Talk Horror To Me

This episodes theme is young bands on tour who find themselves in peril, so we've brought our friend Josh Young, who both loves horror movies and has driven a van into the great unknown in search of audience and the elusive cash to keep the van running until the next town.   This is one of my favorite episodes yet.  Largely because Green Room is a film that resonates with me in several powerful ways.  It speaks to my nostalgia in a strange and horrific way, and I enjoyed discussing it on this episode.  That said, the film is a taught political thriller, so politics creep into the discussion.  This isn't something I generally look to engage in, but in covering this film it was necessary, and this was a film that I've known I needed to discuss for a long time.  I'm excited to have finally done it.  As always, I'm grateful to my cohosts and listeners.  The fact that Uncle Peckerhead is a delightful, splattery romp doesn't hurt either. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we did recording it.     Love and Respect,   Shonny Constant 2.26.2021     If you've read all this and you're on Facebook, PLEASE join us at our Group to discuss the movie and share your horror love.  We REALLY want to hear from you.  We REALLY REALLY do!       Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   If you'd like to see pictures of Elizabeth's permaculture projects on Instagram, visit @Our_Friend_Elizabeth   And here's a bunch of other links!    Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!

The unnecessary episode years in the making.  Shonny's Gremlins 2 Christmas episode.      Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   If you'd like to see pictures of Elizabeth's permaculture projects on Instagram, visit @Our_Friend_Elizabeth   And here's a bunch of other links!    Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!

Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   If you'd like to see pictures of Elizabeth's permaculture projects on Instagram, visit @Our_Friend_Elizabeth   And here's a bunch of other links!    Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!

Happy Thanksgiving!          Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   If you'd like to see pictures of Elizabeth's permaculture projects on Instagram, visit @Our_Friend_Elizabeth   And here's a bunch of other links!    Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!

  Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   If you'd like to see pictures of Elizabeth's permaculture projects on Instagram, visit @Our_Friend_Elizabeth   And here's a bunch of other links!    Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!

As we approach Halloween, a season of stories in a more storied year than any I can remember, it brought me great joy to discover these two recent releases.  As Chuck says when discussing anthologies, at worst if you don't enjoy what you're watching you can at lease embrace the fact that a new story isn't long in waiting.  When anthologies are done to their best, however, they open a whole series of doors with which a director can explore themes in overlapping cascades, something I felt both of these films do very well.  That these are both stories examining the nature of story in direct ways, it made for an easy choice to consider these movies together.  Yet...they are both very different films.   Tonally, the visions could not be more different.  Befitting a Clive Barker inspired film, Books of Blood carries an ominous presence throughout, it's characters bearing their flaws to scars as their psychological torment ultimately leads to physical desecration.  Befittingly, it draws us through a puzzle box of horrors that had an ending that will impact most viewers deeply as a moment of ultimate release or ultimate despair.  It delivers, in my humble opinion, what one would hope for in a Clive Barker piece, deliciously and without remorse.     The Mortuary Collection, on the other hand, has a sense of whimsy but do NOT be fooled by the poster (or the font, as Elizabeth points out in the episode) as it's meant to lure you into the belief that what you're to see isn't going to be horrific.  Horror abounds in this place, and with remarkable and unexpected visuals that will make the horror fan alternately cheer, squirm, and outright fawn over.  The movie reminds me explicitly of Peter Jackson's Braindead (1992), Dead Alive as it was released in the states, in many ways, but perhaps most importantly in that it's grand and colorful characters populate a world in which there is no fate too twisted, or gross, or bombastic by which they might meet their gory end.  It's a fun and beautiful film, and one that will probably stand as my favorite of the year.  I really hope this episode turns some folks onto it.   Love and Respect,   Shonny Constant 10.27.2020     If you've read all this and you're on Facebook, PLEASE join us at our Group to discuss the movie and share your horror love.  We REALLY want to hear from you.  We REALLY REALLY do!     Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   If you'd like to see pictures of Elizabeth's permaculture projects on Instagram, visit @Our_Friend_Elizabeth   And here's a bunch of other links!    Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!

Halloween is upon us, and once again we here at Talk Horror To Me are unprepared.  The unparalleled strangeness of 2020 has knocked me off kiltler more than even usual, so we're left to release an episode that was recorded months ago.  Thankfully, having gone through the editing process this week, I think it's a good one, and certainly features two films that, while not specifically horror, are bloody romps with plenty for horror fans to embrace.  These two films both feature the fabulously talented Samara Weaving, along with wonderful casts around her and scripts which continue to highlight her brilliance as a genre star perpetually on the rise.     We hope you enjoy these films as much as we do, and look forward to hearing your opinions on the selections as well as our take on the material!   Love and Respect,   Shonny Constant 10.20.2020     If you've read all this and you're on Facebook, PLEASE join us at our Group to discuss the movie and share your horror love.  We REALLY want to hear from you.  We REALLY REALLY do!     Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group       And here's a bunch of other links!    Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!

We're a bit behind schedule, but we think the wait was worth it.  This week we've invited our friend Elizabeth onto the show to talk about the second film in the Nightmare On Elm Street series, as well as the recent documentary about this unique film and it's star Mark Patton.  We go deep into themes and context on this episode, but we don't forget to talk about the kills and discuss what the Abominable Doctor Phibes would think of the movie, so hopefully there's something here for everyone!  We really enjoyed this conversation, and hope you do too.   Love and Respect,   Shonny Constant 6.30.2020     If you've read all this and you're on Facebook, PLEASE join us at our Group to discuss the movie and share your horror love.  We REALLY want to hear from you.  We REALLY REALLY do!     Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group       If you'd like to see pictures of Elizabeth's fruit plants and cats on Instagram @Our_Friend_Elizabeth   And here's a bunch of other links!    Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!

