Horror Queers co-host and Toronto native Joe Lipsett joins Conrad for the first in a series of reviews of sci-fi, fantasy and horror films featured in this year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). First up: Obsession, a darkly comedic relationship horror written, directed and edited by Curry Barker. It stars Michael Johnston as a hapless music store employee who makes a ill-fated wish that his secret crush, Nikki (Inde Navarette), would fall hopelessly in love with him. Be careful what you wish for...

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Joe Lipsett joings us to celebrate the imminent release of Tron: Ares by taking a look back at the original Tron (1982), a sci-fi action adventure arguably remembered best for its groundbreaking visuals and concepts rather than its storytelling and characters. Starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan and David Warner, the film takes us inside an alternate reality within the rapidly emerging and little understood digital domain – which seems quaint in retrospect – to tell a tale of a society under threat of subjugation by an all-powerful and unchecked AI – which seems anything but quaint in our current context! But should this one be remastered in neon HDR 4K (hint: it already has been) and worshipped, or should it be de-rezzed and deleted? Find out!

Check out our guest Joe Lipsett on Instagram, Horror Queers and The Queer Gaze.

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Isaac Sutton takes on guest hosting duties with Dan to explore Charlie McDowell's The One I Love (2014) – an offbeat romantic mystery starring Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss, with the director's step-dad, Ted Danson, in a small but pivotal role. Shot largely at a single location over 15 days, it follows a troubled married couple who retreat to a secluded estate for therapy — only to discover a bizarre phenomenon that presents them with eerily perfect duplicates of themselves. As the surreal premise deepens, the boundaries between love, identity, and self-delusion begin to unravel. Should it be hailed as a clever indie gem about self-acceptance, or quietly left to vanish like a partner who didn’t make it out of the Twilight Zone?

Check out Isaac's YouTube channel for more of his movie hot takes and rankings!

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John D. Hancock’s Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971) is a moody, low-budget psychological horror shot in Connecticut, emerging at the uneasy dawn of the 1970s when American genre cinema was shifting toward ambiguity and dread rather than monsters and gore. Starring Zohra Lampert as the fragile Jessica, supported by Barton Heyman and Mariclare Costello, the film follows a small group retreating to a rural farmhouse where whispers of the past mingle with Jessica’s precarious mental state. Should this eerie curio languish in obscurity like a ghost no one believes in, or should it be acknowledged as a living, breathing classic of psychological horror?

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Dan returns to explore The Hidden (1987), a sci-fi horror directed with slick B-movie flair by Nightmare on Elm Street 2 veteran Jack Sholder! An alien parasite with a love of fast cars and automatic weapons is jumping from body to body in the neon-lit streets of L.A., pursued by Kyle MacLachlan's eerily blank FBI agent. Flashdance love interest Michael Nouri plays the increasingly confused detective trying to make sense of exploding boomboxes, possessed bank robbers, and his new partner's alarming method of taking alka seltzer. With a synth-heavy score, gory mayhem, and Reagan-era cynicism oozing through every scene, should The Hidden be unhidden to the world? Or was it hidden for a reason? Find out!

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Serge Bodnarchuk of Cold Crash Pictures joins Conrad to take on guest co-hosting duties while Dan goes on vacation – ironically, when we pull an Australian 80s sci-fi movie out of the Patreons' Choice nominations! It's another day, another ridiculous sci-fi bra for Carrie Fisher. The Time Guardian (1987) is an Ozploitation oddity directed by Mad Max (aka The Road Warrior) co-writer Brian Hannant, featuring a giant time-travelling dome, 'hoards' of menacing cyborgs, and a modern-day geologist trying to help a soldier from the future protect humanity's last hope. It's been largely overlooked and often difficult to find since its release. Even witty memoirist Carrie Fisher failed to mention it in her self-deprecating autobiographies. Should it be preserved for the ages in a time dome, or should it be blissfully forgotten? Find out!

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In this clip from our Patreon exclusive episode this month, we review the direct-to-video (DTV) sequel to The Secret of NIMH – often referred to as the worst sequel to an animated film and "every NIMH fan's worst nightmare" – and explore the DTV trend of the 90s.

If you like what you hear, head on over to Patreon where you can get access to bonus content, vote on future films and join our amazing community!

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Zoe Wells and Mikey Neumann of FilmJoy join us to revisit Tim Story's superhero sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). Released 2 years after Fox's surprising box office success with the original, the film marks a transitional moment in superhero cinema. Neither beloved or entirely dismissed, it's a sequel that manages to improve on its predecessor with world-ending stakes while still feeling oddly weightless and safe. Arriving just before the Marvel juggernaut truly found its stride with the release of Iron Man the following year, it flirted with cosmic grandeur (reimagining Galactus as an ominous V'ger style space cloud) while keeping one foot firmly planted in the PG, family-friendly camp with its will-they-won't-they wedding B-plot. As a second attempt at a reboot tops the box office, is it worth revisiting this one and enjoying its strengths? Or is it rightly consigned to oblivion? Find out!

Check out Movies With Mikey and Deep Dive to hear more of Mikey and Zoe's insights, and look out for Borderlands 4 while being nice to Sam Winkler!

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