I remember the thrill of running down the stairs on Christmas morning long, long ago and finding under the wire branches of our artificial tree what looked like a can of Coca Cola. But this Coke can was different: It had a hidden antenna, a volume dial and a slider that let me switch from AM to FM.
Yes, my parents had gotten me one of those amazing Coca-Cola transistor radios. And that little radio, with its crackly reception and stubborn refusal to pick up any station near either end of the dial, ranked as my top Christmas present that year.
And why not? I’d use it to listen to the White Sox blow another lead in the ninth inning or check out whether the wheeler-dealers across the border in Wisconsin could drum up any offers for that Holly Hobbie ceramic lamp sitting in their basement. If I was lucky, I’d stumble across the rantings of overexcited men (It was almost always men) shouting about flying saucers streaking above their homes.
Yes, that transistor radio opened the world to 9-year-old me in the mid-1970s. That’s all changed now, of course. Today, I just stare into my phone or flip through YouTube to kill a few brain cells at the end of the day.
The new(ish) movie Undertone, the latest creepfest from A24, made me think of that old transistor radio and the weird broadcasts it’d pick up. So, before I share six similar DJ horror films, I feel I should talk a little bit about Undertone, in case you haven’t seen it yet…
Undertone (2026)
Undertone is a creepy movie focusing on a podcaster broadcasting from the home of her dying mother, whom she’s taking care of. She and her cohost (whom we never see, only hear) are covering a series of sinister audio tapes hinting at a violent tragedy.
As the podcasters dig deeper into the tapes, our main character, Evy, begins hearing strange sounds around her home and glimpses unsettling images in her peripheral vision.
Undertone is a divisive movie, with those not liking it complaining that nothing happens. I LOVED it. But I did see it at the movies, where the booming sound system created an unusual form of audio horror. You could hear voices whispering behind you or the sounds of something scrambling along the walls to your side. I doubt Undertone would have hit as hard or gave me such a severe case of the creeps if I had streamed it.
Part of what I liked about Undertone, though, was its focus on Evy, the podcaster.
Undertone is basically a one-woman show, with Evy (Nina Kiri) in every scene, often not even talking to anyone else. That gives Undertone a sort of immediacy and claustrophobia that I like in my horror movies. It also gives viewers a main character to care about: Because Evy is on screen so much, you feel like you know her as the supernatural craziness amps up. You worry about her safety, which increases Undertone’s tension.
Where Undertone is streaming now:
Anyway, Undertone got me to thinking about the OTHER horror movies I’ve watched that focus on either DJs or podcasters. I realized that there are far more of them than I had originally imagined! And many of them rank as classics of the genre.
If you liked Undertone, then, here are six MORE horror movies anchored by DJs and podcasters to remind you of the thrill of listening to all those voices of the night, no matter how staticky the reception…
Monolith (2022)
Who would’ve thought black bricks could be scary? They are in 2022’s Monolith, another one-woman show featuring a podcaster.
And like Nina Kiri, who plays Evy in Undertone, Lilly Sullivan is terrific as the movie’s main character, listed in the credits only as “the interviewer.”
Lilly Sullivan plays a disgraced journalist trying to rebuild her career as a podcaster. In doing so, her character accidentally gets involved in a conspiracy involving odd black bricks that mysteriously show up in people’s lives. As the interviewer researches this phenomenon, she discovers that the bricks aren’t mailed to people’s homes. They aren’t brought by the UPS delivery person. They just show up.
What are these bricks? Why do they show up? You’ll need to watch Monolith to find out. I’ll just say that I found this movie to be every bit as creepy and unsettling, and ultimately satisfying, as Undertone.
The filmmakers should be credited, too, with creating an interesting main character with The Interviewer. She’s going through her own trauma here. I found her story interesting, and it dragged me into the movie. I also enjoyed her doggedness and smarts in tracking down the movie’s mystery. It’s fun to watch a horror movie that features a main character who’s clever.
How much you like Monolith, though, will depend on how comfortable you are watching one character, usually speaking into a phone or microphone, in one main setting. Yes, Monolith is a minimalist movie. And to give a fair warning: My wife fell asleep halfway through. Granted, we watched this after she spent a long day teaching middle schoolers. But if you want a bit more action in your horror, or you start your viewing experience with eyes that are already a bit heavy, you might not make it through Monolith.
