Xenomania

28 Years Later: Bone Temple – Xenomania 57

The rage never left.
In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns trek through the ash-crusted mythos of 28 Years Later: Bone Temple, where blood memory and broken faith collide in the ruins of civilization. This isn’t just another infection movie, it’s a story about what survives when survival stops being enough.
We follow Jimmy, a demented cult leader with running out of fingers, and Ian, the doctor who still believes mercy is sacred . When Ian gives the beast Sampson a syringe of morphine, it’s not cruelty. It’s communion. He still sees the man beneath the monster.
Against all odds — and genre rules — Bone Temple dares to find a fragile, flickering light in the rage-plagued dark. It delivers devastation, yes, but also something bordering on grace. The ending shouldn't work. But it does. And it cracks the door open for what comes next.
The virus has changed. So have we.

Silent Hill: Cult Town, Knife Nurses, and Pyramid Schemes - Xenomania 56

“Mommy, am I still me?”
In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns descend through the ash-fog of Konami’s most cursed export to talk religious fanaticism, trauma cults, and how Silent Hill (2006) is somehow both aggressively incoherent and artistically iconic.
We discuss why the town feels like a Lovecraftian divorce court, how Radha Mitchell sold genuinely unhinged mom energy, and why pyramid-headed grief demons are always the final boss of parenting. Plus: acid spit nuns, dead-eyed zealots, and a parking lot scene that lives rent-free in our collective psyche.
Is the movie good? That depends on how many sirens you've heard this week.

Sweet, Bloody, Vengeful: Candyman’s Back and Buzzin - Xenomania 55

Say it once, say it twice, say it five times and get wrecked. In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns stare too long into a rearview mirror of American horror and watch it reflect rot,  gentrified ghosts, legacy trauma, and bees with union grievances. Candyman returns with a paintbrush dipped in blood and ink, and the Xenoboys debate whether this reboot-sequel-refracted-nightmare sticks the landing or gets stuck in its own honey trap. Spoiler: art is pain, and pain is profit.
We talk Cabrini-Green, puppets that slit throats, and what happens when a myth fights back.

The Sixth Sense: Ghosts, Guilt, and the Twist That Broke the ’90s - Xenomania 54

“I see dead tropes…”
For years, The Sixth Sense has lived in the shadow of its twist.
In this episode of Xenomania, we revisit M. Night Shyamalan’s breakout film with fresh eyes and less nostalgia. Yes, it’s a well-crafted ghost story with moments of genuine pathos, but how well does it hold up under scrutiny?
We unpack the emotional weight of Haley Joel Osment’s performance, the chilly atmosphere, and Shyamalan’s restrained direction. But we also ask harder questions about pacing, predictability, and the long-term impact of a film that may have taught a generation of viewers to look for gimmicks over depth.
The Sixth Sense is remembered for what it hides. We’re more interested in what it reveals.

Countdown to Chaos: New Year’s Evil (1980) – Xenomania 53

In this year-end finale of Xenomania, Jon and Ryan slip into their shiniest disco suits and dial into New Year’s Evil (1980)—a sleazy, synth-laced slasher set during a televised NYE countdown. As a killer named “Evil” offs a victim at the stroke of midnight in each U.S. time zone, we discuss the film’s time-locked gimmick, glam-punk aesthetics, sleazy subtext, and its strange place in the slasher canon. We don’t explore the blend of punk nihilism and Reagan-era paranoia simmering just beneath the surface, but cap off the year with our favorite movies and episodes of 2025.
From voice modulators to pink champagne murder, join us as we toast to one last bloody night before the ball drops.
 
 

Tinsel. Blood. Mayhem: Silent Night Deadly Night—Xenomania 52

In this holiday massacre of an episode, the Xenomania crew unwraps Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022), Joe Begos’s neon-slick splatterfest where a military-grade robotic Santa malfunctions into a relentless killing machine.
Come for the grindhouse aesthetic, stay for the synth soundtrack, practical gore, and surprisingly sharp central performances. We dig into the subtext (is there any?), the style (hell yes), and how the film splits the sleigh bells between homage and full-blown absurdity.
It’s Silent Night, Deadly Night by way of The Terminator, with a double shot of J&B.

The Last Mile: The Long Walk – Xenomania 51

In this stark, brutal episode of Xenomania, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns set off down the desolate highways of The Long Walk — Francis Lawrence’s harrowing 2025 adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian thriller.
Fifty boys. One rule: never stop walking. Three strikes and the guns come out. No finish line. No mercy. Only one winner gets a wish and riches beyond belief — everyone else just collapses in the dust.
The hosts break down how the film turns a terrifyingly simple premise — keep moving or die — into a psychological survival saga full of pain, camaraderie, existential dread, and the crushing weight of unrelenting competition. They unpack Cooper Hoffman’s compelling lead performance, David Jonsson’s emotional depth, and Mark Hamill’s chilling Major, all while asking a haunting question: how far would you walk?

Battle Royale: The Original Death Game–Xenomania 50

In this milestone 50th episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns strap on explosive collars and dive headfirst into Battle Royale (2000)—Kinji Fukasaku’s ultraviolent, emotionally raw, and politically charged cult classic.
They dissect its brutal allegory for youth disillusionment, the ethical rot of authority, and how the film paved the way for modern dystopias like The Hunger Games, Squid Game, and beyond.
What happens when a classroom turns battlefield? Who deserves to survive? And why does this film still hit harder than ever 20+ years later?
Spoiler: there’s no detention. Just death.

Naughty List: Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) – Xenomania 49

In this holiday-slasher episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns trim the tree with terror as they unwrap the controversial cult classic Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984).
From killer Santas to traumatic orphans, the guys explore how this low-budget bloodbath turned yuletide cheer into a moral panic—and became one of the most infamous seasonal slashers of the ‘80s.
They dive into Catholic guilt, VHS horror boom aesthetics, and why the line “Punish!” still hits like a sleigh bell to the face.
Come for the murder montage. Stay for the deranged Christmas carols.
Ho-ho-horrifying.

A Slasher to Be Thankful For: Thanksgiving - Xenomania 48

In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns gather around the blood-soaked banquet table to dig into Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving (2023), a pitch-perfect homage to holiday slashers, grindhouse grit, and small-town hysteria.
From Black Friday mayhem to Pilgrim masks and meat thermometers in all the wrong places, they dissect how Roth turns a fake trailer into a full-on feast of gore, gags, and gruesome cheer.
Who lives? Who gets basted? And is Thanksgiving the best seasonal slasher in years?
Tune in for talk of genre tropes, teen scream archetypes, Roth’s return to form, and the eternal question: what would John Carpenter do?