Secret Handshake
90 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 26 ratingsThe podcast that covers the movies that help you identify your friends...and maybe make a few more along the way. Every week, Jacob, Cody, and Marten introduce a new title into their ever-growing collection of shared favorites, break them down to the basics, and decide whether or not they deserve to be bestowed with the oh-so-holy award of being a Certified Facemelter. What spine number will they cover this week? Tune in and find out.
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Episodes
Spine #29 - The Northman
April 26, 2022 18:33 - 1 hour - 183 MBHAAAAAAAARK! The boys do their research and dive into the filmography of Robert Eggers, including his latest: the über-bloody viking revenge saga, THE NORTHMAN.
Spine #28 - Martyrs (And The New French Extremity)
April 20, 2022 18:10 - 2 hours - 236 MBThe official start of Season 3 sees Jacob and Marten attempting to tackle Pascal Laugier's MARTYRS and the films of the New French Extremity, making themselves super bummed, scared and grossed out in the process.
Bonus Episode - Ambulance (Feat. Michael Bay)
April 13, 2022 16:15 - 2 hours - 235 MBThe boys demonstrate just how hard they're ready to ride or die for Michael Bay's brand of gonzo action cinema, breaking down his entire filmography before discussing his latest: the coked up drone bank robbery roller-coaster, AMBULANCE.
Bonus Episode - The Blade Trilogy (Feat. Michael Morbius)
April 05, 2022 18:27 - 1 hour - 170 MBThe doctor is in (sort of)! As they attempt to duck watching Jared Leto's MORBIUS, the boys revisit Wesley Snipes' iconic day-walking vampire hunter, Blade. Oh yeah, they do get to Leto's bloodsucker, eventually, albeit begrudgingly.
Bonus Episode - Ti West's X
March 22, 2022 18:31 - 2 hours - 220 MBWhile the boys continue to work out the Season 3 deets, they check out X at SXSW and then go on a bender of Ti West's peculiar brand of horror cinema.
Bonus Episode - The Batman (Feat. Robert Pattinson)
March 08, 2022 20:16 - 2 hours - 263 MBWe're in-between seasons, but that didn't stop the boys from bingeing a whole bunch of RPattz and then talking about his turn taking on the cape and cowl in Matt Reeves' THE BATMAN. In this Bonus Episode, we become vengeance!
Dealbreakers #4 - John Wick (Feat. Simon Abrams)
March 01, 2022 19:12 - 1 hour - 168 MBWill somebody, please, get these boys some guns. Jacob and Marten square off against SH regular Simon Abrams, who unloads a full clip into the JOHN WICK franchise. But does he nuke the boys' minds? Tool up and find out.
Spine #27 - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
February 22, 2022 19:21 - 2 hours - 236 MBFor the Season 2 finale, Jacob and Marten boil down nine Texas Chain Saw films (including the latest Netflix entry) to their disreputable essence and then shoot them directly into the main vein. Who will survive and what will be left of them?
Spine #26 - Leviathan
February 15, 2022 20:06 - 1 hour - 185 MBSet the diving depth for schlock! For Spine #26, Jacob and Marten travel back to '89 and dissect the underwater horror boom that arrived in response to James Cameron's THE ABYSS. The brilliant filmic foam produced by this saltwater wave? George P. Cosmatos' goopy, mean creature feature, LEVIATHAN.
Spine #25 - Jackass
February 08, 2022 18:53 - 1 hour - 176 MBThe boys throw on some rocket skates and decide to jump the LA river with the greatest mondo stuntmen who ever lived. It's our JACKASS episode!
Spine #24 - Urban Cowboy
February 01, 2022 16:43 - 2 hours - 227 MBA "one for us" rabbit hole episode of the highest order, Jacob recommends the oeuvre of James Bridges to Marten, and much beer swilling, bull-riding, and fist-fighting occurs because of it. It's the mechanical bull extravaganza, URBAN COWBOY!
Dealbreakers #3 - Tenet
January 28, 2022 18:55 - 1 hour - 118 MBFor our latest barrage of bad takes, Cody thinks Chris Nolan's high-minded action movie COVID bomb is "dumb", causing Jacob and Marten to clutch their pearls.
Spine #23 - Scream
January 17, 2022 19:56 - 2 hours - 242 MBWhat's your favorite scary movie? Jacob and Marten go long on their love for Wes Craven, wrestle with their feelings about the SCREAM franchise as a whole, and then tackle the latest installment in the murderous trials and tribulations of Sidney Prescott, Gail Weathers, Deputy Dewey, and Ghostface.
