Neon Brainiacs (A Retro Horror Movie Podcast)

It's almost 2022, maniacs! What better way to count down to the new year than with John Russo's Midnight from 1982! Join us as we discuss this obscure Western PA slasher flick and other topics such as the lost art of the early 2000's Graduation Song, Lance's minimal flavor profile, and how to successfully pull off a Grocery Store Heist.

Have yourself a merry little apocalypse, maniacs! This week we're talking the 1984 Christmas themed Sci Fi/Thriller Night of the Comet with special guests Amanda and Sarah from the Ghoul on Ghoul Podcast! Join us as we discuss this end of the world flick and other topics such as bringing ginger snaps to a cookout, Micheal Phelps' McGriddles Diet, and The Ghouls profess their love for Garth Brooks' alter ego Chris Gaines.

Lock your doors, maniacs! This week we are talking about some unexpected Christmas guests in the 1987 thriller Night Visitors! Join us as we discuss the flick and other topics such as this film's similarities to Last House On The Left, using the term Pork Roast to describe sex, and is Ham Radio just for kids?

Are you ready to laugh, maniacs? This week we are talking about Comedy/Horror/Christmas film Lucky Stiff from 1988. Tune in to hear us break down the movie and other topics such as Anthony Perkins' directing career, which of these actors worked on Looney Tunes, and this film's relationship to Police Academy.

Put on your Santa Hats, maniacs! We're sleigh riding into another Christmas Block this week with 1984's (sort of) Christmas Horror film Sole Survivor! Join us as we discuss the flick and other topics such as Fun Zones in hospitals, the politics of acting in various warm drink commercials, and the wonderful world of Sex-cersizing!

Gas up your Tiny Helicopters, maniacs! This week we are heading to Haiti to talk Wes Craven's 1988 film The Serpent and the Rainbow! Lance Parkin is back once again and we're also joined by photographer and first time guest Bob Price! Listen in as we discuss the flick and other topics such as Chickens with Freddy Kreuger Claws, Sandra Bullock's love life, and our favorite Late Night hosts!

Sharpen your Number 2 Pencils, maniacs! This week we are heading back to High School with the 1989 slasher film Hell High! Lance Parkin is back this week to discuss the flick and other topics such as human bodies made out of foam, frighteningly aggressive boob grabbing, and do frogs have testes?

Rev up your Dirtbikes, maniacs! This week we are talking Stan Winston's Pumpkinhead from 1988! Lance Parkin brings along his co-star from "The Boonies" and "Bergeron Brothers: Wedding Videographers", Matt Schultz, to help us break it down! Tune in as we discuss the flick and other topics such as video store memories of yesteryear, Seinfeld's Todd Gack, and the price you pay to be Radical.

Grab your electric chainsaws, maniacs! This week we're heading back to Canada to talk about 1989's Super-8 cult classic "Things". Lance Parkin is back as co-host and we're also joined by first time guest, photographer and filmmaker, Cody Rhoades. Tune in to hear us try to describe this film and discuss other topics such as "Pittsburgh showers" in Canadian basements, electric toilets in Canada, and the film's similarities to Tim and Eric.

This is it maniacs! Our final installment of Howl-O-Ween is here and we're talking 1989's "Howling V: The Rebirth" this week. Lance Parkin is back to discuss the film and other topics such as Weird Gregorian Chants every time someone dies, 500 year old Castles that contain Sidewalk Chalk, plus the traditional Halloween Movies and Candy we enjoy!

It's still Howl-O-Ween, maniacs! We're continuing our journey through the Howling sequels this week with Howling IV: The Original Nightmare! Guest Co-Host Lance Parkin returns to discuss the film and other topics such as the very deep voices of two male actors in this film, Men getting angry at Female Ghostbusters, and Art Supply stores in abandoned towns.

Get ready to head down under, maniacs! This week we're continuing our Howl-O-Ween theme with the Australian set sequel "Howling III: The Marsupials" with guest co-host Lance Parkin. Also joining us this week is Filmmaker Steve Rudzinski promoting his new film CarousHELL 2! Listen in as we discuss the flick and other topics such as bartering Sony Walkmans for sex, The President working out at the Tromaville Gym, and Steve's love for Home Alone 5.

Happy Howl-O-Ween maniacs! Join us as we kick off our brand new theme this month with Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf from 1985. Guest co-host Lance Parkin is back this week to discuss this sequel and other topics such as Christopher Lee looking bored, another cast member from Herman's Pee-Wee, and how many boob shots is too many?

