Tracks of the Damned is a horror film commentary track podcast hosted by Patrick Ripoll. Finally, some new use for that huge DVD collection you've been ignoring! Informative! Entertaining! Weird! Adjective!
for nathaxnne walker "The Devil is dope" - The Dramatics Beyond the darkest depths of imagination, the outer rim of human experience, the forbidden rites thought forgotten, rediscovered. The annual tradition of the Halloween mix corrupted, made sinister, clawed loose from the crypt and into the stark sunlight of reality. Italian soundtracks to 1930's jazz to darkwave to stoner metal to house to folk to garage psychedelia and beyond. Remember: when you look Satan in the face, he looks back at you, with one eye open and one eye closed. *1. The Devil is Dope - The Dramatics *2. Headless - Tearist (Live on KXLU) 3a. "AKA Dr. Satan" (House of 1000 Corpses excerpt) *3b. House of 1000 Corpses - Rob Zombie 4a. Drive-In Movie Radio Spot - Night of the Living Dead & Blood and Black Lace (1968) *4b. In The Room Where You Sleep - Dead Man's Bones 5a. "Satan, our Lord and Master" (Alucarda excerpt) *5b. Main theme (from Beyond the Darkness) - Goblin 6a. "The great devil's advocates of the past..." (Anton LeVey interview excerpt) *6b. Cryptorchild - Marilyn Manson 7a. Race With The Devil radio spot *7b. Jekyll And Hyde - Jim Burgett 8a. Devil Shake Radio Ad (Murray the K 1966 broadcast) *8b. Evil Satan (Devil Shake remix) - Acid King 9a. Damien Prayer monologue (from Final Conflict: The Omen 3) *9b. Lucifer's The Light Of The World - King Dude 10a. The Devil's Widow trailer *10b. Me and the Devil - Soap&Skin 11a. "Jesus was talking about a place called hell" (The Burning Hell excerpt) 11b. Crackling fireplace sfx *11c. [Don't Worry] If There Is a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go - Curtis Mayfield *11d. Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell - Iggy Pop & The Stooges *11e. Man - Yeah Yeah Yeahs *11f. To Hell with Good Intentions - McKlusky *11g. We're All Going To Hell - The Bastard Fairies *11h. All Hell Breaks Loose - The Misfits *12. Headless (2015 mix) - Tearist *13. Death 2 - Flatbush Zombies 14a. A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985 teaser trailer) *14b. Nightmare (Maggot's Over Antwerp) - Spencer Tune 15a. Seance Piano Strings sfx 15b. The Call Of The First Aethyr - Aleister Crowley *15c. Swingin' At the Séance - Deep River Boys *16. Lipstick to Void (Under the Skin score) - Mica Levi 17a. Take It from Someone Who Used to Talk to Satan: Halloween Is a Bad Idea (CBN news segment excerpt) *17b. Ordinary Vanity (Silent Hill 2 score) - Akira Yamaoka *17c. On All Hallow's Ever - Killing Joke *18. Masquerade (The Adventure of Kohsuke Kindaichi soundtrack) - The Mystery Kindaichi Band 19a. "Faster and Faster" (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me excerpt) *19b. Pink Room (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me soundtrack) - Angelo Badalamenti 19c. Satanic Mass - Coven *19d. The Litanies of Satan - Diamanda Galás *19e. Witches & Devils - Albert Ayler 20a. Seven Doors of Death (AKA The Beyond) trailer *20b. Voci dal Nulla (The Beyond score) - Fabio Frizzi 21a. The Devil Within Her trailer *21b. Aloha From Hell - The Cramps *22. The Devil's Gonna Get You - Bessie Smith *23. Midnight Graveyard - Mother Sunday *24. Headless - Tearist
FIGHT BACK AGAINST TRANSPHOBIC ATTACKS ON THE CHILDREN OF TEXAS: Resources For Transgender Youth in Texas: https://www.txtranskids.org/ Transgender Education Network of Texas: https://www.transtexas.org/services Equality Texas: https://www.equalitytexas.org/ ---------- Whether it's a complicated layered confession from the man who introduced blockbuster filmmaking into the water supply, turning his fellow New Hollywood icons into endangered species or just the best monster movie of the 90s, Jurassic Park (1993) is a beloved institution that will never go away, that children around the world will never stop enjoying, that will never stop influencing the world of populist popcorn cinema. So why does everyone seem to get it wrong? To dig into the minutae of what makes this highly sophisticated machine tick and also just reminisce about being kids in the 90's when this came out, Patrick Ripoll and Regina Linn hold onto their butts and ask the big questions like: Is this movie actually a good demonstration of chaos theory? How does Alan Grant know how to do a Brachiosaurus call? And just how many fucked up space drugs was ET using? All that and more on the most recent episode of Tracks of the Damned! TIME STAMPS: 0:00 - 5:40 - Intro 5:41 - 2:15:13 - Commentary 2:15:14 - 2:21:12 - Outro
A special Halloween treat: a unique performance of the classic HP Lovecraft short story by Patrick Ripoll and Regina Linn.
The climax of the career of the greatest horror star of all time and also a miserable failure critically and commercially, The Devil Commands was the product of a hungry up and coming director, Edward Dmytryk, being paired with material best described as "Lovecraftian" decades before that word meant anything to anybody. In this episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, host Patrick Ripoll tackles the second horror boom of the 40s and asks the big questions like: is that matte painting haunted? Time-Stamps: 0:00 - 0:37 - Apology Concerning My Thoughtless Words 0:38 - 2:47 - Intro 2:48 - 1:10:05 - Commentary 1:10:06 - 1:53:58 - Ten Must-See Karloff Performances 1:53:59 - 1:57:54 - Outro
The year was 2007, we were all drinking Four Loko, playing Super Mario Galaxy, listening to MIA's "Paper Planes" and taking to our Livejournals and message boards to argue about "torture porn" films. Were they pumped up cinema sadism designed to please craven adolescent creeps? Or angry political works calling back to horror's glory days of the 70's? The better question was, perhaps, were they torture porn at all? To answer all that and more on the latest episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, Patrick recruited Gabe Powers of Genre Grinder to take a look at Hostel: Part Two (2007), the ambitious and oft-ignored follow up to Eli Roth's breakthrough film. We get into the influence of Tarantino, the history of Elizabeth Bathory in horror films, it's connections to Italian genre films and how Eli Roth made up for certain short-comings as a writer with one particularly brilliant piece of casting. Let's go! 0:00 - 4:16 - Intro 4:17 - 1:51:51 - Commentary 1:51:52 - 1:57:16 - Outro
In a world full of rip-off artists the key is how you rip something off. Sean S. Cunningham, the director of two separate Bad News Bears knockoffs, was not the first guy to go "Hey, this Halloween movie is real popular and seems cheap to make" but he was the guy who did it the exact right way at the exact right time to change the world of horror forever. On the latest episode of Tracks of the Damned Patrick finally returns to the one that started it all (the uncut version!) and talks about why critics despised it, why it was so successful and just what kind of winding road one takes from pornography to deep sea sci-fi movies. 0:00 - 5:18 - Intro 5:19 - 1:41:55 - Commentary 1:41:56 - 1:44:25 - Outro 1:44:26 - 1:48:23 - ???