That doesn’t mean it’s boring. Monolith boasts an intriguing mystery at its center that keeps the movie chugging along, despite its limited budget and setting. The revelations come out in a steady drip, and the interviews that Sullivan’s character conducts while digging into the film’s mystery are intriguing enough to make you forget that you aren’t watching hockey-masked slashers popping out of the shadows or drooling monsters screaming at the camera.
Where Monolith is streaming now:
The Fog (1980)
A confession: I didn’t love John Carpenter’s The Fog when I first watched it in 1980. I barely even liked it. You can blame Michael Myers for that.
The original Halloween remains my favorite horror film. My parents took me, my sister, and my cousins to see it during its opening run in 1978, on Thanksgiving night. I was 9 at that time. My sister was 7. Yes, we were far too young for a family outing involving impaled teens, dead truck drivers, and a deranged Dr. Loomis. I slept with the lights on for a week after watching Myers’ antics.
But I was hooked on horror forever after! And I couldn’t wait to see more movies just like Halloween. And when The Fog came out? Another horror movie by John Carpenter? I was psyched!
Of course, The Fog is nothing like Halloween. While Halloween was sleek, nasty madness, The Fog is a slow-moving, damp ghost story involving undead pirates. I left the theater bummed out that I didn’t get any slasher fun.
But when I rewatched The Fog a few years ago, I enjoyed it much more. I still don’t think it’s one of John Carpenter’s bests. But I like the atmosphere, the look of the ghosts, the feeling that we’re watching a campfire story come to life and the performances of a stacked cast, including the always entertaining Tom Atkins. The finale with our main characters trapped in a church while the pirates attack is great fun, too.
Plus, there’s a DJ, though this character seems oddly unconnected to the rest of the movie.
The DJ, of course, is played by Adrienne Barbeau, who was married to John Carpenter during the filming of The Fog. Her character, Stevie, operates what might be the coolest radio station in the country: It’s housed in a lighthouse, and her late-night shift plays, in her own words, throughout the “witching hour.” Not a bad gig.
Stevie plays a key role in The Fog. She’s the one who first discovers the threat of the fog encroaching on the fictional town of Antonio Bay. She also works hard to warn her fellow townspeople of the threat, broadcasting her warnings through her radio station. In this case? The DJ is the hero.
Stevie doesn’t interact much with the other main characters of the movie, though. Like the stars of Undertone and Monolith, she spends much of The Fog by herself in her lighthouse radio station. She does encounter the ghost pirates, though, and has a nice climactic scene in which she must climb to the roof of the lighthouse to escape the soggy clutches of the ghost pirates.
The Fog is a good watch if you want something more spooky than violent or gory. It’s also a nice watch on a damp, rainy night. (Though I’d still watch Halloween or The Thing if you want truly top-notch John Carpenter horror.)
Where The Fog is streaming now:
Play Misty for Me (1971)
Clint Eastwood made his directorial debut with 1971’s Play Misty for Me. He also stars in the movie as the world’s coolest DJ! (Coolest, at least, by 1970’s standards).
Eastwood broadcasts “cool jazz” during his late-night show from a radio station in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. His fans seem to love him, especially when he inserts dollops of poetry into his broadcasts. A typical line? “And their cities squat like black toads in the orchards of life.”
That’s a quote from the poem “O Fiery River” by American poet Kenneth Patchen. A perfect mood piece for DJ Dave Garver, Eastwood’s character, to get another long set of smooth jazz rolling.
Dave Garver’s life is going well until he meets Evelyn Draper, played with delicious menace by Jessica Walter. If you’re a fan of comedy, you’ll know Walter as the scene-stealing matriarch Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development or as the voice of Malory Archer in the animated James Bond spoof Archer. She’s great in both of those roles and is equally impressive in Play Misty for Me. But Walter isn’t going for laughs in this one. She’s a true villain here, a stalker/slasher every bit as menacing as Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers.
Evelyn first shows up at the dive bar that Dave, the town womanizer, is patronizing. The two hit it off and engage in what Dave, I think, considers a one-night stand. Evelyn has different ideas and becomes obsessed with Dave, calling him constantly, interrupting and ruining a business dinner in one of the most awkward scenes in cinema history and, of course, calling Dave while he’s on the air to request that he play the Erroll Garner song “Misty,” which gives the movie its title.
I admit to not knowing much about the song “Misty” before watching this movie. But the song is about obsessive love and how it can twist someone’s life. It makes sense, then, that Clint Eastwood would choose it as the focal point of his movie.
