Slums of Film History

No one understands the power of cinema more than a dictator. The way movies can manipulate filmgoers to laugh, cry, and jump out of their seats in fear can be quite an attractive tool for controlling hearts and minds. Hitler and Stalin knew how to push propaganda to moviegoers in an effort to gain support for their respective pursuits. But propaganda is easy, art is hard. And while Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany both had robust film industries, neither would ever reach the heights of the West. Yet in a small east Asian country lived a film lover and future dictator who thought differently.  He believed that cinema could both serve the state and garner international attention and acclaim. On today's episode we're going to discuss how one despot yearned to legitimize the film industry of his little nation state and the extreme lengths he would go to do so. So let's start up the projector for Dictator Cinema: the Films of North Korea. 

Boats are a marvel. A human invention, mastered over thousands of years to provide food, travel and commerce to the ever evolving need of modern man. Boats are fun. They're buoyant excuses for rich people to drink champagne, wear white floppy hats and have poor people serve them oysters. But boats are scary. There's only a layer of wood and fiberglass keeping you from drowning, getting eaten by a sea creature and keeping you from catching hypothermia. And boats are traumatic. The slightest thing can go wrong and if you survive, will be left with a lifetime of mental anguish and trauma and maybe even some survivors guilt. Slate's final episode of an elongated Season 7 will cover all of these topics, but mostly the traumatic ones in an episode he coined called BOATSASTER.

We have a complicated relationship with bears. In popular culture bears are often seen as fluffy, adorable friends in children's stories, not to mention their representation in that timeless toy, the teddy bear. But make no mistake, bears will fucking kill you. We all know this, and the movies know this too.Whether they were seeking revenge, mutated, high on cocaine or just plain hungry these fluffy beasts scared and thrilled moviegoers for generations. In today's episode we take a long look at the legacy of this furry cinematic monster. So grab your flashlight and come deep into the woods with us as we search for some killer bears!

On a quick glance of this episode's title, you may think we are talking about the Underground Film Movement. But that's a highbrow topic and that's not why you come to Slums of Film History. You come here for the actual horrible things that are underground. The mutant zombie CHUDs that climb out of the sewers to eat rich people's dogs. You come for the early sci-fi films that somehow found dinosaurs and prehistoric monsters leftover from millions of years ago by drilling down into the earth. You come for the mutant praying mantises that disguise themselves as people in the subway tunnels of New York City. You come for alien killer clowns that emerge from underground to kill kids every 27 years. And of course you come for Sloth. Today we go deep down into the ground, all the way to the earth's core and back to find out what's lurking below, down in the Ugly Underground.

Everything changed in August 1945 when the first atom bombs were dropped in Japan ending WWII and introducing the world to the most destructive force man has ever known. We had officially reached the atomic age and this fact would radiate (pun intended) into every facet of our lives, including our politics and pop culture. Nukes would play a major role thrilling and horrifying moviegoers throughout the back half of the 20th century in many ways echoing the real life threat they posed during the Cold War and changing both how we viewed them as an existential threat and how movies repurposed them for entertainment. On today's explosive episode we'll discuss the history of nuclear weapons in cinema, so be sure to duck, cover and kiss your ass goodbye because we're about to launch NUKES!

Staying out after curfew. Backtalking to teachers. Drag racing. And worst of all, rock-n-roll music. What started off as a few greasers with leather jackets in the 1950s turned into a national panic every time a stuck up square uttered the term "juvenile delinquent.” Hollywood caught wind of this pretty quickly and responded accordingly with movies like “Blackboard Jungle and “Rebel Without a Cause.” And then the cheap exploitation knockoffs, slashers and cautionary tales came in droves. So join us for some good old fashioned sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. And rape and murder and STDs and switchblades and werewolves and sexy dancing and the potential murder of Natalie Wood and pedophiles that kill you in your dreams and teen lesbian murders and well, you get the point. All the things that teenagers love to do but hate the consequences of in today's episode on Teensploitation.

The movie musical is a beloved film genre that has been a part of American cinema since the 1920s. For decades American audiences couldn't get enough of these films but in the 60s the movie musical fell on hard times. Was it due to changing movie and music tastes? Cultural and social upheavals? All of the above? Many musical films released after this decade would prove to be some of the most bizarre, ill conceived and downright terrible movies ever made. We're going to dig into the worst films this genre has to offer in an attempt to find out where it all went wrong. So let's all do this one more time with feeling as we belt out a little ditty called musical monstrosities.

