Spooky Bitch Gang

Germinating for years online and now exploding into cinemas, is liminal horror the new mainstream trend? Dealing in the uncanny and the unknowable, liminal horror breaks down the very fabric of human identity. We take a look at Backrooms and other recent examples of liminal horror and we also take a look at the deep cinematic roots of the mysterious, surreal and transitional.Includes discussions of The Strangers - Chapter 3 (2026), The Blood Countess (2026), Last Year at Marienbad (1961), Possibly in Michigan (1983), The Black Tower (1987), Marebito (2004), This House Has People In It (2011), The Oldest View (2023), Exit 8 (2025), Backrooms (2026) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Curry Barker of viral success Milk & Serial has delivered another (relatively) low budget marvel. Already a huge hit, where does Obsession slot into the horror landscape? Does its vision of toxic relationships have bite, or does it disappear in the shadows?We also discuss the 50th anniversary of The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976), plus its sequel (2014). Also includes discussions of Undertone (2026) and Hokum (2026)Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

In this episode we take a look at a micro genre that's positively ancient by pop culture standards. A relic of early talkies that has spread across the horror landscape, what can we learn from the mad and macabre locales of Old Dark House movies?Includes discussions of Whistle (2025), The Holy Boy (2025), The Old Dark House (1932), The Ghost Walks (1934), Thirteen Ghosts (1960), The Terror (1963), Bloody Pit of Horror (1965), The Vampire Doll (1970), The Others (2001), The Orphanage (2007) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

A semi-dormant and dogged IP comes back to life with Lee Cronin's The Mummy. Beyond its baffling vanity title, how does this movie contribute to the mummy's pop culture image? Is it really a mummy movie at all? And what about the cultural baggage that's always followed the bandaged boogeyman?Also includes discussions of Hokum (2026), Apex (2026), Dracula (2025) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

One of horror's most notable periods of censorship, we examine the "Video Nasty" panic that took hold in the UK in the 1980s. How do these movies offend a conservative worldview, and how do they reflect an alarming trend that still continues?Includes discussions of Thrash (2026), Axe a.k.a. California Axe Massacre a.k.a. Lisa, Lisa (1974), Faces of Death (1978), The Driller Killer (1979), Don't Go in the House (1979), Dead & Buried (1981), Evilspeak (1981), Xtro (1982) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

French provocateur Julia Ducournau is back with another bold piece of body horror. We break down the auteur's latest film Alpha. Is it a beautiful, life-affirming tale, or a stodgy and portentous mess? Is it an AIDS allegory or an elegy for death in all its forms? Regardless, it's a conversation starter.Also includes discussions of Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026), They Will Kill You (2026) and more.Head to our Instagram for your chance to win tickets to the 2026 Fantastic Film Festival in Sydney and Melbourne.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

We're rolling the dice, playing our cards and fiddling with our joysticks as we investigate the world of deadly games. It's a surprisingly common trope now, but how do these games-gone-sinister reflect the world we live in?Includes discussions of Dolly (2026), The Ice Tower (2025), Resident Evil Requiem (2026), The Naked Prey (1965), Shooting Range (1979), Series 7: The Contenders (2001), Haze (2005), Stay Alive (2006), Fermat's Room (2007), Cheap Thrills (2013), Follow Me a.k.a. No Escape (2020), and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Scream 7 has arrived and talking about it felt like doing a post-mortem. After the controversy, the rewrite and the boycott, is it any surprise that the finished product is nowhere near the level of its predecessors? We discuss the plot in detail, so beware of spoilers!Also includes discussions of Jimmy & Stiggs (2024), If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025), Safe (1995) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Featuring guest host Sarah Wolfe. American writer and poet Edgar Allen Poe wrote hundreds of stories and poems and codified several genres in the process. In this episode, SBG salutes Edgar Allen Poe and looks at some of the weird and wily adaptations of his work that have graced our screens.Includes discussions of The Number 23 (2007), The Tell-Tale Heart (1928), The Fall of the House of Usher (1928), The Masque of the Red Death (1964), Spirits of the Dead (1968), Lunacy (2005) and more. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

