It Takes A Village

     This week a look at one of the cultiest cult television series that tried to shatter its audience's ideas about... everything...

     An unnamed government employee angrily resigns. While packing after heading home, he is gassed unconscious and wakes up in  The Village, a quirky yet charming seaside village. Cut off from the outside world and endlessly questioned by the Village's leader, a figure that only goes but the name Number 2. Will the Prisoner escape? Will he ever confront the elusive Number One?  A surreal and nightmarish allegory- The Prisoner.

     All that and Anna returns, Tyler watches from a safe distance, Kevin wants information, Craig insists he is not a number, and Dave wears the face of another primate. Join us, won't you?

   Episode 468- It Takes A Village

Ordeal

     This week, John from And Now For Something a Little Bit Different joins us for a pair of movies about brutal random violence, monsters of societal creation, and retribution. 
     Magda, Camila, Julia, and Andrea go to a remote house owned by a relative for a weekend of decompression and drinking. Their revelry is soon disturbed by a local and his son who have spent their lives perpetuating the cycles of violence created in the Pinochet regime. Will the girls survive the night? Does the current government representatives offer any hope of rescue? Does this movie really have anything to say about anything or is it just using historical reference points as a justification for fairly generic misogynistic violence? The fourth feature from Chilean shock artist Lucio A Rojas, Trauma.
     The car Lance just bought from his half-brother almost immediately breaks down. Stuck in the middle of nowhere, he has no choice but to take a ride offered to him by a man in a truck. Not long into their ride the man asks Lance a question, if he had to kill his half-brother or his wife, which would he kill. Lance makes his choice, not yet realizing this question is only the start of a gore soaked ride of revenge. Can Lance remember what sin from his past has motivated this confrontation? Just how vicious was his past? Is the Stranger just targeting him out of boredom? The directorial debut of cult actor and screenwriter Trent Haaga, Chop.
     All that and Tyler enthuses, Kevin bemuses, Dave snoozes, and John is driven through a trial by fire. Join us, won't you?

    Episode 384- Ordeal
                 

Is That a Baton in Your Pocket

     This week someone attempts to subvert a democratic process and a weekend trip goes very wrong.

     When Big D, a candidate for Wo Ling Shing triad's biennial chairman election, refuses to accept the outcome things take an immediate turn to the violent. Loyalties shift quickly and without warning as the two sides search desperately for the dragonhead baton, the symbol of the chairman's authority. Can Lok, the winner of the Uncle's vote, bring them all together or will everything rupture under him? Will Jimmy, a triad member with dreams of legitimacy, be able to do what needs to be done to end the fighting in the streets? The first chapter in Johnnie To's epic saga of unchecked greed and ambition seething under a show of pomp and tradition, Election.
     After Jennifer has her history of justified retribution mocked and derided by a law professor on the first day of classes, she decides to blow off higher education for a long vacation in a cabin in the woods with her friend Sam. Just a couple hours after hitting town, Jennifer will live through another nightmare encounter with a local Conway Twitty impersonating gas station attendant and his slow witted but homicidal friend. Will Sam take heed of the stranger danger lessons of her teen years? Can Jennifer just have a nice weekend by a lake without an assault happening? Donald Farmer's unauthorized sequel to a late-70s cult favorite, that so gleefully crossed the line he was sued by the original filmmakers, Savage Vengeance.
     All that and Dave's frozen corpse is retrieved and revived by a humanist organization, Kevin learns many valuable things that he hadn't thought to explore, Craig plans revenge on the worlds third largest fire alarm manufacturers, and Tyler faces some difficult choices that may fundamentally change the very nature of his sense of self. Join us, won't you?
    Episode 338- Is That a Baton in Your Pocket?

SCALES

     This week two movies with couples that really want to kiss but never do. 

