WE HATE MOVIES - Podcast of the Week

This article previously appeared on Crossfader

There’s binge-watching and then there’s hate-watching. And if you’re really a pro, there’s binge-hate-watching. The guys at WE HATE MOVIES have made it their duty to binge-hate-watch as many bad movies they can get in. Hosted by Andrew Jupin, Stephen Sadjak, Eric Szyska, and Chris Cabin, each one invites you to join their roundtable with their own distinct voice and personality. Many podcasts, for me at least, take a few episodes to reel you in, but here you already feel like a part of the gang. It’s a real testament to the skill of a host when they can get you comfortable after just one listen.

The real gift of this group, though, is that through their cheerful lambasting, they actually make me want to see the movie even more; no deterrence occurs, rather pure enticement. BLADE movie was one of my favorites as a kid, and hearing them ravage it just made me want to revisit it. Whether it’s shlock like SPAWN or BRAINSCAN, two other flicks I was fond off in my youth, WE HATE MOVIES makes all their faults sound ineffably enjoyable. As the crew recounts plots and all the failings and mishaps of them, with some spot-on impersonations of characters, I become even more nostalgic. There is an obvious fun that comes with being in on the joke when you’re familiar with the movie they’re discussing, but there’s an even greater excitement that comes with the prospect of all the shitty movies you have to watch just to participate in their commentary on them. It helps that the hosts are also so well informed; they really know their facts and if one of them can’t retrieve the name of an actor, another one will. It’s a fantastic team dynamic, with all their intelligence and sense of humor bouncing off each other. Their impersonation of T. Ryder Smith’s character, The Trickster, in BRAINSCAN had me near tears at work, to the point where I had to finish it when I got home. The podcast has helped me appreciate and understand the importance of bad cinema to a considerable degree, and for that I’m ever thankful.