Half Price Horror: Recent Episodes
Half Price Horror
A deep dive into the half-price horror rack of the local used bookstore, coming away with classics, cult treasures, and the strangest stories the genre has to offer.
Mick Garris is well known as one of Stephen King's go-to directors for adaptations of his work. But some of those adaptations are more famous than others, and this is definitely one of the lesser-known King films. And why might that be? Well, let's take a look and find out!
What do you get when you combine Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Carol Kane, Adam Driver, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Chloe Sevigny, the RZA, Danny Glover, Austin Butler, Selena Gomez, Steve Buscemi, Rosie Perez, Caleb Landry Jones, Larry Fessenden, Sturgill Simpson, and a whole horde of marauding, flesh-eating zombies? You get a dry, deadpan, uniquely Jarmuschian horror-comedy, 2019's 'The Dead Don't Die', and Half Price Horror has a LOT to say about it.
Back when I was six years old, my parents went to the new-fangled "video stores" that were just becoming popular in the early 80s and rented one of their favorite silly, cheesy sci-fi horror movies to play in their new "VCR" for their kids. I'd been scared by films before, but this was the first time I watched a horror movie and it changed me forever. So join me for my 150th episode, gentle listeners, as I discuss the impact of my first scary movie... 1958's 'The Blob'.
Love it or hate it, the rape/revenge movie is a subgenre with a long and venerable history, and it's safe to say that Stephen King was bound to dip into it sooner or later. Likewise, the Lifetime network has its own long history of making movies about feminist empowerment through brutal violence against the men who do women wrong. So is this a match made in heaven, or a campy misfire? Take a listen and find out!
When Robert Eggers released his debut feature, 'The VVitch', everyone wanted to know what he was going to do for his next movie. And when it turned out to be a surreal black-and-white two-hander with an opaque and deliberately confusing storyline, a double unreliable narrator, and plenty of homoerotic subtext? They couldn't stop talking about it! And now neither can I.
'#Horror' might have the world's worst SEO, but is it worth tracking down through the sea of movies, books, TV shows and radio plays also tagged as "#horror"? Well, before you go to the effort, why don't you listen for a spell to this episode and find out if you want to spend the time and energy on it. Because for better or worse, I already did.
Maverick indie director Frank Henenlotter burst onto the scene in 1982 with a horror movie that felt like a punk rock anthem, a grimy love letter to the seedy underbelly of New York as seen through the lens of two dysfunctional brothers and their blood-soaked quest for revenge. And if that doesn't sound awesome to you yet, listen to this episode and you'll see what makes it great!
Stephen King directed exactly one movie in his life, and I'm genuinely not sure whether 1986's Maximum Overdrive proves that he should never direct another or that he should direct all of them. Join Half Price Horror for a discussion of exercise in 80s excess with the biggest, loudest, AC/DCiest flick of the decade, 'Maximum Overdrive'!
Horror mainstay Emily Hagins has been making scary movies since middle school--and here's the proof! Join HPH for a deep dive into a zombie movie written, directed, and shot on video by a twelve year old girl, and all the interesting discussions that brings along with it!
They say that if at first you don't succeed, try try again... so why not go back to Stephen King's short story "Trucks" a decade after it was adapted as a feature film and turn it into a made-for-TV movie starring Timothy Busfield? Well, it turns out there may be reasons, and we're going to get into each and every one of them!
As with most series, the 'It's Alive' trilogy inevitably got a reboot somewhere in the Oughts. Is this movie a quick and cheap attempt to cash in on a recognizable name, or does it have something interesting to offer despite being a remake from a remake-happy era? And do the screenwriters know what babies actually are and what they do? Well, there's only one way to find out!
It's an adaptation of HP Lovecraft, directed by the great Stuart Gordon and starring Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, and Ken Foree! All coming out just a year after Gordon's hit film 'Re-Animator', and yet somehow it doesn't even get half the love of that cult classic. Come listen to an episode on it and let's see if we can't change all that.
Larry Cohen returns to the 'It's Alive' franchise one final time with this over-the-top celebration of everything wonderful about his maverick, high-concept style. Do you want to hear about a courtroom scene with stop-motion mutant babies? Do you want to hear about this film's influences on 'The Lost World'? Well strap in, because we've got a wild ride for you!
If there's one thing that feels like it should guarantee comedy gold, it's taking the satirical series "The Office" and combining it with a gruesome and gory horror premise. So why did 'Severance', a movie that asks the question, "What if the cast of 'The Office' wandered into 'Wrong Turn'?", fall so flat? Well, listen to the episode and find out!
More and more mutant babies are being born every day, and the government has decided to kill them in the delivery room rather than see them survive. Is it a metaphor for the generational clash that defined the 60s? Is it a commentary on the complicated fears surrounding parenting? Is it another Larry Cohen exploitation flick that we're about to do a deep dive into? The answer to all of it is "yes"!
Every once in a while, a new voice in cinema comes along to remind us that there's no such thing as a stale trope. Sure, we've all seen vampire movies... but have you seen a black-and-white Iranian feminist vampire romance with notes of Sergio Leone? Come along with HPH and explore this fascinating twist on a traditional tale!
"There's only one thing wrong with the Davis baby... It's Alive." One of the best slogans of the 70s heralds the introduction to maverick guerrilla director Larry Cohen and his iconic creations, the mutant babies with a telepathic ability to sense hatred and a vicious anger at anyone who would try to harm them. Let's dig into the whole weird, wonderful, shlocky, social-commentary heavy thing!
