Matt Monagle
@monagle.bsky.social
Freelance film critic. Co-founder of Certified Forgotten (www.certifiedforgotten.com), a writer-owned horror publication. Find my work at IGN, Polygon, Inverse, Dicebreaker, and more.
Pinned
Did some last-minute holiday shopping at Thrillerdelphia in Manayunk today and realized that their DVD blind bags would make a perfect addition to my Free Blockbuster library. Wonder what these are?
Reposted by Matt Monagle
Whatever this apocalypse was, the American dollar didn’t survive it but Liquid Death did
December 27, 2025 at 5:01 AM
Whatever this apocalypse was, the American dollar didn’t survive it but Liquid Death did
THE RUNNING MAN (2025): Woof.
December 27, 2025 at 3:58 AM
THE RUNNING MAN (2025): Woof.
Last year, I wrote a piece for IGN begging Amazon to release the show weekly in Season 2 (even though @thatwitchmia.bsky.social warned me ahead of time the comments would eat me alive, which they did). But, surprise surprise, Season 2 is being released weekly. I am vindicated.
Fallout Is Pretty Great. It Would've Been Better Weekly - IGN
The Fallout show on Prime Video has had everyone talking since its release, but it would have had everyone talking for much longer if it had gone with a weekly release model instead of dropping all at...
www.ign.com
December 26, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Last year, I wrote a piece for IGN begging Amazon to release the show weekly in Season 2 (even though @thatwitchmia.bsky.social warned me ahead of time the comments would eat me alive, which they did). But, surprise surprise, Season 2 is being released weekly. I am vindicated.
My brother and I are always looking for good coop opportunities, but our schedules often fall apart and games go unplayed. HOWEVER. He's convinced me to give ABIOTIC FACTOR a chance, and the reviews I've read make it sound very, very promising - even for someone (me) who doesn't like base building.
Abiotic Factor review
Abiotic Factor is an instant survival classic, and one of the best games I've played in years.
www.pcgamer.com
December 26, 2025 at 4:25 AM
My brother and I are always looking for good coop opportunities, but our schedules often fall apart and games go unplayed. HOWEVER. He's convinced me to give ABIOTIC FACTOR a chance, and the reviews I've read make it sound very, very promising - even for someone (me) who doesn't like base building.
Reposted by Matt Monagle
Netflix running an ad where they spoiler a year’s worth of shows is the best evidence yet that the company doesn’t give two shits about what’s already available on their platform.
December 26, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Netflix running an ad where they spoiler a year’s worth of shows is the best evidence yet that the company doesn’t give two shits about what’s already available on their platform.
Reposted by Matt Monagle
ANACONDA (2025). Sorry, @monagle.bsky.social.
December 25, 2025 at 11:24 PM
ANACONDA (2025). Sorry, @monagle.bsky.social.
Reposted by Matt Monagle
The best part of this is discovering that Michael Biehn has a podcast.
James Cameron on Michael Biehn’s podcast 💯
James Cameron
YouTube video by Just Foolin About with Michael Biehn
www.youtube.com
December 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
The best part of this is discovering that Michael Biehn has a podcast.
ANACONDA (2025): I’m lucky to only come across one or two films every year that really piss me off, but this is one of them. Hated, hated, hated this movie.
December 25, 2025 at 9:54 PM
ANACONDA (2025): I’m lucky to only come across one or two films every year that really piss me off, but this is one of them. Hated, hated, hated this movie.
Trailer for READY OR NOT 2 showed before ANACONDA. A little girl a few rows up asked her dad, “Can we see it?” and he answered immediately and with extreme annoyance “NO.”
December 25, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Trailer for READY OR NOT 2 showed before ANACONDA. A little girl a few rows up asked her dad, “Can we see it?” and he answered immediately and with extreme annoyance “NO.”
Reposted by Matt Monagle
Happy Shane Black Day, everyone.
December 25, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Happy Shane Black Day, everyone.
I have COVETED this piece by UK-based artist smallwhitemonster for the better part of a year, and I kept telling @andreamontoro.bsky.social that we needed to order a print. Little did I know that she already had.
December 25, 2025 at 4:11 PM
I have COVETED this piece by UK-based artist smallwhitemonster for the better part of a year, and I kept telling @andreamontoro.bsky.social that we needed to order a print. Little did I know that she already had.
Reposted by Matt Monagle
So... The Holdovers might be a new yearly watch for me?
Damn good.
Damn good.
December 25, 2025 at 2:45 PM
So... The Holdovers might be a new yearly watch for me?
Damn good.
Damn good.
It looks like Andrea’s family is suddenly very under the weather, so we’re about an hour away from spending Christmas Day at the movies instead of on Long Island, which would be a bummer but also 800% less stressful.
December 25, 2025 at 1:54 PM
It looks like Andrea’s family is suddenly very under the weather, so we’re about an hour away from spending Christmas Day at the movies instead of on Long Island, which would be a bummer but also 800% less stressful.
