The Really Awful Movies Podcast

Head of the Family! Who doesn’t like a low budget exploitation horror? Especially one with an obvious double entendre like that. This episode of the podcast is all about the legendary Charles Band, a man responsible for a huge swath of the movies we’ve binged for years and years, and who directed this cheap and cheerful mid-90s hybrid sci fi zombie horror. On this episode, a breakdown of disembodied head movies from The Brain that Wouldn’t Die to Re-Animator, Full Moon Features, the name “Otis” and its prominence in horror, particularly among trashy hicksploitation villains, the home movie scene in the 80s, the changing nature of how we consume films, and much, much more!  

This week, a documentary turn: This is Gwar chronicles the three decades-long history of the infamous rock band, though countless iterations and many a rubber monster suit. A Shudder exclusive, the movie is must-see material for fans of Some Kind of Monster, Anvil: The Story of Anvil, and This is Spinal Tap. Truly inspirational filmmaking. Subjects discussed in this episode: “Gimmick” bands like Gwar, Alice Cooper and KISS, plus local novelty acts like White Cowbell Oklahoma, etc The life of a touring band especially in an era of decreased prominence of music culturally and a plethora of entertainment options Misconceptions about Gwar’s musicality The band’s two seminal members and their influence on its direction Tales of wanton self destruction Disaffected art school brats and the connective thread through rock music and pop culture, with David Byrne, David Bowie and Seth MacFarlane, and the excellent podcast, Your Favorite Band Sucks Join us, subscribe to the show, and thanks for listening.

On today’s episode of the podcast, Summer Camp Nightmare. Don’t be fooled, folks. This is not a stalk-and-slash 80s horror. In fact, it’s got smarts. There’s a wack of political/historical context, and it punches above its weight for what you’d expect from a small, largely overlooked film. A bunch of counsellors in training (CITs) and the usual cadre of summer camp wimps, jocks, misfits and troublemakers, attend a summer camp. And after some time, the kids take umbrage with their overlords and turn the tables on ’em. And bonus. Chuck Connors! The western star, and also the lead in Tourist Trap, plays the disciplinarian summer camp head.

Two very different movies on the podcast this week. The first, is a low budget British horror called The Barge People. It’s about, of all things, creatures that lurk about near canals and torment canal boaters. Hey, there’s something for everyone in horror, apparently. Two couples get together for a weekend getaway…floating down canals in the English countryside in what’s known as a narrow boat. Apparently, 8500 or so people in the UK have registered these vessels as permanent homes. Weird. Anyway, things begin to go a bit awry, as this is, after all, a horror movie. A series of murders takes place nearby and adjacent to the canals the couples are travelling on. And they eventually encounter….well, look at this poster! Daughters of Darkness, by contrast, is a brooding, slow burn, vampire flick that’s set in Belgium. It’s very um…deliberately paced, but also visually very appealing. Stefan Chilton, raised in the US, is the scion of an upper crust aristocratic British family. He is traveling with his newly-wed wife, Valerie, through Europe and by all accounts is having a great old time. The couple check into a grand hotel on the Belgian seaside, intending to catch the cross-channel ferry to England, where Stefan’s mother lives. As it’s off-season, the hotel is empty. At nightfall, however, a mysterious Hungarian countess, Elizabeth Bathory, arrives, driven by her “secretary,” Ilona.

We have covered regional horrors here, Offerings, Unhinged, The Legend of Boggy Creek, etc. And now, Hayride, lensed in Alabama on a shoestring budget. This one featured an escaped lunatic on the loose, unsuspecting townies, and of course, a hayride. This is a Halloween-set flick, spirited, amateurish, somewhat fun… Tune in, folks. And subscribe!

