Secret Handshake

KI-KI-KI! HA-HA-HA!

This Spooky Season we got hit with a metric fuckton of horror TV in both Mike Flanagan's CARRIE adaptation on Amazon, and the new FRIDAY THE 13TH prequel series, CRYSTAL LAKE, from A24 and Peacock. Do the boys think these new serialized entries stack up to their beloved works from the past? Grab your hockey masks and find out now.

NEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRDS!

Our DuoVision series on college comedies continues with a Marten Carlson Fave - 1984's REVENGE OF THE NERDS - along with Marten Carlson Discovery - the Crown International sex comedy curiosity JOCKS (1987). Are either of these movies still funny? Or are they simply rightfully forgotten byproducts of a bygone era? Get your ear goggles on, we're going on a panty raid!

We'd be great teachers...of what we have no idea. Two old guys go back to college to kick off a DuoVision mini-series with a couple of movies...about old guys going back to college. We paired the classic Rodney Dangerfield vehicle BACK TO SCHOOL (a professed Jacob Knight Classic) with the movie that basically gave us Will Ferrell, OLD SCHOOL (a certified Jacob Knight Hate Fest). So come out to the quad 'cause WE'RE GOING STREAKING!

Ciao boys! Marten's Eurocinema education continues, as fellas dive into the Italian underworld once again, exploring the trashy crime team ups between Umberto Lenzi and Tomas Milian. Scotch, machine guns and multiple car chases await!

Keep your eyes to the skies. The boys dive into the sci-fi driven portion of a young, up-and-coming filmmaker by the name of Steven Spielberg. Ever heard of him? In celebration of his late style masterwork, DISCLOSURE DAY, it's a dissection of all things alien, dinosaur, and robot. Dig in.

Someone (or something) has gotta keep us safe at night. Wrapping up this first round of DuoVision double features is a pair of aughts Jodie Foster thrillers from major auteurs: David Fincher's PANIC ROOM (2002) and THE BRAVE ONE (2007). Who knew the little girl from Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER would grow up to get her own vigilante blood bath? Not us.

We're back boys! Even when he's not donning cape + cowl as Batman, Michael Keaton is one of the weirdest and most interesting movie stars to emerge from the '80s, For their third installment of DuoVision, the fellas find themselves taking in the eccentric Pittsburgh actor's '90s thrillers: PACIFIC HEIGHTS and DESPERATE MEASURES.

Hellooooo baby! DuoVision returns with two Richard Gere thrillers (well, one's definitely a thriller and the other is...something else entirely. It's BREATHLESS and INTERNAL AFFAIRS, showing us the flipsides of one of Hollywood's most beautiful leading men. Jump in the car, we're getting all sweaty and nekkid with this one!

Welcome to DuoVision - a new, regular feature here at Secret Handshake where the boys pick a themed double feature and vibe out for an hour or so. Kicking the series off is a pair of "Kurt Russell gets cucked" '90s thrillers: 1997's BREAKDOWN and 1992's UNLAWFUL ENTRY! Will Kurt rescue his wife from an evil, truck-driving JT Walsh? And will his other spouse be seduced by slimy, scary boy in blue, Ray Liotta? Find out now!

Ciao Secret Handshake listeners! Marten's Italian genre cinema education continues with a crash course in gialli, courtesy of the undersung maestro of the genre, Sergio Martino. It's an episode filled with nothing but black gloves, razor blades, and beautiful ladies. Grab your bottle of J&B, it's gonna get very sleazy up in here.

"Look into the eyes of the Dragon...and DESPAIR!"

An episode long in the making, the boys dive into the wild filmography of John Boorman, as they watch the new documentary BOORMAN & THE DEVIL, travel to Chicago for Beyond Fest and see THE HERETIC on the big screen (via a beautiful 35mm print!), and finally devour his psychedelic King Arthur retelling on Arrow's terrific new 4K Blu. Fill up your pipe for this one, folks. We're getting super stoned.

Nobody knows anything about The Strangers, and that's what makes them scary. Nor does anyone know why you would reboot The Strangers into a min-requel trilogy of films that have been, to put it mildly, disliked by all (which makes the proposition of watching them terrifying). Still, despite the bad reviews, the boys dive into both this new iteration of the slasher franchise, as well as the wild career of its director, genre bad boy Renny Harlin.

Mass shooters! Religious cabals! Alien invaders! Despite their promises otherwise, the boys dive down another rabbit hole, exploring the wild, cerebral, and insanely irreverent filmography of Larry Cohen. Was the greatest voice of the '70s exploitation era? Find out here!

"A MAN WHO IS FREE NEVER DIES!"

Marten begins his journey through the annals of Italian exploitation cinema, with Jacob giggling along for the ride. His first stop: the violent, entertaining, marinara genre collaborations between Enzo Castellari and Franco Nero, including the acid trip spaghetti Western, KEOMA. Pick up a six-shooter and throw a tab on your tongue, we're going to Genoa!

Happy New Year! We took a quick break to settle in, but now we're back with all the killer monkey movies in celebration of Johannes Roberts' badass creature feature PRIMATE. A movie that answers the question: what if Cujo was a rabid chimp? Find out in our latest Bonus Episode.

Another one in the books! To celebrate a truly special year in cinema, the boys count down their favorite films of 2025. Did your personal picks make the cut? Find out!

Silly Caucasian boys like to play with samurai swords. With the unedited edition of KILL BILL finally hitting theaters, the fellas sit down with their buddy James Emanuel Shapiro to talk about Quentin Tarantino's magnum opus. Is it the best movie ever made, or the most movie ever made?

Ho ho ho motherfuckers, It's Christmas Time at Secret Handshake, so we fired up some of our favorite holiday set neo noir shoot 'em ups for old time's sake. Shane Black has always been one of the best, and it's time to tell you why.

It's not a podcast about Guillermo del Toro...it's a podcast with Guillermo del Toro in it. To commemorate the release of FRANKENSTEIN, the boys look back at El Gordo's artsy creature feature filmography, starting with one of Marten's all-time favorites: THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE (2001). You might be surprised where their taste overlaps (and radically differs)!

Let's party! They boys head to their local mortuary (not to mention the Exhumed Films Horror Thon) to throw a Halloween party and end up getting menaced by some dirty, horny monsters with NIGHT OF THE DEMONS (1988). Are there razor blades hidden in those candy apples? Take a bite and find out.