It's cold, meat is carved and you're thankful it exists. That's all the justification we need for a special Thanksgiving episode of Tracks of the Damned where Patrick & Jim sat down and did an impromptu, research-free commentary track for The Evil Dead. You may not get to be with your family this year but sit down next to the hearth (don't forget the screaming claymation Necronomicon) and warm your bones with us and Bruce Campbell. That ain't cranberry sauce! Ash gets the stuffing beaten out of him. And a third Thanksgiving joke. 0:00 - 2:43 - Intro 2:44 - 1:30:39 - Commentary 1:30:40 - 1:43:07 - Outro
We've cut off heads, double impaled lovers, went 3D, we ended things, we began them again, we went Frankenstein, we went Carrie, we went to Manhattan, we went to Hell, we went to Space we went Kaiju, what the hell is left to do? Do it all again! How do you remake a movie when the things the fans love about the series don't actually exist in that movie? By remaking the entire series. As ambitious as it is divisive, Friday the 13th (2009) may not be a great film but it is a great example of the problem solving inherent to writing a remake. It's got perfect reference placement, baby. 0:00 - 2:25 - Intro 2:26: - 1:46:30 - Commentary 1:46:31 - 1:49:33 - Outro
"Remember last year, when we were worried that Halloween in 2020 wouldn't feel like Halloween? 'We can't bob for apples, the season is ruined!' Well now some time has passed, it's October again and I haven't even seen an apple in 7 months." - Micah Bravo, host of Tracks of the Damned You think this year was a clusterfuck, you ain't see nothing yet. Live, from the radio station of the third most prestigious community college in the greater Baton Rouge area, DJ Micah Bravo (Regina Linn) surveys a decimated post-nuclear landscape and does what they do every Halloween: get high and party with another great mix of weird and wild spooky tunes. The pumpkins may have mutated a new skin that's impervious to knives but Halloween will never die! ACT ONE 1. What Lurks On Channel X? by Rob Zombie 2. Concerto for Organ, Strings & Timpani in G Minor, FP 93: I. Andante by Francis Poulenc 3a. Troma Team Title Music 3b. Clip #1 of The Masque of the Red Death read by William S. Burroughs 3c. Silver Shamrock Jingle by John Carpenter & Alan Howarth 4a. Halloween by Betty Grable & David Wayne 4b. Slaughterhouse by Ganksta NIP 5a. Spookshow Trailer 5b. Experiment in Terror by Harry Mancini 6a. Dracula (1979) trailer 6b. Stage 4-3 Bram Stoker's Dracula for Genesis by Andy Brock 6c. Clips from Dracula (1979), Nosferatu (1979), Count Dracula (1970), Bram Stoker's Dracula, Count Dracula (1977), Spanish Dracula (1931) 7. Bela Lugosi by Severed Limb 8a. Dream Clinic scene from A Nightmare on Elm Street 8b. Bury a Friend by Billie Eilish 9a. Ghost in the Machine trailer 9b. Hex from The Andromeda Strain by Gil Mellé 10a. Carvel, Kooky Spooks Make-Up commercials 10b. The World Television Premier of John Carpenter's Halloween 10c. John Carpenter's Halloween by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross 11a. To Raise The Dead by Vincent Price 11b. Zombie Jamboree by Harry Belaftone 12a. Living Dead Beats by Sek 12b. "Are they slow moving, chief?" from Night of the Living Dead 13. "I Love The Dead" by Alice Cooper ACT TWO 1. The Spook by Pete Drake 2. Theme From Cannibal Ferox by Roberto Donati and Fiamma Maglione 3. Clip #2 of The Masque of the Red Death read by William S. Burroughs 4a. "Whoa, psychedelic!" from Terrorvision 4b. Terrorvision Theme by The Fibonaccis 5. Night of the Vampire by The Moontrekkers 6a. Halloween Saftey (1985) clip 6b. Fall Children by AFI 7a. "All the different ways of dying. Violently?" clip from Return of the Living Dead 7b. Transylvanian Concubine by Rasputina 8. Dead & Buried Suite by Joe Renzetti 9. Now I'm Feeling Zombified by Alien Sex Fiend 10a. Sadismo trailer 10b. Shadowman by Link Wray 11a. 781 Redrum by Brotha Lynch Hung 11b. Pass The Shovel by Gravediggaz 12. Boo! from The Canterville Ghost by Gordon Getty ACT THREE 1. The Munge by Genki Genki Panic 2. Werewolf & Witchbreath by The Troll 3. Clip #3 of The Masque of the Red Death read by William S. Burroughs 4a. The Hills Have Eyes Opening Theme by Don Peake 4b. Sammy Terry Nightmare Theater opening 5. Dr. Holmes (He Stripped Their Bones) by Macabre 6a. Abby Trailer 6b. Day of Wrath Funk Breaks by The Rite of Exorcism 7a. Penn Jillette on Monstervision: Ed Wood defense 7b. Opening Theme to Ed Wood by Howard Shore 8a. Hot Rod Herman clip 8b. The Munsters theme by The Surf Dawgs 9a. Subway scene from Possession (1981) 9b. Demon Host by Timber Timbre 10a. Don't by Garden on a Trampoline 10b. New Jim Jones (live) by Dre Dog
It took 17 years, three god-awful sequels, 18 spec scripts and meetings with every person who ever worked in Hollywood but we got here, we have arrived, grab your shit from the overhead bin because the plane has landed, Freddy Vs. Jason is upon us. A stupid idea inspired by only the most juvenile among the fanbases somehow, some way, turned out to be one of the best entries in either series, a well-crafted and energetic bit of party cinema, grab your gummi bears and throw them at the screen, shouting is enouraged! And in that spirit join Patrick as well as Genre Grinder's Gabe Powers for a rollicking good time commentary that dares to ask: When did horror movie soundtracks become heavy metal mixtapes? Where did Kane Hodder go? And who the hell approved that original ending that caps off a decades-awaited monster mash with Freddy committing sexual assault? All that PLUS we pitch our own Freddy Vs. Jason ideas on this latest episode of Tracks of the Damned! 0:00 - 5:12 - Intro 5:13 - 1:50:57 - Commentary 1:50:58 - 2:08:39 - Our Freddy Vs. Jason Pitches 2:08:40 - 2:13:40 - Outro
He went to development hell and stayed there but now Jason is escaping to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism: SPAAAACE. Yes, since "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman but slasher" was apparently too monumental a task for New Line to tackle Sean S. Cunningham once again delayed Freddy Vs. Jason to boldly go where Hellraiser, Leprechaun AND Critters had already gone before, none of them successfully. But would Jason X be the film to crack that "Horror Franchise In Space" nut? No, it sucks. But I meant what I said and I said what I meant, a podcaster's faithful One Hundred Percent, so we're doing a commentary track for Jason X anyway, watching Jason kill 24 people, an entire space station, and more than a few careers. Let me give you an upload! 0:00 - 3:31 - Intro 3:32 - 1:37:30 - Commentary 1:37:31 - 1:46:40 - Outro
After Paramount squeezed all of the blood they could from their stone they sold that dry-ass stone to New Line with a shrug and a smile. They say the plan was always Freddy vs. Jason, but when Wes Craven threw a monkey wrench into the spokes of his old friend Sean Cunningham and, with no ideas and no real interest in anything but money, Cunningham went the dirt cheap route of hiring a bunch of college kids, including his son's old best friend Adam, to radically alter the massive film franchise he didn't quite intend to create. Did this gambit pay off and redefine the beloved series? Or did they make Jason Goes To Hell? On the latest episode of Tracks of the Damned, Patrick takes a look at the misbegotten sequel and asks important questions such as: What adored horror icon gave a blessing to this rip-off of his work? What does Kane Hodder do all day on the set of a Jason movie with little to no Jason? And why the hell is this movie so fucking hard to watch? Also featuring an introduction from indie wrestling star and AAW champion Mance Warner! Kneepad up, kneepad down! 0:00 - 2:02 - Mance Warner intro 2:03 - 9:18 - Intro 9:19 - 1:40:18 - Commentary 1:40:19 - 1:46:47 - Outro
If the quintessential quarantine experience is walking around your house bored doing nothing as you wait for the pizza you ordered to arrive, than The House of the Devil is the quintessential quarantine movie. Alternately thought of as brilliant and a total waste of time, Ti West's divisive modern classic may not have a quick pace but will it quicken your pulse? To find out we got Jim and Patrick to take a look and debate it's relative merits as horror and as art, time capsule and post-modern riff, homage and parody. And also complain a lot because THIS MOVIE IS BORING AS SHIT. Or at least, so sayeth Patrick. But Jim forsooth sayeth thy atmosphere et thee pace is interesting. Or something. 0:00 - 3:40 - 2020 Intro 3:41 - 9:07 - 2017 Intro 9:08 - 1:46:31 - Commentary 1:46:32 - 1:48:05 - 2020 Outro