Some people call it the beginning of Romero's second zombie trilogy. Me, I think it's the perfect capper to the cycle of films he began all the way back in 1968 with 'Night of the Living Dead'. And maybe after you listen to this episode on the biggest-budget, most star-studded of all of the 'Dead' films, you'll agree!
We've stepped outside of the continuity of the 'Elm Street' films, but that doesn't mean there's no Freddy. And it certainly doesn't mean there's no danger. That's right, it's time for a deep dive into the trippy world of metafiction as the cast of the original 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' is menaced by the dream demon they created... perhaps... in 1994's 'Wes Craven's New Nightmare'!
So what happens when your visionary star director dips, your Oscar-winning screenwriter goes to jail, and a bunch of angry nerds have notes on how to make your sequel more like a video game? You get 'Silent Hill: Revelation', that's what! Come on over and hear about the beleaguered production, its many expositional speeches and dodgy accents, and the five minutes in the middle that make it all worthwhile.
We come here today to remember a man who was always generous with his laughter, who gave unstintingly of his time and attention to the vulnerable youths not just of Springwood but to the neighboring towns and cities. A father, a craftsman, and a survivor. It's time at last to put Freddy into the ground... and if he won't stay down, this episode will talk about the reasons why.
A patch of ground where the dead won't stay buried. A loving husband who gets sucked into a supernatural nightmare. Revenants who rise from their grave filled with a murderous hatred for the living. And yet, it's somehow not 'Pet Sematary'! It's not even an Italian knock-off - this is 'Zeder', an overlooked gem from 1983 that combines conspiracy thriller and zombie flick to create something strange and new and inventive. Join me for a deep dive into its mysteries!
The 80s are ending, the Satanic Panic is fading fast as we transition from Reagan to Bush... but you know what people are still freaking out about? Teen pregnancy! So naturally it's time for Freddy to menace a teen mom as we dig into the last of the "dream powers" trilogy of 'Nightmare' movies, 'A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child'. Come on and join in!
Time to take a detour into British Gothic horror, as we examine one of the few non-anthology films to come from Amicus and find out exactly what happens when the screaming starts!
With 'Dream Warriors' seemingly providing an infallible formula for the success of the franchise, New Line was quick to capitalize on their hit by rushing a new installment into theaters. But a shortened schedule and a writer's strike made this film into its own production nightmare--did they wake up to heaps of money and critical praise? Listen to this episode and find out!
Time to take a look at an 80s cult classic that's not to be confused with 'The Pit' or 'The Keep' - this one's about the kids who dig a hole all the way to Hell while looking for geodes in the backyard and unleash horrors beyond imagining. Join us for an exploration of childhood terrors, model rocketry, and stark body horror all wrapped up in a family-friendly package!
Time for a bit of a hawt take, as we take a look at the single most popular installment of the 'Nightmare' franchise and suggest that maybe, just maybe, taking the single bleakest script Wes Craven ever wrote and crashing it straight into Chuck Russell's "spooky carnival ride" aesthetic - then adding a helping of sexual assault - might have produced something that's a little bit of a trainwreck. Agree? Disagree? Listen to the podcast and find out where we're getting it from!
"I'm changing specialties, Doctor Grant." It's a small sentence, but it's got a big impact as Mary Mason goes from rising-star medical student to illegal mob doctor, professional torturer, and "extreme body modifier" for a niche community of body mod enthusiasts in this extremely unconventional crime/horror movie. Are you ready to find out all the things people can do to themselves and each other? Then let's dive in!
It's 1985 - do you know what your children are dreaming about? Of course they're dreaming about Freddy, in a sequel that's decidedly different and very interesting to discuss! We get into the film's queer subtext, its very nearly queer text, and the bizarre decision to include a murder parakeet in what's ostensibly a horror movie.
Who'd have thunk that a 90s video game would lead to one of the best Southern Gothics ever committed to film? Join us for every convoluted plot twist, every decaying building, every collision of past and present as we dig into 2006's 'Silent Hill'!
We've dug deep into Jason, we've analyzed Michael to death, but there's one horror icon of the 80s we haven't even dreamed about tackling until now... Robert Englund's classic slasher, Fred Krueger. So let's take a look at the 1984 original and all the ways it tackles very 80s fears about neglectful parenting, recovered memories, and liberal judges in its skillful blending of dreams and reality.
They say silence kills, but what do you do when talking can be just as lethal? Take a risk and listen to me speak in English about the 2008 ferociously independent, utterly brilliant low-budget indie horror movie 'Pontypool'! It's a film words really can't suffice to describe, but I'll try. Try. Try. Try.
Somewhere between 'Day of the Dead' and 'Land of the Dead' lies an odd, sometimes forgotten oddity - a remake of the original 'Night' authorized and produced by George A Romero, but directed by his friend and collaborator Tom Savini. What does it have to say? Honestly quite a lot, so let's dive into it together!
It's Halloween weekend, and y'all know what that means: Elvira! This year, we join Elvira as she skewers the 1980... ish... creature feature 'Monstroid', aka 'Monster' aka 'It Came From the Lake' aka 'The Toxic Horror'. And with that many titles, you know you're dealing with a great movie!
Start spreading the news, because just like Jason Voorhees, Ghostface is heading to the City That Never Sleeps! Join us for every gory detail... literally and figuratively... as the Scream franchise officially enters the Core Four installment with 'Scream VI'!