Over the years, when I see political unrest and public disruption of what is perceived as a broken system, I inevitably wonder what director John Carpenter might be thinking about the state of affairs.  Aside from being legendary as perhaps the founding father of the slasher genre for his creation of the Halloween franchise and the ubiquitous horror icon Michael Myers, not to mention the cosmic horrors of The Thing, he also wrote and produced films with an unmistakable focus on class and justice.  We first see this in his early film Assault On Precinct 13, but it really blooms into a considerably more ambitious world with Escape From New York.  Additionally, while by 2020 standards characters of color in his films can be scoffed at as being relegated to "token" rolls and side characters, I think it's important to acknowledge that in a time when Hollywood was largely at BEST shoehorning actors of color into tiny rolls, John Carpenter appeared to be giving thought to this dynamic, and writing characters intended to at least give the actors filling those minor rolls reason to be in the film.  Their very presence spoke to the inequities in the system in a meaningful way.  It wasn't much, perhaps, but it was something, and I think it was something he gave real thought and emotion to. Indeed, by 1988 when Escape From New York was set, Ronald Reagan's America hadn't reached the level of authoritarian desperation portrayed in the film, yet seeing the protests in the streets in the year 2020 suggests to me that John Carpenter was on to something with his vision of an America headed towards a more profound feeling of separation between "polite society" and those who were deemed unfit to be a part of that society.  Manhattan is currently trying to recover from being the literal epicenter of a global pandemic, and people do feel they're being targeted in the streets by an overbearing and too often lethal police force who appear intent on making it clear that they do have a sense of who does and doesn't belong.  The idea was shocking and disturbing in 1981, and for many of us, it's no less bewildering and horrific today.  The island hasn't become a penal colony, but it's clear to many of us that the fear and bewilderment of the police and prison systems as they do exist are such a dark specter in the lives of people who come into or even near contact with it carry an indelible anxiety with them in their daily lives, and I believe John Carpenter was tapping into that fear with his films.   Maybe I'm reading too much into things, and if that's the case I apologize.  But maybe, just maybe, it's time to dig deep and make the difficult decision that we can do better.  For a lot of us, dystopia is a phantom to be feared for it's looming presence on the horizon, but for many it's a considerable reality in their day to day affairs.  That's not only problematic, it's a moral injustice that needs to be addressed by all of us.     Love and Respect,   Shonny Constant 6.10.2020     If you've read all this and you're on Facebook, PLEASE join us at our Group to discuss the movie and share your horror love.  We REALLY want to hear from you.  We REALLY REALLY do!     Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group       And here's a bunch of other links!    Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!

The fickle finger of box office success has pushed against many young and talented directors.  Movies are such expansive and costly projects that simply creating a solid or even excellent piece of work isn't always enough.  If the ticket buying public isn't there to cast their financial vote on opening night, even the best of efforts can be deemed a count against the talent involved rather than a feather in the cap.  Fred Dekker, the director of the excellent Night of the Creeps (1986) and The Monster Squad (1987) is to my mind, one such casualty of this bitter truth.  Few filmmakers come to mind who have left behind movies that come off as fresh and exciting and GOOD as these two films, Savage Steve Holland of Better Off Dead (1985) and One Crazy Summer (1986) in the more purely comedy realm springs to mind, but his is another story entirely. For whatever reason, The Monster Squad just didn't live up to it's budgetary expectations, and that's a damn shame.  The script from screenwriter Shane Black (who would go on to stardom as an action scribe following the smashing success of Lethal Weapon (1987)) is excellent, the special effects from Stan Winston and his studio stand tall for both their excellent design and strong execution, and Fred Dekker's overall vision is one that is fun, seamless, and potent.  It was a pleasure revisiting it for our 50th episode, and while I can't help but to think that had he been given further opportunity, Mr Dekker's vision would have led to an unforgettable library and bigger box office success, we can at least be thankful that those of us who were able to experience the joy of The Monster Squad at the theater or found it on video and through cable have such a unique and underappreciated gem to reflect on.     Love and Respect,   Shonny Constant 5.25.2020     If you've read all this and you're on Facebook, PLEASE join us at our Group to discuss the movie and share your horror love.  We REALLY want to hear from you.  We REALLY REALLY do!     Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group       And here's a bunch of other links!    Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!      

This week, at the recommendation of our buddy Adam, we took an enjoyable look at a movie that's been hanging around on Netflix since 2017 The Babysitter.  Chzuck absolutely loved the movie, and while I have this sneaking suspicion that McG's style isn't everyone's cup of tea, I really dug it to.  It's got lively characters, a lot of intertwining threads, some great splatter, a few laughs, and a bad ass car stunt.  Pretty strong resume.  The movie is also notable for it's star Samara Weaving, who continues to be a powerhouse in genre film with no seeming intention to stop.  It's always fun to follow somebody film to film as we evolve as an audience in relation to their growth as an artist, especially when in Ms. Weaving's case the quality of material is as high as it's been. We hope you dig the episode.  As always, we beseech you...BESEECH I SAY...to visit us as often as you like.  It's a great pleasure to be able to do this every week, and we love that you folks are listening.   Stay safe everyone!     Shonny Constant 5.11.2020     If you've read all this and you're on Facebook, PLEASE join us at our Group to discuss the movie and share your horror love.  We REALLY want to hear from you.  We REALLY REALLY do!     Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group       And here's a bunch of other links!    Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!

We dipped back into the Shudder library this week for the 2019 horror/comedy Satanic Panic by director Chelsea Stardust and enjoyed the flowing story and unique perspective this movie provides.  It's rare that we get strong female leads presented through the lens of a female director, so when we do, it's great to see such an enjoyably successful film.   As always, we'd love to hear what you thought of this one.  It's striking to me to consider that typing such a simple description for a film, and feeling like I may be submitting a notion with some socio-political statement, but that's still the world in 2020.   Have you seen Satanic Panic?  Did you dig it as much as we did, or did the conversation bring any new perspective to your thoughts on the film?  Let us know!  Talk Horror To Us!   Stay safe everyone!  We love you!   Shonny Constant 5.5.2020     If you've read all this and you're on Facebook, PLEASE join us at our Group to discuss the movie and share your horror love.  We REALLY want to hear from you.     Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group       And here's a bunch of other links!    Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!  