Parting can be such sweet sorrow, but it can also just be sorrow, no sweetness, nothing good about it whatsoever. As we close the book on the Paramount years of the Friday the 13th series we see that Frank Mancuso Jr. opted to go out not with a bang, or even a whimper, just a shrug, a gimmicky ad campaign and no fucks given whatsoever. Welcome to Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan, where the ideas ran out long before the money did. But if we are to continue down the thankless path to hell, chronicling the remaining years of Jason Voorhees, we need not do it alone. On this episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, Patrick is joined by Louisa Herron of Hack the Net to watch this execrable mess and ask the big questions, like: Did Rob Hedden have any ideas to begin with? What type of Pokemon is Jason? And would you rather live without potatoes or onions? Punch it up! 0:00 - 6:17 - Intro 6:18 - 1:49:30 - Commentary 1:49:31 - 2:01:59 - Outro
So you get your X-Ray Vision but the truth is that after a week of staring at everyone's boobs and dongs nudity fails to do anything for you anymore. What are you going to use it for? Cheating at cards? Curing the sick? Hiding in a dingy Long Beach boardwalk doing insult comedy while dressed lake a blindfolded Pharaoh? If you said all three you might be Dr. James Xavier, star of Roger Corman's 1963 classic X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes. On the latest episode of Tracks of the Damned we take a look at a pivotal AIP sci-fi shocker and ask the big questions like: How did this movie change the career of Roger Corman? What classic novel does it resemble? And is that really any way to test a monkey? All this and more! Pluck em out! 0:00 - 4:35 - Intro 4:36 - 1:24:40 - Commentary 1:24:41 - 1:30:00 - Outro
https://chicagobond.org/ https://secure.actblue.com/donate/bail_funds_george_floyd Just when you thought it was safe to have a psychic freakout at your parent's summer home! Some say this movie started as Freddy Vs. Jason, or as a Jaws rip-off, an attempt at an Oscar or an attempt to meet Federico Fellini but if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that it's neutered! Yes, they cut out all the gore, but that does mean they cut out all the fun? To find out Patrick enlisted the help of Bill Ackerman of Supporting Characters to take a look at this controversial sequel and ask the big questions like: Just how gay is this movie really? Is Danny Steinman getting a bad rap? And did we accidentally trick ourselves into like Kane Hodder? All this and more on the latest episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary podcast! Space mummy! https://chicagobond.org/ https://secure.actblue.com/donate/bail_funds_george_floyd 0:00 - 7:54 - Intro 7:55 - 1:34:45 - Commentary 1:34:46 - 1:44:24 - Outro
Before Boyle cleared out London, before Snyder tacked a mediocre remake onto a strong opening sequence, before Cronenberg went beyond the green door to ask for Marilyn Chamber's phone number, David Durston was there, making zombies who ran hella fast. Raconteur, TV writer, actor and possible gigantic liar (seriously, some of his life stories are wild), Durston was a cuddly madman who saw news footage of caged children foaming at the mouth and thought "that'd make for a fun movie, if only you could squeeze Charles Manson in there". So it is on this episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, that we look at one of the gnarliest and most fun horror trash epics of the 1970's, I Drink Your Blood. But why is it that a movie about Satanist Murder Cult Real-Live-Chicken-Sacrificing Hippies Who Eat Tampered Meat Pies And Decapitate A Small Town's Worth of Upstate New York Bumpkins so much fun to us? Is it because we're sick weirdos or is it because seeing the lines of good taste crossed satisfies a primal urge to violate societal taboos in the safety of our own theater seats? It's probably the first one, but just in case Gabe Powers of Genre Grinder joins Patrick for a post-commentary discussion about transgressive movies, offensive content, and how genre fans navigate the line between watching Cannibal Holocaust and being a good person. Check it out, SADOS commands you! 0:00 - 4:54 - 2020 Intro 4:55 - 6:21 - 2017 Intro 6:22 - 1:31:20 - Commentary 1:31:21 - 2:27:04 - Conversation w/ Gabe Powers on transgressive films 2:27:05 - 2:30:36 - 2020 Outro
Here's some real truth for you: every time your neighbor is loud and annoys you through the walls, what they are doing is making a deposit. It's a deposit in your "be as loud and obnoxious as you want guilt-free" bank. You don't have to feel guilty about shouting at the TV while watching The Americans or for stomping around as you dance. When neighbors are aspiring DJ's that's the world telling you: don't worry about being polite all the time. It is in that spirit that on the latest episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, host Patrick welcomes not only Jim Laczkowski of the Director's Club Podcast but also his downstairs neighbors, who played loud gabber music through the whole episode. The more the merrier, it's a party when you watch Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, Paramount's celebration of the return of Jason Voorhees and one of the all-time great horror-comedy slashers. Patrick and Jim watch the fan favorite and ask the big questions, like: What kind of horror in-jokes are acceptable? What Universal Horror movies inspired writer/director Tom McLoughlin? And what's the best Friday the 13th and Edgar Allan Poe-inspired way to murder your rude neighbors if you live in Chicago? All this and more on the latest episode of Tracks of the Damned! Cro-nen-berg it! And check out Jim's fundraising request a song here! 0:00 - 6:38 - Intro 6:39 - 1:31:25 - Commentary 1:31:26 - 1:39:20 Outro
1, 2, Patrick's coming for you...4, 3, check your RSS feed. That's right, Tracks of the Damned is back with another bonus episode, this one of the rare 2017 vintage. In it Patrick is joined by Tessa Racked of Consistent Panda Bear Shape to talk about the controversial and oh-so delightful A Nightmare on Elm Street Part Two. You take a newly-successful studio like New Line and ask them what to do with all that Freddy Money (tm), it's no surprise they didn't exactly know what the future of the franchise should be. But a movie like this only raises questions, like: Who's responsibility is all this subtext anyway? What Errol Morris documentary is lurking just in the margins? And does Rhonda ever get called? All this and more on this episode of Tracks of the Damned! Sweat it out! 0:00 - 6:25 - 2020 Intro 6:26 - 8:47 - 2017 Intro 8:48 - 1:35:53 - Commentary 1:35:54 - 1:40:43 - 2020 Outro
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end, it's true, but when that other beginning's end was the high point of the series since the beginning's beginning what can you expect from the new beginning, particularly it's end? Why, one of the most controversial choices of the franchise, of course! We've reached the love-it-or-hate-it section of the series, so we made sure to have both sides represented. On the love it side we have Gabe Powers, proprietor of GenreGrinder.com and host of the Genre Grinder podcast, whose delight in the film's drug-fueled sleaze is only matched by his interest in it's Eurocult vibes. On the hate it side, Patrick Ripoll, who wishes they did something, ANYTHING, with the premise of a halfway house slasher. Together they come together and ask the big questions like: What alternate reality 1990's does this exist in? What does director Danny Steinman have to say about Ronald Reagan's repeal of The Mental Health Systems Act of 1980? And just how much does he like boobs? The answer to that last question will become abundantly clear. Check it out! And if you want to hear Gabe and Patrick talk about pop star movies like Rock n Roll High School, Head and House Party, be sure to check out Genre Grinder podcast episode 12. 0:00 - 5:40 - Intro 5:41 - 1:43:04 - Commentary