Spooky Season just wouldn't be spooky without a little dip into found footage, and they don't come much better than 2007's Spanish classic, 'Rec'! So come ride along with our crew of first responders and our TV journalists as they stumble into a nightmare of claustrophobia, paranoia, and the most ferocious gaggle of zombies this side of '28 Days Later' as we take a deep dive into a modern classic!
It's time to conclude our look at the 'Evil Dead' franchise and continue our trip through Spooky Season at the same time, as we dive into the high-profile and big-ticket sequel to Sam Raimi's classic helmed by writer/director Lee Cronin. But between the weird pro-life messaging, the antiquated worship of the nuclear family, and some problematic behavior from the lone trans character, let's just say that it's also time to give a little side-eye to the latest 'Evil Dead'. Join us!
Spooky Season's starting, and the movies don't come much bigger than this - literally or figuratively. Almost seventy years ago, the atomic monster known as Godzilla first came to Japan's shores... and while he's visited some thirty times since then, there's nothing quite like the original. Let's dive in and talk nuclear paranoia, post-war pacifism, and everything else that makes up the 1954 classic 'Godzilla'!
The time has come to test the mettle of man, as Ash Williams tries to fight evil without his chainsaw, his sidekicks, or even his trusty Delta 88 Classic in the series finale of 'Ash Vs Evil Dead'! JOIN US... as we break down the last five episodes and see how the last season of the cult series sticks the landing and goes out with a bang as the "Summer of Sam" concludes!
The long Summer of Sam is winding to a close... but we can't leave without looking at where the man is today, and that means examining Raimi's latest directorial effort for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But is it horror? Well, it's got people possessing corpses, mouths sealing up into blank flesh, and the souls of the damned, so that qualifies it in my unholy book! Let's dive into the Multiverse of Madness!
It's time to enter the final season of Ashley Joanna Williams' adventures fighting the Evil Dead, and that means secret kids, magical kids, ancient knightly orders, and a ghostly return for everyone's favorite Six Million Dollar Dad! That's right, we are going in hot for the first half of Season Three of 'Ash Vs Evil Dead'... JOIN US!
Sometimes going outside the Hollywood system results in something as brilliant as it is unconventional, a touching meditation on aging and regret featuring two of our finest character actors. Sometimes it results in a goddamn weird movie about an aging Elvis and JFK taking on a killer mummy stalking their retirement home. And very rarely, it's both. So let's talk about Don Coscarelli, Bruce Campbell, and 2002's 'Bubba Ho-Tep'!
Baal is loose on the Earth, and the only man who can stop him is... Pablo?! Hey, that's where we are as the back half of 'Ash Vs Evil Dead' Season Two kicks off, but there are so many wild twists and turns in store it takes a whole podcast to get through them all! So let's dig in!
Time to steer our "Summer of Sam" into another little detour, as we examine the first major success of Raimi-influenced director Edgar Wright and his good friends Simon Pegg and Nicholas Frost, the 2004 horror comedy 'Shaun of the Dead'. Let's get a little red on us, kill the Queen, and stagger down to the Winchester for one of the most beloved movies in the zom-rom-com genre! How's that for a slice of fried gold?
With a first-season finale like that, you had to know the evil wasn't over, right? Join me... excuse me, JOIN US... as we dive into Season Two and help Ash tackle his past, banish the Necronomicon, and meet his new nemesis, the demon Baal, as 'Ash Vs Evil Dead' (and the Summer of Sam) continue!
It's your host's birthday again, and he's selected another birthday-themed horror flick to examine! But while 'Happy Birthday to Me' was a lost cult gem, 'Happy Death Day' is full of messy problems and plot holes. But that's worth looking into too, so let's do a deep dive into this 2017 release that was written in 2007 and all the things that make it what it is. For better and much, much worse.
We last left Ashley J Williams and his friends Pablo and Kelly heading back to the cabin in the woods, determined to bury the Necronomicon and end its reign of terror over the world... but as you can imagine with the season half over, there's a lot of complications to their simple plan. Join Half Price Horror in digging deep, albeit maybe not under a cursed cabin, as we tackle the back half of 'Ash Vs Evil Dead' Season One!
If we're tackling the films of Sam Raimi for our "Summer of Sam", it's hard to resist taking a little detour Down Under to look at the early work of New Zealand moviemaker Peter Jackson and see how he was inspired by Raimi. And when it comes to Raimi-inspired horror-comedies, it's hard to find a more famous or inventive one than the 1992 cult classic 'Braindead'! So let's jump in, dig deep, and kick ass FOR THE LORD as we examine Peter Jackson's bizarre little gem.
Half Price Horror goes small-screen for the first time, as we take a look at the first half of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell's television sequel to 'Army of Darkness'! It's time to see how Ash has gotten along in the years since his first encounter with the Necronomicon, meet his new allies and enemies, and take that long winding trip that will eventually lead us back to the cabin in the woods!
Are you ready for an electrifying six and a half minute long explainer on the foreclosure process? Are you hyped for a deep dive into cultural misogyny and the grinding misery the patriarchy inflicts on working women? Are you jazzed for a discussion of the ingrained racism in the portrayal of the Romani people? Do you, too, want to overthink the hell out of this movie? Then COME ON DOWN! as our "Summer of Sam" continues with 'Drag Me to Hell'!
It's still a cabin in the woods... and it's still a book of dark magic... but everything else is different. Join us as we go through David, Eric, Mia, Olivia and Natalie's journey into evil, and find out what works and what doesn't about the Evil Dead Remix!