It's been 50 years since Carrie first graced cinema screens. We've read the book and revisited the film to see how this iconic story has aged as it's entered the pop culture canon. Who's the real villain in this odd and moving tale of domestic violence and locker room torment?Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Another year down and another clutch of movies to somewhat arbitrarily rank! We're giving you the lowdown on the movies we liked the best in 2025, along with some we absolutely hated as a treat.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

'Tis the season to hunker down and watch some execrable Christmas crap. Thankfully there are a few hidden gems amidst the lumps of coal. This year, friend of the pod Paul Robson has curated a list of 20 holiday-themed stocking stuffers that can all be found on Tubi. Spooky Bitch Crystal managed to watch all 20 and she's giving you the lowdown. We also have a very special guest appearance from Mike L. Taylor and Charles Powers, the director and star respectively of future-classic Christmas slasher Gnome Sick: 7 Slays til Mithras.View the full list here.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

It's time we sat you down and gave you a talk about the birds and the bees. From horror's formative years through to now, we're investigating how sexuality defines the genre. Sex in horror has a long history of puritanism, but we also look at the ways it can be liberating, strange and celebratory. Includes discussions of The Exit 8 (video game, 2023), Tender Is the Flesh (novel, 2017), Cat People (1942), Hollywood 90028 (1973), The Beast (1975), Hellraiser (1987), The Lair of the White Worm (1988), Stranger by the Lake (2011), The Untamed (2016), Bone Lake (2024) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

It's the inaugural meeting of the SBG Book Club and we hope you've done your homework! We're talking about J. Sheridan Le Fanu's seminal vampire novella Carmilla and its place in the canon of bloodsucking lesbians.Also includes discussions of Escape Room (2019), The Blood-Spattered Bride (1971), Vampyr (1932), Carmilla Hyde (2010) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Is it comedy-horror or horror-comedy? We're taking a look at some of the silliest horror movies to ever grace our screens and investigating the strange similarity between laughing and screaming.Includes discussions of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1931), The Houses October Built (2011), The Occupant (2025), The Time of the Wolf (2003), The Cat & the Canary (1927), A Bucket of Blood (1959), Young Frankenstein (1974), Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980), Juan of the Dead (2011), One Cut of the Dead (2017) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

The hotly anticipated sequel to the hit supernatural horror film The Black Phone is here. Ethan Hawke returns as the strange and sexy villain The Grabber in Black Phone 2 which we think is a bit muddled and troublingly familiar.Also includes discussions of Bram Stoker's Dracula.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

It's our 100th episode! To mark the occasion, we stayed up all night watching the entire The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. From its humble, low-budget origins, Tobe Hooper's shocker has given birth to a distinctly odd horror franchise that never seems quite sure what it wants to be. How do you expand on something that's arguably perfect just how it is?Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

After four movies and a few spinoffs we're bidding adieu to Ed and Lorraine Warren and their adventures in The Conjuring series. We take a look at the way the now-classic first instalment has influenced the horror scene, and how the latest film The Conjuring: Last Rites wraps up their story.Also includes discussions of Hallow Road (2025), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and more.Dark Nights Film Fest Volume 2 takes place October 9-12, 2025 at The Ritz in Randwick. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

In this episode we explore a set of terrifying tales that might get a bit too close to reality. We explore the potent desperation, fear and hope that define stories about dystopia and authoritarianism, and how these stories illuminate our real circumstances.Includes discussions of Black Water (2007), Punishment Park (1971), Terminal Island (1973), The Crazies (1973), Golem (1979), They Live (1988), Battle Royale (2000), They Cloned Tyrone (2022) and The Long Walk (2025).Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Zach Cregger's second feature Weapons has been one of the year's most impactful horror movies. We take a look at what makes this alternately serious and silly movie tick, and why it's been received with so much enthusiasm. What can we make of the loaded, potentially subversive symbolism at play in the film, and how does it tie in to the already-iconic villain?Also includes discussions of War of the Worlds (2025), Final Destination 2 (2003), Final Destination 5 (2011) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

