Video Store Nightmares: Recent Episodes
VideoStoreNightmares
Join Luke and Leland as they discuss the horrific, bizarre, melodramatic, exploitive, dumbfounding and offensive fare found in the video store era. Just don't show grandma.
Join us down under for this off-beat Australian vampire flick. Kate is supposedly a descendent of Elizabeth Bathory, and consequently in high demand as a mate in some vampire circles. A "modern" cult of aristocrats, who keep human cattle on a large estate for blood farming, kidnap her. They plan to initiate her into the lifestyle, whether she likes it or not.
Despite her recent marriage, Jamie remains obsessed with toys and fixated on her absent father. She strays from married life to become a New York City sex worker, nurturing a fantasy of locating her father and earning his approval. Unfortunately for all involved, she succeeds the only way she knows how. A passion project for stand-up-comedian-turned-writer-director Stanley H. Brassloff, Toys Are Not for Children stands out among 70s pop-psychodramas for its unwillingness to cater to any audience whatsoever.
In this offbeat vampire film, Duane Jones (Night of the Living Dead) is a college professor studying mythical African cultures, when he is initiated into vampirism against his will. What follows is a strange mix of Christian and occult mythology, with some startling brutality. Only in the 1970s can you find such eloquent intersections of art house and horror. Check it out!
Poor Melvin suffers abuse, mockery, and toxic waste before transforming into the Toxic Avenger and mopping up the streets of Tromaville. Check out the head crushing, arm beating, oven-baking, deep frying, and more, then join us to discuss the film that helped create the Troma we all know today.
On this episode, we take a break from the record-breaking summer heat to celebrate Christmas in July! Fittingly, we watched this Florida-beach-set abomination from the very distant past of 1972. Santa's reindeer abandon him on the beach, where he summons a group of local kids and their pets to rescue him. While trying to solve the conundrum, Santa tells the kids a fundamentalist version of Thumbelina.
Join us to discuss the world's "first wheelchair serial killer." At least, that's what the promotion claims. The movie is also semi-famous as the subject of a The People's Court episode involving pictures of Michelle Bauer. Bauer is inexplicably joined by Mary Woronov, Hyapatia Lee, Johnny Legend, and other b-movie talent sinking as low as they can possibly go. That's not necessarily a critique. As one letterbox review says, this is "transgressive garbage cinema" that has to be seen - probably multiple times - to be believed.
Visit the world of City Lights Home Video with 1987's Epitaph! Poor Amy has to manage a few more problems than an ordinary teenager: a serial-killer mother with an alcohol problem, a missing father, a hapless granny, a new boyfriend, an undercover psychiatrist infiltrating her family, and a murderous painter intent on revenge!
This time we revisit the work of Jack Hill with our first foray into fantasy - 1982's Sorceress! When a Merlin like figure rescues twin babies from sacrifice by an evil sorcerer, he sets in chain a cosmic series of events. The twins grow up, gain magical powers, and lead a ragtag team to try and conquer the bad guys. Somehow two sky gods show up, but no sorceress. This one's an absolute mess, but it's also a blast. Enjoy!
Poor Terry. His rapes and murders are misunderstood. Only his overbearing, obsessive mother seems to be on his side. Fresh out of prison, he seeks revenge on those who helped put him there.
While on hiatus, we recorded a series of conversations that were never published. Now that life has calmed down, we plan to edit these conversations for release as VINTAGE episodes, outside of our normal programming.
In this episode, we explore the uncharted New Mexico desert, home to many hills with many eyes. This early Wes Craven flick is clearly inspired by the success of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Craven's own Last House on the Left. The titular eyes belong to a family that lives primitively, practicing cannibalism and communicating via walkie-talkies. Watch as a "normal American family" grows increasingly desperate in their fight to survive. Trigger warning: there's a burning, cactus crucifixion. Just in case that's at the root of your trauma.
On this episode, we cover 1984's White Fire, a story of diamond heists, martial arts, mob killings, twincest, and stolen identity. Boris and his twin sister Ingrid work for a diamond mine, but are secretly smuggling diamonds for their adopted father. When Ingrid is murdered, Boris and his love interest plan to steal the mythical White Fire - a huge radioactive diamond capable of burning off faces. Their plan involves a mystical commune of women led by a plastic surgeon.
While on hiatus, we recorded a series of conversations that were never published. Now that life has calmed down, we plan to edit these conversations for release as VINTAGE episodes, outside of our normal programming.
in this episode we discuss the sensitive story of five Italian teenagers on a boat in Miami. Unfortunately, in 1994's Plankton, this boat houses a research laboratory stocked with mutant fish. Also known as Creatures from the Abyss, this is a film you have to see to believe. Where else can you see interspecies romance and reproduction bridging land and sea?
And we're back! After an unfortunately long absence, we've finally returned - like ghouls ready to summon a mythical missing link.
On this episode, we cover the 1988 regional Colorado flick - Curse of the Blue Lights. If you're a fan of rubber monster suits, 50s make-out spots, killer scarecrows, creamed corn, zombies, witches, police shootouts, cursed medallions, poltergeist attacks, or undead funerals, then this is for you! That's right, it's a jumbled mess of a film, but we love it anyway.
In this episode, we tackle one of the strangest genre mashups of the 80s - Xtro. You want alien abduction and UFO activity? Check. How about snake egg eating? Check. A woman giving birth to a fully grown man? Check again. As if that wasn't enough, little Toby has developed mind control powers! This is a weird one folks.
In this episode, we revisit the work of Roberta Findlay (Janie) with 1988's Prime Evil. This one involves a coven of Satanic monks living in 1980s New York! Directed by a grungy porn director! It should - as the kids say - slay. Alas, it doesn't. Tune in to hear why.
This week, we dive into the blood-soaked world of H.G. Lewis with his especially nonsensical 1970 venture - the Wizard of Gore. Montag conducts horribly gruesome magic "tricks" on stage (although we disagree on what the audience actually sees), only for the victims to die hours later. You don't want to miss one of America's first true gore films!
This week, we discuss a class of 80s horror that - until now - went somehow unseen by Leland. Tune in to hear how he reacts to this tale of Charlie Brewster, his "evil" friend Ed, a young Marcy Darcy, and the immortal Roddy McDowell. Chris Sarandon is immortal too, in the film at least, as the vampire Jerry Dandridge, out to terrify the suburbs.
This week, we discuss the 1981 cult classic - and rare starring role for Clint Howard - Evilspeak! Poor Stanley Coopersmith, a socially awkward orphan, is bullied at a military academy. Bullied, that is, until he uses an early Apple computer to summon Satan and is possessed by the spirit of Esteban!
This week, we dip our toes in the Satanic Panic with this made-for-tv assault against Dungeons and Dragons". Interestingly, it's not the game's alleged connections to the dark arts that we should worry about. Instead, the film focuses on the risks of a mentally-unstable college student (a young Tom Hanks) losing himself in his fictional character. If you're a fan of after-school specials, you might dig this
One of several collaborations between writer-director Greg Lamberson and star Craig Sabin, 1988's Slime City focuses on a derelict apartment building that may or may not be a cover for a coven of regenerating, reincarnated witches who transfer bodies via the consumption of "Himalayan Yoghurt." It's as bonkers as it sounds!
