Content Note: This episode contains discussion of horror films both classic and modern, and may include mild spoilers.

Ever since the BBC’s Ghostwatch (1992) terrified me as a child, I’ve been chasing that same raw, disorienting fear — the kind that makes your skin crawl and your imagination spiral. In this episode, I explore my lifelong quest to be scared again, and what that journey has revealed about the way horror works — and sometimes fails.

From the flickering shadows of early silent cinema to the paranoia of Rosemary’s Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968) and the grief-fuelled terror of The Babadook (Jennifer Kent, 2014), I look at how horror uses light, sound, and silence to build unease. Along the way, we revisit the spiritual and societal fears of The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973) and The Omen (Richard Donner, 1976), the sunlit menace of The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973) and Midsommar (Ari Aster, 2019), and the isolation of The VVitch (Robert Eggers, 2015).

I also reflect on modern reinventions — from It Follows (David Robert Mitchell, 2014) and Talk to Me (Danny & Michael Philippou, 2022) to The Black Phone (Scott Derrickson, 2021), Don’t Breathe (Fede Álvarez, 2016), and Weapons (Zach Cregger, 2025). Alongside them, I consider the more conventional studio horrors like The Conjuring (James Wan, 2013), Insidious (2010), The Village (M. Night Shyamalan, 2004), and Smile (2022) — films that divide audiences and highlight how tricky it is to balance tension, art, and authenticity.

This isn’t a simple list of favourites or failures. It’s a conversation about what truly unsettles us — how horror reflects our anxieties, our grief, our need for control, and why, even after decades of searching, I still haven’t quite found that perfect scare. But maybe that’s what keeps horror — and me — alive.

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This special mini-episode sees me step outside the usual schedule to tackle The Naked Gun (2025), a reboot nobody asked for… and yet somehow everyone’s raving about. After being thoroughly underwhelmed by the trailer, I’d already prepared my sarcastic one-liners and resigned myself to disappointment — but as the hype machine cranked up and glowing reviews started rolling in, I began to worry I might be about to eat my own words.

Join me as I break down whether the new Naked Gun lands any real punches (or pies), if it truly captures the spirit of the Zucker-Abrams original, and whether it deserves all the buzz — or if this reboot belongs in a museum next to O.J.’s gloves and Ricardo Montalbán’s neck brace.

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🔥 Film Threads Podcast – Episode 1: Firefighters on Film 🔥

Welcome to the very first episode of Film Threads — a brand new podcast spun off from WN Movie Talk, where we pick a topic and then take a look at the films through that lens. This debut episode is all about Firefighters on film — the stories that celebrate heroism, tension, and the heat both literal and emotional. Its a brand new format, kind of a magazine show packed with plenty of content!

Here’s what’s coming up:

• We kick off with a look at the feature film that preceded long-running UK TV classic London’s Burning
• I ask you to test out the TAKE 5 Movie Quiz
• Revisit the disaster movie staple The Towering Infernocin "I Should Have Seen It By Now"
• Dive into the UK Box Office Top Ten from a fiery week in film history linked to this episode
• Explore the emotional impact of firefighting with 2 documentaries from moments in history
• Look at firefighter characters in films not really about firefighting
• And wrap up with the 3 Film Face-Off where we review 3 movies - Only The Brave vs Ladder 49 vs Backdraft – which one takes the crown?

I would love to hear your feedback on this new format - any suggestions you may have for firefighting films that I may have overlooked as well as suggestions for topics we could focus on in future episodes of Film Threads - so get in touch now at wnmovietalk@gmail.com

Subscribe, rate, and join us for a brand new journey into the stories that connect our favourite films — this is Film Threads.

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