Illustration by Chloe Freeman
On a normal school day in the mid-’80s, Jenius McGee, a then-middle schooler, put his love for horror on display for his classmates and woodshop teacher to see. The students were given the task of building and decorating a clock to their liking.
McGee took this as an opportunity to craft the most spine-chilling clock that his middle school contemporaries had ever laid eyes on. He started by cutting out different snippets of horror magazines, such as FANGORIA.
Once he had his creepy cut-outs, he methodically began assembling them to the clock. Different forms and characters of horror were on display, with Jason on the 12, Chucky on the 6, and Freddy Krueger on the 3, along with other depictions of guts and gore throughout.
“I turned it in, I was proud as shit,” McGee says. “I got an F. My teacher said, ‘You need to see me after class,’ and he accused me of being a Satanist.”
After the shop teacher did not take kindly to McGee’s terror timepiece, his mother was quickly called into the school. Addressing the situation, McGee’s mother backed his creation, mentioning the teacher had stated that students could decorate the clock however they pleased. While McGee did not receive an A for his work, his mother’s resilience got him out of the F.
This horror story was not the first nor the last throughout McGee’s life, yet merely a moment when the subculture was molded into his soul. From that moment forward, horror and entertainment would be integral parts of his upbringing, contributing to the emergence of the Nightmare Junkhead Podcast.
McGee is one half of this two-man talk show, with Greg D. making up the other 50%. Greg grew up with horror on the periphery up until his high school days, specifically his junior year when he saw Evil Dead 2 for the first time.
“It was Evil Dead 2, actually, that cemented, oh yeah, this is fun and crazy and wacky and weird,” he says.
While he did not have a shop assignment turned horror project, Greg has embraced the genre throughout his youth up into adulthood. Their background in the horror scene has been a clear-cut path for the two of them to start Nightmare Junkhead as well as an avenue of involvement in multiple entertainment ventures.
Greg, a 47-year-old advisor and part-time public speaking teacher at Metropolitan Community College-Maple Woods, and McGee, a 45-year-old auto-insurance salesman at Geico, both love spending their free time indulging in anything entertainment-related.
Unconventional encounters
In 2008, Greg found himself amidst a poor crowd of movie-goers when seeing The Strangers in theaters. Afterward, he made the executive decision to screen movies strictly in his backyard, a prime location for observing peaceful cinema. This is where the initial gears for the podcast began turning.
He was also beginning to listen to podcasts such as SModcast and The Film Junk Podcast at the time.
“I felt like I could get involved in the conversation the way they were talking about stuff and I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m gonna start a podcast,’” Greg says.
Greg then began a podcast with his friend Adonis and a cheap USB microphone, covering the different movie showings at Greg’s home. Soon after, his then-wife ran into McGee at a Burlesque showing. The two hit it off rather quickly, with her mentioning that McGee should show up for a movie night at their home.
McGee promptly jumped on the offer, under the impression that she was giving ‘Netflix and chill’ vibes.
“I didn’t hear the word husband,” he says as Greg chuckles. Nevertheless, McGee was still there to watch movies, and that is what he was going to do.
With Terminator showing that night, a movie that McGee likes, it was easy for him and Greg to plunge into conversation after they met. Through a compelling discussion of different movies and interests, the two quickly became cordial. That is when Greg decided to shoot his shot.
With McGee putting on an event called Monster’s Ball at Kansas City Horror Club to raise money for the Walk and Roll Foundation, which he has been doing for 15 years, Greg’s podcast was a great way to promote the event. At the drop of a dime, McGee accepted Greg’s invitation to join.
“He pops on and from the get-go, simultaneously instant chemistry,” they both say. “In my head, I’m like, this guy has either done radio before, or he’s podcasted before because there was almost immediate banter,” Greg says.
Greg was not far off with his assumptions. McGee previously worked as a standup comedian from the late ’90s to the mid-2000s, making for an easy transition to podcasting. With his booming voice and larger-than-life presence, McGee is the perfect counterpart for Greg’s straight-laced style.
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Two peas in a pod
What was initially supposed to be a 10-minute conversation rapidly turned into an hour and a half of movie banter between the two. From there, they created their monthly show, Nerds of Nostalgia, where they covered all movie genres.
They brought on their first guest, Tim Canton, co-founder of Panic Film Fest, who mentioned that he was kicking off a new podcast network where he wanted to feature a weekly horror show called Nightmare Junkhead.
“What the hell is a nightmare junkhead?” the two asked Canton.
“I don’t know, we’ll figure it out later,” Canton responded.
At that moment in 2015, the Nightmare Junkhead Podcast was born.
They then found themselves doing their Nerds of Nostalgia show, the Nightmare Junkhead Podcast, as well as hosting live shows at Screenland Tapcade and at the Alamo Drafthouse. On top of that, McGee was also doing a podcast with Canton at the time called Super Creepy FunTime Hour and his own podcast, Media Rewind, which is ongoing to this day.
During COVID, they began hosting a telethon at Screenland Armour Theatre to stay involved in the entertainment industry as well as to supply aid to the theater during the pandemic. This led to their partnership with Screenland to host their weekly live show, Friday Night Frights.
“In my opinion, there’s no better place for horror than Screenland,” says John Pata, a filmmaker out of Wisconsin and co-founder of Head Trauma Productions. “And Greg and Jenius are at the forefront of that.”