On this episode of the podcast, the sequel to the excellent POV horror, Creep – Creep 2. This flick is a 2017 found footage psychological horror film directed by Patrick Brice and co-written by Brice and Mark Duplass, also the co-star. The film follows Aaron, the eponymous creep, and his efforts to get his story told by a struggling documentary filmmaker, Sara. On this episode of the show, the perks and pitfalls of POV-style horror, suffering for one’s art, the importance of character development as opposed to narrative structure in horror, the humorous elements of horror, Blumhouse productions, and straight-ahead slashers. Also part of the discussion: documentary filmmaking as an art form, and the exemplary Canadian documentary, A Better Man, by Attiya Khan, as well as When we Were Kings.    

On today’s episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, Stuart Gordon’s Dolls. On today’s show, delving into the director’s work, including From Beyond and Re-Animator. Also, the global village of horror. Hotbeds of horror from around the globe, including Poland, Japan, Germany, France, Asia.

This week on the Really Awful Movies Podcast, the often compelling imaginary friend horror film, Daniel Isn’t Real. Luke is an undergrad plagued by trauma and anxiety. As a coping mechanism, he revivifies a childhood imaginary friend, Daniel, in part through the encouragement of his psychologist/therapist. Where things go from there, is seriously haywire. Set in Brooklyn, Daniel Isn’t Real is pretty good of its type. Tune in for a discussion! And check out Imaginary Friends in Horror Movies, written up on our Really Awful Movies review site.

This week on the podcast, Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker. Young baller Billy, is looking for a hoops scholarship to the University of Denver. In his way, an overly doting aunt who is a bit of a nutjob, it turns out. When Billy’s relationship with his coach gets closer, teammates start asking questions. When the coach’s male lover is murdered, that gets the police involved, and pointing a finger at Billy, especially a homophobic cop played by Bo Svenson. Tune in, check out this intriguing little 1982 release, and of course, subscribe to the show.

On this episode of the podcast, a British Film Board Classification censor gets caught up in the work of an exploitation director. Here we are with Censor, a period piece set in 1980s London, during the peak of moral panic and the world of Video Nasties, so dubbed because they were deemed excessively violent. This 2021 British psychological horror film was directed by Prano Bailey-Bond, and created a small buzz at Sundance. On this episode, contextualizing the film with the likes of Videodrome and The Editor, plus discussions of Driller Killer, The Stuntman, and Don’t Answer the Phone! along with other films that infamously landed on the Nasties list.

On this week’s podcast, Virus: 32. It’s a zombie/outbreak movie that’s lensed in Montevideo, Uruguay. So that’s a first, though this reviewer has seen Argentinian horror movies, and this is a co-production. It tells the story of a mom, Iris, who is irresponsible, young and a boozer who has a young daughter and shares custody with the dad, Javier. When the outbreak happens, and the streets of Montevideo are overrun with the walking dead, she has to man up, as it were, and take care of her offspring and fend for herself. Does this film reinvent the wheel? Hardly, but there is some meat here and the positive reviews are largely justified. On this podcast, outbreak movies like Contagion and Train to Busan. The similarities between this film and 28 Days Later, the appeal of zombie films, the template on which they’re based, Italian gut munchers, scene settings, the importance of character development in a zombie flick, and much more!

On this episode of the Podcast, the Soska sisters’ reimagining of the Cronenberg classic, Rabid. So, does it succeed? Given how low the bar is set for remakes, the answer is yes…but not a resounding yes. In fact, this is a very very flawed flick. Tune in, take a listen, as we contextualize the film with a contrast to the iconic, Montreal-lensed original from 1977.

Today’s podcast is Gutshot Straight. We are on the Strip in Las Vegas. And Jack is a degenerate gambler, whose losses are mounting to the point where he can’t pay his bar tab. Uh oh. We’ve all been there. He’s hooked up with a mover and shaker, Duffy, who offers him wagers of increasing magnitude. And soon…well, things go south. An intriguing plot, right? Plus, Vinnie Jones and Steven Seagal are in this – however briefly! However, don’t be fooled: this is an often languid, dialogue-driven affair. When it comes times to beat down unibrows, Stevie is nowhere to be found (probably off at the buffet table). Check out the latest installment of the podcast, as we dive into Vegas movies, appearances by b-listers like Tia Carrere, the UFC, Seagal’s later direct-to-video (DTV) “efforts.”

