Our goal is to give you reasons to explore horror you’ve never seen and give you new ways to see horror you’ve loved for years.
Jon Kitley, Damien Glonek, Aaron AuBuchon
The Blob (1958) & The Blob (1988) Continuing our theme of taking a deep dive into an original film and its remake, this time we're looking at a pair with exactly 30 years between them: The Blob, from 1958, and its 1988 remake. A lot had changed in those three decades, especially on the technical side, with advancements in special makeup effects definitely upping the ante on what we see on screen. But the remake also retains much of the same small-town feel and trappings of the original. With these two entries, it's interesting to see the similarities just as much as how the remake plays out as its own creature; sometimes winking at the original, but ultimately leaving its own gelatinous footprint. For those out there that love to hate on remakes, here's yet another pair that break the mold and had given us two entertaining entries. Sit back and enjoy! Films mentioned in this episode: 4-D Man (1959), Beware! The Blob (1972), The Beyond (1981), The Blob (1958), The Blob (1988), The Brood (1979), Dark Star (1974), Daughter of Horror (1955), Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Dinosaurus! (1960), Equinox (1970), Eraserhead (1977), Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), The Fly (1986), Forbidden Planet (1956), Fright Night 2 (1988), Funeral Home (1980), Giant Gilla Monster (1959), Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959), The Horror at Party Beach (1964), I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), Jaws (1975), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Master of Horror (1965), Nightbreed (1990), Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), Return of the Living Dead (1985), Robocop (1987), Rock Rock Rock! (1956), Scanners (1981), Schlock (1973), Scream (1996), Them (1955), The Thing (1982), Videodrome (1983)
There have been many horror writers that have been important to the genre, but few have had the outsized impact of the one and only Chas. Balun. Whether it was his work in Fangoria, Gorezone, or his own magazine Deep Red, even if you didn't see his name at the head of the article, you knew it was him within a few sentences, by either by the tone of the writing, or maybe the films he was covering. Chas' style was humorous and more than a little confrontational, but he was always waving the flag in support of movies that he felt were important and hadn't received enough attention. Sure, they tended to be on the gory side, but for Chas. it wasn't just about the gore. Not entirely, anyway. While the three of us knew his work and the impact it had on us personally, for this very special episode, we felt we needed to talk with other folks who were just as impacted by him, and also knew him personally. In the second half of the show, you'll hear from John Szpunar, author of Xeroxferox: The Wild World of the Horror Film Fanzine and Blood Sucking Freak: The Life and Films of the Incredible Joel M. Reed; Art Ettinger, editor at Ultra Violent magazine; and finally Shawn Lewis, creator of Rotten Cotten and Eibon Press. They all share their own stories of Chas, and we all discuss the profound the impact Chas. had on us and on the horror genre in general. Don't miss this one! Films mentioned in this episode: Abomination (1988), Bad Taste (1987), The Beyond (1981), Beyond the Darkness (1979), Blood Sucking Freaks (1976), Blue Velvet (1986), Braindead (1992), Bug (1975), Cannibal Holocaust (1980), City of the Walking Dead (1980), Dellamorte Dellamore (1994), The Exorcist (1973), Friday the 13th (1980), Guinea Pig 2: The Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985), Hell of the Living Dead (1980), Last House on Dead End Street (1973), Last House on the Left (1972), Mad Ron's Prevues from Hell (1987), The Nest (1987), Night of the Demon (1980), The Omen (1976), Pieces (1982), Splatterfest Exhumed (2024), Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972), Zoltan: Hound of Dracula (1977), Zombie (1979)
A Taste of Evil (1971), Snowbeast (1977), This House Possessed (1981) We're back on the small screen for our fourth dive into the world of made-for-TV horror—which should tell you something: we love these things. Maybe it's nostalgia from growing up in an era when you couldn't stream whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted. Or maybe it's because some of these films were just plain good—tight, creepy little stories that managed to leave a mark. This time around, we're not talking about the crown jewels of the genre, but rather three solid, middle-of-the-pack entries: well-made, weirdly memorable, and wildly watchable. You've got disturbed minds, ski lodge mayhem, and a haunted house that's a little too into you. If the stories don't grab you, the casts just might. Films mentioned in this episode: 1941 (1979), Abominable (2006), Alien (1979), Amityville Horror (1979), Asylum (1972), Beetlejuice (1988), Beyond the Door (1974), Blazing Saddles (1974), Butcher Baker, Nightmare Maker (1981), City of the Dead (1960), City Slickers (1991), The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Don't be Afraid of the Dark (1973), Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981), Devil Dog: Hound of Hell (1978), The Devil's Daughter (1973), Double Indemnity (1944), Drag Me to Hell (2009), Duel (1971), Frankenstein: The True Story (1973), Halloween (1978), House by the Cemetery (1981), House that Wouldn't Die (1970), Horror of Dracula (1958), I, Desire (1982), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Jaws (1975), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Night of the Creeps (1986), The Night Stalker (1972), The Night Walker (1964), Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973), Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987), Psycho (1960), Re-Animator (1985), Salem's Lot (1979), Satan's School for Girls (1973), Scream of Fear (1961), Shriek of the Mutilated (1974), Snowbeast (1977), Strange and Deadly Occurrence (1974), Suspiria (1977), A Taste of Evil (1971), Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962), This House of Possessed (1981), The Tingler (1959), Trilogy of Terror (1975), Videodrome (1983)
Black Sunday (1960), Blood and Black Lace (1964), and A Bay of Blood (1971) There are films by certain directors that are truly iconic—classics of the genre we sometimes assume everyone has already seen. But it's easy to forget that, right now, there are fans just beginning their journey into horror. Whether due to age or a newfound curiosity, they're taking their first steps into the genre. For those unfamiliar with him, we'd like to introduce one of horror's true maestros: Mario Bava. And for those already acquainted with his work, maybe it's time for a revisit—to once again be stunned by what he brings to the screen. If it's been a few years, you may find yourself seeing things in a whole new way. That's one of the beautiful things about cinema. The three films we've chosen highlight important parts of Bava's career and show how his work helped shape entire subgenres—from gothic horror to giallo to the slasher film. Whether you're discovering him for the first time or coming back for a fresh look, these films are a perfect place to begin. One quick correction: Edgar Wallace was a British writer, not American. Films mentioned in this episode: Baron Blood (1972), A Bay of Blood (1971), Black Sabbath (1963), Black Sunday (1960), Blood and Black Lace (1964), Caltiki the Immortal Monster (1959), The Church (1989), Creature with the Blue Hand (1967), Curse of the Crying Woman (1963), Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Danger: Diabolik (1968), The Day the Sky Exploded (1958), Death Walks at Midnight (1972), Death Walks in High Heels (1971), Deep Red (1975), The Demon (1982), Demons (1985), Django Kill…If You Live, Shoot! (1967), Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932), Erik the Conqueror (1961), Eyeball (1975), The Four of the Apocalypse (1975), Frankenstein '80 (1972), Frankenstein Island (1981), Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th (1981), The Giant of Marathon (1959), The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963), The Great Silence (1968), Hatchet for a Honeymoon (1970), Hercules in the Haunted World (1961), Horror of Dracula (1958), Inferno (1980), I Vampiri (1957), Knives of the Avenger (1966), Long Hair of Death (1964), Night Child (1975), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Planet of the Vampires (1965), Psycho (1960), She (1965), Shock (1977), Suspiria (1977), Thunderball (1965), The Toolbox Murders (1978), Torso (1973), The Whip and the Body (1963), Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972)
As horror fans, it's hard enough trying to keep up with all the movies—let alone the memorabilia and collectibles—but just imagine having to live with one of us! In this episode, we've invited our wives onto the show to share their perspectives—not just on living with a slightly obsessive fan, but on how they've come to embrace the genre themselves. You'll hear how they became fans in their own right, and what kinds of films still give them the shivers. As you'll learn, being a horror fan has evolved into a shared experience—a communal passion that binds us together. While we might not all love the same titles, we all agree on one thing: this genre rules. We welcome Kat AuBuchon, Jenn Glonek, and Dawn Kitley as they join us to help Discover the Horror! Films Mentioned in this episode: August Underground (2001), August Underground's Mordum (2003), Cannibal Ferox (1981), Carcinoma (2014), Deadly Games aka Dial Code Santa Clause (1989), Demoniacs (1974), The Descent (2005), Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971), Frankenstein (1931), Friday the 13th (1980), Funny Games (1997), The Godfather (1972), Gods of the Deep (2023), Godzilla (1954), Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), Halloween V: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987), High Tension (2003), Hostel (2005), Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009), Inside (2007), Longlegs (2024), Mandy (2018), Nekromantik (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Psycho (1960), Oddity (2024), One Missed Call (2008), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), The Redsin Tower (2006), The Rule of Jenny Penn (2025), Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975), Scream (1996), A Serbian Film (2010), Session 9 (2001), Sleepaway Camp (1983), Society (1989), Sting of Death (1966), The Substance (2024), The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014), Terrifier (2016), Terror Firmer (1999), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), The Thing (1982), Three on a Meathook (1972), Tromeo and Juliet (1996), Two Evil Eyes (1990), Without Warning (1980), Z.A.A.T. (1971)