The mummy has carved out an interesting place in pop culture that reveals some odd quirks when you peel off the bandages. We investigate the exoticism and neo-colonialism that colours the image of the mummy in horror literature and film. How did this shambling corpse become so iconic and yet so divorced from its origins?Includes discussions of Afraid (2024), #missingcouple (2024), The Mummy (1932), The Mummy's Hand (1940), The Aztec Mummy (1957), Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971), Timewalker (1982), The Mummy (1999) Bubba Ho-tep (2002), Frankenstein vs. the Mummy (2015) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's 28 Days Later is a film that holds up a lot better than a lot of its contemporaries. Following a disappointing middle entry, Boyle is back in the director's chair with the epic 28 Years Later. We discuss the distinctive trilogy's emotionally-charged place in the horror canon and the quirks of its writer and director's visions.Also include discussions of Saw X (2023), Locked (2025), M3GAN 2.0 (2025), The Excavation of Hob's Barrow (video game, 2022) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Maybe grab a poncho because in our latest ep you will get wet! We take a look at the grisly, gleeful gore of the splatter sub-genre. The absurd, nihilism, and the tenuous nature of our society all underpin a genre that cuts much deeper than it seems on the surface.Includes discussions of The Shrouds (2025), The Great God Pan (short story by Arthur Machen, 1894), Chain Reactions (2024), Jigoku (1960), Blood Feast (1963), The Gore Gore Girls (1972), The Beyond (1981), Demons (1985), Ichi the Killer (2001) and The Sadness (2021).Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

The Philippou Brothers' follow-up to the record smashing hit Talk to Me is here and it's grosser, weirder and... sadder? We investigate the powerful melancholy of Bring Her Back, which is both a terrifying gross-out horror movie and a nuanced, thoughtful exploration of grief. Also includes discussion of The Front Room (2024), Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973), and Stalked by My Amish Boyfriend (2024)Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Renowned for their low budget "mockbusters" and their absurd creature features, we take a look at the unusual place The Asylum occupies in the horror canon. What do these often bizarre, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, always unpredictable films say about art, commerce and the tastes of horror fans?Also includes discussions of Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025), Skincare (2024), The Children of the Dead aka Die Kinder der Toten (novel 1995, film 2019), Hillside Cannibals (2006), When a Killer Calls (2006), Invasion of the Pod People (2007), Paranormal Entity (2009), Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies (2012), Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014), Clown (2019) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

We've got our finger on the pulse as we investigate two brand new movies - Final Destination: Bloodlines and Clown in a Cornfield. The sixth instalment in a belovedly camp splatter franchise and possible franchise-starter based on a novel make great fodder for a discussion of what actually makes a good horror movie. Through Final Destination: Bloodlines and Clown in a Cornfield, we get a strong picture of what horror is like in that space between mainstream and cult audiences.Also includes discussions of W.R. The Mysteries of the Organism (1971), The Rule of Jenny Pen (2025) and Rebecca (novel, 1938, film 1940).Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

As thanks for being a part of the Spooky cult, we're exploring the horror and mystique around cults, sects and New Religious Movements. Charismatic leaders, blind devotion and Flavor-Aid feature as we unpack the mechanisms of indoctrination and wonder if it would ever work on us.Features discussions of Sinners (2025), Until Dawn (2025), Thirst (1979), Santa Sangre (1989), Suicide Club (2001), The Sacrament (2013), The Invitation (2015), The Void (2016) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Drop, the latest film from Christopher Landon (Paranormal Activity, Happy Death Day, Freaky), is a nail biter in the classic sense. We talk about this rollercoaster ride's tropes on motherhood and femininity, its big reaches, and its self-dating use of memes.Also includes discussions of Lovely, Dark & Deep (2024),The Skeleton of Mrs. Morales (1960), the 2025 Fantastic Film Festival program and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Nothing is certain but death, taxes and going to the doctor. We investigate the ways in which the medical system has carved out its own horrifying niche in the horror canon. Surgery, sickness and sinister doctors abound. Includes discussions of Afraid (2023), The Unholy Three (1925), Eyes without a Face (1960), The Curious Dr. Humpp (1969), Flatliners (1990), The Kingdom (1994), The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005), Excision (2012) and Grafted (2024).Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