This week on the podcast, the small, quirky indie horror, Hellbender. Does the movie live up to the hype? The Guardian, NY Times and others have checked it out, so take that with a grain of salt. After all, those media types only really accept supernatural horror as worthy of exploring.

The 2022 Scream. Another unnecessary remake, or something worth your while? Surprisingly, the latter. Tune in this week for a discussion of the iconic Ghostface-led franchise. You’ve got a new cast of characters, familiar old faces, a lot of meta humor, lots of jocularity, and some good storytelling. In an era when most remakes or reboots fail spectacularly, nice to see something made with a bit of love, even if we admit we’re not the biggest series fans.  

Titane (Titanium en Englais) is a 2021 body horror film written and directed by Julia Ducournau and is a French and Belgian co-production. And it concerns a young girl who is involved in an automobile accident, and has a metal plate put in her head, above her ear. Years later, she’s an auto show model and really, really into cars (and vice versa). She’s also a serial killer on the lam, using whatever disguises she can to stay one step ahead of law enforcement. Euro-horror and body horror that’s often well done. Tune in and check out the discussion of this flick on the latest podcast episode. And don’t forget to subscribe!  

This latest horror franchise reboot is the talk of social media, as everyone’s tuning into Netflix to perhaps hate-watch it or even, bizarrely, enjoy it. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an updated version of the 1974 classic, ignoring events of the countless interceding sequels, and tells the story of influencer/investors coming to buy up a sad, abandoned town, Harlow Texas. What they find there, is thoroughly expected, but what is unexpected, is just how rotten this cheaply made, poorly written, laughably constructed flick actually is. Yikes. This went through developmental hell, was filmed in Steven Seagal’s backyard (Bulgaria, har har) and is one of the more poor reboot/reimaginings in recent – or any – year for that matter. A stain from start to finish, this one’s run time of 80 minutes feels like a cricket match.  

Step right up folks, right this way. Take in the incredible, the stupendous, the monumental, the astonishing…feats of courage, strength. Be amazed! It’s carnival time, Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood, to be precise. What’s this you asked? It’s an obscure early-mid 70s effort, directed by Christopher Speeth. And it was largely forgotten, until Arrow gave its fortunes a boost with a re-release. And boy are we glad they did. This is a very odd duck indeed. Part Euro, Gothic, regional, vampire, Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood is at times Warholian, and just plan weird. Check it out, and subscribe to the podcast.

Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama. What a title, right? This is a wonderful, cheeky, low-budget effort that’s a creature feature and based around the infamous short story, The Monkey’s Paw. Some nerds and some sorority pledges have to bust into a bowling alley to steal a trophy to prove their mettle. While inside, they encounter an imp, but not just any imp: a wish-granting imp! And this imp, ain’t no wimp. Soon, some of the sorority sisters are turned into rapacious she-demons and all hell literally breaks loose. Good times, good times! Genre heads will get a kick out of the cast, which includes Scream Queen Linnea Quigley, but also Robin Rochelle, who starred in Slumber Part Massacre and American Ninja 4 before her untimely, young passing. Tune into this one, which was distributed by the legendary Charles Band, whose book I’m reading now.

