Dark Night at the Opera

     This week- Four(ish) tales of terrible men doing terrible things and a tiny little mix-up.

     The lavish Collinswood estate's handyman accidentally unleashes a 175-year-old vampire. The newly freed nocturnal predator takes up residence in an abandoned building on the grounds, insinuates himself back into the family, and begins to target the governess, who bares a striking resemblance to his long lost fiancée. The first feature adaption of a cult classis soap opera and using much of the original series cast reprising their roles- House of Dark Shadows.
     Iemon, a scheming ronin, plots to dispose of his wife, Oiwa, and improve his station by marrying the daughter of a local samurai clan's daimyo. In order to facilitate this someone poisons Oiwa. Soon all will face her terrible revenge as she returns as an onryo. A film based on one of Japan's most popular ghost stories that has been adapted to film over 40 times, including TWO version being released in 1959. Leading to Kevin watching the Kenji Mitsumi version while Dave and Tyler mistakenly watch Nobou Nakagawa's... either way it is titled The Ghost of Yostuya (original Japanese: Yotsuya kaidan).
     In the country of Heaven Valley, a man hunts the murderer of his wife. Finding the country's police force fully corrupt and unwilling to help, he summons a demon to assist in his bloody revenge. An Italian splatter action film that takes its cue from classic 1980s manga to kachu tenshin amaguriken all over the city- Adam Chaplin.
     Dumass Beach, a private prison corporation's founder and CEO, is developing the next generation of law enforcement, AI controlled robots who stop at nothing to keep America safe. In order to better teach the machine how to effectively judge situations and decide on the proper course of action, Beach hires a storytelling funeral director. Portifoy Simms is happy to obligingly deliver four more allegories. A legacy sequel released 23 years after the original, Tales from the Hood 2.
     All that and Dave has a visitor from his TV, Tyler stops resisting the calling in his blood, and Kevin doesn't notice the mistake. Join us, won't you?
   Episode 436- Dark Night at the Opera

Skeleton Gelatin (and Further Tales from the Hood)

     This week- four tales of shivering fright to carry you through a chilly autumn night.

     Kayako Saeki, with her son Toshio and cat Mar, is murdered by her jealous husband. Her anger and sorrow turn them all as onryo and place an insatiable curse on the house. Soon Toshio's teacher Kobayashi, the Murakami family, and all others who venture in will find nothing but misery. The first feature length entry in a thirteen entry franchise with entries on both sides of the globe, Takashi Shimizu's Ju-on: The Curse.
     Three drug dealers try to buy some drugs found by an eccentric funeral director. As they walk to through the building, they are regaled with stories of terror and the supernatural. Rusty Cundieff's second feature is full of pointed social commentaries about police brutality, child abuse, racism, and gang violence. A 90s cult classic, backed by several fantastic performances, which would get a pair of sequels over twenty years later, Tales from the Hood.
     Mark is a wannabe cinematographer living in Los Angeles. He struggles to establish his career, only finding work filming short pornographic scenes for a man he despises, and unable to form connects with women, often ending with brutal violence. All of that may change when he meets Michelle, a young woman he meets at work in a committed relationship with a similar background and interests. A rediscovered psychotronic exploitation that might be among the best of the subgenre. The first and tragically only feature written and directed by Christina Hornisher, Hollywood 90028.
     Professor Hildern returns from an expedition in New Guinea with a remarkable discovery- a giant humanoid skeleton older than any previously recovered and twice as advanced. This is just the beginning of the puzzle as the Professor discovers exposure to water will cause rapid regeneration of tissue and cell which will change everything we know, a similar line of research that his psychiatrist brother is perusing. Directed by Hammer and Amicus regular Freddie Francis and starring the legends of British horror, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, The Creeping Flesh.
     All that and Dave games on, Kevin wallows in the cinema room, Tyler gets his warm fuzzies on, and Craig cackles at the sights he has to show us all. Join us, won't you?
   Episode 435: Skeleton Gelatin (and Further Tales from the Hood)

Womb with a View (And Other Assorted Tales)

     This week- three horror movies about identity and society.