So you saw Night of the Living Dead when you were 8, you brag to all your high school buddies about how your parents let you watch Martyrs, but trust me you aren't ready for this. Gnarly onscreen violence is one thing, but violent architecture? There's only one classic horror film that can make art deco scary: The Black Cat. Lugosi and Karloff together, now you know you in trouble. Ain't nothin but Ulmer thing baby, two horror star legends so it's crazy. Released a mere month and a half before they started enforcing the Hayes Code, this deep dive in sadism, necrophilia, torture, Satanism and sexual assault is every bad taste horror idea you can think of rolled into one very classy old-dark-but-actually-extremely-clean-and-well-lit-house horror movie. Let's get into it! 0:00 - 2:23 - Intro 2:24 - 1:12:00 - Commentary
Well it took us several weeks but we're finally here. We've had decapitations and double impalements and 3D yo-yos and now we've reached the thrilling conclusion of the Friday the 13th series and, with it, our commentary tracks. (Wait, they made HOW many more after this? Oh geez.) Yes, on this episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, we take a look at the least accurately titled slasher movie since Jason took Vancouver. But even if it wasn't the end of the series it was probably the series' peak, a perfect cocktail of sleaze, outlandish special effects and bombast, the kind that tastes great and fucks up your liver. Plus we ask the hard questions like: What's the first rule of film-making? Why is that weird sexy aerobics in so many movies? And how long would it take you to learn Crispin Glover's impeccable choreography? Rip it up! 0:00 - 3:41 - Intro 3:42 - 1:36:49 - Commentary Track 1:36:50 - 1:38:52 - Outro
Look there's nothing wrong with an overgrown octopus pulling down the Golden Gate Bridge, there's nothing wrong with adorable giant bunnies gobbling up the townsfolk, but what if you got something more? What if you saw a killer animal movie that really got under your skin? An early 70's AIP cheapie directed by someone mostly known for TV work seems like an unlikely candidate, but sometimes life surprises you. On this episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, Patrick revisits a track he recorded back in the halcyon days of 2017. Christ, you ever thought you'd be nostalgic for that first Trump year? Armed with a six pack and a mortal fear of climate change he took a long look at this movie and asked the hard questions like: How weird is it that Sam Elliot was young(ish) once? Just who is responsible for all these wonderful squelching electronic sounds? And once and for all he lays out a massive rant about the concept of "so bad it's good" and how it's the realm of the coward. Hey, he had a lot to drink. 0:00 - 5:15 - 2020 Intro 5:16 - 7:34 - 2017 Intro 7:35 - 1:39:50 - Commentary 1:39:51 - 1:41:43 - 2020 Outro As mentioned at the top of the show, if you want to donate money to a local food-bank and make Patrick write a review on the movie of your choice, you can do so now, all the details are here:
Once, twice, three times a dopey slasher series but how are you gonna get the kids coming back to pay to see the same movie they already paid to twice before? The real answer is "Twice? Wait til you realize we can do this 8 more times!" but it's 1982, they don't know what they're sitting on yet. Instead they find a solution fitting their respect for the franchise: stick a bunch of goofy 3D gimmick shit in it! Yes, it's time to talk about Friday the 13th: Part 3, the film that launched the series into what it would become. This is where they get the mask, this is where they up the body count, this is where they looked at all the critics complaining about the depraved violence in the first two films and decided to produce something that no one could possibly take seriously. If you like the cartoonish tone of later films, if you like the elaborate kills, if you like that this series eventually became the kind of thing they could cross over with The Evil Dead (in comic books, anyway) then you have this movie to thank. On this episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, Patrick is joined by Pandabearshape.com's Regina Linn to ask the really hard questions like: What do you do when your 3D paddle ball gag doesn't work out? Who the hell are Chuck and Chili? And how can you tell if a Friday the 13th fansite is pro-life? Go back from whence you came, I have warned thee! 0:00 - 3:58 - Intro 3:59 - 1:41:51 - Commentary 1:41:52 - 1:42:50 - Outro
It's an age-old question. Why do we keep pushing on that bruise, tonguing that sore, why do we watch movies we know we hate, movies we know hate us? We don't know, but there are few more mainstream horror films more hateful than Rob Zombie's Halloween. Yes, kids, it's time to gaze into the abyss. Patrick may not like Rob Zombie's divisive 2007 remake of the Carpenter classic, but that hasn't stopped him from trying to figure it out, like some kind of Film Crit Sam Loomis trying to see what lurks behind the blackest eyes, the devil's eyes. So back in 2017, armed with a six pack of beer, he decided to dive deep in and ask really hard questions like Why does no one in Haddonfield think Michael is coming back? What exactly is motivating this Michael Myers anyway? And how did Dee Wallace manage to walk into the movie and pull off it's only really good performance? All that and more on this episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast! TIME STAMPS 0:00 - 2:20 - 2020 Intro 2:21 - 4:36 - 2017 Intro 4:37 - 2:09:37 - Commentary 2:09:38 - 2:10:44 - 2020 Outro
It's slower than we'd like but the days are finally getting warmer, the clouds are beginning to part and that first lonesome call of the loon cracking across the valley indicates the summer must soon be here. Time for camp! Yes Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, is returning with this bonus episode recorded in 2019 that goes deep into the heart of New Jersey to Camp Crystal Lake with the indeliable Friday the 13th: Part 2. We're here to ask the really hard questions, like: What else did this movie rip-off from The Town That Dreaded Sundown besides the mask? Just how big is Crystal Lake anyway? And how many slasher movies have a final girl who is canonically menstruating for it's entire runtime? All this and more as we watch the scariest Jason movie of all. Just like a Shih Tzu this podcast mysteriously vanished, but now it's back! 0:00 - 3:04 - 2020 intro 3:05 - 5:07 - 2019 intro 5:08 - 1:32:45 - Commentary 1:32:46 - 1:34:17 - 2020 outro
Tracks of the Damned is back? We must truly be living in the end of days. Oh. Right. Well regardless, if we're all gonna be stuck in front of our TVs for the next two months than we might as well watch some movies together. So the plan right now is to go back into the crypt and dig up some old unreleased episodes and other archival material to release on a weekly basis. And to start off, a real doozy: Martin! In this episode, originally recorded in 2017, Patrick is joined by Gabe Powers of Genre Grinder to talk about the little-seen but oft-revered vampire flick by Pittsburgh's own George Romero. We talk about everything from the film's small-town Pennsylvania locale to Romero's work as an industrial filmmaker to whether or not this film was made prior to Tom Savini's nosejob! (Actually I'll give ya that one for free, it was.) And if you don't own a copy of Martin (who does?), psst, it's probably on YouTube, hint hint. On top of that we go through the rest of Romero's filmography and parse out what of his work is timeless and what is era-defining. Absence makes the heart fonder. That's what we hope anyway. Timestamps: 0:00 - 4:24 - Episode intro (2020) 4:25 - 7:12 - Episode intro (2017) 7:13 - 1:46:35 - Commentary Track 1:46:36 - 2:25:06 - Romero Remake Discussion 2:25:07 - 2:26:11 - Episode outro (2017) 2:26:12 - 2:26:51 - Episode outro (2020) And for more great podcasting about horror movies featuring Gabe and Patrick make sure to check out the Best Horror Movies of the 2010's discussion, which is not one, not two but three great episodes!