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we head across the pond to London, but also seaside England for two different, though in some ways similar productions Last Night in Soho and Saint Maud. Last Night in Soho is about a sheltered wallflower who is accepted into design school in London, leaving her quaint bucolic confines to tackle big city life and all its pressures. Finding she can’t handle the party-fuelled dorm atmosphere, she rents a flat which turns out to be…a portal to another dimension! During her sleep, she is transported to swingin’ 60s London, that Carnaby era of high fashion, Twiggy, The Who and Matt Helm…grooooovy baby! Unfortunately, not all is as it seems. Edgar Wright directs…so you know this is gonna be good. After all, Shaun of the Dead, right??? Saint Maud, by contrast, is a brooding look at a PSW caring for a terminal ex-Broadway star. The two bond, and one, the personal care nurse is conflicted by her recent conversion to the Catholic faith. The terminal star, however, resolutely is not, and the two lifestyles are almost pitted against one another. Turns out, they have more in common than you may think. This is a very dark film, both literally and figuratively. But it inches along at a snail’s pace, with…not much in the way of a captivating narrative. Still, the tone is good, the visuals are there, and the performances are dynamite. And it’s good in its own right.

On this week’s episode of the Really Awful Movies podcast, a bit of a departure: modern exploitation. Ya’ll wanna hear a story? It’s hard to categorize Zola, a 2020 American black comedy crime film directed by Janicza Bravo and written by Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris. It is based on a strange idea that absolutely, positively should not work: a viral Twitter thread from 2015 by Aziah “Zola” King and the resulting Rolling Stone article “Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted” by David Kushner. Zola stars Taylour Paige as Zola, a part-time stripper who works at a Hooters restaurant, who is convinced by her new friend (Riley Keough) to travel to Tampa, Florida, in order to earn quick and easy money, only to get in over her head. That’s the premise to something pretty enticing.

On this episode of the podcast, venturing into giallo territory with Knife of Ice. Il coltello di ghiaccio, as it’s also known, is directed by site favorite Umberto Lenzi, who gifted us Nightmare City, Cannibal Ferox and many others. In this one, there’s the conceit of a mute character, a woman who is traumatized by the death of her parents in a train crash and who cannot speak at all as a result. Which makes for a nifty, albeit silly, plot device. No matter! In a Spanish hillside town, a black gloved assailant is laying waste to the townsfolk. And cops need to investigate, in this fun, spirited who done it.

Two wholly different subgenres of horror, two totally different films. On this week’s episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, Wendigo and Psycho Cop. The former is a supernatural offering from the early 2000s, inspired by Indigenous legends. It’s directed by genre actor and stalwart, Larry Fessenden. A family of three goes to a rural New York state home to get some respite from work and to bond together as a family. Things take a turn, after the young son meets a man at the local pharmacy, bearing a unique gift. Wendigo is remote, wintry, gloomy and at times surreal, with clear elements of guerilla style filmmaking. By total contrast, the direct-to-video 80s flick Psycho Cop is a Ten Little Indians stalk-and-slash. It’s set in sunny California. And it’s your typical “college students getting away from it all to go party,” style of slasher flick. There are quite a few like these, including The Mutilator, Spring Break Massacre, Cabin Fever, April Fool’s Day. You get the drift. The major difference? It’s a member of law enforcement. Don’t forget to subscribe to the show, and pick up a copy of our book, Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons.

On today’s episode, a demonstration of just how diverse the horror genre is. You can’t get any different properties than The Brain, a low-budget sci fi creature feature horror and Dark Night of the Scarecrow, a from beyond the grave revenge thriller that has more in common with Of Mice and Men than it does with say, The Changeling. If you love horror like we do, you love all kinds of horror and that includes Canadian tax shelter films from the 80s, but also made-for-TV horror like Dark Night of the Scarecrow. And look at just how awesome these posters are. So sublime. Dark Night almost conjures up The Town that Dreaded Sundown… The Brain is about a mad scientist (duh, right?) who runs a popular TV show. He is experimenting with mind control, via some tentacled alien creature holed up in a lab. Dark Night of the Scarecrow, meanwhile, is about a dimwitted farm hand who is summarily hunted down and executed for mauling a young girl, a crime he resolutely did not commit. And he torments his tormentors…in mysterious ways!