This week, join us as we explore the dregs of cinema once again, with 1974's Walt Davis-helmed Evil Come, Evil Go. Sister Sarah Jane is a travelling, evangelistic street preacher who spreads the message: "God is love, not sex!" To prove her point, she seduces men and murders them mid-coitus. After recruiting a lesbian acolyte, she begins to dream of even bigger plans.
This week, we revisit the work of Fred Olen Ray with 1988's Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers! Jack Chandler is a private investigator hired to track down a runaway teenager (Linnea Quigley). His search leads him to a cult of chainsaw-worshippers led by Gunnar Hansen himself. Let the gore and wisecracks commence!
This week, we enter the Lovecraftian world of Mariano Baino's Dark Waters. This may have been made after the pinnacle of Italian horror, but it's every bit worth your time. Elizabeth travels from London to a desolate Ukrainian island, to find out why her father donated money to a mysterious convent. Turns out, this convent's home to more than one god.
This week, join us for another visit to the convent. This time, we're back in Mexico. Sister Maria becomes tempted, or maybe possessed, by Satan himself. Is she driven mad? Or does her flirtation with Satan corrupt the entire convent? Check out the flick, and this week's episode, to find out!
This week, we kick off our month of nunsploitation, and revisit the work of Bruno Mattei and Claudio Fragasso, with 1981's the Other Hell. A scientifically-minded priest is sent to investigate a series of mysterious deaths at a convent. Could it be a psychopath or Satan himself to blame? Check out the flick and this week's episode to find out!
This week, we revisit the work of Stephen Sayadian (Rinse Dream ala Cafe Flesh). This pseudo-sequel to 1920's Cabinet of Dr. Caligari focuses on the famous doctor's granddaughter. She's running an asylum of her own, addressing such psychological maladies as nymphomania and cannibalism. Her treatment involves switching brains and personalities amongst her patients. It all takes place in a surreal, German expressionist wasteland. "Chinchilla Chinchilla Chinchilla!"
This week, join us in discussing one of Charles Band's earliest films - Mansion of the Doomed! Like a grindhouse makeover of Eyes Without a Face, this film follows the exploits of a mad doctor obsessed with restoring the eyesight of his blind daughter. Unfortunately, surgery after surgery proves unsuccessful and the eye-less prisoners start building up in the basement. Featuring Video Store Nightmares alumni such as Gloria Graham and Vic Tayback, as well as a young Lance Henriksen!
This week, join us in watching a private investigator ("Chase") on the tail of a missing lab assistant (read: prostitute) responsible for stealing a resurrection formula suspiciously similar in look and property to that in Re-Animator. This shot-on-video end to director Hugh Gallagher's "Gore Trilogy" is sleazy and silly in equal measure. On this episode: floating black dildos (isn't that enough?).
This week, we visit an obscure 1975 Spanish production, about an orphanage/boarding school secretly lobotomizing teenage girls to send to wealthy men as sex slaves. It sounds sleazy as Hell! Despite its relative tameness, it's still worth it to watch Leonore try to escape the clutches of the evil Dr. Krueger.
This week, we once again travel to the 1970s for a character exhibition of a troubled girl who uses tarantulas to scare her victims - to death! It all starts when she overhears her mother plotting to murder her father. In response, young Susan unleashes her tarantulas and there's no going back. On this episode: lessons on tarantula anatomy, the problem with incestuous uncles, death from fright, tarantula endangerment, character inconsistencies, bullying, and standards of tarantula burial.
Join us this week as we discuss yet another small town under siege by a mutated animal - cockroaches! The town's sheriff, after casually dropping his girlfriend for his ex, must find a way to destroy the roaches and their monstrous queen. To complicate matters, these roaches mutate into the things they've eaten!
This week, we watched one of the most beloved book-to-film adaptations of the 80s, 1988's Slugs - the Movie. Toxic waste has mutated the local slug population. They are now carnivorous - with teeth - and hungry for human flesh! It's up to the town's health inspector and a goofy scientist to save the day. On this episode: fishing on a date, vehicular carelessness, bad dog owners, slime trails, the costs of pre-marital sex, reckless sewer explosions, and eyes exploding with worms!
Greetings little mantis-eggs! This week, we watched Eric Marciano's 1990 obscurity - The Age of Insects. A mad scientist takes unsuspecting young men and - using questionable methods - changes their personalities to those of harmless grubs. One such pupa is trapped between his wimp father, his domineering mother, and the mad doctor Benedict. You've definitely never seen one quite like this before, and it's probably the only film we've covered that was exhibited by New York's Museum of Modern Art. On this episode: a fight with a vacuum cleaner, a lot of insect stock footage, oil massages, insect monologues, the virtues of becoming a drone, queen worship, suspicious parents, questions of paternity, and the future of Beverly's Hose and Lingerie!
This week, we visit the gore-horror-comedy classic - Dead Alive! One of Peter Jackson's early efforts, Dead Alive features buckets more blood than any movie we can think of, before or since! When Lionel's overbearing mother is bitten by the dreaded Sumatran Rat Monkey, a zombie virus is unleashed and Lionel can't keep them tied up in the basement forever. On this episode: the growth in stop-motion effects, offensive native stereotypes, offensive mother stereotypes, offensive monkey stereotypes, tarot readings, protective talismans, zombie procreation, an evil uncle, maternal secrets, and the effects of animal stimulants on zombies!
This week, we go into the gutter - literally - and watch the sequel to 1980's Alligator: 1991's Alligator II - the Mutation! Another alligator is terrorizing a city, while the mayor and a sleazy real estate developer turn a blind eye. It's up to Joseph Bologna and Dee Wallace to save the day. On this episode: an implied election, the importance of alligator origin stories (this movie has none), virtual birthday parties, burnt steak, preposterous romances, oddly placed wrestling matches, severed legs, toxic waste disposal, and a constantly shape-shifting alligator.
This week, we revisit the work of famed exploitation director Jack Hill (Switchblade Sisters) with the queen of blaxploitation pictures - 1973's Coffy! Pam Grier - in her starmaking role - is a nurse with an 11-year old sister on smack, a corrupt politician boyfriend, and a police love-interest. To avenge her sister, Coffy works her way through the criminal underworld, one pimp and drug pusher at a time. On this episode: an exploding head, forced overdose, childhood drug addiction, bad Jamaican accents, lynching by car, murder by hair pin, and a very sexy Pam Grier, armed with a sawed off shotgun and razor blades in her hair!
*I apologize - the initial version of this episode had an audio bug. It's been fixed! Please re-download.
