Scream (1996) — Does It Hold Up? | feat. John Detoy

Scream 7 is dropping, so we went back to where it all started. Kyle, Seth, and friend of the podcast John Detoy — fresh off the Nateland at sea cruise — sit down to break apart the 1996 original that didn't just survive the 90s, it rewired the entire slasher genre.

We dig into why killing Drew Barrymore in the first five minutes was one of the boldest creative swings in horror history (and how Wes Craven told her animal cruelty stories between takes to get real tears out of her). We talk about Kevin Williamson writing this script in 72 hours in Palm Springs while broke, pitching Teaching Ms. Tingle to nobody, with the Halloween soundtrack playing in the background — and somehow delivering one of the sharpest debuts in genre history. We get into why Wes Craven was the right guy to direct a movie that satirizes Wes Craven, and why him having zero ego about it is actually the whole reason it works.

We also debate whether Ghostface is the weakest major slasher villain physically (two teenagers who get lucky, basically), whether Scream is actually too smart to be called the greatest slasher ever made, and what this movie would have looked like if Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez had taken the job instead. Plus: the Counting Crows / Courtney Cox / Jennifer Aniston love triangle that nobody asked for, Roger Jackson being forbidden from meeting the cast so his voice on the phone would genuinely terrify them, and Matthew Lillard sounding like a surfer from Woodsboro for the entire runtime.

1. Then we run it through the War Zone — our four-category scorecard: Cast, Writing, Directing, and Film Composition. Three yeses and a couple of squeaks. It's a good one.

In this episode of Movie Wars, we tackle one of the most divisive comedies in modern cinema: Superbad. Fresh off recording our Apocalypse Now episode, we couldn't be shifting gears harder as we dive into Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's 2007 high school comedy that many consider the gold standard for post-80s comedies.

The debate gets heated as our hosts - Kyle, Seth, and Marianna - discover they're wildly split on this film. While Seth and Marianna guffaw through every scene (Marianna literally "scream-laughing at the TV"), Kyle doesn't crack a smile for 39 minutes and questions whether the raunch overshadows the heart. We dig deep into whether the lead performances from Jonah Hill and Michael Cera hold up, why Christopher Mintz-Plasse's McLovin is an absolute diamond in the rough, and how Bill Hader and Seth Rogen as incompetent cops might be the film's secret weapon.

We explore the film's place in comedy history, comparing it to everything from This Is the End to Fletch and Naked Gun. Is Superbad a masterpiece of authentic teenage awkwardness, or does it live too long in raunch-for-raunch's-sake territory? We dissect the period blood scene that still shocks on rewatch, debate whether the female characters (besides Emma Stone) are unbearable by design, and question if Greg Mottola's direction succeeds by simply getting out of the way and letting the comedy breathe.

Whether you're a homeschooled kid experiencing high school vicariously through film, a former head cheerleader who never went to a single party, or a bullied nerd who couldn't be paid to go back to high school - this episode breaks down Superbad from every angle. We cover film history, share our most interesting research factoids (randos), debate our questions, and settle scores in the War Zone with our category-by-category breakdown.

Takeaways:

1. Superbad remains a lightning rod for comedy fans nearly two decades later, with passionate defenders and skeptics in equal measure
2. McLovin, Bill Hader, and Seth Rogen carry significant comedic weight that elevates the film beyond its leads
3. The film's authenticity to teenage desperation resonates differently depending on your actual high school experience
4. Comedy direction is judged on whether it gets out of the way - and the outtakes you don't pick matter as much as the ones you do
5. Some viewers find the raunch eventually gives way to genuine heart; others feel cooked before it arrives
6. Christopher Mintz-Plasse being a drama student who couldn't even get cast in dramas is the ultimate underdog revenge story
7. The period blood scene still hits like a freight truck on rewatch
8. Superbad may not be as memorable or quotable as classics like Fletch or Naked Gun, but it captures a specific moment in comedy evolution

Films/Creators Mentioned:

1. Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg (writers/producers)
2. Greg Mottola (director)
3. Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bill Hader, Emma Stone
4. This Is the End, Pineapple Express, Project...

Apocalypse Now: The Heart of Darkness, Coppola's Masterpiece, and Cinema's Greatest War Film

Can a film about the Vietnam War transcend its genre to become a philosophical meditation on human nature? Join Kyle, Seth, and Marianna as they journey into the jungle to dissect Francis Ford Coppola's magnum opus—a movie that nearly destroyed its director but created one of cinema's most haunting and unforgettable experiences.

In this deep-dive episode of Movie Wars, we explore why Apocalypse Now remains the definitive war film 45 years after its release. We break down the legendary troubled production—from Martin Sheen's near-fatal heart attack to typhoons destroying sets, Marlon Brando's refusal to learn his lines, and Coppola mortgaging everything he owned to finish the film. We analyze the iconic performances, especially Brando's improvised brilliance as Colonel Kurtz and Robert Duvall's unforgettable Kilgore ("I love the smell of napalm in the morning"). We compare the theatrical cut versus Redux, examine the film's adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and discuss why this surreal, hallucinatory journey up the Nung River continues to influence filmmakers from Christopher Nolan to Denis Villeneuve.

What You'll Discover:

1. Why the Vietnam War setting makes this story more powerful than Conrad's original
2. The genius behind the film's sound design and immersive cinematography
3. How Coppola created one of cinema's most quotable scripts through improvisation
4. The symbolic meaning behind Kurtz's compound and the descent into madness
5. Whether Redux or the theatrical cut is the superior version
6. Why Apocalypse Now towers above modern war films like Dunkirk and 1917

Whether you're a film student, war movie enthusiast, or cinephile curious about Hollywood's most legendary productions, this episode delivers the definitive analysis of a film that changed cinema forever.

New episodes of Movie Wars drop weekly. Subscribe now and join the conversation about the greatest films ever made.

Keywords: Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola, Vietnam War movies, Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, war film analysis, Heart of Darkness adaptation, Redux vs theatrical, film analysis podcast, cinema history, 1970s filmmaking, Movie Wars podcast

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. Francis Ford Coppola
2. YouTube
3. Nashville Electric Service
4. American Zoetrope