Neon Brainiacs (A Retro Horror Movie Podcast)

We're going on a fall break this week, maniacs, as we kick off year four by diving into the North Carolina slasher The Mutilator, aka Fall Break! While we try (and fail) to get this film's theme song out of our heads, we also discuss topics such as old school Natural Light can art, our personal stances on Monopoly, and replicating Benny Hill gags.

We're celebrating pretty hard this week, maniacs! We've hit our three year milestone and finally tackling our namesake, 1986's Neon Maniacs! While we lament the last three years and dissect this bizarre cult flick, we also discuss topics such as the badass Neon Maniacs trading cards we never got in real life, using answering machines for exposition, Floam, and Big Milk strikes again.

This week we're clearing the creek for some white water rafting as we discuss 1983's obscure woods slasher The Final Terror! This one features some early roles for famous actors like Adrian Zmed, Daryl Hannah and Joey Pantoliano. While we discuss these cool cameos, we also discuss topics such as our affinity for peaches, the many ways Gerald Ford could have perished, and emergency exits on buses.

Let's race, maniacs! We've heard your pleas and cries for us to cover this movie, so we're finally doing The Wraith from 1986! While we talk about this so-bad-it's-good-to-some-people cult flick, we also discuss topics such as twenty-somethings as high schoolers, Hoss's Steak and Seahouse, and Gregg's new hit song, "I Gotta Do The Thing!"

We're making collect calls straight to hell this week, maniacs, because we're discussing Robert Englund's directorial debut with 1988's 976-EVIL with Jesse from the Heartgod Media podcast! While we phone it in (in the best way possible), we also discuss topics such as crucial Thompson Twins merchandise, tabletop jukeboxes, and what the heck is in a deviled egg sandwich?

This week we're talking some squad goals, maniacs, because we're talking about the legendary kindertrauma film The Monster Squad from 1987! And make sure to tune in after the episode because we've also got a bonus interview with the movie's star, Andre Gower! While we discuss the film, we also talk subjects such as cool treehouse hangouts, Burger King (again), and the underrated acting prowess of Tom Noonan.

Blow out those candles, maniacs, because we're celebrating Ben's birthday by talking about the 1981 killer kid flick Bloody Birthday! While we talk about how uncomfortable birthday wishes make us, we also discuss topics such as pickle sandwiches, what "get a Coke and talk about it" really means, and Mighty Mouse flatware.

Vicious Vacations is coming to a close this week, maniacs, and we're headed to Camp Rolling Hills! We're rounding out our theme with Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers. While we continue the saga of Angela, we also discuss topics such as the return of Big Milk, slasher satire, and our thoughts on The Boss.

Week 3 of Vicious Vacations is upon us, so let's take a trip to the Bates Motel as we discuss Psycho II! As we track Norman Bates' return to the infamous lodge, we also discuss topics such as meatloaf sandwiches, Kid Motel, and Robert Loggia's world-class orange juice schilling.

Week two of Vicious Vacations Part 2 is upon us, and we're headed to a cabin in the woods with some special guests! Joining us to talk Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn are Adam and Rob from Stoopid Movies. While we collectively fawn over this Sam Raimi masterpiece, we also discuss topics such as the first time we saw the film, outlined power tools, and the late great Danny Hicks.

Due to current public health concerns, we can't physically go on vacation, but we can take some Vicious Vacations! One of our favorite themes is back with a vengeance this summer, maniacs, and we're kicking it off with a doozy: Friday The 13th Part 2! While we nestle into camp five years after its closure, we also discuss topics such as working in fast food, Tiger Electronics, and the return of the "turkey" insult.

We're headed to New York City this week, maniacs, and we're not going alone. This week we're joined by co-host of the Kill By Kill podcast, Patrick Hamilton, to talk about 1981's Wolfen! While we debate this movie's reputation as a werewolf film, we also discuss topics such as Albert Finney's butt, shadowed dong, and the Gregory Hines/Tom Noonan buddy comedy we never got.

It's time to "wax" nostalgic, maniacs, because this week we're talking the 1988 flick Waxwork! We're joined by horror journalist Breanna Whipple to dissect all the exhibits of this film. While we break it down, we also discuss topics such as citrus and dairy (and why they don't mix), Grease 2, and falling asleep at a Denny's.

When the light turns green, maniacs, the trap is clean! This week we're joined by returning guest Chelsea from the Dead Meat podcast to talk another Linnea Quigley joint, 1989's Witchtrap! While we dissect the plot of this wacky film, we also discuss topics such as haunted bed and breakfasts, the deliciousness of okra, and this film's continuous similarities to Ghostbusters.

Another edition of our spin-off show ACTION MOVIE SUNDAY is here, and this month we're talking about the 1988 Arnold Schwarzenegger & Jim Belushi buddy cop film Red Heat! We talk about the perfect coffee-to-cream ratio, Pittsburgh-born Russian baddies, and rattle off our favorite one-liners from the movie.

This episode will make your heads explode, maniacs! We're wrapping up the Body Horror trilogy with another round of David Cronenberg and 1981's Scanners. We're joined by our musician friends Zach from Griphook and Dawson from Porcupine to help parse this one out. While we talk about the film, we also discuss topics such as food court etiquette, Dr. Ruth, and Canadian record stores' overflow of Frank Zappa albums.

