Ready or Not (2019): The Horror Comedy That Gets Better Every Time You Watch It | feat. KT Baldassaro
Release Date: 03/20/2026
Cinema Psychos Movie Reviews
What happens when you combine 90s anthology horror with the cosmic madness of H.P. Lovecraft? You get the oh so gooey Brian Yuzna classic Necronomicon (1993)! In this episode, KT Baldassaro (Movie Runtime, What If I Don't Like) joins us to break down why this practical-effects-heavy cult classic is one of the wildest and grossest horror anthologies of the 90's. From Jeffrey Combs playing H.P. Lovecraft looking remarkably like Bruce Campbell to characters completely unphased by K-Y jelly-covered sea monsters, we explore the best segments, insane plot twists, and glorious physical effects that...
info_outlineCinema Psychos Movie Reviews
Costa Dillon, co-creator of the cult classic Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, joins The Cinema Psychos Show to discuss the 50-year legacy of the franchise, shooting on 35mm negative film on a shoestring budget, accidentally crashing a real helicopter with actors on board, and releasing the new sequel Organic Intelligence. Check out the new film and the Halloween contest at: CHAPTERS We crashed a helicopter [00:00] What makes a cult film stick? [00:53] How Attack of the Killer Tomatoes began [01:58] Getting started in filmmaking before digital video [06:51] Why shooting on film made the movie...
info_outlineCinema Psychos Movie Reviews
In this exhaustive filmmaker retrospective, The Cinema Psychos dive deep into the dark, beautiful, and terrifying world of Guillermo del Toro. We analyze how the modern master of monsters humanizes traditional creatures, turning them into sympathetic allegories for the 'other' while showing that humanity is often the true villain. From his indie roots with Cronos and studio struggles on Mimic to beloved blockbusters like Blade II and Hellboy, and masterpieces like Pan's Labyrinth and The Shape of Water, we break down his entire career, thematic obsessions, and world-building genius. CHAPTERS:...
info_outlineCinema Psychos Movie Reviews
Brain Damage (1988) might legitimately be one of the greatest anti-drug movies ever made — it just happens to deliver that message through a talking, brain-eating parasite pumping psychedelic blue juice directly into a guy's brain. This week on The Cinema Psychos Show, we're revisiting Frank Henenlotter's wonderfully deranged 1988 cult horror movie Brain Damage. Brian thinks he's found the ultimate escape when a mysterious creature named Aylmer gives him euphoric hallucinations — but there's a catch: Aylmer needs human brains, and Brian quickly discovers just how ugly addiction and...
info_outlineCinema Psychos Movie Reviews
Charlie Kaufman was hired to adapt a nonfiction book about orchids. Instead, he wrote himself into the script — twice — and made one of the strangest, most self-aware movies ever released by a major studio. Brian and John rewatch Adaptation (2002) and break down Nicolas Cage's dual performance as neurotic screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and his fictional twin brother Donald, Meryl Streep's Susan Orlean and her obsession with "The Orchid Thief," and Brian Cox's scene-stealing turn as real-life screenwriting guru Robert McKee. We also get into a genuinely compelling theory: what if Donald...
info_outlineCinema Psychos Movie Reviews
Is Hellbound: Hellraiser II the best sequel in horror history? With Hellraiser back in the cultural spotlight this year — Halloween Horror Nights' 2026 and the long-awaited Hellraiser Revival game both dropping this fall — we figured it was the perfect time to revisit the film many fans consider the series' high point. Film critic Robert Brian Taylor (Collider) joins The Cinema Psychos Show to make the case for Hellbound, arguing it does exactly what a horror sequel should: expand Clive Barker's world without breaking its rules. We break down how Hellraiser 2 deepens Julia's transformation...
info_outlineCinema Psychos Movie Reviews
Sports Month closes out with the quintessential non-sports sports movie: Rocky (1976). Brian and John are joined by Dustin and Nate from The Silver Linings Playlist Podcast to break down Stallone's underdog script (allegedly written in three days), the real Chuck Wepner vs. Muhammad Ali fight that inspired it, Carl Weathers' criminally underrated Apollo Creed, and a running theory that Rocky himself reads as autistic-coded — "his special interest is punching." Plus: how this movie beat Taxi Driver, Network, and All the President's Men for Best Picture, whether the Rocky/Adrian romance...
