The Kingcast

The Koontzcast boys have finally broken through time, space and reality to deliver a full episode devoted to the Sultan of Shivers, Mr. Dean Koontz.

Why are old people scary to kids? Between the hosts and the guest, whose grandmother was the creepiest? Plus, Vespe tells a crazy real-life Harlan Ellison story.

Is Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (alias Jobe's War) a good bad movie or a bad bad movie? That is the question and there is some debate as to whether or not this film qualifies as good-weird.

Happily star Joel McHale and director BenDavid Grabinski join Vespe and Wampler to take another trip into cyberspace and discuss all the ins and outs of the movie Stephen King hated so much he sued to get his name taken off of it: The Lawnmower Man.

Pop culture journalist and host of Barnes & Noble's Stephen King podcast, King of the Dark, Louis Peitzman joins the boys to discuss the differences between Doctor Sleep: The Book and Doctor Sleep: The Movie (there are many, buckle up!).

Topics discussed on today's episode: How many Netflix series that contain the word "Midnight" in the title will Mike Flanagan make? What is one particular filmmaking technique Frank Darabont uses to adapt Stephen King so well? How pitch perfect is this cast? Where did each guest buy their copies of The Green Mile when they came out? Which Kingcast host has actually spent time in prison? And so much more!

Dark Tower expert Bev Vincent joins the boys to answer some extremely nerdy questions plus discusses his frequent collaborations with the master himself.

Topics of discussion this week: the 2019 remake's big change from the book, the astonishing lack of outrageous Maine accents, would Wampler clone his beloved dog, Mad Max, if he had Streisand money and just what the hell was that zombie family's plan at the end of the movie.

Actual lawyer Lindsay Traves makes her best case for Andy Dufresne of The Shawshank Redemption.

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Emily V. Gordon joins the boys to talk about all things Pennywise, from Tim Curry's luscious lips to the psychology behind the printed page.

In this episode of The Kingcast, the boys are joined by CUBE director Vincenzo Natali for a rollicking discussion that covers the wish fulfillment aspect of post-apocalyptic fiction, Randall Flagg's hatred of drug users, why there's a lack of crucifixions in the CBS All Access Stand finale, agreement that past Kingcast guest Bryan Fuller is aces and, curiously, Sonny Corleone's wiener. We run the gamut here, folks.

The episode starts off with a lengthy debate about poutine and only goes more bananas from there. The boys are joined by the great Kate Siegel in her second Kingcast appearance and cover all topics of Stephen King's Firestarter, from book to its adaptation.

Popular super funny musician Nick Lutsko comes into this episode looking to examine the '90s Shining mini-series. Kubrick vs King and Garris. Who wins? The episode is guaranteed to make you utter "WIGH" ("What In Gremlin Hell") a few times.

William Hurt fighting a battalion of little green army men in a penthouse apartment? If you're not sold already we don't know what else to say. The boys are joined by Fred Raskin, the preferred editor for both Quentin Tarantino and James Gunn, to dive into this crazy episode from the Nightmares and Dreamscapes TV show, directed by Brian Henson.

This crossover episode brings back Kingcast favorite Mallory O'Meara and this time she's joined by her Reading Glasses co-host Brea Grant to talk about '80s long butt, the return of shoulder pads in women's clothing and a creepy hungry blob that eats some shithead college kids as the gang discusses Stephen King's The Raft and its adaptation as a segment in Creepshow 2.

This wild chat with the Internet's First Boyfriend, Wil Wheaton, ranges from the silly (how does 90 Day Fiancee figure into things?) to the somber (Wil opens up about his abusive childhood and the shocking parallels between himself and Stand By Me's Gordie Lachance). All that and more in this breakdown of the four novellas contained in Stephen King's Different Seasons.

Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller returns to The Kingcast to once again deliver a fascinating queer read of another King classic: Christine.

Merry Christmas! It's surprise bonus episode time! Here we have a rather silly interview with Nat Wolff, who plays Randall Flagg's #1 guy, Lloyd Henreid, in the new limited series based off of Stephen King's The Stand.

The great Rian Johnson joins the Kingcast boys to dig deep into King's inspirational memoir, his curious hatred of structure and how Johnson's own writing process mirrors King's (and where it drastically differs).

The new adaptation of The Stand debuts on CBS AllAccess tomorrow, December 17th, and the series' showrunner, Ben Cavell, and executive producer, Taylor Elmore, are here to talk about the show, their history with the novel and then dig deep into dark Richard Bachman territory as they discuss their love of The Running Man. Cavell also developed a Running Man series for a hot minute and he lets loose some details about his plans for that show as well.

Fangoria Managing Editor Meredith Borders joins Vespe and Wampler to dig into Stephen King's Storm of the Century. And you know Meredith means business because she's been to Stephen King's house before.

Comedian, author, actor and podcaster DC Pierson joins the boys to take a deep dive into Tobe Hooper's very questionable adaptation of The Mangler. Talk turns Ted Levine's bizarre outfit, the barrage of questionable choices made by the filmmaking team and a clear-eyed deconstruction of Tobe Hooper's filmography. There are lots of swears. Sorry about that.

Demi Adejuyigbe, a writer on The Good Place and The Late Late Show, has chosen The Shawshank Redemption to tackle. There's much praise heaped upon Frank Darabont's masterpiece as well as some trademark Kingcast detours into weird places, like Tom Cruise's animal magnetism and just why the vast majority of conservative comedy sucks butt.