This week, we visit the works of Al Adamson, known for his cheap, drive-in fare. A mysterious cult leader dies, then possesses Nurse Sherri, forcing her to avenge his death. Meanwhile, multiple characters search for his body, determined to destroy him and free Sherri from his grasp. On this episode: inter-office romances, wearing business suits in the desert, a three week long resurrection attempt, car chases, a magical charm bracelet, voodoo practicing grandmothers, and condemnation to a 70s insane asylum.
This week, we visit the works of Al Adamson, known for his cheap, drive-in fare. A mysterious cult leader dies, then possesses Nurse Sherri, forcing her to avenge his death. Meanwhile, multiple characters search for his body, determined to destroy him and free Sherri from his grasp. On this episode: inter-office romances, wearing business suits in the desert, a three week long resurrection attempt, car chases, a magical charm bracelet, voodoo practicing grandmothers, and condemnation to a 70s insane asylum.
This week, we continue our nurse-themed episodes and return to the world of Nick Millard (Criminally Insane) to discuss Death Nurse and Death Nurse II. Priscilla Alden (Crazy Fat Ethel, herself) plays Edith Mortley, a "nurse" who runs a sort of rehab house with her brother, "Doctor" Gordon Mortley. This duo pretends to lovingly care for the sick, but really puts them through gruesome amateur surgeries and buries them on the hill ("more expensive plots") in the backyard. On this episode: diabolical laughter, steak knives for scalpels, trading alcohol for sex, nosy social workers, Nick Millard's family, flashbacks to other movies, a small couch and lengthy dream sequences, and many many hand held camera zoom-ins.
This week, we go vacationing in the British countryside at 1973's Horror Hospital. Michael Gough plays a wheelchair-bound madman with a diabolical scheme to lobotomize unsuspecting guests into an army of slaves. Jason and Judy must escape with their minds intact. On this episode: transvestite fist fights, non-rape intentions, hairy holidays, slave gymnastics, Bond-villain monologues, interchangeable motorcycle guards, a machete car, beheadings, and getting ahead on the backs of others.
This week, we celebrate Christmas along with a feminist Lilith cult, Clint Howard, and a lot of insects. That's right, we watched part four of the Silent Night Deadly Night Franchise - 1990's Initiation. Poor Kim investigates a case of spontaneous combustion, only to wake up naked and shedding (!) in a butcher shop. Also on this episode: incidental Christmas settings, occult bookstores, half-burnt chalk outlines, 90s girl-boss feminism, Clint Howard, big maggots, dog-sized cockroaches, weird metamorphoses, and attempted child sacrifice!
This week, on Video Store Nightmares, we revisit the work of Scooter McCrae (Shatter Dead) with his just recently-released sophomore feature - Sixteen Tongues. Ginny is a genetically engineered prostitute-assassin, staying with her hacker girlfriend in a sleazy hotel. There, they encounter Adrian, a corrupt cop who survived a massacre via skin grafted tongues from his sixteen fallen comrades. On this episode: the appeal of gimp masks, haunting by tongue, clitoral eyelids, engineered blood lust, ubiquitous PornHub, ejaculations of blood, and giving new meaning to the term "cyber-surfing".
This week, we visit John Water's favorite Christmas movie: 1980's Christmas Evil. Poor Harry is doomed to a lifetime of fetishizing Christmas after seeing his mom and Santa doing the nasty under his childhood Christmas tree. Adult Harry just doesn't understand why everyone else doesn't have the same Santa-mindset, tallying up good and bad behavior until the big day. That's when Harry takes it upon himself to punish the bad guys. On this episode: uninformed psychoanalysis, Christmas-time interior decorating, romanticized pasts, an unreliable narrator, confused messaging about class solidarity, toys as weapons, forced philanthropy, and a little Christmas magic.
It's a classic for a reason, folks! This week, we discuss the 1984/1987 once-forgotten, now beloved slasher - Blood Rage! We're sure you remember this Thanksgiving (very) Florida story, in which poor Todd is institutionalized due to being framed for murder by his evil twin - Terry. Decades later, Todd escapes and Terry begins a murderous rampage. Meanwhile, they're mother (Louise Lasser) downs bottles of wine and hysterically cleans the house. On this episode: severed hands, heads, and torsos, gun safety, drive-in condom sales, Florida apartment complexes, the joys of leftovers, Thanksgiving dinner surprises, and absolutely no cranberry sauce.
This week, we talked about the 1973 flick Warlock Moon, as part of a Thanksgiving marathon. Unfortunately, the recording was lost. Good thing we recorded this episode a few months back and had it to share with you - 1968's Twisted Nerve! When a movie starts by warning viewers that there is no established link between homicidal behavior and "Mongolism", you know you're in for something special. On this episode: mysterious joke buttons, exile to Australia, queer theory, genetics bullshit, strategic shoplifting, scissor and hatchet murders, geographic subterfuge and cougaring the wrong cub.
If you're already nostalgic for Halloween, here's the last of our 2022 Halloween episodes. An ancient curse re-awakens one October to plague the Kelly family. In particular, little Sean Kelly is destined to defeat Mr. Jack the Pumpkin Man before it kills him first, foiling the plans of a long-dead wizard, played by the long-dead John Carradine. Co-starring a showering Linnea Quigley! On this episode: awkwardly spliced pre-existing footage, wooden acting, rubber crucifixes, expert scythe-manship, a Volvo-driving witch, Halloween subterfuge, conservative politics, confusing lore, a spook-garage, and community-theater quality frontier footage!
The Varrow Mission (AKA Teen Alien) may not sound like a Halloween movie, but it totally fits into our October line-up! This low budgeter was acted and staffed mostly by local teenagers, and was made entirely on-location in a small town with an old, haunted mill. A group of high-schoolers decide to use the mill as the setting for their Halloween "spook alley", while a rival group - with the help of a teen alien - tries to derail their plans. On this episode: archetypal drunks, abducted moonshine, fat-shaming "Tiny", dollar store Halloween decorations, turntable disco lights, beyond wooden (petrified?) dialogue, shape-shifting/gender bending, teenage hijinks, and yet another department of incompetent law enforcement!
For our second movie of October, we discuss one of television's darkest (and most wonderful) creations: 1981's Dark Night of the Scarecrow. When four men in a small rural community suspect their mentally disabled neighbor of killing a young girl, they execute him. The innocent Bubba returns to life as a scarecrow, hunting down his murderers and avenging his death. On this episode: badass mothers, a very dirty postal uniform, scarecrow faces, the preferability of death by various farm instruments, a Halloween party, pumpkin patches, kids in costumes, and the shame of boarding houses.
And remember: Bubba didn't do it!
This October, we're covering four movies that take place during Halloween. First up, 12-year old Jamie celebrates Halloween by pushing a bully and his girlfriend into a pit of Trolalogs. When he's not sacrificing the "nasty" people in the town to prehistoric monsters, Jamie is snapping nude photos of unsuspecting women, looking up their skirts, coercing them into baths, and otherwise acting like a fucking creep. On this episode: an evil Teddy bear, nude photography theft, bike sabotage, blackboard lessons, monster munching, cohabitating snakes and frogs, absent parents, and a pit full of Trolalogs!
