Tripping through the witching hour, stumbling out of the pre-dawn aura, Jim and Jason wandered into the yard at Split Tooth headquarters. Chocolate smeared across their faces, staring into the middle distance, they started talking. And they wouldn't stop. They said something about aging and death, desire and pain. And Cronenberg. They chewed through our landline and they sealed our cell phones inside rotting pumpkins. Please, call animal control. Tell them it's Cinesthesia. They'll know what to do.

Join a filmmaker (and sometimes film teacher) and a film teacher (and sometimes filmmaker) as they venture into the dark heart of their own befuddled relationship to culture, the youth, the internet, friendship, love, hate, time, space and, of course: *m*o*v*i*e*s*. Come hear what we see.

CINESTHESIA

THE CINESTHESIA 2023 HALLOWEEN HANGOVER

Yowza! Put the kids to bed before you check out the latest (pod)Casters of Horror. Dario Argento keeps it spooky and sexy in his underrated installment

Steven Weber (Dracula: Dead and Loving It) gets in way over his head during Dario Argento’s Jenifer. After saving a young girl's life, he finds she has a unique appetite that puts everyone around her in danger. 

With queasy sexuality and relentless momentum, the giallo master proves that his mid-aughts are just as interesting as any period in his career. All that’s missing is an appearance from Asia Argento!

Listen to the conversation before you check out the episode for yourself.

Created by Mick Garris, Masters of Horror was a two-season series on Showtime that challenged genre legends to create an hour-long horror film. Follow along as Bennett and Jim are forced to spend no more than 20 minutes discussing each episode from the first season of the series or face a room full of poisonous gas.

(pod)Casters of Horror

(pod)Casters of Horror: 'Jenifer' (Dario Argento) Ep. 4

One of the most acclaimed Masters of Horror installments, Joe Dante’s political satire takes Jim and Bennett back to the 2004 election

Jim and Bennett are reporting for duty on the latest (pod)Casters of Horror to discuss Joe Dante’s acclaimed entry in Masters of Horror’s first season. 

Slain servicemen rise from the grave in Homecoming to cast their ballots against an unnamed (and poorly imitated) George W. Bush. Your hosts discuss Small Soldiers, their memories of Bush-era America, and much more.

Created by Mick Garris, Masters of Horror was a two-season series on Showtime that challenged genre legends to create an hour-long horror film. Follow along as Bennett and Jim are forced to spend no more than 20 minutes discussing each episode from the first season of the series or face a room full of poisonous gas.

(pod)Casters of Horror: 'Homecoming' (Joe Dante) Ep. 6

The podcast enters a stretch of top-notch episodes with William Malone’s visually distinct and genuinely creepy installment.

Throughout the season, the boys have made plenty of jokes at the expense of directors like William Malone. “Really, he’s a master of horror?” Like feardotcom and House on Haunted Hill, The Fair Haired Child proves that William Malone definitely deserves that distinction. 

With strange flashbacks and an occult mystery plot, the episode has some of the most arresting images and performances of the whole series. Despite some Nu Metal styling and a sometimes exposition-heavy script, this is one episode that could hopefully encourage viewers to give its director’s output a second look.

Created by Mick Garris, Masters of Horror was a two-season series on Showtime that challenged genre legends to create an hour-long horror film. Follow along as Bennett and Jim are forced to spend no more than 20 minutes discussing each episode from the first season of the series or face a room full of poisonous gas.

(pod)Casters of Horror: 'The Fair Haired Child' (William Malone) Ep. 9

Frank Henenlotter is no stranger to capturing misfits, oddballs, and mutated figures on film, but he always manages to find the humanity in each of them. His unique avant-gutter exploitation cinema has resulted in memorable characters and brutal moments, but he embraces the deadly and unpredictable sides that his creations offer.

Duane and Belial, the once-conjoined twins who shocked Times Square in Basket Case (1982), are back in Basket Case 2 (1990). They find a new home in a mansion of misfits, but the press is after them and closing in. Bad Biology (2008) follows a woman with seven clitori and an insatiable — sometimes murderous — sex drive, and has mutant babies moments after the act; her path collides with a man who has an uncontrollable, brain-controlling, drug-addled penis. This is a genuine weird film for those seeking something they've never seen before — or could even imagine exists.

Our host Jim Hickcox is joined by filmmakers and film teachers Steve Collins and film Spencer Parsons.

Maybe don't listen to this episode at work...

Split Picks

Split Picks: Frank Henenlotter's 'Basket Case 2' Vs. 'Bad Biology'

Split Tooth Media is an independent publication based in Portland, Oregon, that still believes in long-form journalism and in-depth podcasts about music and film. Home of "Split Picks," a head-to-head showdown series about the career trajectories of filmmakers and musicians, created by Craig Wright; Jim Hickcox and Jason Michelitch's film criticism series "Cinesthesia;" and Rob Delany and 'T' Trimble's guide to exploring the world of art cinema with "Arthouse Drive-In."

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