Halloween Spooktacular Special: Ep.1
Introducing our first annual Halloween Spooktacular Special Microseries (Part 1)
It’s spooky season again and we are each sharing some of our favorite scary (and funny/campy) movies to watch during the Halloween season.
Are any of your favorite Halloween movies on the list?
Check out our Part 1 picks below ⬇️
Ashley's Picks:
Scary:
Us (2019)
Genre: Psychological Horror / Thriller
Synopsis: When a family’s seaside vacation turns sinister, they’re confronted by terrifying doppelgängers of themselves—forcing them to face the darkest parts of their own identity and humanity.
Where to watch:
With subscription: Amazon Prime, Hulu, fuboTV, Sling TV
$3.99: YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, Fandango at home
The Ring (2002)
Genre: Supernatural Horror
Synopsis: A journalist investigates a cursed videotape that kills anyone who watches it within seven days, uncovering a chilling mystery behind the ghostly girl at its center.
Where to watch:
Free: Tubi
With subscription: Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+, YouTube Primetime, YouTube TV, Amazon Prime, fuboTV, Sling TV, The Roku Channel
$3.99: Google Play, Apple TV, Fandango at home
Campy:
Happy Death Day (2017)
Genre: Horror Comedy / Slasher
Synopsis: A college student is murdered on her birthday, only to wake up and relive the same day over and over again—using each deadly reset to find her killer.
Where to watch:
With subscription: Hulu, fuboTV, Sling TV, YouTube TV
$3.79: Amazon Prime
$3.99: YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, Fandango at home
Lisa Frankenstein (2024)
Genre: Horror Comedy / Romance
Synopsis: A goth teenager reanimates a Victorian corpse during a lightning storm and, together, they embark on a hilariously macabre journey of love, revenge, and self-discovery.
Where to watch:
$3.79: Amazon Prime
$3.99: YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, Fandango at home
Bobby's Picks:
Scary:
The Conjuring Universe (2013-2025) *See chronological & release date lists below
Genre: Supernatural Horror / Mystery
Synopsis: Based on the real cases of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, this interconnected series explores hauntings, possessions, and demonic forces lurking behind seemingly ordinary lives.
The Exorcist (1973)
Genre: Supernatural Horror
Synopsis: When a young girl becomes possessed by a demonic entity, two priests risk their faith and their lives in a harrowing battle between good and evil.
Where to watch:
$3.79: Amazon Prime
$3.99: YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, Fandango at home
Lighthearted/Campy:
Casper (1995)
Genre: Family Fantasy / Comedy
Synopsis: A friendly ghost named Casper befriends a young girl who moves into his haunted mansion, leading to a heartwarming tale of friendship, loss, and letting go.
Where to watch:
With subscription: Netflix, Hulu, YouTube TV, Amazon Prime, fuboTV
$3.99: Amazon PrimeGoogle Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Fandango at home
Renfield (2023)
Genre: Horror Comedy / Action
Synopsis: Dracula’s long-suffering servant, Renfield, grows tired of his toxic master and seeks freedom, leading to a bloody and absurdly funny showdown between codependency and empowerment.
Where to watch:
$3.79: Amazon Prime
$3.99: YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, Fandango at home
The Conjuring Universe:
Release Order
Title (Year Released)
The Conjuring (2013)
Annabelle (2014)
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
The Nun (2018)
The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
The Nun 2 (2023)
The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
Chronological Order
Year Film Takes Place / Title (Year Released)
1952 / The Nun (2018)
1955 / Annabelle: Creation (2017)
1956 / The Nun II (2023)
1967 / Annabelle (2014)
1971 / The Conjuring (2013)
1972 / Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
1973 / The Curse of La Llorona (2019)
1977 / The Conjuring 2 (2016)
1981 / The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
1986 / The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
The Conjuring Universe - Chronological Timeline
Other Movies Mentioned:
The Others (2001) Psychological Mystery Thriller
Stir of Echoes (1999) Supernatural Puzzle Mystery
Black Phone (2021) Survival Horror
No Escape (2021) Survival Horror
Barbarian (2021) Disturbingly Horror-ific
Transcript:
This Microsode includes a small detail from the 2022 movie Barbarian, which could be construed as a potential spoiler. The timestamp for this detail will be identified in the show notes so you could skip forward if necessary.
Thank you for tuning in to a very special micro series of Microsodes.
Happy Halloween.
All right, welcome to this year's Halloween Spooktacular Special. As always, I'm one of the hosts of MICROSODES, Bobby.
And I am the other co-host, Ashley. Woo! Spooky.
Very spooky.
That's our first holiday, which is coming up. October 31st is?
Halloween.
Nice.
All Hallows Eve.
OK.
And then we got Dia de los Muertos.
That's true.
November 1st, I assume.
I agree. Then, I mean, we're not going to get into a whole thing like, because then November 11th is Veterans Day. Then we have Flag Day.
We've got a bunch of other things going on. But for this month.
Then we've got the most most American of holidays, Black Friday.
That's right. But what we thought was, why not switch it up just a little bit for these for this time of the year?
Yes.
And we'll do Halloween movies. We'll do some Thanksgiving movies.
Possibly.
And maybe some Christmas movies. But we'll also throw in some new releases that have come out as well.
Yeah. The regular episodes are still regular.
Nice. Like the regular show. Mordecai and Rigby.
Oh.
Cartoon Network.
Please don't sue us. Or it might be Adult Swim. I'm not sure.
Whoever it is that owns the rights to it.
Cartoon Network?
That's the reason why I said it. Whoever owns the rights, please don't sue us.
Oh yeah.
We didn't say anything about your show.
