The Really Awful Movies Podcast

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we’re back in animal attack / natural horror territory. And why not? It’s our favorite place to be. There is a wealth of animals-ran-amok movies, and practically every species in the animal kingdom is represented. Listeners can go WAY back in our catalog to check out Night of the Lepus, for example, a little movie that could about killer rabbits. This one, however, is about a cat. And not just any cat, but a genetically manipulated lab, cat within a cat. You’re invited to check out this podcast about Uninvited, which has the added bonus of having two of our favorite character actors acting the crap out of their roles: Clu Gulager and George Kennedy.

Welcome, New Year! Happy 2020 everyone. We are back with a new episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, focusing on the Ari Aster effort, Midsommar. It’s an off kilter member of the folk horror subgenre (define that one how you wish, we get into that here), it’s a pretty engaging tale of anthropologists heading to Scandinavia to study a strange subculture. On this episode, we talk about Hereditary, try and get a handle on how you define folk horror, we talk The Witch, Bone Tomahawk, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Bones, The Good Place (!) and more. Tune in and tell all your friends!

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, 2007’s Murder Party. A lonely traffic cop is strolling home to his crappy basement New York City apartment on Halloween, when he comes across a strange invitation lying on the ground. He picks it up, and it has a time and an address on it, and says “come alone.” (not really much of a chance there’d be a +1 for this guy, that’s for sure). He gets home, and fashions together a costume made from duct tape and cardboard, and goes out into the town as a knight, making his way out to a Brooklyn warehouse where the murder party is being held. Then, things go terrifyingly (and funnily) awry. On this episode of the podcast, we dive into art for art’s sake, patronage, death in art, The Death of Marat, installation art, going out on the town solo, and a bunch of other topics. We put Murder Party in the context of other, DIY low-budget flicks set in The Big Apple. Join us, and don’t forget to subscribe to the Really Awful Movies Podcast. We focus on horror, but tackle genre films of all stripes, and have a soft spot for action films as well. Talk to you soon!

Not to be confused with Malcolm X, we’re turning our eyes to Jason X! After all, it’s Friday the 13th folks. This one features the Butcher of Camp Crystal Lake, Jason Voorhees, out in space. Why? Why not? (or more accurately, because someone in the studio green lit an absolutely godawful idea, that’s why). This film has a lot of detractors. But in recent years, some of us have developed a soft spot for what is undeniably a bit of a turd. Jason Voorhees is frozen cryogenically by devious Doc David Cronenberg. Then, 450 years into the future, space explorers revivify the killer. Bad move. Jeez, they learned not a single thing in the interceding 5 centuries. MORONS! Join us on this podcast discussion. And enjoy Friday the 13th as well.  

Lucio Fulci is one of our favourites. With Touch of Death, however, he’s not exactly in his finest form. Still, lousy Fulci is a bit like lousy pizza: it’s still pretty darn good. Lester Parson is a cannibal psychopath (uh oh!) who abducts and mutilates women in the Tuscan hills, eating certain cuts and disposing the rest in his back yard to his pigs. And he thinks the radio is talking to him. Parson is a degenerate gambler as well. Why? To bad out the run time of course! Over the course of a scant 80 minutes, Fulci strings together a bunch of largely unrelated set pieces, largely as an excuse to show off some gore and gallows humor. And there’s nothing wrong with that at all! So, join us on the Really Awful Movies Podcast as we talk about our favorite Fulci films, the oddball appeal of horseracing, the work of genre actor Brett Halsey, HG Lewis, our love of all things Italian horror, and much, much more. Subscribe, folks!

On this week’s episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, The Last Shark! Also known as Great White, this is a poorly constructed bargain basement contractor version of Spielberg’s iconic Jaws. But hell, that’s not so bad…as eco-horror animal attack movies are among our absolute favorites to discuss. This one has a town…and there’s an important windsurfing regatta that’s been put in jeopardy, thanks to the exploits of a fearsome predator of the deep. And it’s up to the denizens of Port Harbour (yes, really) to take on the killer shark, and marshal their forces to liquidate the creature. Can they? Certainly, especially if they can employ the services of a low-rent Robert Shaw/Quint. Starring the incomparable Vic Morrow, The Last Shark is directed by Enzo Castellari, and shows very few, if any, of the directorial flourishes of the masterful, incredible Jaws. But really, does it matter? This one is so much fun, even if the shark looks like an inflatable clown punch-up doll more than a terrifying apex predator. Clear the beaches! Grab a couple of beers, find a version of this shameless rip-off to watch (Universal took the producers to court the similarities to the Spielberg product are that obvious). And be sure to sign up to the podcast!

The Ritual is a UK lost-in-the-woods horror, set in Sweden and filmed in far cheaper Romania. A group of laddish UK fellows are mulling over different vacation options while guzzling pints in a pub. They consider the usual suspects – Vegas, Amsterdam – and settle on hiking in Scandinavia. Unfortunately, one member of the group, after a night of boozing, is victim to a convenience store robbery gone wrong. He’s murdered in cold blood. The friends, in a tribute to the deceased, opt for the hiking / wilderness excursion. And boy was that a wrong move. This week on the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we tackle this effort, and compare it with others of its ilk. We discuss the Canadian backwoods horror, Rituals, as well as White Raven, and explore folk horror flicks like The Wicker Man. The hosts also delve into what makes a good backwoods horror, characterization, the effectiveness of supernatural elements, bears, the Canadian wilderness, camping, Algonquin Park and much, much more! Subscribe, folks!

Kirk Hammett is best known, of course, as Metallica’s lead guitarist. However, fewer people know that the man has been collecting horror and sci fi memorabilia – posters, lobby cards, artwork – for nearly 30 years. It’s Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection is on at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. For genre fans, and especially for Universal horror fans, this is ABSOLUTELY MUST SEE stuff. In particular, there’s a Swedish Metropolis poster that is a stunning, orange, art deco beauty. There’s a brimming with colour promotional piece for Invasion of the Saucer Men, that is literally out of this world. And perhaps the showstopper is a couple of gorgeous Bride of Frankenstein pieces. But don’t take our word for it, go to the ROM and see the thing for yourself (bonus for you Metallica fans, there are examples of the guitarist’s horror-centric guitars on display too). On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we let someone else do the talking. Tune in, and find out what makes collector Kirk Hammett tick.  

It’s giallo time on the Really Awful Movies Podcast! That’s right, that sub-genre of horror devoted to all things black-gloved, and lurking about in the bushes amidst gorgeous Italian vistas. This week, we are tackling Seven Blood-Stained Orchids by Umberto Lenzi (we waxed poetic about his hilarious Nightmare City on an earlier episode). Many folks don’t know that U.L. was a giallo director before he became known for blood-filled gut-munchers like the above, and Cannibal Ferox/Man from the Deep River. So, how does Lenzi acquit himself here? Fair well, we’d say! The plot: someone is murdering women in Umbria, Italy. And what they have in common is that a killer is leaving behind a silver moon amulet. Soon, the cops are on the hunt for the suspect, who is caught mid-attack on a train, leaving a survivor. She and her husband, a fashion designer, play amateur detective and try to find out who the culprit is. Glorious stuff. There are beautiful set pieces, lovely settings, and as a bonus: Antonio Sabato!