Hardware (1990), Death Machine (1994), and Event Horizon (1997) The 1990s are often thought of as a decade of dread for horror fans—not because of what was on the screen, but because nothing good supposedly came out of it. Or at least, that's the typical response. But as we continue down the path to Discover the Horror, we're starting to realize that what we remember about the past isn't always accurate—whether it's based on our own memories or what we were told. When you really dig into those ten years, there's actually a lot of great stuff that came out—even just here in the U.S. And when you look beyond to international horror, it gets even better. Browse through the list and you're bound to say, “Oh yeah, I forgot about that one.” In this episode, we decided to tackle that decade and picked three titles that, as it turns out, share some very similar themes. And we think all three are well worth watching. Films mentioned in this episode: Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Batman Returns (1992), The Blair Witch Project (1999), The Boneyard (1991), Braindead (1992), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Candyman (1992), Cronos (1992), Day of the Dead (1985), Death Machine (1994), Dellamorte Dellamore (1994), The Descent (2005), Dr. Giggles (1992), Dust Devil (1992), Event Horizon (1997), Evil Dead 2 (1987), The Exorcist (1973), Faces of Death (1978), Freeway (1996), Goodfellas (1990), Godzilla (1998), Gravity (2013), Halloween (1978), Halloween H20 (1998), Hardware (1990), Hellraiser (1987), Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992), High Tension (2003), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), In the Mouth of Madness (1994), Judge Dredd (1995), Jurassic Park (1993), Lord of Illusion (1995), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Meet the Feebles (1989), Mimic (1997), Misery (1990), The Mummy (1999), Nightbreed (1990), Pulp Fiction (1994), The Princess Bride (1987), Reign of Fire (2002), The Resurrected (1991), Return of the Living Dead (1985), Return to Splatter Farm (2020), Ringu (1998), Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Star Wars (1977), Thelma & Louise (1991), The Thing (1982), Valentine (2001), Warning Sign (1985), Willow (1988)
Die, Monster, Die! (1965), Necronomicon (1993), and Gods of the Deep (2023) While Stephen King may dominate when it comes to movie adaptations of his work—good or bad—one might expect that H.P. Lovecraft, given his immense impact on the literary world, would inspire just as many films. Yet, despite his influence, far fewer movies have been made from his stories than you'd think. Perhaps it's because Lovecraft's horror isn't about the details of what his characters see, but rather what those horrors do to them—often driving them into madness. And therein lies the beauty of his work. In this episode, we dive into three very different films, spanning three decades, each drawing from the strange and unsettling tales of this enigmatic author from Providence, Rhode Island. If you're not well-versed in Lovecraft's work, this is your chance to experience three adaptations—loose as they may be—that offer a glimpse into his nightmarish imagination. Films Mentioned in this Episode: Castle Freak (1995), Color Out of Space (2019), Creepshow (1982), The Crimson Blade (1963), Crying Freeman (1995), Demon Wind (1990), The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964), Die, Monster, Die! (1965), Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966), The Dunwich Horror (1970), The Evil Dead (1981), From Beyond (1986), Gamera, Guardian of the Universe (1995), Gods of the Deep (2023), Hatchet (2006), The Haunted Palace (1963), Humanoids from the Deep (1981), In the Mouth of Madness (1994), The Invisible Ray (1935), Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), Leprechaun (1993), Leprechaun 2 (1994), Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996), Leprechaun 5: In the Hood (2000), Leprechaun 6: Back 2 Tha Hood (2003), Lovecraft Country (2020), Lurking Fear (1994), Necronomicon (1993), Re-Animator (1985), Return of the Living Dead III (1993), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), The Unnamable (1988), Vampyres (1974)
In our search for more knowledge about the horror genre, the films we love, and the people behind them, many horror fans began their journey with reference books. Long before the internet, these books served as stepping stones, introducing fans to films they had never heard of and offering deeper insight into the people behind the movies they already knew and loved. It was like opening doors for the first time—or pushing open ones that had only been slightly ajar—allowing us to explore and learn so much more. In this episode, we welcome author Bryan Senn to the show to discuss these essential reference books. With over three decades of experience writing about sci-fi and horror in a variety of magazines—not to mention his own books on multiple subjects—Bryan brings a wealth of knowledge to the conversation. So sit back and enjoy—but keep a notepad handy, because you might want to jot down a few titles to track down! Films mentioned in this episode: The Abyss (1989), Angel Heart (1987), Attack of the Beast Creatures (1985), The Believers (1987), Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971), The Body Snatcher (1945), Captive Wild Women (1943), Chloe, Love is Calling You (1934), Class of Nuke 'em High (1986), The Corpse Grinders (1971), Cry of the Banshee (1970), Death Curse of Tartu (1966), The Descent (2005), Dog Soldiers (2002), Evil Dead (1981), The Fly (1986), The Fly II (1989), Frankenstein's Daughter (1958), Friday the 13th (1980), A Game of Death (1945), The Ghost Ship (1943), The Giant Gila Monster (1959), Halloween (1978), The Haunting (1963), The Howling (1981), The Howling V: The Rebirth (1989), Howling: New Moon Rising (1995), Lady Terminator (1989), Late Phases (2014), Leprechaun (1993), Leviathan (1989), The Long Hair of Death (1964), Lords of the Deep (1989), Most Dangerous Game (1932), The Mummy (1932), The Mummy (1959), The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals (1969), The Mummy's Hand (1940), The Mummy's Tomb (1942), Mystics in Bali (1981), Nazi Mummy (2019), Night of the 1000 Cats (1972), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Onibaba (1964), Robot Jox (1989), Scream Blacula Scream (1973), The Secret of the Mummy (1982), Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), The Seventh Victim (1943), Signs (2002), Sound of Music (1965), Sting of Death (1966), The Strangeness (1985), Sugar Hill (1974), The Thing (1982), Toxic Avenger (1984), The Uncanny (1977), Uninvited (1988), Van Helsing (2004), Voodoo Black Exorcist (1974), Voodoo Heartbeat (1973)
Night of the Bloody Apes (1969), Don't Go in the House (1979), Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1981) In 1984, in the U.K., the Video Recording Act was passed, which required certification of all video releases by the British Board of Film Classification, aka BBFC. This all came about due to a list of video titles that a group of various religious and other social groups run by the likes of Mary Whitehouse, deemed unsuitable to be viewed and thought for sure it would help corrupt the youth of England. The initial list had 72 titles on it, both films that had already been released after obtaining a BBFC certificate but now was deemed too offensive, as well as a whole bunch of other titles that were believed to fall under the obscenity law. If you own a shop that rented or sold one of these titles, you could be shut down, fined, and possibly even go to jail for it. And this all took place, not in the dark ages, but in the mid 1980s. Hard to believe it, especially growing up here in the U.S. Some of those titles have only recently gotten passed and released over in the U.K., even 40 years later. Blows the mind. In this episode, we discuss not only the whole Video Nasty era, but cover 3 films from that list, with each of us watching all 3 and see if we made it through without turning us into mindless deviants. Oops. Too late. Films mentioned in this episode: The Bat Woman (1968), Beast in Heat (1977), The Body Snatcher (1957), The Braniac (1962), The Burning (1981), Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1981), Curse of the Crying Woman (1962), The Curious Dr. Hump (1969), Dead of Winter (1987), Doctor of Doom (1963), Don't Answer the Phone (1980), Don't Go in the House (1979), Don't Look in the Basement (1973), Don't Open Till Christmas (1984), Driller Killer (1979), Entrails of a Virgin (1986), Eyes of a Stranger (1981), Faces of Death (1978), Fear No Evil (1981), The Gestapo's Last Orgy (1977), Horror High (1973), I Drink Your Blood (1971), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974), Maniac (1980), Mortuary (1982), Mother's Day (1980), Nekromantik (1988), New York Ripper (1982), Night of the Bloody Apes (1969), Perdita Durango (1997), The Prowler (1981), Psycho (1960), Roar (1981), Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dracula and the Wolf Man (1973), Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters (1970), Santo vs. Frankenstein's Daughter (1972), Santo vs. the Head Hunters (1971), Santo in the Treasure of Dracula (1969),Santo in the Vengeance of the Mummy (1971), Shock Waves (1977), Silent Night Deadly Night (1984), Speed (1994), SS Experiment Love Camp (1976), Subspecies (1991), Suspiria (1977), Terrorvision (1986), Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Twister (1996), Unhinged (1982), El Vampiro (1957), The Wresting Women vs. the Aztec Mummy (1964)
In the horror community, the easiest way to show you are a fan is by what you wear. The horror T-shirt has been a staple in the fandom for what seems like forever. But it wasn't always like that. To say that fans have it easy today is a slight understatement. Not only in terms of their availability, but of the selection that is out there! It is an easy way to show the public that you are a card-carrying horror fan, whether you're wearing a Texas Chain Saw t-shirt, Cannibal Holocaust, or even a Night of the Living Dead shirt, it gives others that immediate notation that this person likes horror films. Fright Rags, one of the bigger horror T-shirt companies, has been around for over 2 decades, so we decided to ask owner/operator Ben Scrivens on the show to not only talk about the ins and outs of running a T-shirt company, but also to talk about our love of horror films and conventions. Films mentioned in this episode: Blood Sucking Freaks (1976), Braindead (1992), Bride of Re-Animator (1990), Burial Ground (1981), Cannibal Holocaust (1980), Christine (1983), Day of the Dead (1985), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead 2 (1987), Faces of Death (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982), Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988), The Gates of Hell (1980), The Greasy Strangler (2016), Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), Hellraiser (1987), House by the Cemetery (1981), Humanoids from the Deep (1980), I Spit on your Grave (1978), It's Alive (1974), Jaws 2 (1978), Jaws 3D (1983), Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), Let Sleeping Corpse Lie (1974), A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985), Night of the Living Dead (1982), Q: The Winged Serpent (1982), Return of the Living Dead (1985), The Shining (1980), Tales from the Darkside (1990), Tenebrae (1982), Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), They Live (1988), The Thing (1982), Videodrome (1983), The Warriors (1979), The Wicker Man (1973)
The Leopard Man (1943), The Seventh Victim (1943), Isle of the Dead (1945) Back in episode 23, we covered producer Val Lewton and three of his films. While Lewton only produced about a dozen films—and only a handful of them horror—his work made a huge impact on the genre. That's why we've decided to discuss three more of his films, hoping to inspire other fans to seek out not only the ones we've covered but his other titles as well. With the help of a talented group of craftsmen—including directors Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson, screenwriter Ardel Wray, and a skilled cast of actors he worked with repeatedly—Lewton created films that stood apart. They weren't just different from what he was hired to produce; they defied the expectations of most horror fans at the time. His films had style, compelling stories, and uniquely well-developed characters. They're a testament to how effective something as simple as a walk down the street can be when crafted by the right people. Films mentioned in this episode: The Body Snatcher (1945), Cat People (1942), The Curse the Cat People (1944), Curse of the Demon (1957), The Day After (1983), Isle of the Dead (1945), I Walked with a Zombie (1943), The Leopard Man (1943), Old Dark House (1932), The Seventh Victim (1943)