Evelyn is certainly obsessive. And she gets even more manic when Dave tries to rebuild a relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Tobie. This, of course, sends Evelyn into a deeper rage.
There are some shocking scenes of violence in Play Misty for Me, including Evelyn’s infamous attack on Dave’s housekeeper and the climactic fight between Dave and Evelyn in which the two characters attack each other viciously.
Play Misty for Me is tense, brutal and unsettling. It’s also more than a bit dated, so be prepared for some casual sexism.
Clint Eastwood the director also seems to be in love a bit with Eastwood the actor, especially during a long, strange interlude in which Dave and Tobie walk through the grass, make love under a waterfall (brrrr!!!), and attend a jazz festival. These scenes are long and bring the story to a standstill. In fact, every scene in which Jessica Walter’s character isn’t on screen is a bit of a letdown.
Overall, though? I prefer Play Misty for Me to later stalker-focused films such as Fatal Attraction. Much of this is due, of course, to Jessica Walter’s performance.
Where Play Misty for Me is streaming now:
All Eyes (2022)
Sometimes you stumble on a horror movie that completely surprises you, in a good way. That’s what 2022’s All Eyes did to me! I came for the quirky horror promised by the movie’s plot summary and found myself instead drawn in by a story about an elderly man mourning his deceased wife and providing a dose of redemption to a disgraced podcaster.
Yes, All Eyes is another movie featuring a disgraced podcaster. This time it’s Allen, a strong performance by actor Jasper Hammer, the former host of a podcast called U.S. Sane, which focused on stories told by conspiracy theorists and ghost hunters. After an on-air tragedy – which is a shocking one – Allen is fired.
Looking for a career boost, Allen accepts an invitation from a farmer named Don — another strong performance, this time by actor Ben Hall — who claims that a monster lives in the woods outside his home. At first, Don is a jerk. He doesn’t like Allen or his work but invites him to his home because his late wife, whom he misses dearly, was a fan of Allen’s former podcast. It’s Don’s way of honoring his wife one last time.
Gradually, of course, Don and Allen begin to connect. We learn more about Don and his relationship with his former wife. It’s interesting to watch Allen as he chats with Don come to realize what he’s missing in his own life: someone to love. Allen also must deal with his own guilt over the on-air incident that led to his firing. Allen changes, too, turning from a cocky, ethics-challenged creep to a thoughtful man concerned for the health and safety of the cooky old farmer he’s just met. The character development in All Eyes is a pleasant surprise, and something that many horror movies don’t offer.
But is there horror? YES, there is! I can’t write too much about it without spoiling All Eyes’ many surprises. But there’s a lot of fun in peeling back exactly what’s happening on Don’s farm. Again, I don’t want to spoil anything, but the movie takes a surprising twist a little more than hallway through. Let’s just say, I didn’t expect a more morbid, violent take on Home Alone to suddenly pop up on my screen.
There’s also one scene that COMPLETELY took me by surprise. It was sudden, violent and pretty darn sad. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bum me out a bit.
What’s living in Don’s woods? I wouldn’t dream of spoiling it for you. But I suggest you give All Eyes a watch. It was one of my most pleasant horror surprises of 2022.
Where All Eyes is streaming now:
The Vast of Night (2019)
The Vast of Night might be my favorite DJ horror movie on this list. That’s because of the winning combination of smart, likeable characters; a small-town setting that feels like a real place with real people; and a chilling sci-fi/horror mystery at its center.
The Vast of Night is also a period piece, set in the 1950s in the small town of Cayuga, New Mexico. Unlike many movies that try to cram their time periods down your throat (a sin that ‘80s-set films seem to commit all the time), The Vast of Night is more subtle. But you feel like you’ve been plopped down into a small New Mexico town in the 1950s when you’re watching. (That’s a pretty good feat considering that the movie was filmed in the towns of Whitney and Hillsboro, Texas, and not in New Mexico itself. Cayuga is a fictional town, like my favorite make-believe town of all time, Haddonfield, Illinois!)
The movie also features a teenage DJ and a young switchboard operator as its main characters. This means that our main characters have all the abilities and skills they need to pursue what is largely an audio-based mystery.
The Vast of Night is a classic example of a movie that does a lot with a little. I have no idea what the budget of this movie was, but it couldn’t have been much. There aren’t many special effects here, even though the plot focuses on the possibility of alien life. It doesn’t boast any big-name actors. And the most impressive set piece is the high school gym during a basketball game.
