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PODCAST

Movie Madness

Movie Madness is a weekly podcast hosted by Chicago film critic Erik Childress presenting movie reviews, interviews, film festival coverage, DVDs, awards, box office and much more! erikthemovieman.substack.com

tv & film visual arts

All Episodes

89:18

Episode 607: I’ve Glimpsed Our Future…Go Back

Movie Madness ·

2025/10/31

It’s Halloween weekend and there isn’t a lot of horror but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy still have eight films to talk about. They include a documentary about an archbishop who wrote the gay disco anthem of the ‘70s (I Was Born This Way) and another true story about drugs, family and revenge in the Ozarks (Violent Ends). There are some holiday-themed titles including a daughter realizing her mom may have fallen into a cult (Self-Help) and an animated Frankenstein-esque tale for kids (Stitch

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105:28

Episode 606: Have You Read Sutter Cane?

Movie Madness ·

2025/10/27

It’s another week of horror, weirdness and cult titles on physical media but also another addition from our annual “Why Is This Not On Blu-ray?” shows. Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski guide you through this week on physical media including the works of Dan Curtis, Richard Stanley and Guillermo Del Toro. Abel Ferrara’s infamous revenge picture gets the upgrade as does one of the great Godzilla films. John Carpenter’s best film of the ‘90s gets its due praise while there is a deep dive into one of

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122:57

Episode 605: Seeking A Song For The End Of The World

Movie Madness ·

2025/10/24

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy have another 11 reviews for you this week. It starts all the way back at last year’s Toronto Film Festival with Crispin Glover finding no way out of a mysterious hotel (Mr. K). Justin Lin adapts the true story of a young missionary and a lost tribe (Last Days). A ‘90s thriller gets updated (The Hand That Rocks The Cradle), an imaginary demon terrorizes people (Shelby Oaks) and zombies go after drag queens (Queens of the Dead). Kelly Reichardt tells the story of the

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106:15

Episode 604: Please William, Don’t Hurt ‘Em

Movie Madness ·

2025/10/20

This week in physical media with Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski there is a whole lot of murder. Viggo Mortensen kills a bunch, Mia Goth gets in on the action, Yancy Butler does some drownings, Klaus Kinski does some biting, Brian Benben tries to solve some and Michael Biehn attempts to defend them. It’s also still the month of horror and even though a double bill of Cronenberg doesn’t exactly fit entirely, there is still plenty to be found for your October fill.3:40 - Criterion (Altered States

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104:04

Episode 603: Stop Grabbing People!

Movie Madness ·

2025/10/17

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy have seven reviews for you this week. They include a pair of the best films from Sundance this year – the harrowing documentary of the worst woman next door (The Perfect Neighbor) and the equally harrowing tale of motherhood anxiety with the great Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You). One of the greatest to ever do it gets a five-part documentary on Apple TV (Mr. Scorsese). Guillermo Del Toro finally makes the film his entire career has been building towards

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115:24

Episode 602: I’m Afraid You’re Just Too Scary. Not...

Movie Madness ·

2025/10/13

It’s another packed week in October for physical media, especially on the horror side. But Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski also serve up some Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon and Larry David for you. But yes, horror, of course. This week you have Hammer horror from Frankenstein to anthologies, Adrian Lyne’s hell on Earth with Tim Robbins and Georges Franju’s classic tale of facial reconstruction. Also if you must there is a double feature presented by Joe Bob Briggs as well as films by Rob Zombie

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106:21

Episode 601: End Of Line. For So Much.

Movie Madness ·

2025/10/10

Another October week and another ten movie reviews for you from Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy. They look a new rom-com with the star of the recent Strangers films (Maintenance Required) and a new Dakota Fanning horror film from the director of the original Strangers (Vicious). They go back a couple Sundances for a father/daughter story amidst the AIDS crisis (Fairyland), the same era that gave us the inspiration for a new ‘80s remake (Deathstalker). On the documentary front after Raoul Peck

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101:47

Episode 600: Welcome To Silverado. Not You, Bob.

Movie Madness ·

2025/10/06

This week in physical media with Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski features films for its rabid fanbases as well as a string of live-action big screen failures and Schwarzenegger battling for the devil. Jennifer Lopez tries to get an Oscar and the world is introduced to Mario Bava. Westerns got a bit of a revival 40 years ago and this week features an upgrade to the best of them as well as Sam Raimi’s attempt ten years later to try to have his own fun with the genre. There is an incredible Peanuts

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119:35

Episode 599: Bizarro Speed And The Not-So-Raging-Bull

Movie Madness ·

2025/10/03

It is a packed week of reviews on the show with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy, an even dozen in fact. They include one of the best documentaries of the year (Predators) and a film as bad as The Substance is good (Shell). Steve looks at Daniel Day-Lewis’ return to the big screen (Anemone) while Erik looks at a charming family film about competitive pumpkin gardening (Grow). It’s also October so that must mean horror. So there’s another terror-filled tale about double-booking (Bone Lake) as well as

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134:56

Episode 598: The Good, The Bad, And The Box Sets

Movie Madness ·

2025/09/29

Collections are the thing in this week’s look at physical media with Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski. Criterion has nearly the entire oeuvre of Wes Anderson. Vinegar Syndrome has a pair of Larry Fessenden works while Universal has packaged up a bunch of Draculas in 4K. Kino has a bunch of Dan Curtis and the Airport films while Warner Bros. has Freddy Krueger in a new 4K set. There is also the shorts of Creepshow, the beginning of American Pie and Yorgo Lanthimos plus one of the great action