Can't believe I've watched FACE/OFF a million times and never clocked the Joe Bob Briggs cameo.
December 25, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Can't believe I've watched FACE/OFF a million times and never clocked the Joe Bob Briggs cameo.
Reposted by Matt Monagle
This is the third year we’ve watched THE HOLDOVERS on Christmas or Christmas Eve. I don’t have anything clever to say; it’s just a great movie about decent people.
December 25, 2025 at 2:11 AM
This is the third year we’ve watched THE HOLDOVERS on Christmas or Christmas Eve. I don’t have anything clever to say; it’s just a great movie about decent people.
Last night’s rewatch of DIE HARD confirmed one thing for me: the shot where Al Powell walks out of the minimart and looks up at the skyline, only to see (and not hear) muzzle flashes above Nakatomi Plaza, is about as cool a piece of cinema as you could hope for.
December 24, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Last night’s rewatch of DIE HARD confirmed one thing for me: the shot where Al Powell walks out of the minimart and looks up at the skyline, only to see (and not hear) muzzle flashes above Nakatomi Plaza, is about as cool a piece of cinema as you could hope for.
I'm not saying anything new here, but what a stark reminder that most of the people in power right now don't know how to build things - they only know how to break, and so when they're given the keys to the very things they've spent a lifetime trying to break, failure is the only recourse.
Bari Weiss just sent this Christmas Eve email to the CBS News staff about "building trust," which includes her tripling down on spiking the CECOT piece "to make sure it's comprehensive and fair."
One CBS staffer tells me: "She really has no idea how insulting she comes across."
One CBS staffer tells me: "She really has no idea how insulting she comes across."
December 24, 2025 at 7:02 PM
I'm not saying anything new here, but what a stark reminder that most of the people in power right now don't know how to build things - they only know how to break, and so when they're given the keys to the very things they've spent a lifetime trying to break, failure is the only recourse.
Reposted by Matt Monagle
“Like Prime, but with human beings.”
December 24, 2025 at 5:42 PM
“Like Prime, but with human beings.”
Did some last-minute holiday shopping at Thrillerdelphia in Manayunk today and realized that their DVD blind bags would make a perfect addition to my Free Blockbuster library. Wonder what these are?
December 24, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Did some last-minute holiday shopping at Thrillerdelphia in Manayunk today and realized that their DVD blind bags would make a perfect addition to my Free Blockbuster library. Wonder what these are?
Reposted by Matt Monagle
Here's a throwback to THE SIXTH GUN Christmas Story we did all those years ago.
open.substack.com/pub/cullenbu...
open.substack.com/pub/cullenbu...
Special Edition - A Sixth Gun Christmas
Nightmare Fuel is the official newsletter for fans of my work. Thank you for subscribing. Please share it with others if you think they might be interested!
open.substack.com
December 24, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Here's a throwback to THE SIXTH GUN Christmas Story we did all those years ago.
open.substack.com/pub/cullenbu...
open.substack.com/pub/cullenbu...
I had a good time with AVATAR 3, but it was striking that every major arc in Cameron's allegedly anti-colonialist movie belongs to a colonizer (a human, a human consciousness in a Na'vi avatar, ANOTHER human consciousness in a Na'vi avatar).
Here’s the problem with making Spider the emotional core of Avatar 3:
I hate this character. No shade to the actor but this guy sucks. He’s annoying as shit. If I showed up to a party and he was there, I’d leave the party. If he was in my friend group, I’d have to make some really hard decisions.
I hate this character. No shade to the actor but this guy sucks. He’s annoying as shit. If I showed up to a party and he was there, I’d leave the party. If he was in my friend group, I’d have to make some really hard decisions.
December 24, 2025 at 2:23 PM
I had a good time with AVATAR 3, but it was striking that every major arc in Cameron's allegedly anti-colonialist movie belongs to a colonizer (a human, a human consciousness in a Na'vi avatar, ANOTHER human consciousness in a Na'vi avatar).
"After years of psychic damage from social media and other phone-based distractions, I was ready to once again have a dedicated device that does nothing but play music."
Why I Quit Streaming And Got Back Into Cassettes
In the age of Spotify and AI slop, tapes remind us what we’re missing when we stop taking risks.
www.404media.co
December 24, 2025 at 2:18 PM
"After years of psychic damage from social media and other phone-based distractions, I was ready to once again have a dedicated device that does nothing but play music."
Doing our annual rewatch of DIE HARD and I have never been more convinced that John McClane sucks, that he’s a fucking idiot, that he doesn’t deserve to win, and yet. Guess that’s what makes DIE HARD an American classic.
December 24, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Doing our annual rewatch of DIE HARD and I have never been more convinced that John McClane sucks, that he’s a fucking idiot, that he doesn’t deserve to win, and yet. Guess that’s what makes DIE HARD an American classic.