This is fair use.
Fair use copyright.
There is. F you. F you.
That's actually a great one.
Fair use.
Fair use.
F you.
F you. Don't worry.
Like trademark TMDM.
TMDM. F you. F you.
Okay.
Because it's funny if you actually can like explain it in a way that isn't defaming.
Exactly.
People can't really get that upset.
Yeah.
If you talk about it in a comedic way or you analyze it without using the specific content as the way you're making money.
Exactly.
Then you can use it because we're talking about something.
Right.
But if we were on our podcast, we were just playing an audio version of the movie.
Then we'd be in trouble.
Then we'd be in trouble because we try to market off their content.
Even though if they say Houston, we have a problem. I think that just means like, hey, Texas, we might have a problem. It's not necessarily referencing Apollo 13.
Oh, I was going to say it's not necessarily referencing Houston.
I mean, it could be any city.
That's, I mean, if you say Houston, we have a problem, I'm guessing that you're referencing Houston. So why don't you explain to everybody what's going to be happening on our Spooktacular special?
Yeah, you'll get two scary favorites from Bobby, two scary favorites from Ashley, two funny or campy or lighthearted from Bobby, and two campy, funny or lighthearted options from Ashley.
So each episode, you'll get a total of eight movies that we would recommend to watch during the holiday season.
Too scary, too funny.
Each.
For two episodes.
For two episodes.
For two people.
For two people. For anyone out there, too.
Yeah.
And then we'll also have some honorable mentions.
Exactly. Those are movies that basically everybody watches every Halloween season.
Exactly. Or if you have seen all of the ones that we've mentioned, those are some other options for you.
Absolutely. Because we're in the spooky season. Then we want to make sure that we give you guys Halloween movies, or they might be movies that are related to Halloween.
Like we're not going to give you Gene Wilder's.
Willy Wonka.
Willy Wonka.
Willy Wonka.
What was it?
William Wonka?
It was William Wonka and it was from Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Who am I Sir William Wonka?
Playing the flute at 10 a.m. in the break room at the NYPD. Who are you William Wonka?
Anyway, that was it. Thank you.
That's my snaps.
So with that, should we dive right in?
Let's. I was going to say something funny.
Let's hop on our brooms and fly to those movies.
Yes.
Okay. So my first Halloween movie that I recommend for Halloween time viewing pleasure is the movie Us.
Oh, nice. The Jordan Peele one.
Yes, from 2019. And this I would classify as a psychological, paranormal type of watch, right?
Um, just from an outsider's perspective, I wouldn't say that it's paranormal. I would say, however, that it is, you said, what was it?
Oh, like psychological supernatural.
But it isn't supernatural.
I would just say, psychological horror would be what I would guess it would be.
Okay.
Because there's a lot of death involved in the movie.
Yes.
So that's what I would have gone with for mine.
So I recommend us. It's basically a movie where these this family goes to a house and they kind of like feel like people are stalking them and the people look like them.
I'm not going to say anymore, but I recommend it if you're in the mood for like a psychological thriller.
Yes.
It's not super slasher, but it is scary.
Well, there also is some stuff that's in there.
There is some gore. Yeah.
Yeah. So just make sure that there aren't young children.
Right. Yeah. Don't have kids watch this.
Right.
Well, awesome.
I didn't think that that was what you were going to go with. Very proud. That was like an off the wall one that I didn't even expect.
So nice job.
Because while I was looking, I was looking at Get Out, and a lot of the Halloween movies put Get Out as one of the movies.
But I'm like, it doesn't. I love the movie Get Out. I mean, don't get me wrong, but that was really stupid.
I'm sorry.
No, it was funny.
I love the movie Get Out, but Us felt more Halloween to me.
I agree.
Get Out is a movie you could watch anytime.
Right.
You're interested in a scary psychological craziness.
Please let us know what you think about that movie, because I think it's people from a different dimension.
Which one?
Get Out or Us.
Yeah, I don't know. For me, it's like an open ending. You can make whatever ending you really want, which is cool.
So let us know in the comments what you think the ending of Us was.
And don't give us the IMDb answer. I mean, we could look that up ourselves.
Right.
Awesome.
So what's your first movie?
I cheated. I'm sorry.
Oh, no, I can't believe you.
I know. I chose the Conjuring Universe.
I mean, you had to. And also you can't choose one.
That's the reason why, because they're all intertwined.
Right. So how would you describe the Conjuring Universe?
Oh, man.
I know. Strap in, buckle in. No.
I'd say like haunting, like a haunting.
I would say.
Thriller.
If you want to describe the Conjuring Universe, it's basically a blend of the things that you fear the most with what you hope there is out in the world that can protect you from those things that you fear the most.
I am so confused.
What?
If you think about the Conjuring Universe, OK, there are so many things in the universe that you are the in the world that you fear.
OK, physical or emotional, mental, spiritual, OK, physical, emotional, mental, spiritual.
In these movies, you hope and pray for the people that are involved in it to get the help that they need because there's also good in the world to combat all the evil.
Oh, OK, so if someone wants to watch this for Halloween.
Sorry, sorry.
I guess I went way too far in depth.
OK, I just meant like, this is the movie you got to pitch to your partner.
Yeah, yeah, I got it. So I would say the Conjuring Universe.
One sentence like paranormal, I would say, because the people that go there are they're paranormal investigators.
Yeah, deal with haunted things in some of the movies.
And each movie kind of examines one of the haunted things. And it's all based on like true people and their true lives. No, it's not based on a true story, but it's OK.
Inspired.
But the Nun and the Nun Two aren't. Those are just made up movies.
Oh, OK.
