NOC Week in Review #16: 10/17-23/2026

Since it’s almost Halloween, this week’s lineup skewed a little spookier than usual — a Flanagan deep-cut, a Friday the 13th prequel — before swinging into an animated epic sixteen years in the making, multiverse theories, and a documentary that’ll stick with you long after you close the tab. Spooky season really delivered.

Swara kicked things off with journalist and media commentator Sana Saeed for episode 82 of The Middle Geeks, a deep dive into the religious fervor and Muslim representation at the heart of Midnight Mass. From one legacy horror property to another, Sophia caught up with the cast of Crystal Lake — Linda Cardellini, William Catlett, Cameron Scoggins, Devin Kessler, Gwendolyn Sundstrom, and Callum Vinson — about what it takes to make a Friday the 13th prequel feel essential.

Elsewhere, Mike sat down with director Travis Knight and stars Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay to talk about Wildwood, LAIKA’s stop-motion epic sixteen years in the making, out in theaters now. And Swara, Lauren, and special guest Maryam broke down Avatar: Seven Havens episodes four through six, full spoilers included.

On my end, I got to indulge my inner Letterman fanboy this week while talking to Emmy-nominated actor Jimmi Simpson about playing every version of Ryan Holder in Dark Matter Season 2 — Lyle the Intern cameo theories included.

I also recapped episode nine, the penultimate episode of the season, where Jason and Jason2 finally have the confrontation we’ve been waiting all year for.

Finally, Valerie profiled documentarian Michael Joseph McDonald, whose short film 6,000 Waiting follows three people on Georgia’s waiver waiting list for disability services — a quietly devastating watch about what it means to hold a camera responsibly.

That’s it for now. Go watch something that scares you before Halloween rolls around next week. I hear Clayface might be the one.