Needless Things Podcast Episode 34: 31 Days of Halloween – The Business of Fear!

This is literally the biggest episode so far!

Needless Things wanted to do something really cool for the first October episode, so we gathered a whole bunch of folks together to talk about horror and fear. Featured in this episode are:

Phantom Troublemaker – Your Host

Beth V – Needless Things’ Top Reporter

R.T. Ewell – Author and Needless Things Contributor

Ryan Cadaver – Lead Vo-Kill-Ist for The Casket Creatures

Nathan Hamilton – Son of Celluloid

Jonathan Williams – Wrestling With Pop Culture

The crew discuss their own histories with the horror genre, favorite movies and events, and personal fears and how they’ve been reflected in media. We also get the lowdown on what everybody will be up to this Halloween season.

Listen now or check the podcast out on iTunes and Stitcher!

“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

“Judgment Night” by ONYX & Biohazard

"Zombie Werewolves From Outer Space" by The Casket Creatures

Needless Things V. 31 Days of Halloween

Every October for the last few years Needless Things has provided commentary on SyFy’s – the television channel devoted to science fiction (sort of) – schedule. Not because the channel provides the best Halloween content, but because they provide the most. Aside from some paid programming in the wee hours of the morning (because somebody has to pay for Sharknado 3: Again With This?), SyFy makes an effort to program content that is at least Halloween-ish every hour of the month.

It is for this that we thank them and devote far more effort than we should into dissecting what they have to offer.

Oct 3 10:00 AM Syfy Original Movie Vampyre Nation

Oct 3 12:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Bleeding, The

This is not a movie that you watch for its plot of an ex-Army Ranger tracking down his parents’ killer. This is a movie you watch because the cast consists of DMX, Armand Assante, Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones, and Kat Von D. This is the sort of cast you would come up with if you were playing a drinking game called “Hollywood
Train Wreck”. I cannot wait to see this.

Oct 3 02:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie My Bloody Valentine

I know I reviewed this movie, but I can’t find it to link to it. I liked it except for the man-child playing the sheriff. He was fine as far as playing the role goes, but he just did not look the sheriff part. The guy came across like a kid wearing dad’s uniform.

Oct 3 04:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines

I have no idea which of these movies are which. I’ve seen them all, but after the second one they all blend together. Some are good and some are absolutely intolerable. I think this is one of the shirt ones, because Doug Bradley is in it and I remember feeling very, very badly for him at some point.

Oct 3 06:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Resident Evil: Extinction

I love the Resident Evil movies. Except for the second one. But I think the rest of them range from fun to awesome. This one – the third – is my favorite. It’s the one in Las Vegas that’s the for-real post-apocalyptic world. I still remember how crazy it seemed that the producers had pulled the trigger on making it a full-on Mad Max-style thing. 

 

Oct 3 08:00 PM WWE Smackdown 100314

Wrestling helps pay the bills, so shut up about it.

Oct 3 10:00 PM Z Nation Full Metal Zombie

Oct 3 11:00 PM Spartacus: Gods Of The Arena Beneath The Mask

Oct 3 12:05 AM Z Nation Full Metal Zombie

Oct 3 01:05 AM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines

Oct 3 03:05 AM Syfy Original Movie Phantom Racer

A race car movie starring Nicole Eggert. There’s only one reason anybody is going to tune into a movie starring Nicole Eggert, and they’re not going to get it from a SyFy Original Movie. If you catch my Tokyo Drift.

Oct 3 05:00 AM Haven Much Ado About Mara

Oct 4 06:00 AM Paid Programming 

Oct 4 09:00 AM Scare Tactics Driver's Dead

Oct 4 09:30 AM Scare Tactics Pregnant With A Mutant

Oct 4 10:00 AM Scare Tactics Blown To Green Pieces

Oct 4 10:30 AM Syfy Original Movie Swamp Devil

It’s devil day on SyFy! This one is sort of a combination of Swamp Thing and Evil Dead 2. Which, honestly, isn’t a bad thing to be.