Hey all, Jim here. I wish I could explain what you're about to hear, but I really can't. But Patrick is recovering in the hospital after 40% of his body was eaten away by insects, so all I can do is direct you to this sound file, which captures his final moments before he succumbed to a demonic force. So listen, but listen with caution, lest the same happen to you... TRACKLIST 1. Skeletons in the Closet - Louis Armstrong 2. Everyday is Halloween - Ministry 3a. "Help Me!" from The Fly (1958) 3b. Human Fly - The Cramps 4a. Graveyard Sounds - corfen 4b. Screaming Skull trailer 4c. Rattlin Bones - Preservation Jazz Hall Band 5. Nightmare at 20,000 feet - Black Market 6a. Siskel & Ebert review of Friday the 13th Part 2 6b. Intro/Cabin theme to Friday the 13th NES game (strings remix) - 7a. Resident Evil zombie sound effects 7b. I Walked With A Zombie - Roky Erickson 8a. Media Home Entertainment's retailer promo for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors 8b. Freddy Krueger 900 Number Commercial 8c. Freddy's Nightmares Videotape commercial 8d. Freddy hosting MTV 8e. Do The Freddy - Elm Street Singers 9a. No More Room In Hell speech from Dawn of the Dead 9b. No More Room In Hell (Gervano DC remix) - The Darrow Chem Syndicate 10. Swan Lake - The Nebulas 11a. Clip from Intimate Conversations - Bela Lugosi 11b. Bela Lugosi's Dead - Electric Hellfire Club 12a. Spooky Forest and Ambience - Royalty Free Sounds 12b. I Was A Teenage Werewolf trailer 12c. Werewolf - Morgus and the Daringers 13a. Bloodbath - Escape 13b. The Bat - The Ventures 14a. Lights Out Intro 14b. Jerusalems Lot audiobook piece 14c. Dirge - Death in Vegas 15. Tenebre - Goblin 16. Mystic Stylez - Three 6 Mafia 17a. Stevie Wayne Radio Intro from The Fog 17b. Michael Myers - The Meteors 18a. Trial of the Dead radio spot - Something Weird 18b. Halloween - Siouxsie and the Banshees 19. Zombie - Fabio Frizzi 20. Bones of Baby Dolls - Acid Bath
I've spent the past 2 weeks making this special Halloween mix for you all to enjoy. Novelty songs, soundtrack cuts, horrorcore, horror-punk, horror surf, trailers, and other assorted bits and bobs. A creeptastic spooktacular! 1. Dark Dark Dark from "Spooky Scary Stories", read by Robert Dryden (1973) 2. Spooks! by Louis Armstrong and Gordon Jenkins (1954) 3a. The Graveyard Shift by Nature Sounds DJ (2013) 3b. Main Title from "Carnival of Souls" by Gene Moore (1962) 4a. Screams and Groans from "Disney's Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House" (1964) 4b. Living Dead Girl (Subliminal Seduction Mix) from "American Music To Strip By" by Rob Zombie (1999) 5a. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre trailer (1974) 5b. Chain Saw from "The Ramones" by The Ramones (1976) 6. Main Title from "House with The Laughing Windows" by Amedeo Tommasi (1976) 7a. Power Glove scene from Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) 7b. Main Title from A Nightmare On Elm Street (NES) by David Wise (1990) 8a. Three On A Meathook trailer (1972) 8b. House On Haunted Hill by Frank De Vol (1959) 8c. "Supernatural, perhaps" from The Black Cat (1934) 9a. Witches from "Disney's Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House" (1964) 9b. Scorpio 6 from "Creature Feature" by Satan's Pilgrims (1998) 10a. Time Life's Enchanted World commercial with Vincent Price 10b. Mrs. Alves from "Halloween 2" by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth (1981) 10c. Horror Movie Rap from "The South Park Psycho" by Ganksta N-I-P (1992) 11a. The Dangers of Rock Music from The John Ankerberg Show (1990) 11b. Halloween from "Fatal Portrait" by King Diamond (1986) 11c. Halloween Spooks from "High Flying" by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross with The Ike Isaacs Trio (1962) 12a. "The most horrible thing I've ever seen in my life" from The Blob (1958) 12b. The Blob from "The Blob" by The Five Blobs (1958) 13a. Tentacles trailer (1977) 13b. Banshee Beach from "All Plastic Assembly Kit" by The Ghastly Ones (2005) 14a. Crypt of Dark Secrets trailer (1976) 14b. It's A B-Movie from "The Brave Little Toaster" by Van Dyke Parks (1987) 15a. Jason Voorhees introduction from The Arsenio Hall Show (1989) 15b. Satanic Verses from "U.S.A." by Flatlinerz feat. Headless Horseman (1994) 16a. "What's the greatest Halloween song?" Bruce Springsteen stage banter (2012) 16b. The Mummy by Bob McFadden & Dor (1959) 17a. Otherworldly Music from "Disney's Haunted Mansion" (1970) 17b. "Do you believe in humans?" from "Disney's Haunted Mansion" (1970) 18a. Spooky Romance from CTV news (2017) 18b. Dracula's Wedding from Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by Outkast feat. Kelis (2003) 19a. Dracula/Van Helsing showdown from "Dracula" (1931) 19b. Bloody Tears from "Castlevania II: Simon's Quest" by The Doramatic Orchestra (2017) ***MONSTER MASH-UP*** 20a. Dick Clark intro of Bobby "Boris" Pickett on American Bandstand (1964) 20b. Monster Mash by Bobby "Boris" Pickett 20c. Monster Mash by Vincent Price 20d. Monster Mash by Zacherle 20e. Monster Mash by Bruce Springsteen 20f. Monster Mash by Bailey Pelkman 20g. Monster Mash by The Holophonics 20h. Monster Mash by Pink Skulls 20i. Monster Mash by The Misfits 20j. "Never play that again" from Spaceballs (1987) 21. Vampira from "Walk Among Us" by The Misfits (1982) 22a. Robots at the Factory from "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth 22b. The Conquerer Worm by Edgar Allan Poe, read by Tom O'Bedlam 23a. Intro to Lights Out radio program 23b. Main Title from "Bride of Frankenstein" by Franz Waxman, rerecorded by The Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra (1993) 24a. "To a new world of Gods and Monsters" from Bride of Frankenstein (1935) 24b. Forbidden Feelings from "Tornado" by Guest Villains (2011) 25a. "I have warned thee" from Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982) 25b. He's Back, The Man Behind The Mask from "Exhumed Vol. 1" by STRVNGERS (2017) (Alice Cooper cover) 26. You Cannot Be Saved From The Grave from "Ghost Ballads" by Lonesome Wyatt and the Holy Spooks (2013)
They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, so why does the past seem like such a nightmare? In the world of pre-Vatican Patterson, NJ the Catholic communities are trapped, shamed, guilty, frustrated, and unhappy. And that's before a maniac in a mask starts burying butcher knives into the tops of people's feet. Alice, Sweet Alice is one of the greatest slashers of all-time and unforgivably forgotten by too many people, but on this episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, two lapsed Catholics from New Jersey (host Patrick Ripoll and Bill Ackerman of the Supporting Characters podcast) try to tackle what makes this film so deep, satisfying and scary. In addition to the commentary Bill Ackerman brings with him an exclusive interview he did with Alice, Sweet Alice director Alfred Sole, getting into his career, the joys and pains of low-budget film-making, and what the hold up is on Alice, Sweet Alice coming out on blu-ray. Even if you know the story of Alice, Sweet Alice, this is not one to miss! 0:00 - 8:12 - Intro 8:13 - 2:04:12 - Commentary 2:04:13 - 2:25:55 - Interview w/Alice, Sweet Alice director Alfred Sole 2:25:56 - 2:30:50 - Outro
Hey folks, Jim here. We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of Patrick's computer, now in a deep coma. I have used my skills as a part-time fortune teller and medium to contact it in The Great Beyond and can confirm that it may be quite some time before it returns, if it ever does. So we must announce that Tracks of the Damned is on an indefinite hiatus until this matter can be resolved. However before Squinky The Wonder Laptop had her unfortunate accident, she did do one last noble deed. She recorded the Horror of Dracula (1958) episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast! Lucky you! On this episode Patrick is joined by Robert Reineke of Still Watching the Skies and Where The Long Tail Ends and in addition to talking about the classic adventure horror film they discuss Hammer studios, the profile of Christopher Lee, and the cultural importance of 1950's cleavage. They assure me the latter is very important indeed. They also talk about the wide pantheon of Hammer's legendary genre films, and which Dracula movies are the worst. Exciting! Listen hard! It may be your last chance for a while!