     Corky is a magician and ventriloquist about to break into the mainstream. When the network backing his major debut asks for a standard medical examination for insurance reasons, he fears his deeply held secret will be revealed. Corky flees to his hometown in the Catskills. Will Corky be able to pull himself out of his spiraling mental health crisis? Will the beautiful resort owner, and former classmate, accept Corky as he is or will she choose her loveless home? How many cigars can an elderly man smoke in a day? A quartet of incredible performances in a tale of psychological torment come together as a kinda... Magic.
     Seven college friends reunite together at cabin in the woods to celebrate Juneteenth. Despite lengthy separation, as soon as the majority are together again old dynamics and resentments immediately come back. In the game room, they find a deeply racist board game that addresses them directly. Will they survive the night? What happened to the two who obviously arrived first and decorated? Who is behind this deadly game of trivia and identity? One of the sharpest horror comedies of the last decade, The Blackening.
     In a devastated world, Mariano spends his days making gas for others outside and slowly converting his cavernous space into an actual cave. When siblings Lucio and Fauna invade his space, Mariano presses them into helping him in exchange for food and shelter. Soon the demands become more horrific and extreme. Will the siblings escape the lascivious hermit's clutches? What is Mariano actually doing? What exactly is happening outside? A fiesta of gorgeous and grotesque images that drive to a fever pitch of flesh, We Are the Flesh.
     All that and Dave gets drawn back to the 80s, Tyler takes a tour through a gas station serial killer attraction, Kevin gets back into whittling, and Craig cleans up after us all emotionally. Join us, won't you?
   Episode 435- Womb with a View (And Other Assorted Tales)

Holy Frond and Wholly Desire

     This week- four films about people driven to extremes.
     When Harry Graham learns he had blown through his entire trust fund, he makes a desperate gamble to secure his future. Giving himself only 5 weeks to find, court, and wed a rich woman before he loses everything. Fortunately, he soon meets guileless botany professor Henrietta Lowell, whose only dream is to discover a new species of fern. Will Henrietta realize her dream? Will Harry get away with his nefarious plot? Why isn't there more James Coco? The directorial and screenwriting debut of often brilliant but mostly infamously overbudget Elaine May, A New Leaf.
     Norah, a nightclub DJ, is being harassed by obscene phone calls. The caller has detailed knowledge of her daily life and activities. Soon things escalate and a terrifying object is left in her apartment. Lt. Dave Madden, a cop with an interest in crime inspired by sexual motivations, takes a personal interest in the case. Will the caller escalate their actions before Madden can root them out? An often overlooked cult film that occupies that space between Psycho and gialli, between Peeping Tom and slashers- Who Killed Teddy Bear?
     Eve Stephens is a Los Angeles trial lawyer who has been shortlisted for a judge appointment. Despite her professional appearance, Eve struggles deeply with self-doubt and conforming to what society expects from her as a woman. Eve's carefully balanced world begins to unravel when her doctoral student sister, Maddie, is arrested for shoplifting. The debut feature from Susan Streitfeld, Female Perversions.
     Juvenal, a former monk now working as a live-in councilor at an addiction rehab facility, has the power to cure people with a touch. When former grifter Bill Hill learns of this gift, he enlists the help of a beautiful associate to get Juvenal on board his plans to cash in. Unfortunately, militant fundamentalist group leader August Murray also has plans. Based on the book by Elmore Leonard, Touch.
     All that and Dave gets toxic af, Kevin keeps it sophisticated af, and Tyler makes his smut collection everyone's problem. Join us, won't you?

   Episode 433- Holy Fronds and Wholly Desire

Best Hauntings to Some

     This week October comes early as we watch three ghoulish offerings for Spooky Season.