This year marks the 50th anniversary of what might be the greatest Australian film of all time - Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock. Full of tantalising mystery and suggestions of dark, cosmic horror, what is the allure of this oblique dream of femininity and disappearance?We also discuss the novel and the stage adaptation.Also includes discussions of Dead Calm (1989) and Se7en (1995).Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Our fungal friends seem purpose-built for horror, but our they have only a small filmography. We investigate the creepiest, gooiest appearances by mushrooms and mould in horror movies.Includes discussions of The Watchers (2024), Spider Baby (1967), The Vourdalak (2023), The Unknown Terror (1957), Matango (1963), Splinter (2008), Superdeep (2020), Gaia (2021) and The Spore (2021).Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Oz Perkins' follow-up to last year's Longlegs is an ambitious, hilarious left turn into absurdity. We discuss this deceptively complex movie's Biblical allusions and its exploration of the inevitability of death.Also includes discussions of Heart Eyes (2025), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), Notting Hill (1999) and The Barefoot Contessa (1954).Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

You can't swing a crucifix in this town with hitting a Satanic cult, so we're taking a  look at this horror staple. Turns out Satan and his followers come in all shapes and sizes!Includes discussions of Presence (2025), Companion (2025), Faust (1926), Night of the Demon a.k.a Curse of the Demon (1957), If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? (1971), Hungry Wives (1972), The Devil's Rain (1975), Race with the Devil (1975), The Sentinel (1977) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

We're getting all nostalgic over what was an absolutely sick year for horror. Join us as we count down our individual top 10s of the best horror (and horror adjacent) movies of 2024.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu went from unauthorised Dracula adaptation to one of the sacred texts of horror. We look at the 100-year-old masterpiece and the remakes by Werner Herzog and Robert Eggers, investigating the context and themes of each one. Nosferatu's vision of vampirism is as eternal as war, plague, paranoia and death itself.Also includes discussions of Oddity (2024), Black Cab (2024) and Cure (1997).Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

It's hard out here for a biddy! We're taking a look at movies featuring older woman going psycho. Known also as hagsploitation, these movies may have a problematic view of women, but in hindsight do they reveal something empowering?Includes discussions of Strange Darling (2024), Witches (2024), Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), Strait-Jacket (1964), Fanatic a.k.a. Die, Die My Darling! (1965), Flesh Feast (1970), What's the Matter with Helen (1971), Serial Mom (1994) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

A24's latest contribution to the horror genre is the dialogue-heavy, slightly bonkers Heretic. We discuss the Hugh Grant-starring film's unique takes on religion, pop culture and gender. Also includes discussions of Fear the Spotlight (video game, 2024), MadS (2024) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

CONTENT WARNING: Contains references to childhood sexual assaultThe scarecrow seems to be a horror icon on the surface, but this oddball's repertoire is inconsistent and relatively small. We take a look at scarecrows in a selection of horror movies and wonder why the spooky straw man seems to lack a clear identity. Includes discussions of Smile 2 (2024), The Hollow Watcher (1961), Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981), The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight (novel, 1994, TV episode, 1996), Kakashi (2001), Hallowed Ground (2007), Husk (2011) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

How did this gross, cartoonish body horror movie ending up being one of the year's major film events? We discuss all the silliness and viscera of The Substance, unpacking its satirical intent and feminist themes. Does its stylisation get in the way of its characters? Does its message get lost in melt movie goo?Plus Two Spooks & a Lie featuring Australian horror gun Enzo Tedeschi.Also includes discussions of Don't Look Now (1973), The Stuff (1985), Coherence (2013) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Take a trip back in time to the heyday of the iconic British production company Hammer Film Productions. Between the mid-50s and the early 70s, Hammer left an indelible mark on horror, with hits that were sexy, lurid, gothic and campy. We take a look at the lasting impact and sometimes questionable politics of a small selection of Hammer Horror films. Includes discussions of David Cronenberg's novel Consumed, Blow Out (1981), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), Taste of Fear (1961), The Gorgon (1964), The Devil Rides Out (1968), The Vampire Lovers (1970), Hands of the Ripper (1971) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Subtitle haters and subtitle lovers are at odds over the new James McAvoy vehicle Speak No Evil, a remake of a film that in some circles is already a minor classic. We unpack the pitch black satire of both, very different versions of Speak No Evil. Also includes discussions of Something in the Water (2024) and Strange Darling (2024).Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

