Aughtsterion

It's a very Aughtsterion holiday, as the fifth season of the pod debuts with Eli Roth's latest (and possibly best??) effort: Thanksgiving. Based on the trailer for a fake movie of the same name that rolled in between Grindhouse movies back in 2007, this Thanksgiving, as some anonymous internet commenter described it, like if someone made a 2000s remake of the non-existent 1970s movie the original trailer depicted. In other words, it's basically fantastic. Jordan is boosting it as her favorite Roth of all time, while Sam sees it as a close contender with his top choice, Hostel 2, but no matter where that discussion ends up, it means the audience wins. Roth has a way with depicting horrible people doing horrible things. And while his love of gore has never abated since the torture tourism era, his level of misogynist sleaze thankfully has. (At least... for now!) So, join your co-hosts to celebrate a most rare scary movie gem — the Turkey Day slasher — as well as the maturation of Rick Hoffman on screen, the presence of Addison Rae, and yes, even a musical about Jesus. It will all make sense once you listen, promise!

As a special nod to the waning hours of PRIDE month, Jordan and Sam have made the time for a very special episode. It's not horror, but it is the second entry in a softcore comedy franchise called Eating Out, and this time you're getting the Sloppy Seconds. From 2006, this sequel reaches for the stars and becomes one of the — now keep an open mind — great ensemble comedies of the 2000s?! Maybe so! In this episodes, your co hosts talk about the subversive importance of boys-in-briefs movies of the aughts, what Sloppy Seconds gets right that even movies of the 2020s don't, and why different does in fact rock. This one's for the bisexuals! Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola and Sam Wineman Music by: Sam Wineman

Is it gonna work out for the dipshit in the mask this time? Sam and Jordan are skeptical!! In part 2 of the Aughts pod special coverage of Scream VI, your co hosts venture into the subway, the kill palace, and Gale's Upper West Side apartment as their friends traverse Manhattan to vanquish a killer. Or! Killers! It's time to celebrate Tara throwing hands, Sam rejoicing in getting to kill again, Chad putting his body on the line, and Kirby taking matters into her own hands. It's scary to think of a Scream VII being able to follow this up, but as long as the Core 4 sticks together, at least we'll all be with our friends. Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

It's an Aughtsterion Christmas in March. One year after the Scream franchise returned with its 5th installment — which your hosts were full supporters of by the end — chapter 6 has arrived to officially mark the beginning of the Radio Silence era of the franchise. Yes, nü Scream was directed by the duo of Gillette and Bettinelli-Olpin, but the need to merge the original run of the franchise with its new class made it a kind of hybrid between Craven and the new guys. And with the tough work of an origin story out of the way, VI is able to soar exciting heights and, most importantly, really let Sam and Jordan feel like they're back hanging out with their Woodsboro friends again. Jenna Ortega is an irrefutable star. Melissa Barrera is the Sam she was meant to be. The twins are a total joy. Kirby is back, and the Core 4 are officially the new Ghost(face) Busters. This one goes out to you, Gale Weathers! Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

Congratulations, graduates! You've made it to the end of Aughtsterion season 4, but before you all fan out to pursue your dreams — and before we reconvene for season 5 — Sam and Jordan have some awards to hand out. Who was the best actress of this class? What was the best picture? Which villain had the best Moment, and does anyone care about the actors at all? Not really! But let's try our best to make something up. Tune into the best of to see which of your faves are getting their flowers, and put on Vitamin C's "Graduation" to celebrate. Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

In the second half of the Baughts team's talk about M3GAN, Sam, Margot and Jordan finally get to the main event of this conversation. Which is: Why is M3gan so... gay?? It's a comprehensive answer, but the Cliff's Notes answer is, well, everything. Your co-hosts also get into the evergreen favorite topic of friendship love stories, why our robot god isn't a toy, what happens to bad little boys, and so very much more. M3GAN INNOCENT! Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Written by: Margot Carlson and Sam Wineman

The Botcast and Aughtsterion have teamed up for one of 2023's most critical new releases: M3GAN. Sitting dead center in the bullseye of Margot, Jordan and Sam's interests, this Akela Cooper-penned movie about a robot companion who takes her mandate of protection a little too far demands analysis that only two scholars of the 2000s and robot cinema intellectual can provide. There's so much to discuss, including what makes M3GAN gay, where the movie sits in the liberated AI canon, what the titular character's fabulosity signifies, and so much more than it had to be split into two episodes. Dive into part 1 now, and do it with a flourish. Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Margot Carlson and Sam Wineman

It is the week of Christmas, and as both a pro-horror and pro-holiday podcast, Aughtsterion has convened to celebrate a new double-genre classic. Sam and Jordan liked the new movie Violent Night so much that they had to record a Seasons Greetings episode about it. From Dead Snow director Tommy Wirkola and the up and coming action factory 87North (springing from the virtuoso stunt collective 87eleven), Violent Night is about is Santa was a jaded drunk despondent over the global diminishing of Christmas spirit among kids. Which of course means the only way he can rekindle those Christmas fires within is to protect one small pure-hearted girl whose family is being sieged by terrorists on Xmas Eve. It's bloody. It's sentimental. It's Beverly D'Angelo saying obscene things. This movie is Aughts approved, and best of all, it even includes a tease of Sam's new original holiday music that you can have if you donate any amount of money to AIDS/LifeCycle. It's the annual charity drive, so get to giving! Hit the link and go! https://giving.aidslifecycle.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=2540 Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

After a mid-ish season hiatus, Sam and Jordan returned with a most esteemed guest. The film scholar, programmer, journalist, appreciator, and all around all star Anna Bogutskaya joins the Aughts pod to talk about a most special little jewel: Lucky McKee's May. This is the second McKee joint your co-hosts have covered, and he remains an era MVP, providing essential texture amidst the sameness that set in over the reboot/remake/requel etc. season of horror. So, join this hive mind for a discussion of the movie as a "Choose you!" rom-com, a story of self-acceptance, a celebration of weirdos, and of course, a lot more. Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

If you've come this far, it means you're ready to crawl into the scary sewer and join Sam and Jordan for part two of their conversation about Halloween Ends — the the Jason Goes To Hell of Michael Myers movies, the erotic thriller of the decades old franchise, the movie where marching band kids are villains and the new main character guy and The Shape have a surrogate sexmurder scene in a cave. It's true! The new HalloTrilogy never knew what to do with Andi Matichak, which is embarrassing, and it did the absolute wrong thing with Judy Greer, which is unforgivable. But we are here to pick up the pieces and find the light in the dark. Love lives TODAY! Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

It's been a topical year for the Aughts pod, with so many new releases being filed — either directly or tangentially — alongside hits from the millennium era. And this time, Sam and Jordan go to Haddonfield for Halloween Ends. We were told in the abhorrent Halloween Kills that "Evil dies tonight!" That wasn't even true, but could it be now that... love lives today? On the heels of Jason X this one turned into another two-part special because there was simply too much to say, what with the introduction of a new main character, that banger of a cold open, and the gift box Sam got of 2000s miscellany. Now let's take off our tops and show grief what we've got underneath! Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

You've heard the case for how Britney Spears set the stage for Jason X to be born, and now your co-hosts are ready to dive into the movie itself. Part 1 was all about the rise of the remix, and now Part 2 is where we get to dig into the specifics the zaddy zombie with a machete, the Fembot icon KM-14, the final girl who deserved at last two more franchise installments, the suspiciously 2000s nature of 25th century fashions, and the combination of sincerity and gayness that lifts X up among the best the Friday saga has to offer. Margot stays on for essential commentary as a robot expert and Gen Z correspondent, making this another Baughts pod spectacular. Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

On this week's episode of the Aughts pod, Jordan and Sam are crossing over with the Botcast. Robot cinema specialist Margot Carlson joins Team 2000s to unpack one of the decade's early misfits, a movie with an egregious Rotten Tomatoes rating that dares to ask: What if Jason... got an upgrade? Jason X is the intersection of robot cinema and party horror of the soon-to-end pre-9/11 era for the genre. But before we can go all the way to space, Sam has some crucial context setting to do, and by the end of the episode you'll either be a believer in the theory that Britney Spears is responsible for Friday the 13th's 10th installment — or you can unsubscribe! This. Is. The. Re-mix. Part 1. Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

It's been a great year for horror generally, and it has been an amazing year for aughts horror surging back into the box office. We got a fifth Scream that managed to stand up with almost 30 years of the franchise before it and keep the Ghostface death squad kicking, and now we've been given the case for dusting off old IP. It's the prequel to end all prequels. It's Julia Stiles at her absolute zenith. It is the return of Esther, one of our great 21st century horror villains. It is... Orphan: First Kill! Jordan and Sam were so beside themselves after seeing this modern masterpiece that they had to record a bonus episode and cross the bridge between 2022 and 2009. The audacity of this movie. The gall of this movie. The gumption of this movie! If you haven't seen First Kill turn back now and avoid spoiling the movie for yourself. But if you have then join your co-hosts in revelry to celebrate what genius looks like. Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

Coming hot on the heels of one of the 2000's most teachable moments, 2009's Friday the 13th, comes its midnight twin, a case for sleaze, an answer to the question, "Ok, Jordan. If the trash bits in Jason '09 are bad then what trash bits are good???" And your co-hosts are here to tell you: Piranha 3DD from 2012 is the movie you seek! Alexandre Aja's Piranha 3D from two years earlier is one of the great treasure's of the aughts' long tail, harnessing the sleaze of the era into clever, exploitation fun. Double D looks like it has about 1/4 of the budget, but don't you doubt it; this movie has just as much unpolished gold (and maybe more??) once you get past the cold open with Gary Busey and the farting cow. We've got faves on faves in Piranha 3DD, with Danielle Panabaker, Chris Zylka, returning hitters like Ving Rhames and Christopher Lloyd, and a real best-use cameo courtesy of The Hoff. And excuse me, Katrina Bowden did you just become an Aughts Pod hall of famer? Maybe so! Now get your bikinis packed and prepare to get wet, because we've got a lot of pop culture excavating to do. Girls Gone Wild is collapsing as the 2000s go bankrupt, y'all. The party's over, so long live the Piranha party! Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

In an era filled with cautionary tales, the Aughts pod looks to celebrate what was good about that time. But in the case of this episode, your co-hosts are making a rare break from form to focus on a movie that took all the wrong lessons from the 2000s and ended up as Jordan's nadir of the remake machine. This is the anti-Aughtsterion movie. This is... the 2009 remake of Friday The 13th – a picture that dares to misuse Julianna Guill and Willa Ford and feels like the product of a post-beer pong brainstorm sesh in the frat basement. But as we say on Aughtsterion: It's important, because another essential mission of the pod is to highlight the lessons we can learn from a period that could generously described as "problematic." F13 reminds us that many things from the millennium era are better left in the bin, but if we do not study the time that birthed this fucking bummer, we will simply be doomed to repeat it. Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

On the Aughtsterion podcast your co-hosts specialize in celebrating the unheralded heroes of the 2000s — the era's secret Final Girl MVP, Katie Cassidy; the best monologue you've never heard in The Quiet; one of the only substantially meaningful cinematic gender swaps of all time in The Hitcher. And in this very special episode of season 4, Sam and Jordan are here to honor the most unheralded of aughts pop princesses: THE Willa Ford. What was originally meant to be a "quick" minisode naturally expanded into a full scale bonus territory as Sam realized he couldn't possibly limit himself to just a few minutes. Time to discover her long lost album, her greatest hits, her training as a classical opera singer, and why she very well may be the keystone to understanding a most catastrophic decade. This podcast is now a Willa Ford stan account! Act accordingly! Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

If you're going to talk about treasures of the 2000s, you simply can't stop the conversation before discussing The Ruins. The Aughts pod has easy work to do with titles like House of Wax and The Hitcher, since there's a higher level of buy in from the start. But the archivists' work is done with titles that didn't have the weight of classic reputations behind them! From director Carter Smith, The Ruins is a jewel that lays bare the country's post-9/11 "America First!" rotting core before the slogan was popularized by a super dickhead years down the line. It also moves at a dead sprint and is filled with terror and top notch gore. Great performances abound from era staples like Shawn Ashmore and Laura Ramsay, and Jena Malone and Jonathan Tucker are giving incredible turns as the worst, most recognizable straight couple you've ever met. The Ruins is good, actually, and it's about time we placed it on the mantle next to biggies like Black Xmas! Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

Welcome back, Aughtsterion fans! It's been months and months since Sam and Jordan brought their boundless passion for Millennium-era genre films with new episodes, but they are making up for the delay with a big hitter for the season 4 premiere. Your co-hosts are joined by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Emerald Fennell, whose movie Promising Young Woman became an instant all-timer for Jordan and Sam. And as Jordan has proven in the past with multiple podcast ventures: if you stan hard enough, dreams can come true! Speaking of dreams materializing, Fennell has brought a true classic of her generation's formative years to the pod. It's time to talk about the oh-my-god-this-got-made Lolita thriller of 1993. It's time to talk about The Crush. It's a movie that, as Fennell says, is really a bridge too far, but it's a movie all three of your hosts for this episode love. And it's a movie that brings a hell of a lot of discussion with it. Mind the wasps, everyone, and let's have fun. Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman

In a rare moment for the Aughts pod, Sam and Jordan are of two different minds in this episode all about the new movie X. "But X...?" you're wondering. "How is this Aughtsterion material?" Well, the short answer is: Their pod their rules! But the longer one is, Ti West was part of the great indie surge of the late 2000s, making him a legacy character in the discourse about the time. And besides, it gives your co-hosts a chance to talk about the historical intersection of horror and porn — and not the softcore variety that briefly flourished in the millennium era. So, let's talk queerness in straight horror, the role of the audience in shaping the meaning of a film, and that one movie from West he really wishes you could just forget ever existed. Shouts out to Mia Goth and Brittany Snow! You ladies are fucking stars! Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola Music by: Sam Wineman