Today, we take a break from politics and talk scary movies with film critic Matthew Socey. It’s 28 minutes of your life you won’t ask for back.
Halloween is here, which means it’s time for hobgoblins, horror movies, and the occasional cinematic “What on earth did I just watch?” Matthew Socey joined me for a spirited trip through the scary, strange, and gloriously questionable corners of movie history.
My own cinematic shock came courtesy of Drum, the 1976 film I stumbled across on Syfy. Matthew identified it as the sequel to Mandingo—a plantation melodrama starring, among others, Warren Oates and Pam Grier. It led us into a bigger conversation about blaxploitation films, Fred “The Hammer” Williamson, and the complicated legacy of movies that created work for Black actors while often serving up some truly wild material. My dad loved those films, and his reasoning still makes sense: sometimes supporting the work mattered, even when the movie itself left you blinking at the screen.
For a palate cleanser, Matthew brought up Roman Polanski’s Macbeth. I’d seen it on a high school field trip in 1985, and I still remembered the violence—and those trees moving toward the castle. Shakespeare’s story is grim enough; seeing it on screen made quite an impression on a teenager.
We also made time for Sugar Hill, a 1970s mash-up of blaxploitation, zombies, and mob revenge; J.D.’s Revenge, featuring a strong performance from Glenn Turman; and a few other horror oddities that have earned their place in the genre’s history. Some movies are recommendations. Others are more like assignments for anyone curious about how strange the ’70s could get.
On the modern end, we discussed the Scream franchise and whether winking at horror conventions still counts as being “meta” after seven films. Matthew also praised the theatrical re-release of Ken Russell’s The Devils, a film whose provocative mix of religion, sex, and politics remains a conversation starter.
And, naturally, we offered some Halloween viewing suggestions. Matthew made the case for John Carpenter’s The Thing—a movie that found a much bigger audience after its disappointing theatrical run—and for the classic Universal monsters. We talked about the 1931 Dracula, which can feel more like a filmed stage play, and the Spanish-language version shot at the same time. I also put in a word for Ed Wood, Tim Burton’s affectionate tribute to the creative spirit, no matter how questionable the results.
There’s plenty more: Stephen King adaptations, The Devils, Picket Fences, Star Trek convention stories, and a few movie titles that may make you reach for the remote—or press play out of morbid curiosity.
So grab some chocolate, pick a horror movie, and enjoy Halloween. Just maybe skip the pillowcase-only costume. Matthew has thoughts about that.