See you in Pittsburgh, maniacs! Week two of our Body Horror trilogy continues with a little fruit from the David Cronenberg tree, 1983's Videodrome! We're joined by Ashleigh and Maggie from the very awesome Rock Candy podcast to discuss this feat of bizarre cinema. While we all try to wrap our heads around all the weirdness in the film, we also discuss topics such as AIM screen names, Arby's on the first date, and we learn some information about New York cuisine.

Welcome to bonus time, maniacs! This week we're counting down our top 5 lists for the man of your dreams, Freddy Krueger and the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise. After we chat about our lists, we play another rousing game of Stump The Brainiac!

Death to false metal, maniacs! This week we're kicking off another trilogy of body horror films and we're starting with 1989's bizarre trip Tetsuo: The Iron Man! While we try to make heads and tails of this movie, we also discuss topics such as David Byrne's dance moves, our first eBay purchases, and this film's bizarre connection to Ten To Midnight.

Get out those boomboxes, maniacs, because this week's bonus episode finds us doing a second round of our Horror Mixtape Draft! This one's a follow-up to our live set during the second iteration of Podcast Night At The Tolma a little over a year ago. While we draft our next set of ten songs, we also discuss Gregg's Saturday morning routine as a kid, Ben's band covering Dramarama, and our least favorite movie which happens to be one of our least downloaded episodes. And we round it out by playing another round of Stump The Brainiac!

Grab a spacesuit, maniacs, because this week we're going to Marz! We're joined by friend of the show Darren Hall all the way from London to talk about the 1981 camp slasher Madman. While we dig into the legend of the madman, we also discuss topics such as traveling abroad, Gustav Holst, and personalized belt buckles.

We've got another bonus episode taking "shape" this week, maniacs, and we're counting down our top 5 entries in the Halloween franchise! We also play another Myers-centric round of Stump The Brainiac.

Get ready for the weirdest anatomy lesson of your lives, maniacs, because we're rounding out our Deadly Dolls theme with the 1988 Canadian thriller Pin: A Plastic Nightmare! While we try to navigate through the bizarre nature of this movie, we also discuss topics such as Inside Out Boy, jorts, and yinzers at the symphony.

We're very excited to introduce our new bonus show, Action Movie Sunday! On the first Sunday of every month, we'll procure a bonus episode where we talk about a single action movie and break it down via some very fun segments. This week we kick off the series with Stakeout from 1987! We talk about stunts, bad guys, food, and more.

Week two of our Deadly Dolls trilogy is upon us, maniacs, and this week we're going back to Italy with 1988's Umberto Lenzi project Ghosthouse! While we unpack the film and talk about the infamous La Casa series in Italy, we also discuss topics such as post-coital chili, ham radio enthusiasts, and confusing an ax with a meat cleaver.

Who wants a double dose of bonus content!? First up, you'll hear an interview Gregg conducted with Sleepaway Camp star Felissa Rose and director James Cullen Bressack, who are both promoting their new film For Jennifer. After that is the audio from our Instagram livestream Q&A we held this past Saturday. We answer listener questions and a lot more.

We're kicking off a new theme this week - DEADLY DOLLS - and what better place to start than with the 1987 Stuart Gordon flick Dolls? While we talk about the goofy fun of this movie, we also discuss topics such as proficient child actors, Scholastic book fairs, and unlikable on-screen parents.

Grab your hockey masks and machetes, maniacs, because we're bringing you another safe-at-home bonus episode where we count down our top 5 favorite entries in the Friday The 13th series! We'll also talk about our old video stores and play another round of Stump The Brainiac.

Grab your hockey masks and machetes, maniacs, because we're bringing you another safe-at-home bonus episode where we count down our top 5 favorite entries in the Friday The 13th series! We'll also talk about our old video stores and play another round of Stump The Brainiac.

We're going down under this week, maniacs, because we're talking about the 1986 Australian dystopian thriller Dead End Drive-In! While we embarrass ourselves with our terrible Aussie accents, we also discuss topics such as fake Rambo sequels, Big Boss Pants, and Foster's: do they really drink it in Australia?

Who's ready for a bonus episode??? We figured to help everyone pass the time, we'd do a countdown of our top 5 movies filmed in our home city of Pittsburgh! We'll count them down and also share some interesting firsthand stories of our on-set adventures.

Let's hit the movies (metaphorically speaking) because this week we're talking about the 1985 Italian horror classic Demons with the host of the Toxic Schlock podcast, Michael Kent! What better guest to join us to talk horror and music? While we discuss the insane nature of this film, we also discuss topics such as Pittsburgh musical landmarks, Mortal Kombat and Christian hair metal bands.

Grab your jester hat and get ready to prank your friends because today is April Fool's Day, so naturally we're talking the 1986 slasher of the same name! While we try to make the most out of all the offscreen carnage in this one, we also discuss topics such as Sesame Street, the weird fashion choices of H&M and Pittsburgh catch phrases.

