The Playlist Podcast Network

Sequels are a tough sell in the horror genre. While there are some great ones every once in a blue moon, most of them are pretty terrible, including the recently released “Halloween Kills.” So, in honor of the terrible sequel issue, this episode of The Playlist Podcast is devoted to talking about horror films that didn’t get a sequel (and didn’t need a sequel) because they’re perfect just how they are.

“Dune” is upon us. After a long delay, Denis Villeneuve’s adapation of Frank Herbert’s iconic novel is hitting theaters (...and HBO Max, sigh) this week. Well, Villeneuve’s adaptation of the first half of the novel, to be more specific. And in this episode of The Playlist Podcast, we discuss whether or not “Dune” is worth your money (spoiler alert: it is), and also, if you should skip the theaters and just watch it on HBO Max instead (spoiler alert: you shouldn’t)?

Shamier Anderson is an up-and-coming actor who you may recognize from the show “Wynonna Earp” and films like “Race” or  Netflix’s “Stowaway.” He’s been steadily building a following a is seemingly ready to break out over the course of the next year with some high-profile projects. In this episode of The Discourse, Shamier Anderson joins host Mike DeAngelo to talk about his role in the Apple TV+ series “Invasion.”

Bill Hader has become a go-to voice for animation houses and features to utilize for big and small parts, with his work in the “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” series to “Sausage Party,” to “Inside Out” and much more. It seems that no animated part is too big or small for Hader to jump into and consistently knock out of the park. In this episode of The Discourse, Bill Hader joins the show to talk about his role as Cyrus Strange in “The Addams Family 2.”

By Wes Craven's third decade reinventing Hollywood horror, the "Nightmare on Elm Street" creator found himself asking, "What's the point of all this slashing?" He embarked on a third act of socially critical and self-reflexive scary movies: "The People Under The Stairs" (1991), "New Nightmare" (1994) and "Scream" (1996). With two of those three titles celebrating anniversaries this autumn, welcome to your "Be Reel" Halloween special. 

Michael Myers is back! And this time, he’s going to...well, kill a bunch of people. You guys know how the “Halloween” franchise works, right? This weekend, Blumhouse returns with another addition to the John Carpenter-created horror franchise with “Halloween Kills.” And on this episode of The Playlist Podcast, we discuss if David Gordon Green is able to follow his 2018 surprise hit with yet another scary classic or if “Halloween Kills” is added to the laundry list of unnecessary slasher sequels?

In this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Anthony Michael Hall joins us to talk about his role as Tommy Doyle in “Halloween Kills,” the highly-anticipated sequel to David Gordon Green’s massive “Halloween” from 2018. Over the course of the interview, it’s clear Hall is jazzed about joining the beloved “Halloween” franchise and doesn’t take any of it for granted. He also talks about his decades-long career that includes a legendary run of films with John Huges, which he dubs his “Puberty on Film” trilogy.

The horror genre is notorious for having some of the worst sequels to ever grace the big screen. Most of the time, these sequels are studio-driven cash-grabs that fail to live up to the original film and quickly dash the hopes of eager fans. But sometimes, just sometimes, a sequel to a horror hit is great. And on this episode of The Playlist Podcast, a George A. Romero classic, an influential slasher, and maybe Sam Raimi’s most ridiculous film are all discussed as some of the best horror sequels of all time.

When Daniel Craig was announced as the sixth James Bond, the media had a field day. He wasn't tall enough, good looking enough, lackluster, underwhelming, a "Blond Bond?" Rubbish. In the mind of a vocal minority that was blown way out of proportion, Craig did not fit the traditional stereotype of what a Bond actor should look like and took a thrashing for it. Nevertheless, he held his head high because he knew the work they were doing on "Casino Royale" was something special and would immediately shut down the naysayers. Sure enough, it did and that was the first time Daniel Craig subverted the Bond expectations. Perhaps it's therefore fitting that the man who was unlike anyone who came before would go on to continue reinventing and revitalizing the almost 60-year-old franchise culminating in the most Ian Fleming, yet least traditional Bond film"No Time To Die." Over five movies and fifteen years, Daniel Craig pushed the boundaries of not just what a James Bond movie should be, but what it can be. He proved to a world inundated with cheap, monotonous looking blockbusters that you can recruit people like Sam Mendes, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Roger Deakins, Javier Bardem, Naomi Harris, Lea Seydoux, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Hans Zimmer, and countless others - the best artists in the world - to make these films. To prove that while not every film is guaranteed to be a "Skyfall" or "Casino Royale," you shouldn't settle for anything less than the very best. Blockbuster cinema can be prestige cinema if you try. With each of his five films, Craig, and to their credit EON Productions, helped bolster the artistic value that all modern blockbusters should have. Die" picks up after the events of "Spectre" with Bond and Madeline (Lea Seydoux) living in tranquility before it's all uprooted. Five years later, living peacefully in retirement, Bond is thrust back into the world of international espionage after his friend and colleague Felix Leiter (Wright) calls for his aid. While so much care is put into physically crafting these films, what separates Craig's tenure from the rest is the equal amount of care that goes into character and story. It wasn't always the plan to make each of Craig's five films interconnected, but as the series progressed, it felt inescapable to ignore the natural progression of the character. In so doing, Craig managed to get to the heart of Ian Fleming’s iconic superspy mining the psychology of the character, comprehending the prose in Fleming’s words, and having a fearless vision that says, within the trappings of a Bond movie, anything is possible, and it shouldn’t be beholden to the exact same things that have come before. The way Craig interrogated the character and made bold choices that serviced his arc as a human being, thrusting him into our world, whether popular or not, is what resonates. see the status quo challenged, the changing landscape of our world represented on screen and the different ways in which we as humans choose to engage with it. These stories and these characters allow us as audience members to learn and grow from their experiences because we know and understand them. We trust them as Wright puts it. No Time To Die" hits theaters October 8. Additional reporting by Brody Serravalli

"Cult classic" is a term that gets thrown around quite a bit nowadays. There are even films that purposefully hope to earn that title as if there’s some formula to attain the status. But true cult classic films are created with the best intentions and through the sheer will of the fans, they become something greater than anyone could ever imagine. The 1986 BMX film, “Rad,” is one of those films. And on this episode of The Playlist Podcast, we talk to the star of “Rad,” Bill Allen, as the unlikely hit celebrates its 35th anniversary.