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, the excellent Motel Hell! This is a hicksploitation classic from the 80s, smack dab in the middle of the Golden Era of horror (at least in our estimation, and we hope yours too). Rory Calhoun stars as Farmer Vincent, whose farm produces “Farmer Vincent Fritters,” which are sourced from mystery meat (you shouldn’t have to take too many guesses to find out what that means). Often thought of as a satire of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho, this leisurely charmer is a fun one. Vincent, along with business partner and sibling Ida, lure unsuspecting folks to their motel, and subsequently murder them. The plot isn’t overly detailed. Join us, and subscribe to the Really Awful Movies Podcast!  

What would you do if you were trapped in a hotel room for 15 years? Would you make sure you get room service comped? Would you be enthralled by Cinemax for about a month or two before losing it entirely? Oldboy ((Korean: 올드보이; RR: Oldeuboi; MR: Oldŭboi) is a Korean action flick par excellence. It’s simply amazing, and even with a premise like the one described above, it’s can’t miss. But it takes us places above and beyond that. It’s the late 80s. A salary-man named Oh Dae-su is arrested for public intoxication, missing his daughter’s birthday and sitting in the drunk tank. His friend picks him up from the cop shop, and they go to a phone booth so Oh Dae-Su can make amends with the missus. Suddenly, Oh Dae-su is kidnapped and wakes up in a sealed hotel room, where food is delivered through a trap-door and he’s periodiocally gassed by unknown captors. Watching the television news, Oh Dae-su learns that his wife has been murdered and he’s the prime suspect. Of course, he’s gotta wrest himself from the predicament and go hog wild with revenge. What a plot, folks. Oldboy (not the terrible remake) is a higher-order action film, smart and savvy as hell and with some showstopping fight scenes. Join us for this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast.

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast: Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave, starring Christopher Eccleston, Kerry Fox, and Ewan McGregor. The “what to do with a body?” scenario is oft-played in film noir films. This is a tribute to those kinds of films. Three flat-mates are seeking a fourth roommate to share their grand-looking apartment in Glasgow, Scotland. They put a bunch of candidates through their paces, making fun of several of them very cruelly, before finally settling on a fellow named Hugo (Keith Allen). Hugo, however, doesn’t last too long in the flat. You see, he dies of a drug overdose almost instantly. And he’s left behind a mysterious suit-case stuffed with money. The roommates decide that they can make off like bandits if they simply dispose of Hugo. That sets the ball rolling in this darkly funny, consistently engaging tale. Join us for Shallow Grave, and don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast!

A casting director’s dream of a movie, Little Shop of Horrors features Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Rick Moranis, John Candy, and Christopher Guest. It’s a creature feature with songs, but in this case…the creature in question is a plant, the incomparable Venus Fly Trap, Audrey II. This is a fun one, with a showstopping scene involving a sadistic dentist (is there any other kind?) During production, director Oz shot a lengthy ending based on the off-Broadway musical on which this 1986 production is based. However, after test audiences did not react positively to it, the ending had to be rewritten and re-shot for the theatrical release with a happier, cloyingly romantic ending. We obviously prefer the carnage. On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we talk about pharmaceuticals, musicals, fear of dentists, horticulture, and the legacy of the late, great John Candy.

Cold. Calculating. American Psycho is an infamous flick adapted from an even more infamous book. On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a deep dive into the 2000 feature, starring the incomparable Christian Bale. He plays Patrick Bateman (a surname allusion to Hitch’s Psycho). He’s a narcissistic manipulator enjoying the high life in Manhattan. We chat about the book’s origins, the different actors attached to the film, the trio of high-profile directors, the locations, and the stockbroker profession. Also in this episode, we talk Leo Di Caprio, Wolf of Wall Street, Maniac, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Batman, Tom Cruise, and The Machinist (it’s quite a smorgasbord!) Join us, and please subscribe to the show.

Mickey Rourke. Faye Dunaway. Frank Stallone. Welcome to this week’s episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a little impromptu discussion about the pisstank movie, Barfly. This one is one of the more unlikely Cannon Films productions you’ll ever see, a distributor best known for cheesy action and kung fu flicks. Here, it’s a screenplay by the skid row hero and novelist, Charles Bukowski, fairly accurately depicting the author’s own life. Rourke plays Henry Chinaski, a lazy drunken layabout who stumbles between some of the meaner bars in Los Angeles. In one of his inebriated nights on the town, he runs into love interest, Wanda (Dunaway). Along the way, he butts heads with a brutish bartender named Eddie (Frank Stallone) and gets himself in trouble with the law. Dark, dreary, depressing, yet strangely empowering, Barfly is a dour little treat.

Is this a necessary sequel? No. Is it particularly gripping? Not especially. But what it does have is the one and only Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates…so really, what else is required? On this week’s episode of the podcast, Psycho IV: The Beginning, director Mick Garris’ exploration into the myth, the man, the matricidal legend himself, Norman “Is that you, Norman?” Bates. Installments two and three of the series, birthed by Alfred Hitchcock, are films we look upon fondly and favourably. They’re better than they had any right to be, especially when those entries had to live up to such an indelible classic (cue those screeching violins, everyone). In Psycho VI, much of the story is flashbacks that distill the essence of what made Norman the man, and that of course, was the relationship with his mother. There’s a lot of backstory filling in, so in a way this entry is a bit like Rob Zombie’s largely unbearable and overwrought Halloween entry…however, there is enough here to warrant an evening’s viewing. Join us on this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast. In this episode, we delve into Stephen King adaptations, the work of Mick Garris, the influence of Ed Gein, similarities between the familial horror of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho, Freudian psycho-dramas, the life and times of Anthony Perkins, and much, much more. Subscribe!

On this week’s podcast, a young boy mourns the death of his father in…Making Contact, aka, Joey. Then, under the covers and with a flashlight, he’s caught (no, not that!) communicating with the spirit world. His mother walks in, and notices that young Joey is babbling on as if pops was still on this terrestrial sphere, instead of being worm food. Soon, the local school bullies start tormenting Joey, and he retreats to his bedroom, where a ventriloquist dummy starts communicating with the kid. And the dummy is possessed by some malevolent force (or something). This one is super confusing. For reasons unexplained, Joey suddenly develops telekinetic powers and moves glasses of milk across his dinner table. Why? Don’t ask us, we’re just humble weird film aficionados. Maybe direct all inquiries Roland Emmerich’s way. He’s the director, whose take on American suburban culture is decidedly…off-base? Making Contact (Joey) is another oddball film, of the kind we love to discuss. We encourage fans of the Really Awful Movies Podcast to watch the film in advance, and join us for (what we hope is) a lively discussion about this bizarre effort. And be sure to subscribe and let us know what you think about the show. Also, if you could leave some friendly, positive comments on our iTunes page, we’d appreciate it.