To celebrate our sixtieth episode, and welcome in this year's Halloween season, we count down our top 6 best and worst movies that we've covered on the show. We had a lot of common ground but also some major differences and surprises. Join us as we recollect, reflect, and reconsider our previous 59 Video Store Nightmares!
This week, we revisit the world of Empire Pictures with the 1986 urban reincarnation flick - Necropolis! When a smoking hot biker-babe (LeAnne Baker) - straight out of the 17th Century - visits 1980s New York, it's up to a drug counselor/reverend, an NPR reporter, and a cop to defeat her. Will they succeed, or will the powers of mind control and ecto-lactation win control of the Necropolis? On this episode: multiple gratuitous dance sequences, New York accents in 1600s "New Amsterdam", placebo-withdrawals, prostitute turf-wars, a sassy medical examiner, the multi-life longevity of neck trauma, the Devil's ring, breast-feeding zombies, and spontaneous boob replication!
This week, we're getting down in the gutter, or - more precisely - the sewer beneath a 1970s ramshackle combination brothel-abortion clinic. When a nameless girl's boyfriend tricks her into an abortion, the fetus emerges from the toxic sludge of the sewer to wreak havoc on the varied patrons of Big Mama's place. On this episode: multi-use coat-hangers, Lionel Richie, the blurry line between pro- and anti-abortion film, weaponized umbilical cords, multiple toilet murders, asshole protagonists, stereotyped sex workers, and far too much critical theory.
This week, we explore the post-apocalyptic world of Tim Kincaid! Better known for his extensive filmography in gay porn, Kincaid (AKA Joe Gage) directed three films for Charles Band in the mid-80s, including these two, shot back-to-back with some of the same cast and crew. Mutant Hunt takes place in a future where the 80s never died, where Devo-impersonators with names like "Z" and "Domina" experiment giving psychedelic sex-drugs to "cyborgs" in order to turn them into Mutant Killers. Robot Holocaust explores a post apocalyptic wasteland (just beyond an intact New York City) where feminist warriors, annoying droids, and a mutated nomad battle against the Dark One and his minions. On this episode: repurposed musical scores, truly prophetic technology (e.g. smart watches in the 80s!), expendable pleasure droids, confused terminology, mutating sex drugs, stoic mercenaries, nuclear-wasteland bike trails, avocado cocoons, a giant spider (leg-only), breaking union-strikes via oxygen depravation, lessons in man-hating, and incompetence at every turn!
This week, join us as we discuss one of the best-acted horror films of the '80s - 1981's Night Warning. Poor Billy is caught between his crazy aunt Cheryl (the incredible Susan Tyrell), his gay basketball coach, and the homophobic sheriff who thinks Billy is guilty of murder (the incredible Bo Svenson). They all add up to a classic piece of southern gothic horror, a fine melodrama, and one of the earliest slashers. On this episode: a logging truck beheading, incest vibes, defining hag horror, secret promise rings, basketball sabotage, attic remodels, implied necrophilia, axe chases, meat tenderizer battery, copious milk-drinking, and ill-advised text epilogues.
This week, join us as we revisit the work of Matthew Bright (Squeezit and Renee Henderson in Forbidden Zone), writer and director of the 1996 exploitation flick Freeway. Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland star in this twisted, darkly-comedic, "white trash" take on Little Red Riding Hood. When Vanessa's mother and step-father are busted for prostitution, meth-use, and sexual assault, she runs away to find her grandmother, chased by both the cops and the notorious I-5 Killer. On this episode: phonics lessons, vintage dog food commercials, domestic abuse, guidance counselor manipulation skills, crime fetishism, amateur shiv-making, detention facility lesbianism, gang shootings, a porn-shed, and feeling like a human urinal.
This week, we discuss the little-seen (and never officially released States-side) British shot-on-video saga of a broken man in search of redemption. After he's released from prison, Donovan (writer-composer-choreographer-stuntman-star Cliff Twemlow) is recruited to protect his old employer's nightclub from mob heavies. In the process, he finds love, frolics with his best friend, and sleeps with a giant teddy bear. Also on this episode: terribly choreographed nightclub dancing, well choreographed fist fights complete with martial-arts-style dubbing, repurposed sets, love at first sight, the importance of music, bathroom demonstrations of virility, middle-aged fantasies, overly generous compensation packages, and the 20th Century Renaissance man behind it all!
This week, we tackle our first Lucio Fulci film! Touch of Death is latter-day, low-budget, low-effort Fulci and it shows. We spend most of the film with Lester, yet another dull, spineless, failure-of-a-male-lead. He makes his living by seducing wealthy, older, disfigured women and killing them for their money. It's a tragi-comedy of truly gory proportions. On this episode: English vs Italian dialogue, luxury cannibalism (i.e. savoring that perfect cut of thigh meat), poetic personals, singing as a way of life, an odd gambling side plot, potential schizophrenia, a rebellious shadow, and possible misogyny (trigger warning).
Paul, certainly one of the worst protagonists to be stuck with through the course of a movie, brings home a mysterious man and his jarred demon fetus. Is it symbolic of a gay encounter? The onset of the AIDS epidemic? Christian mysticism? Whatever the case, Paul develops a case of the hallucination bug and we descend into surrealism. While the Jar is certainly not an effective film, it is an interesting and ambitious one. On this episode: a self-deprecating film critic, roadside shenanigans, poor hospitality decisions, a regenerating jar, a bathtub buddy, unwarranted shouting, and several homoerotic crucifixions.
This week, we travel south, to middle-of-nowhere Georgia, and follow a lone Black woman - soul singer Leslie Uggams - as she's stranded at a ramshackle motel owned by Shelley Winters. Throw in a literal Lurch and the titular Elvis-cum-country star Eddie, and you have an especially sleazy slice of southern exploitation. In this episode: racial versus class resentment, the blessings of air conditioning, mechanical malpractice, multiple forms of sexual assault, drunken justice, competing wedding dresses, and slow motion dog breeding.
This week, we journey into a zombie apocalypse unlike any other. Apparently, the Angel of Death has impregnated a mortal, leading to the end of death itself. Scooter McCrae's shot-on-video vision is as bleak as they come, its dread only occasionally disrupted by the darkest humor. Is McCrae making a religious statement? An attack on sexual norms? Whatever his intent, his zombies are a uniquely sympathetic contribution to the ranks of horror movie monsters. On this episode: hermaphroditic angels, a hypocritical preacher, multiple car-jackings, safe-houses for the living, the importance of soap in the apocalypse, the dread of permanent mutilation, the existential confusion of life-after-death, and a new kind of gun-lover.