     Mia is almost 16 and has just moved to a new town. Before long she befriends Gianna, head of a more rebellious clique, and tries to fit in. Unfortunately, she is about to undergo some changes which are a far cry from normal adolescence. The first feature by Lisa Brühlmann, Blue My Mind.
     An evil spirit takes a late night stroll and music teacher Eric Longfellow rises from his grave. Eric wastes no time in opening a new music school and starting a killing spree, where he squeezes the life force from others to extend his day pass from hell. Unfortunately, his neighbor Gerry Kinder spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about him. Soon the two men will be on a collision course to a final showdown. Don Dohler takes a break from visiting aliens to try his hand at a new kind of horror, Fiend. 
     All that and Dave watches a prison riot, Tyler pokes a bellringing Frenchman with a stick, and Kevin likes to watch. Join us, won't you?
    Episode 308- SCALES

Step On Turn On Gershon

     This week we bring November to a close with a triple dose of 90s Erotic Thrillers. 

     Nomi Malone, a young drifter, heads to Las Vegas with dream of making it big as a showgirl. After a rough start, she finds an in through befriending a costume designer on the hottest ticket in town. Soon Nomi will be swept up in the power games and politics of  revue star diva, Crystal Conners, and her entertainment director boyfriend, Zack Carey. Does Nomi have what it takes to rise to the top? Can she navigate the sexually charged waters? Or will she be pulled under, another victim of the bright lights in the desert? The first, and only, NC-17 film to get a wide mainstream release. Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls.
     Corky is an ex-con, recently released, and taking work as building handy person. Violet is the long time girlfriend of Caesar, a mob money launderer, is desperate to get away and make a new life. Violet sets her sights on Corky and Caesar brings home $2 million in blood covered cash, she sees a chance to finally be able to get out. The neo-noir directorial debut of The Wachowskis, Bound.
     In the rich suburb of Blue Bay a wealthy teen accuses her high school guidance councilor of rape. Soon another girl, from the other side of the bayou, also comes forward. Not satisfied with the trial's conclusion, a police detective begins pulling on the dangling threads. A tangled web of suspicion and quintuple twists that are almost as hot as the south Florida summer. John McNaughton's Wild Things.
     All that and Dave weeps for a French king, Tyler tries some new cuisine, and Kevin can't stop his Bogart impression. Join us, won't we?
 Episode 285- Step On Turn On Gershon

Black Magic Bad Luck

     This week dabbling in the dark arts leads to trouble and murder.

     Sheriff Langley is dispatched to find a runaway bride named Kate. He finds her car abandoned on a road to a long abandoned town without any tangible sign of her ever being there. Soon he's recruited to fight Devlin, a 200-year old zombie outlaw who controls the town through a deal with Satan and Kate's current captor. Can Langley stop the forces of Hell, free the town from its curse, and let the former sheriff find a resting peace? Will Kate take up a career as the local tavern dancer? Is the Dealer faking an eye impairment? Ghost Town.
     A belated sequel to a cult film from the House of Mouse. It has been 29 years since the Sanderson Sisters came back from the dead to try and eat all the children of Salem. This time they plan to get infinite power so they can have revenge on Salem and the Traske bloodline that originally banished them from the town 350 years earlier. The only people standing in their way is a pair of aspiring teen witches and the mayor's daughter. Will the Sandersons get maximum magic power? Will the girls find a way to fight magic with magic? Will Disney wait another 29 years to fully reboot or are the young cast signed on to never ending sequels? Hocus Pocus 2.
    Mäddy decides to join the cheer squad in tribute to her late friend, Alexis, who died last year in a cheer accident. Soon she ingratiates herself into the squad. Meanwhile, Leena, Mäddy's ex-girlfriend, just cannot understand why she wants to hang around those girls and not her magical self. But Mäddy has a reason for her actions, to get revenge on Alexis' former boyfriend, Troy. Will Mäddy get her revenge? Will the girls ever have any agency of their own? How did no one notice that Troy is an over the top psychopath? All Cheerleaders Die.
    All that and so much October Horror Challenge viewings... join us, won't you?
Episode 278- Black Magic Bad Luck

Beach Inflatables

     This week two people look for meaning and purpose in vastly different ways.