Nine Killed You!  Nine SHALL DIE!  And so goes the message of Vincent Price's ABOMINAL DR PHIBES, spoken to the memory of his deceased wife, about the revenge he is enacting on those he deems responsible for her untimely demise.  It's a simple premise, but a very effective one.  Loss and blame are certainly universal themes in the human experience, and to my mind, Price and Phibes are effective enactors of this revenge, in a movie that crosses lines and expectations in ways that I find fun and engaging.  It's often difficult to immerse oneself in movies made before their time, I'd reckon especially so for people born in the most recent of times, because so much of the experience is toned by the spirit and limitations of the time.  For many, the Universal monsters are CLASSICS, while film's from the fifties and sixties (and seventies and eighties and...) may just feel...old.  So it goes, so it goes.    Phibes, I think, stands out.  There's certainly no doubt this is a movie from the 1970s.  You can see it in the direction and performances and even the visual tone itself.  It's in the music and it's in the mannerisms.  Yet...it's also telling a story that takes place nearly fifty years before it's own time, and seems in many ways to presage more familiar stories that wouldn't come for decades.   AND IT'S FUN. As despicable as he is, and as hackneyed and antiquated his methods may seem, there's a charmingly relatable quality to Phibes.  He's a vile and irredeemable villain, yet there's also something else.  That strange antihero quality that Horror fans love to embrace.  If you know the film, I hope you can relate to what I'm saying.  If you do not, I hope we help inspire the desire to check it out.     Stay safe everyone!  We love you!   Shonny Constant 4.22.2020     If you've read all this and you're on Facebook, PLEASE join us at our Group to discuss the movie and share your horror love.  We REALLY want to hear from you.     Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   As of publication, The Abominable Doctor Phibes is available in a nice transfer on YouTube.    In the episode, we make mention of the article The Unmade Sequels of Dr Phibes from the Vincent Price Exhibit blog.  There's a lot of great Vincent Price history chronicled there.   And here's a bunch of other links!    Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!      

When Scream was released in 1996, my youthful self was experience peak horror fandom.  However, when it came to horror I was also at minimum patience for nonsense and was thirsting for the grittiest and darkest material I could find.  For those reasons, I remember vividly deciding on taking a hard pass on the movie.  While my disposition and taste in horror changed over time, to a perspective that is radically different than the one I had at that time, I always carried a chip concerning the fact that the biggest horror movie of the time when I was most receptive to horror movies was a comedic spin on the stuff I loved.  THE AUDACITY!  BLASPHEMOUS! Well, I'm here to confess that 1996 Shonny may not have appreciated the movie, but I can't be certain of that.  This film, that I thought to be a mockery of everything I so preciously valued at the time turns out to be a tense, thoughtful, and very effective homage to the films of days before it, and while there are certainly shiny edges to what would become film and horror in the 1990s, I can finally join the ranks of fans who recognize that Scream is indeed a film worthy of it's place near the top of what the decade had to offer.  Sure, the sleaze was largely gone and the practical effects were less ambitious in many ways than my VHS favorites of the decade before, but the film didn't hide from that fact.  It tucked away the less savory of conventions, while still recognizing them, and did so in a fun way that could put a smile on the audience's face in more shrewd and dynamic ways.  Who knew?! Well...seeing as it's been nearly twenty five years since the film's theatrical debut, I reckon just about everyone knew.  But here we are and here I go, finally joining the party.  Just in time for quarantine!   Special thanks to our buddy Nicola for requesting this one.  It's been a long time coming, but here it is!   Stay safe everyone!  We love you!   Shonny Constant 4.14.2020     If you've read all this and you're on Facebook, PLEASE join us at our Group to discuss the movie and share your horror love.  We REALLY want to hear from you.     Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group     And here's a bunch of other links! :o   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!

As we're roughly entering month two of the Covid-19 pandemic, at least by the standard of one of the early "hot spots" of the United States here in Southeast Michigan, times are at best as strange as any that we can collectively recall and at worst downright terrifying.  As we all go through the cyclical nature of dealing with an enhanced level of stress, it's important to find hints of optimism in the world around us, whether it be a result of reexamining our lives and how we judge and categorize things (are we choosing to focus on the negative or showing gratitude for the positive?) or by turning to art to relay stories of better situations than the one's we believe to be in ourselves.  Escapism. To we here at Talk Horror, the ultra-low budget Japanese film One Cut of the Dead (2017) is a near perfect film for those who need a break to that escapism.  The film follows earnest and delightful characters though a period of discord and confusion, into a period of reflection of what led up to that uncomfortable time, only to then rewitness that initial experience through an expanded lens in a celebration of what was achieved, rather than trapping our experience in what we once thought of as failure.  It's a beautiful little encapsulation of the power of collaboration, or art, or life. As you'll hear in the episode, Chzuck and I are unabashed fans of this one, and we hope perhaps more than usual that some people will discover this film and find a new favorite.  It's a truly unique experience, and one that has left each of us with a new lens of perspective.  We hope you can capture some of that experience yourself with this one, or at minimum find a respite from the angst long enough to relax a little bit.    Stay safe everyone!  We love you!   Shonny Constant 4.7.2020     If you've read all this and you're on Facebook, PLEASE join us at our Group to discuss the movie and share your horror love.  We've got a great bunch over there with a very laid back, informed, and interested bunch.     Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group     And here's a bunch of other links! :o   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!

When we recorded this episode a couple of weeks ago, I already had a suspicion that things were going to be very different by the end of the month.  I was tense, and scared, and wildly uncomfortable.  Of course, one side of you says "business as usual" is the prudent course of action. "Our listeners will want normalcy!" says the side. The other suggests that when a cloud comes by that looks to be carrying a storm, it's best to batten down the hatches and see what's on the other side. That's all a long way of saying that here's an episode we recorded about three weeks before it's release date.  We've recorded another one that we'll release next week.  We've decided to lighten things up a bit, while not straying from the genre, so we're going to become a "horror comedy" podcast for a little while.  I've always loved horror comedies, and now I need horror comedy's.  Besides that slight deviation, we'll keep doing what we do and try to get better.   Stay safe everyone!  We love you!   Shonny Constant 3.30.2020     If you've read all this and you're on Facebook, PLEASE join us at our Group to discuss the movie and share your horror love.  We've got a great bunch over there with a very laid back, informed, and interested buch.     Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group     And here's a bunch of other links! :o   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net. SHE IS THE BEST!