So the Conjuring and Annabelle, those that's all in the same thing.
Right.
But because the Nun, it was Valak that came into the Conjuring people in Conjuring Two when she was like drawing that thing of the Nun.
I'm just saying for more movies than not in the franchise, they all are based on something.
Right.
Except for the Nun movies.
So, yeah, if you're looking for something that's supernatural, horror related, but there's stories that are interwoven and one thing makes sense about another thing, like the very end of the Nun Two, they go into the Conjuring where they're showing
It's so cool.
When you watch the movie, it's...
Oh, shoot. It was a huge spoiler. I don't think so.
I don't think so.
I'm just saying, like, it's so cool when you see the same characters come back from other stories.
Right.
And you're like, oh, man, that's when that timeline started.
Yeah. And it's just a tip of the cap to the writers to create such a story and then find ways to connect everything.
Exactly.
It's pretty cool.
They did such a good job with that. And I was also thinking one that I specifically remember seeing that scared me the most was the Conjuring Two.
Oh, yeah.
I love all of them because they all they're all scary. They all are like the right amount of scary.
Yeah, there isn't too much gore. There's a lot of buildup. There isn't like things just running around all the time.
It's more like it keeps you guessing kind of scariness.
Yeah.
And to your point, it wasn't necessarily that it was Halloween. But I feel like that's kind of movie you kind of like to watch around that time of year.
I agree.
It's not like I would recommend this list for somebody, you know, when December 1st hits.
Only August 1st.
Yeah, exactly. I'd hit you with Krampus for that. Anyway, I did a little bit of a deep dive for people that are out there.
I know it cheated a little bit, but in chronological order, the way you should watch the movies. So you understand how each story relates to the other.
Wait, wait, wait. Do you have the list of how they came out?
I don't have the list of how they came out because this is supposed to be the way you're supposed to watch them, because you know how a movie might come out.
Yeah. And then it has a prequel.
But did they make them so that we should watch them this way? Or did they make them so that we should watch them in order of their release date?
I think that the reason why they did this was basically like what they did with the Marvel Universe, which was they did Tony Stark as Iron Man and the first Iron Man to see if it would even work, because they had this whole Avengers MCU thing thought
up. But they're like, if this doesn't work, we're just going to shut the whole thing down. So then it was basically like, okay, it worked.
We're going to make Iron Man 2, then we're going to make Thor, then we're going to make Captain America and so on and so forth.
Okay.
But there's a specific way that you should watch the movie, so you understand everything that's in them.
Oh, right. Okay.
And so that's what I wrote it down as. Now, this isn't by release date. To your point, it's just based upon like how you should watch.
Like the actual timeline in the universe.
Correct.
Okay.
So, for the Conjuring Universe, the very first movie that you should watch is The Nun, Annabelle Creation, then The Nun 2, Annabelle, The Conjuring, Annabelle Comes Home, The Curse of La Llorona, The Conjuring 2, The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do
Nice.
And we actually went to our second movie in theaters in the past like two months.
Oh, yeah.
And we saw The Conjuring Last Rites.
Absolutely. And we're going to do something with that as a regular episode, a regular micro-sode.
Yes.
In the next week, week and a half?
Yes.
Awesome.
I also added a timeline on our blog, so you can see the timeline for when the movies were released, and the timeline for when the movies should be watched.
Excellent job.
So check out our blog. There will be a link in the show notes.
So that was my first, quote unquote, scary movie.
Nice. I like that.
I know. I cheated. I'm sorry.
No, no.
If you were to pick one, any one that you would want to watch, if I said, hey, let's turn it on after this, what would you want to watch?
It depends on what kind of mood I'm in. If I'm in the mood to get super scared, I would either say the Conjuring Two or Annabelle Creation, because I thought those two were the kind of ones that put me on the edge of my seat a little bit.
Yeah.
But if I wanted to watch one that was like fun and like campy, I would probably say the Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It, just because it wasn't really that crazy and it was more of a contained area. And it seemed like it went pretty fast.
Oh, OK. Kind of like you want to kick back and eat some popcorn, take a gummy.
Exactly.
A gummy of vitamin Vita bit.
Vita Vita Vegemin.
And fish oil.
And fish oil.
So that is my first scary movie. Now on to you. It's time for your first funny movie.
Well, I I don't know if I really picked very good funny movies, per se, but they're more like campy.
OK.
Like campy comedy movies.
All right.
So my first one is Happy Death Day.
Oh, nice.
One and two or what? Or is there four now? I don't know how many are there.
I know we saw the first one.
Did we see the second? Yeah, we did. It's about a girl who is living on college campus, and it was her birthday.
Wasn't it her birthday? It was a holiday. It was her birthday.
And she gets killed. Someone else gets killed.
A lot of people.
A lot of people get killed.
A lot of people get killed.
And then she keeps waking up.
Homecoming game, I think. Yeah, there's a serial killer that was on the loose.
Yeah.
Wearing a baby mask.
Well, that was the that was the stupid thing about the movie. Sorry, whoever created it. That was the mascot.
Yes.
The university this young lady goes to is called Bayfield University.
And their mascot is the Bayfield baby. And so that is exactly the reason why.
It's why it's a campy fave.
Yeah.
Yes, I know exactly that one.
Yeah, it was like a it looked like a small plastic child with buck teeth.
That has one bottom tooth and he's in a top tooth, one top tooth. Yeah. And he's in a black zip up hoodie.
Correct.
And like a wisp of red hair. Yep. But that's how everybody on the whole campus dressed to go to the football game.
Yeah, it's weird.
But I also, I should, any of that, right?
To be honest, I don't remember the whole movie.
I remember liking it and thinking it was a cool, campy Halloween ish movie.