Nosferatu (1922), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) In episode 78, we started our ongoing Twice Told Tales segment, featuring the first two versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In this episode, with the recent release of Robert Eggers long awaited version of Nosferatu, we're going back to the original, one of cinema's first true monsters, in F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu, then following it up with Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre. As in our first Twice Told Tales episode, this isn't a comparison as to which one is better, but an opportunity to dig deep into each film, discussing why we think the impact it has made is still felt today, for both versions. We'll point out the differences, the similarities, as well as some other behind-the-scenes on the films and filmmakers as well. There is a reason the original film, one that was supposed to be completely destroyed, still lives on, almost like the undead title character. There is a reason you'll see a photo from Nosferatu in almost every book on the horror film genre. And some might think for Herzog to dare make his own versoin of this iconic classic was utter nonsense. Until you see the film. Join us on a little journey back over a century into the past, to the very beginning of horror cinema, and an incredible new take on this tale. Films mentioned in this episode: The 400 Blows (1959), Bicycle Thieves (1948), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Breathless (1960), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Count Dracula (1970), Dracula (1931), Dracula (1979), Dracula Blows His Cool (1979), Friday the 13th (1980), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Great Silence (1968), Love at First Bite (1979), Horror of Dracula (1958), Nocturna (1979), Nosferatu (1922), Nosferatu (2024), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Salem's Lot (1979), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Thirst (1979), Vampire (1979), Vampire in Venice (1988)
As 2024 comes to an end, we look in a rearview mirror filled with some amazing films, especially ones that came out this year. Filmmakers around the world wowed us with creative stories, intriguing plots and outstanding techniques. It is definitely a great time to be a horror fan. 2024 was another stellar year for us at the podcast, where we covered a wide variety of subjects, from Bigfoot to Amicus Films, from Women Directors to Al Adamson & Sam Sherman, to more obscure topics like German Expressionism, and much more. We also had an astonishing lineup of special guests including Severin's David Gregory, Vinegar Syndrome's Archivist Oscar Becher, HorrorHound's Aaron Crowell, and Will Morris from Oscarbate and The Music Box Theatre, just to name a few. One thing that continues through this year is our constant love and admiration for those that have made some long lasting impact on the genre, and our constant striving to help share that love with our listeners. Nothing excites us more than hearing that we've turned someone on to a film or filmmaker or even sub-genre that they might have not experienced before. And you can be damned sure that we plan to continue that in 2025. So join us in this extra long special episode as we go over our favorite viewings of this year, as well as some shout-outs and discussions on other films that came out in 2024. Titles mentioned in this episode: Abilgail (2024), Alien Romulus (2024), All You Need is Death (2023), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Azrael (2024), Baghead (2024), Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024), The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015), Blackout (2024), Caveat (2020), Cemetery of Terror (1985), Contracted (2013), Crawl (2019), Cuckoo (2024), Daddy's Head (2024), Darker Than Night (1975), The Deliverance (2024), Depraved (2019), The Descent (2005), The Devil's Bath (2024), Don't Panic (1987), The Dead (2010), The Equalizer (2014), Exhuma (2024), The First Omen (2024), Godzilla Minus One (2023), Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), Grave Torture (2024), Habit (1995), Heretic (2024), High Tension (2003), His House (2020), The House of the Devil (2009), Humane (2024), Immaculate (2024), Impetigore (2019), In a Violent Nature (2024), Infested (2024), Infinity Pool (2023), The Innkeepers (2011), I Saw the TV Glow (2024), I See You (2019), Late Night with the Devil (2024), Like Me (2017), Little Bites (2024), Longlegs (2024), Macumba Sexual (1983), Maxxxine (2024), Mr. Vampire (1985), Never Let Go (2024), Night Swim (2024), Nosferatu (2024), Oddity (2024), Pearl (2022), Poison for the Fairies (1986), Re-Animator (1985), Robot Jox (1989), Salem's Lot (2024), Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975), Saloum (2021), Satan's Slave (2017), Savage Hunt of King Stakh (1980), Sea Fever (2019), Smile 2 (2024), Something in the Water (2024), A Song from the Dark (2024), Starve Acre (2023), Sting (2024), Stopmotion (2024), Strange Darling (2024), Suzzanna: Queen of Black Magic (2024), The Substance (2024), Talk to Me (2022), Terrifier (2016), Terrifier 3 (2024), The Terror (2018), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022), Things Will Be Different (2024), Under Paris (2024), Under the Shadow (2016), Vampyros Lesbos (1971), V/H/S/Beyond (2024), The Wind (2018), Winterbeast (1992), X (2022)
Wake Wood (2009), The Wind (2018), Apostle (2018) Folk horror has its roots in tales of witches and paganism, stretching back centuries. In cinema, the term "folk horror" was first coined by Rod Cooper in Kine Weekly to describe the 1971 classic Blood on Satan's Claw. However, the themes that define folk horror—witchcraft, ancient rituals, and the eerie power of nature—have been present since the earliest days of film. A prime example is Benjamin Christensen's Häxan (1922), which delves into witchcraft and age-old rites. Regardless of its origins or definitions, folk horror has endured over time, weaving its way through the history of cinema. In recent decades, the genre has experienced a remarkable resurgence, not just in the United States but globally. This renewed interest may owe much to Kier-La Janisse's expansive 2021 documentary, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, which shone a spotlight on the subgenre and sparked widespread conversation. With the recent release of Volume Two of Severin's All the Haunts Be Ours box sets, now seems the perfect time to explore some of the standout modern folk horror films from the past two decades. So, venture with us into the remote villages, pagan rites, and shadowy woods where all the horrors sit waiting for you in the dark corners where people rarely go. Films mentioned in this episode: Abigail (2024), Alucarda (1977), Apostle (2018), Birth/Re-birth (2023), Blood on Satan's Claw (1971), Cuckoo (2024), Dracula (2006), Five Nights at Freddy's (2023), Flesh and the Fiends (1960), Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), Isolation (2005), Pet Sematary (1989), Rosemary's Baby (1968), Underworld (2003), Wake Wood (2009), The Wicker Man (1973), The Wind (2018), Witchfinder General (1968), Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched (2021), Zombie (1979)
From Hell it Came (1957), The Oily Maniac (1976), Cry Wilderness (1987) It's Turkey Time once again here at the podcast! And in this one, we have 3 wonderful titles to serve up to you, each one with a different flavor to appease a variety of tastes! As we've mentioned many times before, a "turkey" is not a bad movie. It's not an intentionally made bad movie. It is a film where the creators did their damnedest to make an honest-to-goodness quality production. For whatever reasons, either lack of budget, time, talent, or whatever, what they delivered might not be as good as they'd hoped, but it is still entertaining. Remember, the only bad movie is a boring one, and Turkeys are not boring. So tune in to find out about 3 Turkeys that we feel are more than worth watching during your own Turkey Day celebration! Movies mentioned in this episode: Abby (1974), Abominable (2006), Blood Freak (1972), The Chooper (1971), Corpse Mania (1981), The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Cry Wilderness (1987), The Day of the Triffids (1963), Ghost Nursing (1982), From Hell it Came (1957), Hunchback of the Morgue (1973), Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957), It Came from Hollywood (1982), Night Train to Terror (1985), The Oily Maniac (1976), Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), She-Creature (1956), The Unholy (1988)
One of the things we continue to preach on this podcast is learning about the people that are involved with the films we love. It helps you see more and understand more, about the person, as well as the final product they are involved with, whether they are an actor, makeup artist, or director. Author Joe Maddrey's recent book, The Soul of Wes Craven, from Harker Press, does just this, digging deep into the man, and shows us fans a lot more behind this Master of Horror than we might not have known. To help dig into Craven and his work, we invited Mr. Maddrey on the show to talk about his book and this highly influential filmmaker. Films mention in this episode: Act of Vengeance (1974), Alone in the Dark (1982), Angel Heart (1987), The Believers (1987), Chiller (1985), Deadly Friend (1986), Death Wish (1974), Dreamscape (1984), Frankenstein Unbound (1990), Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985), Ghost (1990), Hills Have Eyes (1977), Hills Have Eyes 2 (1984), The Horror Show (1989), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), Jacob's Ladder (1990), Last House on the Left (1972), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Red (2005), Scream (1996), The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), Shocker (1989), Swamp Thing (1982), The Thing (1982), Together (1971), War of the Worlds (1953), Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
The Legend of Hell House (1973), Hausu (1977), The Abandoned (2006) In older small towns, there is usually some old house on the outskirts of town, maybe someone lives there, maybe not. But it is one that young kids dare themselves to go up to. And if you do dare to enter this dwelling, you'll find creaking boards, dust covered items from furniture to knick-knacks, and a lot of cobwebs. And any noise, no matter how small it might, gets the mind racing. There is nothing better for the Halloween season than sitting down with a nice Haunted House movie. Which is why we decided to tackle 3 of our favorite scary movies about demented dwellings, as well as ones that we feel that need more attention. Going back to the very beginning of cinema, with Georges Méliès' The House of the Devil (1896), it shows how important this sub-genre is, and why filmmakers continue to go back to it. When done correctly, can be highly effective, and damn scary. Films mentioned in this episode: The Abandoned (2006), Aftermath (1994), Amityville Horror (1979), The Changeling (1980), The Chooper (1971), Color Out of Space (2019), The Conjuring (2013), Creepshow (1982), Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974), Dust Devil (1992), Dracula (1931), Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), The Evil (1978), Fletch (1985), Frankenstein (1931), Genesis (1998), The Ghost of Sierre de Cobre (1964), Hardware (1990), The Haunting (1963), Hausu aka House (1977), The House of Clocks (1989), The House of the Devil (1896), The House on Haunted Hill (1959), The House that Dripped Blood (1971), Ice from the Sun (1999), Infinity Pool (2023), The Innocents (1961), Jaws (1975), The Legend of Hel House (1973), The Old Dark House (1932), Paranormal Activity (2007), Pet Sematary (1989), Poltergeist (1982), Possessor (2020), Salem's Lot (1979), Scrapbook (2000), The Shining (1980), Stir of Echoes (1999), Subconscious Cruelty (2000), Tennessee Gothic (2019), Terrified (2017), Twin of Evil (1972), The Uninvited (1944), The Watcher in the Woods (1980), The Woman in Black (1989)