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102:01

Episode 597: Big, Bold Love, Lies & Death

Movie Madness ·

2025/09/26

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy play a little catch-up this week but also replay their early review of Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, opening this week in case any of you missed it. Before that though they talk about a tribute to an iconic cult film celebrating its 50th anniversary (Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror). Gabriel Byrne reexamines his troubled life (Death of a Ladies Man) while Renny Harlin delivers the sequel to his horror reboot (The Strangers: Chapter Two)

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90:00

Episode 596: Zombies, Nazis & Disney

Movie Madness ·

2025/09/22

This week in physical media definitely has a type and Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski are here to let you know what to buy (or choose not to buy) this week. They include a trio of titles from Criterion including a recent Oscar winner. There is everything from Tsui Hark to Dolly Parton plus a dive into the creation of a sequel to one of the best and most successful comedies ever. Variations of zombies are created by Tom Savini, Danny Boyle and Tim Burton. Plus it is a helluva week for a

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100:47

Episode 595: Viva la Revolución

Movie Madness ·

2025/09/19

No one is being silenced on this podcast and we are keeping free speech going by reviewing 11 films this week. Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy go back to last year’s Fantastic Fest to revisit Alexandre O. Phillippe’s latest essay on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Chain Reactions). Mike Figgis goes behind the scenes of Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project (Megadoc) and there’s another documentary on a filmmaker who would probably be making ones for the Trump Administration today (Riefenstahl). In

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119:32

Episode 594: Smell The Glaive

Movie Madness ·

2025/09/15

This week in physical media certainly plays to the cult audiences that embraced them. That may not include an inspirational Ron Howard sports movie or the unnecessary remakes on the pile but Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski talk you through an early Lizzie Borden film and one of the craziest near-lost crime films of the ‘70s. There is fun stuff too from the film that launched the film careers of Bill Murray and Ivan Reitman to one of the greatest comedies and mockumentaries of all-time. Even

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75:30

Episode 593: A Fine Line Between Stupid & Clever

Movie Madness ·

2025/09/12

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy are back on the review beat with seven new films this week. Steve looks at a documentary about model and photographer Bunny Yeager (Naked Ambition) as well as the conclusion of everyone’s beloved big house (Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale). Corey Hawkins deals with a mysterious offer from Willem Dafoe (The Man In My Basement) and Dev Patel gets put through the folk horror wringer (Rabbit Trap). The film which opened this year’s Chicago Critics Film Festival is one of

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124:34

Episode 592: Highs, Lows and Dicks (Private & Public)

Movie Madness ·

2025/09/01

Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski look ahead in the world of physical media and reveal what you can add to your library this week and next. For those who have seen Spike Lee’s remake, Highest 2 Lowest, Crtierion offers up the Kurosawa original in OK. You may have been issued it when you first bought your DVD player but now you can get the TV sci-fi adaptation with a unique stake in box office history. Universal has upgraded a pair of Best Actress-winning biopics and Warner upgrades a horror

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129:22

Episode 591: We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Podcast

Movie Madness ·

2025/08/29

It is Labor Day weekend, the unofficial end of summer, and just before festival and awards season begins, Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy serve up 12 films to review and talk about. The wayback machine gets set to 2023 when they first reviewed the absolutely lovely new film with David Strathairn and Jane Levy from Sundance now in theaters (A Little Prayer). The machine goes back even further to reminisce upon Prince’s concert film (Sign O’ The Times) and the 50th anniversary Steven Spielberg’s

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103:22

Episode 590: Buy These Blu-rays Or We Will Taunt You...

Movie Madness ·

2025/08/25

Physical media is serving up a smorgasbord of films with reevaluations and those that have found their audiences over the year. They include a pair of LBGTQ films hovering around their 20th anniversaries. Horror remakes, prequels and sequel adjacent films as well a package of hard-to-find Larry Cohen projects. Martin Scorsese went to bat for a 1952 paranoia that was spoofed on MST3K while Quentin Tarantino found inspiration in the first of Shout Factory’s remastered Asian action releases. Michael

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92:38

Episode 589: Ethan, Don’t. Just…Don’t!

Movie Madness ·

2025/08/22

The summer continues to wind down but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy still have eight reviews for you this week. Steve takes a look at one of the most successful films of all-time, outside of the United States (Ne Zha 2) as well as a Sophie Turner thriller the studio apparently wanted nobody to see or even hear about (Trust) while Erik looks at the new romance from Lasse Hallstrom (The Map That Leads To You). Then its time for Samara Weaving as a getaway driver (Eenie Meanie) and Riz Ahmed

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105:02

Episode 588: 15,000 Cars, Suddenly, By Magic

Movie Madness ·

2025/08/18

This week in physical media with Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski they look at everything from Italian neo-realism to blaxploitation. There is also James Stewart and his invisible rabbit, Jane Austen and her lovelorn sisters plus a little Jess Franco. One of Leslie Nielsen’s lesser known parodies is discussed along with the Coneheads feature and one of Adam Sandler’s most beloved characters. Erik goes to bat for what he feels is an underappreciated Ron Howard film and Peter goes into the bizarro

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