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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

n 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.

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.

In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns sink their teeth into The Howling (1981), Joe Dante’s cult werewolf classic that reinvented lycanthropy for a new generation of horror fans.

In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns dig into Clown in a Cornfield — Adam Cesare’s brutal, blood-soaked slasher that asks what happens when small-town rot collides with a painted grin.

Ryan and Kearns join in to pull apart the myth from the marketing, asking if the Warrens were genuine believers, clever con artists, or something more unsettling still.

Before Aliens and Terminator, James Cameron made… Piranha II: The Spawning. A seaside buffet of flying fish, gnawed tourists, and B-movie madness, this cult sequel has been called both “the best flying piranha movie ever made” and “a cinematic shipwreck.” In this episode, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns dive headfirst into Cameron’s chaotic first directorial outing, the cursed production that nearly sank his career before it started, and why the film has managed to cling to cult status like a school of razor-toothed survivors. Come for the trivia, stay for the blood in the water.

In Episode 34, Jon, Ryan, and Kearns sink their teeth into Joe Dante’s Piranha (1978), a horror-comedy creature feature where the gore is plentiful, the budget is questionable, and the fish have an agenda. What begins as a government oopsie spirals into a screaming satire of Cold War paranoia, summer vacation, and the dangers of skinny-dipping.

In 2002, Bill Paxton’s Frailty crept into theaters—a Southern Gothic fever dream of divine visions, buried secrets, and a father’s terrible mission from God. Jon, Ryan, and Kearns descend into the film’s humid, haunted moral swamp, where angels and demons walk in human skin, and family loyalty can damn you just as surely as it can save you. Was it madness, prophecy…or something far worse?

Ryan draws unsettling parallels between urban legends and the film’s grotesque revelations, Jon explores the disturbing brilliance of the narrative structure, and Kearns digs into Barbarian’s underlying mythology—touching on everything from folklore’s monstrous mothers to the shadowy history of Detroit itself.

Jon fixates on the monkey’s design and the slow-burn structure. Ryan draws comparisons to Perkins’s previous work and questions whether The Monkey earns its tragedy. Kearns, meanwhile, goes full-tilt mythological, connecting the film to primal trickster figures and death portents across global folklore.

We dive deep into the legacy of Sleepaway Camp—the scares, the cult fandom, and why it continues to haunt nightmares and midnight movie marathons alike.

Whether you love it or fear it, you won’t want to miss this deep dive into the dank tunnels of terror.