Four decades on, and Fangoria is still one of the leading voices of horror culture. But in it's heyday in the 1980s, it was the gold standard. It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that Fangoria was the most important part of horror culture at that time. On this episode of Discover the Horror, we take a trip through Fango's history and discuss how it shaped out love of the genre, as well as speculating on how it shaped the genre as a whole. Movies mentioned in this episode: Accion Mutante (1993), Bad Taste (1987), The Beyond (1981), Brain Dead (1992), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), The Fly (1986), Geek Maggot Bingo (1983), Godzilla (1954), I Drink Your Blood (1971), Intruder (1989), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), Motel Hell (1980), Puppet Master III (1991), Q (1982), Shriek of the Mutilated (1974), Star Wars (1977), Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Videodrome (1982), Zombie (1979)
The Vampire Doll (1970), Lake of Dracula (1971), and Evil of Dracula (1974). In the annals of Japanese horror cinema, this vampire trilogy from director Michio Yamamoto seems to be close to escaping into obscurity. In fact, try finding much more than a passing mention of these films in any reference books. But thanks to Arrow Video, all three of these films are at least saved from fading away in the sunlight like any good vampire, in one fantastic box set! Because these seemed to be on the outskirts of the vampire genre, we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to take a closer look at them, and to see if they need more attention. Listen and find out! Films mentioned in this episode: Blacula (1972), Cannibal Holocaust (1980), Count Yorga, Vampire (1970), Dracula 72 AD (1972), El Topo (1970), Evil of Dracula (1974), Frankenstein (1931), Frankenstein vs Baragon (1965), Horror of Dracula (1957), Ju-On (2002), King Kong vs Godzilla (1963), Lake of Dracula (1971), Lust for a Vampire (1971), Ring (1998), Seeding of a Ghost (1983), Son of Frankenstein (1939), Throne of Blood (1957), The Vampire Doll (1970), Vampyros Lesbos (1971)
Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Dagon (2001) Bringing the works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft to the screen is not an easy task. Much of the horror Lovecraft talked about wasn't described or explained too much, leaving it up to the reader. But when director Stuart Gordon, producer Brian Yuzna, and writer Dennis Paoli got together to adapt Lovecraft's 1922 story "Herbert West - Re-Animator" for a movie, they changed cinema forever. Not only did they show us more than Lovecraft would ever dream of, they created a perfect blend of outrageous horror, gore, and bizarre imagery that would immediately put them in the horror history books. The following year, they took another short story, From Beyond, first published in 1934, and showed even more strange, bizarre, and gooey things we'd seen before, going beyond then what the short story told us. Then 15 years later, these three deranged creators returned to Lovecraft to take us to a fishing village filled with very unusual citizens, in 2001's Dagon. While Gordon's filmography might not be filled with classic after classic, when he hit a home run, usually he was working with Yuzna and Paoli. Films mentioned in this episode: Black Gloves (2017), Color Out of Space (2019), Dagon (2001), Dust Devil (1992), From Beyond (1986), Halloween (1978), Hardware (1990), Lord of Tears (2013), Re-Animator (1985), Shrews Nest (2014), To Let (2006), Witching and Bitching (2013)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). We've decided to take on a little twist here, doing an on-going series that we're calling Twice Told Tales. This is where we are going to compare two films, an original and its remake. This is not to say which one is better, but to highlight the positives of both, what we feel works, and the differences between them. For our first episode in this series, we're going to tackle the first two versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. We're not discussing about the 2 later day versions for any reasons specifically, but wanted to concentrate on the two that are more well know, and obviously because they were the first two versions. With both of these titles recently being released on 4K, you might find yourself wanting to upgrade. Careful, there are spoilers here, but I'm sure any fan of any merit already knows of what we'll speak about. Enjoy! Movies mentioned in this episode: Alien (1979), Black Christmas (1974), The Birds (1963), The Body Snatchers (1993), The Brood (1979), Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995), Dead Zone (1983), Don't Look Now (1973), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), (1931), (1941), The Golem (1914), (1920), (1936), The Fly (1986), Henry & June (1990), Invaders from Mars (1953), The Invasion (2007), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Lost Boys (1987), The Mummy (1932), (1959), (1999), (2017), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), (1943), (1962), (1988), (1998), Psycho (1960), (1998), Song at Midnight (1937), Suspiria (1977), The Thing (1982), The Thing from Another World (1951), Shock Waves (1977), The Stuff (1985)
Mother's Day (1980), Madman (1981), Pieces (1982), and Evil Dead Trap (1988) When you're talking about horror films with most non-horror fans, they usually are thinking about the slashers which they seem to encapsule all of that genre. But when us fans start to dig into that sub-genre, that's when the questions arise, parameters seemed like they have to set, even though plenty of the films go out of their way to beyond said parameters. As if any were meant to stay between the lines! Then you start to delve into when the sub-genre started, which can then start another round of questions and discussions. To help get those arguments . . . we mean discussions started, in this episode we're going to cover 4 different slasher films, granted, of varying types, but we feel still fits into the category of slasher films. And to help with this, we've invited Aaron Crowell, Managing Editor of HorrorHound Magazine back to join in the conversation. Movies mentioned in this episode: Amsterdamned (1988), Angel Guts: High School Coed (1978), The Bad Seed (1956), Beyond the Darkness (1979), Black Christmas (1974), Blood Song (1982), Candyman (1992), Don't Go in the House (1979), Don't Go to Sleep (1982), Evil Dead Trap (1988), Evil Dead Trap 2 (1992), The Exorcist (1973), Final Exam (1981), Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks (1974), Friday the 13th (1980), Frightmare (1974), The Girl in Room 2A (1974), The Girl Next Door (2007), Halloween (1978), Hatchet (2006), House on Sorority Row (1982), The Incubus (1982), It Follows (1914), Killer Party (1986), Lady Frankenstein (1971), The Leopard Man (1943), Living Doll (1990), The Lost (2006), Madman (1981), Maniac (1980), Mother's Day (1980), Mother's Day (2010), My Bloody Valentine (1981), Offspring (2009), Paranormal Activity (2007), Peeping Tom (1960), Pieces (1982), Psycho (1960), Rape Man (2008)The Rift (1990), Satan's Blood (1978), Scream (1996), Slaughter High (1986), The Slayer (1982), Sleepaway Camp (1983), Slugs (1988), Sting of Death (1965), Supersonic Man (1979), Superstition (1982), Terrifier (2016), Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Thanksgiving (2023), The Thing (1982), Thirteen Women (1932), Tourist Trap (1979), The Woman (2011), You're Next (2011)
Films discussed: Satan's Sadists (1969), Brain of Blood (1970), Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) From the mid-60's until the late 70's director Al Adamson and producer Sam Sherman made some of the most memorable low-budget horror and exploitation pictures to slide across American drive-in and grindhouse screens. Together they made films that not only exemplified genre, they also often transcend and blended genres, creating something that has stuck in the filmgoing collective consciousness for over half a century. And when Severin Films released The Al Adamson Masterpiece Collection boxed set in 2020, whole new generations were introduced to Al and Sam's work, and those of us who were already familiar learned a thing or two (or twenty) and got to see them look better than they have since they sat on a double bill in a 70s sleaze palace. All hail Al and Sam! Movies mention in this episode: Black Shampoo (1976), Blood and Flesh: The Real Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019), Blood of Ghastly Horror (1967), Brain of Blood (1971), Brides of Blood (1968), The Crawling Hand (1963), The Day Mars Invaded Earth (1962), Dracula vs Frankenstein (1971), Easy Rider (1969), Five Bloody Graves (1969), Frankenstein's Bloody Terror (1968), Hell's Bloody Devils (1970), Kingdom of the Spiders (1977), Laserblast (1978), The Mighty Gorga (1969), The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals (1969), Mutant (1984), The Navy vs The Night Monster (1966), Night of the Blood Monster (1970), The Phantom of the Hollywood (1974), The Sadists (1963), Satan's Cheerleaders (1977), Satan's Sadist (1969), Shock (1946), Star Wars (1977), The Thrill Killers (1964), Trick or Treats (1982), The Wasp Woman (1959), The Witchmaker (1969), Without Warning (1980), The Wolf Man (1941)
In the realm of low budget filmmakers, Al Adamson, along with his partner, producer Sam Sherman, are gods among men. They created a wide variety of pictures, in just about every sub-genre out there, and made with more love than money. But they were entertaining, and always memorable. Perhaps their most memorable (and successful) film was 1971's Dracula vs. Frankenstein, in no small part thanks to the casting of a young, unknown actor in the iconic role of Dracula. Raphael Engel, rechristened Zandor Vorkov was a whole new kind of creature of the night-longhaired, goateed, and able to shoot fire out of his ring, this was a brand-new Dracula for a brand-new age. Zandor's Dracula stalked across the screen of virtually every grindhouse and drive-in screen in America in the early 70s and then across every television screen in America for a couple of decades after that. While his Dracula was being elevated to pop culture celebrity, Zandor himself left the movie business and fell out of the public eye for decades. Go to a convention, and bring up Al Adamson, and someone would eventually say "I wonder what ever happened to Zandor Vorkov?" Like any good vampire, he was just lying in the shadows, waiting to emerge anew! And on this very special episode, we have asked Raphael to join us to and talk a little about himself, his time working with Adamson and Sherman, and his fascinating take on the horror fandom that he's only recently learned existed, but has embraced warmly. You can check out Zandor's website by going to https://zandorvorkov.com or hitting him up on Facebook by clicking HERE. And if you love Al Adamson and Sam Sherman, check out the next episode we're going to do, where we dig into three of our favorite films from them!