"11:55, almost midnight. Enough time for one more story. One more story before 12:00, just to keep us warm,"  states Mr. Machen to open John Carpenter's pivot from the more real world horror of his runaway independent success from Halloween to a more traditional ghost story with The Fog in 1980. While we're never clued in as to why Mr. Machen has been tasked with getting this group of children through this particular night, the campfire tale is a fitting way for this story to begin, setting the stage for a stimulating tale of murder and theft, privilege and revenge.     Cheers! Shonny Constant 3.11.2020     Let us know what you thought of the film, or just join us for any kind of horror chat at one of the links below   Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean   Old Man Plays Old Games on Twitch @Chzuck     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

As those of you who have followed our show probably know, I'm not the biggest fan of found footage based on my negative experience with The Blair Witch Project back in the day, a fact that I seem to reflexively reiterate as though it was more than a movie I didn't enjoy and something that truly scarred me.  Funny how that happens, as to my recollection it was just a bad time at the movies where I thought a good one was to be had.  Gripping the bat a bit too tightly in that regard...if I watched it again I may even find that whatever burr was in my saddle that day had less to do with the film itself, but I'm not at all eager to find out.   That said, the found footage film has become a sub-genre with it's own lineage now going back over twenty years and hundreds of films (in the modern sense, where films like Peeping Tom and Cannibal Holocaust toyed with the notion decades before but without inciting a movement) and if we're to cover horror in film in it's entirety, we can't well ignore the thing as much as I sometimes think I'd want to.  Watching this one, what really stuck out to me was that some fifteen years and countless of iterations of found footage after The Blair Witch Project, co-writer and director John Erick Dowdle used not only the trappings of a found footage film from a technical standpoint but also reconstructed the notion of an eerie place mixed with lore in a way that infused his film with the spirit of that original film, while also improving on the formula.  Not only building on the heart and soul at the foundation of that original excursion into the medium, but also in bringing in other influences in a way that felt to me to be both ambitious and effective.  The density and the pacing felt much more right to me than the recollection of BWP, a liberty of hindsight and foundation, whereas in defense of the prior film the film makers great asset was their ingenuity, and despite my protests their proof of concept was an undeniable success at the box office, as an inspiration to other film makers, and to more horror fans than not.   One advantage to not getting invested in a certain kind of art or entertainment for whatever reason, especially one that establishes a legacy of it's own as a sub-genre, is that by simply opening the mind enough to get over personal bias, there's a treasure trove of work to pick through.  By allowing oneself to be open to sampling the cream, there's certainly something to be found as having risen to the top.  In that sense, As Above So Below was very satisfying.  It's still not my jam, that found footage thing, but as it goes I liked a lot of what this film had to offer.  Chzuck liked it too.  Much more in fact.  One might suspect that if he were allowed to select movies for coverage on the show this would have been one of them.   Just so we're clear, and apropos of nothing other than my inability to stick the landing in this written introduction, I choose the movies around here.  Had Chzuck picked this one, I'd say he brought a good one to the table, and I enjoyed discussing it.   Cheers! Shonny Constant 3.3.2020     Let us know what you thought of the film, or just join us for any kind of horror chat at one of the links below   Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

I have some vague recollection of 1998, the year Darren Aronofsky saw the release of his first feature film Pi.  Four years out of high school, I was excelling grade wise in college but finding it extremely difficult to understand even a little bit what my life was supposed to be doing.  Looking back with a lifetime of experience, I can finally diagnose a few of the things that were troubling me, but even sitting here now I find the whole experience to that point and beyond to be a bewildering series of misunderstandings that require a level of unsustainable maintenance.  I saw that film at the local art house theater in Royal Oak, Michigan and adored it, yet haven't seen it since.  Just some vague recollection of the lead character Max, in black and white, putting a drill to his head in an act of contemporary trepanation in a finale that resonated with my own discomfort. Watching Mother! for the first time for this podcast, the discomfort Aronofsky brings to the screen shines through a very different lens for me.  Perhaps the discord in each of us is the same, but the idea of relating to it in any meaningful way has gone from an exercise in empowerment to one of reinforced defeat.  Deign to hold something dear and dare yourself to not see it erode before your very eyes.  This seems to be at least some core theme that runs through the director's work, but the blunt darkness by which he does so, without an ounce of gratitude to be found among the strife of his characters creates a feeling in me of existential dread that I'm having a hard to shaking, even while trying to write this little journal piece to go along with the episode. I'm not sure what I'm getting at.  It's been a tough week in a life that should have been much easier than it's been but won't ever be.  To that extent, Aronofsky is a dramatist that implicitly taps into dread and therefor horror.  It's making me uncomfortable to think about, to try to put words to, this dread, but I feel it.  I'm not sure I like it, but I respect it.  Have to, it's all there seems to be.   Shonny Consant 2.23.2020   You can find Josh Young  On Soundcloud: Broadcast From Cow Haus  On YouTube: Broadcast From Cow Haus On Bandcamp.  Highly recommended if you dig ska: CBJ   Let us know what you thought of the film, or just join us for any kind of horror chat at one of the links below   Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

Let us know what you thought of the film, or just join us for any kind of horror chat at one of the links below   Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

We have a guest from the Hobby Knockout podcast and talk about Evil Dead 2.   This is really the kind of episode that makes doing this so much fun.     Cheers! Shonny Constant 1.21.2020     Find Matt talking the tabletop gaming hobby on his podcast Hobby Knockout   Hobby Knockout on Podbean   @HobbyKnockout on Instagram   Podcasts referenced in the episode     Talk Horror 6: Terrifier (2016) Talk Horror 19: Evil Dead (1981)        Let us know what you thought of the film, or just join us for any kind of horror chat at one of the links below   Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

