Eddie extols the virtues of the Randolph Scott - Harry Joe Brown westerns of the late-1950's to 1960 known to western fans as the Ranown Westerns.

Old Henry can be found on Paramount +, Kanopy and various VOD outlets.

Day of Anger can be found on Amazon Prime, Night Flight and as an Amazon rental.

Appaloosa can be found on various VOD outlets (Amazon Prime, Apple TV)

Man of the West can be found on YouTube TV and various VOD outlets.

Slow West can be found on Netflix, The Roku Channel, and various VOD outlets.

The Ranown westerns can be found on a Blu-ray box set from the Criterion Collection and intermittantly on the Criterion Channel and various VOD outlets.

Remember that streaming contracts come and go, so when in doubt consult the JustWatch app for the up-to-the-minute whereabouts of the films mentioned on the show. (No. They're no a sponsor. We just love their app.)

You can reach Scott and Eddie at theneedlefilmpodcast@gmail.com with your questions or suggestions for Needles they should discuss on future episodes.

Thanks to songwriter Burt Perryman for the theme for The Needle and the various music bumpers that were taken from his song "Faded Memory" with his express permission.

Eddie O'Blivion Instagram: @eddie_oblivion

Eddie O'Blivion Letterboxd: EddieO'Blivion

Scott Phillips Instagram: @mscott_phillips

Scott Phillips Bluesky: @mscottphillips.bsky.social

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The episode that Eddie O'Blivion has spent his whole life preparing for: Jane Schoenbrun's Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Although this show typically focuses on films available on streaming, Eddie and his co-host, Scott Phillips, thought this "instant Needle" needs your eyeballs and box office dollars while it's still in theaters and rolling over to VOD. Their discussion of "meta-slasher" horror films leads to a look at two additional streaming Needles: Severance (2007) and Cherry Falls (1999).

Severance can be found on Amazon Prime, Philo, Hoopla, Kanopy, The Roku Channel and various VOD outlets.

Cherry Falls can be found on Philo and various VOD outlets.

Remember that streaming contracts come and go, so when in doubt, consult the JustWatch app for the up-to-the-minute whereabouts of the fhilms mentioned on the show. (No. They're not a sponsor. We just love their app.)

You can reach Scott and Eddie at theneedlefilmpodcast@gmail.com with your questions or suggestions for Needles they should discuss on future episodes.

Thanks to songwriter Burt Perryman for the theme for The Needle and the various music bumpers that were taken from his song "Faded Memory" with his express permission.

Eddie O'Blivion Instagram: @eddie_oblivion

Eddie O'Blivion Letterboxd: EddieO'Blivion

Scott Phillips Instagram: @mscott_phillips

Scott Phillips Bluesky: @mscottphillips.bsky.social

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Eddie is waist deep in getting his kids back to school, so Scott brings in the podcast's first ever guest to help out: Adam Kautzer, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of themovieisle.com. They discuss their favorite films from the 2026 Fantasia International Film Festival including one release that's already available on streaming. So break out the notes section on your phone or a good old-fashioned paper journal to jot down some of the best genre films from across the globe that will headed toward your eyeballs in the months to come.

Force Majeure can be found on Amazon Prime, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Philo, Hoopla and various VOD outlets.

Good Manners can be found on Kanopy, Tubi, Philo, Ovid and various VOD outlets.

Nightborn can be found exclusively on Shudder and AMC+.

Remember that streaming contracts come and go, so when in doubt, consult the JustWatch app for the up-to-the-minute whereabouts of the Needles mentioned on the show. (No. JustWatch isn't a sponsor. We just love their app.)

You can reach Scott and Eddie at theneedlefilmpodcast@gmail.com with your questions or suggestions for Needles they should discuss on future episodes.

Thanks to songwriter Burt Perryman for the theme for the Needle and the various music bumpers that were taken from his song "Faded Memory" with his express permission.

Eddie O'Blivion Instagram: @eddie_oblivion

Eddie O'Blivion Letterboxd: Eddie O'Blivion

Scott Phillips Instagram: @mscott_phillips

Scott Phillips Blue Sky: @mscottphillips.bsky.social

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Eddie woke up on recording day thinking about the French New Wave and the Agnes Vardas' 1962 film Cleo from 5 to 7. Scott takes us from France to Japan for a trio of films from Hirokazu Kore-eda that focus on the definition of family: Monster, Like Father, Like Son and Shoplifters. The show wraps up with Eddie's own exploration of "family" by discussing the twisted misfits of Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects.

Cleo from 5 to 7 can be found on HBO Max, The Criterion Channel, Kanopy, YouTube TV and various VOD platforms.

Monster can be found on MUBI and various VOD platforms.

Like Father, Like Son can be found on Kanopy, Philo and various VOD platforms.

Shoplifters can be found on Hoopla, Kanopy, YouTube TV and various VOD platforms.

The Devil's Rejects can be found on HBO Max, Cinemax, YouTube TV and various VOD platforms.

Remember that streaming contracts come and go, so when in doubt consult the JustWatch app for the up-to-the-minute whereabouts of the films mentioned on the show. (No. They're not a sponsor. We just love their app.)

You can reach Scott and Eddie at theneedlefilmpodcast@gmail.com with your questions or suggestions for Needles they should discuss on future episodes.

Thanks to songwriter Burt Perryman for the theme for The Needle and the various music bumpers that were taken from his song "Faded Memory" with his express permission.