     Nozomi lives with middle age waiter Hideo. Hideo bathes her, dresses her, has long heart felt conversations, takes her for walks in a wheelchair, and makes passionate love to her. Nozomi is a cheap blow up sex doll. One day she finds a heart and comes to life. Hirokazu Kore-eda's bittersweet meditation on the intricacies of relationships and the loneliness of existence, Air Doll.
     Moondog is a plagiaristic poet who hasn't published anything in a long time. His life is an endless hedonistic cruise around Miami and the Florida Keys, paid for by his incredibly rich wife's money. Until one night it all comes to an abrupt stop after an accident leaves him cut off until he finally finishes his book and in court ordered rehab. A love or loath comedy with a strong cast and single character laser focus, Harmony Korine's The Beach Bum.
     All that and hey look we are finally on Spotify. Join us, won't you?

Episode 265- Beach Inflatables

We've Got Wyrms

     This week a trio of movies with dragons. 

     When Babydoll is committed by her stepfather, placed on the quick lobotomy list by an evil orderly... and... she gets part of her brain removed which sends her into a dual layered fantasy world where she images herself plotting her way to freedom from sex slavery and fighting a guerilla war against male oppression. Full of director Zack Snyder's usual flourishes and video game level styled fights... if you question its messaging and intent you will feel a Sucker Punch.
     A knight of "The Old Code" spends years training and teaching Prince Einon in the hopes he will be a better king than his tyrannical father. When suppressing a rebellion, the king is killed but Einon is accidentally grievously wounded. Desperate, his mother and the knight take the prince to a dragon who makes a pact and saves the prince's life. Soon, Einon shows himself to be worse than his father and the knight vows to make the dragon pay for corrupting the prince. Eventually the last knight and the last dragon will face off and see what makes a Dragonheart.
     Urland is being terrorized by Vermithrax Pejorative, a 400-year old dragon. In order to appease the creature, the king has been running a lottery to choose a sacrificial virgin twice a year. Valerian, a youth from a small town, leads a group to plead their case to Ulrich, the last sorcerer. Soon politics, religion, and the end of the time of magic will collide as someone who should never be a hero, Ulrich's apprentice Galen, has the responsibility for all dropped on him. Will he fold under the weight or rise to be the Dragonslayer?
   All that and Dave gets some TV time, Kevin tries many flavors, and Tyler finds that when he gets angry he transforms into a large green force of destruction. Join us, won't you?

Episode 263- We've Got Wyrms

 

Evilnauts

     This week a pair of effects heavy movies from the past. 

     Jason returns home to take back what was stolen in his infancy. In order to rally support for this, he decides to head out and steal the Golden Fleece. With some support from the goddess Hera, his crew set out to confront a whole bunch of stop motion monsters brought to life by the brilliant Ray Harryhausen. Will he succeed? Will any of his crew return home? Will they all meet grizzly ends and join the skeleton army? Who dares sail with Jason and the Argonauts?
     The second installment in Paul W.S. Anderson's wildly successful video game adaption series. When Umbrella finds they are unable to contain the infection from overtaking Raccoon City, they pull their assets and begin an operation to remove all evidence. Tragically, Dr. Ashford's daughter was misplaced in the rush. Now Ashford is reaching out to game protagonists Jill Valentine and Carlos Olivera to support film protagonist Alice to save his daughter before nukes rain down and Tyrant rips them all in half. Who will pull themselves out of the wreckage of Resident Evil: Apocalypse?
     All that and Dave burns chrome, Kevin is filled with the Holiday Spirit, and Tyler learns that he bleeds T-virus. 

Join us, won't you?

Episode 236- Evilnauts

Harold and Yuki

      This week Dave takes it upon himself to amend two grievous oversights. After learning about gaps in cohost viewings, and making some small sacrifices to Meiko Kaji for guidance, a vision was given unto Dave and he cheated the random pick pull to bring everyone to deliverance.

     Born to avenge her family, trained through her entire childhood, finally unleashed and hell bent on gory revenge. Yuki seeks out those who killed her father and brother and spent days raping and torturing her mother. Raising standard samurai exploitation to the highest of visual poetry, not even death can keep Lady Snowblood from her satisfaction.