Not so much a shaggy dog story as an angry dog story, Man’s Best Friend is a forgotten 90s New Line Cinema release that has an attack dog, Max, who has escaped from a top-secret laboratory run by the always excellent Lance Henriksen. And you know when good ol’ LH is in a horror flick you’re in for some top-notch grimacing (and a healthy, heaping dose of menacing too). Ally Sheedy plays a journalist, who is investigating abuses at an animal lab. She and her producer want a scoop, and sneak into the facility, releasing Max…and Max is an attack dog, genetically modified from bear/tiger/chimp and it should be said, very stupidly, chameleon parts. The journalist rescues the dog from its pen, only to find out it…is quite vicious and will stop at nothing to attack anyone in its path. We love our animal attack movies. You give us an animal attacking someone, and we’re thrilled. We don’t give a crap (or a rat’s ass) if it’s a rabbit like Night of the Lepus, or a gila monster from that…um…gila monster movie we podcasted. The best ones, of course, are Jaws and Alligator. But even the worst ones have something to commend about them. Especially when, well..Man’s Best Friend is involved. Join us and subscribe to the show!

On this week’s episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, some 70s kung fu styles with this effort, Mystery of Chessboxing. The film’s notoriety is twofold: 1) it inspired Wu Tang’s Da Mystery of Chessboxin, a great song by the Wu with RZA and ODB production and a Method Man chorus and 2) it introduced the world to The Ghost Face Killer, a massive eye-browed grey-maned old-timer ass-kicker with a martial arts style based on the Five Elements. The film focuses on young Ah Pao, who wants to learn kung fu so that he can avenge his father’s death at the hands of the Ghost Faced Killer (Mark Long). He enrolls in a kung fu school, and becomes an apprentice, procuring rice for the faculty and students. And he’s tested, of course, and improves his skills (of course) but not in the way you might think. Genre fans will definitely get a kick out of (no pun intended) the appearance of Simon Yuen, chop-socky stalwart, in the role of a cook at the school (Yuen is known for Drunken Master and Story of Drunken Master). Ah Pao is eventually booted from the school and eventually comes under the tutelage of a chess master, master Chi Sue Tin (played by Jack Long). Together, they figure out a way they can take out Ghost Face Killer and the film culminates in an outrageous battle to the death. There’s board games, strategy, montages, and of course, an incredible amount of ass-kicking for which the Golden Era of kung fu films was known.  

Ah, another cheap product cash-in. We love our oddball movies, and The Garbage Pail Kids Movie is certainly that. As tonally off as any movie we’ve discussed on the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we were nonetheless thrilled to visit this bizarre late eighties entry. The plot: a kid, Dodger, is being bullied. He seeks the sagely advice of the owner of an antique shop, who also happens to have among his chachkas/wares, a garbage pail meteorite. The proprietor warns the youngster, that while he’s working a shift, he is absolutely not to touch said trash can. But touch he does, and bam, a bunch of creatures are unleashed. Based on the toy/bubblegum cards and short-lived TV show, The Garbage Pail Kids were meant to lampoon that craze of toyland, The Cabbage Patch Kids. Anyway, there is lots to love about this rather weird little gem. At no point in its short run time, does it not bewilder and amaze with its weird choices. There is a love interest for Dodger, who looks to be considerably older than he is, in an age-inappropriate romance (and yet the lovebirds in real life were a mere year or so apart). There are dreadful songs, weird animatronics, and more. Check it out and subscribe!

We are not in flavor country, we are in Bava Country. And on this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, Mario Bava’s fun giallo, Hatchet for the Honeymoon. The film was lusciously shot in Barcelona and Rome with the working title Un’accetta per la luna di miele. And Bava completed shooting in October 1969. The setting is wonderful: a sprawling villa with immaculately kept grounds. It follows the misadventures of John Harrington (Stephen Forsyth), who, with the assistance of his estranged wife, runs a boutique wedding fashion house. He tends to a small hot house flower garden as well. John though, has a wandering eye…and also an eye for killing models. As models start to go missing, Inspector Russell begins poking his nose around. Hatchet for the Honeymoon is not a true giallo (there’s no black glove killer, for example, and the killer’s identity is revealed right off the bat). However, there are little touches of yellow flavoring throughout. Fans of Mario Bava will get a kick out of this, and fans of genre film as well. Tune in, and don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast (and tell all your friends). And also, help support the show by picking up a copy of our acclaimed book, Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons.  

In this installment of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, the hosts do a side-by-side comparison of these two indelible horror genre films, the 1989 vs the 2019 Pet Sematary. So, what’s the fuss all about? The original, while not a runaway hit, has its backers as well as detractors. While the remake has a whole slew of detractors. Perhaps it’ll take a while for people to warm to it, but that’s unlikely. The story is familiar to most: a cat is run over on a New England highway. And the father, along with a neighbor accomplice, buries the thing only to have it return. The characters are terrific, as well they should be. After all, Stephen King wrote the source novel (and King even wrote the screenplay to the 1989 original). While many of us are sick to death of cat scares, we will make an exception here with Pet Sematary (both films). Church the cat (derived from Sir Winston Churchill) is a bona fide animal star. Even if the movie built around him, is more of an asteroid than a sun. Still, as is the ethos of our podcast, we celebrate as much as we criticize. We hope we were being fair to Pet Sematary, both versions. If you haven’t seen either, do so. And definitely rock out to the stand-out Ramones song of the same name. You’ll be glad you did, and you’ll be glad to listen (we hope) to the Really Awful Movies Podcast.

A monster movie set in New York City? That’s enough to hook us in that’s for sure. With the passing of noted horror/genre director Larry Cohen, we decided to take a look at one of his lesser-known efforts with Q The Winged Serpent. Produced and directed by Larry Cohen and starring the awesome Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, and the incredible David Carradine, and Richard Roundtree, this one is an exercise in guerrilla film-making. There doesn’t seem to be a permit to be found for some of these location shoots. A bunch of Big Apple dwellers end up dead, their heads torn off. And NYPD detectives Carradine and Roundtree (Shaft!) are tasked to get to the bottom of it. And Michael Moriarty is a sad-sack bank robber who’s the getaway driver for a bunch of jewel thieves. He’s the one who first gets wind of the crazy attacks and doesn’t know what to do. Ultimately, Q is a monster movie, a throwback to those 50s creature features we’ve come to know and love. It’s got incredible location shots including Canal Street, and of course the iconic Chrysler Building. And Moriarty gets to show off some piano chops. David Carradine brings a certain charming indifference to the cop role, but hey, it’s still super fun. You’ll have fun watching this one.