Do you feel lucky, maniacs? This week we're talking Clint Eastwood in the 1984 slasher flick Tightrope. Guest co-host Lance Parkin is back to dissect this Giallo flavored thriller with our best Clint impressions. We also discuss topics like killer Puma sneakers, the sadness of a grown man with a Grover doll, and Dan Hedaya only showing up when someone dies.

Load up your paintball guns, maniacs, because this week we're talking the 1986 action slasher hybrid The Zero Boys! Guest co-host Lance Parkin is back to discuss the flick and topics such as Joe Estevez's choice of footwear as a backwoods killer, the consistency of Dimetapp versus Blood, and another tasty review of the Millvale, PA Hardee's location.

Grab your tools, maniacs, and join us as we talk Dead Dudes In The House aka House on Tombstone Hill from 1989! Guest co-host Lance Parkin is back and we're also joined by filmmakers Zane Hershberger and Sable Griedel who are here to promote their new film Treaters which is currently crowdfunding now! Listen in as we discuss the film and other topics such as House Party-inspired VHS cover art, Spike Jonze in old lady makeup, and guys who really hate whistling!

Put on your space suits, maniacs, because this week we're talking 1985's Alien knock off Creature with guest co-host Lance Parkin! Join us as we discuss this totally original film and topics such as Hardee's Thickburgers turning you into a zombie, gently used chewing gum in space, plus heartwarming tales of Klaus Kinski and Werner Herzog trying to kill each other.

It's our 4 year anniversary, maniacs! In honor of this occasion, we decided to talk about the deep cut Pittsburgh flick "Effects" from 1980. Once again, we bust out our yinzer accents as we discuss topics such as Englishmen playing Pittsburghers, Tom Savini's underwear graffiti, and broken sinks at Hechinger's Hardware Store. Stick around for an important announcement at the end of this week's show.

Dead or alive, you're coming with us, maniacs! We wrap up Action August with an absolute doozy of an episode: 1987's Robocop! We geek out on this one pretty hard, if you can imagine. As we discuss all things Omni Consumer Products, we also discuss topics such as Paul Verhoeven's propensity for co-ed locker rooms, Robocop action figures (for the kids!), and tiny ponytails.

We're headed back to space, maniacs! For week 3 of our Action August theme, we're joined by Bergeron Brothers co-star Lance Parkin to talk James Cameron's 1986 epic Aliens! As we discuss the further adventure of Ellen Ripley, we also talk topics such as the franchise through Jonesy the cat's eyes, trying to buy fake things from the movie, and Big Milk strikes yet again.

Pizza scissors, maniacs! We continue Action August and our promotion of Ben's new film BERGERON BROTHERS: WEDDING VIDEOGRAPHERS with the Stallone/Cannon collab Cobra from 1986! Joining us is the co-writer and co-star of Bergeron Brothers, Blake O'Donnell. As we discuss this strange piece of grimy cinema, we also discuss topics such as Stallone's choice of accessories, the film's intersections with Seinfeld, and spark factories.

Get to the chopper, maniacs! We're kicking off Action August with a bona fide classic, the 1987 creature feature Predator! We're also celebrating the release of Ben's new movie, BERGERON BROTHERS: WEDDING VIDEOGRAPHERS, releasing to VOD August 10th, by bringing along some fellow cast members from the movie. Joining us this week is one-third of BPO Films and four-time guest, Ryan Lintner. While we try our best to refrain from doing too many Arnold impressions (which we fail at horribly) we also discuss topics such as which high school Kevin Peter Hall went to, tree juice and where it comes from, and we try to figure out what a "sexual tyrannosaurus" is.

We're headed to Miskatonic University this week, maniacs, as we dive into the Lovecraft-penned flick The Unnamable from 1988! As we make our way through the old creepy house that holds the titular monster, we also discuss topics such as cliché horror tropes, the contents of bowls in haunted houses, and how mirrors work.

Grab a can of spray paint, maniacs, because this week we're digging into a weird cult movie: 1988's Doom Asylum! While we discuss the acting debut of Sex And The City's Kristin Davis, we also talk about subjects such as easily avoidable car accidents, bad one-liners, and we work on our James Hetfield impressions.

We're getting meta this week, maniacs! On deck is the 1980 cinephile slasher Fade To Black. This movie follows movie fan Eric Binford on the path to becoming a killer. While we discuss all of the nods to the golden age of Hollywood, we also talk about subjects such as awkward breakfast exposition, making money off of movie trivia, and weird shortcuts.

We made it, maniacs! We've hit our 200th episode and we just had to pick a behemoth of a movie to celebrate, so this week we're talking about the 1989 Joe Dante cult classic The Burbs! We both love this movie and cannot wait to dig into it. While we discuss the film we also talk subjects such as the definition of "nebby", French serial killers, and the best horror movie garbagemen duos.

The penultimate episode of our Road To 200 is here, maniacs, and we're back to talking another wacky Ken Russell joint! Joining us to talk about 1988's The Lair Of The White Worm are the reigning champions of guesting on our show, Sarah and Amanda from the Ghoul On Ghoul podcast! While we try to record in person for the first time in over 16 months, we talk about subjects such as cool holes, Rusted Root, and the film's lack of subtlety.

The road to 200 is getting shorter, maniacs, and we've got a doozy of an episode for you today! We're going back to Italy to discuss Dario Argento's 1982 giallo Tenebrae, and joining us to talk about it is Tim from the Horror Flicks And Guitar Picks podcast as well as surprise guest Lance Parkin, director of The Boonies! While we discuss some listener mail and some podcast related run-in's we've had recently, we also discuss topics such as airplane etiquette, John Saxon's intense hat-wearing, and the intricacies put into the film by Argento.

Stay off the moors, maniacs! We continue our path towards our 200th episode with an absolute classic, 1981's An American Werewolf In London! And who better to join us to talk about this lycan tale than the host of Toxic Schlock, Michael Kent. While we talk about how this movie scarred us at various stages of our lives, we also discuss topics such as record scratch moments, knowing scenes from movies based on Mortician samples, the No Kid, and our aversion to glass contacts.

We still believe, maniacs! The road to our 200th episode gets ever shorter as we discuss the legendary 1987 vampire flick The Lost Boys with our friend Jesse from the Heartgod Media Sight And Sound Podcast! As we try not to fanboy out too much, we discuss topics such as garlic t-shirts, Alex Winter's directorial portfolio, and Big Milk rears its ugly head once more on our program.

The road to our 200th episode starts here, maniacs, and we're bringing some friends with us! We're joined once again by Adam and Rob from Stoopid Movies to talk the 1988 shlock horror flick Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers! While we opine about the reigning queen of Neon Brainiacs, Linnea Quigley, we also discuss topics such as the 90s insult restaurant fad, the local Nebraska cuisine of Runza, watching Meet The Feebles way too young, and the difficulties of starting a chainsaw.

Grab a planchette, maniacs, because this week we're channeling the 1986 Kevin Tenney flick Witchboard! As we discuss the life and times of this movie's star Tawny Kitaen, we also discuss topics such as lumberjack clocks, catchphrases that never quite catch on, and we bust some myths about Ouija boards.

We're headed to New Zealand for the first time, maniacs, as we discuss the first horror movie filmed there, 1981's Strange Behavior AKA Dead Kids! While we try to understand why New Zealand plays surrogate to Galesburg, Illinois, we also discuss topics such as using paper plates for breakfast pastries, police station beer fridges, and the history of Lou Christie.

We're back on the Fulci train this week, maniacs, as we visit the first installment in the Gates Of Hell trilogy, 1980's City Of The Living Dead! While we try to make sense of one of Lucio's masterpieces (again), we also discuss topics such as David Yow's looms, Italian depictions of American conversations, and Rob Zombie's lost song "Maggot Fan".

We're getting in our sensory deprivation chamber this week, maniacs, as we dive into the 1980 Ken Russell flick Altered States! Returning to chat about this one is co-star of The Boonies and one of Ben's film partners, Blake O'Donnell! While we all try to tap into our inner cavemen, we also discuss topics such as wilding out at Applebee's, crazy parties, and what kind of Tony Shalhoub we are in the sack.

The final installment of our Halfway To Halloween theme is upon us, maniacs, and we're wrapping it up by talking the 1989 slasher Offerings! While we try to maneuver through this movie's obvious nods to the John Carpenter classic, we also discuss topics such as professors who moonlight as standup comedians, having a non-regional accent, and Gregg's close call with owning a copy of today's film.

We're slipping into week 3 of our Halfway To Halloween theme with a returning director and some great guests, maniacs! We're joined by Lance Parkin and Matt Schultz, promoting their new film The Boonies which is available on VOD now, and discussing the 1988 Juan Piquer Simon film Slugs. While we chat about the flick, we also talk about topics such as imaginary sitcoms, greenhouse accidents, and weird side dishes.

We're shocking the monkey over our Halfway To Halloween theme this week, maniacs, as we dive into the 1988 deep cut Primal Rage! A virus overwhelms a college campus, turning students and faculty into bloodthirsty monsters. What could go wrong!? Topics include tug of war games at college, the Hunter Thompson obsession of post-adolescent males, the weird music used in the film, urinating on your friends, and how we cannot avoid the Noid.

We're going double CHUD this week, maniacs, and following up last week's episode with its 1989 sequel, C.H.U.D II: Bud The Chud! Joining us to talk about the movie is the director of the new Anti-Flag documentary Beyond Barricades, Jon Nix! As we make our way through this late 80s horror comedy, we also discuss topics such as the film's stellar cast, carpeted bathrooms, and can you be a boomer if you're under 40?

We're headed underground this week, maniacs, as we dive into the NYC-based monster movie C.H.U.D from 1984! Joining us to chat about the film is video game reviewer William Lowery. As we talk about this movie's killer cast, we also discuss topics such as being a Juggalo, fictitious government agencies, and this film's unintentional Jonathan Silverman cameo.

We love getting around, maniacs, and today we're finally getting to an entry in the Poltergeist series with Poltergeist II: The Other Side from 1986! Joining us to discuss the film is local Pittsburgh comedian and one of our co-workers, Terry Jones! While we do our best Reverend Kane impressions, we also discuss topics such as eel sandwiches, prank Playskool phone calls, and our favorite Reverend Kane quotes.

Grab your electric carving knives, maniacs, because this week we're diving into the 1981 Andrzej Zulawski film Possession! Returning to the show to join is is Dawson Kiser, vocalist of the band Porcupine, who just released a great record on New Morality Zine called The Sybil. While we compare the different cuts of the film we watched, we also discuss topics such as trashing a TGI Friday's, banana thieves, and Charles Bronson as Spagett.

This episode is exactly what you think it is, maniacs! This week we're putting together Pieces from 1982, and to help us discuss this very normal movie is Ben and Steve from the Dead And Lovely podcast! While we dissect the plot of the film, we also discuss topics such as what you should and shouldn't do on waterbeds, riveting tennis matches, and the burning question: is Pieces a giallo parody?

We're headed back to Camp Forest Green this week, maniacs, as we dig into one of the more revered entries in the saga of Jason Voorhees with Friday The 13th Part VI! As we rank our portrayals of Tommy Jarvis and talk a lot of behind the scenes factoids on this one, we also discuss topics such as beanbag chairs filled with popcorn, weird names for everyday items, and an extensive analysis of our job's lunch menus.

Women In Horror Month comes to an end with quite a controversial entry, the 1980 creature feature Humanoids From The Deep, directed by Barbara Peeters. Joining us to discuss this one is actor/director Rebecca Rinehart! As we unpack some of the more unsavory plot points and factoids of this one, we also discuss topics such as booger trails, jump scares from dirty dishes, and ventriloquism foreplay.

Week 3 of Women In Horror Month continues with Roberta Findlay's 1988 satanic panic deep-cut Prime Evil, and joining us to talk about it is actor Alyss Winkler! As we all watch this movie for the first time, we also discuss topics such as cool necklaces, interesting workout routines, and how phones work in 1988.

It's time to get radioactive, maniacs! We continue Women In Horror Month by talking about Jackie Kong's 1983 monster movie The Being, and joining us to chat about the film is Katey from the I Hope You Suffer Podcast! While we discuss our first Idaho-set feature, we also talk about topics such as car ID numbers, the amount of horrible children in the film, and arson for Jesus.

Rock and roll will never die, maniacs! We kick off Women In Horror Month with Slumber Party Massacre II, and returning to the show to talk about it with us is writer Breanna Whipple! While we discuss the origin story of this sequel, we also talk about topics such as Kettle Chips and their evergreen packaging, this movie's influence on a specific episode of Full House, and more about the history of Denny's.

It's a boy, maniacs! We're tackling our annual entry on everyone's favorite burned baddie, Freddy Krueger, and talking A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child! While we reflect on the Springwood Slasher, we also discuss topics such as the definition of Green Apple Quick Step, kid jargon, and the regional nature of the term "pop stand".

We'll give you the entire axe, maniacs, but you'll only need the edge! We're talking about the 1988 Spanish/English slasher flick Edge Of The Axe. While the axe comes down, we also discuss topics such as the hate for technology held by some of the film's characters, hot Coca-Cola, and stealing Wendy's coupons from dead people.