Time to put the focus squarely on Bruce Campbell for an episode, as we look at a 2021 horror-comedy that wanted to be a worthy successor to 'Evil Dead II' and was willing to hire The Chin himself to do it. But did this movie about the nightmare of retail consumerism hit its mark? You'll have to listen and see!
Here we go, folks! Sound the trumpets, raise the drawbridge, and drop the Oldsmobile, because Half Price Horror is celebrating its 100TH EPISODE in style with Sam Raimi's hilarious conclusion to the original Evil Dead trilogy, 'Army of Darkness'! Enjoy this celebration of Bruce Campbell's defining role and every one-liner that comes with it as the "Summer of Sam" continues!
Some of you might already know about this Sam Raimi-funded indie horror flick made by low-budget producer J.R. Bookwalter. But if that's all you know, you're in for a deep dive into trucker hats, religious cultists, finger swallowing, and all the best and silliest gore that a hundred thousand bucks and a Super 8 camera can shoot as the "Summer of Sam" continues!
Our "Summer of Sam" continues as we take a look at what many believe to be his masterpiece, the 1987 horror comedy 'Evil Dead II'! Join us... excuse me, I mean JOIN USSSS... for a discussion of what makes this sequel bigger, bolder, and more reflective of Sam Raimi's personal style of filmmaking, alongside plenty of praise for his lead actor Bruce Campbell, as we get ever closer to our big 100th episode!
Our series on the work of Sam Raimi and his collaborator Bruce Campbell takes a bit of a detour, as we go back to examine the legendary director's roots with a look at the 1963 movie 'The Haunting'! With plenty of eerie cinematography, direction by the iconic Robert Wise, and a story from one of the best books in the history of the genre, there's plenty to look at and talk about. In the night. In the dark.
It's time to kick the march to Episode #100 into high gear, as we launch into the trilogy that made your host John into the horror fan he is today with Sam Raimi's original classic, 'The Evil Dead'! Come dive into every detail, enjoy the reminiscences over one of the legends of horror, and JOIN USSSS for a discussion of the ways this influenced directors for generations to come!
There are some movies that are classics, there are some movies that are cult classics, and there are some movies that are little-known secret touchstones of the genre that inspired all your favorite filmmakers without ever being very well known themselves. And 'Equinox', the first-time effort of future Academy Award winner Dennis Muren, is definitely one of those secret touchstones. So let's jump back to 1970 (and even earlier), and examine a Criterion Collection film that many people have never even heard of, the weird little movie known as 'Equinox'!
Anyone who watched late-night cable television in the late 80s is probably familiar with this direct-to-video horror movie... but for the rest of you, here's a work of cosmic supernatural horror hidden inside a zombie flick just waiting for you to discover its low-budget charms. Enjoy a deep dive into an enjoyably shallow movie with this week's episode, 'The Video Dead'!
No, not the bees (not the bees!) - this is the original, accept no substitutes British classic where Edward Woodward travels to Summerisle in search of a missing girl and clashes with the suave and sinister Christopher Lee. And we talk folk horror, conspiracy thrillers, and the terrible misrepresentations of pagan culture as we dig into everything worth discussing about this amazing movie!
Sting as the Baron von Frankenstein! Clancy Brown as his creation! Jennifer Beals as the infamous Bride! Could there be a more 80s take on the Frankenstein mythos? Hard to say for sure, but maybe you'll know by the time you listen to Half Price Horror dive into 1985's 'The Bride'!
There's lurid and there's lurid, there's trashy and there's trashy, and then there's the champion of sleazy exploitation, 'Pieces'! Come and listen to a discussion of chainsaw murders, male frontal nudity, waterbed stabbings, and just about everything else the director could toss into a classic of the Eurosleaze genre.
And if you only watch one thing from it, watch this clip:
https://youtu.be/KCCxGQetNrk
You're welcome.
Yes, we've heard it before. Yes, the slasher in a slasher franchise can never truly die. Yes, Michael Myers has been blown up, decapitated, shot more times than any reasonable human being can keep track of, and beaten to death with a length of pipe. But in a series that reboots instead of explaining, nobody's invulnerable forever, and it's time to go back to Haddonfield one "final" time as 'Halloween Ends'.
What do you get when you cross 'Boogie Nights' with 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'? You get a blood-soaked slasher full of porn stars trying to love free and make money and getting killed for their troubles, that's what! Join HPH for a trip into the Golden Age of Pornography as we examine Ti West's complex, controversial slasher 'X'!
It's still Halloween night in 2018, and Michael's legacy has left deep and serious psychic scars on the town called Haddonfield--no, wait, it's Halloween night in 2018 and Michael's about to unleash the raddest rampage on the sleepy little town of Haddonfield ever! They'll have to band together to stop him... um, in a serious exploration of the true cost of mob violence... and he's going to come home at last. In a melancholy way, of course. That's right, it's time to look at the most disjointed entry in the franchise, HALLOWEEN KILLS!
It's time to conclude George A Romero's classic trilogy with this, the darkest day of horror the world has ever known! We discuss the nuclear bunker mentality, toxic masculinity, and where to find the limestone caverns under Florida (hint: nowhere) in this episode on Romero's bleak, unflinching look into the darkness of the human spirit and the zombies that reflect it back at us.
