The podcast where film-fans Allen Turing and Sol Harris take a weekly journey to Development Hell to discuss a film, then pitch their ideas for the sequel.
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Diminishing Returns is back with a Patreon-voted horror selection. It's The Exorcist just in time for Halloween.
Films covered in this episode:
The Exorcist
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 74%
Guests: Calvin Dyson and Gareth Allen
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It's an (extremely visual) live Halloween spectacular! This episode was broadcast exclusively to Patreon subscribers on the 6th of October and now you're getting a (severely truncated) audio edit. The video version will be posted to our YouTube channel closer to Halloween, so keep your eyes peeled.
Or enjoy a rare opportunity to watch the show instead:
Guest: Calvin Dyson
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The final, most Halloweeny part of this year's three-part Halloween special takes a look at our two remaining George A. Romero zombie movies: 1985's Day of the Dead and 2005's Land of the Dead. We also touch on Taurus Entertainment's continued attempts to draw blood from a stone.
Films covered in this episode:
Day of the Dead (1985)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%
Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005)
Allen: n/s
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ½
Overall score: 10%
Day of the Dead (2008)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ½
Overall score: 30%
Day of the Dead: Bloodline (2017)
Allen: n/s
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 30%
Land of the Dead
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 57%
Guest: Calvin Dyson
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This year's three-part Diminishing Returns Halloween special continues with the next two movies in George A. Romero's "Of the Dead" zombie franchise: Survival of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead. We take a look at Zack Snyder's 2004 remake, too.
Films covered in this episode:
Survival of the Dead
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 40%
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%
Guest: ?
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Diminishing Returns are going big for Halloween, this year, with a three-part "Podcast of Horror" special! We've been wanting to cover George A. Romero's "Of the Dead" zombie franchise for years, now, but we've finally found a solid place to fit them all in in a way that can do them justice. Looking at the films in the order of their internal chronology, we're starting, this week, with Night of the Living Dead, its hundreds of remakes and Diary of the Dead.
Films covered in this episode:
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 94%
Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/a
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 65%
Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)
Allen: n/a
Calvin: n/a
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%
Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation (2012)
Allen: n/a
Calvin: n/a
Sol: ✰
Overall score: 20%
Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection (2012)
Allen: n/a
Calvin: n/a
Sol: ½
Overall score: 10%
Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn (2015)
Allen: n/a
Calvin: n/a
Sol: ½
Overall score: 10%
Diary of the Dead (2007)
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%
Guest: Calvin Dyson
Films covered in this episode:
The Thing from Another World
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%
The Thing (1982)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 87%
The Thing (2011)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%
It's our fourth annual Halloween special! What does that mean? It basically just means that we cover a horror movie that doesn't have to tie into an upcoming sequel release. We threw this one open to our Patreon subscribers and they selected John Carpenter's 1982 classic The Thing. In true Diminishing Returns fashion, we take pitstops at 1951's The Thing from Another World and the 2011 prequel of the same name, too. It's Dimini-Thing Returns!
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Guest: Calvin Dyson
Films covered in this episode:
Re-Animator
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 84%
Bride of Re-Animator
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 57%
Beyond Re-Animator
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 57%
In the culmination of this run of horror-film-focused episodes, Diminishing Returns brings you one covering classic Lovecraftian zombedy Re-Animator and its two sequels. Oh, and there's Calvin and a music quiz.
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Guest: Ed Sanchez
Films covered in this episode:
The Blair Witch Project
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 87%
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
Allen: ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 34%
Blair Witch
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 74%
It's the 2nd Diminishing Returns Halloween special!
We've done this two years running, so it's now officially an annual tradition. Celebrate with us by listening as we discuss and review The Blair Witch Project, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 and 2016's Blair Witch (the third one with a similar name to the first one).
Not only do we do the usual thing of pitching our own ideas for what the next sequel should be, but we also listen to some audio clips from the DVD commentaries and we take the time to chat to Ed Sanchez (who directed the first film with Daniel Myrick). Ed offers some fantastic insight into how the film was made, what he's been up to since and drops some hints about the possible future of the franchise.
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Diminishing Returns Halloween specials:
2016 - "Halloween"
2017 - "The Blair Witch Project"
Released 31/10/2016
This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!
What better film to discuss in the first Halloween episode of Diminishing Returns than John Carpenter's iconic, 1978 slasher movie of the same name?
Listeners beware; you're in for a scare!
(Special thanks to xDimebagx for creating the ambient soundscape used in the opening sequence).
Films covered in this episode:
(NOTE: Many of these ratings were subsequently revised in Halloween II)
Halloween (1978)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%
Halloween II (1981)
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 55%
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰
Overall score: 40%
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 60%
Halloween 5
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 40%
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 30%
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 80%
Halloween: Resurrection
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 50%
Halloween (2007)
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰
Overall score: 35%
Halloween II (2009)
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%
Episodes in the Halloween series:
”Halloween”
”Halloween II”
Diminishing Returns Halloween Specials:
”Halloween”
”Podcast of Horror II: The Blair Witch Project”