Film: The Last Podcast
Director: Dean Alioto
Writer: Dean Alioto
Starring: Eric Tabach, Gabriel Rush, Dave Foley, Mick Garris, Charlie Saxton.
Synopsis – One is overly ambitious. The other is overly dead.
The Last Podcast will be playing at Dead and Sudburied on Saturday, 18th October at 9:25 PM.
Q. Your film The Last Podcast has been selected for Dead and Sudburied, can you tell us a bit about what we can expect from the film?
A. First off, this is a fun film. Yes, there’s horror and scares, but this is a film that has a blast with the whole supernatural podcaster field. The lead actor Eric Tabach (from Dexter: Resurrection (2025)) is a phenomenal young talent who shines as the subscriber- addicted podcaster. He’s like a young darker Tom Hanks. If you like unpredictable twists and turns you’ll dig this film.
Q. How did the idea for the film come about and what were your inspirations when writing the script?
A. Because I made one of the first horror found footage films (The McPherson Tape (1989)), I’ve appeared on several podcast shows. After I filled in for a podcast host for a month, I was encouraged to start my own podcast. After nearly six months, I had become a insanely obsessed with launching the “perfect” podcast that would get me a crapload of subscribers. When my girlfriend questioned my motivations for doing this podcast, I realized I was doing this podcast for all the wrong reasons. I quit pursuing immediately and decided to make a film about a crazed podcaster instead.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. An American Werewolf in London (1981) was a big influence because of the brilliant mashup of horror and dark-comedy. Other films were Martin Scorsese’s After Hours (1985) for its chaotic twisted plot, and a dash of Beetlejuice (1988).
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. Yes, I killed everyone in the first act. Seriously, the final movie stayed very close to the script. My actors, Eric Tabach, Gabriel Rush, Charlie Saxton and Dave Foley added a few improve flourishes throughout the film that elevated the humour and situations.
Q. What were some of your favourite memories of making the Film?
A. A character has his hand cut off and Eric playing the podcaster “Charley” added some hysterical reaction lines that got us through the long night of filming. There’s also a scene where an actor chokes on a burrito that had us all in stitches, but no burritos were harmed during the making of the film. The scenes with Charley’s girlfriend Brie, played by Kaikane, were sweet and was enjoyable to capture their
onscreen chemistry.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. Too many to list. It was an extremely tight schedule and was a mad sprint to get the film done on time – which we did.
Q. What makes The Last Podcast stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. The comedy. This is a very twisted tale and the scares ping pong off the humour in a hysterically inventive way. Again, Erich Tabach’s performance is exceptional, as well as his partner in crime, Gabriel Rush (The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)).
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. Beware your ambitions. If you’d kill, actually kill someone, to achieve a goal, you might to consider other professions. Haha.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. Yes, I’ve just finished a vampire dark-comedy that I hope to shoot in Scotland next year. In the meantime, I’ve just released some fun UFO documentaries The Alien Perspective and Life Beyond Earth (2025) which is available on Amazon.
Q. If someone was looking to get into filmmaking film what advice would you give them?
A. Make two shorts – the second one you’ll learn a crapload from the first one and you’ll have an idea of what your voice as a storyteller is. If you still want to be a filmmaker after that, and there’s absolutely nothing else you can do in life, then don’t give up. The line to getting to make a movie gets shorter because people give up. Lastly, have something to say. When you make a movie you have a platform to say something of substantive – don’t waste it!
You can find out more about writer-director Dean Alioto on the following social media platforms Instagram – X (Twitter) – Facebook – TikTok
The Last Podcast will be playing at Dead and Sudburied on Saturday 18th October at 9:25PM.
Find out more about the festival and purchase tickets for The Last Podcast here
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
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