Best Film Ever

“You think this is just a story?”

Join Ian, Liam, Megs & Kev for our 316th episode as we descend into the basement, start pressing buttons we absolutely shouldn’t, and dismantle the horror genre piece by piece with Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods (2011). This week is less about jump scares and more about systems, sacrifice, and whether sometimes… you really should just play the hits.

This week we discuss:

The central divide — why some viewers desperately wish this film had played it straight, and whether subversion automatically improves a genre story.

The two-year delay — why The Cabin in the Woods sat finished but unreleased, and how that limbo shaped its eventual reception.

Ian’s major life milestone this week — and why it weirdly mirrors one of the film’s themes about control and agency.

Who really enjoys the metaphor — and whether reading the film as an allegory enhances the experience or drains the fun out of it entirely.

Liam’s unstoppable TV digression — the show he simply will not stop referencing, regardless of relevance.

We spend some well-earned time talking about Catherine O’Hara — authority, timing, and why she elevates everything she touches.

The mechanics of the horror machine — archetypes, rituals, and the illusion of choice.

Megs breaks down the film’s gender politics — subversion, exploitation, and how knowingly the film handles both.

Kev weighs in on the concept of gatekeeping and who gets to make all these rules anyway?

The elevator scene — catharsis, overload, or glorious anarchy?

The ending — nihilistic, freeing, or just pulling the plug on the whole genre.

And finally, whether The Cabin in the Woods is the Best Film Ever — or simply the most elaborate middle finger horror ever aimed at its own audience.

Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at
https://www.patreon.com/BFE

We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support:

Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM

Hermes Auslander

James DeGuzman

Synthia

Shai Bergerfroind

Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most

Paul Komoroski

Andy Dickson

Chris Pedersen

Duane Smith (Duane Smith!)

Randal Silva

Nate The Great

Rev Bruce

Cheezy (with a fish on a bike)

Richard

Ryan Kuketz

Dirk Diggler

Stew from the Stew World Order podcast

NorfolkDomus

John Humphrey's Right Foot

Timmy Tim Tim

Aashrey

Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/.

Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor

Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/

The Fantasy Box Office League begins.

Ian is joined by Friends of the Podcast Aashrey, “The Horseshoe” James de Guzman, and Paul Komoroski as 4 of the 10 competitors reveal their thinking ahead of a high-stakes draft:
five films each, one year, most money wins.

This is a draft built on instinct, spreadsheets, vibes, and blind confidence. We talk draft strategy, risk tolerance, franchise trust, and how quickly one bad pick can torpedo an entire season.  We also talk copious smack about those who couldn't join us.

Hovering over the conversation are the big 2026 questions:

Event franchise dominance vs. prestige spectacle (**Avengers energy vs. Dune ambition)

Reliable nostalgia vs. bold cinematic swings (**Toy Story safety vs. The Odyssey risk)

Proven animation gold vs. superhero reinvention (**Super Mario confidence vs. Supergirl potential)

No box office numbers yet — just claims, confidence, and future receipts waiting to happen.

The draft hasn’t even finished… and the rivalries have already started.

Join Ian from Best Film Ever and Stew from The Stew World Order podcast as we break the BFE format by counting down to chaos at WWE Royal Rumble 2025 from Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We discuss whether the Rumble matches delivered on surprises and storytelling—or if they were just a numbers game. Did WWE make the right call in crowning their Rumble winners? How did the Universal Championship match shake up the road to WrestleMania and is AJ Styles still on the road or has he taken the off ramp? We discuss how many kip-ups is too many for a show and what wrestlers do when their Super Mario stars wear off. We'll answer all these questions and hand out post-event superlatives celebrating the night's best (and worst).

Catch more of Stew on his own podcast: Stew World Order at
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stew-world-order/id1559913522

You can also catch him at his website where he writes about all sorts of fun things:
https://swoproductions.com/

“We're doing our part”

Join Ian, Liam, Megs & Kev for our 315th episode as we suit up, grab the propaganda reel, and drop feet-first into Paul Verhoeven’s gloriously misunderstood sci-fi satire Starship Troopers (1997). It’s bugs, blood, and bare-faced ideology this week as we try to work out whether this film knew exactly what it was doing all along. Do you want to know more?