Guess who's back? Back again! Michael's back! Tell a friend! Yup, it's been forty years now since that legendary Halloween night where Michael Myers attempted to kill Laurie Strode, and this time he's... been in Smith's Grove all forty of those years. But thanks to a pair of obnoxious podcasters (hey....) he's out and back in fighting trim, as we dive into 2018's 'Halloween' requel, 'Halloween'!
What happens when you give one of the most critically acclaimed horror directors of all time a blank check, a promise of total creative freedom, and a stack of pulpy old science fiction novels? You get Tobe Hooper's 'Lifeforce', an American home to Hammer Horror that changes directions every twenty minutes and features a sprawling cast, a big-budget plague of space vampires, and a completely nude villain. And if that sounds wild to you... believe me, it's weirder than you think it is.
And so another timeline closes in the Halloween franchise, this time with a very different Laurie Strode coping with her own PTSD and survivor's guilt after shooting Michael Myers in the head. But as you might have guessed, he's not dead, and he's coming back to Haddonfield to deal with his baby sister once and for all in this controversial anti-slasher I cannot wait to talk about!
Hoo boy. I'd like to say you can blame Job Bob Briggs for letting the world know about this obscure little shot-on-camcorder horror movie, I'd like to tell you it's my roommate's fault for gifting this to me for Christmas in the sure and certain knowledge I would do it on the podcast. But the truth is, I like 'Sledge Hammer', faults and all, and I can't wait to tell you about it in every weird and quirky detail!
Time to go back to the beginning, as the spiritual dead end of 2002's 'Halloween: Resurrection' led Dimension Films to remake the original under the creative guidance of... Rob Zombie?! Yes, it's a look at one of the most controversial installments of the franchise, swearing, ultraviolence and all.
Time to dig into a little J-horror, as HPH dives deep into legendary Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa and what many believe to be a masterpiece of the genre. It's a heavy film with some heavy topics, including self-harm and suicide, but if you feel like you can handle it there's also a lot of beauty to this movie.
It's time to say goodbye to Jamie Lee Curtis for the second time, and say hello to... Busta Rhymes?!? Yes, it's _that_ installment of the long-running Halloween franchise, the one that ditches the family angle to satirize reality TV and finishes off the story H20 started. Let's talk about killer sharks in baggy-ass overalls, Katee Sackhoff, and possibly the most controversial installment in Michael's story, 'Halloween: Resurrection'!
ALL ABOARD! Time to take a little trip with those icons of Hammer horror, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, in a Spanish production that mimics Hammer's Victorian aesthetic and adds a lot of production value with repurposed sets, reused models, and the great Telly Savalas to turn John Campbell's classic short story "Who Goes There?" into a thriller set on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Has it been twenty years already? Oh wow. Luckily, Laurie Strode's been busy during that time, establishing a new life and a new identity on the West Coast. But Michael's been busy too... and as we'll discuss, he's ready to finish up old business with his little sister once and for all!
What happens when the Atomic Age optimism of the 50s becomes the worn-out, polluted wasteland of the puritanical Reagan era? You get the debut feature of cult director Jackie Kong, that's what! Join us for a discussion of 80s politics, 'Alien' homages, and of all people Ruth Buzzi appearing in a horror movie as we discuss 1983's THE BEING!
Sometimes when you're in a hole, the only thing you can do is dig deeper. And 'Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers' certainly decided to dig in deeper, on the Man in Black and the mysterious runic tattoo and the whole weird mess of a mythos that 'Halloween 5' saddled us with. So join us as we dig as well, into this troubled production and everything that made it the wonderful mess it became!
It's my 75th episode, and what better way to celebrate than with John Carpenter's masterpiece of taut, paranoid body horror! Join us for a discussion of what is widely considered to be one of the very best horror movies ever made, and everything that made it the brilliant piece of cinema it is.
It's been a year since Michael's last blood-soaked rampage through the streets of Haddonfield, and you won't believe what he's been up to in that time! No, literally, you will have a very hard time believing it, and that's not the only problem with the troubled fifth installment in the Halloween series. Join us for a discussion of the very big swerves this movie takes as we cover Dominique Othenin-Girard's Halloween 5!
Sometimes "horror" can be a loose term, and perhaps this particular feature would be better suited to a podcast called 'Half Price Quirky Indie Sci-Fi Horror Comedy Relationship Drama Party Movies With Just a Tiny Amount of Found-Family Trauma Bonding Thrown In'. But until that podcast comes along, it's our job to discuss the quirky indie sci-fi horror comedy... well, you get the idea. Join us!
It's only been a couple weeks for us, but Michael Myers has spent a decade away from Haddonfield. And when he returns, it's a whole new series as we move into the Thorn trilogy! So let's put on a dodgy-looking mask, hunt some children, and enjoy HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS!
Remember how awesome the 90s were? Remember hacky sack, and flip phones, and lava lamps making a weird comeback? Remember how great it was to be there when survival horror was born as a video game genre? Well, if you like taking a trip down memory lane, let's talk about 2021's 'Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City', and its attempt to evoke the spirit of the 90s in a very modern way!
It's time to go full-out weird with the red-headed stepchild of the Halloween franchise, HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH! Will there be commentary on Dan Challis sleeping with a woman half his age? Will we discuss the obvious lampshading of the Stonehenge Heist? All that and more, folks, on the night where NO ONE comes home!
Some movies can be seen, some movies can be described, but some movies simply have to be experienced. Join Half Price Horror in an effort to understand that strangest of movies, that cultiest of cult classics, that bizarro masterpiece of outsider art... 1989's direct-to-video effort, 'Things'!