It’s coming up on April Fool’s Day folks. And to celebrate the auspicious occasion, we delve into this 1986 slasher that is an under-the-radar near-classic. The plot couldn’t be more deceptively simple: a group of college coeds getting together to blow off some steam. That’s the premise of about 1000 horrors during the slasher boom. But April Fool’s Day gives us plenty of detours along the way. The disparate group of friends gathers on a dock. They’re about to be shepherded over to a remote island, the family home of the wonderfully (and WASP-y) named Muffy St. John. And the group is treated to a bunch of April Fool’s pranks along the way – you know the ones, your trick doorknobs and dribble cups. Suddenly, one of them vanishes. And this sets the ball rolling. Too smart by half, April Fool’s Day easily stands apart from its date-themed horrors (apart from the grand daddy and acknowledged supreme effort that is John Carpenter’s Halloween, but that’s a given). It’s a wonderfully inviting and subtle work, directed by Fred Walton, the man who gave us When a Stranger Calls. The characters are well-written, well-rounded, and well-developed. The scene-setting (gorgeous BC) works in its favor. Horror fans will love seeing the ever-competent Amy Steel (Friday the 13th Part 2 and Part III). Join us on the Really Awful Movies Podcast. We do deep-dives into genre flicks of all stripes, predominantly horror.  

What a title! For that reason alone, it’s worth checking out Attack of the Giant Leeches. This is a Corman production, but not Roger. No, it’s the other Corman brother (from the same mother). And that’s Gene Corman. Rising from the depths of hell, to kill and conquer. And all because of NASA space launches from Florida? Well, that certainly counts as a unique deus ex machina. A game warden is tasked to figure out what’s going on as several of the Everglades townsfolk go missing. And the local saloon owner is involved in a tempestuous relationship with his wife, Liz. She cheats on him with one of the bar flies, why? To pad the running, an already spare 61 minutes or so. But what mmore do you need? You got nature run amok blood sucking creatures. There’s not much too this flick. It’s a 1950s creature feature. So that means threadbare craptacular effects and some cornball acting and the rest…is well worth watching. Join us for this episode of the podcast and subscribe!  

The original Blair Witch Project was a cultural juggernaut, an explosive hit right out of the gate and on a minuscule budget. The movie put found footage horror on the map, and the conceit has survived to this day in various guises – adopted by indie filmmakers because they’re incredibly cheap to produce compared with conventional film. Blair Witch (2016) is It is the third film in the series ignoring the events of Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, which is probably for the best as that one was a real piece of crap. As for this one? Well, let’s say that Creep, Cannibal Holocaust excepting, there are few found footage flicks that we find compelling. So, we come in prejudiced. But to give ourselves credit, we went in hoping for the very best. After all, what else can you really do? A young man, James, and his friends venture into the Black Hills Forest in Burkittsville, Maryland to uncover the mystery surrounding his missing sister, Heather. Many believe her disappearance 17 years earlier is connected to the legend of the Blair Witch. At first the group is hopeful, especially when two locals act as guides. They set up camp, and then…things start to go haywire. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 35% based on 192 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. That’s probably being charitable. Join us, folks, and subscribe to the Really Awful Movies Podcast!  

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we get back to our action roots with this, an oddball half action, half sci-fi horror flick, Silent Rage. We get a prologue, that cheesy staple of 80s horror movies. In it, our antagonist Kirby, a pill-popping lunatic, grabs an axe and goes on a rampage. Chuck Norris is a sheriff deputy in a small Texas town, who rushes in with backup, and singlehandedly stops the killer dead in his tracks. When Kirby gets loose, Norris’ deputy colleagues put a crap-load of lead into him. And the audience leaves him for dead. But where’s the body? In this hick town, there’s a research hospital. And under its employ, some devious scientists who figure they’ve got someone who’s near-dead on whom they can test a mysterious serum. They inject Kirby and BAM! He springs back to life, mute (hence the “silent” part of the title). And he’s once again on the loose, murdering anyone in his path, and all this while wearing some weird jump suit. Silent Rage is full of ass-kicking by Chuck, and of course this is a film with lots of slash and stalk horror elements. But what’s truly surprising is the biker element, the silly side-kick subplot, and also the ridiculous love montages. This is one cheesily enjoyable flick. Tune in, as we certainly love our action movies. And this one has some whiz-bang bar fights and fisticuffs.  

Some 90s horror for your listening pleasure this episode: Ice Cream Man. This Clint Howard starrer is an odd duck, and is about, not surprisingly, a killer ice cream man. A neighborhood kid goes missing. Suddenly, all signs point to the local oddball eccentric, the man in the white uni who brings treats to all the kids. Ice Cream Man also features Jan Michael Vincent as a cop, in as lazy a performance as you’ll ever see, as well as Olivia Hussey (Black Christmas, etc). The cast of kids is what makes this film so joyous. There’s Tuna, the fat one, Johnny, Heather, and the bizarrely named, Small Paul. The 90s was a rough time for the horror genre, but it’s nice to see a few quirky gems like this one.

Welcome to John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London, a very fine (and very timeless) piece of lycanthrope cinema. Two American backpackers are sightseeing in some far-flung reaches of Yorkshire. Tired and hungry, they come upon a pub called The Slaughtered Lamb, whose denizens are not the most welcoming sort. In fact, our heroes David and Jack, feel like they really don’t belong, and it’s not just a cultural thing. The place is a bit sinister. One of the barflies tells the two young men to “stay off the Moors.” They pay for their drinks and bounce quickly, heading into the dark night. Suddenly, a creature of the night tears at the them. Jack is mauled down to his flayed skin. David wakes up in a London hospital with quite the tale to tell, yet nobody at Scotland Yard is interested in hearing it. He does, however, have a friendly ear in nurse Alex (Jenny Agutter). The two hit it off, but David is starting to exhibit strange feelings…especially come full moon. An American Werewolf in London is one of those rare species of horror film, one with comedic elements that work exceedingly well to complement the bloodiness. David Naughton is exceptional as the wide-eyed American. Rick Baker’s effects are one-of-a-kind. Join us every week on the Really Awful Movies Podcast, as we discuss our favorite genre classics, predominantly horror. Subscribe!

This John Lithgow-starring, Brian De Palma-directed thriller is set around Valentine’s day. On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a take on this “demented, deranged, deceptive” De Palma flick, Raising Cain. Lithgow portrays multiple characters/multiple personalities. He is a child psychologist, Dr. Carter Nix, who is kidnapping kids to use for nefarious purposes (not explained, adding to the air of mystery here). Against this backdrop, a hell of a lot of family infidelity drama, worthy of a Woody Allen film. Nix’s wife is an oncologist, Jenny (Lolita Davidovich). Jenny is two-timing Nix, having an affair with (of all people) the widower of a cancer patient she’s treating! It’s an insane premise, and if you are a fan of the equally cheesy Netflix series, You, you won’t be put off by the Lifetime Movie fromage on display at times here. Raising Cain winds an interesting narrative, as Nix is painted into a corner and has to plot schemes to extricate himself, while the police try to get a handle on what’s going on with the missing kids, as well as missing moms. While hardly peak De Palma (that would be The Phantom of the Paradise, Carrie and The Untouchables(On the podcast, we have yet to talk De Palma, although we did reference The Phantom of the Paradise on several occasions). Lithgow really embraces the different roles, and shows off considerable acting chops, despite falling into the odd embarrassing / laughable scene. Raising Cain definitely stands apart as a worthy, intriguing little misfire. On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we watched different versions of the film (there are two, both of which were released on Blu-ray. One was a fan re-cut, and the other was the more incoherent theatrical release). Do yourself a favor and watch the re-cut. It’s far far superior. And don’t forgot to subscribe to the podcast, uploaded for your listening pleasure every Friday.  