Eddie O'Blivion Instagram: @eddie_oblivion

Eddie O'Blivion Letterboxd: EddieO'Blivion

Scott Phillips Instagram: @mscott_phillips

Scott Phillips Bluesky: @mscottphillips.bsky.social

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In this episode, former Forbes.com film critic Scott Phillips and filmmaker Eddie O'Blivion, look at underseen films set in the world of martial arts. While there's nothing wrong with a good chopsocky Kung Fu film from the 1970s, these Needles are more than just mindless action fare. The episode kicks off with a discussion about the need to make foreign films a regular part of your film diet and getting over your fear of subtitles.

Scott kicks off the discussion with the mid-life martial arts action-comedy The Paper Tigers (2020), an astonishingly entertaining film from first-time director Quoc Bao Tran. Then Eddie takes the episode back to 1978 with his analysis of Brian Trenchard-Smith's The Man From Hong Kong, a film that famously might have starred Bruce Lee if not for his untimely death.

The episode wraps up with a look at the 2019 dark comedy The Art of Self-Defense from writer-director Riley Sterns. As with all good episodes of The Needle, your hosts stray from their game plan into a brief discussion of a pair of Sterns' non-marital arts Needles, Faults (2014) and Dual (2022). And how can you have an episode about martial arts Needles without mentioning Jackie Chan and his undersung film, Police Story 4: First Strike.

The Paper Tigers can be found on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hoopla, Kanopy, Hi-Yah (a martial arts streaming service) and various VOD platforms.

The Art of Self-Defense can be found on Hoopla, Kanopy and various VOD platforms.

Faults can be found Fubo, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV and various VOD platforms.

Dual can be found on AMC+, Hoopla, Sundance Now, Philo and various VOD platforms.

Police Story 4: First Strike can be found on Kanopy and various VOD platforms.

Remember that streaming contracts come and go, so when in doubt, consult the JustWatch app for the up-to-the-minute whereabouts of the Needles mentioned on the show. (No. JustWatch isn't a sponsor. We just love their app.)

You can reach Scott and Eddie at theneedlefilmpodcast@gmail.com with your questions or suggestions for Needles they should discuss on future episodes.

Thanks to songwriter Burt Perryman for the theme for The Needle and the various music bumpers that were taken from his song "Faded Memory" with his express permission.

Eddie O'Blivion Instagram: @eddie_oblivion

Eddie O'Blivion Letterboxd: EddieO'Blivion

Scott Phillips Instagram: @mscott_phillips

Scott Phillips Bluesky: @mscottphillips.bsky.social

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In this bonus episode about the world of film festivals, your co-hosts Scott Phillips and Eddie O'Blivion take a look at the lineup for the 2026 Fantasia International Film Festival kicking off in Montreal on July 16th and cranking out amazing genre cinema until August 2nd. They discuss new films from Jane Schoenbrun (Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma), the Adams family (The Glorious Dead), Kyoshi Kurosawa (The Samurai and the Prisoner) and a number of other potential gems playing at Fantasia 2026. Stay tuned for a follow-up episode in early August where your co-hosts will discuss their faves from the fest after their two-plus weeks of binge watching.

You can reach Scott and Eddie at theneedlefilmpodcast@gmail.com with your questions or suggestions for Needles they should discuss on future episodes.

Thanks to songwriter Burt Perryman for the theme for The Needle and the various music bumpers that were taken from his song "Faded Memory" with his express permission.

Eddie O'Blivion Instagram: @eddie_oblivion

Eddie O'Blivion Letterboxd: EddieO'Blivion

Scott Phillips Instagram: @mscott_phillips

Scott Phillips Bluesky: @mscottphillips.bsky.social

Scott Phillips Letterboxd: ScottPhillips

This time around your co-hosts, Scott Phillips and Eddie O'Blivion, take a look at a pair of science fiction Needles: the 2006 Cannes Film Festival disaster from Richard Kelly, Southland Tales, and James Ward Byrkit's 2013 mindbender Coherence. During their wide-ranging discussion they touch on two more non-science fiction Needles: David Robert Mitchell's trippy 2018 L.A. crime film, Under the Silver Lake, and John Carroll Lynch's 2017 dramedy, Lucky.

Southland Tales can be rented on Amazon and Apple TV ($ 3.99).

Coherence can be found on Amazon Prime, Peacock, Hoopla, Kanopy, Philo, Pluto TV and various VOD platforms.

Under the Silver Lake can be on Netflix, The Roku Channel, Kanopy and various VOD platforms.

Lucky can be found on The Roku Channel, Hoopla, Kanopy and various VOD platforms.

Remember that streaming contracts come and go, so when in doubt, consult the JustWatch app for the up-to-the-minute whereabouts of the Needles mentioned on the show. (No. JustWatch isn't a sponsor. We just love their app.)

You can reach Scott and Eddie at theneedlefilmpodcast@gmail.com with your questions or suggestions for Needles they should discuss on future episodes.

Thanks to songwriter Burt Perryman for the theme of The Needle and the various music bumpers that were taken from his song "Faded Memory" with his express permission.

Eddie O'Blivion Instagram: @eddie_oblivion

Eddie O'Blivion Letterboxd: EddieO'Blivion

Scott Phillips Instagram: @mscott_phillips

Scott Phillips Bluesky: @mscottphillips.bsky.social

Scott Phillips Letterboxd: ScottPhillips