info_outlineCinema Psychos Movie Reviews
Tonya Harding loved skating. The skating world never loved her back — and I, Tonya (2017) is the mockumentary-style biopic that dares to ask: who's actually the villain here? Brian sits down with KT Baldassaro (MovieRunTime & What If I Don't Like It) to break down Margot Robbie's snubbed performance, Allison Janney's Oscar-winning turn as the worst mom in cinema, Sean Eckhardt's delusional hitman fantasy, and why the Academy has a track record of punishing dark comedy. CHAPTERS: Introduction [00:00] Why I, Tonya makes a surprisingly fun rewatch [02:17] A biopic that refuses to play...
info_outlineCinema Psychos Movie Reviews
A League of Their Own (1992) is the rare baseball movie that isn't really about baseball — it's a sibling rivalry story, a look at 1940s sexism, and (we'd argue) one of the best examples of age-accurate casting in film history. Brian and John break down Penny Marshall's classic: Tom Hanks' pivot from comedy to the dramatic roles that led to Cast Away and Forrest Gump, the Kit/Dottie rivalry that drives the whole plot, what the film gets right (and skips) on race and sexism in the 1940s, and the ending debate that still splits fans. A movie reaction and deep-dive discussion for baseball fans...
info_outlineCinema Psychos Movie Reviews
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a beautiful mess — and it might be the best MCU Spider-Man movie yet. Both hosts land on 8/10. We weren't planning to cover this one. Then we saw it, and we had to record an emergency bonus episode. Brian and John break down why Destin Daniel Cretton's Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the most grounded, consequence-driven Spidey film Marvel has made — and why it owes more to Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 than to anything in the Home trilogy. Jon Bernthal's Punisher steals the movie. Florence Pugh's "small potatoes" bathhouse scene is already a meme. Sadie Sink shows up...
info_outlineReady or Not 2 is in theaters — so we went back to where it all started.
Brian, John, and filmmaker/critic KT Baldassaro (@MovieRuntime) dig into the 2019 original and make the case that it's one of the smartest, funniest, most satisfying horror comedies of the last decade. A bride. A devil-controlled game box. A mansion full of rich lunatics. Hide and seek to the death.
What we cover:
- Why this is more satire than horror and why that makes it better — Samara Weaving's all-time performance and why she carries the whole film
- Why Adam Brody's Daniel has the real character arc, not Alex
- The old money vs new money class war hiding underneath the comedy
- Whether the game box is actually random — or whether the devil picks who dies
- Alex as the true villain of the movie
- Whether the sequel can possibly match the original's ending
CHAPTERS:
- 00:00 Cold open
- 00:20 Welcome and introducing KT Baldassaro
- 03:00 First impressions — horror or comedy?
- 08:30 Marrying into a family that wants to kill you
- 16:00 Breaking down the LaBelle family
- 26:00 Why Alex is actually the villain
- 36:00 The game box theory — is it random or rigged?
- 46:00 Practical effects on a $6M budget
- 54:00 Community reviews
- 01:05:00 Will the sequel ruin the franchise?
- 01:15:00 Final verdicts and where to find KT
KT Baldassaro — filmmaker, critic, festival programmer
Podcast: What If I Don't Like It? — search on any podcast app
Follow her: @movieruntime on TikTok
Listen to The Cinema Psychos Show on:
- Spotify: https://rebrand.ly/0v6eeno
- Apple: https://rebrand.ly/j5nrkp7
- Amazon: https://rebrand.ly/5x5hzng
- Goodpods: https://rebrand.ly/picstv6
OR LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST APP! https://cinemapsychosshow.com/follow
Follow The Cinema Psychos Show on Socials ❤️🔥:
- Discord: https://discord.gg/7GZ9uuTJ
- Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cinemapsychosshow
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cinemapsychospod
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cinemapsychospod
- Threads: https://www.threads.net/@cinemapsychospod
MAIN TITLE: “Red Alert”
AUTHOR: Jack Waldenmaier
PUBLISHER: Music Bakery Publishing (BMI)
WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED USE OF THE MUSIC CONTAINED IN THIS PRODUCTION IS SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION. All copyrights, licensing, duplication and distribution rights are held exclusively by Music Bakery Publishing (BMI). 214-636-5887
musicbakery.com