Certified Forgotten

"Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die." Is it the mantra we're repeating to get through 2026? Absolutely. Is it also a wickedly entertaining and intensely relevant sci-fi comedy about the horrors of artificial intelligence? Also correct! Gore Verbinski returns to the big screen after almost a decade with his fantastic warning against algorithms, datacenters, and mind-rotting technology. We'll dive into all the beeps and bloops of this go...

You've seen Ghost Ship, but how bout Death Ship? Or maybe you've seen Death Ship, and not Ghost Ship. EITHER WAY, we've got another banger of a guest episode, with our newly crowned queen of repeat guests, one half of the This Ends At Prom podcast—and B-movie aficionado—Harmony Colangelo. Join us for a conversation that starts with a spirited chat about bartenders and drink orders, then dives headfirst into a thoughtful discussion ...

While the Sundance Film Festival is often synonymous with prestigious releases, it's always been a breeding ground for great horror filmmakers, too. So with Matt Donato wrapping his attendance at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, we sat down to discuss his favorites from this year's horror lineup. From Leviticus to Saccharine, this was a particularly strong year for Sundance's Midnight lineup, and we break down what to keep an eye o...

You know what's worse than vampires? Racist cop vampires. That's the basis of Ryan Prows' new release, Night Patrol. The filmmaker joins us to discuss his first theatrical release and champions a nasty little film that fits with his career's thematic DNA thus far: Los Bastardos (2008). Join us for another guest episode of Certified Forgotten that gets deep into a creator's mind, and brings to light another underseen horror film tha...

Johannes Roberts' Primate answers a very important question: "What if Halloween, but instead of Michael Myers, it was a killer chimp?" It's C-oo-oo-ahh-ahh-jo, 100%. All creature, all feature. Suffice it to say, Roberts' relentlessly gory animal-attack flick sounds more like a "Donato Movie," and yet, Certified Forgotten's keeping the new year in agreeable spirits. Tune in to hear Donato and co-host Matthew Monagle share their thou...

Alex Ullom’s feature debut, It Ends, wants to be a "hangout" horror movie. Certified Forgotten's Matt Donato and Matthew Monagle put that descriptor to the test, hanging out and chatting about Ullom's existential road trip. Like The Battery or Dead End, It Ends relies on conversational, generational horrors that unfold on an empty stretch of road. It's a representation of life, death, and everything in between, that asks the most i...

Somehow, against all odds, we've made it through 2025. Maybe not unscathed, but we did it. With that in mind, it's time for Certified Forgotten to highlight some of the year's best horror films. Here to help is friend of the show and frequent guest co-host, Bloody Disgusting's Meagan Navarro. With no Matthew Monagle this week, it's up to Meagan and CF's Matt Donato to throw as many worthwhile titles at you to clean up before we sta...

'Twas the (almost) fortnight before Christmas at Certified Forgotten, and the boys had a chat to see if the Silent Night, Deadly Night remake is rotten. [Poor attempt at poetic rhythm ends.] Mike P. Nelson's new take on a Christmas horror classic gives Billy Chapman a new purpose, and with it, a fresh take that brings both romanticism and exploitation vibes. Co-hosts Matthew Monagle and Matt Donato dig into Nelson's big storytellin...

Hold off on the pizza party, kiddos. Freddy Fazbear might be returning to the big screen, but it's not a cause for celebration. In this Uncertified episode, Certified Forgotten co-host Matt Donato has invited back friend of the show BJ Colangelo to talk about the unfortunate state of Five Nights at Freddy's 2. The first was critically savaged, but not by Donato and Colangelo. The same cannot be said for Emma Tammi's sequel, and the...

This (day after) Thanksgiving, we're thankful for a returning guest who is the best of all of us. Fangoria's Senior Editor Meredith Borders notches her second guest spot on Certified Forgotten to chat about an oddball Canadian gateway horror film. The Peanut Butter Solution has become a cult favorite, but only in smaller circles. Meredith joins the Matts to chat about Fangoria's upcoming initiatives and shed light on exciting new c...

Welcome to another episode of "The Great Oz Perkins Debate" here on Certified Forgotten. Your hosts, Matt Donato and Matthew Monagle, couldn't agree on Perkins' catalog until Longlegs, and then again with The Monkey. It looked like there might finally be peace between the Matts, but then Perkins went back to "basics" for his latest film, Keeper. Once again, your Matts are at odds over a new Perkins release—like it was always meant ...

Do you like your cosmic horror with a dash of folklore? Or perhaps you prefer your folk horror with a dollop of the cosmic? Either way, you're the right audience for Nick Szostakiwskyj's Black Mountain Side, a wintry horror film that is one part aliens and one part elder gods. On this week's episode of Certified Forgotten, we're joined by tabletop designer Colin Le Sueur to talk about his Canadian roots, his love of Stephen King's ...

To quote Donato's Predator: Badlands review: "It's official: Dan Trachtenberg is the Yautja whisperer." Between Monagle's love of the Alien universe and Donato's incessant quoting of Predator, the Matts dedicated this week's Uncertified episode to gushing about Trachtenberg's latest Yautja adventure. Does the heavy use of digital animation hold up? Can the inclusion of Weyland-Yutani stay in the background enough not to dominate a ...

What happens when two podcasts that prioritize underseen horror movies collide? You get a crossover episode dedicated to Michael Schroeder's "frighteningly erotic thriller" Out of the Dark (1988). Certified Forgotten welcomes Puppet Masters/Castle Freaks co-host Jarrod Hornbeck, who brought his love for an underseen '80s slasher in full force. We'll talk about sleazy exploitation, killer clowns, and phone sex hotlines because Schro...

Is The Pit (1981) one of the crazier films we've covered on the podcast to date? Absolutely. You can thank filmmakers Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. Norman, the duo behind the runaway favorite V/H/S/Halloween segment, "Home Haunt." Micheline and R.H. graciously shed light on what it took to create their endlessly entertaining anthology segment, then dive into all the silly and perverted weirdness that is The Pit. Only in the '80s...

It isn't often that a guest brings us a no-doubt future classic, but that's certainly the case on this episode of Certified Forgotten. This week, Matt Donato and Matthew Monagle are joined by author Jonathan Janz (Veil, The End of the World as We Know It) to talk about Erik Kristopher Myers's Butterfly Kisses. Join us for a wide-ranging conversation about writing, letting monsters be monsters, and the unexpected greatness of a foun...

When the first reviews for HIM were posted, Certified Forgotten's Matt Donato found himself on an island. He loved the film, but an overwhelming majority of critics took an opposing stance. Surprisingly, co-host Matthew Monagle is not one of those negative reviewers. In fact, HIM is a rare instance where both Matts can agree. Frankly, this is probably the only podcast episode about HIM where it's nothing but love for Justin Tipping...