On this special bonus episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, Valentine’s Day Horror Films. Today is a day to reignite your passions and tell loved ones they’re loved. But also, there’s no better occasion than to dive into what we love: horror movies! Horrors are oft-known to be set around holidays, whether it’s New Year’s Evil, Silent Night, Deadly Night, April Fool’s Day, etc. And there’s no reason this faux-holiday should be any different. After all, there’s already red liberally spread around, right? How about add some squibs to that, and make things blood spattered? As the poster tag-line for Valentine says, “love hurts.” While this is undoubtedly true, you can learn to love again. But you’ve only got one life to live, and that’s something to remember when some nasty serial killer is bearing down on your. The Canadian classic, My Bloody Valentine, is called that for a reason. So tune in, tell your friends to subscribe and join us on the Really Awful Movies Podcast!  

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, Jean Claude Van Damme’s epic kickboxing tournament movie, Bloodsport. This flick was one of Van Damme’s first starring films and showcased his formidable kicking and flexibility, and dare we say it, charm. The “Muscles from Brussels, aka, JCVD plays U.S. Army Captain Frank Dux (as in, “put up your dukes” and not “get your ducks in a row). The film was apparently built on the myth, the legend of the real Frank Dux (whose life has mysterious semi-apocryphal origins, a la JCVD contemporary Steven Seagal). Dux was trained in the US as a young boy by a Japanese immigrant, Tanaka. And Dux wants to honor his mentor and take the place of Tanaka’s deceased son Shingo in the illegal, underground martial arts Kumite no-holds-barred tournament in Hong Kong. However, his employer, the US Army, ain’t happy about it. And they’ve sent two guys to go intercept him in Asia (it’s a dumb subplot, but whatever, it gets us Forrest Whitaker!). After arriving in Hong Kong, Dux befriends American fighter Ray Jackson (Donald Gibb, who played the hulking Ogre in Revenge of the Nerds). The two hit it off over a mutual love of cheesy video games and get ready to fight in the early UFC-style round robin. Chong Li (Bolo Yeung) is the powerful pec machine and ruthless Kumite champion—and he’s the betting favorite by the hordes of degenerates who’ve descended on the arena. Gotta love pit fight action flicks, the rip-roaring excitement, the rippling muscles, the bloody tournament theatrics, UFC-style theatrics, and of course, different styles of fighting (from the ridiculous, to the even more ridiculous) Since its release Bloodsport has achieved cult status, and for good reason. This flick was followed by a bunch of mediocre sequels, none of which involved our man, JCVD. Tune into the Really Awful Movies Podcast every week, and our reviews at www.ReallyAwfulMovies.com

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast we turn to another regional horror, this time from the state of Louisiana. This one is called Mountaintop Motel Massacre (the massacre bit was added later when Roger Corman bought the movie to get it distributed). And boy are we glad he did, as this one is a total hoot. It’s not often you get to see an elderly lady in a mediocre 80s slasher movie, but here, the proprietor of said hotel is our killer. Evelyn is a septuagenarian who’s just been released from a mental institution. Everything is easy-breezy as she tends to her garden. Then, a series of events put motel patrons in harm’s way (at the risk of divulging too much here). Evelyn, as you may have guessed, is handy with a sickle. Disparate travelers end up at her place of business, and like a really bad version of Psycho, meet their demise. This one is a slow-burn. Some would call it meticulous. Others would spare the obfuscating language and call it was it is: dull. Sure, it’s dull. But given what the directors and actors had to work with, they didn’t do half-bad a job. This is regional horror after all. There’s no major backer behind it, no big-time names, certainly no large Hollywood studio. One host of the Really Awful Movies Podcast as a younger, tried to amass as many movies with massacre in the title as he could. For whatever reason, this one escaped. It’s very possible Jumbo Video or some now-defunct VHS chain simply didn’t stock Mountaintop Motel Massacre. The movie has attained sort of cult status, which is just the way we like it. Join us this Friday and every Friday as we delve into oddball, transgressive, low-budget action movies, freewheeling off-kilter sci-fi flicks, and even the odd musical or misguided comedy. Join us!  

Death Ship is a disaster movie, and a horror film (and some would maybe insert the words “of a” between “disaster” and “movie”). In our books, this one’s super-fun and we thought it’d make excellent podcast fodder solely because of the poster and the cast. A mysterious rusty freighter is sailing the high seas. There’s a cruise ship in the distance, captained by Ashland (played by Airport’s George Kennedy, so you know something calamitous is afoot) The freighter alters course, and starts to bear down on the liner, interrupting one of those captain’s dinner / passenger shindigs. Despite actions so evasive you’d think Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump were behind them, the two vessels collide!! The next day, there’s a dinghy floating about in the open ocean, and it includes a waterlogged captain, his first mate (played by the Colonel Troutman dude from Rambo) and some surviving passengers and the dude who was a love interest on the hit TV series, Fraser. Soon, the stranded survivors drift into the mysterious ship, which has a boarding ladder hanging into the water. They hop aboard, thinking they’re saved, but that could not be further from the truth. You see, the ship’s been totally abandoned and is just drifting around as if it’s been possessed by some nefarious spirit. Spoiler alert: It friggin’ has. Jeez, the Golden Era of horror, roughly speaking, was so much bloody fun. And even though Death Ship is as far removed from the likes of Friday the 13th or Halloween as you can get, it still manages to succeed because like those films, there’s a solid understanding that place matters. And this ship provides so much incredible atmosphere. Is Death Ship (1980) a classic for the ages? Undoubtedly not, but it’s a warm blanket of nostalgia amidst choppy seas. Join us and subscribe to the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a podcast about movies which aren’t really awful at all (despite what critics often tell us).

