Raised by Rentals

Whose Improv Is It Anyway?

Audience choice! We asked our friends and listeners to participate by submitting clichés, tropes, genres, styles, etc.--random storytelling elements for a blind challenge game. Because no one demanded it, Josh and Mike fire up the randomizer to improv a story in real time from your suggestions...and boy, is it a doozy!

Toxic Fandomology (Rental Rant)

These days it's hard to just like what you like with so many negative-nelly armchair-critics poisoning the fun of being a pop culture fan. In the 10th RENTAL RANT episode, Josh and Mike brave the tip of an unfortunately deep iceberg to call out the evils of TOXIC FANDOM.

Mr. Monopoly’s Neighborhood

Save the community center! The "greed is good" trope of the 80s led to one of the now-forgotten genres of the 90s: the social activism comedy. For the 40th episode, Mike and Josh revisit that era and once again dare to dramatize a story-less board game with a film pitch for MONOPOLY!

Weirder Science

John Hughes movies are mostly classic coming-of-age films that set a standard for the VHS generation...but do they hold up to the scrutiny of 21st Century hindsight? In this episode, Mike and Josh extrapolate a ridiculous premise to its extremes by brainstorming a sequel to WEIRD SCIENCE!

Bustin’ Makes Me Feel Good (Super Gushers)

We remember our favorite childhood movies as awesome classics everyone should watch...but do they really hold up?

It's the return of the SUPER GUSHERS special feature as Mike and Josh ramble down rabbit trails and eventually head down memory lane to revisit GHOSTBUSTERS!

Centipede: The Motion Picture

Two of the best things about 1980s pop culture are the kickass action movies and the 8-bit video games. But why have one without the other?

For the first episode of 2023, Josh and Mike imagine a world where the sci-fi action hit of the decade was a film adaptation of the Atari classic CENTIPEDE!

Ash Saves Christmas

Ever since Ash Williams found the Necronomicon in an old cabin in the woods, he's been cursed to endlessly battle the Evil Dead. But can he and his trusty boomstick catch a break at the most wonderful time of the year? For the first episode of Season 2, Mike and Josh improv a soon-to-be holiday classic: ASH SAVES CHRISTMAS!

Episode 25. Get Stuffed

The VHS era was over by 2007 but director Eli Roth nailed the 80s holiday slasher movie trailer with his contribution to Tarantino and Rodriguez's Grindhouse double feature. Tune in as special guest Mike O'May (Count Kreepyhead) joins Mike and Josh for a very special Raised by Rentals THANKSGIVING!

Episode 24. Teen Wolf Also

In the 80s, only a loveable star like Michael J. Fox could make a sports movie about a teenage werewolf a hit at the box office. So of course Hollywood tried to cash in with a sequel that was just a copy of the original...only worse. So much worse. Guest Justin Von Strasburg joins Josh and Mike to imagine what-might-have-been with the sequel to TEEN WOLF.

Episode 23. Every Shape Has Its Thorn

After an aborted attempt at a holiday anthology series, the creators of the HALLOWEEN movies leaned hard into an origin story for the original iconic villain. But the so-called Thorn Trilogy became a thorn in the franchise's side that led to remake after reboot. For our big spooky season finale, Josh and Mike take a stab at spinning a more interesting legacy for MICHAEL MYERS.