We decided to take a slightly different angle on our first review of the year by looking at a movie that landed on Netflix late in 2019 under both Chzuck's radar and my own.  Usually, we've vetted the film we review ourselves but this time we went in based on the recommendation of our friends over at the Gruesome Magazine Podcast (link below) and were both pleasantly rewarded with a film by a young director and featuring a young lead that have put together a fun film that we both thing deserves to be seen.  We enjoyed it, and we hope you do too!    Cheers! Shonny Constant 1.13.2019   Podcasts referenced in the episode   Gruesome Magazine 97 - Review of "Sweetheart" and "Midnight Kiss" Land Of The Creeps episode 210 - Top 5 Horror Musicals   Talk Horror 35: Friday The 13th Part 2 Talk Horror 18: Cold Skin   Let us know what you thought of the film, or just join us for any kind of horror chat at one of the links below   Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

While there are those who will debate when an official decade or era begins or ends, we here can confidently say that ten Earth years have indeed passed since the beginning of time, and so it will be those last ten years we talk about here.  It's a fun way to look at the genre from outside the boundaries we've set up for our week to week discussions, as well as to tweak those boundaries for the year going forward.  2020 is shaping up to be an exciting year, both in terms of the quantity and suspected quality of releases, as the landscape for entertainment has expanded to such a degree that even we lowly (as the mainstream has traditionally seen us) horror fans have such a harvest to look forward to that we'll need to keep our scythe's sharp and ready at all times.   There was a time, believe it or not, when our hopes were simply that when October rolled around, we may get one or two new additions to our collections, with some years passing with little fanfare, but that is no longer the case.  The last ten years have seen a steady rise in the popularity of Horror as a genre both from a perspective of major theater releases down through direct to streaming releases and good old fashioned grass roots DIY creations, and the slate for 2020 shows no signs of that trend slowing.   Are you ready?  We're ready!   Cheers! Shonny Constant 1.6.2020         Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

Thanks for listening to the show.   Happy Holidays and may 2020 be your year friends!     Cheers! Shonny Constant 12/25/2019         Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

So for a little bit of mortuary talk, I should explain that between recording and releasing an episode, I put in a few hours fine tuning things.  ChZuck and I have been working together on these podcasts for a few years now, and over that time, we've experimented with various approaches to both recording and release, but at present I'm approaching the style of post work I'm doing as best practice.  It's led to more satisfying releases on our end, and hopefully a better listen on yours.  I say all that as preamble to the statement that I really enjoyed listening to this one during edit.  My impression is that we've gotten pretty good at researching and disseminating good material to go with each episode, which has been a priority, and it's finally starting to get filtered through us in a looser, more natural way, which of course has more charm.  To be honest, I came damn near adding a few very sparse sound effects in post to punctuate certain things that we refer to with some frequency episode to episode, but ultimately held off.  Maybe next week. We both dug this movie, and as mentioned, had a relatively spirited conversation about it.  Friday the 13th is obviously one of the premiere franchises in our horror world, so not much needs to be said here.  Thanks always as listening, and track us down on social media if you haven't yet and let us know you popped by.  The real fun is in the celebration.     Cheers! Shonny Constant 12/13/2019   Previous episodes referenced in the show   12: Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) 15: The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976) 21: Friday The 13th (1980)     Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

There can be little opposition to the facts that George Romero's follow up to Night of the Living Dead was an anxiously awaited film by 1978, and that in the years following it would become a legendary film, not only in that it expanded on the idea of a world infested with the shuffling dead, a world we see visited with frequency in modern media, but also in that the luscious and seemingly endless shots of practical effects from Tom Savini did for horror what Star Wars did for Sci-Fi in defining the art for the next decade and change.  Throughout the VHS days that represent to the end of the analog era, as I discuss from time to time, Dawn of the Dead represented a high bar that few films were able to reach in terms of shocking and impressive practical magic that truly felt like it was REAL in the context of the film that viewers were visiting.  For that, it's a classic that's embedded in the history of genre cinema in inextricable ways that should not be overlooked by the casual viewer. That said, in 2019 the long run time and quirky, uneven tone can feel quaint or off-putting, drawing comparisons to the now fifteen year old remake of the film that was successful in replacing the Hitchcockian suspense in the fabric of the orignal with pulse pounding thrills that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats for fear that some growling corpse may charge into the room, while also hitting the emotional marks and comedic beats in an arguable more successful way. Love it or not, the movie is one worthy of consideration, and we hope we were able to do it some justice here.  I had fun talking about it, and hopefully in some tiny way, we're able to help to contribute to it's legacy in horror history going forward for just a little longer.     Cheers! Shonny Constant 12/9/2019       Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

Similar to The Town That Dreaded Sundown from 1976, Motel Hell (1980) is a movie that tries to include such an odd mix of comedy and horror with a sleazoid lowbrow spin in a way that falls short so bafflingly in enough major ways that the resulting film makes for a peculiar stew that a few seem to love while some find difficulty in swallowing it. This week's conversation attempts to unpack some of that, examining what's working and what isn't in Motel Hell, while I try to work out a decent operational dialog for films of this nature.  We're split on this one, and I trust our audience will be as well, but I'll be damned if we don't try our hardest to state a case for looking at the movie in a specific way for potential best results.  Is Motel Hell one you've seen before?  We'd love to hear your thoughts on the movie, and your thoughts on lowbrow horror and satire in general.  I have it on good authority this isn't the last time we'll be sinking our teeth into the flank of weird and potentially groanworthy cinema, because I'm the one who picks the offerings and well...meat's meat, a man's gotta eat!   Cheers! Shonny Constant 12/2/2019       Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net  

