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It's episode 305, and I don't know if you've noticed, but there are some oddballs walking around this place.

Hokum (2026) finds American novelist Ohm Bauman on a pilgramage to scatter his parents' ashes in rural Ireland. Staying at an isolated hotel, he sinks into a depressive spiral, only to find renewed purpose when a member of staff goes missing. Will Ohm find them? Is the magic mushroom milk-drinking man in the woods responsible? And what's up with that honeymoon suite that's always locked...?

Hokum proves divisive in HTS towers and is either great stuff or barely up to snuff, depending on who you believe. But after a touch of praising/berating, there's plenty of time left over to discuss unlikeable protagonists, haunted hotels, the importance of CCTV, Ohms Under The Hammer, curate's eggs and how best to exit a van at speed.

Whatever happens, one thing's for sure: there are worse things than strangers out there yet.

Next time, we're making a start on perhaps our last great unwatched horror franchise, with a revisit of Halloween (1978).

It's episode 304 (part 2), and I'm in a bit of a bind.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) picks up where the last film left off, with Spike in the custody of the menacing Fingers, led by the even more menacing still Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal. Can he escape, or will he be forced to take part in their diabolical dishing out of charity across the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Britain? Meanwhile, Dr. Kelson makes an unexpected connection with Samson, an Alpha infected, that could end up changing the world.

We talk about a surprisingly touching and funny horror movie, featuring a star turn from Ralph Fiennes and some high-quality needle drops, whether you should return home in a time of crisis, whether you need to follow through on your promises to psychopaths and where you should pour boiling water in a hostage situation.

Plus, a long and in-depth discussion of whether the 28 Years Later films' invoking of one of the worst serial sex-offenders in British history as a pantomime villain is, or could ever be, justifiable. When you write it out it really does seem like a misstep doesn't it?

Whatever happens, one thing's for sure: I'm NHS; free of charge!

Next time, we're off to the cinema to see new haunted hotel film Hokum (2026).

How to Survive is now on Patreon! Support us at Patreon.com/HowtoSurvivePod to get every episode one week early, plus monthly bonus episodes and more.

It's episode 304 (part 1), and memento amorus. Remember, you must love.

28 Years Later (2025) brings us to what's left of an isolated Britain, left to ruin under permanent quarantine nearly 3 decades after the outbreak of the Rage virus. Cut off from international allies, small communities piece together whatever life they can from the wreckage that remains. We follow Spike, a child belonging to an island community on Lindisfarne, as he comes of age and journeys to the mainland in search of supplies, salvation and, eventually, meaning.

We talk about a film that is almost entirely defined by what you think of the last 2 minutes, while largely avoiding talking about the last 2 minutes, discuss whether Danny Boyle gets in the way of the film he's directing, wonder whether an island needs a boat and whether a GP is better served spending his time teaching a community medicine, rather than constructing a macabre art project.

Whatever happens, one thing's for sure: There are many kinds of death. Some are better than others.

Next time, there's only one thing we can cover, really: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2025).