Imagine being trapped in an underground parking garage with some lunatic? Horror movies, of course, exploit fears of all stripes. And for women, particularly, clutching keys in the dark trying to find your car…well, that’s what director Franck Khalfoun (Maniac) has envisioned and positioned his horror film around in P2. Angela is working long hours in her midtown Manhattan office, you know…one of those lawyerly billable hours things. Her car needs a boost, and she gets some assistance from the security guard. At least at first. Until he reveals himself to be…well, tune in and find out. As always, watch the film first and then check out the podcast. P2 is co-written and produced by Alexandre Aja, the Parisian director who gifted us Haute Tension, Crawl and the stellar remake of The Hills Have Eyes. Both he and Khalfoun know what they’re doing and the results show.  

Merry Christmas, everyone. On this episode, the bad, but not overly bad 2006 iteration of Black Christmas. Of course, the Bob Clark 1974 version is a bona fide classic, and slashers of today owe it a debt. How does this compare? Well, on this show, a breakdown of stylistic differences and artistic choices that make the first Black Christmas so good…and this one…not so much.  

On this episode of the show, Halloween 2018 (what, no name?) and Halloween Kills and what could’ve been done to properly honour the legacy of the iconic John Carpenter flick. Which characters should’ve been excised? What could’ve improved? Where does Halloween go from here? What’s with the retcon stuff? Does David Gordon Green have what it takes to be a legit horror director?  

On this week’s podcast, Hostel, part of a polarizing movement of horror that came to prominence in the mid 2000s with the likes of Saw et al. This Eli Roth written and directed effort (with some cash and probably creative input from Quentin Tarantino) follows two backpackers from Western to Central Europe, and the hijinks they get up to, before things take a turn for the worse. On the podcast: putting Eli Roth’s films in context, ranking them, the influence of Tobe Hooper on his career, Italian cannibal films, the Saw movies, re-appreciating Hostel after a few viewings, vacation spots in Europe, Bratislava, Slovakia and more!

What happens when a male bonding hunting trip goes horribly awry? This week, on the Really Awful Movies Podcast, the gripping Scottish thriller, Calibre. Great performances, solid city/rural dynamics, a thick air of menace and lots to commend it overall. Tune in for a contextual discussion of folk horror, urban / pastoral loggerheads, Scotland as a setting for horror, the importance of character-driven films, and much more!

Halloween Kills, the latest edition of the Really Awful Movies Podcast. Another installment, another wasted opportunity, and more evidence David Gordon Green can’t really direct horror, and only marginally improved on the 2018 flick. There are a few decent bits, which we’ll get into on this episode of the show, but largely – this one is unnecessary and sullies the legacy of the Carpenter original. And that’s not a boomer spoilsport take. We are in a Golden Age of horror now: Hereditary, Back Country, The Rental, Baskin, The Witch, Bone Tomahawk, Terrifier, Possession, Haunt, 13 Cameras…we could go on…any one of these is better, and apart from 2-3 of the entries, each received far less hype and attention than Halloween Kills but provide far greater entertainment value. This series has lost the plot. Halloween 2018 was a dumpster fire. You can listen to Jeff and I’s discussion of that one first, although there are references to the film here too. It needs someone at the helm with a better understanding of the horror genre.

On today’s podcast, The Babysitter! This one is one of those home invasion-styled horrors, a bit like Home Alone but sending up some of the genre conventions. It’s glossy, tongue in cheek, and occasionally funny. If this is your thing. There are hot babes, a game of Truth or Dare, some juicy quips, and a bit of atmosphere. Nothing earth-shattering, but not too bad, actually.

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, what do you do when creative juices have run dry? You tap weird, 70s TV properties of course! Fantasy Island aka Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island is one such film. The Jeff Wadlow-directed effort starts Michael Pena as the Svengali Mr Rourke (the movie’s version of the Ricardo Montalban character from the 1977 TV Show), Maggie Q, and a bunch of other people. What happens when contest winners arrive at a stunningly beauty Caribbean locale? (which can also grant wishes, as a strange, godlike entity). It turns out, not anything good. Join us!