This week, we revisit the films of Joe D'Amato, specifically his 1981 Anthropophagus follow-up - Monster Hunter. George Eastman stars as a regenerative Greek psycho-killer on the run in a faux-American small town. His pursuer is a priest, who honestly doesn't do much monster hunting, or much of anything to stop Eastman from murdering a slew of victims and trapping a bed-ridden child in her house. On this episode: head-sawing, head-cooking, head-severing, a proggy Goblinesque musical score, regenerative powers, mysterious spinal ailments, predictions of trauma, and creative solutions for your office storage needs!
This week, we discuss J.R. Bookwalter's 1991 shot-on-video suburban nightmare - Kingdom of the Vampire. Jeff lives alone with his mother in a run-down suburban neighborhood. Secretly, they are the last vampires and Jeff's mother is as bloodthirsty as they come. Will he give into his urges or protect his new girlfriend, Nina? On this episode: girl-scout eating, kitten chomping, multiple hammer blows to multiple heads, profound observations about "the night", the vampire aging process, an unnerving sheriff, convenience store cleanups, and some of the most dramatic scream-crying in horror history.
It's been a while and we've missed you! This week, we're back to discuss the 1971 occult oddity: Simon - King of the Witches! Written by a practicing warlock, Simon is a strange, meandering film that nevertheless gives an enthralling glimpse into occult practices and the 1970s. In this episode: sewer-drain occupancy, bougie parties, homosexual undertones, magnetic-electric spells, a glowing phallic magical talisman, erections lasting for longer than four hours, undercover narcotics investigations, a corrupt district attorney and one dose of effluvium!
If you've ever wanted your American fashion-giallos with an exclamation mark, check out Night Ripper! Writer-director Jeff Hathcock is better known for "Victims!" - also adorned with an exclamation point - but isn't quite as overtly misogynistic in this one; though, he does channel some eye-rolling prejudice through star Larry Thomas (Seinfeld's the Soup Nazi). Shot-on-video, and apparently without talent, Night Ripper! nevertheless manages to be oddly charming. On this episode: ubiquitous infidelity, questionable photography sessions, short-cut knife murders, repeated reading of newspaper articles, labored mannequin metaphors, some surprisingly creepy literal mannequins, flood-lamp fatigue, and long-groovy driving scenes.
We're back, after a break, for season two of Video Store Nightmares! Join us to discuss master exploitation director Jack Hill's foray into high school gang-turf-warfare: Switchblade Sisters. New girl in town - Maggie - helps turn the all-girl Dagger Debs (a sister gang to the all-male Silver Daggers) into a ferocious, independent force. Meanwhile, she's engaged in a power struggle with Lace, the ostensibly tough gang leader who secretly dreams of domestic bliss with fellow gang captain Dominic. Switchblade Sisters pays homage to drive-in juvenile delinquency films that came before, while influencing scores of exploitation film-makers to come. On this episode: an elevator assault, an abusive juvie warden, toilet bowl swirlies, teenage drug pushers, charity fraud, fights over student-union influence, acquiescent adults, derelict cops, teen pregnancy, a roller-rink massacre, Black-power socialists, ubiquitous switch blades, and ostracizing the poor girl who "lost an eye for this gang!"
This week, we revisit the work of John Waters, and one of the original midnight movies, with 1972's Pink Flamingos. This is the film that solidified John Waters and Divine as the reigning duo of filth and set the precedent for decades of cult films to come. Watch as Divine and her family do battle against the criminal Buttons over the tabloid title of "Filthiest Person Alive"! On this episode: oh, who are we kidding? What won't be on this episode!? Pink Flamingos is simply the paragon of bad taste.
This week, we confine ourselves to the mysterious Asylum of Satan, where blind, mute, paralyzed and hysterical patients await miracles, while white robed figures mill about eating solitary eggs. That's right, it's one of those is-she-or-isn't-she insane 70s paranoia flicks! Poor Lucina knows there's something off about Dr. Spector (aside from his pasted on goatee), but can her fiance Chris figure things out before it's too late? On this episode: psychiatric gaslighting, a cross-dressing head nurse, crimes against facial hair, abundant polyester, face-eating spiders, swimming snakes, not-so-virgin sacrifices, medical negligence, Satanic ceremonies, a rubber demon, video box hyperbole, and Nick Jolley's sole contribution to both film acting and country music!
This week, we check out another Donald G. Jackson true-original: 1986's Roller Blade. If you've ever wondered what the world would be like in a post-apocalyptic alternative universe, in which the '80s never died, everyone travels by roller skate, and the dialect is inexplicably King James-inspired, this is the flick for you! The Cosmic Order of Roller Blade (led by Mother Speed) faces off against the evil Doctor Saticoy and the results have to be seen to be believed. On this episode: a holy healing hot-tub, roving skateboard punks, a clumsy kidnapping victim (and our own childhood struggles with skates), a sentient hand puppet, the utility of roller skates for paraplegics, ubiquitous butterfly knives, weapons as "tools of healing", arbitrary resurrection limits, a magical dog, and the divinity of smiley-faces.
This week, join us as we travel to the Michigan of the 1970s and witness the summoning of a demon! Sam Raimi may have done it better, but Donald G. Jackson and Jerry Youngkin's sole celluloid collaboration has to be seen to be believed (that goes for most Jackson films). Youngkin stars as a lustrous-maned coven leader who wreaks demonic revenge on his less-dogmatic coven members when some refuse to give up their virginity in a ritual orgy. What follows is a testament to ineptitude as our titular Gwar castoff manhandles listless "teenagers" with nothing better to do than dance badly in Youngkin's castle. On this episode: missing fingers, a Frank Zappa lookalike, Satanism vs bourgeois mentalities, comic book artist allusions, a car seizure, a club for psychics, Gunnar Hansen, gratuitous karate, payment for gas via the Last Supper, shaving cream fighting, a crumbling castle, and gunning down a demon courtesy of Ted Nugent!
This week, join us for a movie that has more than one identity crisis: the 1971 grindhouse-slasher-psychedelic-sleaze-crossdressing-horror-comedy-melodrama - Sometimes Aunt Martha Does Dreadful Things. In this one, a pair of jewel thieves on the run in Florida (of course) develop an increasingly odd relationship as one adopts the persona of a fictional "Aunt Martha" while the other cavorts with hippy chicks who sexually terrorize him. Complicating factors, Aunt Martha wants her nephew/partner/lover all to herself and is willing to kill anyone who gets in her way. On this episode: lonely neighbors, snakeskin pants, garden shed parties, girls as sexual aggressors, forced haircuts, topless dancing, the wisdom of the Zodiac, groovy records, freeze-frame murders, movie studio cat-and-mouse, and an emergency C-section!
This week, we go a bit more mainstream with the 1988 update/remake of the Blob, written by Frank Darabont and directed by Chuck Russell. Despite the large budget, this is still a relatively (and surprisingly) subversive film, defying our expectations and twisting the original film's story into a middle finger to the Reagan Administration's military muscle flexing. A gelatinous mass makes a surprisingly frightening villain, aided by some of the best practical special effects of all time. On this episode: nefarious government bureaucrats, motorcycle chases, industrial snow machine repair, hand-melting, face-melting, body-melting, an apocalyptic reverend, ribbed condoms, the horrors of clogged drains, phonebooth claustrophobia, sewer chases, and possible inspiration by Jackie Kong's the Being!