You will not be saved by iTunes. You will not be saved by Stitcher Radio. In fact, YOU WILL NOT BE SAVED. You take Carpenter's filmography and put it in a giant 1,500 lb blender, mix with some green goo, and hit puree. The result? Prince of Darkness (1987), a supernatural quantum physics siege film that has as many high minded science fiction ideas as it does characters. But can a director who's worked his way to major studio projects go back to a puny 3 million dollar budget? Can you slow burn an entire movie? And where does Alice Cooper fit in? All this and more on the latest episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, PLUS Patrick answers a listener question about the state of big budget studio horror. This is not a dream! This is a signal broadcasted electronically from the year 1-9-9-9! Intro - 0:00 - 4:24 Commentary - 4:25 - 1:43:18 Question - 1:43:19 - 1:57:08 Outro - 1:57:09 - 1:59:40
But is that deer head you have hanging above the couch in your den really secure? Just how good are your cars brakes anyway? Did you know that 11 out of 10 people who use a ladder start a Rube Goldberg chain of events that ends with a bowling ball smashing someone's head? Yep, it's a big dangerous world out there and in 2000 New Line Pictures saw all the dough Scream and it's derivatives were raking in and shouted into a phone "DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT." Thankfully, instead of another masked whodunnit high speed slasher, writer Jeffrey Reddick produced a Twilight Zone/Sole Survivor/Carnival of Souls kind of X-Files knock-off called Final Destination. Granted, Final Destination was kinda trash, BUT it's sequel, Final Destination 2 (2002) got the formula just right, a rare modern horror franchise primarily concerned with subverting and fucking with audience expectations, culminating in an approach that combines horror and slapstick comedy in ways that hadn't been seen in Hollywood in nearly 20 years. On the latest episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, Patrick and Jim discuss FD2, the subsequent entires in the series, and the logistics of high speed freeway pile-ups. PLUS, they get together to program one more 24-hour horror film festival, this time with a twist! Listen! Or don't! You've got a busy life, don't waste time just blindly doing whatever podcast descriptions tell you to! 0:00 - 5:08 - Intro 5:09 - 1:35:36 - Commentary 1:35:37 - 2:04:42 - Jim and Patrick Program the 2nd Annual Tracks of the Damned Horror-a-thon Scare-a-thon Marathon 2:04:43 - 2:06:15 - Outro
So we all know the stories. Spielberg was a wunderkind. He snuck onto the Universal lot as an 8 year-old with nothing more than a turtleneck, viewfinder and a suitcase full of candy bars and was immediately hired to design the Creature From the Black Lagoon and do re-writes on Magnificent Obsession. But the truth is that even The Beard started somewhere and anyone who's seen his episodes of Night Gallery knows that start was inauspicious at best. So while now we can look back on Duel (1971) as a no-brainer, the 20th century's preeminent film entertainer being handed a story full of car chases, the reality that this movie exists at all, let alone this good, is actually absolutely insane. So what happened? How did Spielberg pull it out? And how did he almost never end up collaborating with John Williams? On the latest episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary podcast, Patrick answers all this and asks the question: Where did all the country bumpkins go in Steven Spielberg movies? He also interviews Steven Awalt, author of Steven Spielberg and Duel: The Making of a Film Career, and takes an even deeper dive into that dimension where Spielberg and horror merge. Plow ahead! 0:00 - 10:47 - Intro 10:48 - 1:42:32 - Commentary 1:42:33 - 2:12:25 - Interview 2:12:26 - 2:14:03 - Outro
Look, I get it. You're a major studio, you see a movie like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre make a boatload of money, you look at a movie like Friday the 13th make a trainload of money, you think "Well, if we could get the director of THAT to make a version THIS, we could make a planeload of money!" Here's your wake-up call. Tobe Hooper is only ever gonna do what Tobe Hooper wants to do. He doesn't just follow his own drummer, he IS his own drummer (listen to the TCM score if you don't believe me) and while you may think you're going to get a quick cheap slasher movie out of a film like The Funhouse (1981), what actually turns out is much much stranger. When a drug-addicted auteur is flown to Miami and given access to the DP from The Warriors and a football field's worth of carnival rides, The Funhouse is what results. In this episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, find out how this chimera came to be, how it's novelization got in the way of it's audiences enjoyment of the film and just what it takes to play a half-cow half-man mutant killer. 0:00 - 3:48 - Intro 3:49 - 1:39:16 - Commentary 1:39:17 - 1:42:18 - Outro
What is behind that door? It's maybe the key question at the root of all horror. What is behind that door, what is in that shadow, what was that noise? It's a fact that RKO producer Val Lewton exploited better than anyone and one that Robert Wise, who was mentored by Lewton, used as the backbone of his 1963 psychological ghost story classic The Haunting. For the season 2 premiere of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, Patrick is joined by author Christopher Olson (Possessed Women, Haunted States: Cultural Tensions in Exorcism Cinema) as they both watch The Haunting and wonder: Is there really a ghost here? Is there really a house? How did Wise and screenwriter Nelson Gidding go about adapting Shirley Jackson's classic horror novel? Is there a scientific rational way to measure hauntings? We also talk about the lessons we wish modern horror films would take from The Haunting and other atmospheric black-and-white psychological horror films of the 60's. Good stuff! 0:00 - 5:36 - Intro 5:37 - 2:02:15 - Commentary 2:02:16 - 2:24:34 - Questions 2:24:25 - 2:26:13 - Outro
His tomb disturbed by raging teenagers, Patrick returns from the cold embrace of death to issue this warning: Bonus episodes are here, if you want them. So here's the deal. Season 2 will begin as planned July 7th, with one episode a week, 20 episodes total. All free of charge, at your leisure. HOWEVER. Patrick's already started recording Season 2. There will be 5 or 6 episodes already complete by the time July 7th rolls around. So if you'd like access to Season 2 episodes before they air, all you need to do is send a one-time donation of 20 dollars to one of the charities listed below and send proof to tracksofthedamned@gmail.com ALSO Patrick will also record 12 bonus commentaries throughout the year. Looser, crazier, more off the cuff with fun guests and plenty of beer. If you want access to all of these bonus episodes and advance access to Season 2 episodes before they air, all you need to do is send a one-time donation of 40 dollars to one of the charities listed below and send proof to tracksofthedamned@gmail.com. That's 20 dollars for advanced access to Season 2 episodes, 40 dollars for that plus a dozen bonus episodes. If you don't care about either, then enjoy the return of Tracks of the Damned on July 7th for free! CHARITIES: Refugees International Rescue Committee - https://www.rescue.org/ Homeless LGBT Youth True Colors Fund - https://truecolorsfund.org/ Civil Rights ACLU - https://www.aclu.org/
Hey folks, Patrick here. With Season 2 of Tracks of the Damned on the way, I figured it'd be a good idea to give people an update on the podcast, why Season 1 was abruptly cut short, and why, now more than ever, it's important to record commentary tracks for A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2. Or whatever. Also, check out a new song by Genki Genki Panic, whose new album, Litanies of Surf, is available on Bandcamp now.