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Golem (1920), and Waxworks (1924). In the very beginning of cinema, it was the German filmmakers who took cinema to the next level, even when it was still in its infancy. Creating strange angles, weird landscapes and buildings, and bizarre stories, these filmmakers gave audiences something completely new and different. It made such an impact, that it would inspire future filmmakers for generations to come. While being silent, these films still created such haunting images, wild characters, and fantastical designs of the sets, that can still make an impact to today's modern audiences. When Discovering the Horror, it is always important to know how we got to where we are, and the German expressionist horror films of that era is a great place to start. If you want to scoff at silent cinema, then you are depriving yourself of some truly great pieces of art, and of history. Films mentioned in this episode: The Arrival of a Train (1896), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Casablanca (1942), The Cat and the Canary (1927), The Devil and Daniel Webster, Dr. Caligari (1989), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Golem (1915), The Golem (1967), The Golem (2018), The Golem; How He Came into the World (1920), The Golem and the Dancer (1917), The Great Train Robbery (1903), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), It! (1967), Ivan the Terrible (1944), The Man Who Laughs (1928), The Mummy (1932), Nosferatu (1922), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Son of Frankenstein (1939), The Unknown (1927), Waxworks (1924)
In the mid 1950's an overzealous witch hunt took place in the United States focused on the corrupting effects of comic books on young people, which ended in horror comics being banned from the shelves by a draconian comics code. But why? What did those comics contain that got people so riled up? Well, it depends on who you ask. WE asked Dr. Dan Yezbick, a comics scholar, and he sparked a lively discussion. If you're only vaguely aware of this chapter of horror history, strap in, because pre-code horror is one of the more fascinating areas of the history of the genre. Comics mention in this episode: Adventure into Darkness, Adventures into the Unknown, Amazing Mysteries, Archies, Beware, Black Cat Mystery, Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery, Boris Karloff's Thriller, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Chamber of Chills, City of the Living Dead, Creepy, Crypt of Terror, Dark Shadows, Dead of Night, The Dead That Walk, Eerie Comics, Eerie, Grimm's Ghost Stories, Haunt of Fear, Horrific, House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Judgement Day, Master Race, Mister Mystery, Morbius, The Occult Files of Dr. Spector, Ripley's Believe It or Not True Ghost Stories, Shock Suspense Stories, Skeleton Hand, Tales from the Crypt, Tales from the Tomb, Tales Too Terrible to Tell, Terror Tales, Tomb of Dracula, Tower of Shadows, Twilight Zone, Vault of Horror, Werewolf by Night, Witch Doctor
Them! (1954), The Deadly Mantis (1957), and The Black Scorpion (1957) The decade of the 1950s gave horror fans a ton of different giant monster flicks, but usually taking something seemingly harmless, such as ants or grasshoppers, but somehow, someway, are mutated into growing into gigantic proportions! We had giant spiders, praying mantis, mollusks, and anything these creative filmmakers could come up, just make them bigger and let them loose! While modern critics, or even those at the time when these titles came out, passed them off as something for the kiddies and not to be taken seriously. And sure, they were definitely made under the term of exploitation, but when you really look at them, there is a lot of talented people behind and in front of the camera, and some really well-made and creative craftsmanship going on as well. Some aspects may seem and are very dated by today's standards, but there is still a lot there, as well as a lot of entertainment value. So grab your can of raid, a giant size flyswatter, and maybe even some industrial strength gloves to wear so you don't have to tough any of these nasty little buggers, and listen to us have a little fun discussing some big creepy crawlers! Movies mentioned in this episode: Aliens (1986), Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), The Beginning of the End (1957), The Black Scorpion (1957), The Blob (1958), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), The Deadly Mantis (1957), The Gauntlet (1977), Godzilla (1954), House of Dracula (1945), King Kong (1933), The Lost World (1925), Mighty Joe Young (1949), The Monster that Challenged the World (1957), Son of Kong (1933), S.O.S. Iceberg (1933), Sudden Impact (1983), Tarantula (1955), Them! (1954), The Thing from Another World (1951)
Splinter (2008), Thanatomorphose (2012), and Contracted (2013) When discussing films that deal with body horror, David Cronenberg and his work usually come up in the conversation. How can he not, when so many of his earlier films all dealt with some sort of body horror, mutations, and transformations? But there are plenty of films that go above and beyond (and even below) Cronenberg's impressive genre efforts... sometimes even making us wonder why we're watching them in the first place! Could it be that we just want to see how much grossness we can stomach? Or is there more to it? Body horror is one of the most horrific of horror's subgenres, tossing heaping handfuls of disgust into the usual bag of scares. And maybe it's the hangover from the recent global pandemic, maybe it's the fact that by a certain age all of us have watched someone close to us fight a serious illness, or maybe it's just built into us by Mother Nature, but there's something especially horrific about body horror from infection. But what do we get from watching it? Disgust, discomfort, and maybe a deeper understanding of human experience and anxieties? We can for sure guarantee the first two- so let's dig in! Disclaimer: by the end of the episode, you will be forgiven if you catch yourself looking at your body in a full-length mirror thinking "well, at least no maggots fell out of there." Movies mentioned in this episode: Abigail (2024), Beyond the Darkness (1979), Body Melt (1993), Carcinoma (2014), Contracted (2013), Creepshow (1982), The Fly (1986), Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), The Grudge 3 (2009), House of Wax (2005), Immaculate (2024), The Machinist (2004), Slime City (1988), Splinter (2008), Street Trash (1987), Thanatomorphose (2012), The Thing (1982), Toxic Avenger (1984)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Revenge of the Creature (1955), The Creature Walks Among Us (1956). And now, we come to the end of our Universal Monster episodes, having made our way through all the Dracula, Frankenstein, Invisible Man, Mummy, and the Wolf Man films, we now take a dive into the Black Lagoon! Coming out a little less than a decade after the last Universal Monster film (no, I'm not counting A&C Meet Frankenstein), it gave birth to a whole new generation of monster fans that might not have been around for the first cycle. And it did make quite the splash amongst fans, enough to permanently give its spot in the Universal Monster class. And there is a reason for that. Join us while we take a deep dive into these films, maybe pushing you into the deep end of some of them, discussing some things you maybe didn't know about them, and hopefully, if we're doing our jobs, make you revisit them and think about them a little differently, or at least a little more. That's the beauty of films, that no matter how many times you may have seen it, you never know what the next viewing experience will bring you. Films mentioned in this episode: Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), The Creature Walks Among Us (1956), Curse of the Werewolf (1961), The Deadly Mantis (1957), Demon of Paradise (1987), Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982), The Giant Claw (1957), House of Dracula (1945), House of Frankenstein (1944), Humanoids from the Deep (1980), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), It Came from Outer Space (1953), Jaws 3-D (1983), King Kong (1933), Mad Monster Party? (1967), The Mole People (1956), The Mummy (1932), Octaman (1971), Revenge of the Creature (1955), The Shape of Water (2017), She-Wolf of London (1946), Son of Frankenstein (1939), Tarantula (1955), The Thing from Another World (1951), This Island Earth (1955), The Wolf Man (1941)
Obviously, many of us film fans see movies in theaters througout the year, whether it be at a national chain or at an independent, arthouse theater - or both. Some of us are even hitting film festivals, special screenings, and for the truly unhinged cinephiles, film marathons. For these kind of events to happen though, there have to be some mad geniuses behind the scenes. Those people are film programmers, and they do so much for our the culture of our fandom; from tracking down film the best quality prints available, to figuring out who owns the rights, to actually making the screenings happen. A lot of times their success comes down to the sheer passion they have for these offbeat, awkward, or just downright strange and fucked up motion pictures that makes them want to pass that along to new viewers. In other words, helping new fans Discover the Horror! One of those mad geniuses is Will Morris, who is one of the programmers for the world-famous Music Box Theatre in Chicago. Will has been programming The Music Box of Horrors a 24-hour horror marathon for close to a decade now, as well as programming their yearly January Giallo festival, and much, much more. We invited Will to come on the show to not only explain a little of what he does, but why. Get ready for a fun and wild ride. Movies mentioned in the episode: 964 Pinocchio (1991), Abby (1974), Alleluia (2014), Aswang (1994), The Beyond (1981), Blood of Ghastly Horror (1967), Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (1974), Café Flesh, Calvaire (2004), The Carrier (1988), The Children (2008), Child's Play 2 (1990), Class of Nuke ‘Em High Part II: Subhumanoid Meltdown (1991), Corruption (1983), Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956), The Demons (1973), Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein (1972), Dr. Caligari (1989), Emaneulle and the Last Cannibal (1977), Ernest Scared Stupid (1991), Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead 2 (1987), The Exorcist (1973), Fiend with the Electronic Brain (1967), Fuck the Devil (1990), Fuck the Devil 2: Return of the Fucker (1991), Ganja & Hess (1973), Ginger Snaps (2000), The Granny (1995), Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), The House on Haunted Hill (1959), Last House on Dead End Street (1973), Mystics in Bali (1981), Nekromantik (1988), Jaws (1975), Jurassic Park (1993), Meet the Feebles (1989), Mirror Mirror (1990), Organ (1996), A Patch of Blue (1965), Possession (1981), Psycho a Go Go (1965), Of Unknown Origin (1983), [REC] (2007), Repulsion (1965), Roman Holiday (1953), Santet (1988), Sex Demon (2019), Shaun of the Dead (2004), The Snorkel (1958), The Tenant (1976), Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), The Thing (1982), Torso (1973), Vaya luna de miel (1980), When a Stranger Calls Back (1993), Witch with the Flying Head (1982), A Woman's Torment (1977) Show Notes: THe Mondo fanzine mentioned: https://www.instagram.com/themondomaniac The Music Box Theatre - https://www.musicboxtheatre.com
The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre (1964), Crowhaven Farm (1970), and Cruise into Terror (1978) With this being our 3rd episode covering these little television terrors, one would get the idea that there is a lot of teleplays, or TV-movies, out there that deserve our attention. And you would be correct! From the '60s into the early '80s, there was a plethora of amazing features being made for the little boob tube, not to mention a wide variety to talent behind them too! Unfortunately, a lot of these titles still wander in limbo, never getting a legitimate release, some never even seeing a VHS release. While you can find a lot on YouTube, we're all hoping for a real legitmate release at some point. Until then, we do what we must to see some incredible films! So grab your notepad because we're going to discuss 3 titles that are definitely worth your time, and hope to spark you to take a little further adventure into Made-for-TV Terrors! Titles Mentioned in this Episode: American Beauty (1999), Are You in the House Alone (1978), Bad Ronald (1974), Blue Velvet (1986), Bog (1979), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), A Cold Night's Death (1973), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Crowhaven Farm (1970), Cruise into Terror (1978), Cult of the Cobra (1955), Day of the Animals (1977), Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978), The Disembodied (1957), Fiend without a Face (1958), The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre (1965), Grave of the Vampire (1972), It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958), Marnie (1964), Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985), North By Northwest (1959), The Night Stalker (1972), Psycho (1960), Rebecca (1940), Red Dawn (1984), Rosemary's Baby (1968), Salem's Lot (1979), Satan's School for Girls (1973), Shanks (1974), Simon King of the Witches (1971), Slumber Party Massacre 2 (1987)