This week we discuss:

The tone problem (or lack thereof) — is Starship Troopers a dumb action movie, a razor-sharp satire, or both at the same time?

Paul Verhoeven’s intent — does the film critique fascism so hard that some audiences miss the joke entirely?

The performances — intentionally wooden propaganda archetypes, or just bad acting elevated by context?

The aesthetics of fascism — uniforms, slogans, and spectacle. Why does the film make authoritarianism look so seductive?

Ian breaks down the film’s satirical mechanics — how exaggeration, repetition, and irony do the heavy lifting.

Liam explores audience reception — why the film was misunderstood on release and reclaimed years later.

Megs looks at gender and violence — equal-opportunity brutality, shower scenes, and the illusion of empowerment.

Kev weighs in on the action — but don't get him started on the never-ending rounds of bullets

The enemy — are the Arachnids monsters, victims, or an invented threat to justify endless war?

The propaganda interstitials — world-building masterstrokes or narrative interruptions?

Synthia joins us for The Endgame — helping us unpack the film’s legacy, its political bite, and why it feels even more relevant now than it did in 1997.

The ending — triumphant, horrifying, or both? What are we actually meant to cheer for?

And finally, whether Starship Troopers is the Best Film Ever — or one of the smartest films ever disguised as a stupid one.

Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at
https://www.patreon.com/BFE

We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support:

Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM

Hermes Auslander

James DeGuzman

Synthia

Shai Bergerfroind

Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most

Andy Dickson

Chris Pedersen

Duane Smith (Duane Smith!)

Randal Silva

Nate The Great

Rev Bruce

Cheezy (with a fish on a bike)

Richard

Ryan Kuketz

Dirk Diggler

Stew from the Stew World Order podcast

NorfolkDomus

John Humphrey's Right Foot

Timmy Tim Tim

Aashrey

Paul Komoroski

Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/.

Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor

Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/

“Everybody be cool.”

Join Ian & Liam for our 314th episode as we cross the border, miss the last turn-off to sanity, and crash headlong into Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s genre-shredding cult classic From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). Megs isn’t with us this week — she took a job managing the Titty Twister and immediately exercised her right to not be around for what happened next. Kev? Last seen arguing with a biker about tequila and quietly backing away when things started growing fangs.

This week we discuss:

The hard genre pivot — crime thriller to vampire splatterfest. Is this one of cinema’s boldest structural swings or an act of deliberate sabotage?

The first half vs. the second half — which film do we actually prefer, and should they ever have been stitched together in the first place?

George Clooney’s breakout performance — cool, controlled, and shockingly confident. Did this film secretly create a movie star?

Quentin Tarantino the actor — indulgent, uncomfortable, and deeply divisive. Does his presence add anything, or actively derail the film?

Ian questions the film’s tonal discipline — is chaos the point, or does excess eventually become exhaustion?

Liam explores the film’s grindhouse DNA — exploitation homage, midnight-movie energy, and why this works better at 11:30pm than 2:00pm.

Salma Hayek’s iconic sequence — empowerment, objectification, or pure genre spectacle? We unpack why this moment still sparks debate.

The violence escalation — gleeful, grotesque, and increasingly cartoonish. Where does fun end and numbness begin?

The rules of the vampires and the timing of when characters turn  — clear, flexible, or completely improvised depending on the scene?

You won't believe the piece of literature that Ian wants to compare this to

The ending — aftermath, absurdity, and the sudden return to moral quiet after absolute carnage.

And finally, whether From Dusk Till Dawn is the Best Film Ever — or simply the wildest left turn ever taken by a mainstream ’90s movie.

Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at
https://www.patreon.com/BFE

We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support:

Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM

Hermes Auslander

James DeGuzman

Synthia

Shai Bergerfroind

Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most

Andy Dickson

Chris Pedersen

Duane Smith (Duane Smith!)

Randal Silva

Nate The Great

Rev Bruce

Cheezy (with a fish on a bike)

Richard

Ryan Kuketz

Dirk Diggler

Stew from the Stew World Order podcast

NorfolkDomus

John Humphrey's Right Foot

Timmy Tim Tim

Aashrey

Paul Komoroski

Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/.

Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor

Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/