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, the very capable psychological thriller, Fractured. It’s directed by Brad Anderson, who’s done movies we’re quite fond of, including The Machinist and the somewhat underrated Session 9. Here, a family returning from a Thanksgiving road trip runs into trouble at a Minnesota rest stop. And the dad has to seek medical attention for his young daughter. What happens next, is a true healthcare horror. He faces a Byzantine scenario at a rural hospital, in which twists and turns prevent him from checking in on his daughter, who is admitted for a CAT scan. Join us!

On this week’s episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a bit more Italian horror for ya. Welcome to a discussion of Absurd, which goes variously by Anthropophagus 2, Zombie 6: Monster Hunter, Horrible and The Grim Reaper 2 in keeping with the title multiplication common to Italian exploitation genre cinema. It’s a batty 1981 slasher directed by multi-talented director Joe D’Amato and starring the towering figure of George Eastman (all 6’9 of him) who wrote the story and the screenplay – though that’s not exactly anything you’d really want to cop to. Eastman plays Mikos, the subject of a mysterious Vatican experiment from which he’s on the lam. The monsignor who helped create him, Frankenstein-style, is chasing after him. The madman gets impaled on a high fence, kinda like Hell Night (which we podcasted a while back). But, like Mike Myers, he’s hard to kill (or rather, like Steven Seagal, he’s hard to kill!). Mikos is revived at the local hospital, which is bad move. They should not have resuscitated him. The priest informs the hospital and authorities that the only way to kill Mikos is to ‘destroy the cerebral mass,’ whatever the hell that is.

On this week’s episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, not enough sax and violins together, but plenty of the latter, as we visit Italian horror and Paganini Horror. The plot revolves around a failing female rock band, whose manager is beside herself about their inability to drum up, so to speak, a hit. Desperate, she solicits a strange piece of music, via the group’s producer called Le Streghe, aka, The Witches. It’s a long lost piece by the eponymous and infamous in some circles, Italian composer and musician, Niccolo Paganini. Paganini, like Robert Johnson much later, apparently sold his soul to the devil in order to totally shred on his instrument. Ah, the classic Faustian bargain horror. Join us. Grab your bow, rosin it up, and play along with. Is this movie a Stradivarius, or is more of a cheap dime-store fiddle? You tell us!

This week on the Really Awful Movies Podcast, perennial favorite, Steven Seagal. The portly aikido master has been a prominent fixture of our show, whether it’s efforts (if you’ll forgive the term) such as Submerged or Half Past Dead, or flicks made during the action star’s (widow) peak. In Exit Wounds, lensed in Canada, Seagal portrays a world-weary (though isn’t he always?) cop on the mean streets of Detroit (actually, Toronto, Hamilton and Calgary). And one particularly precinct, the 15th, is corrupt as they come. And Seagal has to beat down a bunch of seedy criminals and crooked cops, which is great – as that’s how he earns the big bucks. This one represents the actor’s last legit film, before being relegated to Euro purgatory and direct-to-video ham-fisted offerings. So, put up your dukes, enjoy Bill Duke (and to a much lesser extent Tom Arnold) as well as Jill Hennessy and DMX, and tune into our podcast. Also, pick up a copy of our book, Mine’s Bigger than Yours! The 100 Wackiest Action Movies, our paean to all things butt-kickin’.

On this episode of the podcast, a little bit of Italian horror – but not THAT kind of Italian Horror. Usually on the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we dive into the work of Bava, Fulci and Argento. This time around, it’s 2021’s A Classic Horror Story, a modern Italian horror flick that’s a hicksploitation/folk horror hybrid that’s moderately effective. The plot? A rideshare trip through the mountains of Calabria, in Southern Italy, takes a dangerous turn – literally. What will happen to the vehicle’s occupants? You know the drill…and that’s not a veiled reference to Driller Killer. A Classic Horror Story borrows elements from The Ritual, Rituals, The Hills Have Eyes, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but is its own beast. There’s a split between detractors and supports, and this discussion reflects that. Tune in, and subscribe…and pick up a copy of our first book, Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons (foreword: Lloyd Kaufman, from Troma). It’s a must-read for the horror-obsessed, of which we are.