This week, join us as we travel to the land (and house) of Nick Millard, the porn director who hit gold with 1975's grindhouse classic: Criminally Insane. Priscilla Alden plays "Crazy Fat Ethel", the 250 lb food addict who kills anyone trying to get between her and food. Some scenes of Ethel's brutality proved so effective that Millard re-used them in Criminally Insane II...and Death Nurse...and Death Nurse II. In fact, as he moved into shot-on-video fare in the 80s, Millard made flashbacks to Criminally Insane one of his trademarks, along with camcorder zooms, scenes set in his house, and uncomfortably long shots of people staring into space or eating. On this episode: the utility of electric shock therapy, casual anti-Semitism, pad-lock diet plans, oversized school-girl outfits, a nosy police investigator, roadside hijinks, decomposing bodies, Lysol to the face, meat cleaver killings, mannequin massacres, cannibalism, asylum budget cuts, spider-dances, and the requisite temperature of poisoned tea.
This week, travel with us to Germany for one of the sleazier Exorcist cash-ins. Made by the guy most famous for the "Schoolgirl Report" series, "Magdalena" features a 39-year-old playing a 17-year-old who spends a good portion of her time both possessed and undressed. When her grandfather dies by crucifixion, poor Magdalena begins to suffer all the typical possession symptoms - talking in voices, having seizures, foaming at the mouth, yelling obscenities, and vomiting up snakes. Also on this episode: a boarding school for adults who pretend to be children, a pointless police procedural, a gratuitous lesbian couple, a vicious invisible dog, invisible flies, unrelated poltergeist activity, an inspirational kitten poster, strong-girl Bible ripping, doctor-patient romance, mental health retreats, bowling alley seduction, instant hypnosis, and some of the greatest lines of dialogue ever filmed!
This week, we're revisiting the world of Action International Pictures (AIP) with the 1992 "erotic thriller" Mind, Body & Soul. This one's got a twist involving Wings Hauser that you'll never see coming (or...immediately see coming) and features Ginger Lynn in one of her first "mainstream" roles. If you thought the Satanic Panic ended with the 80s, think again. On this episode: 90-day anniversary celebrations, questionable friend groups, surprise sacrifices, multi-purpose sets, law enforcement consolidation, memoir-writing, dream sequences, car chases, shoot-outs, Pentagrams as defensive weapons, floating demon faces, demons as herbalists, and the simmering rage of Wings Hauser.
This week, join us as we discuss writer-director-novelist and "World's Angriest Gay Man" James Dillinger's only foray into film - Blonde Death from 1984. Bleeding Skull recently ranked Blonde Death as the greatest shot-on-video film of all time. It's a little known artifact of the punk era, shot on a mere $2,000 budget and combining elements of John Waters, Richard Kern, Kenneth Anger and Russ Meyer into one scream against suburban mediocrity. On this episode: the California suburbs, televangelists, bare bottomed spankings, Scarlet O'Hara dresses, a one-eyed lesbian, escaped mass murderers, punishment by enema, cyanide and Tang, baby oil handjobs, the dangers of roller coasters, the bites of an "amputee kid", Jonestown exploitation, and a soundtrack by the Angry Samoans!
This week, join us as we travel the deepest level of the gutter, the grimiest seats of the grindhouse, and discuss the 1970 Roberta and Michael Findlay-produced Janie. The story is simple: a teenager goes on a killing spree while preparing to reunite with her Daddy, with whom she has an incestuous relationship. On this episode: an unending, improvised acid-rock score, subversive voice-over narration by Roberta Findlay, sexual humiliation, death by car, death by knife, death by razor blade, pool-trespassing, violent flashbacks, sadistic masturbation, domestic violence, and going to bed with Daddy.
To celebrate Christmas and ring in the New Year, we bring you a bonus episode on the 1989 cult flick - Elves - the film-present nobody asked for but everybody needs. How can you possibly experience the Christmas Spirit without a reminder that a homeless mall-Santa/ex-detective once thwarted a Nazi plot to usher in the Master Race and the Anti-Christ by having a genetically engineered elf rape an inbred virgin? As if you needed more, on this episode: art-deco boobs, a Ninja troll, big-tit admiration, new levels of chain-smoking, the real passengers of Noah's Ark, cat-drowning, car explosions, ball-knifing, late-night mall shenanigans and eviction from a camper.
This week, join us as we try to make sense of the turgid, muddled, borderline-incoherent Frozen Scream from 1975. If you're new to the podcast, don't start here. This episode, just like this movie, is a mess, but we suffered through it so you don't have to. On this episode: poor dubbing, even worse voice-over narration, frozen zombies, sleeping while standing, beach bonfire ceremonies, sleep hypnosis, interpreting meaningless dreams, a horrid Bill Haley rip ("Jack Around the Shack"), theft as a declaration of love, evil doctors, love triangles, and the pursuit of immortality.
This week, join us as we take to the streets to battle the forces of evil that plague our city via drugs, violence and sin! Oh, wait...that's the executioner. The inappropriately named Executioner, Part II isn't the sequel to anything but is in debt to a whole genre of Vietnam Vet Vigilante films of the 70s and 80s. On this episode: teenage drug habits, PTSD flashbacks, sleazy drug pushers, even sleazier child-prostitution traffickers, grenades down pants, confusing dubbing, confusing stunt casting, confusing news reports, a confusing title, and numerous stock explosions!
After a few weeks offline, we are back to discuss the 1990s shot-on-video sleazefest: Creep! This is truly a one-of-a-kind movie featuring an escaped serial killer, his sister, and the cop with childhood trauma out to catch him. If you haven't seen a Tim Ritter flick before, this is the perfect place to start. On this episode: baby food poisoning, police department nepotism, childhood trauma, booze-diets, strip routines, hot tub shenanigans, mass murder, incest, necrophilia, morally questionable messaging, and America's favorite nymphomaniac!
This week, join us as we discuss an obscure straight-to-video gem from 1989. Beyond Dream's Door started as a student film at Ohio State University but it's one of the more effective that we've seen, successfully evoking the stories - and sometimes moods - of our dreams. On this episode: forgotten dreams out for revenge, a janitor without hands, a dream seductress without clothes, a monster without skin, a creepy little brother, a trickster professor, mediocre acting, an evocative score, as well as discussions of our own dreams and nightmares.
Note: This episode starts with a disclaimer due to audio issues and problems recording. Despite the less-than-stellar sound, we still feel this episode can be listened to an enjoyed.
This week, join us as we try our best Hy Pyke accents and discuss a true Halloween classic - 1988's HackoLantern! This is a blast of 80s cheese, nonsense, and Halloween feels. If you've seen it, you know. If you haven't, watch it! Then check out this episode in the run-up to Halloween. On this episode: a lot of atrociously weird acting, a masked killer with an ever-shifting body type, incestuous rape, a DC Lacroix music video/dream sequence, a Satanic closet-shrine, a prominent graveyard setting, pentagram branding, an abundance of gratuitous nudity, soul transference and possibly the worst stand up comedy routine ever featured in a film.