Spooky Season may be over, but Michael Myers is a lot harder to stop! He's still hunting Laurie Strode as we pick up on the night he came home, and discuss what goes wrong and what goes very, very right with the 1981 sequel to John Carpenter's immortal classic.
It's Halloween weekend, and you know what that means--time to spend a little while breaking down a classic episode of Elvira's Movie Macabre from 1983! This time out she's showing 1973's "The Devil's Wedding Night", and man. If you love Italian grindhouse cinema, you are in for a blood bathing, twin confusing, vampire fighting, lesbian sex-filled treat! We get into every detail, including the film's connections to Wagnerian opera, and celebrate the end to another year's glorious Spooky Season with the Mistress of the Dark.
It wouldn't be Spooky Season if we didn't cover something legendary, and it doesn't get more legendary than John Carpenter's immortal classic from 1978, 'Halloween'! Listen and learn the location of the three real pumpkins, the identity of the announcer on Tommy Doyle's TV set, and just what makes the ending of the iconic slasher flick so scary!
It's been a while since we've been to Woodsboro, and even longer since Sidney Prescott has visited her old hometown. But there's a new Ghostface and a new round of murders, and that means it's time for her--and us--to answer that old question one more time. "What's your favorite scary movie?" And what do we think of legacy sequels, mental health depictions in horror, and the first sequel without Wes Craven? Time to find out!
HPH goes full Hammer horror for Spooky Season, with the role that made Christopher Lee a horror icon--Dracula, lord of the undead! We discuss the changes made to this chopped and channeled adaptation, the fantastic performance of Peter Cushing, and everything else that made this 1958 film a classic of the genre.
Half Price Horror jumps into the Halloween season with a 1951 classic of science-fiction horror that John Carpenter loved so much he almost refused to remake it, 'The Thing From Another World'! Join us for a discussion of Cold War politics and atomic horror as we take on one of the greats of the genre that inspired another one of the greats of the genre.
It's time to bid farewell to the Phantasm franchise, and we end as we begin with a microbudgeted surrealist horror film created by a group of close friends that defies logic and refuses easy answers as it meditates on death, grief, and what lies beyond the world we know. So let's get into the 'Cuda one final time and go out guns blazing as we take on the Tall Man once more in 'Phantasm: Ravager'!
HPH dives into Taika Waititi's mournful, elegiac meditation on aging and loss as seen through the eyes of a group of immortal vampires unable to die even as they see their loved ones and the world they knew pass away. It's full of bleak dread and endless sorrow... oh yeah, and also werewolves not swearwolves, a look they call 'Dead But Delicious', and plenty of arguments over who should do the dishes. It's funny, it's sad, it's scary, it's WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS!
The budgets keep getting smaller, but Don Coscarelli keeps throwing bigger and wilder and weirder ideas at the screen with every installment of the PHANTASM franchise! This time, we look at the fourth installment, PHANTASM: OBLIVION, and talk about Roger Avary's involvement, the brilliant use of archival footage, and lots lots more!
What better way to celebrate a birthday than with an obscure birthday-themed slasher flick from the 80s? That's right, your host is another year older, but giallo-inspired movies about a killer at a prep school will never go out of style. Come for the red herrings and quirky characters, stay for the absoludicrous twist ending that was a clear inspiration to Kevin Williamson's 'Scream'!
Half Price Horror enters the later, weirder era of the Phantasm franchise with its first direct-to-video entry, Phantasm III! Do we get more silver spheres? Do we get a return from A. Michael Baldwin as Mike? Do we get a completely unmotivated Home Alone reference? Yes to all that and more! Come see what's going on with the Tall Man as we dig into every bit of it!
Half Price Horror takes a bold stance in this episode, suggesting that the 2011 prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 classic might be... good? Really good? Unfairly maligned, full of sympathetic characters and tight, tense action set pieces good? Mary Elizabeth Winstead with a goddamn flamethrower good? Give the CGI a break, it lets the monster do things it could never have done in the original good? Don't believe us, just listen and find out good? Yes! That good! Don't believe us? Just listen and find out!
For Mike and Reggie, it's been almost ten years since they last confronted the Tall Man and his silver spheres. And for us, it's time to look at the bigger, bolder, studio sequel to the original Phantasm and see how the series shifts from dreamlike horror to full-bore 80s weirdness in Phantasm II!
After hearing about it as a legendary horror-comedy for over a decade, HPH finally decides to watch TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL and see whether this weird anti-slasher really lives up to its reputation. Is the gory farce actually the classic people hold it up to be? Or does the comedy clash with the horror instead of enhancing it? Listen and find out!
There's a Tall Man effortlessly lifting coffins one-handed, strange dwarves in brown robes transporting cargo through a hole in space, and a silver sphere with twin blades that flies through the air on a murderous rampage. It all adds up to one of the strangest cult classics in horror, 1979's PHANTASM, and we're going to dig into every gory detail!
This is an odd adaptation of the classic self-help book 'Healing the Child Within', but I have to say I kind of like--oh. No. Wait. This is the adaptation of the video game 'Werewolves Within', and it's got a lot to unpack. So let's talk social dynamics, fake geek girls, black comedy, and everything else that goes into this 2021 horror-comedy!