     Harold is bored and the only thing that keeps him entertained is a light spot of dramatic suicide. His mother, uncle, and therapist don't understand him and he can't live the life they proscribe for him. Then one day, at another crashed funeral, Maude drifts into his life. A dark comedy about existential anxiety and what might be found when you embrace it. One of cinema's greatest love stories, Harold & Maude.
     All that and Kevin gets dirty in Cape Town, Tyler spirals in nostalgia, and Dave runs out of places to hide his sacrifices. 

Episode 205- Harold and Yuki

Willie Robbers

      Two movies that shed light on the difference between theft and larceny. 

     When their homes are targeted by the local country club as an idea spot for their new golf course, the Goon Dock's young residents won't take it lying down. A stolen map, bike, wish, and wallet all lead to a classic adventure with a small amount of grave robbing. The petty larceny never ends when you are hanging on the strings of green and blues with The Goonies.

     Down on his luck Zed arrives in Paris with the hope of reconnecting with an old friend who has a job waiting for him. After an afternoon with a lovely young woman and a night celebrating with his friend, Zed gets to work. The work just happens to be breaking into a vault while his friend runs hostage control. One of them happens to be really terrible at his job. Breaking into a bank vault is theft. I know, I didn't expect it either. Of course why does any of that matter when they are Killing Zoe?

     All that and Tyler makes Dave hurt himself while Kevin completes his Iron Throne of popsicle sticks. Join us, won't you?

Episode 202- Willie Robbers

Rising Fall

     Two tales of walks through the darker sides of the street with twists and turns and twists.
     A trio of grad students find the most interesting subject for their final project- a slasher killer preparing to make his debut. As their subject leads them through a behind the scenes look at the world of Freddy, Jason, and Michael is there something more going on the crew haven't noticed yet? Will they lose their nerve and tell his target? Will they sell him out to his own personal Loomis? Will they get a real glimpse of what is Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon?
     1960s indie auteur Doris Wishman's transitional film to the full on sexploitation she would be best known for. A Boston housewife is attacked by the janitor and accidentally kills him in self defense. Seeing no option but to go on the run, she soon finds herself in a series of emotionally and physically traumatic situations while the dragnet gets ever tighter. Will she find safe harbor? Will the housewife end her days behind bars? A double twisted film where Bad Girls Go to Hell.
     All that and Kevin Shudders through the night, Chris mourns a devastating loss, Tyler bathes in the blood of kaiju, and Dave endures new levels of psychological torture. Join us, won't you?
Episode 200- Rising Fall

Caat Kune Doh

      This week Kevin makes Tyler's happy happy and Craig roundhouse kicks everyone in the teeth.... or would if his leg could lift higher than a shuffle.

     At long last the world of Harmony Korine is unleashed upon us. In the tornado devastated town of Xenia, Ohio a pair of point and laugh redneck kids stumble around killing cats and grannies. Meanwhile three sisters and a guy with a bunny hat and shorts lead a parade of different looking people who are there for you to point and laugh at... Gummo.

     From Nepal comes wannbe action hero and all around blighted sponge on the memory of Bruce Lee- Shuny Bee. What happens if you take a real life Johnny Lawrence and his students make a film around him? Basically this but even less competent and head up the ass pretensions and desperate than you are imagining. Don't join the Fight of Fury.

     All that and Dave forgot his brainwash, Kevin tries to shame us all with his classy, and Tyler is in a happy place trance. Join us, won't you?

Episode 191- Caat Kune Doh

Grudge Match

     This week we bring Japanuary to a close with an overview of theatrical released Ju-On films.

     Seven people all wonder into the wrong house for various reasons and regret it pretty quickly. Kayako and Toshio unleash their brand of revenge in Ju-On: The Grudge (2002).