We love to watch women fight. Whether a slap in the face on shows like Dynasty and Real Housewives or Uma Thurman and Lucy Lui in Kill Bill, women in combat have fascinated us for decades. But in the movies at least, many of these on screen feuds got their start from real life feuds, some that lasted 50 or 60 years. Today we get to the bottom of these Hollywood fights, squabbles, tiffs, brawls and scuffles that not only defined many women's careers but also fueled them and sometimes destroyed them. Today, Slate plays referee in the fight between Woman vs Woman.

Over the years there have been several topics that we thought might just cross the line, yet each time it turned out our listeners were just as deranged as we are. This time might be a little different because our topic is animal death in movies and we don't know anyone who isn't just a little bit affected by seeing an animal killed on screen. On today's episode we're going to discuss this cinematic phenomenon in what may be our darkest episode yet...but don't worry, no animals were harmed in the making of this episode! So come along with us today as we take up Critter Killin' .

For a decade starting in 1984, all film critics, late night talk shows and entertainment news could talk about was Madonna's film career. There were hits like “Desperately Seeking Susan” and “A League of their Own” but there were plenty of misses like “Shanghai Surprise” and “Who's That Girl.” So how could she get it so right and so wrong all at the same time? For all the good and all the ugly, we're going to talk about Madonna's hit and mostly miss film career.

Bruce Lee single handedly made the kung fu movie an international phenomenon, so it's understandable that the world was rocked by his untimely death. The international film market also found themselves in a conundrum, because where could they go from there? Do they move on and try to find the next big name in kung fu pictures? Fuck no! Film producers just started hiring a bunch of martial artists and stuntmen that looked similar to Bruce and attempted to get them to adopt his mannerisms and style hoping film audiences wouldn't notice. Join us as we punch, elbow and kick our way through Brucesploitation!

Welp, it's been a year and a half of being stuck inside and Slums is finally back with an episode that's all about the joy of being outside, at the beach specifically...until something grabs you and kills you. It could be a genetically mutated fish, a hot teenage vampire, an underwater zombie or just a plain old Humanoid from the Deep, but either way, no one gets out alive after today's episode... “Beach Party Massacre.”

Today we take on a big, fat topic. Whether they’re sad people, loveless people, farting people, food loving people, farting people, unhealthy people, farting people or just farting people, the overweight have been the targets of screenwriters for many years. So sit back, grab some pizza and chips and cake as we talk about the horrible treatment of large people with Fatsploitation.

Today we present the second part of our two part series on bad parents that started with Despicable Dads and is now turning its gaze to those malicious matriarchs. If you think dads cornered the market on psychosis, murder, and incest, well think again. Cuz as they say, hell hath no fury like a woman, or mother scorned, and there's plenty of scorned mothers in this episode. Join us as we discuss Maniacal Moms.

“Only a dad, but he gives his all - To smooth the way for his children small - Doing, with courage stern and grim - The deeds that his father did for him - This is the line that for him I pen - Only a dad, but the best of men.” That’s a poem by Edgar Albert Guest about the duties of being a good, respectable and honest father - none of which we’ll talk about today. Today we talk about mean fathers that are murderers, psychopaths, and incestuous assholes from hell. We laugh at some of them, fear others and learn some lessons, albeit not in the way that Ward Cleaver would have intended. Today we talk about Despicable Dads.

Automobiles have long been symbols for personal freedom. They took us places where we couldn’t otherwise travel. It’s this freedom to go anywhere and do anything that made us feel that behind the wheel we were in complete control of our own destiny. But what happens when we lose that control? What if someone or something takes that symbol of American individualism and transforms it into a harbinger of death and mayhem? Today we’ll look at the films where vehicles get a mind of their own and go on a path of destruction and discuss how those movies subvert and exploit America's love affair with the automobile. Come ride shotgun with us today as we take a joyride in some Killer Cars!

Amputations are a serious medical procedure and amputees are usually victims of an accident, health issue or a casualty of war. But you wouldn’t know that from watching the majority of the movies we talk about today with topics like psychotic surgeons, circus freaks, amputee kung fu masters, prosthetic chicken feet and Bruce Campbell with a chainsaw attached to his bloody stump arm. And all that happens before we even get to the 90s! Today is all about a topic that some say should be sacred but doesn’t even come close in today’s nutso episode on Amputees.