Okay.
And now is the time that I would watch it if I wanted to watch it. You know?
Right.
So, yes, it was very campy, but I just wanted to make sure that everybody out there was like, does this guy know what he's talking about? I've never seen this movie, but that is really what it is.
Yeah. If you're in the mood to watch something, just like kind of zone out and have fun and kind of be scared, but not too scary and it's kind of funny. Like there are funny parts in it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Because she has to keep coming back.
Yes.
It's almost like Groundhog Day.
Yeah.
Nice.
Groundhog Day.
Yeah. So anyway, the Bayfield Babies.
The what?
Bayfield Babies. Hey, baby, we're coming for you.
What a mascot. What a look. Back to you in the office, B.
Yeah, I just that's sounds like it could be something from that movie.
I just don't understand how they came up with that. At any rate. All right.
On to my first funny movie is the critically acclaimed, much beloved Casper.
Oh, my God.
Starring Christina Ricci.
Yes.
And it was just one of those ones.
Was it also Devin Sawa? Is that his name?
What in the world?
I have no idea. The kid who played Casper.
OK, I'm going to look this up.
Was he in other things?
I think so.
Or was this just one of those things where he was in one movie the only time and he thought he was cute? So you looked up his name?
No, Devin Sawa. OK, I'm going to see what other things he did.
OK, here we go.
OK, let's see.
Why did Devin Sawa stop acting?
There it is.
He's in the new movie Heart Eyes that is coming out this year, 2025 for Halloween.
OK, so this is the movie Casper was in 1997.
He was in Casper. What year was that? 1995 and then 2000.
He was in Idle Hands. I don't know what that is. Final Destination Five.
Little Giants. Wild America. Now and Then.
Gasoline Alley in 2022 with Bruce Willis and.
Don't tell me.
You don't know.
Yeah, you're like.
Luke Wilson, Luke Wilson.
You're like, don't tell me. And I'm like, I can't see it.
Escape Plan. The Extractors.
Escape Plan?
Escape Plan.
Oh, sorry.
The Fanatic. Night of the Twisters. I mean, these go from.
1990 whenever Casper came to this year.
Right. So you saw him in this movie in Casper. And when was the next time that you ever remember seeing him in anything?
You know what?
Final Destination. We watched the first one.
You realized that he was Casper?
I didn't know it was the same kid, but I knew it was someone that I'd seen before.
Okay. Then after that, you never saw him again. No.
But it's weird. You must have had a teensy crush on him to remember his name.
Everyone did.
So then you said that. No. So you said, no, I didn't.
Yes, you did.
Yeah, I did.
Okay.
We all did.
There you go. Nice.
It was like, oh, he's so cute. Now, I mean, he's just like a normal person.
I mean, he was a normal person back then, too.
Yeah. It's not like you're in love with eight year olds.
Yikes.
If you haven't seen Casper, I highly recommend you to see Casper.
Just watch it one time.
Even if you hate it, at least you watched it.
You know what? And it's almost like going back in a time capsule.
Yes.
Because you're going to see a bunch of stuff from the 90s that you never... I mean, people didn't even know what rotary phones were. Like sometimes you put those in front of kids and they're like, huh, what is this?
Did they use rotary phones in Casper?
Yes.
Oh, I remember...
It's how you cut the phone line.
Oh.
My favorite part was...
It's like a get ready machine, get ready robot.
Right.
So you get into this little cart and it pulls you around, it brushes your teeth, it combs your hair, and it like turns you around. You change or something. It's like the effing coolest thing I've ever seen.
And I watched Casper so much as a kid because I loved that scene so much.
It's so good.
Yes.
It really reminds you of like, I don't know, Inspector Gadget or something like that. Like it's just like something that puts you together and you just lay back and just let it happen.
So anyway, Casper's a fantastic family friendly movie, I would say. Oh, and here's Ashley with another scary movie.
Okay. Now. Oh, this is a classic.
This is a classic. I started off with one that was relatively new because it was from 2019. So I'm going to go back in time and say this is a horror classic.
This was the first horror movie that I actually saw in theaters as a human being.
It was as a human being. Have you seen horror movies as an aunt?
You know what? I'm not sure what I did in the past life.
Fair enough. Okay.
Hit me with the ring from 2002.
Wow. That was the first horror movie you ever saw in theaters.
That's the first horror movie that I can remember. Not like scary movie, like thriller.
Okay.
But that's the first one that felt very horror.
That one broke a lot of records, I think, too. The ring was incredible because it just was something that I had never experienced before.
Yeah. I would totally watch that again.
Yeah. Would you watch the second one?
I don't remember. I think there were a few of them.
Well, you could look it up while I'm talking about my next thing, but I have no idea. Well, you could look it up right now.
I think I may have seen the second one, but I can't remember.
But you thought there was more?
Yeah.
Shoot.
Okay. Let's see. The ring is a media franchise based on the novel series of the same name written by Koji Suzuki.
The franchise includes nine Japanese films, two television series, eight manga adaptations, three English language American film remakes, a Korean film remake, and two video games. The Ring, Terror's Realm and Ring, Infinity, both from 2000.
So there was two American movies or three?
Three movies.
Okay. Ring, Ring, Ring.
Ring, Ring, Volume One, Ring, Volume Two.
No, no, no, no, no. Volume One.
No, that can't be right.
Ring, Ring Two. Oh, Spiral.
Now.
Birthday.
Now, that's something.
Ring Zero, Birthday. Sadako, no, Sadako at the End of the World.
Films.
Oh, that was print publications. Okay. Ring, Ring, Spiral, Ring Two, The Ring Virus, Ring Zero, Birthday.