Half Price Horror decides to bring a little class to the production by reviewing a swanky foreign film! It's got artsy colors, and ballet dancers, and, um... rains of maggots, and women falling into razor wire... okay, so maybe "class" isn't the best way to describe SUSPIRIA. But as you'll see from this episode, maybe SUSPIRIA is just indescribable.
I recently did an episode of They're Terrified and Tipsy with the amazing Courtney and Stephanie, and they've graciously given me permission to post it here! You can repay the favor by subscribing to their highly entertaining podcast, leaving them a nice review, subscribing to their Patreon, and all the other stuff you do for the podcasts you love!
Every horror fan knows that the real scare, especially in Britain in the 80s, were the people willing to use horror's unsavory reputation as an excuse for authoritarianism. But what about the people who truly believed that scary movies could influence society into acts of violence? Could they be the biggest monsters of all? Find out as we do a deep dive into Prano Bailey-Bond's amazing debut feature, CENSOR!
It's time for our crash-bang-boom 50th episode, and we celebrate with the directorial debut of James Gunn! He's famous for Guardians of the Galaxy, but Slither shows he's always had the chops and we're going to go over every wonderful minute of this body horror-comedy.
It's time to CUT OUT the CANCER as we dig into 2021's controversial entry from James Wan, MALIGNANT! There's neo-giallo themes, medical curiosities, and some playful trollery in this movie, and HPH talks about it all!
HPH finally tackles the legendary John Carpenter and his strange, trippy, metafictional before metafiction was cool movie 'In the Mouth of Madness'! Find out how HP Lovecraft, Stephen King, and post-modernism combine to create an apocalyptic threat that even Sam Neill can't stop.
Thanks to the miracle of physical media, Half Price Horror finally gets to take a look at a nearly-lost classic of the legendary director George Romero, his zombie epic to end all zombie epics DAWN OF THE DEAD! We dig into the film's social commentary, its inventive use of authentic 70s locations, and its struggles with that thing called feminism.
It's time to explore another black-and-white classic, as HPH digs into the independent movie that became a staple of late-night television and influenced arthouse horror films for generations to come! Join me as we take a long drive out to Utah, explore the old abandoned carnival, and look at the space between life and death in 1962's CARNIVAL OF SOULS!
Time to get away from the freezing weather with a relaxing trip to Daddy's beach house! It's nice and warm here... warm enough, in fact, to release trapped microbes from a volcanic vent and usher in the end of the human race as we know it. But hey, don't be scared, right? Don't be scared. Don't be scared. Don't be scared....
It's an unexpected return to Woodsboro for Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson, and an unexpected delight for the people who love the Scream franchise! Join in the Stab-a-Thon with Sidney, Gale and Dewey, and find out why this podcast doesn't need friends. It needs FANS!
John Krasinski's follow-up to 2018's 'A Quiet Place' might have been delayed by the pandemic, but this podcast episode won't be! Join me for a conversation about Marcus's real dad, cryptic radio messages that don't need to be, and possibly-cannibals galore!
The Scream series goes Hollywood, in an installment that's so meta it's literally about the making of itself! It's also about the generational trauma inflicted by sexual abuse, the interlocking systems of power that protect abusers, and the toxic male entitlement that permeates our culture. And it's time to really talk about what it's saying.
Shhh. Be vewwy vewwy quiet. They're hunting... us! Yep, time to dig into the fictional logic of monsters, complain about inconveniently placed nails, and discuss the debt we owe to our children as we look at 2018's A Quiet Place.
Time to spend a little more time with Sidney Prescott and friends, as she goes off to college and runs into a pair of copycat killers with an axe to grind. Features discussion of toxic male entitlement, the last-minute changes that transformed the screenplay, and why Randy had to die. (Um. Spoilers.)
As a special Halloween treat, Half Price Horror spends a little time in the company of classic 80s Elvira and her episode on the 1971 movie BLOOD LEGACY, aka LEGACY OF BLOOD! Features discussion of the way Cassandra Peterson's life informed her comedy, as well as the reasons why the movie in question might have ended up relegated to fodder for a late night horror show.
The episode runs a little long as HPH tackles one of the most influential horror movies since Halloween, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson's meta-slasher classic SCREAM! Features a discussion of 80s video stores and their influence on 90s movies, and a deeper-than-deep dive into the movie's game-changing opening sequence.
As our Prime Time Horror October rolls on, HPH takes a look at probably the most influential work of science fiction horror out there, Dan O'Bannon and Ridley Scott's seminal (although in this context, John Hurt at least might not appreciate that choice of words) movie ALIEN!
Continuing October's deep dive into the classics of horror, we take a look at Tobe Hooper's unrivaled exploitation masterpiece, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. This episode looks at ableism in horror fandom, the value of coming to directing from documentaries, and the origins of the Sawyer family.
As we begin 2021's Spooky Season, there's no better place to start than with a landmark of the genre, George Romero's seminal zombie apocalypse film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. We discuss fallout shelter etiquette, Vietnam allegories, and the literal and figurative conflict between generations as we tackle one of the finest horror movies ever made.
Despite our best efforts, it's hard to stay positive as we look at Neil Marshall's first original movie since 2010's CENTURION, the purportedly feminist but decidedly exploitative witch hunting drama, THE RECKONING! Featuring discussions of historical and medical accuracy and why they normally wouldn't be important but kind of matter here.
Time to look at another current movie, this one a feminist look at the empowerment aspects of vampiric transformation as depicted by horror icon Barbara Crampton! Let's dig into 2021's sexy gory vamp flick, JAKOB'S WIFE!
