Make Your Own Damn Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

"The first stage is hallucinatory. The second stage is glandular. The third stage is .... AHHHHH."

Body Melt is one of Australia's most bizarre genre films of the 1990s, perhaps ever. What do you get when you cross David Cronenberg, Troma, and the books of Edward Lee? Whatever you're picturing right now looks a lot like Body Melt.

How have we done this show about DIY filmmaking and independent horror movies without doing an episode on a George A. Romero movie? No idea. We bring in Pennsylvania writer/director Mike Lombardo to get to the bottom of it, as we discuss the lesser seen vampire film MARTN. 

Jeff watched THE BEAR and rewatched all the SAW movies. Lucas watched PSYCHED BY THE 4D WITCH and DR. STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. They're both probably done with the MCU for the time being, but they're here for a Hasbro cinematic universe, only if it involves Ouija boards and Furby.

Head to our Patreon for early access to weekly episodes: Patreon

Jeff and Lucas recap the shenanigans of Killer Con Weekend! Big shoutout to the new wave of extreme horror and splatterpunk. 

During the pandemic, Benson and Moorehead made perhaps the best movie about the pandemic without directly talking about it. Cosmic horror, relatable characters, and tragedy abound in this low-budget nightmare.

Sharks have been a staple of cinema since Jaws frightened a generation of swimmers way back in the summer of 1975, but few know just the extent of their involvement like author, poet, and marine biologist Susan Snyder. Jeff Burk and Lucas Mangum brought her on the show to discuss the depth and breadth of this subgenre and why it matters. 

Mad God is a nightmare captured on celluloid. From the mind of special FX artist Phil Tippet, the film follows an unnamed "assassin" as they descend into hell and encounter all sorts of hideous monstrosities. A passion project in every sense, Mad God is the ideal entry point for genre fans curious about true arthouse cinema.

Troma movies are objectively not for children, but that didn't stop a children's cartoon based on The Toxic Avenger from airing in the early 1990s. Essentially, a series of 30-minute toy commercials, the show was part of a wave of R-rated franchises rebranding themselves to sell toys to kids. The result is... not great. We dove into the movie version, which is a handful of episodes mashed together to form one narrative. Interestingly, television royalty Chuck Lorre wrote the pilot!

In 2010, first-time director Srđan Spasojević unleashed his debut feature onto the world. A Serbian Film has been accused of going too far and has even inspired some to call for the filmmaker's arrest, but just how extreme is it? And more importantly, is it any good? Jeff and Lucas give you the lowdown on this notorious slice of extreme DIY cinema.

Acclaimed author Judith Sonnet joins us to discuss movies that feel like Richard Laymon novels.