In 2016 the streets of Chicago are full of celebrations but in 1963 the streets of Miami were full of blood. Anyone can walk into a nudist camp and point a Bolex at some breasts, but it took a mad professor (Herschell Gordon Lewis) and his carny friend (David F. Friedman) to think of ripping a sheep's tongue out of a Swedish model's face in screaming color. Enter Blood Feast. On the latest episode of Tracks of the Damned, Patrick takes aim at the world's first gore movie (no, for real, Eyes Without A Face doesn't really count), and dives into what is probably the weirdest movie we've covered yet. A subversive neutron bomb of a film that influenced everything from Night of the Living Dead to Pink Flamingos, Blood Feast is what happens when 24,000 dollars and two soft-core pornographers collide with destiny in a motel with a concrete sphinx out front. But Patrick has not only done a commentary for Blood Feast, but has a never before heard interview that he conducted way back in 2011 at Terror in the Aisles' Music Box Massacre 7. In addition to that rare interview, you can hear Herschell Gordon Lewis perform the theme song to 2000 Maniacs live with a band! Dump this episode into your noise biscuits! 0:00 - 12:16 - Intro 12:17 - 1:20:03 - Commentary 1:20:04 - 1:39:41 - Herschell Gordon Lewis Interview 1:39:42 - 1:47:11 - Theme from "2000 Maniacs" Performed By Herschell Gordon Lewis
New decade, new cast, new blood, new rules? Well wait, let's pump our brakes a sec here, what are the rules of remakes? What do the remakes of The Fog and A Nightmare on Elm Street share, other than the fact that they both suck? So maybe the whole "someone's trying to remake the events of the original" angle is a bit clumsy, and maybe there's no actual reason for this movie to exist. But the Final Chapter (until the New Beginning) of this seminal slasher series does have some merit to it. At least, that's what Patrick would have you believe. Tessa Racked of Consistent Panda Bear Shape, on the other hand, remains unconvinced. And with no Parker Posey teeth-acting to admire, will they see eye to eye on anything? In addition to (FINALLY) completing the Scream series, Tessa and Patrick answer two listener questions and recommend some creepy haunted house music. Put this on your tin foil and freebase it! 0:00 - 12:57 - Intro 12:58 - 1:59:15 - Commentary 1:59:16 - 2:24:45 - Questions 2:24:46 - 2:27:11 - Outro
Scream once, Scream twice, Scream as loud as you can, but you've got an episode about Scream 3 (2000) in your red right hand. Reviled by many, defended by a few, Scream 3 was the death knell for the new slasher boom. With an assist from Tessa Racked of Consistent Panda Bear Shape, Patrick dives into a movie that dares to ask: are two Gale Weatherses better than one? If one of those Gales is Parker Posey, the answer is "Yes, hell yes, oh my God yes". In addition to discussing the troubled production and diminished ingenuity of Scream 3, Patrick and Tessa respond to a listener who asked "What do you think of the horror genre, in regards to it's treatment of women?" and Holy Shit was that a can of worms they opened. Tessa and Patrick ended up speaking for 40 minutes on the topic*. Turns out our status with women and horror films is "It's Complicated". Next week we conclude the Scream series with the dark horse outlier Scream 4 (coming out Saturday the 29th, instead of the usual Friday), so get caught up now! *Tessa Racked would like to note that they mispoke during the questions segment. They referred to the article of clothing the main character in A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night wears as a "niqab" when it is in fact a chador. 0:00 - 17:19 - Intro 17:20 - 2:10:46 - Commentary 2:10:47 - 2:50:17 - Questions 2:50:18 - 2:54:57 - Outro
Oh Jesus Christ, will the internet never leave Scream 2 alone? First there was a script leak before they even started filming. Then an extra brought a camcorder into the opening scene and filmed the whole thing. Then another script leak that made them change the ending. And now, the final indignity, some moron named Patrick Ripoll is gonna release a commentary track and jabber on over the whole thing? Is there no justice in the world? There is no justice, there's just us. And what we have for you this week is a dive into the most frenzied shoot of Wes Craven's career, a movie with a tortured production that nonetheless managed to win over crowds and critics alike. A movie that dared to ask: Can a sequel be better than the original? The answer is: Yes, it's especially common in the horror genre, but not this time. Still, while Scream 2 might, at times, feel more like Scream: The TV Show (before there was a tv show) there's still plenty of fun to be had and, at one point, Portia De Rossi talks about giving head "harmonica style". Also, Patrick takes a query from a metal-head and examines the relationship between horror and heavy metal music. No, he hasn't seen Deathgasm yet, but he is a little interested in it. 0:00 - 6:40 - Intro 6:41 - 2:02:43 - Commentary 2:02:44 - 2:09:53 - Questions 2:09:54 - 2:11:25 - Outro
What's your favorite scary movie? Ok, well what's your favorite scary movie that was originally titled "Scary Movie" but then changed to "Scream" because the Weinsteins thought that first name was box office poison? Scream (1996) has many die-hard fans and many die-hard detractors, but it's impact on the horror landscape of the late 90's is undeniable and it's status as a slasher movie touchstone is untouchable. To celebrate the greatest month of the year, Patrick decides not just to celebrate one of the greatest slasher movies ever, but also all it's sequels of diminishing quality. Every Friday this month join Patrick on an odyssey down the rabbit hole that is the final years of Wes Craven's career. For this episode, he wrestles with the cinematic autoclave that was Miramax in the 90's, the "fuck-it" mentality that lead to Wes Craven doing the greatest work of his career, and a culture policed by an MPAA that had all but eradicated old-school horror from the modern landscape. He also talks about the phenomenon of people laughing while watching horror movies. Are these people just trying to release nervous energy or are they real assholes? I'm not telling you here, dummy, you have to listen to find out! 0:00 - 4:53 - Intro 4:54 - 1:52:08 - Commentary 1:52:09 - 2:10:12 - Questions 2:10:13 - 2:11:58 - Outro
Who is that on the subway muttering to himself? The shell-shocked vet or the man with the tail or the faces you can't make out. Is it just me or is that bag twitching? Who said that? Who are these people at this party, why can't I breathe and who is my girlfriend dancing with and why can't I breathe and where lurks the Vibroman? Natural questions if you're the main character of Jacob's Ladder (1990). For Patrick and guest Jim Laczkowski of Director's Club, the questions are a little more specific: How does a director like Adrian Lyne make a movie like this? What historical basis is there for this film? And can you create a subjective nightmare and still try to ground it in a Oliver Stone styled historically-based paranoia thriller? And how cute is Danny Aiello, a year out from Do the Right Thing, as a cherubic guardian angel? Actually, that one I can answer right here: the cutest. In addition to tackling the many rungs of Jacob's Ladder, Jim and Patrick are offered a rare opportunity to program a horror film festival. This is not one to miss! Anyone who doesn't listen to this is a real chump! 0:00 - 4:30 - Intro 4:30 - 1:58:38 - Commentary 1:58:38 - 2:33:07 - Questions 2:33:08 - 2:35:03 - Outro
Grab your best blow-up doll and get ready to puke your guts out. You can learn all the horror movies rules, grab a crucifix, holy water, and silver bullets, but none of it will help you. An undying hanged priest don't care about your logic. An undying hanged priest just wants you to suffer. Lucio Fulci really knew how to reach out and squeeze the audience's brain, and there's few films that prove that better than City of the Living Dead (1980). Bravely in lockstep with DVDActive's Gabe Powers, Patrick explores the finer points of the seminal Italian film and asks the big questions like: What makes Italian film music different than American? Just how the hell did they pull off that drill scene? And what's with that ending? Armed with Gabe's deep knowledge of Italian genre, they dive into Fulci's Gothic/Gates of Hell/Zombie (don't ask) trilogy. Also, a special listener sends in a question that leads to the pair finally cracking the code on how you can figure out which Friday the 13th movies are the good ones. It turns out there was a secret pattern the whole time! 0:00 - 8:46 - Intro 8:47 - 1:42:54 - Commentary 1:42:55 - 1:56:49 - Questions 1:56:50 - 1:58:23 - Outro
