Now Playing: The Nightmare on Elm Street Movie Retrospective Series

Fresh off the success of Shaun of the Dead creators Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright decided the follow-up would be a new type of genre parody; instead of making a comedic horror film the duo created Hot Fuzz lampooning the over-the-top action films of the 80s and 90s. It was billed as the second part of their "Blood and Ice Cream trilogy" where Pegg would star with Nick Frost. Did this Spaced team suffer a sophomore slump or is Hot Fuzz a follow-up as good as the original? Thanks to your support of Now Playing you can listen and find out!

Can a zombie movie be a good comedy? Can a comedy be a good zombie movie? In the hands of Writer/Director Edgar Wright and Writer/Star Simon Pegg the answer was yes. Fresh off the hit British comedy Spaced the duo broke into America with this zomromcom - the film that became the first film in their Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy (called the Blood & Ice Cream trilogy in the US). Now as the trilogy concludes with The World's End Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob revisit Shaun of the Dead. Does the film work as horror, comedy, romance, or all of the above? If you donate and support Now Playing Podcast you can listen and find out!

Nothing can stop the undead. They just keep coming, and if you kill one two more take their place until eventually you have an unstoppable zombie horde. The same can be said for zombie movies themselves! Since the one-two punch of 28 Days Later and Sack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead the zombies have grown larger and larger, and this weekend in theaters comes the biggest zombie movie of them all--World War Z. Starring Brad Pitt as a UN investigator this film was intended to kick off a trilogy of big-budget zombie action films. Does this film continue the pile-on of zombie hits or is this one zombie who should have stayed dead? Donate to support Now Playing to find out!

It's hard to kill a zombie in Return of the Living Dead. Shoot them, burn them, they keep coming back for more brains. But after 1993 it seemed the zombies had finally been killed for good by the most harrowing of enemies--intellectual property rights issues. Leave it to Hollywood to never leave money on the table, though, as the zombie resurgence of the early 21st century with 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead enabled Return of the Living Dead to crawl from the grave again with not one but two low-budget, direct-to-SyFy Channel sequels. This week on Now Playing's bonus donation series Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob watch the first of these films: Return of the Living Dead--Necropolis. Is watching this film worse than eating cooked, zombified rat? If you donate to support Now Playing you can listen and find out!

For Return of the Living Dead 3 studio Trimark Pictures brought in Brian Yuzna, a horror producer and director best known for the ground-breaking Re-Animator films. Yuzna worked with writer John Penney to create a zombie love story. Starring future O.C. actress Melinda Clarke as Julie, a goth girl with a new found taste for brains, Return of the Living Dead 3 had much different in tone than the previous two films. Is this change for the better? Donate to Now Playing and you can listen and find out!

This summer, Superman flies back onto the big screen in Man of Steel, the first reboot of the superhero in 35 years! To prepare for Zach Snyder's film, join Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob at NowPlayingPodcast.com as we look at a new Superman film each week, ending with a week-of-release review of Man of Steel.

The Evil Dead remake is out and getting tons of good buzz and opening at the top of the box office. Now Playing is giving it the full retrospective treatment looking at Sam Raimi's original three Evil Dead films and the 2013 remake! It's one of the series in the Now Playing Spring 2013 donation drive! It's zombie-mania! Donors get bonus thank you podcasts of Evil Dead, World War Z, 28 Days/Weeks Later, and Return of the Living Dead! Listen for a preview of Evil Dead 2, and how you can her the entire series!

The Evil Dead remake is out and getting tons of good buzz, and Now Playing is giving it the full retrospective treatment looking at Sam Raimi's original three Evil Dead films and the 2013 remake! It's one of the series in the Now Playing Spring 2013 donation drive! It's zombie-mania! Donors get bonus thank you podcasts of Evil Dead, World War Z, 28 Days/Weeks Later, and Return of the Living Dead! Listen for a preview of Evil Dead, and how you can her the entire series!

YO JOE! This week sees the release of G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Prepare by joining us as we review all 3 G.I. Joe movies--the 1987 cartoon film, the 2009 live action film, and this week's new release! Hear all the reviews at NowPlayingPodcast.com!

As we build up to Man of Steel this summer, Now Playing hosts Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie are looking at some lesser known DC Heroes -- Tank Girl, Constantine, and Jonah Hex. Hear all the reviews at NowPlayingPodcast.com!

In just a few weeks it's A Good Day to Die Hard in theaters, and to prepare the hosts of Now Playing are watching and reviewing all the Die Hard films! Listen each week at nowplayingpodcast.com

It's the holiday season once again, and to get you in the spirit of the season join Now Playing as we review all six films in the Silent Night, Deadly Night retrospective including the 2012 remake!

Nine, Ten, Freddy's back in theaters again--and Now Playing is back also with the ultimate review in our Nightmare on Elm Street retrospective series as we review the brand new Nightmare on Elm Street movie. Gone are Robert Englund and Wes Craven, replaced by Jackie Earl Haley and Samuel Bayer, bringing a new, darker Freddy to a new generation of horror lovers. Join Stuart, Arnie, and Brock as they review this film, giving a review from the point of view of a horror fan, a Freddy fan, and a newbie to horror films. We compare the new Nightmare on Elm Street to the original, and wrap up our entire Nightmare on Elm Street reflecting on the series as a whole, Freddy's place in the pantheon of horror icons, and comparing how the new Nightmare reboot compares to other recent horror reboots. Does Jackie Earl Haley give audiences the dangerous, evil Freddy they'd always dreamed of? Listen to find out!

Nine, Ten, Freddy's back in theaters again--and Now Playing is back also with the ultimate review in our Nightmare on Elm Street retrospective series as we review the brand new Nightmare on Elm Street movie. Gone are Robert Englund and Wes Craven, replaced by Jackie Earl Haley and Samuel Bayer, bringing a new, darker Freddy to a new generation of horror lovers. Join Stuart, Arnie, and Brock as they review this film, giving a review from the point of view of a horror fan, a Freddy fan, and a newbie to horror films. We compare the new Nightmare on Elm Street to the original, and wrap up our entire Nightmare on Elm Street reflecting on the series as a whole, Freddy's place in the pantheon of horror icons, and comparing how the new Nightmare reboot compares to other recent horror reboots. Does Jackie Earl Haley give audiences the dangerous, evil Freddy they'd always dreamed of? Listen to find out!

Having already fallen for the strong silent type during last year's Friday The 13th retrospective, Now Playing switches teams for the guy with a good sense of humor in this totally new review of Freddy vs Jason. Is this crossover cage match a fitting farewell to Robert England's Krueger, or are fans of the Nightmare on Elm Street series the real losers in this showdown of the slasher movie icons? Listen in and find out!