In this episode, we take a look at movies that explore all the ins and outs of bearing a child. Turns out the beginnings of life might be not-so-secretly horrifying. What commentary can horror movies offer on pregnancy, abortion and motherhood itself?Includes discussions of In a Violent Nature (2024), Blink Twice (2024), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), The Suckling (1990), Inside (2007), Prevenge (2016), Baby Ruby (2022), Birth/Rebirth (2023), The Deliverance (2024) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Everyone is talking about the latest instalment in the Alien franchise. How does the classic Alien formula of popcorn action plus compelling characters fare in this new iteration? Is Alien: Romulus a return to form or a sad attempt at recapturing the magic? Also includes discussions of The Coffee Table (2024), Woman in the Dunes (1964) and Kidnapping in the Grand Canyon (2023).Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Once again, we're taking a look at the rich tapestry of movies that is white people getting stuck places. Going from microgenre to macrogenre, it feels like these movie are unavoidable and this time we've got some bangers. Where did they get stuck and where will they get stuck next?Includes discussions of Trap (2024), The Coffee Table (2024), Lord of the Flies (1963), Lady in a Cage (1964), P2 (2007), 12 Feet Deep (2017), Oxygen (2021), Holy Shit! (2022) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

With the most impressive viral marketing campaign since Skinamarink, Osgood Perkins' Longlegs was a sensation long before anyone even knew Nicolas Cage was involved. We discuss the good and the bad of this fascinating and ambitious film and wonder if it ever had a chance of living up to the hype.Also includes discussions of Twisters (2024), Messiah of Evil (1973) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

He's big, he's hairy and he lives in the woods. No it's not another Russell Crowe movie; it's Bigfoot, Sasquatch, the yeti, yowie, and more. We discuss some of the hairy forest-dweller's onscreen appearances, and what we've learned about Bigfoot's (and similar monsters') place in the pop culture canon.Includes discussions of A Quiet Place: Day One (2024), The Abominable Snowman (1957), The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972), Abominable (2006), Willow Creek (2013), There's Something in the Pilliga (2014), Exists (2014) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

Was anyone asking for another exorcism-based horror movie starring Russell Crowe? Well, we got one anyway! This time it's a bit meta with a personal connection to a certain venerated classic. We take a look at Crowe's latest foray into the horror genre and wonder if the exorcism sub-genre is all dried up. Plus some Sydney Film Festival highlights and the return of 2 Spooks and a Lie!Includes discussions of Hunting Daze (2024), Under Paris (2024), The Substance (2024) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

M.  Night Shyamalan's breakthrough feature is twenty-five years old this year. Does the rapturous acclaim it received at release still hold up today, or has its maverick director run out of goodwill? We talk about its quirks, its lasting influence, and what makes it a great horror movie. Also includes discussions of The Witch's Mirror a.k.a El espejo de la bruja (1960) and Unfrosted (2024).Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

These movies might not be technically horror, but they definitely scratch the same part of our brain that wants thrills, chills and mayhem. Disaster movies pit humanity against some of its harshest challenges. What is revealed when everything is stripped away from the human spirit?Includes discussions of Tarot (2024), Sleep Has Her House (2017), Deluge (1933), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Submersion of Japan a.k.a. Japan Sinks (1973), The Last Wave (1977), The Quiet Earth (1985), Melancholia (2011), Sharknado (2013) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of the most recognisable cult films of all time and beloved by many. We take a closer look at the themes, story, and possible problems with the radical queer musical. How does something this groundbreaking and beloved hold up and what can it offer us in the 21st Century?Also includes discussions of Slay (2024), Infested (2023), Yannick (2024) and more.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected].