Christmas Creeps: Recent Episodes
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Happy New Year, Creepazoids! It’s January, so you know what that means… It’s time for our second annual Video Game extravaganza! The holiday season is behind us, so we’re taking some time out of our winter break to discuss a few of our favorite things: video games!
Joe, Johnny-5 and Bradford countdown their five favorite video games of 2024. Also in this episode, we get into some honorable mentions, favorites from listeners in our Discord channel, and so much more! So crack open a cold one and get ready for 80+ minutes of quality video game shenanigans.
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Join our Discord channel today!
- Check our Twitch channel too!
- We’ll be back with more holiday madness soon!
- Background music: Best Lofi Christmas Mix Ever by lofi geek
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 152: Video Games of 2023 (Part 2)
- Episode 151: Video Games of 2023 (Part 1)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
We have a tradition around here of spending our holiday break covering films other than Christmas films. So what better way to celebrate July at Christmas than with the best action movie of 1995? That’s right, tonight we’re discussing Die Hard with a Vengeance!
You know the drill: In the next few hours, Simon is going to tell Lt. John McClane what to do. And Lt. McClane is going to do it. That’s what the trailers say, at least. In truth, Hans Gruber’s little brother is out for revenge against our old buddy John, who’s just trying to kick a nasty hangover in the Big Apple. Along the way he teams up with Samuel L. Jackson, who wants absolutely nothing to do with him. It’s great.
So crack open a cold one, pull up a chair and join your holiday broskis as we chat about Die Hard, pinball machines, New York landmarks, and all the other random crap this podcast is known for! And, of course, we wish all of you a Very Happy New Year!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Die Hard with a Vengeance is available to stream here
- The original ending of Die Hard with a Vengeance
- The Christmas Creeps Twitch Channel!
- Biggie smalls goes to buy snes
- Join our Discord channel today!
- YAWKOMETER: (4, 5)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 10: Die Hard (1988)
- Episode 31: Die Hard 2 (1990)
- Episode 110: Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Merry Christmas, Creepazoids! This is our tenth year celebrating Christmas on this podcast. Can you believe that? This Christmas, Joe and Nikki take some time to discuss a few of the holiday movies they’ve watched this season. Primarily: Red One! Yes, friends. This is officially our Red One episode.
But fret not! We also spend a little time discussing and rating two other new Christmas movies: The “Jack Black as Satan” comedy Dear Santa, and the surprise Netflix hit Hot Frosty. This episode is three reviews in one! It’s a Christmas miracle!
So crack open a cold one, pull up a chair by the fire, and enjoy some prime time holiday shenanigans. From all of us here at Christmas Creeps: We wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a most excellent New Year!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Red One is available to stream on Amazon Prime
- Hot Frosty is available to stream on Netflix
- Dear Santa is available to stream on Paramount Plus
- Background music: Best Lofi Christmas Mix Ever by lofi geek
- Join our Discord channel today!
KRANKOMETERS:
- DEAR SANTA: (1, -1)
- HOT FROSTY: (3, 3)
- RED ONE: (5, 1)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 30: Krampus (2015)
- Episode 38: Jack Frost 2 (2000)
- Episode 52: Arthur Christmas (2011)
- Episode 72: Silent Night Deadly Night 2 (1987)
- Episode 77: The Christmas Chronicles (2019)
- Episode 84: Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
- Episode 95: Klaus (2019)
- Episode 107: Frosty the Snowman (1969)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Season’s greetings, Creepazoids! This December we’re indulging in a few of this podcasts favorite things (there’s a Christmas song in there somewhere…). On this week’s stocking stuffer, Joe and Johnny-5 take a look at King of the Hill’s season nine Christmas episode “Ms. Wakefield”.
Days before Hank Hill’s Christmas party, an old woman (voiced by Happy Days’ Marion Ross) shows up to reminisce about her old childhood home. Things then take a turn when Hank discovers Ms. Wakefield intends to die in his house on Christmas, forcing him to become the bad guy whose only crime was not wanting death to cast a pall on his family’s Christmas.
Also in this episode, Joe briefly touches on a few recent Christmas movies he’s watched this season, and we discuss the odd ambiance of mid-December holiday malaise. Fun!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- This episode is available to stream on Hulu
- Trailer Trash: Dear Santa
- Trailer Trash: Hot Frosty
- The IMDb Parents Guide for this King of the Hill episode
- Join our Discord channel today!
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 52: Arthur Christmas
- Stocking Stuffer #1: King of the Hill, “The Unbearable Blindness of Laying”
- Stocking Stuffer #6: King of the Hill, “Pretty Pretty Dresses”
- Stocking Stuffer #8: King of the Hill, “Hillennium”
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Last time, we discussed the Christmas slasher P2. This week we follow it up with a look at that film’s unofficial 2023 Hindi remake, “I Love You”. Same premise, same setting, there’s a holiday involved (in this case Diwali)… I don’t know what surprised us more: The fact that we’re even covering this movie on our podcast in the first place, or the fact that we all actually kinda liked it?
For our purposes, we have a fun time comparing the two movies, and seeing what elements of the original translate to a film made halfway around the world. We fully realize three white Americans are the last people who should be discussing anything related to Diwali or Indian cinema in general, so we hope you’ll bear with us as we tread some new territory for Christmas Creeps!
Also! Returning guest Dr. Nick delivers a late-episode derail into video game chat about the Ace Attorney games. So never let it be said that this podcast doesn’t stay extremely on-brand about absolutely everything…
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- I Love You is available to stream on Tubi
- More about Singles’ Day
- Bisexual lighting
- Join our Discord channel today!
- KRANKOMETER: (3, 2)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 162: P2 (2007)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Welcome back, spooky friends! This week, our pal Dr. Nick returns to help us discuss the 2007 slasher flick P2. It’s a solid contender for Worst Movie Title Ever, but as we’ll discover, the movie itself is pretty solid!
It’s Christmas Eve, and office worker Angela finds herself stuck in her office building with lonely security guard Thomas. Things quickly take a turn for the worst as Thomas reveals himself to be a lovelorn psycho who takes her hostage and tries to have his way with her. She escapes, and a brutal game of cat and mouse ensues.
We’ll dig into what makes this movie tick, how it has or hasn’t aged gracefully, and the use of Christmas music as diegetic plot devices.
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- P2 is available to stream here
- The Bollywood remake, I Love You
- Join our Discord channel today!
- KRANKOMETER: (3, 3)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 10: Die Hard (1987)
- Episode 42: The Santa Clause (1994)
- Episode 142: Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (1998)
Greetings boils and ghouls! Home For The Horrordays continues this week as we bring you a Stocking Stuffer on the Tales from the Crypt episode “And All Through the House”!
Based on the 1950s horror comics of the same name, Tales from the Crypt ran for seven seasons on HBO, and featured some of the biggest names in action and horror at the time. The episode we’re discussing tonight comes from Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis!
After killing her husband on Christmas Eve, murderous mom Elizabeth is besieged by a deranged serial killer dressed up as Santa Claus. She can’t call the cops, because there’s already a dead body in the house, so she’ll just have to deal with it herself! It’s a gruesome, gag-filled good time.
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- This episode is available to stream on YouTube
- This episode was previously adapted in the 1972 film Tales from the Crypt
- Secrets of the Cryptkeeper’s Haunted House
- The big list of Dr. Pepper knockoffs
- Join our Discord channel today!
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Oh, you thought we weren’t gonna cover Rare Exports? Think again, buddy. Home for the Horrordays continues as Joe and Bradford tackle the granddaddy of Finnish holiday horror. The scary folklore version of Santa Claus descends upon a farming community, killing caribou and kidnapping children, and it’s up to young Pietari and his dad to find a way to save Christmas.
Also in this episode, we taste test Coca-Cola flavored Oreos AND Oreo-flavored Coca-Cola in an effort to keep up with the gross gimmick food trends of the moment. Nothing but the best audio content for you lovely creepazoids!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Rare Exports is available to stream here
- Mr. Autumn Man Walking Down Street With Cup of Coffee
- Join our Discord channel today!
- KRANKOMETER: (3, 5)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
We bid farewell to barbecue season as Home for the Horrordays continues! This week we’re looking at Mercy Christmas, a horror/comedy about a family whose Christmas tradition is to kidnap unsuspecting victims and have them for Christmas dinner. As in eat them. Because they’re cannibals. Ha ha ha!
Join us as we tell the tale of Michael Briskett (yes), the poor guy tied up in Christmas lights on the poster below, as he wishes for the traditional family Christmas, and gets more than he bargained for.
Bradford gets angry at the family’s poor cooking practices, Joe gets angry at the mountain of missed opportunities, and Johnny-5 was just angry right outta the box. Also we somehow wind up talking about Legos. Like ya do.
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Mercy Christmas is available to stream here
- Mercy Christmas is also available on YouTube
- Join our Discord channel today!
- KRANKOMETER: (1, -4)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 113: The Silent Partner (1978)
- Episode 136: Blood Beat (1982)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
After a long summer off, we’re back to ring in the most wonderful time of the year: Home for the Horrordays!
On this episode we discuss the SyFy Channel original movie Icetastrophe, AKA Christmas Icetastrophe, AKA A Christmas Tale. No matter what you call it, this is a silly Day After Tomorrow knockoff in which a meteor crash lands in a small Washington town and flash freezes everything in sight. It’s up to scientist Alex and townie Charlie Ratchet to save the town, while entrepreneur Crooge struggles to stay alive long enough to save his kids. Ratchet? Crooge? Yeah… It’s one of those. The Christmas Carol connection is tenuous at best.
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Icetastrophe is available to stream here
- It’s also available on YouTube
- Our Home for the Horrordays Letterboxd list!
- Join our Discord channel today!
- Visit me on Joe’s Cinemarama for movie reviews and such!
- KRANKOMETER: (-2, -3)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 38: Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman (2000)
- Episode 104: The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)
- Episode 144: A Doggone Christmas (2016)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
It’s the 4th of July on this podcast, which means we’re roughly halfway to Christmas! So what better way to celebrate than with the most 4th of July movie of them all: Jaws!
You know Jaws. It’s the granddaddy of all killer shark movies. It’s Steven Spielberg’s first breakout hit. It’s the movie that made summer the season of blockbuster movies. And more than just being historically important, Jaws is just an all-around damn good movie.
Crack open a cold Narragansett and join us as we break down everything that makes this movie tick, why it’s still revered as a classic, and why it’s the ultimate summer movie!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Jaws is available to stream here
- Behind the scenes of Jaws
- USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage
- KATU News: Exploding whale mishap
- Join our Discord today!
- TRAILER TRASH: Red One
- YANKOMETER: (2, 5)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 137: Santa Jaws
- Episode 85: Jaws The Revenge
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Summer is upon us once again, and that means it’s time for a whole bunch of action movies! And in our case, that means action movies that may or may not actually have something to do with Christmas.
On this episode we’re looking at the 1998 Euro-heist flick Ronin! Robert De Niro and Jean Reno speed across France in pursuit of a stolen briefcase, whose contents may or may not be a danger to world peace. Also, it’s Christmas! You didn’t think we’d just watch Ronin for no reason, did you?
Also in this episode: Bradford discusses his recent vacation to Paris, Jonathan brings up Rugrats in Paris for some reason, and we stumble backwards into the best pitch for an Austin Powers movie ever!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Ronin is available to stream here
- Rugrats in Paris – Chuckie Chan
- Under Paris
- Join our Discord today!
- KRANKOMETER: (-2, 4)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 2: Reindeer Games
- Episode 65: Jurassic World
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Happy May, friends! This week’s episode comes to us via listener request. Life is full of twists and turns that you never expect. For instance, we never expected to be talking about the 2017 Netflix film El Camino Christmas this week, but that’s exactly what we’re gonna do!
El Camino Christmas finds a handful of ne’er-do-well drunks, shady cops and innocent bystanders all holed up in a liquor store on Christmas Eve. Life lessons are learned, secrets unearthed, all that good stuff. Perennial Christmas favorite Tim Allen is here to force everyone to sing Christmas carols at gunpoint, which means this is the one Christmas film that accurately captures the way this podcast feels 90% of the time…
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- El Camino Christmas is available to stream on Netflix
- Join our Discord today!
- KRANKOMETER: (-1, -3)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
On this episode we’re talking about An All Dogs Christmas Carol! It’s the series finale of the All Dogs Go To Heaven animated series, itself a sequel series to Don Bluth’s original All Dogs Go To Heaven. This thing went on a whole lot longer than we would have guessed!
Now guardian angel dogs living in San Francisco, Charlie and Itchy take it upon themselves to pull a “Christmas Carol” on their nemesis, Carface (voiced by Ernest Borgnine!), to show him the error of his ways. There’s also something about a demon dog hatching a plan to steal Christmas presents, but it’s not important.
What IS important is that Joe gets hoodwinked into playing the donation game himself this week, and he does… well, the important thing is he does it.
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- An All Dogs Christmas Carol is available to stream here
- It’s also available on Internet Archive (shhh…)
- The Professor Brothers, “Late Date”
- “I’d Never Do It On a Christmas Tree”, Rover Dangerfield
- Join our Discord today!
- KRANKOMETER: (0, -2)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 17: I’ll Be Home For Christmas (1998)
- Episode 83: Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas (2006)
- Episode 131: Enemy of the State (1998)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
It’s that time again! The gang’s all here as we take a listener request and dedicate this week’s episode to Daddy’s Home 2! Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg are all hunky dory as co-step-dads after the original Daddy’s Home, so what better way to test that bond than by bringing in their own dads to help celebrate the holidays?
In this episode, we talk about all manner of weird garbage, the weird logistics of Airbnb, the complicated legacy of “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, wiener hats, the phenomenon of going to the movies on Christmas Day, and a whole lot more!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Daddy’s Home 2 is available to stream here
- The end credits of The Other Guys
- Join our Discord today!
- KRANKOMETER: (4, 1)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 29: Lethal Weapon
- Episode 100: Our 100th Episode ELFstravaganza!
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
And we’re back! On this episode, Nikki returns to help Joe and Bradford break down Disney’s most recent holiday offering: The Naughty Nine!
On Christmas morning, Andy discovers Santa did not bring him the video game console he asked for. Realizing he’s been put on the naughty list, Andy enlists the help of seven kids with expert skills (and one adult who’s definitely not Chris Pratt) to fly to the North Pole and steal back the Christmas gifts they rightly deserve. So it’s Ocean’s Eleven but with kids. Cool. Great.
Also in this episode, Joe pitches his own idea for a Christmas kids movie, Bradford explains the distinction between a horse-cop and a cop-horse, and Nikki regrets ever returning to this stupid podcast.
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- The Naughty Nine is streaming on Disney Plus
- The Children’s Crusade
- Join our Discord today!
- KRANKOMETER: (5, 1)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 104: The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
- Episode 125: 8-Bit Christmas
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
It’s been a few weeks, but we’re finally wrapping up our video game extravaganza! If you haven’t listened to part 1 yet, we highly recommend you give that a listen before diving into part 2. (Link’s in the show notes!)
In this episode, we each discuss our top two games of the year, plus some honorable mentions, and a handful of comments from our very own listeners! See? If you listened to Christmas Creeps, we might put you on the show too. Anywho, now that we’ve finally gotten Video Game Chat out of our systems, we can get back to the business of talking about terrible Christmas movies. Stay tuned for your regularly scheduled Christmas Creeps!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Check out Part 1 of this discussion here
- “After 34 Years, Someone Finally Beat Tetris”
- GDQ: Peanut Butter the Dog Plays Gyromite
- MyHouse.Wad: Doom’s Most Terrifying Mod
- “Zelda! Zelda! Zelda!”
- Join our Discord today!
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Happy New Year, Creepazoids! 2024 marks our 10th year of Christmas Creeps, and to celebrate we’re kicking off the year with the show we’ve been wanting to do for a long time: Video Game Chat!
This week we’re taking a break from discussing Christmas to talk about the best video games we’ve played in 2023. They don’t have to be new games, just games we played in the last year.
We realize this episode may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but rest assured our regular programming will resume in February. For now though, please enjoy this ridiculous episode in which we all talk so much about video games that we had to break it up into two parts! (Part 2 coming next week!)
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Amouranth Is Making Beer With Yeast From Her Lady Parts
- Jeremy Parish | Video Works
- Join our Discord today!
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Merry Christmas, Creepazoids! The big day is finally here! On this episode, Joe is joined by his fiancée Nikki to share a few of our favorite Adult Swim Christmas episodes.
Nikki brings us “Dethmas”, the Christmas episode of Metalocalypse, in which heavy metal band Dethklok get unwittingly roped into not only taking part in a TV Christmas special, but also into entertaining their mothers for Christmas. It’s brutal.
And after a brief sidebar into how the Sealab 2021 episode “Feast of Alvis” makes absolutely no sense even under the best of circumstances, Joe comes bearing the gift of Aqua Teen Hunger Force and “Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future”, the single greatest episode title in television history.
To all our listeners, thank you so much for making us a part of your podcast rotation. 2023 has been a bit of a rocky year for us here at Christmas Creeps, but we’ve still tried to bring you the most entertaining, ridiculous Christmas media podcast of them all. We couldn’t do this without you. So have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and we’ll see you in 2024!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Metalocalypse, Sealab 2021, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force are available to stream (click links for more)
- Nikki’s ringtone, if anyone was wondering
- Background music by Holizna
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Join our Discord today!
On this week’s podcast, we’re testing out some holiday coffees! Bradford brought us a selection of Nightmare Before Christmas-themed coffees from the good folks at Bones Coffee Company, and we’re going to brew a cup of each one right before your very ears.
So kick back and pour a cup of whatever ya got with Joe and Bradford as we shoot the breeze on this relaxing late-December morning. You’ve worked hard this month, you deserve it!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- These coffees and more are available at Bones Coffee Company
- Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron in theaters now
- Background music by YouTube channel Heroboard
- Join our Discord today!
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
On this episode we discuss Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, a brand new Christmas film about the people left behind while everyone else is off on their own holiday adventures. And to help us break it all down, we welcome back Johnny-5, The Human Robot!
The Holdovers is all about folks dealing with the loneliness of the holiday season however they can: Drinking, watching game shows, wandering around at night, crashing Christmas parties. Y’know, general introvert behavior. But there’s so much more to it than that. It’s really something special.
We’ll dig into all that, plus the McRib being back, reminisce about our own holdover Christmases, and more! (Also, blanket spoiler warning here. We discuss it all, and recommend you see this one first. But you can do what you want. I’m not your dad.)
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- The Holdovers is in theaters now and available here
- Join our Discord today!
- KRANKOMETER: (4, 4)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
This month we’re pushing back against the onslaught of Christmas Creep by extending spooky season in a block we’re calling SHRIEKSGIVING! On this episode we look at last year’s The Killing Tree, about a serial killer who gets reincarnated as a murderous Christmas tree. It is exactly as silly as you’d expect, but somehow, someway… we found this one kinda charming.
Also in this episode… Bradford unexpectedly manages to connect The Killing Tree to Xenoblade Chronicles, we accidentally wade into the quagmire of the villain being right but for the wrong reasons, and the guys reminisce about burritos we’ve eaten. Never a dull moment around here, folks!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- The Killing Tree is available to stream here
- Winnie The Pooh: Blood & Honey
- KRANKOMETER: (3, 2)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 20: Jack Frost
- Episode 38: Jack Frost 2
- Episode 81: Anna and the Apocalypse
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Join our Discord today!
Greetings Creepazoids! It’s the day after Halloween, but that doesn’t mean the scares have to stop! This week we’re bringing you an episode all about the 1988 film Scrooged, starring Bill Murray as the scroogiest of TV executives and a whole host of Christmas spirits determined to show him the error of his ways.
November 1st also Christmas Podcast Day! Today our fellow Christmas podcasters are all covering a different adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, so head on over to social media and search for #ChristmasPodcastDay to join in on the fun!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Scrooged is available to stream here
- SEE ALSO: The O/S/T Party on the music of Scrooged
- Check out ChristmasPodcasts.com for all the other shows taking part in #ChristmasPodcastDay!
- Home For The Horrordays: Our Letterboxd List
- KRANKOMETER: (5, 4)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 111: Rapsittie Street Kids (2002)
- Episode 137: Santa Jaws (2018)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Join our Discord today!
The summer heat is oppressive. The school year is about to begin. These are the Dog Days of Summer. So of course we watched another talking dog movie! This episode Joe and Bradford experience A Doggone Christmas, a movie about … Continue reading →
On this episode we’ve got Pac-Man Fever and it’s driving us crazy! Just two short years after the debut of the arcade hit Pac-Man, Hanna Barbera produced a Saturday morning cartoon all about the denizens of Pac-Land. And, naturally, a … Continue reading →
This one’s been a long time coming. On this episode we discuss a cult classic among holiday specials: Will Vinton’s 1987 Claymation Christmas Celebration! And to help us break it all down is special guest Gerry Davila, host of the … Continue reading →
Ani-May strikes back for one last hurrah this week! Our pal Dr. Nick returns for this double-length episode to explain the myriad ins and outs of the Mobile Suit Gundam universe as we discuss the 1998 feature film Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz! … Continue reading →
And we’re back! Ani-May continues with the Christmas episode of Mr. Osomatsu, which as far as this dumb American can tell is an animated sketch comedy series? Bradford referred to this one as being “no chill”, but it turned out to be more this guy’s speed than the previous episode.
Also in this episode, Bradford gives us the skinny on the long history of this series, which dates all the way back to the 60s. Look, I can’t promise any of what transpires here is going to make a whole lot of sense, but we’re doing our best this week!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Mr. Osomatsu is available to stream here!
- From Extra Chill: “The Story of John Lennon’s Silly Walk”
- Join our Discord channel today!
What TV episodes would you like us to cover? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
It’s Ani-May once again, the time of year when Bradford takes the reins and forces us to watch a bunch of anime. Like moths returning to the flame, am I right?
This week we look at the Christmas episode of Laid Back Camp, fittingly titled “Campmas”. How do a bunch of anime girls camping at the foot of Mt. Fuji celebrate Christmas? By day-drinking and cooking good food over a campfire, of course! What more does one need out of life?
Also in this episode, Joe and Bradford reminisce about their own childhood camping experiences, indulge in some video game chat, and get real hungry at the mention of s’mores…
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE
- To find Laid Back Camp, click here
- Cadillacs & Dinosaurs
- Join our Discord channel today!
SEE ALSO THE FOLLOWING EPISODES
- Stocking Stuffer 16: Aggretsuko, “We Wish You a Metal Christmas”
- Stocking Stuffer 17: Lupin the Third, “Christmas at Tiffany’s”
What TV episodes would you like us to cover? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Noirch Madness continues! This week we take a look at the 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s Lady in the Lake! And to help us break it down, we welcome back our resident detective fiction expert Libby Cudmore!
Lady in the Lake is the first feature film to be shot and staged entirely in the first person. The posters emphasized that the film’s hero, detective Philip Marlowe, is played by “Robert Montgomery and you!” It’s a fascinating gimmick, for sure, but how well does it help translate the novel? And what does changing the novel’s setting to Christmas have to do with anything? Those are the very questions we aim to answer this week!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Lady in the Lake is available to stream here
- The O/S/T Party podcast on Home Alone 2
- Check out Libby Cudmore’s “The Big Rewind” today!
- KRANKOMETER: (1, -3)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 93: The Long Kiss Goodnight
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Join our Discord today!
Film noir is a genre we’ve only barely scratched the surface of here on Christmas Creeps. But that ends today! This March, we’re highlighting some classic film noirs that also happen to be Christmas films. And what would we call such an event? NOIR-CH MADNESS!
This week Joe and Bradford discuss the 1953 film I, The Jury, the film debut of Mickey Spillane’s hard-nosed detective character Mike Hammer. In this film, Hammer vows to hunt down his best friend’s killer, which leads him on a wild goose chase through the snow-covered streets of New York City.
Also, Joe and Brad spend a good chunk of the back end of this episode on Video Game Chat, so if you like hearing us not talk about Christmas and movies, we got ya covered!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- I, The Jury is available to stream on Archive.org!
- LA’s Bradbury Building on film
- The trailer for Tetris (2023)
- Power Wash Simulator
- KRANKOMETER: (1, -2)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODE ON:
- Episode 57: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Join our Discord today!
Greetings and salutations on this NINTH season of Christmas Creeps! On our inaugural episode of 2023, we take a trip to our local Redbox to catch up with VIOLENT NIGHT!
What if the hero in a hard-R Die Hard riff were Santa Claus? And not just any Santa Claus. This Santa Claus is played by Stranger Things’ David Harbour! That’s the gimmick at the heart of 2022’s hit holiday action flick. We were dubious of this one, but each of us found ourselves won over by the sheer absurdity of it all. It’s hard to go wrong with bad guys getting their just desserts.
Also in this episode: Joe eats gross gummies on purpose, Twitter continues to burn itself out, and the guys try to convince themselves they’re not mellowing out.
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Violent Night is available to stream here!
- KRANKOMETER: (5, 2)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 10: Die Hard
- Episode 32: Die Hard 2: Die Harder
- Episode 110: Live Free or Die Hard
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Join our Discord today!
Merry Christmas, Creepazoids!
This year we bring you an episode all about A Christmas Story Christmas! Yet another attempt at an ‘official’ sequel to Bob Clark’s holiday classic, this one finds Peter Billingsley returning as a middle-aged Ralphie, now tasked with giving his family the fabled Perfect Christmas.
Is this a brazen attempt to cash in on our nostalgia? Or is it a genuine, warm-hearted plea to…er…cash in on our nostalgia? You may be surprised to hear where we land on this one! We’ll dig into the original Jean Shepard stories, the nostalgia of assorted casseroles, and a whole lot more!
SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- A Christmas Story Christmas is available to stream here
- KRANKOMETER: (3, 2)
SEE ALSO OUR EPISODES ON:
- Episode 92: A Christmas Story
- Episode 32: A Christmas Story 2
- Episode 125: 8-Bit Christmas
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
Join our Discord today!
The holidays are officially here, and along with them comes Freeform’s “25 Days of Christmas” programming block! Last year we tallied up every movie ever shown during the month of December since 2018, and the frequency of each. Now it’s … Continue reading →
Home for the Horrordays enters extra innings this week as we finally tackle a little film called SANTA JAWS! You see, it’s Jaws, but the shark wears a fun little Santa hat. Not surprisingly, this comes from the Syfy Channel … Continue reading →
Home for the Horrordays continues with one of the more bizarre films we’ve ever covered: Blood Beat! A family hunting trip in the Wisconsin wilderness is interrupted by the vengeful spirit of a dead samurai, and it’s up to the … Continue reading →
Grab your pumpkins and pour your ciders, kids, because the most wonderful time of the year is finally upon us: HOME FOR THE HORRORDAYS! Home For The Horrordays is our annual tradition of watching Christmas-themed horror flicks. There are more … Continue reading →
Greetings spooky pals! Home For The Horrordays is just around the corner, which means it’s also time for all things creepy, kooky and altogether spooky. (Or however that goes…) That includes the return of Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween! Last … Continue reading →
For years, internet sleuths have tried to identify a cartoon based on nothing but an old family Christmas photo. In an amazing turn of events, not only was the cartoon identified, but it turned out to be an obscure Christmas … Continue reading →
There’s a reason we don’t often go to the made-for-TV well, and it’s because we fear falling into that abyss never to be seen again. But sometimes a project intrigues you so much that you can’t help but gaze into … Continue reading →
This edition of Stocking Stuffers is unique, in that the episode of TV we’re covering is only about 7 minutes long. “All Through The House” is the lone Christmas episode of Netflix’s animated anthology series Love Death & Robots. It’s … Continue reading →
Happy Christmas in July! On this episode, we’re still knee deep in summer action season as we take a look at the Wesley Snipes/Woody Harrelson buddy cop flick Money Train! They’re two cops who also happen to be brothers, or … Continue reading →
We’re back with more holiday action hijinks! This week, in honor of the recently departed Ray Liotta, we take a look at his 1997 airplane thriller Turbulence! It’s Christmas Eve and the feds need to escort a number of criminals, … Continue reading →
This Memorial Day, we’re kicking off our Summer Holiday Movie Season! All summer long we’ll be highlighting ridiculous summer action movies with a holiday bent! On this episode we’re taking the modern surveillance state to task with Tony Scott’s 1998 … Continue reading →
Our pals Niall Flanagan and Dwayne Moloney, co-hosts of the Secret of the Sailor Madness podcast, join us this week to try and make sense of Rankin/Bass’ 1967 Christmas special The Cricket on the Hearth! Based on Charles Dickens’ other … Continue reading →
When we discussed A Karate Christmas Miracle last year, we swore that we wouldn’t touch its follow-up unless we had no other choice. Ladies and gentlemen, that day came far sooner than we expected… A Wrestling Christmas Miracle has the … Continue reading →
Please enjoy this week’s Stocking Stuffer to tide you over until our next full episode. This week we’re taking a look at The Norm Show, Norm Macdonald’s foray into the world of late-90s sitcoms. In this episode, “Norm vs Christmas”, … Continue reading →
This week we return to world of Jim Henson with the 1992 holiday classic The Muppet Christmas Carol! You know how this story goes: Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old turd who only loves his money. Three spirits show him … Continue reading →
Happy New Year to one and all, and welcome to Season 8 of Christmas Creeps! We kick off the new year with the little-seen 1987 animated Christmas special Christmas Every Day. Based on an 1892 short story by William Dean … Continue reading →
You guys give up? Or are ya thirsty for more!? Last week we pit the original Home Alone against its 2021 remake. Of course the remake didn’t hold a candle to the original, but there is still a bit of … Continue reading →
Merry Christmas to one and all! We don’t usually pit two films against one another, but since it is Christmas we thought we’d give you fine listeners a little holiday treat. Home Alone is one of our generation’s unassailable holiday … Continue reading →
Christmastime is here once again, and with it come a whole gaggle of new holiday offerings from all your favorite streaming services! This week we’re discussing the nostalgia-fueled Nintendo frenzy of the film 8-Bit Christmas. Inspired in part by A … Continue reading →
Now that it’s December, we can finally crank up the holiday movie machine! And just like we did a few weeks ago, it’s time to break down this year’s schedule for Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas. Once again, we’ve crunched … Continue reading →
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Or rather, Happy T-Hanksgiving! This week we dig deep into the Tom Hanks-filled 2004 animated feature The Polar Express, which somehow manages to turn Chris Van Allsburg’s 32-page book into a feature-length adventure full of magical train-hopping … Continue reading →
Welcome to Holiday Season 2021! It’s been a long year, but we’re determined to send this one out with a bang!
On this week’s episode, we attempt to explain the weirdo madness of Rankin/Bass’s 1985 special The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus! Based on a story written by “Wizard of Oz” author L. Frank Baum, this special features a council of immortal wood nymphs, an army of invisible trolls, and an elf that may or may not have inspired a character in The Legend of Zelda. Oh, and somewhere in all that there’s the origin story of Santa Claus.
Also in this week’s show, we take some time to sample a few holiday libations, break down what it means to be a Christmas movie, and share our pitches for The Christmas Chronicles 3!
Click above to listen now! SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus is available on DVD
- See Also: The last time we pondered whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie
- Youtuber Worthikids replicating that Rankin/Bass look and feel
- Masters of the Maze
- KRANKOMETER: (2, 0)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
We conclude this year’s Home For The Horrordays with James Wan’s The Conjuring 2! Set against the chilly, austere backdrop of Christmas, Conjuring 2 is based on the Enfield Poltergeist, a true haunting case from the late 1970s, in which a ghost supposedly haunted a single mother and her four children living in the north of London.
And joining us this week is our old pal Dr. Nick! Last heard on our Black Christmas episode, Nick returns to help us break down all the spooks, scares and general quackery going on here.
Also, we briefly touch on some disgusting holiday candy, Johnny-5 slams a Four Loko and, well… You can guess where things go from there…
Click above to listen now! SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- The Conjuring 2 is available to stream here
- Brach’s Turkey Dinner Candy Corn
- Wikipedia on the Enfield Poltergeist
- Video Game Chat: Check out Disco Elysium
- KRANKOMETER: (2, -2)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
The days are getting shorter… A chill is in the air… The smell of candy corn lingers… That can only mean one thing: It’s time for HOME FOR THE HORRORDAYS!
For this year’s spookytimes, we’re spotlighting a pair of holiday horror sequels. First up, our pal Stuart joins us to bear witness to the wanton police brutality of Maniac Cop 2! They thought they killed the zombie cop the first time around, but now he’s back and he’s making some new friends…
Obviously, the idea of a maniac cop certainly hits differently now than it did in 1990. But that doesn’t mean the film isn’t without its pleasures. For one thing, there are some truly spectacular car chases and shootouts. Action hounds will be right at home here…
Click above to listen now! SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE:
- Maniac Cop 2 is available to stream here
- Come join our Discord channel!
- Banner background courtesy of DepositPhotos
- KRANKOMETER: (1, 2)
Questions? Complaints? Requests? Hit us up at XmasCreeps@gmail.com!
For the past few years, cable channel Freeform has embarked on an October programming block called “31 Nights of Halloween”. Every night in October, Freeform delivers family friendly thrills and chills, mostly from the good folks at Disney, who have owned the channel since 2016.
The block began in 1998 when the channel was known as Fox Family, later ABC Family. In 2011, a single showing of Disney’s Hocus Pocus pulled in such high ratings (for a 20-year-old movie airing on cable), that the next year the channel programmed it nearly a dozen times. In the years since, the sustained popularity of Hocus Pocus emboldened the network to build an entire month of programming around that one film. Starting with a paltry 13 Nights of Halloween, the channel expanded to 31 Nights in 2018.
And that’s where we come in! Every year Freeform releases their October schedule, and every year I enjoy looking at the list and seeing what’s changed. How many more times did Addams Family get shown last year than this year, for example. Tastes come and go, corporate mandates shift to and fro, but one thing has always remained constant: Freeform is more than happy to make you watch Hocus Pocus until your eyes bleed.
This year, I decided to draw up a chart to show this change in action. Looking back at the last four years of Freeform’s Halloween schedule, which are the last four that have been a full 31 days, I counted up every time a given film or special appears on the schedule. I tried to include as much as I could. A few non-Halloween films didn’t make the cut (mostly Disney animated films, which Freeform shows all the time anyway), but I’d consider this fairly comprehensive.
Here’s this year’s schedule for reference. And here’s the full chart:
Click for full-size! RANDOM OBSERVATIONS
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Only six films have appeared all four years: The Addams Family, Hocus Pocus, Monsters Inc., Nightmare Before Christmas, Toy Story of TERROR!, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
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Hocus Pocus is most often saved for primetime, this year only airing twice in the afternoon out of fourteen airings.
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Calling this year’s airing ofthe Jaws films “The Freeform Premiere of The Jaws Trilogy” sounds nice, but the reality is that Jaws 3 airs at midnight on October 7th. Jaws and Jaws 2 air back to back at midnight on October 11th. (Also there are four Jaws films, and if there’s any Jaws we should ignore, it’s Jaws 3.)
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We get four showings of Hotel Transylvania 2 & 3 this year, but the original is strangely AWOL.
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From 2019 onward, The Addams Family and Addams Family Values have only ever aired back-to-back. As God intended.
THE BURTON DIMENSION
Tim Burton is far and away the most well-represented filmmaker here, with a grand total of seven films featured across all four years (eight if you count Nightmare Before Christmas). What’s peculiar is that Nightmare Before Christmas, a film that easily straddles the line between Halloween and Christmas, has been steadily disappearing from the schedule from 2018 to 2020, in both the 31 Nights of Halloween block AND the 25 Days of Christmas block. Chalk it up to fatigue, I suppose. It was the hottest cult Halloween film for years, but as you can see, it has handily been supplanted by Hocus Pocus* as the reigning Halloween champ.
Elsewhere, though, in the entire four-year history of 31 Nights, Burton’s Edward Scissorhands has only aired twice: On October 3rd, 2019, twelve hours apart.
Beetlejuice only made an appearance in 2020, but when he did he really made an impact, landing twelve slots on the schedule that year. This is likely because Beetlejuice is owned by Warner Bros, and Disney’s not gonna shell out the dough for a WB film unless they absolutely have to. In 2020, apparently they had to.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street saw a swift decline from 2018 to 2020, going from six showings, to one, to none at all. (Dark Shadows suffered a similar fate.) That could be due to Freeform shifting away from the older teen demographic and more toward kids and families. Or it may simply be because people realized Sweeney Todd isn’t all that fun.
This year sees the addition of two new Burton films to the schedule: The 2012 animated version of Frankenweenie, and his 2016 adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Only time will tell whether these find an audience the way Nightmare Before Christmas has.
DISNEY OWNS EVERYTHING NOW
When Disney bought out Fox in 2019, it was a seismic shift in the realm of which media conglomerate owns what properties. Case in point: The two live-action Scooby-Doo films, once staples of the 31 Nights programming block at twelve airings each, suddenly vanished in 2020. Just like with that Beetle guy, WB isn’t going to let Disney have the Mystery Machine unless they pay through the nose for it.
Another staple of Halloween TV is The Simpsons’ annual “Treehouse of Horror” episodes. For the last three years, Freeform has featured “Treehouse” marathons at least ten times a year. But along with The Simpsons, this year also sees Family Guy enter the fray with four blocks of Halloween episodes of its own.
And speaking of things definitely for kids, Freeform is also ‘premiering’ Alien and Aliens. Because when I think family friendly Halloween movies, I think of two hard-R alien mutilation flicks. It’ll be interesting to see how Freeform plans to edit around lines like “Assholes and elbows! I can’t wait for Die Hard to appear on this year’s 25 Days of Christmas block.
What do you think of 31 Nights of Halloween? Any trends you find curious? Let us know in the comments!
*Because if I don’t acknowledge it was directed by Henry Selick, I’ll get a dozen comments trying to correct me. I know. You know. We all know.