On this special episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we delve into a Netflix series that’s making waves: YOU. Guess you could say, this episode’s all about you. Joe is a bookstore manager in Midtown Manhattan. He becomes obsessed with a budding writer and MFA student, Guinevere Beck, aka Beck. The two of them quasi hit it off at his place of work, before things take a more sinister turn. Soon, Joe is lurking about outside Beck’s (it should be said) palatial student housing accommodations. He peers through her window to observe the comings and goings (and especially coming!) Meanwhile, the internal monologue inside his skull tells him everything he thinks he knows about the apple of his eye, the object of his affections/obsessions. Gradually, You reveals Beck’s entourage of friends, a veritable Sex and the City assemblage (minus the professionalism and successes), a group bursting with Me-monkey Insta-solipsism. Joe, as the trailer says, believes she has the wrong group of friends and a liaison with him will go a long way to fixing that. Then the Netflix series sets up that class in-group out-group dynamic of the friends with the new boyfriend. Given that he’s a cerebral reader and they’re consumerist bobble-heads, they’re unlikely to see eye to eye. You was a Lifetime show, and now it’s being sold as a Netflix Original. It has that Lifetime romance-flick-of-the-week glossy sheen, but to their credit, they do the best to depict NYC life (to the best of their abilities and budget, although we hear that the show is being moved to California for tax reasons). Anyway, on this episode we blaze through 10 episodes of You (Penn Badgley, Elizabeth Lail, Shay Mitchell star) in under an hour. This is a show that’s cheap, trashy, brainless fun. So that’s pretty much right up our alley, right, champions as we are of genre/transgressive cinema. Join us, folks. We’re here every Friday, so go and subscribe to the Really Awful Movies Podcast. We also have genre film reviews (mostly horror movies) over at www.reallyawfulmovies.com

Jeffrey Combs portrays Colin Childress, a cartoonist we’re introduced to in the film’s prologue. He meets an untimely end drawing a beastly creature, and we flash forward 30 years to a present-day (1988) artist retreat/colony. This week on the Really Awful Movies Podcast: a monster movie! This one is a charming shoestring budget creature feature, Cellar Dweller. Whitney is an arts graduate and cartoonist, and attends the school, trying to keep Childress’ spirit alive and well through her drawings. There are also fellow students, each pursuing a different facet of the arts: sculpture, method acting, new media, abstract painting, etc. The school’s headmistress puts out a stern warning to the pupils: do not go in the basement! And of course, the different principals don’t heed any of this. I mean, this is the horror genre, why would we expect anything different? Check out this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, and be sure to subscribe and leave a review on iTunes.

Humanoids from the Deep is one of our favorite creature features. Exploitative, Roger Corman-produced uber-trash, this one follows the typical Jaws template of a besieged fishing village whose inhabitants are trying to come to terms with something that’s pure evil. Featuring some genre favorites like Doug McClure and Vic Morrow, you won’t help but fall for this movie. After all, “they hunt human women…not for killing…for mating.” Corman’s company, New World Pictures was the distributor. And Humanoids from the Deep was directed by Barbara Peeters (who subsequently tried to distance herself from the exploitative finished product). There’s a peppy musical score composed by James Horner in his debut.

Most Likely to Die…a modern slasher film starring, Perez Hilton. If that doesn’t get your motor running, well. Luckily, Heather Morris (Glee) provides a bit of acting talent to a film where it’s in very much short supply. There’s a 10-year high school reunion. An assemblage of tedious 20-somethings who look 30 + and beyond, get together to reminisce about the good times Al Bundy-style. Unfortunately, the guy who owns the place they’ve gathered, is nowhere to be found. Ryan is a former NHL player. He’s been recently cut from the New York Rangers, and is moping about in self-pity. His head is buried in his hands, as it’s looking like life as a pro is about to end. The friends are playing poker when suddenly, their ranks are thinned like a gazelle on the Serengeti, but a slasher dressed up in a mortar board and gown. Is this one a GED-horror? Or does Most Likely to Die belong in the Ivy League? It’s probably pretty obvious. Still, we delve into this choice issue with a special guest on the Really Awful Movies Podcast: one of our high school friends, Jonas.

Mexican Santa Claus as it’s known colloquially (sometimes known as Santa Claus vs. the Devil) is a wild and woolly 1959 Mexican fantasy Christmas sci-fi film directed by Rene Cardona and co-written with Adolfo Torres Portillo. The Cuban-born Cardona was a hugely influential figure in the so-called Golden Age of Mexican Cinema (but of course, fellows like us know him for the stupendous, Night of the Bloody Apes – the title of the 1972 English language version of the 1969 Mexican horror film La Horripilante bestia humana) In this film, Santa Claus, our merry old elf, works in outer space (on the moon, actually) and does battle with a demon sent to Earth by Lucifer to ruin Christmas by “making all the children of the Earth do evil.” Here, Santa has a weird silver palatial abode that’s not unlike Dr Phibes’ lair. He spies on children with a variety of implements that capture voice, sound, visuals, etc. He really DOES know when you’re naughty or nice, sleeping or awake, etc. Instead of Mrs Claus, Santa’s associate is Merlin the Magician, complete with conical hat and a bunch of soporifics and invisibility potions. What? And instead of elves toiling away year-round, building toys in some North Pole factory, Santa has enlisted the help of a bunch of kids “of all colors and creeds,” to work for him, and who wear the most ethnically stereotypical garb imaginable. Mexican Santa Claus was lampooned on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 but we knew about it years ago, through the fantastic Suspect Video. We miss that as a physical bricks and mortar store, but luckily it lives on to provide you with all your obscure blu-ray and DVD needs. Join us as we are full of the holiday spirit, and Christmas cheer. And what better way to celebrate the holidays than with this oddball south of the border, uh….classic? And be sure to subscribe to the Really Awful Movies Podcast, and to pick up a copy of our book, Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons.

On this week’s episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a look at the Oregon regional horror, Unhinged. Undoubtedly one of the more obscure films to end up on the Video Nasties list, Unhinged (1982) is a really solid, very low-budget effort from the Pacific Northwest. Three college co-eds are on a road trip through the back country, when a dispatch comes on the radio about…traffic problems ahead, and offering a detailed alternate route as a time saver. Just kidding. It’s an announcement about, what else? An escaped lunatic. If you don’t love that right off the bat, you have no heart. A sudden downpour occurs, and the girls’ little vehicle spins into a ditch (rather unconvincingly, it should be said, but hey…what do you want for $100K?). They awake, and are being tended two by a spinster Olive Oyl-like figure, her domineering mother, and a caretaker with a ridiculous mustache. So..will the girls be held in the remote mansion against their will, tormented by this creep-triumvirate? Will they be tied to the bed like Procrustes did his victims? Will there be some kind of Stephen King Misery set-up? Are you tired of an endless barrage of rhetorical questions? Unhinged is not your typical slasher film. There’s a lot more here than meets the Fulci eye (while not Italian, there are definitely some nods to that neck of the woods in these neck of the woods). Despite some akimbo acting, and some pacing issues, this is a film that’s not only oddly compelling, but also weirdly endearing. There are only a few scenes that would indicate this would be Video Nasty-bound, but overall it’s fairly tame and lets the story do the talking. With a fabulous synth soundtrack and a very memorable Barbara Bush-styled matriarch, you need to check out Unhinged (and please go and subscribe to the Really Awful Movies Podcast, where we tackle genre films of all stripes).    