Every Friday night, the dynamic duo hosts an audience at the independent theater, providing them with pre-show entertainment, custom trailers, giveaways, and more before showing the film of the night. One of the key features that separate their showings from any other theater is their ‘yackity smackity.’ This is the term they use when they dive into discussions about the film, providing facts, trivia, and more—just bullshitting with the audience for a more personal feel.
“I think that someone like Greg and Jenius make going to the movies into an event, rather than just going to see a movie,” horror freelance writer Orrin Grey says. “I think they help keep a community alive, as opposed to all of us just sitting around in our living rooms watching movies by ourselves.”
Not only are the terror tandem keeping a community alive, but they are also expanding horror horizons.
“I truly believe Kansas City has the most welcoming, supportive film community out of any city I’ve been to, and I am not joking when I say that they’re kind of the forefront of that,” Pata says.
While Greg and McGee center their focus on horror in their numerous endeavors, the pair also embody different forms of comedy. With McGee’s background as a comedian, he is consistently bouncing jokes off of Greg, making for a very laid-back, comical feel to their podcast. They strive for their work to be ‘ifi’, which stands for informative, funny, and insightful.
“That has always been something that I’ve loved: how they just work so well together,” Cati Glidewell, horror critic and influencer out of Chicago, says. It’s just like a beautiful horrific orchestra in the best way possible.”
Glidewell has been involved in multiple podcasts and events with the Nightmare Junkhead duo after meeting them at a horror festival about seven years ago.
Once Pata had become familiar with Greg and McGee through mutual friends in the Kansas City horror scene, he saw them in a similar light that he perceived the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy from the mid-1900s.
“They just have this ebb and flow to them that is so genuine,” he says.
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Spreading love through fright
Greg and McGee are both insistent on their show being a podcast of positivity, never dismissing a movie without giving it a chance. Having been involved in the making of a few films, the two of them know everything that goes into creating a cinematic masterpiece.
“We know how much time, effort, how many cogs go into that machine. Even if it’s the biggest piece of shit in the world, somebody put a lot of time into it,” McGee says.
While horror may not be an average route to relaxation for some, Greg and McGee both use entertainment—horror, specifically—as a method of healing.
“My mom passed from cancer the summer of my junior year, and I no doubt looked to horror genres as an outlet of some sort—part of the therapy,” Greg says.
One reason the horror genre is a notable form of entertainment is because it can serve as a style of escapism for many.
Although they do their podcast and other events for their personal enjoyment, the two want to spread love and positivity to all who listen. Asking just about anyone involved in the KC film scene about them will quickly show the love that has been reciprocated by the two.
“They’re just stand-up people, but then when it comes to movies and podcasts in general, there’s no better ambassador for the Kansas City horror scene than these two gentlemen from Nightmare Junkhead,” says Adrian Torres, president of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle.
Their high praise is not strictly attributed to the entertainment that they showcase but to being genuinely respectable human beings. At the most recent Panic Fest, McGee missed the world premiere of Black Mold, a film written and directed by their friend Pata, when assisting an attendee who had a medical emergency.
“[McGee] Didn’t know the guy at all, just saw that there was somebody in trouble and left right away to help him. That’s just the type of guys they are,” Torres says.
After the film, with a disappointed look on his face, McGee broke the news to Pata that he had missed the premiere.
“I wasn’t hurt or offended. Then he told me what happened, and I was like, ‘Yeah, you did what you needed to do, and that was absolutely the right thing,’” Pata says. “And I also wouldn’t expect anything different.”
It is pretty evident through multiple testaments that the two gentlemen sitting behind their headsets and microphones are as authentic as it gets.
“The only thing that surpasses their knowledge of film is just their genuine big hearts and making everyone feel included,” Glidewell says. “Those two really are one of a kind.”
Their podcasts and other community involvement have opened doors for them to meet people and experience opportunities that would have been closed otherwise.
“We interviewed some people we never thought we would,” Greg says. “Formed friendships with some of them, so when they come to town, they’re like, ‘Hey Greg and Jenius, how are you?’”
Because of the sincere nature that the two share on and off the mic, it is easy for anyone to share conversations and relate to their experiences.
“Anybody who comes into town, whether they’re people who just come to see a movie, people who are in town for a festival because they’ve got a podcast, or whether they’re talent, the moment that these people meet Greg and Jenius, they basically become friends with them for life,” Torres says.
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What’s to come
While the two remain steady with the Nightmare Junkhead Podcast and Friday Night Frights, they continue to further their involvement in Kansas City’s film scene through their upcoming events.
With Halloween right around the corner, Mcgee and Greg are both very excited to host their annual Nerdoween event on Oct. 7. The event consists of three mystery movies picked by the duo, only giving audiences the theme before their showing. They do a similar event during the winter holidays called Christmas with the Nerds.
Since this is their ninth year hosting the event, the two decided that this year’s theme will be “Nerdoween Nein,” where they will display three movies that portray ‘nazis dying all night long.’
The six-hour event will also include the pair’s ‘yackity shmackity,’ making for an enjoyable independent theater experience at Screenland Armour. Tickets for the event are $15 and are open to all ages.
The two encourage all lovers of cinema to join them at any of their upcoming regularly scheduled and annual events.
“You’re gonna get something here that you won’t get at B&B, that you’re not gonna get at AMC, and it is a little bit more personalized, and it’s coming from people that genuinely love the cinema,” Greg says.