Show business is notorious for being a demeaning, cruel, and humiliating industry, even under the best of circumstances, but for someone affected by various forms of dwarfism, the situation can be especially grim. While admittedly, there have been inroads within the last few decades for little people to achieve success in film and tv, but the public image of them has scarcely improved since and neither have the roles. Why is that? On today's episode we’ll attempt to find out. So join us today as we have a big discussion on little people.

Like my previous episode on Castration, sorry in advance. Actually, double sorry because today two men are going to mansplain periods of which we clearly know nothing about. But only in the movies so hopefully it’s ok? If anyone is still reading, get ready as we discuss some surprising early women’s health films, Grease, Blue Lagoon, My Girl and the mother of all period movies: Carrie. Today’s episode is a listener suggested episode called Period Piece.

Just when you thought it was over. Just when you thought there was no more revenge to be taken. Then comes a different form a retribution. These avengers aren't violated women, they aren't war weary vigilantes, they aren't even human….. they are the animals with which we share this planet. Today we resurrect our Revenge Series to look at the terrifying possibility that the animal kingdom might be just a little too human when it comes to revenge. We’ll separate fiction from reality and identify just who amongst our fine feathered, furry and fishy friends we don't want to fuck with. So get ready for Critter Vengeance because this time, it's personal.

Gentlemen, sorry in advance. Because this episode is basically just a chronology of people’s dicks getting cut off. Whether surgical, chemical, vagina dentata, self inflicted or just plain old circumcision, this episode spares no penis. Just remember, if it all becomes too much, just keep repeating IT’S ONLY A MOVIE, IT’S ONLY A MOVIE, IT’S ONLY A MOVIE. But if you’re brave, buckle up and get ready for a swinging detached dick chopping as Slate presents: Castration.

Pretty much every aspect of our daily lives involves a computer and it’s hard in this modern age to imagine our lives without them. We love our computers and can't conceive of parting with them, yet ask anyone if they think that one day the computers are going to become sentient, rise up and kill us all and you’ll get a resounding yes. Why is that? Probably the movies. It seems that ever since these thinking machines starting showing up on the silver screen all they want to do is murder us, enslave us, get us pregnant, or steal our girlfriend. On today’s episode we’re going to find out why, so join us as we boot up some bad computers.

Gender is a complicated issue, especially now. But why spend an hour talking about a highbrow topic when we can talk about Julie Andrews playing a woman playing a man playing a woman, Rodney Dangerfield forcing his stepson to dress in drag to win a girls soccer tournament and a bunch of drag queens performing Abba songs? Every movie that didn't qualify for my episode on LGBT Psychopaths is here in a much lighter episode called “Gender Benders.”

One of the most visible and tragic victims of our failed war on drugs are what we commonly refer to as “junkies.” Those poor souls whose addictions to illicit poisons are so strong they'll do anything to feed them. And throughout history these individuals have been treated by our culture as everything from villains to victims or just plain invisible. But what about the movies? How has cinema presented drug addicts in the last century of celluloid? Join us today on the Season 6 premiere of Slums of Film History to find out.

For four seasons we've talked about the various different types of revenge in movies ranging from prostitutes getting payback to vengeful spirits returning from the dead to kick some serious ass. Yet in all that time we never really talked about why. Why do we love the thought of getting revenge so much? What is it about tales of retribution that gets movie going butts into theater seats time and time again? Today in the series finale of Slums of Film History we’re going to find out why. So join us as we take our Final Vengeance!

Slate's last episode of Season 5 is marking the end. The End of the World, that is. But we’re not talking about near death experiences or stories where something almost happened to Earth but we were saved by Bruce Willis on a suicide mission. Today we’re talking about the end of humanity: movies where there isn’t a soul alive at the end. Maybe Jesus came and smote all the non believers, maybe a rogue comet or star blows us all up. Maybe the world gets covered in garbage or maybe it’s just the plain old zombie apocalypse. Either way the Earth’s going down somehow eventually, but at least we’ll have fun talking about it today as we discuss The End of the World.