These aren't American movies.
Films.
Yes.
The American? American movies are these. Because you said that the other one had nine interpretations of it.
You said there was nine Japanese films and three American films.
Yes.
Oh, my gosh.
Okay.
Okay. Okay.
That makes a lot of sense because ours didn't come out. Okay. You're right.
You're right. I'm so sorry. Those were not the American movies.
Those were all the first films. So they made the first Japanese film starting in 1995. But our first ring came out 2002.
2002?
Are you sure?
So it was The Ring, The Ring Two, and Rings. You watch it, then you die. Rings is an American supernatural.
Oh, from 2017. Oh, it's based on elements of Spiral.
Yeah, so it's a reboot.
Yeah, of all of the Japanese ones.
Right. It's a reboot, but that's not the original one that you and I saw.
No.
So that's the reason why I'm saying those are the ones that we would recommend, because we haven't seen this.
I would recommend the first ring from 2002.
Okay. And not the second one?
I can't tell you. I don't remember. I don't remember if it was good or if it was bad or if I saw it.
I know I saw the ring one. I know I saw the grudge one. I don't remember the grudge at all.
So it must not have been that memorable.
Well, thank you very much for that. It's a walk down memory lane. The ring, I mean, yeah, that one was crazy.
Yeah.
It's so funny because it became such a huge part of pop culture.
It did. Yeah, they used it in scary movie and then people would dress up. They'd put their hair down.
Oh, yeah.
Then try to act like they were walking through stuff.
So that was kind of cool.
Yeah.
It's nice that you picked something that was scary at that time, but then also kind of created a little bit of its own niche.
Exactly.
And like the Halloween era.
Exactly. Really well done. I really like that one.
Yeah.
For me, my next one, because we were talking about going and seeing your first movie, scary movie, because this is our scary portion, in the theater, in, I believe it was 1998 or 1999, the movie theater, for whatever reason, or like movie theaters
Okay.
And I had heard how scary this movie was my entire life.
This is The Exorcist, the original, the 1970s version, not anything else. And when did you see it? In 1997.
Oh, okay.
Because it was either 1997 or 1990s.
Oh, I can look it up.
Okay.
Instead of me just guessing, it's between the 1990s re-release of The Exorcist in movie theaters. It was for a short amount of time in October.
25th anniversary release of The Exorcist in theaters in 1998.
1998. So there you go. So at least I wasn't just making things up.
So you guys know that I actually like try to pay attention to things. So anyway, my dad had told me for years this was the scariest movie that he'd ever seen.
And whenever I would bring it up to other people, like other adults, like, oh, what's the scariest movie you've ever seen? A lot of them mentioned this and I was like, okay. So I went to go see it in movie theaters and everyone was right.
At that time, you didn't have like a bunch of like crazy movies that you could go and see, like Children, The Corn or whatever. Everybody thinks like, oh, those are like fine enough movies, but nothing incredible.
When you saw this and the way that it was filmed, the way that we have movies like Paranormal Activity or The Blair Witch Project, where it almost seemed like it was you were right there with them.
I think that to me was the scariest part of it all because it wasn't that anything...
Obviously, there was supernatural things that were going on, but for me, when I was sitting there, it was more like I'm really immersed in this and I feel like the dread of everything that's going on. I feel...
I'm empathetic to what's going on with this young girl who's being basically possessed by this demon. And it was just, it was interesting. So I would throw that on my list.
Just nice.
It's always a Halloween movie.
It's always up there. But I think I see it in a much different way than maybe some other people do.
Nice.
Okay.
And was it filmed? Because I've never seen The Exorcist ever, like in theaters or not in theaters.
Yeah.
Was it filmed kind of like a documentary?
No, it was filmed like a movie, but the way that they use the camera footage or maybe the way that it was edited, it looked kind of rough and raw and grainy in certain parts.
Like you could be part of it.
Right.
Like you are looking at this footage with your friend instead of like in a theater to millions of people.
And that's the reason why I said it wasn't that it was a handheld camera back in the day. So I don't even know if they had those at those times, like what a camcorder that people got and ran around with.
But it was something like you could feel, you could feel the emotions of everyone through the screen and it almost made you feel like you were there.
Yeah.
So I mean, it scared me for weeks on end. I told Ashley that I was flipping off my light and flying into bed.
Yeah, exactly.
I was in my sprinter's position and just launched myself into my bed every night for a couple of weeks. But yeah, I would recommend that obviously not for kids, but it's one of those things. It's a heralded piece of cinema.
So check it out.
Awesome.
So now we're going to funny.
Yes. So our last funny Halloween movie, well, my last funny Halloween movie for this episode will be Lisa Frankenstein.
Oh, man.
It's very cute. It came out last year. And I feel like if you're in the mood for Hocus Pocus, but you've seen it a billion times already.
Right.
This might be something that's a little fun, a little like it's more light hearted.
Um, are you remembering it correctly?
Maybe.
You know that she created a monster to kill all of her enemies.
Oh, is that what she did?
Yes.
Oh, but it's like it's her.
It's cute. It's like Lisa Frank in Stein.
OK.
Anyway, that's how I look at that movie. It's not really what happens. It's more of how they react.
OK.
Or how I feel like, yeah, they try to burn it to death at the end.
Yeah.
But do I feel scared or do I feel like is it enjoyable?
It's like an enjoyable watch.
OK.
Right.
Yeah, I think that there's a totally different way to to play that one. But sure, I'll let you rock and roll with what you got, lady.
OK. Well, that's that's what I have.
Lisa Frankenstein is a movie about a young girl coming of age.
