Donnie Darko (2001) - "A pro homies helping homies film" (ft. The Substance Podcast)

Zoinks! We’re firing up the Mystery Machine and heading to Spooky Island to revisit Scooby-Doo (2002), the live-action adaptation that brought Mystery Inc. to the big screen. Starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, and the titular Great Dane, this nostalgic favorite reunites the gang for a supernatural mystery that’s a whole lot stranger than your average unmasking. We’re talking early-2000s nostalgia, the movie’s surprisingly weird humor, the cast’s chemistry, and Matthew Lillard’s iconic take on Shaggy. But does Scooby-Doo capture the spirit of the original cartoon, or is it a little too goofy, messy, and bizarre for its own good? And how did a movie made for kids end up with so many jokes that definitely went over our heads back in 2002? So grab your Scooby Snacks, practice your best Shaggy impression, and remember: if you’re looking for a spooky movie with a healthy dose of ridiculousness, this gang has you covered.

Back in April we had the pleasure of interviewing Patrick Ouziel, the Cinematographer for Never After Dark, one of our favorite films we saw at the Overlook film festival . On the same day of interview the films team got the exciting news that it had been picked up for distribution by Magnolia Pictures, which put our episode on hold. Now that the film is being released to the public our episode is available for your listening pleasure. We hope you go check out Never After Dark when it hits theaters near you!

The Resident Evil franchise gets a bloody new beginning as Barbarian and Weapons director Zach Cregger takes on Capcom’s survival-horror icon. This time, there’s no Alice, no Leon Kennedy, and no attempt to recreate the previous movies. Instead, we follow Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier whose routine delivery turns into a fight for survival when he finds himself caught in a horrifying outbreak in Raccoon City. Cregger brings his own twisted sense of humor to the franchise, mixing claustrophobic horror, grotesque creatures, gore, action, and some very video-game-inspired sequences into a lean 90-minute nightmare. The result is a Resident Evil that feels less like a traditional adaptation of one specific game and more like being dropped directly into a survival-horror game with limited supplies, increasingly dangerous obstacles, and absolutely no idea what’s waiting around the next corner. We’re talking about what Cregger brings to the franchise, whether the comedy works alongside the scares, the movie’s wild creature designs, and how it compares to the previous Resident Evil movies. Is this the fresh start the series needed, or are we just going back to Raccoon City because nobody learned their lesson the first time?

This week we dive into Hope (2026), the long-awaited return from Na Hong-jin, director of The Wailing. Set in the isolated village of Hope Harbor near the DMZ, the film begins with reports of a mysterious beast before spiraling into something far stranger, bigger, and more terrifying. We discuss the film's ambitious blend of creature-feature horror, science fiction, action, dark comedy, and cosmic dread, as well as its massive international cast, including Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Hoyeon, Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Taylor Russell. With a nearly three-hour runtime and an absolutely enormous scope, Hope takes some big swings. We'll talk about the film's wild genre shifts, creature chaos, stunning visuals, and whether all of that ambition pays off—or if the movie occasionally gets lost in its own scale. It may not be as tightly constructed as The Wailing, but there's no denying that Na Hong-jin has created one of the year's most unusual and ambitious genre films.

Nearly 30 years after Practical Magic became a cult favorite, the Owens witches are back—and this time, the family curse is ready for another generation. Practical Magic 2 reunites Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, with Sally’s daughters Kylie and Antonia now caught up in the family’s complicated magical legacy. When Kylie’s new romance puts her in the path of the curse, she heads to England searching for a way to save the man she loves, forcing Sally and Gillian to follow her and confront the secrets buried in their family history. With its mix of witchcraft, romance, comedy, spooky-season vibes, and plenty of nostalgia, the sequel clearly wants to recreate the magic of the original. But does bringing back the Owens women actually recapture the charm—or does this feel like another case of Hollywood trying to resurrect a cult classic that was better left alone? We’re talking Practical Magic 2: the midnight margaritas are back, the witches are back, and apparently so is the curse.