A weekly podcast discussing the weekly Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon

Charlize Theron has never been one to shy away from genre mayhem, and by 2026 she’s practically the patron saint of stylish cinematic chaos. From The Devil’s Advocate to Prometheus to Mad Max: Fury Road, she’s battled demons, aliens, and post‑apocalyptic warlords — so naturally her next move was to wander into the Australian wilderness for Netflix’s APEX. Released on April 24th, 2026, it’s the kind of film where you can practically feel the sunburn and existential dread radiating through the screen, and your cohosts have bravely volunteered to trek through it.

Rotten Tomatoes keeps things succinct: “A grieving woman testing her limits in the Australian wilderness is suddenly ensnared in a deadly game with a ruthless predator.” Which is a polite way of saying, “Charlize Theron goes camping and immediately regrets it.” The setup promises equal parts emotional turmoil and tooth‑and‑claw terror — the cinematic equivalent of a nature retreat brochure that forgets to mention the part where something might try to eat you.

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur and written by Jeremy Robbins, APEX also features Taron Egerton, who apparently decided to steal every scene not nailed down. With a budget floating somewhere between $60–$80M USD, critics have been shrugging in polite confusion while audiences shrug a little harder. Joined by actor Dan Lench of MaXXXine fame, your cohosts dive into this survival‑horror outing and share their thoughts — hopefully without getting metaphorically mauled in the process.

Sometimes a movie comes along that refuses to sit neatly in any one box, and COBWEB (2023) is exactly that kid at the genre lunch table — the one stirring their mashed potatoes while whispering, “I’m totally a horror film… probably.” Is it supernatural? Is it psychological? Is it just your imagination tapping politely on the wall at 3 a.m.? No one seems to know, and your co‑hosts certainly don’t pretend to. They’re just along for the ride, clutching their popcorn and questioning their life choices.

Rotten Tomatoes offers a synopsis that is equal parts spooky and “should we call someone?”: eight‑year‑old Peter keeps hearing a mysterious tap, tap from inside his bedroom wall, which his parents insist is nothing but his imagination. Naturally, as Peter’s fear grows, he begins to suspect that Mom and Dad — played by Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr — might be hiding a terrible secret. And honestly, for a child, what’s more terrifying than realizing your parents might be the real monsters? Forget ghosts; try explaining that at show‑and‑tell.

Directed by Samuel Bodin and written by Chris Thomas Devlin (yes, the same mind behind Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022), the film stars Lizzy Caplan, Cleopatra Coleman, Antony Starr, and young Woody Norman. Critics were split, audiences were slightly kinder, and the box office… well, the box office politely declined, with the movie earning under $8M on a $10M budget. But financial success isn’t everything — sometimes a film is just weird enough, creepy enough, and ambiguous enough to earn a cult following. Your co‑hosts dive into this odd little cinematic riddle and share their thoughts, tapping gently on the walls of the plot to see what answers fall out.