Yes, according to Ashley, she has very pretty, colorful, rainbow horse folders.
She teed from Bob's Burgers?
No, like Lisa Frank.
Oh, like all those amazing spiral notebooks and three ring binders.
Anyway, shout out to you kids that know what those things are. You probably don't know anymore.
It's a cute movie. If it's a night where it's chill and you kind of want to be like entertained, but not super scared, but you want it to be a Halloweeny kind of movie. That's how I would recommend it.
A Halloweeny kind of movie.
I know.
When I said it, right when I said it, I knew it was wrong.
I, yep, I knew it as soon as I said it.
But exactly.
Kristen Wiig.
Kristen Wiig.
Shrimp.
Shrimp. I knew it as soon as I said shrimp.
When, so how would you describe it?
It's more of like a teenage coming of age kind of movie. So if you're in the mood for some.
Bright colors.
Yeah, there's a lot of bright colors. There's a lot of, you know, people coming to terms with who they are and what they're actually feeling, because a lot of people feel left out all the time.
Oh, oh, maybe that's why I like it, because I could relate to her.
Yeah, and then she went to the graveyard and then fell in love with that boy.
It just seemed like such a nice story to me.
Yeah, but then they started killing everyone.
Well, they were mean.
I'm not saying that they weren't. I'm just saying that that's what happened.
I guess in that movie, I thought it was light hearted because I agreed with the antagonist or the antagonist.
You know what? If I was inbred and had a gigantic, huge ass crazy cousin that cut people in half with a chainsaw, in all honesty, I kind of relate.
To Barbarian?
No, to Texas Chainsaw.
I thought it was the inbred people in Barbarian.
Yeah, there's plenty of them out there.
Brought to you by the people who wrote and directed Weapons.
Weapons.
So Barbarian is a crazy one. That's a scary one.
Yeah, it's too scary.
That was fucking nuts. I mean, and then you see the people and you're like, what the fuck is going on? Is that the one that had like weird things going on that was like too weird?
Yes.
There's a lot of very, very, very strange things that were going on. The girl, like she ended up going to she thought it was an Airbnb.
Yes.
No, I remember that.
Yeah.
But were they doing weird things?
I can't remember.
Yeah. The whatever lived in the walls was treating her like a kid and drooling all over her and treating her like a baby.
Oh, my God.
That was that movie?
Yeah.
Oh, shit. And they were playing that weird stuff down in the basement.
That was fucking weird. That movie is like scary and disturbing.
Yeah. So like, watch it and watch it at your own risk and you might need to sign a waiver for yourself.
Yes, exactly.
That's one that you can watch at any time. Just don't watch it if you're planning on like going to bed right after, because if you're planning on going to bed right after that movie, I guarantee you're going to have some weird dreams.
Exactly.
There's people living in the basement and crawling through the vents.
Right.
I know.
Thank you.
Okay. What is your last fun movie?
My last fun movie. Now, we've gone back and forth.
For this episode, we have more coming out. I'm so sorry. I interrupted you.
We're just too excited.
We're so excited.
We've gone back and forth about the title of this movie, whether it's Renfeld or Reinfeld.
Ren, Renfeld.
Yeah.
That was such a cool movie.
Yeah. It kind of goes back to Lisa Frankenstein. Kind of a little bit of a toss back to that.
Yeah.
I would say, if you're in the mood for a Ghostbusters type of movie, would you be into Renfeld?
I think so.
I think that's like, because it's also kind of like Lisa Frankenstein in like, if you're visually looking at it, it's very bright and neon. So I like the way those movies are filmed and the color.
High saturation, high color.
Yeah.
A little bit too much CGI every now and again, but I think two totally original stories.
Yeah. And what was, what is that one about?
Renfeld? It's basically about Dracula's right-hand man who's kind of had enough. He's a little bit overwhelmed.
It's been hundreds of years that he's been doing the same thing.
He's overworked, underpaid.
Overworked, underpaid. I'm sure a lot of people can relate to that these days, but he just kind of gets fed up with it. And so he starts going to therapy, a group therapy that was like in Alcoholics Anonymous, and then the story progresses.
It's pretty good.
It's so interesting. It's really like a fun watch.
I think so, too.
Yeah.
That's the reason why I wanted to put it on there.
Why don't we go around and say the ones that we did, just so they have like a quick list and kind of what they're about. So my first scary movie for this episode was Us. I would say Us is psychologically suspenseful.
Us is a psychological thriller about a family wrapped up in its own everyday struggles that finds out there may be a dimension in which things can be worse.
Shit, that's a great synopsis.
Okay, what about?
Conjuring?
Paranormal Thriller? Must watch.
Must watch series.
Yeah, I think maybe you hit it the first time, Paranormal.
Paranormal Thriller?
Yeah.
Nice.
All right, what do you want to tell us in one sentence or less about your funny movie?
Okay, so Happy Death Day. It's like Groundhog's Day, but kind of scary and definitely campy and kind of funny at some points.
Nice.
So if you're in the mood for something like that, that's what you would watch Happy Death Day for.
I love it. That's awesome. So Casper, it's an old school throwback.
Okay.
If you find the preview on YouTube, you should absolutely watch it.
Yeah.
And if I were to describe it in just a few words, I'd say like light hearted, nostalgic and Halloween-y.
Oh man.
Halloween-ish.
I like that. Cause I think the end of the movie takes place on Halloween. Yeah.
Awesome. Well, that's what I got for that one.
My next one is The Ring, Haunting and Dreadful.
Yeah.
It's a very scary movie. You're going to be on the edge of your seat.
Yeah.
And then Lisa Frankenstein. I'd say fun, no, I'd say teen bright Halloween.