During conversations with serious film collectors, you might hear terms like inter-positive, or first negative, or even OCN, and have no clue to what they actually mean. Don't feel bad because a lot of us are in the same boat. These are some of the many terms used when discussing the preservation and archiving of films, not to mention the amount of work that goes into doing just that. Plus, we're not talking about the latest title coming from the MCU, but ones that were made for pennies a half a century ago, or longer, that got very little distribution, sometimes not even here in the states. But due to the thankless job (that we're hoping to change) of some dedicated cinephiles, they are doing their best to bring those titles back from nearly being a lost film. To help educate us on some of those terms, the processes, and just the sheer craziness of it all, we've asked Vault Manager and Archivist Oscar Becher from Vinegar Syndrome to do just that. While we're not covering specific films for this episode, we're pretty sure you're going to learn a thing or two, maybe be even amazed at hearing some of the processes that go into bringing you that nice and spiffy new Blu-Ray of one of your favorite films. Titles mentioned in this episode: Against the Grain (2023), Blood for Dracula (1974), Deep Inside Annie Sprinkle (1981), Dog Tags (1987), Enter the Clones of Bruce (2023), Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), Frankenstein (1931), Grindhouse (2007), Martyrs (2008), New York Ninja (2021), The Night of the Hunter (1955), No Tears for the Damned aka The Las Vegas Strangler (1968), Piranha (1978), The Playgirls and the Vampire (1960), Putney Swope (1969), The Rare Blue Apes of Cannibal Isle (1975), Singin' in the Rain (1952), Star Wars (1977), Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973), Voodoo Heartbeat aka The Sex Serum of Dr. Blake (1973)
Chained (2012), Honeymoon (2014), and Relic (2020) With over 60 episodes so far in our podcast history, we realized that in all that we covered, we had never covered anything by a woman director. We knew we needed to change that. Going through the history of women directors, we realized that not only wasn't something new, but have been working in the industry since the beginning of film. And in the last two decades, have really started to show their stuff. So to help celebrate Women's History Month, we figured it was well past due that we tackle three films that were directed by women, once again, picking three random titles, but amazed to find just how similar they were to each other, not to mention being very effective in their craft, and storytelling. Movies mentioned in this episode: American Mary (2012), Army of Darkness (1992), The Babadook (2014), Chained (2012), Cockney vs Zombies (2012), Coffy (1973), Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009), Fear Street: Part One 1994 (2021), Fear Street: Part Two 1978 (2021), Fear Street: Part Three 1666 (2021), Ganja and Hess (1973), Ginger Snaps (2000), Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988), Honeymoon (2014), Humanoids from the Deep (1980), In My Skin (2002), Inside (2007), Invasion of the Body Snatcher (1956), Kids (1995), Look What Happened to Rosemary's Baby (1976), Maniac (1980), The Monster and the Girl (1914), Near Dark (1987), The Nightingale (2018), Pet Sematary (1989), The Pit and the Pendulum (1913), The Relic (1997), Relic (2020), A Serbian Film (2010), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Starry Eyes (2014), Slumber Party Massacre (1982), Street Trash (1987), The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014), Vampire (1915)
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), and House of Dracula (1945). Some say that the monster rally films marked the end of the Universal creature features, which could partially be true, but we feel it is for different reasons than the actual films themselves, and they still have a lot of merit to them. While the studio heads might not of cared too much about getting them made, those invovled did their best with what they had. One of the biggest highlights of these titles is the cast of actors in them, some making their last appearances. You get to see Karloff, Chaney Jr., Carradine, J. Carrol Naish, George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, Dwight Frye, and so many other regular faces that will bring a smile to your face when they pop up onscreen. While maybe running a little thin on ideas and decided to start combining monsters to hopefully bring back bigger box office returns, they still made films that we all still feel are entertaining and we feel are more than worth your time. Movies mentioned in this episode: Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), Billy the Kid vs Dracula (1966), The Body Snatcher (1945), Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1942), Freddy vs Jason (2003), Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), House of Dracula (1945), House of Frankenstein (1944), The Invisible Man (1933), The Invisible Man Returns (1940), Man Made Monster (1941), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), The Mummy's Hand (1940), Nocturna (1979), Of Mice and Men (1939), She-Wolf of London (1946), Son of Dracula (1943), Son of Frankenstein (1939), Son of Kong (1933), The Wolf Man (1941)
This truly is a great time to be alive as a crazy cinephile. Just about every day, new amazing looking releases of some of our favorite films are announced, as well as some almost forgotten films brought back from the edges of obscurity for a whole new generation of fans to enjoy. And one of the companies at the forefront is Severin Films, who continues to amaze us fans with the quality of their releases. From their massive box sets to the incredible special features that accompany all of their releases Severin is educating as well as entertaining a whole generation of horror, cult and exploitation fans. To help us discuss all things Severin, we figured why not invite the man behind the label, co-founder David Gregory himself! Join us while we talk about Video Nasties, how Severin got started, and why they continue to do what they do! Films mentioned in this episode: 8 ½ (1963), Africa Addio (1966), Anthropophagus (1981), The Beast (1975), The Beast in Space (1980), Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), Beyond the Darkness (1979), Black Emanuelle (1975), Blood Cult (1985), Blood and Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019), Bloody Moon (1981), Burial Ground (1981), Cannibal Holocaust (1980), Cathy's Curse (1977), The Changeling (1980), Citizen Kane (1941), City of the Dead aka Horror Hotel (1960), Cul-de-sac (1966), Dellamorte Dellamore (1994), Devil's Nightmare (1971), Dracula vs Frankenstein (1971), The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968), Enter the Clones of Bruce (2023), Faces of Death (1978), The Five Days (1973), Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971), Frances (1982), Frankenstein (1931), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), The Ghastly Ones (1968), Goodbye Uncle Tom (1971), Hell of the Living Dead (1980), I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses (1978), Justine (1969), King Kong (1976), Kiss of the Vampire (1963), Kiss Me Monster (1969), Knife in the Water (1962), The Last Horror Film (1982), The Long Hair of Death (1964), Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanely's Island of Dr. Moreau (2014), Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968), Magic (1978), Mancunian Man: The Legendary Life of Cliff Twemlow (2023), Manhunter (1986), Maniac (1980), Mondo Cane (1962), Mondo Cane 2 (1963), Mondo Magic (1975), The Mummy (1959), Nightmare aka Nightmare in a Damaged Brain (1981), Nightmare Castle (1965), Overboard (1987), The Psychic (1977), Repulsion (1965), Sadomania aka Hellhole Women (1981), Shock Wave (1977), Sinful Dwarf (1973), The Stunt Men (1980), Tales of Terror (1962), Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait (1988), Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000), Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), Threads (1984), Two Undercover Angels (1969), Vigilante (1982), The Wicker Man (1973), Women of the World (1963), Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021), Zombie (1979)
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965), The House that Dripped Blood (1971) and Tales from the Crypt (1972) Amicus Productions was most known for their anthology films, even though that was a small percentage of the types of films they did make in over the years. But because of the quality of the films, the power of the stories they were based on, and the incredible cast of actors they would hire, they always made an impact on fans. In this episode, not only do we cover three of our favorite Amicus' anthology titles, but we're joined by producer/director Lawrie Brewster, the man behind the resurrection of Amicus Productions, that is currently working on a new anthology film to be released under the Amicus name! Films Mentioned in this Episode: And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973), Asylum (1972), The Black Gloves (2017), Candyman (1992), Castle of the Living Dead (1964), City of the Dead (1960), Creepshow (1982), Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Doctor Jekyll (2023), Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1945), Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1965), From Beyond the Grave (1974), The House that Dripped Blood (1971), In the Grip of Terror (2024), Jamboree (1957), Lord of Tears (2013), Rock Around the Clock (1956), Rock! Rock! Rock! (1956), The Skull (1965), Tales from the Crypt (1972), Vault of Horror (1973)
Bigfoot (1970), Creature from Black Lake (1976), and Abominable (2006). Tales of a mysterious, giant beast that wanders the wooded areas of the U.S., has never really proven to exist, but even to this day, is believed by many to really be out there, still hidden from mankind. Starting with Bigfoot in 1970, our furry giant became the subject of many movies and documentaries, and even on TV shows, such as The Six Million Dollar Man and even his own Saturday morning series, Bigfoot and Wildboy (1977). All this did was increase the interests in the subject matter, even if it didn't make any new believers. It's a subject that is still being used today with more modern day films taking on this sub-genre, in many different variations and strange interpretations. So join us as we discuss three different styles of the Bigfoot genre and see if you believe in Sasquatch! Films mentioned in this episode: Abominable (2006), Abominable Snowman (1957), Amityville Bigfoot (2024), Amityville II: The Possession (1982), The Amityville Horror (1979), Bigfoot (1970), Bigfoot vs Megalodon (2021), Bigfoot vs Zombies (2016), Bug (2006), The Cannonball Run (1981), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Creature from Black Lake (1976), Day of the Animals (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Fog (1980), Halloween (1978), House of 1000 Corpses (2003), Invasion of the Animal People (1959), King Kong (1933), Legend of Boggy Creek (1972), Legend of Boggy Creek II (1983), Man Beast (1956), The Manitou (1978), Men in Black 3 (2012), Mountaintop Motel Massacre (1983), Night of Bloody Horror (1969), Night of the Demon (1980), No Country for Old Men (2007), Old Boy (2007). The Passion of the Christ (2004), Return of the Living Dead (1984), Rear Window (1954), Sasquatch: The Legend of Bigfoot (1976), Shriek of the Mutilated (1974), Star Wars (1977), The St. Tammany Miracle (1994), Terror in the Midnight Sun (1959), The Thing (1982), Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976), Toy Story (1995), Werewolf vs the Yeti (1975), Willow Creek (2013)
Satan's Slave (1976), Prey (1977), and Terror (1978) There are a lot of directors out there that might not have a huge filmography, or even be that well known to the general population of film fans, even in the horror genre. So there is always room to discover them! In this episode, we take a look at three films by British independent director Norman J. Warren, who didn't make a lot of films, but we feel the ones he did make, make him a worthy subject for us to discuss. Honestly, it might make sense to read a little about him before diving into the films, or at least, do it afterwards but I think he is a good example of knowing what he had to make what he did, for us, makes them a little more impressive. You'll get blood, you'll get nudity, and a lot more than you'd expect in these three very British tales of horror. Films mentioned in this episode: Batman (1989), Bloody New Year (1987), Curse of the Crimson Alter (1968), The Devil Rides Out (1968), Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), Dr. Terror's House of Horror (1965), Flesh and Blood Show (1972), The Godsend (1980), Horror Hospital (1973), Horror Planet aka Inseminoid (1981), House by the Cemetery (1981), Night Creatures (1962), Prey (1977), Satan's Slave (1976), Shiver of the Vampire (1971), Suspiria (1977), Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973), Terror (1978), Tower of Evil (1972), Vampyres (1974)