Spine #22 - Magnolia
January 05, 2022 19:37 - 2 hours - 300 MBTo celebrate one of their favorite directors, Jacob and Marten commit almost three hours to Paul Thomas Anderson's operatic San Fernando Valley melodrama, MAGNOLIA. But why is Marten so resistant to the auteur's BIG emotions? Find out now.
Bonus Episode - Top 10 of 2021
January 03, 2022 20:27 - 1 hour - 198 MBAnd that's a wrap on Secret Handshake's first year of existence. But what were the boys' favorite films of 2021? Jacob and Marten compare notes on the modern movies they watched in-between ingesting every cult classic under the sun.
Spine #21 - Hooper
December 21, 2021 08:54 - 2 hours - 232 MBFor the final episode of 2021, Jacob and Marten wax on about the ultimate movie bromance: Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham. But why is the life of a Hollywood stuntman so thrilling? Crack some cold Coors and find out.
Spine #20 - The Kindred
December 08, 2021 14:49 - 2 hours - 231 MBOur 20th spine number sees wild tentacle abortion monsters being added to the Secret Handshake canon, as Jacob and Marten explore the slimy wonders of THE KINDRED, as well as the rest of Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen Carpenter's low budget horror output.
Spine #19 - True Romance
December 01, 2021 16:23 - 1 hour - 161 MBY'all musta thought it was White Boy Day, huh? Cody's back in town for Thanksgiving and we're talkin' Tony Scott! The master of '90s disaster gets the Secret Handshake treatment as we dive into his timeless Tarantino collaboration, TRUE ROMANCE.
Spine #18 - King of New York
November 23, 2021 20:11 - 1 hour - 204 MBRoom service motherfuckers! This week, Jacob and Marten head to Abel Ferrara's grimy vision of New York City to watch Chris Walken battle cops and rival gangs as the iconic Frank Black. Get the shower ready, this is real gutter cinema.
Dealbreakers #2 - The Shawshank Redemption
November 15, 2021 19:14 - 1 hour - 132 MBIn the second installment of the Bad Opinions Podcast, Marten attempts to justify why he hates the seminal Stephen King prison picture. Cody and Jacob disagree.
Bonus Episode - The Exhumed Films 24-Hour Horror Marathon XIV (Featuring Simon Abrams)
November 10, 2021 19:24 - 1 hour - 212 MBThe boys travel to beautiful Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and experience 25 hours of 35mm horror madness. With Special Guest Simon Abrams!
Dealbreakers #1 - Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN II
October 31, 2021 05:57 - 1 hour - 124 MBThe antithesis of "Secret Handshake", "Dealbreakers" covers the movies opinions your friends hold that make you rethink your entire relationship. Kicking it off: Jacob says Zombie's slasher sequel is a masterwork. Cody and Marten do not concur.
Spine #17 - Ride Lonesome
October 25, 2021 19:00 - 2 hours - 226 MBThis week, Marten assigns Jacob a ton of homework as they explore the Ranown Cycle of Westerns that saw Budd Boetticher, Randolph Scott and Burt Kennedy churning out some of the best matinee gunfighter fare in the history of cinema.
Spine #16 - The Crow
October 18, 2021 19:05 - 58 minutes - 107 MBThis week, Cody returns to the pod and brings out the inner Goth teenager in both Jacob and Marten by making them revisit '90s supernatural revenge staple THE CROW.
Spine #15 - Midnight Mass
October 11, 2021 20:44 - 2 hours - 258 MBAn early audible in Season Two sees Jacob and Marten tackling MIDNIGHT MASS and the terrifying film career of Mike Flanagan. Is this the best Stephen King adaptation (that's not actually based on a King novel?). Find out in super-sized Spine #15.
Spine #14 - Shakedown
October 04, 2021 20:04 - 1 hour - 191 MBThe start of a new Secret Handshake: Jacob and Marten usher in the series' second season with SHAKEDOWN, James Glickenhaus' ultraviolent NYC Grime two-handed buddy cop action extravaganza. Grab your Uzi, this one goes off the rails.
Spine #13 - The Astrologer
September 29, 2021 17:08 - 1 hour - 202 MBFor the season finale, Jacob, Cody and Marten go long on Craig Denney's tough-to-see masterpiece of DIY outsider art. Psychedelia and Moody Blues tunes abound.