Okay.
No, teen campy, no, campy bright Halloween. Cause it's very saturated. I want to emphasize that.
Like, that's a good part for me, that I liked that movie.
Right.
And then Renfeld?
Yeah. Hilarious, campy Halloweeny.
Hilarious, campy Halloweeny. Nice.
And now I have to say the Exorcist?
Oh, shit. Yes. I'm so sorry.
Religiously jarring.
Okay.
Interesting. So is there anyone that shouldn't watch the Exorcist?
Yes.
Everyone. But if you're really going to watch it, absolutely not children and probably people that have weak stomachs.
Would I watch the Exorcist? Because I've never seen it. Should I watch it?
Well, I mean, we could watch it together.
We should probably watch it so I can be on here talking about movies.
Okay.
Yeah.
Was that the one that was started off really slow?
Yes.
Oh, it's a little slow for my taste.
Yeah. You started watching. I think we watched the first 15 minutes.
It's just Indiana Jones.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Okay.
You know what's funny though is that the beginning of the Exorcist, if done better, would have been the same thing as the beginning of the Conjuring Last Rites because they just found something and it was haunted.
Yes.
It's the same thing. Same with it. Wasn't there one with a spider?
Remember they had the spider and it had that like crazy venom and then they brought it back to America?
Oh, yes. Arachnophobia.
Arachnophobia. That's a fucking nuts one. Don't watch that if you don't like spiders.
If you don't like spiders, do not watch that movie at all.
It'll make your skin crawl.
Okay.
And those are all real spiders too. I can't believe it. Yeah.
Okay, we can't.
We can't talk about this anymore. Do not watch it. I do not recommend it.
I also do not recommend Hellboy, The Crooked Man.
Oh, absolutely not.
Don't waste your time.
Don't even. Sorry. Don't sue us.
But your movie was trash.
I'm so sorry.
I'm there. You guys had such a great plot and ideas. It just doesn't seem like it was executed very well.
I agree.
And then the and the reason I brought that up is because there's a spider at the very beginning of the movie. And that's what made me think of Hellboy.
Yeah. On the next episode, we're going to finish off our next two scary movies and then our next two funny movies.
Yes.
And then we're going to have a bunch of honorable mentions.
Yes.
Can you give me one honorable mention that you would like to do right now?
Oh, my gosh.
Can I?
Yes.
I have a couple different honorable mentions for this episode, and I'll save a couple for the next one.
Good.
My first honorable mention that I recommend is The Others from 2001.
Nice.
It's so good.
Wow.
It's with Nicole Kidman. I used to love that movie.
Yeah.
And I didn't make it as one of my main ones because it didn't feel super Halloween-ish.
Right. But it's still a fantastic movie.
Yeah. If you haven't seen it and you're interested in paranormal, supernatural, psychological thrillers, you didn't like any of the slasher Halloween, watch the others. That one's a great one.
Fantastic one.
I've got one of the same, right? One old and one new. OK.
My old one, because you busted that one out, was Stir of Echoes.
I have never heard of this.
Yeah. It's a Kevin Bacon movie.
And I don't know specifically if it takes place around Halloween, but basically, Kevin Bacon gets hypnotized and something like clicks on in his brain and he starts seeing this ghost in his house and things start happening.
What?
Yeah.
It's OK. So is this a scary movie? Is it a funny movie?
Is it?
It's not funny. No, it's very serious.
Oh, it's serious. OK.
Yeah. I would say serious thriller.
Oh, OK.
That's where I would go with it.
If you were to say, another movie might be similar, only because I've never seen it.
What Lies Beneath, maybe?
Oh, my.
If you haven't seen What Lies Beneath, come on now. That is a fantastic movie. Now, let me tell you, that used to be one of my faves, too.
Faves.
OK, so Stirriff Echoes.
Yeah.
That's a good one that we'll have to watch then.
Yeah.
And that one you just has an as an honorable because it's not a Halloween specific.
Exactly.
It's not Halloween specific. And I don't think it would fall into. I mean, you could watch that movie at any time and you'd be like, oh, wow, this is very interesting.
Yeah.
So I wouldn't I didn't want to put it in that.
OK.
Now, my second one that is not an older movie, it's a newer movie that we saw. It's definitely not Halloween related.
OK.
At all.
OK.
It's it's like a survival horror movie. So I don't think of that as like an everyday movie, but it's not Halloween related at all.
OK.
It's called No Escape.
Oh, yeah.
From 2020. Do you remember that one? It's OK.
It says an influencer's immersive escape room turns into real torture. And there's like a crazy twist throughout like the whole thing. Yeah.
Like you think it's a twist and then it's not a twist and then it is and then it's not and then it is and then it's not. It just like keeps going back and forth and you're like, what the hell is going on? And it is so good.
Yeah. So if you're looking for something like that, it's very all of these are very underrated movies. But I think that's why I wanted to put those kind of ones on our list.
Like the ring and the others, those are always good.
Right.
But the other ones weren't on a lot of lists.
Right.
So these are more like very campy ones.
Yeah. No, I agree with you. And the last one that you said was.
No Escape.
No Escape.
Because the one that I was thinking of, which it's not necessarily a Halloween movie.
Oh my gosh.
Okay.
I think I know what you're going to say because I was going to say the same thing. Okay.
Go on.
Because if it's not the same thing, then it would be cool.
But they're making a sequel of it right now. And it also has to do with Escape. And I was going to say Black Phone.
Oh, that's a good one too.
Because they're making Black Phone 2 now or it's coming out.
Right. It could be coming out like later at the next week, next Friday.
Exactly.
But who knows? But yeah, Black Phone.