In over the last century of film the concept of curses, hexes and jinxes have managed to work their way from the dark lore of mankind's past onto the shiny celluloid of today, where film audiences past and present have been thrilled by stories featuring this mythological phenomenon. But is it a myth? Are the only curses we are likely to experience are those on the silver screen?  Join us for today’s episode of Slums of Film History as we unravel this supernatural mystery. So grab your charms and protective spells because today we're meddling with curses.

Slate has been talking about this episode for 5 seasons and listeners have been asking for it for years. Today, he'll finally present his episode on Incest in the movies. So get ready for sex with cousins, sex with parents, sex with siblings, inbreeding, underage Brooke Shields nudity, Flowers in the Attic and that time Michael J Fox’s mother had a crush on him. So put your parents, siblings and cousins to bed early and get ready to feel uncomfortable as Slate presents: Incest.

What happens when there isn't anything challenging left to hunt? What do those manly big game hunters do after they've killed just about every animal that has walked the earth? The answer is simple of course, you just start huntin' humans! And for the better part of film history there have been plenty of films that have shown man treating his fellow man as game, a most dangerous game, you might say. But where did this start? How did we get from hunting rhinos with Hemingway to Arnold Schwarzenegger running for his life from American Gladiator style glam hunters on national tv? Mount up, lock and load and ride out with us today as we take up Human Huntin’!

Congrats! You made it through Part 1 and gotten through most of the nasty stuff. No more dog turds, puke eaters or lobster rape. Now we start in the late 70s and focus on botched sex change castration, roaches that live in teenager’s beehive hairdos and a maniacal mother that kills if you don’t rewind your videotapes. Today we talk about race wars, domestic film terrorism and that time Tracey Ullman picked up a water bottle completely hands free, as Slate presents Part 2 of “John Waters: The Prince of Puke.”

Director John Waters made films that simultaneously horrified and delighted audiences with a 300 pound drag queen named Divine, cannibalism, foot fetishes, a party performer with a singing anus, a 15 foot rapist lobster, and a rosary dildo. And that’s just his first 4 films. Slate can't wait to present Part 1 of his two parter on “John Waters: The Prince of Puke.”

The concept of an evil corporation or bad company is so deeply embedded in the fabric of our contemporary culture— populating novels, tv shows, and of course movies that its hard to think of any pop culture representation of a corporate entity that isn't evil. Anytime a movie features a big company their business model is usually either exploiting people, enslaving people, or just straight up killing people. On today’s episode we’re going to to dig deep and find out why. Join us as we do good work for Bad Companies!

Today we’re talking about splatter films. Blood and guts and arms and legs and mutilation and dismemberment and scalpings and beheadings. But we're also talking about the Splatter! Industry. Where and how it started, the controversy behind it and how it got it’s second and third wind long after the drive ins and grindhouses were closed. Today’s episode is not for the fainthearted, but if you love a good psycho serial killer, a zombie massacre or a simple club where rich people pay to kill Americans in an abandoned Slovakian warehouse, buckle up for today’s episode on SPLATTER!

Every 12.3 minutes, someone in America commits suicide. It's the second leading cause of death among 15 to 24-year-olds and is the 10th leading cause of death in the US. So there’s no mistaking that suicide is a very serious matter. And throughout film history, there have been countless serious movies that have seriously treated this subject matter with the seriousness that it deserves...seriously. But every so often comes that rare film that says "fuck it" and dares to find the dark humor and satire on the fringes of this national tragedy. And it's those movies that we’re gonna discuss today. So stop what you're doing and hop on the Slums bus with us today as we take a Wacky Ride to Suicide!

The first time a deal with the devil is made in history is in the writings of Johann Georg Faust around the late 1400s, and thus a whole genre of books, poems, operas and movies was born. Today Slate will tackle the not-so-important question: why are there are so many movies where someone makes a stupid deal, pact or bet with the devil? Where did this idea come from and why was it so popular in the 80s that everyone from George Burns, Bill Cosby, Mickey Rourke and Cher was involved? Today we’ll burn in hell together as we make Deals with the Devil.

Cinema can get away with a lot more today than it could in its humble beginnings but there are still topics are ripe for controversy. Religion being one of the biggest. Many a filmmaker has learned the hard way that if a film dare cast a critical eye on a churches’ dogma or God forbid (so to speak) your religious based movie isn’t 100% true to sacred text then there’s usually well, hell to pay. On today's episode of slums of film history we’ll discuss the films that were condemned, protested, banned and even destroyed by church groups who felt these movies were nothing less than an affront to the almighty. Join us today as we commit Blasphemy!