Oct 4 12:30 PM Syfy Original Movie Tasmanian Devils

Starring former Olympian Apollo Ohno. Because the first thing I think when confronted with wild, ravenous mutants is, “Let’s call a short-distance speed skater!”

Oct 4 02:30 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Hellboy

This is an absolutely fantastic movie and probably in my top five best comic book adaptations.

Oct 4 05:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Resident Evil: Extinction

Oct 4 07:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Reaping, The

This is that end of days movie starring Hilary Swank. I saw it in the theater and wished I hadn’t. 

 

Oct 4 09:00 PM Syfy Original Movie Dark Haul

From IMDB:

“The meaning of cryptic prophesy splits apart a team of secretive guardians as they transport by 18-wheeler truck, a deadly creature and it's half-human sister from their now ineffective holding place to a more secure location. The sister's hidden agenda undermines the mission releasing the beast and they end up battling for the fate of the world when the true meaning of the prophesy is discovered in this mysterious and thrilling, action-packed creature feature.”

While I am not overly impressed by the author’s sentence structure, that does sound like a pretty good flick. Throw Tom Sizemore in with all of that and I do believe I’ll be setting my DVR.

Oct 4 11:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Hellboy

Oct 4 01:30 AM Syfy Original Movie Dark Haul

Oct 4 03:30 AM Syfy Original Movie Dark Relic

This one is about some knights running away from demons or something. Definitely a 3:30 AM SyFy special. Rather than talk about it, I’d like to commend SyFy for not trotting out The Devil’s Advocate this year. Well, yet. But if they were gonna do it, you’d think they would do it on Devil Day.

Oct 4 05:30 AM Scare Tactics Bicentennialien

Oct 5 06:00 AM Paid Programming 

Oct 5 09:00 AM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Cursed, The

This is not that crappy Wes Craven movie about werewolves. This is a different crappy movie.

Oct 5 11:00 AM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Stephen King's Rose Red - Part 1

Oct 5 01:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Stephen King's Rose Red - Part 2

Oct 5 03:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Stephen King's Rose Red - Part 3

I LOVE that SyFy are doing this. They have entire days of programming to fill up with spooky content, so why not show some miniseries? I’ll admit that Rose Red isn’t exactly one of my favorites, but it’s cool that they’re showing it. Plus I think it’s new to the channel. Well, new-ish.

Oct 5 05:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Reaping, The

Oct 5 07:00 PM Syfy Original Movie House Of Bones

This one is kind of fun. And if you’re a fan of Corin Nemec and/or Charisma Carpenter (yum), then you’ll really dig it. SyFy shows it every year and I watch it every year. It’s not bad.

Oct 5 09:00 PM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Shutter

I thought this was a pretty good remake of a Thai film. I have an inexplicable fascination with Joshua Jackson. I never watched Dawson’s Creek with any regularity, but my liking of him predates Fringe. 

 

Oct 5 11:00 PM Z Nation Puppies And Kittens

Oct 5 12:00 AM Z Nation Fracking Zombies

Oct 5 01:00 AM Z Nation Philly Feast

Oct 5 02:00 AM Z Nation Full Metal Zombie

Oct 5 03:00 AM Syfy Original Movie Zombie Night

This one is from John Gulager, the guy behind the excellent Feast movies. It has an interesting cast – Anthony Michael Hall and Darryl Hannah to name a couple – and it debuted last year. I don’t remember it at all. I know I didn’t watch it. I’ll have to give it a try.

Oct 5 05:00 AM The Twilight Zone Come Wander With Me

Oct 5 05:30 AM Tz: Cable In The Classroom The Whole Truth

I say this every year, but I feel like SyFy should save Twilight Zone for New Year’s Day.

Oct 6 06:00 AM Paid Programming 

Oct 6 08:00 AM Scare Tactics The Collector

Oct 6 08:30 AM Scare Tactics Toxic Shock

Oct 6 09:00 AM 31 Days Of Halloween Movie Stephen King's Rose Red - Part 1

Remember to come back tomorrow for the first installment of R.T.’s four-part zombie story, exclusively available here on Needless Things!