In 1990, when the book American Psycho by author Bret Eastin Ellis was struggling to find a release against waves of protest from several socio-political blocs in the United States, I was just entering high school, and while I'd love to say I was on the front line of some political movement, I was not.  By the films release in 2000, the immediacy of communication via the emerging internet had somewhat blunted the ability of a work of fiction to garner the same type of pushback, but that didn't mean that society had completely forgotten their collective rejection of the material, making this one of the last films (along with Rob Zombie's first pair of films) that I recall having the sort of resistance that was common in terms of releasing movies in the 20th century, with it's unique set of valves and gatekeepers that had traditionally worked to maintain some control over what people were exposed to or allowed to think.   Now, nearly 20 years from the release of the film, and having seen American Psycho receive new life in the form of a meme culture movement as well as a musical stage production, it seems that American Psycho may have indeed been rightfully analyzed closely for it's socio-political resonance, even if the initial decisions to attempt to squelch it entirely have fallen by the wayside of history.  Indeed, one might suggest that the resistance itself amplified it's signal to a degree that it's become a cultural touchstone when simply ignoring it may have led it down the path of most art, to be forgotten in time but that's a different speculation entirely. Cheers! Shonny Constant 11/23/2019       Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net    

Mandy is a film that I knew from my first viewing was a movie I liked.  I thought I liked it a lot, but I wasn't quite sure.  Eventually, after some time had passed and the palate could be cleansed, I watched it again and found myself entranced by it.  This was not an experience of liking a movie a lot, but rather loving it, seeing it as a masterpiece.  Still though, we didn't choose to cover it because it's such a damn challenging film.  It challenges you patience, it challenges your sense of film logic, it challenges your very senses, but to me, and Chzuck as it turns out, the experience with the film is similar for an appreciative viewer as it is for Mandy's protagonist Red, it's a series of challenges that are necessary in order to truly hone us all for the inevitable aftermath of the journey. At it's heart, Mandy is a fairy tale, a classic heroes arc with recognizable story beats intrinsic to classic tales of Western valor, for whatever that means, but it's got a rhythm unique to the writer/director Panos Cosmotos, and a rhythm unique to someone like Nicolas Cage.  Make NO mistake, if you think you want to see a drug fueled Nic wielding a home made battle axe and lighting cigarettes off the flaming corpses of his fallen demonic foes, this film unquestionably represents Peak Cage, but in a way that is both so beautifully elegant as well as downright seedy as to make it a film that should live on for as long as the medium itself does. Buy the ticket and take the ride, maaan.  And remember...Everything's better with cheddar! Cheers! Shonny Constant 11/15/2019   Check out the trailer for this episode's feature Mandy As mentioned in the episode, here's the link for the Cheddar Goblin commercial   Feel free to hit us up on one of the links below to let us know what you think of Mandy, Talk Horror, or just to share your list of the greatest chainsaw moments in genre history!   Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net  

For reasons discussed in this episodes preamble, Happy Death Day was a movie that fell off of my short list pretty quickly, falling into the flotsam of the cinema slush pile, most likely never to be heard from again.  Mr. Bean however, who is much less adversarial with movies with a modern disposition, caught it recently and suggested it would indeed be a movie worth doing on the show.  Essentially, if you've listened before, this meant he thought I too would enjoy it, and I'm happy to say I did!  (Not out of any sense of obligation to the film itself, or even the crew that worked on it...but who wants the experience of a bad movie???)   While not a bloodbath, or even a particularly horrific movie, Happy Death Day succeeds in being a fun time jumping movie that uses the gimmick from the classic comedy Groundhog's Day in a lightly Hitchcockian (in spirit, if not execution) murder mystery featuring an excellent young lead in Jessica Rothe and a cast of heretofore genre unknowns in a subtly dark comedy that I found satisfying.   We hope you enjoy the episode, and look forward to hearing what you thought of the film.   Cheers! Shonny Constant 11.7.2019     Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net    

As we discuss in the episode, Candyman is one of the first memories I have of connecting with a rated R horror movie in a visceral way, so this movie has a special place in my heart.  I could have spent another 10 hours studying up on it, but I think we had a solid conversation with what we had, as this episode is pretty jam packed.  It was a lot of fun to do, and I think it may be our best episode yet.  We hope you enjoy it! Have Fun, Bee Safe, Don't Fall In The Hole -Shonny Constant 10.30.2019   Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Instagram @Shonny.Constant   Twitter @ChzuckBean    Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

Going into this episode, neither Mr. Bean or I had seen Assault on Precinct 13.  From all indications, it wouldn't be much of a horror movie per se, but it seemed to me that it had the potential to be a touchstone to refer back to as we continue this exploration of the genre that Talk Horror To Me was always intended to be, and that we've now got the reps in to continue in an increasingly satisfying way.  While not John Carpenter's first completed film, it was his first Hollywood release, which meant I was doing myself a disservice by leaving that hole in my picture of genre history.  Few people of that late analog era (the time just before computer technology changed not only how films are made and distributed, but ultimately experienced as mass communication in the hands of the individual would change all aspects of the human experience) have had the impact on the genre like John Carpenter has, and while this particular film is one of his less highly profiled movies these decades later, I was hoping it would shed some light on the things to come.   Hopefully this conversation does some little bit to relay the enthusiasm with which we tested this concept, because we were quite pleased with what we found.  Not only does Assault already begin to portray various writing and directorial elements that John Carpenter would refine and in many ways perfect as his filmography grew, but it provides an excellent example of the "siege narrative" story.  There's something intrinsically compelling about a scenario involving relatable characters attempting to survive in a confined environment, with only the materials around them, materials the viewers themselves can see.  Perhaps there's something existential to the theme, or perhaps it's just fun to participate with the storytellers themselves, because by limiting the working space for our potential survivors, we as viewers can relate with some immediacy to the choices that they make, because of the restricted nature of their plight. Whether it's a gang of outlaws on horses in the old American West, or a zombie outbreak (Night Of The Living Dead).  Deadites surrounding a remote cabin (Evil Dead), or fish folk assaulting a remote lighthouse (Cold Skin), it's a tried and true narrative that when done well, can still captivate, and revisiting this pivotal example of the structure was enlightening and enjoyable.  We hope you think so too.   Cheers! Shonny Constant 7.29.19   Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group     Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net    

      Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Twitter      @Talk_horror @ShonnyConstant   Instagram   @Shonny.Constant   Our Talk Horror cover design is by artist and friend Crystal Mielcarek.  More of her work can be found on Instagram @Smushbox

Come say hi at the Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group

There was a bit of division between us concerning this film, as Matt didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I did.  To be sure, Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil, the first feature length film by Spanish director Paul Urkijo Alijo is less an adults horror film and more a hybrid of dark fantasy and morality play, based on regional folklore and falling into line with stories more like those found collected by the Brothers Grimm than those told by George Romero or John Carpenter.  In my defense of the film, as you will hear in the episode, I think it has several things going for it that will lead a segment of the horror audience to appreciate it.  Beautiful staging, lighting, costumes and practical effects.  While there are elements of it that lends it more to a young audience (the films primary protagonist is a young girl struggling with the loss of her mother to suicide, and the ramifications that has in a small 19th century Christian community) some of the sets have art direction reminiscent of another Spanish and French co-production from the same year Cold Skin, which we covered enthusiastically in episode 18. If you like lighter fare in terms of storytelling, or you like classical European religious iconography, I contend this is a film that may not have come across your radar that is well worth your time.  If you like those dark children's movies of the 80s, the ones with a decidedly Hensonian flair like the Dark Crystal or Labyrinth, I think this movie is certainly worth your time.  Perhaps Errementari doesn't plant it's foot firmly enough in one genre to have widespread appeal for a contemporary American audience, but having seen it twice, I thoroughly enjoy it, and I hope at least a few of you might find it as charming and entertaining as I have. If not, I trust Matt will be happy to gripe about it with you on social media!  There's always that, and you can do so at one of the links below.   Cheers! -Shonny Constant 5. 12. 2019    Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Twitter      @Talk_horror @ShonnyConstant   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @HobbyKnockout @Shonny.Constant   Our Talk Horror cover design is by artist and friend Crystal Mielcarek.  More of her work can be found on Instagram @Smushbox

As the analog era was reaching it's supernova status in the 1980s, unknowingly (to most of us) plowing towards the internet, shared intelligence, AI and the like, certain movies began to capture the anticipation of things to come.  Biology was on the cusp of being inextricably tied to the data flows of machines.  While stories of mad scientists have long been a part of the horror landscape, going notably back to Mary Shelley's book Frankenstein (1818), it wasn't until the 1950s and the emergence of the Atomic Age that film makers began to dig deeply into the idea that science was infringing on nature whether we collectively cared to admit it or not.  By the 1980s, computers had begun to populate homes in numbers that would predict our current melding of daily life with technology.  The internet, collective intelligence, and eventually, near sentient AI.  This was also perfect timing for a new generation of artists who had been raised on these 1950s sci-fi dystopias to add their reflection on the subject matter in their own films. David Cronenberg's The Fly (1986) may not stand as a prime example when it comes to horror fandom's top ten lists of films from the era, but I contend that perhaps it deserves a revisiting.  Indeed, it contains AI, body dysmorphia, and the breakdown of human relationships in favor of technological promises of something greater than the human experience.  Oh, and for the genre fan who doesn't care to be bothered by layers of subtext, it's got gore.  So much oozing, bloody, delightfully gross practical gore.  It stands out as a movie that hits so many marks that it perhaps demands a revisiting as we wrap up the first generation of tech-infused people charging headlong into this brave new world of human advancement.  Perhaps it hasn't been overlooked, or perhaps not landing on one of the contemporary streaming services without a rental fee has stifled it's reach.  Regardless, I was excited to revisit it myself for this episode, and it did not disappoint.  I can without hesitation recommend that you see it, especially if you never have before.  Just be ready to be impacted, because above all, this is a movie that will find a way to make your skin crawl.   Cheers! Shonny Constant  5.3.19      What are your favorite body horror movies?  Come let us know at one of the links below!   Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group      Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @HobbyKnockout @Shonny.Constant

When it comes to the American slasher movie, 1980 is a big year.  There's little doubt that 1978s Halloween was the supernova that started the process, but with the long production process of film, especially in the celluloid days of hand editing, it wouldn't really be until 1980 that producers and directors would be able to sift through the formula and build on it in ways that they thought would grab fans of Halloween while adding their own signature to gain adherents of their own.  For my money (and the money of the theater going public of the day,) if Halloween is the proof of concept, Friday the 13th is the blockbuster success that opened for floodgates for the dozens and dozens (by some accounts over 100 entries in just 4 short years) of films that would follow the blueprint and try to grab as much adulation and cash as they could before fan burnout and political pressures in Ronald Reagan's newly conservative political climate would essentially lead to a smothering of excitement for the genre both amongst horror fans and film makers.   Despite being a film that clearly leans heavily on the legacy of Halloween, I'd suggest that Friday the 13th is an unabashed success both as a catalyst in shaping film history, but also in simply being a film of excellent quality that stands up today.  While done on a very modest budget with a young inexperienced cast, and apparently with a script written in just a couple of weeks, it's got a depth that I think will be surprising to people who rightfully have a generalized assumption of what an 80s slasher has to offer.  If you haven't seen it, Matt and I both highly recommend it.  If you have, we hope you enjoy our analysis of this fun and important film in the history of Horror. Cheers! Shonny Constant 4.19.19        What are your favorite slashers from the 80s?  Come let us know at one of the links below!   Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Twitter  @Talk_horror @ShonnyConstant   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @HobbyKnockout @Shonny.Constant

It's been a bumpy release schedule, but we've made it to 20 episodes.  Thank you so much for sticking with us through these early growing pains.  This week, we went tangential again with the choose your own adventure inspired Netflix experience Bandersnatch.  It's an interesting tale set in the framework of Black Mirror, the British series that explores potential dystopian outcomes to technological advancements colliding with the human experience today.  It's not close to what one might call pure horror, but it's full of intrigue, madness, and murder so we decided to check it out.  Let us know what you think!   Cheers! Shonny Constant 3.21.19   Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Twitter  @Talk_horror @ShonnyConstant   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @HobbyKnockout @Shonny.Constant  

    Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Twitter  @Talk_horror @ShonnyConstant   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @HobbyKnockout @Shonny.Constant   Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

Cold Skin is a newer release on Shudder, a 2017 movie that caught my eye with it's preview showing a bleak lighthouse environment, remote and in the past.  I like this set up for a movie, because if it's done well, I feel like I'm being immersed into a story and a fantastical place.  In the case of Cold Skin, Matt and I both agree that the movie delivers in both areas, with a great setting, an interesting enemy, and some depth to what we're supposed to interpret that doesn't (for us at least) dip too far off of a fun and compelling story.   Gruner especially, with his semi-malicious nature and far flung sensibilities, is a fun character to follow.  A convincingly paranoid but invaluable partner when it comes to surviving the environment, I'd place him in the lineage of Quint from Jaws.   We'd love to hear your opinions of Cold Skin!  Find us at one of the links below and tell us what you thought of it.   Cheers! -Shonny Constant 2. 21. 2019    Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Twitter      @Talk_horror @ShonnyConstant   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @HobbyKnockout @Shonny.Constant

Cheers!       I don't recall the first time I saw C.H.U.D.  Long enough ago that I remember smiling, probably tittering, when Marge admonished Homer about the folly of judging New York City on the pimps and the C.H.U.D.S.  It's not a movie that quite hits the mark with it's hard boiled morality play, or frankly the titular monsters unless they be obscured with one of the numerous camera tricks employed by the film makers, the deftness of which is one reason why the film deserves to be remembered.  Another is that it's just fun.  It's people tellinng stories for the camera while some sad dope is shuffling around in a rubber monster suit.  That's only been employed a few times successfully enough to end up as a movie worth revisiting, if maybe only once.  Besides, without it, we wouldn't have Bud the Chud, and who wants that dimension?    Cheers! -Shonny Constant 2. 1. 2019      Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Twitter      @Talk_horror @ShonnyConstant   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @HobbyKnockout @Shonny.Constant

Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Twitter  @Talk_horror @ShonnyConstant   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @HobbyKnockout @Shonny.Constant

  Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Twitter  @Talk_horror @ShonnyConstant   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @HobbyKnockout @Shonny.Constant

      Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Twitter  @Talk_horror @ShonnyConstant   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @HobbyKnockout @Shonny.Constant   Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net

When this film first arrived on Netflix in late 2016, it immediately created a buzz amongst the horror fan groups I was following.  Comparisons were being made to John Carpenter's The Thing (1982), which of course had me quite intrigued.  As my life was going through a transition at the time, rather than watching it immediately, I let it simmer for a while, and while in the bigger scope, reviews were quite mixed, the ones I was hearing had me thinking something great was in store for me. Finally seeing it, I felt quite torn.  While there was certainly a lot to appreciate from this ambitious film, I felt that too many of the details throughout the presentation muddied up the experience.  Having only been keen on the highest of reviews, I a bit unfairly  looked too closely at how it measured up to The Thing, one of my favorite of all cinematic experiences, and that left me with a list of complaints.  Having now watched it again, I was able to set those biases aside, and as a result experience the thrills of this well made practical effects and image strong movie the way I'd hope most people will. Matt was watching the movie for the first time for this episode.  That worked out well, as his enthusiasm helped drive the tone of our discussion.  The Void is a movie that we both recommend.  Even if that mysterious portal is a little too much of a hole for me to be fully comfortable with. Cheers!   -Shonny Constant 1. 8. 2019    Tell us what you thought of The Void, or the content of this episode, at one of the links below!   Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Twitter  @Talk_horror @ShonnyConstant   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @HobbyKnockout @Shonny.Constant

Our first sequel episode is fittingly a follow up to our very first episode (1: Hellraiser (1987)).  The film starts off in fantastic fashion, with shades of the first film mingled with something of a mad doctor twist (which always reminds me of Re-Animator (1985), even if there's no obvious cinematic connection) but begins to go off the rails for us as the movie descends into Hell for it's ambitious but unfortunately underfunded third act.  Despite our modern day depreciation of the movie's value for present day viewers, there can be little doubt that the movie has made an impact on many people, as the series is to go on for (at the time of this writing) another 8 entries.  For us even, despite something less than a fully glowing review, the high spots of the film are indeed so good that we found they outweighed the shortcomings to provide a quite good follow up to the original, with our complaint being that the film makers weren't given the resources to make something that quite possibly could have met or exceeded the quality of the first as a viewing experience.   What are your feelings on the Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)?  When did you first see it and what are your thoughts?  Come let us know at one of the links below.   Cheers!     -Shonny Constant 1. 3. 2019      Talk Horror To Me Facebook Group   Twitter  @Talk_horror @ShonnyConstant   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @HobbyKnockout @Shonny.Constant  

In the vast majority of cases where an independent film making crew undertakes the daunting task of assembling a feature length film, it is my belief that they are looking past the fact that budgetary limitations will hamper their ability to bring their visions to life on screen in as full a way as they'd like.  Often times the results come off as comical or inept, despite the earnestness of the creators desire to tell the best story they can.  Very rarely does the opposite happen, where the limitations empower a film densely packed with such timeless beauty and emotional impact as Night Of The Living Dead. While not every sequence will work to the sensibilities of a modern audience, Night contains the emotional impact and philosophical themes that have resonated with society over it's 50 year life that it has led to an explosion of Zombie relevance in modern culture in a way that nobody could have predicted, making an impact on humanity in ways similar to the novels of Frankenstein and Dracula had in the century preceding cinema.  That's something very special indeed.   If you'd like to share your thoughts on this classic film, or thoughts on horror in general, please visit us as the Talk Horror To Me facebook group, or at one of the links below.  If you loved what you heard, Bless your soul.  Please consider rating us wherever you get your podcasts, or recommend the show to a friend.  We'd really appreciate it.   May 2019 be the year in which you conquer all your fears.  Cheers!   Shonny Constant 1. 1. 2019   Twitter  @Talk_horror @ShonnyConstant   Instagram @TalkHorrorShow @HobbyKnockout @Shonny.Constant