Slate's first episode of Season 5 is all about Stag Films. Stag films were those seedy, grimy one reel films that were made in the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s that featured things you couldn't see in any theater in America: SEX. But how did they start and where did they come from? And how did they influence porn features in the 70s, home video in the 80s and internet porn of today? 

The last episode of Season 4 is about transplants. The medical miracle that can completely change the course of a dying body to a thriving body. Or it can completely change your personality and turn you into a crazy maniac on the run from society. Either way, Slate will wrap Season 4 with Attack of the Transplants!

If cinema is to be believed, a hippie is nothing more than a sex crazed, pot smoking, drum circling burnout who doesn’t work, doesn’t bathe and would want nothing more than to join a death cult and go on a LSD fueled murder spree. On today's episode we’re gonna groove out on the films that show the wilted side of flower power. So be sure to turn on, tune in and drop out with us a we become Horrible Hippies.

Plants. Simple, still organisms that eat nutrients from the ground. Until Hollywood got ahold of them and turned them into blood hungry monsters. Today Slate will dissect the different types of carnivorous plants and take you through all of the movie originals, sequels, musical spinoffs and parody films as we discuss: Crop Killers.

Today we'll discuss the films where those sleepy balls of fur turn into a screeching ball of death and man's best friend becomes his worst nightmare. Join us as we snuggle up to Cuddly Critters That Kill.

Slate's next episode is all about twins. Terrible twins. Those murdering, conniving, man stealing, deformed, de-conjoined, mustachioed (that sometimes wear eye patches so you know which one is which) twins. From the early serial films to Dead Ringers and Basket Case, this episode is the evil twin you wish you had.

Tom's episode is his first listener suggested topic about insane asylums. He'll be talking about all of the abusive administrators, raving loonies, shock treatments and lobotomies that are a hallmark of this cinematic institution.

Slate's Season 4 director profile is all about a filmmaking couple, Michael and Roberta Findlay. The Findlays made some of the weirdest, sickest underground roughies and sex films throughout the 60s and 70s until Roberta graduated to super-violent horror movies of the 80s. They worked under a variety of different names with a variety of underground filmmakers and porn actors and actresses. And their story gets weirder by the minute. Today we present Michael and Roberta Findlay - Sexploitation’s First Couple.

A goth rockstar with a supernatural bird, an aerobics instructor possessed by the spirit of a ninja, a mentally challenged scarecrow and Charlie Sheen in a magic car. What do all these people have in common? They're all dead and they're all out for sweet, sweet vengeance. Today we explore the film characters whose desire for retribution is so strong even death can't stop them. Join us as we seek Revenge from the Grave!

Bugs are disgusting, horrible creatures. So naturally Hollywood started exploiting our fear and fascination with bugs in the early 50s. These early monster bug films, born of the atomic age, continued to blossom into a few new genres of Big Bugs films over the next 50 years and they still turn up every now and then today. We hope this one gives you nightmares for weeks to come!

Tom is following up Slate's #KidsThatKill episode with the reverse: #KidKillin’. We’ll examine the movies that dared to cross the line of what is arguably the last taboo of modern filmmaking, killing children on film. This one is not for the squeamish. #SlumsSeason4

Where's the best place to celebrate the summer? With a bunch of underage kids for some Summer Camp Schlock! Whether your camp is religious, fat, Canadian, gay conversion, or just filled with sexy co-eds getting picked off by a psychotic killer running wild and seeking vengeance, you’re gonna love this throwback to the 80s summer camp movies where anything, and everything happened. 

Throughout cinema history the film depiction of the American cheerleader has been well, lets just say less than stellar. Today we’re going to find out why. So shake your pompoms with vigor and get a firm grip on your spirit stick because we’re going to Be Aggressive! B-E Aggressive! And we're gonna show that we’ve got spirit, Yes We Do! For Cheerleaders!

Tom's last episode of Season 3 is about Street Gangs, those silver screen hoodlums who’ve terrorized cinematic cities throughout the ages. From the the Jets to the Warriors, we separate fact from fiction in our season 3 finale.