Xenomania

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein – Xenomania 47

He’s stitched from the dead, soaked in sorrow, and newly born in Guillermo del Toro’s hands.
 
In this episode of Xenomania, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns break open the coffin lid on the upcoming Frankenstein, del Toro’s long-gestating adaptation of the gothic classic. What does it mean for the creature to feel? To love? To rage against his makers?
 
They discuss the early visuals, the tragic elegance of the new creature design, the casting of Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth, and Andrew Garfield, and how this version promises to be the most mythic, mournful Frankenstein yet.
 
Plus: literary roots, monster metaphors, and how grief becomes horror in del Toro’s universe.

Family Films: Sinister and the Celluloid Curse – Xenomania 46

In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns thread the film through the reel as they dive into Sinister (2012)—that grainy, grief-soaked descent into found footage and demonic legacy.
They dissect how Scott Derrickson weaponized Super 8 film, where Ethan Hawke ranks on the “horror dad breakdown” scale, and why Bagul might be the most anti-cinema entity in the genre.
From lawnmower jumpscares to ghost kids in the attic, the trio unpacks Sinister's brutal rhythms, the ethics of exploitation, and that final, gutting fade to black.
Spoiler alert: no one makes it out alive. Not even the home movies.

Skin Deep Cuts: The Substance - Xenomania 45

Beauty is pain and perfection is just the prettiest form of rot.
In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns inject themselves straight into The Substance (2024) — Coralie Fargeat’s visceral, body-horror masterpiece starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. From Hollywood’s obsession with youth to the brutal metamorphosis of envy and identity, we peel back the skin of this glittering nightmare to see what festers beneath.
It’s glossy. It’s gory. It’s glorious. And the only thing more dangerous than wanting to be perfect is succeeding.
 
Xenomania, The Substance 2024, Coralie Fargeat, Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Body Horror, Feminist Horror, Psychological Horror, Horror Podcast, Dark Fantasy, Transformation Horror, Modern Horror, Cult Horror, Hollywood Horror, Scary Movies, Horror Fans

Trick, Treat, Repeat: Halloween III – Xenomania 44

No Michael. No knife. Just masks, murder, and a jingle that’ll rot your brain.
In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns peel back the latex on Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), the black sheep of the franchise that traded slashers for sci-fi sorcery. From Stonehenge conspiracies and sinister corporations to Silver Shamrock’s cursed commercial, we dig into how this fever dream of a film went from flop to cult phenomenon.
Eight more days to Halloween… if you’re lucky.

Eat, Prey (2022), Bleed – Xenomania 43

Before the skyscrapers, before the commandos — the hunt began on the plains.
In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns stalk through Prey (2022), the lean, vicious reimagining of the Predator mythos. We break down Amber Midthunder’s powerhouse performance as Naru, the stripped-back tension of Comanche survival against extraterrestrial terror, and how this film brought the franchise back to its primal roots.
The rules are simple: hunt or be hunted.

Black Phone: The Dead Dial Back

Some calls come from deeper than the grave - Xenomania 42
When a disconnected rotary phone starts ringing in the middle of the night, the voice on the other end isn’t asking for help—it’s giving instructions. Jon traces the history of the device through a trail of grief and disappearances. Ryan digs up an unsettling number of Cold War death cults. And Kearns wonders: what if the signal isn’t coming from beyond the veil… but beneath it? A haunted line. A message undelivered. And something ancient on the other end, learning to speak in our dead.
Whatever you do—don’t let it ring twice.

Check In, Get Ground: Motel Hell (1980) – Xenomania 41

It takes all kinds of critters… to make Farmer Vincent’s fritters.
In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns hit the road to Motel Hell (1980), a grotesque and gleefully unhinged slice of backwoods horror where hospitality meets homicide. Between cannibal barbecue, buried victims, and a man in a giant pig’s head wielding a chainsaw, we explore how this satirical cult classic carved its place in grindhouse history.
Check in for the night, but don’t ask what’s on the menu.

Game Over: Saw (2004) – Xenomania 40

Two men wake up chained in a filthy bathroom. A voice on a tape recorder tells them the rules. And horror cinema is never the same again.
In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns dive into James Wan’s Saw (2004) — the grimy, low-budget indie that became a cultural juggernaut and redefined the horror genre. From the claustrophobic tension of its traps, to the moral rot at its core, to that infamous ending, we unravel why Saw cut so deep and spawned a new era of horror.
How far would you go to survive the game?

Vanishing Act: Weapons (2025) – Xenomania 39a

Seventeen children vanish. One remains. And a community fractures under the weight of grief, suspicion, and something darker than anyone admits.
In this special episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns unravel Weapons (2025), Zach Cregger’s twisted mystery-horror about loss, secrets, and the quiet horror of what we accept when we refuse to ask what’s really going on. From the chilling moment at 2:17 AM when everything changes, to the impossible clues in newspapered windows and locked hair-rituals, this is a story where paranoia is the weapon.
Disappearances, witchcraft, and the echoes of trauma — sometimes the scariest monsters are the truths we bury.

Ereptile Dysfunction: Alligator 1980 - Xenomania 39

What happens when your childhood pet doesn’t just survive the sewer flush — but thrives?
In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns wade into Alligator (1980), the cult creature feature where a reptilian nightmare grows fat on urban decay, discarded science experiments, and human arrogance. From satirical jabs at consumer culture to some of the best practical monster mayhem of the era, we track how this B-movie chomped its way into cult legend.
The sewers aren’t safe. And the gator’s still hungry.