Did you know the original Halloween is 110 minutes long? I'm sorry, but who's got time for that noise? Maybe back in 1978 when all people had to do was homebrew beer and collect Susan B. Anthony dollars and wait in line for gas that shit would fly, but us modern folks got things to do, places to be, Pokemon to Go. What the world needs now, is films, short films. And we here at Tracks of the Damned are all about fulfilling your needs (hey baby, hit me up at tracksofthedamned@gmail.com ), so here we are with our 1st Annual Tracks of the Damned Short Horror Film Festival. Among the twisted sights you'll witness in these seven films are blood-drinking Barbies, cats hiding in men's bodies, nightmarish altered-states, blood soaked ventriloquist dummies, ants crawling out of hands, and James Mason losing his goddamned mind. With the help of Jim Laczkowski, Daniel Baldwin, Chris Olson, and Samm Deighan, Patrick takes you on a journey through some of the weirdest and wildest short horror films ever made, all of which you can watch right here, on the internet. Also, a lot of animation and avant-garde this year. Just turned out that way! The Psychotic Odyssey of Richard Chase (1999) Dream Work (2001) The Cat With Hands (2001) The Dummy (1982) The Tell Tale Heart (1953) Pixillation (1970) (scroll all the way to the bottom of the page) Un Chien Andalou (1929) 0:00 - 11:08 - Episode Intro 11:08 - 12:51 - Psychotic Odyssey of Richard Chase intro 12:51 - 19:37 - Psychotic Odyssey of Richard Chase commentary 19:38 - 26:32 - Dreamwork Intro 26:33 - 37:33 - Dreamwork Commentary 37:34 - 40:20 - The Cat With Hands Intro 40:21 - 44:33 - The Cat With Hands Commentary 44:34 - 50:10 - The Dummy Intro 50:11 - 58:27 - The Dummy Commentary 58:28 - 1:00:35 - The Tell Tale Heart Intro 1:00:36 - 1:09:24 - The Tell Tale Heart Commentary 1:09:25 - 1:14:00 - Pixillation Intro 1:14:01 - 1:19:23 - Pixillation Commentary 1:19:24 - 1:20:55 - Un Chien Andalou Intro 1:20:56 - 1:39:12 - Un Chien Andalou Commentary 1:39:13 - 1:41:30 - Outro
Ho boy. Ok folks, this one is a little different. Patrick took a five day trip to Salem, Massachusetts with his partner Tessa Racked to visit their friends: actress Jess Conger-Henry and theater programmer Nick Henry. He fully intended to spend all five days steeping in the rich history of Salem to return with a 4 hour lecture on witchcraft, witch hunts, the effects of historical tourism on modern day neo-pagan landscape, and the broader sociological and metaphysical implications of polytheistic cultural preservation in Western society. But then he got fucking sloshed. Looking back, Patrick can't really tell where one day started, one day ended, and if he actually saw Lon Chaney drinking a Piña colada at Trader Vic's or if he just did Waren Zevon karaoke at a Boston tiki bar. So, instead of a really smart and well-researched discussion, here's something really stupid: Troll 2 (1990). So Tessa, Jess, Nick, Patrick and a bottle of absinthe all had a smashing time watching Claudio Fragasso's cult classic, a naive and sometimes sweet middle finger to vegetarianism. For kids. We hope you enjoy it! If not, there will be another slightly more sober episode next week, assuming Patrick's hangover subsides. Intro: 0:00 - 7:20 Commentary: 7:21 - 1:42:13 Outro: 1:42:14 - 1:45:34
You ever see something so ugly it's cute again, like an armadillo or a pangolin? Not to oversell it, but this movie is kind of like that. It has the color of reality, just muted, twisted, slightly broken. Alive but not. That's right: two-strip technicolor is the synthetic flesh of color processes. On the latest episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, Patrick dives into the many contradictions of famed director Michael Curtiz truly singular mad-scientist cannibal murder mystery Doctor X (1932). If James Whale's classic The Invisible Man is a perfect cocktail of humor, horror and sci-fi special effects, Doctor X is what happens when you mix that cocktail all wrong, with the proportions all off, leaving a drink that's twice as strong as it has any right to be. Patrick also answers a listener question about horror films that hit close to home, in one way or another. As one cannibal scientist said to another, you might as well dig in because it isn't getting any warmer! 0:00 - 7:58 - Intro 7:59 - 1:23:50 - Commentary 1:23:51 - 1:40:44 - Questions 1:40:45 - 1:42:14 - Outro
Sure, Night of the Living Dead is the masterpiece, the one they all fawn over.. But you know what else it is? Wasteful. Did it shock the world, invent a lasting pop cultural icon, and inspire hundreds of low-budget copycats the world over? Certainly. But it also cost 90,000 dollars. Which means, if I do my math correctly (and what is art if not the result of math), George Romero could have taken that same $90,000 and made THREE Carnival of Soulses. Yes Carnival of Souls (1962), Kansas' greatest gift to the world, the je-ne-sais-quoi incarnate on celluloid. In the latest episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast, Patrick and author/podcaster Christopher Olson of The Pop Culture Lens podcast dive into the weird combination of industrial film ingenuity, otherworldly organ music and rusted out halls of 1920's Americana decadence that is Carnival of Souls, the greatest (the GREATEST) American horror film of the 1960's. In addition to tracing the roots of copy-cats and the value of a good location, Patrick and Chris also talk about the lasting legacy of the Exorcist and take apart the meaning of the phrase "overrated". Also, Patrick says that a movie you probably think is among the greatest horror flicks of all-time isn't actually that great. He's very very sorry. 0:00 - 10:07 - Intro 10:08 - 1:28:27 - Commentary 1:28:28 - 1:43:35 - Questions 1:43:36 - 1:45:56 - Outro
Satan. Say it loud and there's music playing. Say it soft and it's almost like praying. The debauchery of the 60's had yet to even really begin when Roger Corman decided to have the final word in colorful horror bachanalia with The Masque of the Red Death (1963). In this episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror commentary track podcast, Patrick dives into the Corman Poe cycle, the advantages of shooting your costume dramas in England, and what Vincent Price means to Patrick as a queer man and more. What better way to celebrate the fact that at any moment any of us can be destroyed by billionaires than to watch Vincent Price as a tyrannical prince get himself, and all his rich friends, infected with a flesh-eating plague? No, I will not put a spoiler alert around that. Read a book! He also gets into his own humble beginnings as a horror fan by answering listener question about the first horror movie he ever saw. Tuck in! 0:00 - 9:06 - Intro 9:07 - 1:37:31 - Commentary 1:37:32 - 1:50:47 - Questions 1:50:48 - 1:52:30 - Outro
Patrick's waiting at the edge of the city. He's peering around buildings at night, and he's waiting. Waiting for you! And, with his dear friend Bill Ackerman of the Supporting Characters podcast, he'll take you one by one and noone will hear you scream. Noone will hear you SCREAM! With joy at this latest episode of Tracks of the Damned, the horror film commentary track podcast! In it, the two take a look at the 1973 cult classic Messiah of Evil and ask the really hard questions like: Did Dario Argento see this or what? Were Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck fans of Antonioni or what? Are these some incredible murals or what? In the commentary they answer (or at least ask) all that about the definitive California horror film of the 20th century. They also talk about other filmmakers who made great contributions to horror without being strongly associated with the genre, and finally definitively create a real definition for just what people mean when they say "psychological horror". What a great episode! Shovel it in your ear-holes, creeps! Intro: 0:00 - 14:33 Commentary: 14:34 - 1:44:29 Questions: 1:44:30 - 2:20:09 Outro: 2:20:10 - 2:25:59