Another year ending means another Wrap Up episode where we go over our top picks for the year, as well as discussing some other titles we've seen in 2023. While most of the films we do cover here as our favorite viewings for this year are from the last few years, they are not all from 2023. But as we've pointed out many times before, if you're watching it for the first time, no matter when it was released, as far as we're concerned, it still counts as a new movie to you! 2023 has been a great year for the horror genre, especially when you look outside the U.S., which we all hope everyone out there does, because there are some incredible titles coming from Spain, Malaysia, Argentina, Japan, and more. So hopefully our listeners are not restrainted by films that are "only in English", because those folks are sadly missing out on some incredible cinema. For this episode, we strongly suggest you have a notepad and pen close by to jot down some titles because we think we're going to give you more than a few that we feel you should be checking out. And a special HUGE thanks to those that continue to tune in and listen to us ramble on about the genre we love. With this being our 60th episode, it seems our following is growing day by day, so thank you for your continued support and in 2024, we'll continue to help you Discover the Horror! Films mentioned in this episode: Accion Mutante (1993), The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (2023), Anthropophagus (1981), Bewitched (1981), Birth/Rebirth (2023), The Black Demon (2023), The Blackening (2023), Blair Witch Project (1999), Blood Flower (2022), The Boogeyman: The Origin of the Myth aka El hombre del saco (2023), The Boys from County Hell (2020), Cobweb (2023), Cocaine Bear (2023), The Conference (2023), The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), The Curse of the Crying Woman (1963), The Dark and the Wicked (2020), Don't Listen (2020), Dracula (1931), Exists (2014), The Exorcist (1973), The Exorcist: Believer (2023), Evil Dead Rise (2023), Fragile (2005), Frankenstein (1931), Godzilla Minus One (2023), Grabbers (2012), The Grandmother (2021), Halloween (1978), Hallucinations (1986), Harpoon (2019), The Haunted Palace (1963), Hellhole (2022), Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022), The Innocents (2021), Infinity Pool (2023), The Invisible Man (1933), I See You (2019), Juan of the Dead (2011), Knock at the Cabin (2023), The Lake (2023), The Last Horror Film (1982), The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023), Lifeboat (1944), Mad Heidi (2022), Meg 2 (2023), Megan (2023), Mr. Frost (1990), The Mummy (1932), The Nameless (1999), The Offering (2023), One Cut of the Dead (2017), The Outwaters (2022), The Rape of the Vampire (1968), Red Spirit Lake (1993), Renfield (2023), The Sadness (2021), Satanic Hispanics (2022), Satan's Slave (2022), Scream VI (2023), Severance (2006), Sister Death (2023), Shaky Shivers (2022), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Skinamarink (2022), Sleep Tight (2011), Talk to Me (2023), Terrified (2017), Thanksgiving (2023), They Look Like People (2015), Troll Hunter (2010), El Vampiro (1957), Venus (2022), The Vigil (2019), The Village (2004), When Evil Lurks (2023), Witching and Bitching (2013), The Wolf Man (1941), Willow Creek (2013), The Witch's Mirror (1962)
Tower of London (1962), Ghost Nursing (1982), and Stir of Echoes (1999). Believe it or not, but it's a tradition to tell spooky stories around Christmas time. Just think of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol! While some tales might be told to give one pause about how they are acting towards others, to maybe change your ways, or some told to pass on a message of hope, while others are there just to scare the crap out of you! In this episode, we're going to cover three completely different films that all deal with ghosts, in a variety of settings, times, and even countries! This just shows how international the ghost story is, though maybe changed around a bit depending on your beliefs, there is always a reason for these spirts to appear. Movies mentioned in this episode are: The Acid Eaters (1967), Black Christmas (1974), Blacula (1972), Brutal Sorcery (1983), Curse of the Undead (1959), Dream Home (2010), Duel (1971), Easy Money (1969), Eat My Dust (1976), Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Ghost Nursing (1982), Haunted Palace (1963), House of Usher (1960), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), Krampus (2015), The Legend of Hell House (1973), Mr. Vampire (1985), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), Pit Stop (1969), The Raven (1963), Seeding of a Ghost (1983), Silent Night Deadly Night (1984), The Sixth Sense (1999), Stir of Echoes (1999), The Terror (1963), Tower of London (1962), The Trip (1967), The Twilight People (1972), War of the Colossal Beast (1958)
The Werewolf of London (1935), The Wolf Man (1941), and She-Wolf of London (1946) When the night falls and the full moon rises, it is time to talk about werewolves. Not just any werewolves, but the ones that came from Universal Studios. While still riding the wave of their successes with the horror titles of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and The Invisible Man, Universal's front office continued to look for their next big monster, which spawned The Werewolf of London (1935). While it wasn't the success they'd hoped, they would try it again in 1941 on the second wave of monster films, which was a big hit. And like the curse of lycanthropy, things weren't always particualrly good with this particular sub-genre. We cover the three official titles from Universal that have the werewolf (one in title alone!) by themselves, and not any of the monster-rallys that we'll cover in the future. Will they still hold up to modern audiences? Are they worthy of their "classic monster" title? Listen and find out. Films mentioned in this episode: The Ape (1940), The Black Cat (1934), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Brute Man (1946), The Cat People (1942), Calling Dr. Death (1943), C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud (1989), Climax (1944), Dead Man's Eyes (1944), Dracula (1931), Dracula's Daughter (1936), Dracula vs Frankenstein (1971), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932), Frankenstein (1931), Frozen Ghost (1945), Great Expectations (1934), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945), House of Horror (1946), Jungle Woman (1944), The Invisible Man (1933), The Invisible Man Returns (1940), The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944), The Invisible Woman (1940), The Mad Ghoul (1943), The Mummy (1932), The Mummy's Curse (1944), The Mummy's Ghost (1944), Night of the Howling Beast (1975), Of Mice and Men (1939), Pillow of Death (1945), She-Wolf of London (1946), Son of Dracula (1943), Spider Baby (1967), Strange Confession (1945), Troll (1986), The Weird Woman (1944), The Werewolf of London (1935), The Wolf Man (1941), The Werewolf (1913), Werewolf's Shadow (1971), The White Wolf (1914), Wolf Blood: A Tale of the Forest (1925), The Wolfman (1915), The Wolfman (1923)
There are few events in horrordom quite as joyfully gluttonous as the Black Friday sales put on by our favorite boutique film labels. As the season approaches, speculation on social media and in rapid-fire in-person conversations reaches a fever pitch. What new films? What new merch? What great deals? We dream of horrors we might own someday like we're kids again hunched over a wish book or staring at a toy display from outside a shop window. Black Friday has become a defining annual event in our annual calendar of events and involves so many people in the fandom, and yet very few of us have any idea what goes into making one of these sales happen. Because it's our mission to give you new ways to see and think about all things horror, we wanted to give you a peek inside one of those boutique labels and have a look at the Black Friday sale. So our guest on this episode is Justin Tsantsa, Director of Publishing for Vinegar Syndrome, and we are also joined by Jennie Osterman, Lead Shipping Specialist for Vinegar Syndrome. They guide us through exactly what goes into the whole process and talk a bit about their astonishing new venture, Vinegar Syndrome Publishing, which will be brining some new horror to all our bookshelves in the near future. Movies mentioned in this episode: Abomination (1986), Beyond the Darkness (1979), A Blade in the Dark (1983), Blood Sucking Freaks (1976), A Cold Night's Death (1973), The Corruption of Chris Miller (1973), D.A.R.Y.L. (1985), Deep Inside (1968), Emanuelle in Bangkok (1976), The Exorcist (1973), Fortress (1985), Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982), Fright Night (1985), The Funhouse (1981), Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), The House that Dreaded Sundown (1976), Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975), The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972), Madman (1981), Maniac (1980), Mother's Day (1980), New York Ninja (2021), Phantasm (1978), The Prophecy (1995), The Prophecy II (1998), The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (2000), Red Spirit Lake (1993), Sweet Sugar (1972), Trapped (1977), What's Up, Tiger Lily (1966), Zombie (1979)
The Sting of Death (1966), APE (1976), and Brutal Sorcery (1983) It's November, so that must mean it's Turkey Time! Yes, that's right, for the last 20 years, Jon has been holding his Turkey Day Marathon Event, where we spend Black Friday delving into some of the strangest, weirdest, cheesiest, but always entertaining films. The ones most would call bad, we call them Turkeys! Damien started holding his own Turkey Day events 12 years ago, and this year, Aaron is starting his own! So why don't you?!?! What we call a Turkey is just a film that doesn't play by conventional standards. It may not have a budget, any real talent behind or in front of the camera, but they have passion, and are doing their best to make a good film. They just missed the mark here and there. But they are always entertaining and fun to watch. Especially if you are with other crazy, like-minded cinephiles! Take a listen to this episode to learn more about what Turkey Day is, as well as hearing our thoughts on three new titles we're covering this time around. Each one would be perfect for your own Turkey Day Marathon! Movies mentioned in this episode: A*P*E (1976), Bewitched (1981), Black Magic (1975), Blood Feast (1963), Blood Freak (1972), Boxer's Omen (1983), Brutal Sorcery (1983), Class of Nuke ‘Em High (1986), Corpse Grinders (1971), Death Curse of Tartu (1966), Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), Frankenstein's Bloody Terror (1968), The Hooked Generation (1968), The Horror at Party Beach (1964), The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-up Zombies (1964), Inhumanwich! (2016), It Came from Hollywood (1982), King Kong (1976), Lady Frankenstein (1971), Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976), Naked Witch (1961), Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), The Psychedelic Priest (2001), Rat Pfink a Boo Boo (1966), Robot Monster (1953), Sting of Death (1966), The Toxic Avenger (1984), Two Thousand Maniacs (1964), Whiskey Mountain (1977)
The Invisible Man (1933), The Invisible Man Returns (1940), and The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944). In the pantheon of Universal Classic Monsters, some might say the Invisible Man is the least terrifying in the monster heritage, or maybe even bordering on if they even belong in the horror genre. In this episode, we're going to delve into three of the films in Universal's Invisible series, for the most part, stay within the horror genre, though, that argument will be addressed as well! We're leaving out The Invisible Woman and Invisible Agent, since they are pretty much either a comedy or a war time action film. Join us as we try to "see" more into these films that maybe aren't as "transparent" to the casual viewer who might have missed something. Or maybe we're seeing too much and not finding them too entertaining. Want to know? You'll have to listen and find out! Movies mentioned in this episode: Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Hollow Man (2000), Invisible Agent (1942), The Invisible Man (1933), The Invisible Man (2020), The Invisible Man Return (1940), The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944), The Invisible Woman (1940), The Mummy (1932), The Mummy's Hand (1940), Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), The Phantom Creeps (1939), The Phantom of the Opera (1943), Rio Bravo (1959), The Unseen (2016), The Wolf Man (1941)