     Seeing the potential there, Hollywood was quick to get their own but wisely decided to bring the original creator along with a bigger budget and a fistful of CW actors in The Grudge (2004)

     Some times you lose sight of why a series works and make really bad follow ups in a new continuity... Like what happened with Leatherface seventy times. Ju-On: The Beginning of the End (2014).

     Finally who doesn't love a good tag team match? Sadako vs Kayako (2016) breathes new life into two of the century's most dominant nightmares.
Join us, won't you?

Episode 190- Grudge Match

Necro Firearm Escape

      This week the last hand painted film, the most recent war blockbuster, and our third Asami film!

      A pair of assassins drive through the dessert. To cover the hours one tells the tale of a doctor who becomes a revenge focused mastermind when his wife is murdered. The doctor buys a woman, an addict sex worker, and molds her into the ultimate killing machine. An amazing physical lead performance drives this exploitation action fest. As the blood flies and the nipples expose, can anything stop Gun Woman?

     British and French forces are pushed to the northern beaches and surrounded in the town of Dunkirk. Looking at the evacuation from land, sea, and air, Christopher Nolan wrangles a large ensemble cast between epic war story of Dunkirk.

     Prestigious Ginei Studios has gone bankrupt and shut it's doors for the last time. In celebration of it's glorious past television interviewer Genya and his cameraman Kyoji have a life spanning interview with the studio's biggest star, Chiyoko Fujiwara, who disappeared from the spotlight thirty years earlier. A surreal work from one of Japan's undisputed masters of animation, Millennium Actress.

     All that and next week we bring Japanuary to a close with a look at the seminal J-horror series JU-ON. Join us, won't you?

Episode 189- Necro Firearm Escape

Criminal Activities

     This week multiple masterminds make mischievous misfortune for moral masses and mobbed moneylenders.

     Now that his son is getting to the point of fleeing the nest, widower Shigeharu looks to connect with a woman in hopes of wifing a nice younger woman. Instead of turning to the normal methods of bars and matchmakers and online profiles, he and his producer friend decide to hold a fake casting call. Because nothing says "I am looking for love" like a light Weinstein session. His eye is caught by Asami and he worms his way in.... unfortunately he doesn't notice the corpses strewn about. Takashi Miike's first international breakthrough film, which lead the early 2000s J-horror boom and inspired the Hostel style US body horror trend, based on a novel by Ryu Murakami... Audition.

     Underground black and white Japanese cyberpunk from cult filmmaker Shozin Fukui shows how much you can do with nothing but determination and stuff stolen from your neighbor's garage band. A pair of rogue scientists perform psychic drug experiments on people grabbed off the street. Subjecting them to brutal tortures that end in horrible deaths and failure... until their final project yields even more terrifying results. Sex, drugs, Speedos, and a whole lot of high concept insanity are crammed in Rubber's Lover.
     One of the best action film directors to ever command a set, one of the most unlikely romantic heroes of the 1970s, a bank robbery gone wrong, a hitman on their trail, and only one way out. Don Siegel delivers another tough and cynical film with a stellar cast, anchored by the great Walter Matthau, in the mostly overlooked gem that is Charley Varrick.
     All that and Kevin moves his command center to a new underground bunker, Dave knows that two actors in that movie were in popular ST roles but he wanted to go easy on them, and Tyler loves like only loving lovers love. Join us, won't you?

Episode 188- Criminal Activities 

Playground of Torturous Cartoon Sausage

      This week a classic, a brutal experiment, and a beloved by some art film.

     A bureaucrat ground down by three decades in the same monotonous position with a son who only appears to care about his pension and inheritance learns that his days are drawing to a close sooner than he expects. Setting out to find how to love life and find meaning in his own, he stumbles through the city. A master's achingly humanist meditation on what one can do when they find their passion and leave their mark, no matter how small or large, is the real way to live- Ikiru.
     Waking up in a claustrophobic nightmare, a man must find his way out before he bleeds to death. Can he make it out of his Haze?
     Tom Green- Canadian, comedian, TV host, film star, former lover of Gertie, Disney Princess. What happens when Fox gives him several million and lets him run wild? There was only one possible outcome... Freddy Got Fingered.
All that and we try very hard to no get political. Join us, won't you?