A Killer Crocodile creature feature, that’s Italian to boot? No need to say that twice. We’re there. As straightforward a concept as you could possibly devise, this one is about…you guessed it…a killer crocodile (lest you thought this was a rom-com about a shy teacher who meets a beau in fin-du-siècle Paris). In an undisclosed location (wherever was cheapest to film in 1989) Killer Crocodile was directed by the multi-named Fabrizio De Angelis (sometimes rendered as Larry Ludman), an oft-collaborator with Italian genre legends, Umberto Lenzi, Lucio Fulci, etc. An amorous twosome is on a beach. The guy breaks out a classical guitar and woos his lady friend with song. But Leonard Cohen he is not, and she doffs her top and runs into the water. Bad move. There’s a…well…killer crocodile about. Radioactive waste is discovered in a swamp: in barrels marked “toxic waste,” so there can be no confusion whatsoever. Ecologists are floating down the river Joseph Conrad-style, collecting samples of river water. And when the body count begins to rise, they surmise that the radioactivity created a monster-sized croc. What a croc! The film stars Richard Anthony Crenna (son of actor, Richard Crenna) and was followed by an unheralded sequel, Killer Crocodile II, in 1990. There’s atonal weirdness lost in translation, gobs of bal-peen hammer exposition, a croc that looks like it was constructed as an after-thought for a soap box derby, and a wildly unhinged investigative journalist. In other words, extraordinarily fun. So, how does this one fare as compared with Lake Placid, Alligator, or Rogue? That’s where you come in, dear listener. On the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we absolutely love nature run amok movies, aka natural horror flicks. They’re so wonderful, even if they unabashedly rip off the Top Dog of the genre, Jaws. Send us suggestions for animal attack movies we should cover!

A Disney movie where Ben Stiller runs a fat camp? What’s this movie called, “Box Office Poison”? (to quote an infamous Norm MacDonald appearance on Conan O’Brien). It’s hard to believe someone actually green-lit Heavyweights (or Heavy Weights as it’s sometimes known). This 90s-era comedy came and went with little fanfare. Like many flicks that are not successful theatrically, the film has since garnered a cult following, probably because of the involvement of co-writer Judd Apatow along with Stiller. Ben Stiller plays fitness guru Tony Perkis, an excitable send-up of infomercial gym hucksters. He’s also a yoga aficionado as well as an up-with-people peddler of lifestyle trends As a new owner of a fat camp (which he has purchased from a kindly, if ineffectual elderly duo), Tony Perkis is tasked with whipping a bunch of teen boys into shape. The boys (who include among their ranks, Fat Albert and Saturday Night Live standout Kenan Thompson) are none too happy about this and decide to stage a coup along with camp counselor and co-conspirator, Pat (played by Frasier’s Tom McGowan). This is a movie that is being pulled in opposing directions. As a New York Times critic put it, “One…is a no-holds-barred spoof of a Tony Little- or Susan Powter-style fitness merchant […] The other …a conventional family comedy that pokes lighthearted fun at the chubby young campers.” It’s tonally very odd, but it’s also an interesting look at the comedy star Ben Stiller would soon become. Perkis’ is a fantastically over-the-the-top workshopping of a character. When Heavyweights focuses on him, the film comes to life, otherwise, it sags. Still, there is surprisingly enough to recommend it even if it falls into the trappings of other summer camp-type movies, Meatballs, etc. Join us on this unique episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast!  

So, here we are. Suspiria 2018 is a remake of the all-time great Dario Argento 1977 film. The Argento one is one of our mutual favorites. It’s definitely in our Top 15 Horror Films of All Time, if we were to make such a list (to get a sense of our sensibilities, the other entries would include Maniac, Martyrs, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, to cite a few). So, we faced this one with some trepidation, some anticipation, but mostly that time-honored sensation felt by many a gore-hound: PLEASE, for the love of all things holy, don’t F this up! Luca Gadagnino is apparently also a great lover of the Argento film. And you can tell. He does a loving tribute, but does so in a way that’s so different from the original that it can operate as its own entity. Apart from the American student, the German locale, the ballet school, and the coven therein, there is not too much tying this 2018 Suspiria to the original one. On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we do a deep dive comparing the two. On the show, we talk about: Expectations we have of art Audience and critical reception of the film, in the likes of New Yorker, etc German politics and German post-war guilt, the Lufthansa airlines hijacking The cities of Berlin and Munich in film Scene settings and sense of place and real vs unreal in horror films Internecine coven politics The wonderful actress Tilda Swinton, and her portrayal(s) in Suspiria Radiohead and Thom Yorke, the impact of the original film’s score vs the 2018 version How this remake was handled verses David Gordon Green’s 2018 Halloween Moral agency through the character of the psychiatrist Body horror and color palettes used in horror films And much, much more (including some Goblin whistling!) Check it out, and please subscribe and leave a comment on iTunes.    

Part artist, part huckster, William Castle is a name a lot of people know in the horror world. He produced Rosemary’s Baby (and would’ve directed too, were it not for health issues) but he’s best known for the gimmicks he deployed to promote the living heck out of his movies. The Tingler, starring the legendary Vincent Price (check out our interview with his daughter, Victoria Price) is one such movie. Castle used “percepto” technology, a buzzer installed beneath some theater seats that literally shocked members of the audience! The cost of this equipment added $250,000 to the film’s budget, which was negligible by comparison. Percepto was used sparingly and in predominantly larger theaters for logistical reasons. The premise is delicious: Price stars as Dr. Chapin, a prison coroner responsible for doing autopsies on prisoners on death row (this seems like a waste of time and money, but that’s neither here nor there). A side of interest of his: how humans experience fear. He and a lab assistant speculate that there’s a structure on the spinal cord that is associated with fear responses (hence, “spine-tingling” fear). Dr. Chapin uses his wife as an unwitting participant, scaring her with a starter pistol and doing an examination on her spine. The Tingler is a fun movie, a corny monster movie / creature feature from the 1950s. And there’s the bonus of Castle himself introducing the film, and warning of the terrors to come. Hilarious! On this episode of the Podcast: How do we experience fear? What is fear? Are there different things people fear and how does horror exploit this? We talk about hypochondriacs We talk about death-defying experiences We talk about the legacy of William Castle and who modern day exemplars are Castle’s use of prop ghosts and audience shills And finally, we discuss the lasting impact of the incredible icon of horror, the one and only Vincent Price  

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast we tackle a Canadian classic, David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers. Twin gynecologists, the Mantle brothers (based on the true-life demise of monozygote physicians, the Marcus brothers) share 100% of their genetic material. They also share scientific discoveries, and women. In a tour de force performance by the incredible Jeremy Irons, we get a look inside the psyche of genius, and a concomitant look at their madness (as is often the case). The docs Elliot and Beverly are, of course, identical. However, Elliot is a bit taller, more outgoing, more comfortable in his own skin. And Beverly lives inside his own head. They comprise a drammaturgical dyad (thanks, Simpsons). The Mantle bros’ practice is booming, they’re highly regarded in their field, and seem to have everything together. Of course, that’s just on the surface. Pull back the curtain and there’s tumult. This is another instance of inside-out David Cronenberg body-horror. Dead Ringers is a difficult film to like, but is nonetheless fascinating. And it’s aged incredibly well. It’s a remarkable technical achievement, in addition to being a terrific showcase for Irons’ subtlety and mannerisms. On the podcast, we examine the following: The 80s horror scene How we discovered the work of David Cronenberg while being ensconced in franchise horror flicks like Friday the 13th and Halloween Canadian content regulations and the tax shelter era Invasive medical procedures the hosts have experienced Twin depictions in popular culture Bloodletting in horror, and the use of restraint (or is that restraints?) Medical horror and much, much more. This is our third discussion of a David Cronenberg film on the Really Awful Movies Podcast. Interested listeners can check out Videodrome and Rabid. Thanks for listening! And be sure to write reviews if you like what you’re hearing. And to support the show, pick up a copy of Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons (foreword by our pal, Lloyd Kaufman of Troma).