     Jimmy Bones was murdered and buried in the basement of his house. A house left abandoned as the neighborhood he loved rotted with it. Twenty-two years later a group of unexpected young entrepreneurs take the property and release Jimmy's vengeful spirit on those who betrayed him long ago. Ernest Dickerson's campy social commentating love letter to 70s blaxploitation, Bones.
     Single mother Carla Moran is repeatedly violently raped by an invisible assailant. Finding no help from psychiatrist Dr. Sneiderman, who believes her trauma is the cause of these events, Carla accepts extremes to escape her horrific situation. Sidney J. Furie's modern gothic parable of cultural female sexual victimization and repression, The Entity.
     A young nursing student goes to visit her grandparents before graduation. There she learns an awful truth and must decide if she will perpetuate this cycle or break it no matter the cost to her family and herself. An incredible debut feature from Yûta Shimotsu, Best Wishes to All (original Japanese title:みなに幸あれ Romanized: Mina no ko are).
     All that and Tyler learns to love American Football, Kevin takes a moment to prepare for OHC, and Dave does literally nothing. Join us, won't you?
   Episode 432- Best Hauntings to Some

Ventre

     This week- two films about men who live violently and do crime. 

      After a long absence from his native Sicily, Tony Aniante finally returns to settle some old debts. Soon the two families that control the area begin to compete for his services. Services rendered in brutal and bloody fashion. Will Tony get the closure he desires? Will the local families realize what really motivates Tony? How long can they keep the higher ups from discovering the tangled web they have made? The third feature from one of Italy's huge stable of 70s exploitation filmmakers, Cry of a Prostitute (original title Quelli che contano, lit. The One That Matters). 
     Tommy "Buns" Bundy and his lifelong friend Sincere move from robbery into drug transport after a nightclub robbery ends violently. As Buns is pulled deeper into a brutal world, Sincere tries to find a way to get his family out, and a betrayed associate plots revenge. Will Sincere be able to start the new life he dreams of? Will Buns go beyond the point of no return and lose his humanity to the hustle? Or will both men become just another data point in year end statistics? The only feature from music video auteur Hyper Williams that has become an urban crime drama cult classic, Belly.
     All that and Dave fights the Gregorian calendar, Tyler damages his vision with blacklights, and Kevin laments missing time with other film buffs of a higher quality. Join us, won't you?
   Episode 431- Ventre

Rising Dobermans

     This week- a pair of films about unexpected criminals.

     Three less than competent criminals come up the perfect plan- train a pack of Dobermans to rob a bank. Posing as a journalist one recruits an Air Force dog handler to assist in their training and a waitress to assist in their care. Will the handler realize there's something no quiet right going on? Will the bestest boy robbers be able to pull off the heist and make a clean getaway? Was this all just a waste of time for our original trio? The first of a four film series, with the first film score composed by the legendary Alan Silvestri, The Doberman Gang.
     Akemi is the dragon tattooed leader of the Tachibana yakuza clan. When she accidentally hurts an opponent's sister, who threw herself in between the fighters, a black cat appears to lap up the blood. Years later, the cat and injured girl show up again and Akemi's world begins to fall apart. Can Akemi get rid of this curse before her clan falls to ruin? Are there really human hands behind these events? What will become of the local restaurant run by reformed yakuza? Is that cat up to date on its shots? An early film staring the amazing Meiko Kaji and directed by Teruo Ishii, a prolific and eccentric filmmaker who specialized in ero goro sexploitation films, Blind Woman's Curse (original title: Kaidan Nobori Ryū, lit. Ghost Story Rising Dragon).
     All that and Tyler contemplates adding to his personal pantheon, Craig contemplates pants, Dave feels an ethereal disappointment, and our special guest, AC who can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@HORROR101withDrAC or wherever you get your podcasts, wonders why he wanted it this way.
   Episode 430- Rising Dobermans