Before he was the fantasy equivalent of George Lucas, Peter Jackson was a scrappy independent film maker from New Zealand with a penchant for gross-out horror comedies. If you've ever wondered how one Peter Jackson became the other Peter Jackson, come take a deep dive with us into 1996's 'The Frighteners' and see how a movie full of CGI ghosts and relentless pursuit became the failure he needed to make all his future successes!
Time to take a deep dive into the waters of magical realism, as we take a look at what's beneath the surface of Guillermo del Toro's Oscar-winning masterpiece THE SHAPE OF WATER! Don't worry, there's nothing fishy going on here--this production went swimmingly! (I promise, I don't do these aquatic puns in the actual episode. This is just for the halibut.)
It's the end for Jason Voorhees... but the moment has been prepared for. In this case, Michael Bay prepared a flashy 00s reboot with plenty of nods to the original and plenty of unusual choices that we dig into as we examine the final installment of the Friday the 13th series!
Time to take a trip back into horror history, as we tackle one of the legendary monsters of the Universal canon and discuss the wonders of SCUBA diving with 1954's CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON!
Time to watch the biggest matchup since Ali fought Frazier as we follow the clash of the 80s horror titans, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees!
It’s time to go from 80s slasher franchise to subversive post-ironic genre mashup pastiche, as we take a look at 2020’s body swap slasher FREAKY!
Time to jump 400 years into the future and straight into space, as we follow the Friday the 13th franchise on its wildest, weirdest, most metatextual ride yet!
For my extra-special 25th episode, HPH takes a look at an influential 80s splatterpunk classic by legendary screenwriter Dan O’Bannon, which also happens to be a formative favorite if your horror host!
Half Price Horror takes a look at an unfairly maligned classic, 1993’s JASON GOES TO HELL, and tackles its changes to the mythology and its truly spectacular set pieces.
HPH goes prime time with a look at a brand-new release coming to Shudder soon! We talk about the dysfunctional 80s, and a movie that very much wants to put that “fun” right back into “dysfunctional”.
We take a deep dive into the sewers on New York City and come back with one of the least-loved entries in the Friday the 13th franchise!
We jump into an 80s classic that drips with blood and perverse sexuality in equal quantities, and discuss the importance of consent and the brutal sadness of unrequited love.
We look at a Jason movie with a decidedly feminist bent, as telekinetic teen Tina takes on zombie Jason in a knock-down, drag-out fight to the finish!
This episode, we take a trip back in time and across the pond to watch a classic BBC teleplay about a team of scientists that attempt to explore life after death.
This time out, we’re bringing Jason back from the dead in a campy, cartoony romp that takes us back to Camp Blood for the first time since Part One!
HPH takes a trip back to the Swinging Sixties with Roger Corman’s gothic horror classic, starring Vincent Price at his peak as the sinister Prince Prospero.
In an episode that leaves me struggling to stay positive, we look at the weakest entry in the Friday the 13th franchise and discuss its problems with editing, pacing, character development, logic, and basic spatial relationships.
We go made-for-TV with this 2005 SciFi Channel monster flick, about an escaped convict who gets turned into a giant mosquito and goes a-bloodsucking. (Yes, he’s a male mosquito. Yes, he should be hunting flowers. Don’t ask.)
In this, the (not really) final Jason movie, we take a look at the intersection of teen sex comedies, revenge movies, and slasher flicks in this early stab at metatextual horror!
This episode goes into full-on gush mode, as we cover one of the best cosmic horror films ever, the 2016 indie film that looks like a blockbuster, “The Void”!
Another return to Camp Crystal Lake, this time for the Jason-iest installment of the Jason series! Comes complete with speculations on a Jason/Dexter crossover and a new drinking game!
A much-beloved 80s cult classic turns out to have a little too much of the decade’s downsides as we take a deep dive into Universal Horror homage ‘The Monster Squad’!
We take a look at the first appearance of Jason as series antagonist, and delve into his rich inner life as a building contractor, private investigator, and professional candle thief!
It’s Spooky Season, to take a look at an unconventional anthology that goes just a little too hard on the “Halloween is the most wonderful time of the year” message and a little too light on everything else.
We take a look at Classical Greek tragedy (not really) Friday the 13th, an Agatha Christie-style mystery (kinda, actually) that helped to kick off the slasher boom of the 80s!
Join us for a deep dive into the second It movie, in which we discuss ways to trim down the three-hour long epic to a reasonable running time and all the ways that if you’re going to claim you write better than Stephen King, you best bring your A-game to the writing table.
We take a closer look at this 1988 cult classic, examining the uneasy boundaries between humor and horror and once again using the word “liminal” to describe something in the movie. With special guest commentator Jiminy Cricket!
For our first episode, we do a deep dive into David Cronenberg’s body horror film ‘The Brood’ and look at misogyny, monstrosity, and how the police can miss a killer who’s just hiding under the bed.
We take a closer look at the first half of the recent adaptation of Stephen King’s sprawling horror epic and discuss the ways that splitting the movie up changed the emotional core of the film.
We jump back into the 70s for a look at the infamous house on Ocean Street, and discuss screenwriting strategy in a closer look at the structure of this haunted house tale.
A look at the debut feature of director Ari Aster and his insights into family dysfunction and the long legacy abuse can leave behind.
John takes a closer look at the much-maligned remake of the 80s classic and touches on its themes of teenage alienation, suburban paranoia, and anxiety over the Satanic Panic that fueled the original.