Spine #12 - The Legend of Billie Jean
August 23, 2021 17:12 - 1 hour - 210 MBFair is fair! Jacob, Marten and Cody tackle the very best teen movie in existence and dissect how it might also be the very first #metoo movie ever. Helen Slater. Christian Slater. Keith Gordon. Fire up your motor scooters, we're headed to Texas! (Programming Note: this episode was originally recorded as "Spine #7" before we called an audible and did THE EMPTY MAN with David Prior at the last minute. Please excuse the odd mis-numbering in the intro.)
Spine #11 - Point Break
July 06, 2021 17:32 - 1 hour - 195 MBThe boys took a few months off due to "life complications", but are back with one of the best action movies ever made: Kathryn Bigelow's mystical, violent, and utterly brilliant 1991 surfer/bank robber opus, POINT BREAK.
Spine #10 - The Hitcher
March 22, 2021 18:35 - 2 hours - 222 MBJacob, Marten and Cody pick up Rutger Hauer and are subsequently terrorized by this stone classic of vehicular horror. Buckle up for two hours of deep dive analysis, Robert Harmon love, and bonus Vin Diesel trivia.
Spine #9 - Killer Party
March 15, 2021 07:01 - 1 hour - 193 MBSpine #9 is all about slasher movies, as Marten introduces Jacob and Cody to one of his deep cut dead teenager favorites. But is the body count high enough to warrant Face Melter status? Find out over the next 100 minutes.
Spine #8 - Battle Royale
March 08, 2021 06:33 - 1 hour - 178 MBFor the eighth spine number in the Secret Handshake collection, Marten, Jacob and Cody choose their own weapons and duel to the death over Battle Royale: Kinji Fukasaku's extreme cinema classic that's still infamous to this day. Get ready for a bonkers verbal throw down that shows no mercy.
Spine #7 - The Empty Man
March 01, 2021 06:23 - 1 hour - 147 MBJacob, Marten and Cody begin the back half of Season One by tossing out a programming curve ball: 2020's deathdrone epic, THE EMPTY MAN. But does David Prior's mishandled supernatural mystery already belong in the pantheon of great underseen art? Or did Fox and Disney do the right thing burying this idiosyncratic oddity? The boys hash it out.
Bonus Episode - Sundance '21
February 09, 2021 16:53 - 1 hour - 199 MBJacob and Marten beamed a bunch of fest movies into their eyeballs and then spit out as many opinions as they could muster in a little over 100 minutes. What were some of their favorites from the fest? What did they hate? Is fest hype still a thing in the all-digital era? Find out now!
Spine #6 - Manhunter
February 08, 2021 06:25 - 1 hour - 208 MBThe midway point of Season One brings a super stylish serial killer thriller from Michael Mann. But is this the best Hannibal Lecter adaptation to ever make it to the big screen screen? Jacob, Marten and Cody investigate.
Spine #5 - The Last Dragon
February 01, 2021 08:28 - 1 hour - 176 MBFor Spine #5, Cody picks Berry Gordy and Michael Schultz's Motown-funded Blaxploitation martial arts epic. If you don't dig it, you can kiss our Converses.
Spine #4 - Cutter's Way
January 25, 2021 06:50 - 1 hour - 183 MBSpine Four in the Secret Handshake Collection is Ivan Passer's bleak, melancholy LA neo noir, featuring a career best turn from John Heard and Jeff Bridges quietly adding another rogue to his eclectic gallery. But can something this sad also be a Certified Facemelter? Let's find out.
Spine #3 - Hard Target
January 18, 2021 06:31 - 1 hour - 190 MBFor Spine #3, Marten selects John Woo and Jean-Claude Van Damme's total scorcher of an American pairing, as Lance Henriksen hunts homeless humans and Wilford Brimley spits indecipherable Cajun gibberish. A POO-POO TAN!
Spine #2 - Six-String Samurai
January 11, 2021 16:04 - 1 hour - 156 MBFor the second spine in the SH collection, Cody selects Lance Mungia's DIY post-apocalyptic action freakout, starring Hong Kong stuntman Jeffrey Falcon as a blade-wielding Buddy Holly. But will Buddy become the King of Lost Vegas? More importantly: will Six-String Samurai be deemed a Certified Facemelter? Let's get swinging.
Spine #1 - Rolling Thunder
December 07, 2020 19:05 - 1 hour - 142 MBFor the inaugural episode of Secret Handshake, Jacob picks John Flynn and Paul Schrader's total ripper of a 'Namsploitation revenge picture. Starring: Billy Devane, Tommy Lee Jones, and Linda Haynes, ROLLING THUNDER is one of the ultimate slices of savage Texas genre cinema. But is it a Certified Facemelter? Stay tuned.