Get ready to pig out this week, maniacs, because we're talking about 1987's Slaughterhouse with our buddy Travis Ayers! He was the party responsible for putting together our live Q&A with George Hardy last year so we're very excited to have him on the show. While we dissect the Bacon clan's dirty deeds, we also discuss topics like the dangerous playgrounds of yesteryear, Warped Tour, David Letterman and Slaughterhouse reworked as a sitcom.

The final week of our cop trilogy is here, maniacs, and we're closing it out with 1989's Psycho Cop! As we try to make sense of this movie, we also discuss topics such as outdoor phones, boxed soup and the proper footwear for chopping wood.

You can't keep a good maniac dead! Week two of our cop trilogy is upon us and we're talking 1988's horror/action/comedy Dead Heat with returning guest Josh! While we get a little too excited over how much we enjoy this one, we discuss topics such as the realistic toy guns of our youths, the Criterion version of Bio-Dome, and our varying degrees of Vincent Price impressions.

You have the right to remain silent forever, maniacs, because we're kicking off three weeks of cop terror with the 1988 William Lustig flick Maniac Cop! We've got it all this week... Bruce Campbell! Tom Atkins! Robert Z'dar! Lots of great genre actors in this one.

Surprise, maniacs! We wanted to round out Women In Horror Month with something very special, so we were joined by our favorite ghouls, Sarah and Amanda from the Ghoul On Ghoul podcast, to do a bonus commentary track for Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout! You can find the movie on YouTube and follow along as we talk about what we all thought of this infamous piece of horror nostalgia. We'd also highly suggest donating to Linnea's Moulin Rouge dog rescue as well.

This week we're wrapping up Women In Horror Month on the police beat! We're joined by writer Chauncey K. Robinson to discuss Katt Shea's 1987 slasher mystery Stripped To Kill. While we discuss the subversion of this film's plot, we also talk about topics such as the VHS dubbing woes of our youth, receiving weapons as gifts, and Ben's favorite car: the Suzuki Samurai.

Week 3 of Women In Horror Month is upon us, maniacs, so let's grab a bite to eat at Blood Diner with our friends from the Queens Of NC-17 podcast! Ande, China and Eanna were gracious enough to join us in our friend (and two-time former guest) Brian's studio to discuss this 1987 cult flick. While we check out the menu, we also discuss topics such as real-life eye terror, sketchy parties and Sheetar: the guitar for girls!

Women In Horror Month continues on the show with a great movie and great guest. We're discussing 1982's Slumber Party Massacre with Jenn Wexler, director of The Ranger! We talk about her experience making films, what we've been watching recently, then discuss the topic at hand. While dissecting this feat of feminist horror, we also discuss topics such as Denny's, Kool-Aid, and Peter Steele's spread in Playgirl Magazine.

This week we're kicking off Women In Horror Month by talking about 1986's Sorority House Massacre with local Pittsburgh makeup effects artist and director Shay Francis! While we call out some of this movie's obvious influences, we also discuss topics such as 1-900 numbers, taking your pants off without removing your shoes, and local Pittsburgh athlete-themed food products.

Are you ready for Freddy, maniacs? This week we're tackling our annual Krueger entry with A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master with returning guest Steve Rudzinski. We discuss a lot of subjects in addition to the film: Dramarama! Tuesday Knight! Waterbeds! MTV bumpers of the 80s! Eating Spaghettios like Freddy!

We're raw and uncut this week, maniacs, because we're finally delving into the 1986 Clive Barker-penned flick Rawhead Rex! We're a little underwhelmed by the effects on ol' Rex but as we circumvent that, we also discuss church terms, Bebop from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and even make up our own Irish hoagie.

We're burning up your feeds this week, maniacs, because we're talking about 1980's Don't Go In The House! While we sit around the campfire and discuss the movie we also chat about the Mallrats soundtrack, Bimbo Bread, Eve 6 and Crocodile Mile.

We're headed to Camp Arawak this week, maniacs, because we're talking Sleepaway Camp from 1983! While we dissect the details of this cult classic, we also discuss topics such as crop tops, short shorts, and our own camp memories.

New year, new episode, maniacs! We're kicking off 2020 with the locomotive slasher Terror Train. While we discuss the movie we also talk about the return of Jamie Lee Curtis to our program, hot peanuts and magic. Lots and lots of magic.

Ho ho ho, maniacs! We're wrapping up our Christmas block with the 1982 college slasher flick The Dorm That Dripped Blood! While we try to find nice things to say about this one, we also talk about generic Clint Howard/Art Garfunkel/Carrot Top, haunted Giant Eagles and crappy James Bond villain explanations.

Hide your brains under your beanies, maniacs, because we're doing yet another installment in the killer Santa franchise, Silent Night Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! While we talk about how horror legend Bill Moseley has NOTHING to do in this movie, we also discuss topics such as board games of our youth, old Memorex commercials and The Californians.

It's garbage day, maniacs! We're continuing our holiday block with Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2 from 1987. While we discuss the over-the-top insanity of this one, we also talk about topics such as pop-punk hairdos, movie theater disruptions, and who's the hotter Caldwell in this series: Billy or Ricky?