Everything Coming to Now Playing Podcast in October 2020
At last, October has arrived, and we can take a break from the horrors of reality to enjoy make believe scares. This month, Now Playing Podcast is serving up some laughter alongside buckets of blood, with Tremors on the main feed and two long-requested retrospectives on their way to supporters of the show’s bi-annual donation drive.
Here’s everything coming to Now Playing Podcast in October 2020.
October 6 – Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
It’s odd when a prequel has a number in the title. It’s almost like they’re purposely trying to confuse fans by telling them, “It’s a sequel, but it already happened.” Of course, that negates the definition of a sequel, because a sequel explains what happens next, not what happened previously, unless we’re going by Endgame time travel logic, in which case… and now I’ve gone cross-eyed. Please enjoy this pre/sequel to Tremors, set in the Old West, starring Michael Gross.
October 9 – The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
Wes Craven’s 1977 film gets a mid-aughts remake that’s perfectly in line with other “torture porn” slashers of its day. This time, the budget can pay for better makeup on the hill-dwelling mutant cannibals, more buckets of blood and body parts, and a cast that includes GOAT Ted Levine, Kathleen Quinlan, and X2’s Aaron Stanford. Plus, it’s got a post-High Tension Alexandre Aja at the helm, years before he’d go on to do Piranha 3D, Horns, and 2019 gator-romp Crawl. Listeners can unlock Now Playing’s The Hills Have Eyes retrospective with a donation of $10 or more during the show’s Fall/Winter Donation Drive.
Bonus: If you’re an HBO Max subscriber, you can watch the 2006 Hills Have Eyes and its sequel during the month of October.
October 13 – Tremors 5: Bloodlines
The Tremors franchise took an 11-year hiatus before coming back with Bloodlines, a sequel that sees series star Michael Gross battling graboids alongside new sidekick Jamie Kennedy. At first, the Scream alum looks poised to take over the franchise, but you’d have an easier time prying the gun from Gross’s cold, dead hands than you would taking Tremors away from him.
October 16 – The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007)
The blood hadn’t even dried on the Hills Have Eyes reboot before a sequel was greenlit and rushed into production for a 2007 release. This time, the sequel eschews the dirt bike antics of Wes Craven’s 1985 The Hills Have Eyes Part II and instead inserts a group of National Guard members into the action, forcing them to fight the mutant cannibals during a training mission in the New Mexico desert. Helmed by German music video director Martin Weisz, the sequel did not match its predecessor’s box office.
Bonus: The Hills Have Eyes (2006) and The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007) are streaming on HBO Max during the month of October.
October 20 – Tremors: A Cold Day In Hell
Michael Gross and Jamie Kennedy return to battle graboids in the sixth Tremors film. This time, the monsters come blasting out of the frozen ground in northern Canada. The CGI, setting, and supporting cast are on par for a direct-to-video sequel, but credit the filmmakers for always doing their best to make the most with what they’ve got.
October 23 – The House That Jack Built
Now Playing makes its first foray into Lars von Trier’s filmography with a bonus review of 2018’s The House That Jack Built. The story follows the exploits of serial killer Matt Dillon and features appearances by Uma Thurman, Bruno Ganz, Riley Keough, and Jeremy Davies. The review was chosen by longtime supporter Sean Ray through Now Playing’s Podbean patron campaign.
October 27 – Tremors: Shrieker Island
Just because there are no movies in the theaters doesn’t mean there’s nothing new to watch in October. The seventh Tremors film arrives via direct-to-video on October 20, bringing back Michael Gross to battle graboids on an island resort. Filmed in Thailand, the sequel centers on the monsters being brought to the island “as a dangerous form of trophy hunting” and swaps out Jamie Kennedy for another new sidekick, Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder. Horror veteran Richard Brake is also on hand, with director Don Michael Paul back behind the camera.
Shrieker Island will serve as the finale to Now Playing’s Tremors retrospective, at least until there’s an eighth film.
October 30 – Cloverfield
One of the notable viral marketing successes of the 21st century, Cloverfield arrived in 2008 with a ton of expectations and little-to-no actual knowledge of its plot. The secrecy paid off, with the small budget film becoming a monster hit and spawning two spinoffs (?) that may or may not be set in the same dimension. Now Playing will be reviewing all three Cloverfield films at the Platinum Level of its Fall/Winter Donation Drive. A donation of $35 or more will unlock Cloverfield, as well as the Rosemary’s Baby, Omen, Last House on the Left, and Hills Have Eyes retrospectives.
Everything Coming to Now Playing Podcast in September 2020
For the first time in months, multiple major releases will be in movie theaters as the industry attempts to win back audiences following the pandemic shutdown.
Would-be blockbusters on the September calendar include Bill & Ted Face the Music, eternally-delayed The New Mutants, and Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.
Of the three, only Bill & Ted is being released simultaneously on video-on-demand platforms. Tenet, insiders and analysts agree, will be the blockbuster by which all others are judged. The belief is that if Nolan’s time-bending sci-fi tale can bring audiences back to multiplexes, it will be safe to release Wonder Woman 1984 and the stable of tentpoles that were put on ice back in March.
Though Tenet and The New Mutants will be in theaters in September, Now Playing Podcast has decided to keep its pending reviews of both films on hold, at least for the moment. That’s because theaters are not open nationwide, and not all of the hosts will be able to see it during its opening week.
“We won’t review a movie until all of our hosts can watch it on-demand at home or as part of a safe, socially distanced theatrical experience,” Now Playing creator and co-host Arnie Carvalho says. “We’ve waited this long for New Mutants, we’ve got plenty more listener requests to fill our schedule at the moment.”
And what are those requests? Well, here’s everything coming to Now Playing Podcast in September 2020.
September 1 – Bill & Ted Face the Music
Fans that have waited impatiently for the last 29 years will finally get to see the reunion between Alex Winter’s Bill S. Preston Esquire and Keanu Reeves’ Ted “Theodore” Logan when the duo Face the Music. If it’s been a bit since you’ve seen the first two films, catch up with Now Playing’s Bill & Ted Retrospective Series.
September 4 – Clerks (Patron Exclusive)
At long last, after years of debate and listener demand, Now Playing Podcast will review the first entry in Kevin Smith’s View Askewniverse. Podbean patron Sean Ray has chosen Smith’s 1994 debut, Clerks, for review, thrusting Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob back into the past and forcing them to confront their younger selves and their opinions of Smith’s movies. It should make for a hell of a conversation. You can hear the show when you become a Now Playing Podcast Patron.
September 11 – The Last House on the Left (1972)
Director Wes Craven established himself as a master of shock with his 1972 debut, The Last House on the Left. The film tells the story of a couple and their daughter who come face-to-face with a pack of killers. Controversial at the time, Last House has become a cult classic. Still, Craven’s films haven’t always left an impression with the Now Playing hosts. Will things be different this time? The Last House on the Left kicks off Now Playing’s 2020 Fall/Winter Donation Drive. The first episode debuts Friday, September 11.
September 18 – The Last House on the Left (2009)
Craven’s film got a remake in 2009, with Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Garrett Dillahunt, and a pre-Breaking Bad Aaron Paul in the starring roles. From a production standpoint, the remake is clearly more impressive than Craven’s low-budget original, but is it better? Our hosts will weigh in on Friday, September 18.
Warning: The trailer is super spoiler-heavy.
September 25 – The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Craven’s reputation for exploitation horror got another jolt in 1977 when The Hills Have Eyes hit theaters. The film focuses on a family terrorized by mutant cannibals while on a vacation in their RV. It’s relentless violence and gore didn’t scare away audiences, and its success led to a sequel, remake, and a remake sequel. All four The Hills Have Eyes films will be covered as part in the Silver Level of Now Playing’s 2020 Fall/Winter Donation Drive.
New Retrospective Series – Tremors
Another cult classic series is on the menu in September, and it’s a long one. Did you know there are seven films in the Tremors franchise? The first entry, starring Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, and Michael Gross, was a video hit after its theatrical debut in 1990. The latest film, Tremors: Shrieker Island is coming this fall and sees the return of series star Gross. Now Playing will kick off its long-requested Tremors retrospective in September, but the release date hinges on the aforementioned reviews of The New Mutants and Tenet. Now Playing will make an announcement regarding the launch of the Tremors series in the coming weeks.
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