That's a great one. I thought you were going to say, because I was going to say this, if you're interested in a movie that's not quite a movie, but the Black Mirror episode with The Haunted House.
Oh, yeah.
Like the video game one.
Yeah.
If you're not interested in a movie, but you still want to watch like a movie that's short because it's an hour, watch Black Mirror Playtest.
That's right.
It's Black Mirror season three, episode two.
If she mentions it twice, you should probably check it out because there aren't a whole lot of things that I've ever seen Ashley watch more than once.
Yeah.
Got to watch it. Just check that out. And that's not even a movie.
It's not a movie.
I think it's like, what, 55 minutes?
Yeah, it doesn't even say on here, but I'll read what it says online.
It says, while in Britain, a thrill seeking American globetrotter signs up to test a video game in order to make some quick cash, but finds out the game is far too terrifyingly advanced.
Holy smokes. Yeah, I remember that. That one was nuts.
That was a crazy movie, and it kind of reminded me of No Escape, in a way.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
So that concludes the first part of our Spooktacular Halloween.
Our Halloween Spooktacular Special Microseries Part Number One.
I love it.
I love it. So you'll have to check back for more Halloween movies next week.
That's right. Part Two coming out soon.
Yes.
With four more scary movies, four more funny movies.
Exactly.
And maybe, just maybe, some honorable mentions.
Exactly. I'm excited. Are you?
Pumped.
Like a kid that doesn't get candy corn, but instead gets a big baby Ruth at the end of the Halloween night. Or maybe not a baby Ruth, maybe a Butterfinger.
Oh, Butterfingers or Reese's.
Oh, yeah. Like, I'm sorry to people out there that like candy corn. I don't want it to be a controversial topic.
It's just not for me.
That's fine. I specifically like candy corn, but I think it's only because I really like the texture of it. I like biting off the tiny, like, colors.
OK.
And that is my favorite thing.
Well, I like the ones that look like pumpkins.
Those ones are cool.
I don't like that because I don't like the shape of it. I like, I only like the texture of candy corn.
Well, holy smokes. Sardol, you candy corn lovers out there, or many pumpkin lovers, because one of us doesn't like one and one of us doesn't like the other.
Exactly. Well, what's your favorite Halloween candy?
Well, my favorite candy of all time is probably some type of Reese's peanut butter, something rather. It's chocolate and peanut butter. You can't go wrong.
However, I think during Halloween, my favorite are probably Butterfingers, just because I like that they put them in the little bite size ones. Sometimes I feel like if you eat too many of them, they stick to your teeth.
Oh, they do. Yeah. Yeah.
Butterfingers are so good.
How about you?
I mean, I could always go for Reese's, but you're right. Butterfingers, I would never buy like a full size Butterfinger.
But the only times I've ever had is if we buy Halloween candy to give out or anything and Butterfingers are in it, but they're small. And I think that's like the perfect size or the perfect amount.
That's kind of what I. Yeah, that's kind of what I think, too. I think the Halloween candy bags, that's probably the right serving for someone to have a candy bar.
I agree.
It's just like, that's all you need.
Yeah, unless you get those squares of the Snickers, it's like it's not even fun size.
It's like mini.
They call it a Snickers square.
Yeah, it's like this square size of a quarter.
Oh, I don't know if I've seen those.
Maybe a silver dollar.
Are those the ones you're talking about in the Halloween bag?
Yeah, they're just like the tiny squares.
Oh, right.
What are those?
Oh, they're the Snickers.
I mean, they have Snickers, Milky Ways.
Yeah, right.
Yeah. I think the one chocolate candy that I don't really like is Three Musketeers.
Okay.
I can see that.
Just because it's just chocolate and nougat. At least Milky Way has something.
Yeah.
It has caramel or something.
I'm not a huge fan of Abba Zabba.
I've never had it. Is it peanuts?
No, it's like taffy. It comes in like a thing that looks like a school bus, like a black and yellow checkered school bus.
Oh, I think I've seen the packaging. Is it kind of like Airheads?
I think Airheads were better because at least they tasted like something. Abba Zabba just tastes like, I don't know, plain taffy.
What's taffy tastes like? Like what's the flavor supposed to be?
I don't know. You'd have to have, I can't, you always do this to me and I don't know how to explain it to you. How do you, how do you explain?
I don't know. How long's, how long's a string?
How long's a string? Best line ever. Okay.
I'm going to look up Abba Zabba. I just have to see this.
She has to see it, folks.
Oh, there it is. The school bus. Okay.
Are Abba Zabba's discontinued despite the closure? The Annabelle. Annabelle?
Whoa. Abba Zabba's are made by Annabelle.
Shit.
Bringing it all back to the Conjuring.
Evidently.
Big hunk. Taste.
Okay.
What does it taste like? It says Chewy Peanut Butter Center.
I don't know.
It's a YouTube video. Anyway, I wouldn't recommend it because I've never had it. But if I've had it, maybe I would.
Okay.
If you like Abba Zabba, good for you.
Yeah.
You write me.
Tell me what you think it tastes like.
You tell me what you think an Abba Zabba tastes like.
Yeah.
Yeah. If you ever had any Ding Dongs out there or any Snowballs or Zingers.
Or Ho-Hos or their little hostess cupcakes.
Those ones were always great.
Nice.
Yeah.
Anyway. Well, our tiny cat says, Happy Halloween to you.
And she can't wait for you guys to join us on the next episode of MICROSODES.
The secret word is shrimp. You ready?
Yes.
Look at me.
I'm only going to say this once, shrimp.
You just said the secret word, Mindy.
I did, didn't I? I knew it as soon as I said shrimp.