Let's face it: horror fans are, as a group, a little bit obsessive. When we sink our teeth into something we do not do it barely or easily, we take a big, honkin' bite. If we become infatuated with a director, we want to see every film they've made, read a book about them, hear people talk about them, watch documentaries about them, and so on. And the same is true for national horror cinemas, regional American horror cinemas, important eras, actors, subgenres, and the like. And in recent years, a handful of visionary producers of physical media have recognized an opportunity in our longing and have invented and are currently inundating us with boxed sets. These comprehensive, exhaustive, wonderful monsters have become a gravitational center point for our genre. But just a handful of years ago they mostly didn't exist, or were announced only every few years. Nowadays, we get several per year from companies like Severin, Vinegar Syndrome, Indicator, Arrow, and Scream! Factory, just to name a few. So we figured it was time for Discover the Horror to take a long look at the history and impact of these monolithic pieces of film history. Movies mentioned: 100 Years of Horror, Abby (1974), Alien (1979), Beast of Blood (1970), Beyond Dream's Door (1989), Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), The Black Cat (1934), Blade in the Dark (1983), Blood of Ghastly Horror (1967), The Body Snatcher (1945), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Carnival Magic (1983), Carnival of Blood (1970), Cat People (1942), City of the Living Dead (1980), Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972), The Chooper (1971), Creature with the Atomic Brain (1955), Curse of the Cat People (1944), Dawn of the Mummy (1981), Day of the Animals (1977), Deathdream (1974), Demons (1985), Demons 2 (1986), Deranged (1974), The Devil-Doll (1936), Dracula (1931), Emanuelle in Bangkok (1976), The Eroticist (1972), Fiend with the Electronic Brain (1967), Final Exam (1990), Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), The Fly (1958), Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959), Frankenstein (1931), Freaks (1932), Friday the 13th (1980), The Ghost Ship (1943), The Giant Claw (1957), The Godfather (1972), Godzilla (1954), Grizzly (1976), Gruesome Twosome (1967), Hellraiser (1987), Help Me . . . I'm Possessed (1974), House by the Cemetery (1981), I Bury the Living (1958), Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975), Images in a Convent (1979), The Invisible Man (1933), Isle of the Dead (1945), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), I Walked with a Zombie (1943), Jaws (1975), Killer Shrews (1959), Legacy of Blood (1978), The Leopard Man (1943), Mad Love (1935), Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976), The Manster (1959), Mark of the Vampire (1935), Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), The Mole People (1956), The Mummy (1932), The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals (1969), Murders in the Zoo (1933), The Mystic (1925), New York Ripper (1982), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Night of the Strangler (1972), Old Dark House (1932), The Omen (1976), One on Top of the Other aka Perversion Story (1969), The Outing (1987), Phantasm (1979), Pieces (1982), The Psychic (1977), Psycho A Go-Go (1965), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Return of Dracula (1958), The Return of the Fly (1959), Santa Sangre (1989), The Seventh Victim (1943), She-Devils on Wheels (1968), Star Wars (1977), Sting of Death (1966), Tale of the Mummy (1998), Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), The Thing (1982), Three on a Meathook (1972), The Unknown (1927), The Werewolf (1956), Whiskey Mountain (1977), Winterbeast (1992), Wizard of Gore (1970), The Wolf Man (1941), Zombies of Mora Tau (1957)
Blood Feast (1963), Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964), The Gruesome Twosome (1967), The Wizard of Gore (1970) When Herschell Gordon Lewis made his first nudie cutie film in 1961, nobody would have expected that he'd become one of the most important names in the history of horror. But with the release of Blood Feast just two years later, Lewis and his producing partner David F. Friedman would invent the gore subgenre and would fundamentally reshape horror as we knew and understood it. And for about a decade after it, Lewis would continue to release gore-obsessed fare to grindhouses and drive-ins across the nation. When those sorts of theaters started to fade away in the 70s, so did Lewis, who went back to his previous career in advertising. But in the 80s and beyond his fame was resuscitated on home video and in the pages of magazines like Fangoria and Deep Red where he became known as The Godfather of Gore. With some help from Christopher Wayne Curry, author of A Taste of Blood: The Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis, we dive into four of his films and manage to talk about a whole slew of others. Movies mentioned in this episode: Bell, Bare and the Beautiful (1963), Blood Diner (1987), Blood Feast (1963), Blood Feast (2016), Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat (2002), Blood Sucking Freaks (1976), Boin-n-g (1963), Color Me Blood Red (1965), Curse of Frankenstein (1957), The Gore Gore Girls (1972), Gruesome Twosome (1967), I Drink Your Blood (1971), Intolerance (1916), Jigoku (1960), Mardi Gras Massacre (1978), Moonshine Mountain (1964), Multiple Maniacs (1970), Night of the Living Dead (1968), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Pit Stop (1969), Polyester (1981), Scream Baby Scream (1969), Scum of the Earth (1963), A Taste of Blood (1967), Tarantula (1955), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Serial Mom (1994), This Stuff'll Kill Ya! (1971), Three on a Meathook (1972), Two Thousand Maniacs (1964), Wizard of Gore (1970), Year of the Yahoo! (1971)
Perdita Durango (1997), Common Wealth (2000), Witching and Bitching (2013) There are a few directors like Álex de la Iglesia. No matter what kind of film he's making, he weaves in and out of different genres like changing lanes on a busy highway. But no matter what, you will usually see his twisted and dark sense of humor, unique and interesting stories, and usually something you've never seen before on film. And that could all be before the opening credits! In this episode, we dive into three of his features, one a brutal tale of sex and violence, one a tale of greed and what people will do because of it, and finally a supernatural tale of witches that is quite different than anything coming from Disney! Movies mentioned in this episode: 800 Bullets (2002), Accion Mutante (1993), Blue Velvet (1986), Common Wealth (2000), The Cook, the Theif, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), Day of the Beast (1995), Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, The Last Circus (2010), Perdita Durango (1997), [REC] (2007), Sleep Tight (2011), Wild at Heart (1990), Witching and Bitching (2013)
The Mummy (1932), The Mummy's Hand (1940), The Mummy's Tomb (1942), The Mummy's Ghost (1944), and The Mummy's Curse (1944). In this episode, we go back the Universal Classics and take on one of the most unusual of the classic monsters, the Mummy. It's probably one of the best costumes and memorable character, but never seems to reach the same level of notoriety as his fellow monsters. But strangely enough, it is the one Universal monster to have more films devoted to his character alone, without going into the Monster Rally films where they had more than one monster in the picture. Here we dig up some facts as well as our own thoughts on the original 1932 film starring the one and only Boris Karloff, as well as the 4 other Mummy films that came out almost a decade later, but with much smaller budgets. These sequels started with a different mummy character and had a continuing storyline between the 4 films, or at least tried. Films mentioned in this episode: Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955), The Black Cat (1941), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Dawn of the Mummy (1981), Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), Friday the 13th (1980), Green Hell (1940), Halloween (1978), House of Frankenstein (1944), Jason X (2001), Monster Squad (1987), The Mummy (1932), The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Curse (1944), The Mummy's Ghost (1942), The Mummy's Hand (1940), The Mummy's Tomb (1942), Son of Frankenstein (1939)
To celebrate our 50th episode of Discover the Horror, we decided to do a live event, giving our listeners a chance to ask questions or make comments in the chat room while we answer them live during the show. We don't have any particular topic we planned to discuss, but we sure did go through a lot of different things, such as how the podcast got started, possible future episodes, and much more. If you weren't able to watch it live, you can now listen to the audio only of the show, or you can head over to Youtube and watch the recorded show with video there. Either way, thank you for your continued support of the show! Movies mentioned during this episode: Alien (1979), Black Christmas (1974), Black Sunday (1960), The Call of Cthulhu (2005), Castlevania (2017), A Christmas Story (1983), Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972), The Chooper (1971), City of the Living Dead (1980), A Cold Night's Death (1973), The Crawling Eye (1958), Creepshow (1982), Dagon (2001), Day of the Dead (1985), Death Dream (1974), Deep Red (1975), Deranged (1974), Equinox (1970), Event Horizon (1997), The Exorcist (1973), The Exorcist: Believer (2023), Evil Dead Rise (2023), Face of the Screaming Werewolf (1964)m From Beyond (1986), Groovie Goolies (1970), Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (2022), Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Haunting of Hill House (2018), Heavy Metal (1981), Hellbound (2021), Hellraiser (1989), Hereditary (2018), The Innocents (2021), In the Mouth of Madness (1994), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), Jaws (1975), Killing Spree (1987), Knightriders (1981), Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023), Mad Monster Party? (1967), Martin (1977), Maximum Overdrive (1986), Midsommar (2019), Nekromantik (1988), Never Take Candy from a Stranger (1960), The Nun 2 (2023), Pet Sematary (1989), Re-Animator (1985), Renfield (2023), The Resurrected (1991), Salem's Lot (1979), Suspiria (1977), Squirm (1976), Things (1989), Talk to Me (2023), Uzumaki aka Spiral (2000)
One of the things that was realized at some point after the creation of Famous Monsters magazine, was that there was this horror fandom, or fan base, of all these horror fans around the country, in a variety of ages, that realized that they were not alone in their love of horror. While there were more magazines to follow, at some point there was the birth of the fanzine, which was the low budget version of a professional magazine, but one that was created by nothing but passion. In the '90s, with home computers and then desktop publishing became something you had in your own home, more and more of these fanzines started. Each one wrote about the films they wanted to cover, whether it was mainstream, though mainly they were talking about more on the obscure side, but it was always through the excitement of hoping to get others to seek those films out. In this episode, we welcome Dave Kosanke, creator and genius behind the fanzine Liquid Cheese, which Dave created, wrote, and self-published for 25 years. Dave's knowledge of the horror genre and fanzines is a topic that he is more than well-versed in, which it shows within the first few minutes of chatting with him. Fanzines and magazines mentioned in this episode: Asian Trash Cinema, Blackest Heart, Creepy, Deep Red, Delirium, Demonique, Draculina, Dreadful Pleasures, Eerie, Echo Magazine, European Trash Cinema, Famous Monsters, Fangoria, Flesh & Blood, Gick!, Gore Creatures, Gore Gazette, Is It Uncut?, Late Night Snacks, Liquid Cheese, Little Shoppe of Horrors, Midnight Magazine, Midnight Marquee, Monster, Monster Bash, Monster, International, Monsterscene, Monsters from the Vault, Monster Times, Naked Screaming Terror, Psychotronic Video, Scary Monsters, Scream, Shock Video, Slime Time, Splatter Times, T.O.S.S., Trashfiend, We Belong Dead, Video Watchdog, Ultra Violent
Night of the Eagle aka Burn, Witch, Burn (1962), Eyes of Fire (1983), Pyewacket (2017) Welcome to Episode 48, where we discuss one of the oldest perceived monsters in our history . . . witches. But as we know, in film there are many different types of witches, therefore a lot of different types of witch movies. In some, the craft is done for good, while others lean to the darker side, maybe for a personal gain. And then there are those that are just plan evil. Either way, this is a genre monster that's not only one of the oldest, it has also crossed into many other genres, from romance, fantasy, comedy and others. But it doesn't take away the power behind the sub-genre. So sit down and make sure you have your favorite lucky charm with you, light a candle, or whatever you need to do for protection, as we delve into 3 witchy titles. Movies Mentioned During This Episode: The Abyss (1989), Blood on Satan's Claw (1971), City of the Dead aka Horror Hotel (1960), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Eyes of Fire (1983), Haxen (1922), Hereditary (2018), Night of the Demon (1957), Night of the Eagle aka Burn, Witch, Burn (1962), Pyewacket (2017), Weird Woman (1944), Witchfinder General (1968), Wicker Man (1973), Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021)