But The Vast of Night doesn’t need any CGI or special-effects wizardry. The movie tells its story through the voices broadcast on teenage Everett’s radio show and in the calls Fay, his switchboard operator friend, receives about strange objects in the sky.
Is there a threat here? Are the townspeople suffering a mass hallucination? Or are Everett and Fay simply the victims of random conspiracy theorists who might relish talking to a late-night DJ to spread their theories? Again, I don’t want to spoil anything. You’ll have to watch for yourself.
And I highly recommend that you do. There’s something cozy about The Vast of Night. And Fay and Everett are great characters to spend an hour-and-a-half with. Everett is especially engaging, with an ever-present cigarette dangling from his lips in nearly every scene.
I loved the ending, too, even though I didn’t expect it at all. It’s one that will leave you with chills while giving you plenty to think about. If you want a lo-fi science-fiction/horror hybrid with big ideas and great performances? Check this one out.
Where The Vast of Night is streaming now:
Pontypool (2008)
I have a soft spot for 2008 Canadian horror movie Pontypool. That’s partially because it’s such a unique take on the zombie movie. But I also love this movie because it helped to rekindle my interest in horror back when I first saw it 18 years ago…
I grew up loving horror movies, but I stopped watching them as I grew older, got married, and had kids. First, it was because I didn’t have time. When our kids were younger, I was more interested in sneaking some snooze time than I was in watching teens get dismembered by masked slashers.
Then? I lost interest in horror. But that’s largely because I was still thinking of horror as the movies I saw in the 1980s and 1990s. I grew tired of the countless slasher sequels and loud, rubbery monster movies I loved when I was younger.
Then, on a whim, I put on Pontypool. I discovered again just how creative horror writers and directors could be.
Pontypool was nothing like the endless stream of slashers set in camps, hospitals and quiet suburban neighborhoods. This movie was smart, funny and shocking. It surprised me. I couldn’t guess where the story was going or how it was going to wrap up. I was hooked, and I started seeking out the better-ranked horror movies I’d missed over the years.
Ever since? Horror has again become my FAVORITE movie genre, and I’m often amazed at the creativity and passion that the creators working in this space display.
What’s Pontypool all about? It’s the strangest – and I mean that in a GOOD way – zombie movie I’ve ever seen.
The movie focuses on DJ Grant Mazzy, who works the early morning shift for a radio station broadcast from the basement of a church in the small town of Pontypool in Ontario, Canada. As we’ve seen with so many other characters in this DJ horror subgenre, Mazzy is trying to rebuild his career after being fired from his DJ job in a big city. The shock jock was sent packing for being too difficult and rude on the air. Working in Pontypool? It’s a big step down.
Actor Stephen McHattie owns this movie. He turns in a star performance as Mazzy, whether he’s giving an opening monologue on a missing cat named Honey (which surprisingly kickstarts the horror in Pontypool), or barricading himself in his office to stave off the attacks of bloodthirsty townspeople. McHattie’s performance is magnetic, and he commands your attention during every second in which he is onscreen.
The movie takes place on Valentine’s Day during a snowstorm. When Mazzy stops his car on his commute to the radio station, a woman surprises him (and the audience!) by appearing out of the snow and banging on his car window. She’s saying something that Mazzy can’t quite understand.
At the station, a reporter calls in with reports about a riot at the office of a local doctor that has resulted in several deaths. The reporter is eventually attacked, too.
What’s happening? I’ll only say that Pontypool is about the power of the spoken word. It seems that language, including Mazzy’s broadcasts, have turned formerly mild-mannered Pontypool residents into vicious killers.
I’ll let you watch Pontypool yourself to see how this all plays out. I will say, though, that like the other movies on this list, the ending surprised me. In a very good way.
Where Pontypool is streaming now:
What Are YOUR favorite podcaster or DJ horror movies…?
There you have it, six horror movies starring DJs and podcasters that will scratch your itch for innovative audio horror. If you can think of any other top-tier horror flicks focusing on radio and podcasts mention them in the comments!
***This article was written by Dan Rafter***
Images for this review were purchased on CineMaterial (posters) and MovieStillsDB (stills).
Thanks, Craig, for the kind words. Post here after watching Pontypool to share what you think!
I’ve seen most of those and you’re spot on. I watched Monolith last night based off of this recommendation–had seen a poster for it on Amazon but hadn’t watched it and it was awesome. I love the slow build up movies when the pay off is worth it, and Monolith did not disappoint!
Appreciate the rec!
Off to Pontypool–the only other I haven’t watched…