The boys are joined by director Ana Lily Amirpour to discuss how important King's Pet Sematary is in helping the reader cope with the act of dying. Lily shares her childhood trauma of finding a roadkill cat and trying to nurse it back to life with some milk and a fancy tablecloth as well as some stories from her time working on the King-centric Castle Rock series and even shares a little bit about her upcoming projects, the already filmed Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon and the to-be-filmed re-imagining of the Sly Stallone action vehicle Cliffhanger.

The pleasant memory of this movie was all but destroyed on the rewatch leading up to this episode. The boys are joined by Full Court Chat's Dave Schilling to examine one of King's bleakest and meanest stories and the resulting misfire of a film.

Mad Men's Rich Sommer joins the boys to discuss King anthologies with a sharp focus on Lewis Teague's Cat's Eye which pull from Night Shift stories Quitter's Inc and The Ledge.

Cujo star Dee Wallace talks about her time trapped in a Pinto while facing off against a rabid St. Bernard. Did you know she hospitalized herself while filming the climactic scene in the movie? Did you also know she didn't read King's book until after she finished? All that plus stories from making The Howling, ET and The Frighteners.

Sleepwalkers is a weirdly hornt up movie so it's only natural that Vespe and Wampler are joined by their wildest recurring guest, Ms. Sarah Beattie. Vespe ends up recommending a bunch of obscure '80s horror movies, Wampler tells a traumatic story about an ex-girlfriend's borderline abusive cat and Sarah has a bonkers theory that ties two cat-themed Stephen King stories together.

Comedian Brent Terhune joins Vespe and Wampler to examine Frank Darabont's The Mist. Vespe regales the podcast group with more stories from his time on the set (including what Marcia Gay Harden did to stay in character) and talk turns to the dark, dark, dark ending.

In this episode Kate Siegel and the boys discuss the lengths you would go to cover up a crime for your spouse, Stephen King's talents at getting inside the female mind (likely with the help of his wife, Tabby), give actor Anthony LaPaglia a new name (Tony Pogs, of course), and even dive into the complexities of Siegel's marriage to another Kingcast regular, Mike Flanagan.

Vespe and Wampler are joined by former teen heart-throb and current grizzled badass Devon Sawa to discuss one of King's major works: Cujo.

The Langoliers is an oddity in the realm of Stephen King. It's a great novella that also happens to be a well-below average mini-series. The boys are joined by actor Noah Segan to dive into both the written text and the crappy movie with CGI meatballs in it.

Bryan Fuller leads this discussion about one of the most important books in King's bibliography. From Vampires to queer coding in classic Universal monster movies to small town serial killers, this conversation is all over the map.

Seth Grahame-Smith is a screenwriter and producer who helped bring It: Chapters 1 and 2 to the big screen and also very nearly made an Eyes of the Dragon series on Hulu. In this episode he tells us all about the project that almost was.

The star of The Mist, 1922 and Dreamcatcher opens up about his work on King adaptations all while smoking a pipe and going back and forth with his girlfriend, Anne Heche. This one's wild, y'all.

April Wolfe comes on the show to take a peek behind the rows at what Malachai and the Boys are up to back there.

Would you kill Baby Hitler? How often would you use psychic powers if you had them? What famous director did young Alex Winter corner on the street to geek out with over the work of David Cronenberg? All these questions and more are answered in today's episode of The Kingcast.

In this episode the boys are joined by writer/director/actor/producer/renaissance man Leigh Whannell and they break down Stand By Me. Did anyone have a run quite like Rob Reiner did in the 1980s? How different is the novella from the movie? Which of the four boys gives the best performance? What would you do if you were halfway across a train track and you heard the terrifying whistle behind you? All that and more can be found in this episode.

Steven Weber joins Vespe and Wampler in this special bonus episode that dives deep into all his Stephen King work, from filling Jack Nicholson's shoes in Mick Garris' The Shining to narrating the audiobook for IT and many more stops into Kingville along the way.

Crouch End was one of the best shorts in King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes and was one of the worst episodes in TNT's short lived series of the same name.

Killer sentient trucks + coked out director + insane producer = one of the most fun cult movies of the 1980s.

Killer lipstick, a buried spaceship and a novel written at the height of King's cocaine addiction. Vespe and Wampler are joined by Tickled's David Farrier to discuss all the above and much more.

Vespe and Wampler are joined by best selling author Mallory O'Meara (The Lady From The Black Lagoon) to delve into one of King's creepiest novels and the extremely good film adaptation that followed.

Do you want even more Kingcast Content? Well, Vespe and Wampler have you covered.

Damien Echols' love of Stephen King was actually used against him in a court of law. The outspoken member of the West Memphis Three spent almost 20 years on death row before walking free and he joins Vespe and Wampler to discuss how the Dark Tower books, The Gunslinger in particular, helped him survive on the inside.

Garth Marenghi himself, Matthew Holness, stops by to chat with Vespe and Wampler about how Stephen King has impacted his life and the reasons why he chose King's first sober novel, The Dark Half, to talk about.

Prolific filmmaker Mike Flanagan joins Vespe and Wampler to dig into King's haunted hotel room short story and the Mikael Hafstrom adaptation starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson.

The man behind Doctor Strange and Sinister joins Vespe and Wampler to take a look at the controversial adaptation of Stephen King's deeply personal story of Jack Torrance and the evil influence of The Overlook Hotel.

Subtitle: "Of Mice and Lawnmower Men." Vespe and Wampler are joined by the very funny Sarah Beattie (@nachosarah) to take aim at the Stephen King adaptation so bad King himself sued the production company to get his name taken off of it.

Elijah Wood joins Vespe and Wampler to discuss Rob Reiner's Misery. Elijah shares some scary #1 Fan encounters and admits to being a fan of King movies without having read any of the master's work.