This week, join us for one of our favorite movies to watch during the Halloween season, 1979's Phantasm! We watched this movie together as teenagers and spend this episode comparing notes after 20-odd years. The movie holds up as a 70s time capsule and a teenage nightmare; plus, it spawned a decades-long franchise that's still going strong with writer-director Don Coscarelli. If you haven't seen Phantasm, you're truly missing out! On this episode: a very tall man (made taller by platform shoes and too-small suits), a cool-kid-hero, an homage to (or plagiarism of) Dune, killer dwarves, front porch sing-a-longs, a heroic ice cream man, an angry red planet, flying driller-killer spheres and one of the greatest horror movie scores of all time!
This week, join us as we discuss Jackie Kong's first foray into horror and film - the Being. This is pro-environment, anti-toxic waste amateur hour featuring Kong's husband as possibly the most bored protagonist in movie history. Luckily, he's facing off against a very fast, very slimey, very phallic one-eyed monster that's ravaging the nation's spud capitol. On this week's episode: creepy film intros, a headless chicken, three Oscar-winners, harmless radiation, missing children, big-money potatoes, racist cops, drive-in pranks, slime puddles, Mr. Kong's stunt penis, an elongated climax and the titular Being!
This week, join us as we mix things up and Leland hosts for a change! We covered the 1968 pseudo-giallo - Death Laid an Egg (released in America as Plucked). On this episode: an amazing avant-contemporary musical score, the use of anthropomorphized chickens in advertising for...chicken, bloody prostitute killings, mistaking maternalism for incest, mutant chickens, graphic animal killings, melodramatic meltdowns, slaughterhouse bossa-nova tunes, and the benefits of English dubbing in Italian film.
This week, join us as we discuss our bad motel experiences and the film that surpasses them: Mountaintop Motel Massacre. This atypical slasher features a cast of authentic, mostly unlikeable, visitors to Evelyn's roadside cabins. Please do not disturb Evelyn. She already is! On this week's episode: a guinea pig murder, pseudo-occultism, motel horror stories, a drunk reverend, two future country music stars, a (suspect) Columbia Records owner, a conveniently-equipped carpenter, frugal newlyweds, tiny furniture, a killer "rattle" snake, rats, roaches and a system of underground tunnels perfectly sized for a maniacal geriatric mother.
This week, join us as we discuss the obscure 1976 social-nightmare-sex-melodrama - Whose Child Am I? If you ever wanted to see an after school special without the characteristic moral messaging but with softcore sex and incest, look no further! (Or, look forever, as this one is hard to find.) On this episode: the horror of barren marriages, invitro versus "natural" insemination, vaginal temperature checking, 50 cent wine, the radical feminist agenda, the right of motherhood, gendered roles in gay relationships, African sperm, father-daughter incest, courtroom drama, and...a happy ending for all!
This week, join us as we discuss German underground film-maker Olaf Ittenbach's masterpiece: the Burning Moon. This shot-on-video classic features two stories spun by a nihilistic, heroin-addict teenager. In one, a girl's family is threatened by an escaped asylum patient. The other features a descent into hell unlike any other we've seen! On this episode: possibly the worst-ever job interview performance, the perils of blind dating, a road rage decapitation, butter fingers, forced eyeball eating, blood sacrifices, Satanism, the humor and horror of excess, drill to the teeth, corkscrew to the guts, machete to the face, shotgun to the chest, fire to the eyes, and - of course - a burning moon!
This week, join us as we discuss one of cult Spanish film-maker Jose Ramon Larraz's early works: 1971's Deviation. This follows the now-familiar story of a bickering couple who breaks down on a lonely road and takes shelter in a nearby mansion. If you're familiar with Spanish horror, you probably have some idea of where it goes from there. On this episode: cultural perceptions of romantic age gaps, another creepy taxidermist, another borderline incestuous sibling set, drug-fueled orgy "sessions", another spin on the highway diversion trope, a lascivious pharmacist, bewildering time gaps, a mumbling cat lady, mysterious occult practices and a wonderful psychedelic score by Stelvio Cipriani.
This week, join us as we discuss the beloved straight-to-video low-budgeter from 1987: The Video Dead. Whether you remember this from the video store, late night cable, or an over-priced eBay auction, odds are you remember it fondly. If you haven't seen it, watch it now! Then, check out this episode which features: the debut of that greasy strangler - Michael St. Michaels, a haunted TV, aerobics majors, a drowned David Bowie lookalike, a pissed off bride, zombies with senses of humor, a diminutive chainsaw, Texas stereotypes, teenage seduction, a virtual garbage man and lots and lots of mirrors. Plus, you get a bonus conversation about 80s versus post-Scream horror.
This week, join us as we take a disturbing trip into childhood trauma and its aftermath in The Witch Who Came From The Sea. This one plays like a true nightmare and succeeded in disturbing us with its realistic suggestions of child abuse and the series of castration-killings that our grown-up protagonist commits. On this episode: beach-side bodybuilding, idealized father figures, a scary tattoo parlor, casual bondage and mutilation, missing time, addiction to painkillers, the reality of television and the Little Mermaid.
This week, join us as we dive into the world of Russ Meyer, certainly a requisite for any cult cinema show. Meyer released Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (an all-time great movie title) on his independent VHS label - Bosomania - and it lives up to the title, with three buxom go-go dancers giving into their violent fantasies. On this episode: the violence in women (and men), Russ Meyer's cinematic influence, politically incorrect descriptive names, siderodromophobia (fear of trains), 60s aesthetics, shifting tenets of feminism, and the Meyer trio: big breasts, fast cars and sudden death!
This week, join us as we go back to Italy for a zombie-cannibal-mad scientist mashup film filled with rank xenophobia, in which we learn that "all primitive societies practiced cannibalism!" We actually watched different versions: the American Dr. Butcher, streamlined for maximum carnage, and the European Zombie Holocaust, chock full of those pesky plot details. Spoiler alert: the plot differences didn't get in the way of our story, whatsoever. On this episode: the Italian obsession with New Yorkers, the strength of upper-story hospital windows, heart-eating, gut-eating, eye-eating, zombie mind control, baseless suspicions, a sexy nurse-anthropologist, the infamous cult of Kito, and Ian McCulloch to the rescue!
This week, join us as we discuss a true grindhouse double feature: Andy Warhol's Flesh for Frankenstein and Blood for Dracula. Both of director Paul Morrisey's films use the same crew and cast and offer radically different takes on these works of classic literature. They're probably as high-brow as we'll get here on Video Store Nightmares. On this episode: the sexual allure of Joe Dallesandro, Udo Kier's histrionics, a gall-bladder fetish, Serbian ideals, incestual marriage, virgin meat, vegetarianism and the merits of socialism in the face of vampiric aristocracy.