Finally, we get around to tackling one of the most infamously bad movies out there, Reefer Madness. A dim-bulb overly melodramatic propaganda film (Snarky Editors’ note: like Forrest Gump or Titanic), this 1936 crap-show suggests that “men die for it.” A middling morality tale about the supposed dangers of weed, the film is now (of course) watched ironically. Recreational marijuana became legal in our home country (Canada) in mid-October. It’s an interesting time to be living here, to say the least… So on this episode, we (sorta) delve into the film, watching it in real time (what other kind of time is there?). So, is this film as ridiculous as it’s cracked up to be? Certainly, but it doesn’t inspire gale-force laughter like some of the insane duds we’ve covered on this program, the likes of Shotgun, One Tough Bastard, Birdemic, etc. We divulge probably more than we should of on this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast. We don’t usually record as we watch, preferring instead to do a bit of (gasp) research…but we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to change the format, if only temporarily. Some of what we discuss: The perils of buying weed as a teenager Investing in marijuana stocks Drug scams that take place in Toronto The use of jazz and the perception of it during this time Laws, potential hazards of Canadian marijuana legislation (and probably a lot more that we can’t recall). Join us on the Really Awful Movies Podcast, with smart genre film chat about dumb movies.    

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, Spookies. Spookies is a 1986 American indie horror flick that has a lot of fans, despite its total ineptness. The film was directed by Brendan Faulkner and Thomas Doran (and probably several others). The plot, such as it is, follows a lost kid and a group of folks looking to party. They find an abandoned, sprawling mansion and decide to explore. Inside, there’s an aging, decrepit warlock who needs souls to keep his young bride alive. A teen boy, Billy, is running away from home ’cause his folks forgot his birthday. This a pretty pointless plot device, but anyway… He encounters a drifter, who is violently killed after the two make awkward banter. Billy stumbles on an old mansion where a room is decorated for birthday celebrations. Thinking it is a surprise by his parents, he opens a present to discover…(no spoilers here!!). He’s attacked by a werecat with a hook for a hand, and that’s that. At the same time, a group of teenagers and some older adults come across the mansion intending to have a party, believing the mansion to be abandoned. They discovered a Ouija board and start to play. However, the warlock is pissed. And that’s when shit started going down. BadMovies.org said, “The center of the movie chronicles people stumbling through a very dark house. Every so often a creature or ghost menaces the disarrayed cast, but the audience’s chief enemy is the lack of lighting.” Join us!

He’s back…Michael Myers is hunting Laurie Strode again in this new Halloween film. Forty years have passed. “The Shape” has been confined to a mental hospital. Not only have forty years passed, Dr. Loomis has has well. In his stead, Dr. Sartain (a name, as forgettable as many elements of his film). The doc allows two Brit investigative journalist/podcasters to see if they can connect with Michael, who has been conspicuously mute for seemingly forever. They are allowed into the facility for the criminally insane. Michael Myers is not having any of it, and remains uncommunicative. One of the podcasters starts brandishing a replica mask, goading him. Here we are folks. It’s Halloween, a film with big boots to fill. The original is a stone-cold classic, one of the best horror films of all time. How does this one stack up? Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a grandmother now, still haunted by fears of Michael. She is a survivalist, estranged from the family, holed up in an armed compound with provisions, tons of arms, etc. Seems like she has a right to be worried. You see, in that time honored cliche tradition, there’s a prison transfer. Michael is being sent to another facility. You know what happens, right? If you don’t, it’s disclosed in the trailer. So now it’s up to Laurie Strode to put an end to the Bogeyman forever. Will she? Tune in!    

Not heralded upon release, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child was a film we deemed worthy of a revisit to see how it’s aged. So, is this the Tom Cruise of sequels? Or is this an installment that needs to be shot full of Botox? Interestingly (and this came as a shock to both hosts of the Really Awful Movies Podcast), this one is not only not half-bad, it’s actually a very worthy entry into the iconic Springwood Slasher series. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 sees a return to form for the gloved one, a nightmare to children everywhere (Michael Jackson jokes at this point are a little passe). Less quipster, more killing, this Freddy is one we came to know and love. In this one, there’s a fetus, a dreaming baby that’s the conduit for Freddy’s return to wreck havoc on the denizens of Elm Street. It’s a bizarro conceit, but hella-cool too. You gotta just accept and run with it. Are the performances great? Not particularly, but Freddy’s kills and the audaciousness of the plot carries the day. Who would’ve thought? A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge was not one we fondly remembered either, and yet we found some nuggets of cool therein as well. So, tune in and check out the Really Awful Movies Podcast. This is the third Nightmare on Elm Street film we’ve discussed. Dig through our archives and unearth the others, you’ll be glad you did. THANKS FOR LISTENING!

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a sensational, Italian-style hard-horror coming to us from of all places, Turkey. Baskin debuted at TIFF’s Midnight Madness and caused a bit of a stir. And rightly so. Now, Turkey is known for a spate of rip-off movies. There’s a Turkish Star Wars, Star Trek, E.T., Superman, Exorcist, Death Wish, and they’re all unbelievably bad. But of course, the country has produced some great cinema too. Baskin is a dreamscape that follows six reprobate policemen, officers of the law who are by all accounts louts and shouldn’t really be in charge of keeping order. While on call to a remote town, the driver thinks he sees a figure dart out onto the road, swerves to avoid it, and puts the police van in the ditch. From there, the men emerged with bruised egos and wet clothes, but face a much more perilous predicament. The group, comprising some jaded veterans but also young bucks, venture into the forest. It’s there they might a group of demented hillbilly folk. But expect the unexpected. From there, they explore a precinct abandoned since the glory days of the Ottoman Empire. Baskin is a marvel. Bask in its glory (apologies). The film debut of Can Evrenol, based on his 2013 short film by the same name, is influenced by all the good stuff. While not exactly re-inventing the wheel, it pays home to (but doesn’t rip-off) the godfathers of Italian horror: Bava, Fulci, Argento. On this episode, we talk Turkey (apologies again, dammit). What makes this film so unnerving and odd? What is it about Turkish culture that produced something so transgressive? We dive in headlong. It’s available through Raven Banner. Buy it, track it down somehow…and listen to our chat!