On today’s episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, Sorority House Massacre. Talk about a title steeped in straightforwardness. Truth in marketing, right there. There’s a sorority, a sorority house, and yes, a massacre. And of course, an escaped killer from a lunatic asylum. What more could you ask for, especially in the 80s? That, and so many more questions answered in this episode. Lensed by a female director, this one appeared toward the end of the slasher boom, and asks “who will survive the final exam?” And, not to be confused with the other 80s slasher, Final Exam. Between this and Sorority Row, The House on Sorority Row, Splatter University, it’s tough keeping all this straight. But let us put it into context for you!  

On today’s edition of the Really Awful Movies podcast, the Shudder-produced low budget, Superhost. Superhost refers to a duo, Claire and Teddy, who are travel vloggers who occupy an Air BnB style sprawling home, a quid pro quo arrangement in exchange for a very positive review of the rental property. Soon, they find out their host is not so super… In today’s episode: the travel vlogging phenomenon and the explosion of YouTube travel content a rundown of some of the more popular travel vlogger channels, including Kara and Nate, NFKRZ, Bald and Bankrupt, Wolters World and Downie Live. the use of first person POV/found footage and its effectiveness as a conceit in horror films female antagonists in horror and how/where Rebecca from this film (pictured, right) compares with some of the all-time greats protracted lockdowns and the need to cocoon surveillance and accommodation horrors like, Psycho, 13 Cameras and The Rental  

David Fincher co-produced and directed a bunch of episodes of this popular series on Netflix, Mindhunter. It’s about the FBI’s nascent behavioral sciences unit from the 70s, which came about to investigate serial killers and build a standardized questionnaire to better understand them. This is a dark, foreboding series filmed in Rust Belt Pennsylvania, with terrific performances across the board. Check out the latest episode of the podcast.

In The Boy Behind the Door, two young boys are kidnapped and taken to a remote farmhouse near some oil rigs. And terror awaits! Actually, lots of terror at least for the first hour, before things take a turn for the cheesy. Join the podcast, and subscribe as we delve into this thriller from 2020, which stars the awesome Lonnie Chavis (This is Us) as Bobby. This is a film produced by streaming service, Shudder, with two directors – which, though not as bad as an Alan Smithee production – doesn’t always bode well. On this podcast, talk centres on the changing seasons, The Houses October Built, a POV horror centred on Halloween haunted houses, The Shining, Burnt Offerings, Candyman, and yes, The Boy Behind the Door and the sympathy generated by horror films that feature kid protagonists.

A quick one this week, while we reboot and get back to regularly scheduled programming. On the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a mini discussion starter: overrated films, or rather, films we didn’t quite warm to in the horror movie realm. This includes, Train to Busan, Get Out/Us, Suspiria 2018 and Scream. Tune in. Or don’t. We don’t care!

Back in business! This week, after a bit of a summer hiatus, The Really Awful Movies Podcast is back. On this episode: Black Summer, a Walking Dead-like US TV series currently streaming on Netflix, and also Adoration, a small, quirky, Belgian-lensed and French language thriller. Black Summer, filmed in the Calgary, Alberta area, has all the hallmarks of a zombie series: the macho alpha leader, the meek/hesitant sidekick, the concerned mother, the practical nerd, the gutsy do-it-yourself. And of course, the breakdown of social cohesion, not to mention the rampaging undead, make this must-see material if you’re into that kinda thing. There are tonnes of characters, lots of running, hissing zombies, militia men, evildoing civilians, the works. By stark, stark contrast, Adoration is as small and character-driven as you can get. It’s slow, meandering, and psychologically-driven and muted in parts. A teen helps another escape a remote sanitorium. The theme for both vehicles: running away from things! I guess there is a connective thread.

