Aughtsterion

Halloween Ends (2022) Part 1

It's been a topical year for the Aughts pod, with so many new releases being filed — either directly or tangentially — alongside hits from the millennium era. And this time, Sam and Jordan go to Haddonfield for Halloween Ends. We were told in the abhorrent Halloween Kills that "Evil dies tonight!" That wasn't even true, but could it be now that... love lives today? On the heels of Jason X this one turned into another two-part special because there was simply too much to say, what with the introduction of a new main character, that banger of a cold open, and the gift box Sam got of 2000s miscellany. Now let's take off our tops and show grief what we've got underneath!

Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola

Music by: Sam Wineman

Jason X (2001) — Part 2, The Movie

You've heard the case for how Britney Spears set the stage for Jason X to be born, and now your co-hosts are ready to dive into the movie itself. Part 1 was all about the rise of the remix, and now Part 2 is where we get to dig into the specifics the zaddy zombie with a machete, the Fembot icon KM-14, the final girl who deserved at last two more franchise installments, the suspiciously 2000s nature of 25th century fashions, and the combination of sincerity and gayness that lifts X up among the best the Friday saga has to offer. Margot stays on for essential commentary as a robot expert and Gen Z correspondent, making this another Baughts pod spectacular.

Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola

Music by: Sam Wineman

Jason X (2001) — Part 1, The Remix

On this week's episode of the Aughts pod, Jordan and Sam are crossing over with the Botcast. Robot cinema specialist Margot Carlson joins Team 2000s to unpack one of the decade's early misfits, a movie with an egregious Rotten Tomatoes rating that dares to ask: What if Jason... got an upgrade? Jason X is the intersection of robot cinema and party horror of the soon-to-end pre-9/11 era for the genre. But before we can go all the way to space, Sam has some crucial context setting to do, and by the end of the episode you'll either be a believer in the theory that Britney Spears is responsible for Friday the 13th's 10th installment — or you can unsubscribe! This. Is. The. Re-mix. Part 1.

Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola

Music by: Sam Wineman

Orphan: First Kill (2022)

It's been a great year for horror generally, and it has been an amazing year for aughts horror surging back into the box office. We got a fifth Scream that managed to stand up with almost 30 years of the franchise before it and keep the Ghostface death squad kicking, and now we've been given the case for dusting off old IP. It's the prequel to end all prequels. It's Julia Stiles at her absolute zenith. It is the return of Esther, one of our great 21st century horror villains. It is... Orphan: First Kill! Jordan and Sam were so beside themselves after seeing this modern masterpiece that they had to record a bonus episode and cross the bridge between 2022 and 2009. The audacity of this movie. The gall of this movie. The gumption of this movie! If you haven't seen First Kill turn back now and avoid spoiling the movie for yourself. But if you have then join your co-hosts in revelry to celebrate what genius looks like.

Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola

Music by: Sam Wineman

Piranha 3DD (2012)

Coming hot on the heels of one of the 2000's most teachable moments, 2009's Friday the 13th, comes its midnight twin, a case for sleaze, an answer to the question, "Ok, Jordan. If the trash bits in Jason '09 are bad then what trash bits are good???" And your co-hosts are here to tell you: Piranha 3DD from 2012 is the movie you seek! Alexandre Aja's Piranha 3D from two years earlier is one of the great treasure's of the aughts' long tail, harnessing the sleaze of the era into clever, exploitation fun. Double D looks like it has about 1/4 of the budget, but don't you doubt it; this movie has just as much unpolished gold (and maybe more??) once you get past the cold open with Gary Busey and the farting cow. We've got faves on faves in Piranha 3DD, with Danielle Panabaker, Chris Zylka, returning hitters like Ving Rhames and Christopher Lloyd, and a real best-use cameo courtesy of The Hoff. And excuse me, Katrina Bowden did you just become an Aughts Pod hall of famer? Maybe so! Now get your bikinis packed and prepare to get wet, because we've got a lot of pop culture excavating to do. Girls Gone Wild is collapsing as the 2000s go bankrupt, y'all. The party's over, so long live the Piranha party!

Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola

Music by: Sam Wineman

Friday The 13th (2009)

In an era filled with cautionary tales, the Aughts pod looks to celebrate what was good about that time.  But in the case of this episode, your co-hosts are making a rare break from form to focus on a movie that took all the wrong lessons from the 2000s and ended up as Jordan's nadir of the remake machine. This is the anti-Aughtsterion movie. This is... the 2009 remake of Friday The 13th – a picture that dares to misuse Julianna Guill and Willa Ford and feels like the product of a post-beer pong brainstorm sesh in the frat basement. But as we say on Aughtsterion: It's important, because another essential mission of the pod is to highlight the lessons we can learn from a period that could generously described as "problematic." F13 reminds us that many things from the millennium era are better left in the bin, but if we do not study the time that birthed this fucking bummer, we will simply be doomed to repeat it.

Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola

Music by: Sam Wineman

BONUS — Willa Ford

On the Aughtsterion podcast your co-hosts specialize in celebrating the unheralded heroes of the 2000s — the era's secret Final Girl MVP, Katie Cassidy; the best monologue you've never heard in The Quiet; one of the only substantially meaningful cinematic gender swaps of all time in The Hitcher. And in this very special episode of season 4, Sam and Jordan are here to honor the most unheralded of aughts pop princesses: THE Willa Ford. What was originally meant to be a "quick" minisode naturally expanded into a full scale bonus territory as Sam realized he couldn't possibly limit himself to just a few minutes. Time to discover her long lost album, her greatest hits, her training as a classical opera singer, and why she very well may be the keystone to understanding a most catastrophic decade. This podcast is now a Willa Ford stan account! Act accordingly! 

Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola

Music by: Sam Wineman

The Ruins (2008)

If you're going to talk about treasures of the 2000s, you simply can't stop the conversation before discussing The Ruins. The Aughts pod has easy work to do with titles like House of Wax and The Hitcher, since there's a higher level of buy in from the start. But the archivists' work is done with titles that didn't have the weight of classic reputations behind them! From director Carter Smith, The Ruins is a jewel that lays bare the country's post-9/11 "America First!" rotting core before the slogan was popularized by a super dickhead years down the line. It also moves at a dead sprint and is filled with terror and top notch gore. Great performances abound from era staples like Shawn Ashmore and Laura Ramsay, and Jena Malone and Jonathan Tucker are giving incredible turns as the worst, most recognizable straight couple you've ever met. The Ruins is good, actually, and it's about time we placed it on the mantle next to biggies like Black Xmas!

Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola

Music by: Sam Wineman

The Crush (1993)

Welcome back, Aughtsterion fans! It's been months and months since Sam and Jordan brought their boundless passion for Millennium-era genre films with new episodes, but they are making up for the delay with a big hitter for the season 4 premiere. Your co-hosts are joined by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Emerald Fennell, whose movie Promising Young Woman became an instant all-timer for Jordan and Sam. And as Jordan has proven in the past with multiple podcast ventures: if you stan hard enough, dreams can come true! Speaking of dreams materializing, Fennell has brought a true classic of her generation's formative years to the pod. It's time to talk about the oh-my-god-this-got-made Lolita thriller of 1993. It's time to talk about The Crush. It's a movie that, as Fennell says, is really a bridge too far, but it's a movie all three of your hosts for this episode love. And it's a movie that brings a hell of a lot of discussion with it. Mind the wasps, everyone, and let's have fun. 

Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola

Music by: Sam Wineman

X (2022)

In a rare moment for the Aughts pod, Sam and Jordan are of two different minds in this episode all about the new movie X. "But X...?" you're wondering. "How is this Aughtsterion material?" Well, the short answer is: Their pod their rules! But the longer one is, Ti West was part of the great indie surge of the late 2000s, making him a legacy character in the discourse about the time. And besides, it gives your co-hosts a chance to talk about the historical intersection of horror and porn — and not the softcore variety that briefly flourished in the millennium era. So, let's talk queerness in straight horror, the role of the audience in shaping the meaning of a film, and that one movie from West he really wishes you could just forget ever existed. Shouts out to Mia Goth and Brittany Snow! You ladies are fucking stars!

Produced by: Jordan Crucchiola

Music by: Sam Wineman