This week, join us as we discuss the 1977 low-budget oddity - the Child. This flick plays like an amateur cross between Night of the Living Dead, the Omen and that Twilight Zone episode about the family terrorized by its evil kid. Effective in spots (and decidedly not in others), this film even includes proto-Evil Dead techniques in its extra-foggy dreamscape. On this episode: stage-acting for the camera, disorienting camera work, unseen forest creatures, disappearing dogs, poisoned boy scouts, unnecessarily long chase scenes, childhood hit lists, zombie friends, a useless heroine and - of course - one evil child.
This week, join us as we discuss Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz's first film: the low-budget, art-house, dream-like Messiah of Evil. Although, it remained unfinished by the film-makers and was edited and scored under the direction of disgruntled investors, this produced some of the eeriest scenes in horror history. On this episode: an isolated gas station, albino truck driver, dueling voice-over narratives, travelling companions, beach-side bonfires, myth collecting, beach-rat delicacies, and zombies at your local town square, grocery store and movie theater.
This week, join us as we discuss the debut film of Rinse Dream AKA Stephen Sayadian. This is an avant-garde theater piece with an X rating and some of the strangest set pieces you're likely to find in any movie. On this episode: nuclear-enforced chastity, a rat milkman, mutant babies, a scary secretary, celebrity impersonations, lots of fog, new wave music and clothes, scandalous virginity and the one-and-only Johnny Rico!
This week, join us as we discuss the debut movie of Italian master Lamberto Bava (son of Mario), who would go on to helm the notorious Demons franchise. This twisted psychodrama is a slow burn until all its drama comes to a head in an especially nasty climax. On this episode: diagnosing personality disorders in children, indifferent parenting, sexual trysts, a car accident beheading, sadistic teasing, unique masturbation techniques and one freezer surprise!
*Due to technical difficulties, this episode has some sound problems, such as crackling in the background. We apologize for this and will be working to resolve the issue before next week's episode.
This week, join us as we discuss the notorious Wizard Video release and Video Nasty: 1971's The Headless Eyes. Like the films of Frank Henenlotter and Abel Ferrara, this film captures the grungy and sleazy - yet oddly charming - atmosphere of 1970/80s New York City. Watch as our protagonist runs crazily through the streets and gouges out eyes to add to his avant garde art. On this episode: the brilliant library music of Roger Roger, irritating audio loops, the appeal of financial self-sufficiency, apathetic news reporters, eye gouging, eye scooping, eye freezing, eye art, intermittent voice-over narration and blossoming romance between misanthropic introverts.
This week, join us as we discuss John Michael McCarthy's 1995 homage to the sexploitation films of the past. Imagine the films of John Waters, Russ Meyer, David Lynch and Jack Hill all rolled into one, with a rockabilly sheen and '90s spirit. On this episode: pregnancy confirmation by mail, mother-daughter feuds, manhating lesbians, undiscovered twins, magical realist tattoo sessions, a mysterious school bus abode, small town alienation and lots and lots of bare breasts.
This week, join us as we discuss the 1977 Mexican nunsploitation classic: Alucarda. This has a cult following now but we remember it being an obscure video in the video store as if it was yesterday! Directed by friend and collaborator of Alejandro Jodorowsky: Juan Moctezuma, who brings a sense of surrealism to the proceedings. On this episode: ambivalent time periods, alternative convent fashion, a perfectly harmless goat man, lots of secrets, blood pacts, Satanic possession, flagellation, lightning storm (with blood rain), and not-so-spontaneous combustions.
This week, strap on your adult diapers and join us as we discuss the 1973 psycho-dramatic horror film: the Baby. It's probably safe to say that there is not any other film quite like the Baby and yet it epitomizes a certain kind of 1970s schlock. This one is under-appreciated and under-discussed. On this episode: the finances of welfare-reliance, idiosyncratic hair styles, the joys of feeding other people's children, the perils of social work, the ethics of breastfeeding, cattle prods, crib-incest, live burials, twist endings, and just one skin freak.
This week, join us as we discuss possibly the weirdest shark movie to come out of Italy (or any country for that matter). This oddity is part adventure movie, part Jaws ripoff, part crime drama and part psychic beings of the Bermuda triangle who hypnotize sharks as their guards...or...something like that. The eclectic score by Stelvio Cipriani (Tentacles) features hauntingly beautiful underwater themes unlike anything we've heard before. On this episode: the ethics of love triangles, post-amnesia dating, gangsters and their theme music, the dangers of model planes, sleeping sharks, ugly dolls, mass suicide, underwater lightning, the perils of curtains, shark dismemberments, ancient civilizations, and lots and lots of shootouts.
This week, join us as we discuss Claudio Fragasso's 1990 giallo - somehow both derivative and remarkably unique - Nightkiller! Yes, the creator of such masterpieces as Troll 2 and Rats: Night of Terror applied his unique perspective (with help from Bruno Mattei) to the Italian slasher world. On this episode: the theatrical pedigree of aerobics, exposition via newscast, exposition via breast massage, exposition via clinical diagnosis, curing amnesia through trauma, Little Red Riding Hood re-enactment, Freddy Krueger costuming, and an adult man molested in the little boys' room!
This week, join us as we discuss the 1979 Joe D'Amato gore-fest: Beyond the Darkness, also known as Buio Omega and Buried Alive. Is this movie scary? Disgusting? Offensive? Repulsive? Maybe all of the above. On this episode: a musical score by Goblin, Italian voodoo practices, a dead baboon, adult breastfeeding, fingernail ripping, a hitchhiker acid bath, burning alive, twin sisters, a taxidermied fiancee and possibly the greatest gore effects of all time!
This week, join us as we discuss Richard and Danny Elfman's first celluloid adventure. This absurdist musical fantasy has something to offend and delight everyone. On this episode: Cab Calloway and Josephine Baker, blackface vs clownface, paper mache sets (and frogs), human chandeliers, armed teachers, Andy Warhol superstar Viva, the limits of chickens as allies, Danny Elfman as Satan and Susan Tyrell as the Queen of the Sixth Dimension!
This week, join us as we discuss John Waters's 1974 trashterpiece! On this episode: meatball sandwiches, cha-cha heels, social transgressions, queerness vs heteronormativity, teen motherhood and the merits of abortion, crime-as-beauty, liquid eyeliner, noodle-prejudices, and giving new meaning to the phrase "go fuck yourself."
This week, join us as we discuss Paul Bartel's 1972 horror-comedy-romance-"psychosexual" film about the residents of a derelict hotel. On this episode: homosexual priests, aquatic blow-up dolls, blood syringes, vagrant-sex photography and transgenderism vs familial abuse.
This week, join us as we discuss the drive-in classic and "sickest PG movie ever made" - 1971's Blood and Lace. On this episode: hammer murders, proto-slashers, the origin of the POV-killer shot, perverse child welfare systems, the promise of cryogenics and incest!