Now Playing Podcast celebrates its 15th year in 2022 and it’s going to get wild. This year, we’ll look to finish off a large chunk of our Video Game Retrospective – it likely won’t ever end but at least we’ll be all caught up – while knocking out more reviews in our Stephen King series. On top of that, we’ve got a calendar stacked with new entries, sequels, reboots, and remakes for everything from Marvel to Predator, and even updates to long dormant retrospectives like Martin Scorsese/Leonardo DiCaprio and — possibly, maybe, that’s what they’re telling us – Avatar.
But that’s all coming after January. The first month of the year will see the Now Playing hosts close out the Paranormal Activity retrospective (and the 2021 Fall/Winter Donation Drive), head back to theaters for an all-new Scream, and get bloody with a brand new horror retrospective.
Here’s everything coming to Now Playing Podcast in January 2022.
January 4 – The King’s Man
The long-awaited prequel in director Matthew Vaughn’s action spy trilogy hits theaters over the Christmas holiday, and though it’s likely to get trounced by Spider-Man (and Omicron) our hosts will venture back into the world of comic writer Mark Millar’s Kingsman once more to find out how the spy agency came to be.
January 7 – Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
After peaking with Paranormal Activity 3, the found footage horror series saw its box office decline further with the release of 2014’s The Marked Ones. This fifth entry puts the focus on a California teen whose family is threatened by demonic forces. Of course, these forces have a connection to sisters Katie and Kristi, as well as the events of the first film.
January 11 – The Night Flier
The never-ending Now Playing Podcast Stephen King Retrospective Series continues on January 11 with a review of 1997’s The Night Flier. The straight-to-video adaptation of King’s short story stars underrated character actor Miguel Ferrer as a tabloid reporter investigating a killer – who may or may not be a vampire — that travels from airport to airport murdering people.
January 14 – Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension
The sixth entry in the horror series attempts to tie together elements of the previous films, and this time the filmmakers added a new gimmick: 3D. By the time The Ghost Dimension was released in 2015, audiences had grown less interested in the Activity, saddling the film with its lowest box office gross — $79 million. That’s still a big return for a $10 million picture, but it put the franchise on ice for another six years.
January 18 – Scream
More than a decade after Scream 4, Ghostface makes his comeback in a sequel that once again reunites original cast members Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courtney Cox, as well as Ghostface voice Roger L. Jackson. This is the first Scream not directed by Wes Craven (who passed away in 2015), and is instead helmed by Ready or Not’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The two directors are fans of the iconic horror franchise, so it will be interesting to see what energy they can bring to the latest sequel.
January 21 – Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin
The most recent installment in the Paranormal Activity franchise skipped theaters for an exclusive Paramount Plus debut. The seventh film in the series is said to be a stand-alone sequel separate from the Katie/Kristi storyline. Now Playing’s review of Next of Kin will be the final Gold Level episode in the 2021 Fall/Winter Donation Drive.
January 25 – My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Now Playing will bring listeners back-to-back patron episodes in January. The first will debut for all listeners on the main feed – a review of 1981’s My Bloody Valentine. The cult horror classic follows a group of victims stalked by a killer in mining gear. There’s much more to the tale, of course, and the hosts will discuss the film’s origins, controversy, and legacy in the January 25 episode, which will be followed two weeks later by a review of the 2009 remake (also on the main feed).
January 28 – Dressed to Kill
Now Playing patron Sean Ray backs this exclusive review of Brian De Palma’s 1980 erotic thriller starring Angie Dickinson, Michael Caine, Nancy Allen, and Keith Gordon. One of the most critically acclaimed films on De Palma’s resume, Dressed to Kill was also one of the most divisive, scoring Razzie nominations alongside Golden Globe and Saturn Award nominations. The Now Playing hosts will sort through the controversy when Dressed to Kill is released for patrons on January 28.