Episode 187- Playground of Tortuous Cartoon Sausage

Tank VS Sub

     This week we roll into 2021 and Japanuary with an action classic, a pinku classic, and a listener selected overlooked war movie from that long distant mythical time called the 1980s.

     What do you get when you unleash an escaped prisoner, a young woman, four yakuza, and a whole lot of zombies in the middle of a forest that doubles as a gateway to the otherside of this mortal coil? A lot of bloody fun in Versus.
     When she was a high school freshman Naoko was abducted and imprisoned by her neighbor. She went through a month of Hell. Now she lives a double life. By day she is one of Japan's top experts in fertility, by night she is a popular submissive at a high scale S&M club. Naoko has spent her life chasing a feeling she once had in captivity but what is it exactly? Is it the taste of a Sweet Whip (Amai Muchi)?
     A Russian tank is separated from the column. Meanwhile, Taj returns home to find it destroyed and his brother killed. With the tank lost and a group of revenge hungry mujahideen on their trail how long will the group of soldiers keep it together or will their interpersonal conflicts kill them all? Can Taj rise to fill his brother's shoes and lead this group and his village? Or is The Beast truly unstoppable?
     All that and Dave fights Skype, Kevin yearns for the old days of hot buttered crumpets, and Tyler wistfully dreams of Mitsu Dan. Join us, won't you?

Episode 186- Tank VS Sub

The Chickens, The Cats, Some T-Birds, and a Rat

     This week we bring 2020 to a close and embrace the warmth of the holidays with that genre that says togetherness like no other... Musicals. Four screeching pitchy nightmare visions of the hell that is 2021 awaiting us all... or not.

     Memories. Of a musical loved by children. A fun and high enery show that familes can love. Turned to creepy. With Dutch ang...les... Every cg face can be a terrifying vision. They don't stay on and Tom Hooper is crying. We saw Cats! It's so easy to flee screaming... 
Okay. Maybe that doesn't work to the tune of Memory.
     The first collaboration between the House of Mouse and the Studio Apartment of Mayhem. A script that blends a classic of English holiday literature with the merry mayhem only Henson can provide, with a strong script and songs that will stay with you for decades... Does it get much better than The Muppet Christmas Carol? 
     Dolly Parton. What else can anyone ask for? Okay, fine. There's also a little Burt Reynolds and a tiny bit of Jim Nabors and a fleeting glimpse of Charles Durning. All together in a Lone Star shaped romp of sex and football and fake news and politics and minor acts of gross use of force and intimidation. It's not some third rate flop, it's The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
     The Next Generation rises to take the reigns from the legends that came before. Supported by a gaggle of legends from the Golden Era. Does it sink or swim? Is there any gas left in Grease 2?

     All that and Anna drinks enough to make the others tolerable company, Kevin plans a heist the likes of which has only come from a Micklewhite, Dave goes full Santa, and Tyler puts lumps of coal in his underoos for maximum pleasure. Join us, won't you?

Episode 185- The Chickens, The Cats, Some T-Birds, and a Rat

Cowabunga-ed in Carbonite

     In the penultimate episode of 2020 we go to two happy places.

     Long long ago in a galaxy far far away, a group of people where chilling, literally, on an ice planet when the evil Empire found them and kicked off a whole bunch of problems for the second to last Jedi, his secret sister, her smuggler lover, his hairy life partner, and their sentient android slaves. Yeah, that's bad but it's The Empire Strikes Back. Hard to find new ways to describe it.
     Long long ago in a city on the East Coast, four teenage ninjas had just taken out the vicious leader of a criminal gang driving the worst petty crime wave in history. Unfortunately, their rest and celebration is cut short as their enemies return thirsty of mutated revenge shenanigans. Also Vanilla Ice is there... what will be revealed by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze?
     All that and Kevin had higher highs and lower lows, Dave does Santa right, and Tyler loves like a loving lover who loves. Join us, won't you?

Episode 184- Cowabunga-ed in Carbonite