Alone is a thriller / survivalist horror set in Oregon. A widow is on the move. She’s packing a U-Haul and heading to Washington State. Before too long, she’s being tailed by a creep out on a deserted mountain underpass. The jeep is on her, lead footing around dangerous twists and turns. She manages to extricate herself from the road menace, only to meet up with him again at the local rest stop. Before too long, the creepy stranger has inserted himself into her life, and things morph into a tale of rugged wilderness survival. Join us on the Really Awful Movies Podcast and subscribe!

On this episode of the podcast, Color Out of Space, an adaptation of the HP Lovecraft short story, The Colour Out of Space, from 1927. This one stars Nicolas Cage, as well as Joely Richardson, and is a really stellar throwback to 1950s space-horror. A family, who has just moved out of the big city (presumably, Boston) takes to Alpaca farming and remote work in the form of investment advising. A meteorite hurtles to earth, and strange, untoward things begin to befall them. After all, it’s a Lovecraft adaptation! Tune in, and don’t forget to subscribe to the Really Awful Movies Podcast.

On this week’s episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a listener-generated discussion about Lake Mungo. Lake Mungo is a 2008 Aussie supernatural horror, that’s unique in that it’s structured POV/documentary-style. It flew kind of under the radar, as has its director, even though it really shouldn’t have: this is a really well-done film and worth a watch.

#Alive (Korean: #살아있다; RR: #Saraitda) is a 2020 South Korean contagion / zombie film directed by Cho Il-hyung and Starring Yoo Ah-in and Park Shin-hye. The flick is based on the 2019 script Alone by Matt Naylor (which co-stars Donald Sutherland, Canadian legend from Invasion of the Body Snatchers). Naylor co-adapted his script with Cho for a Korean production, and #Alive revolves around a lazy video game live streamer’s struggle for survival as he is forced to stay alone at his apartment in Seoul during a zombie apocalypse and all his neighbours turning into cannibals.

Be careful what you wish for. We return to 90s horror on the podcast, with a discussion of the somewhat under-the-radar (despite numerous sequels) fantasy horror, WISHMASTER. We’ve got an ancient statue, inside of which is a cursed gemstone. And inside of THAT, is a Djinn, one of those pre-Islamic, demon-type creatures that is pretty nasty, and isn’t one of those wish-granting ineffectual genie types we always see in the West. And it’s unleashed to wreak havoc! What a plot right there, eh? Directed by special effects whiz Robert Kurtzman, Wishmaster features a who’s who of horror legends…you’ve got Angus Scrimm, Tony Todd, Robert Englund (and more!). Wishmaster is, as befitting a directory who cut his teeth doing practical effects for loads of flicks, pretty gory. Yes, the fantastical elements are goofy, but it’s well-written, has great characters, and frankly, has no business being as fun as it is.

On a previous podcast, we chatted about Burnt Offerings. Now, it’s Offerings! This is a 1989 ripoff / regional horror, heavily influenced (ahem) by Halloween. There’s an escaped lunatic, and an 80s-style prologue about how he grew up to be the vengeful antagonist he is. This is guerilla film-making at its finest! And it comes complete with a John Carpenter knock-off score. Enjoy!

This week on the podcast, the 2021 version of Wrong Turn. This film is quite the update from the 2003 original (and you can compare our discussion for both). It’s hugely ambitious, though falls flat on numerous occasions. This one should be (and somewhat is) a bit polarizing. A bunch of hikers are going to spend a few nights in the woods along the Appalachian Trail. On this episode: The original wrong turn, plus the latest incarnation Camping and its plus and debits The great outdoors The folk horror mystique and exemplary films in the genre