Unswung Hammer

     This week we pack a toolbox with overlooked titles from The Studio That Dripped Blood.

     Simon, an aged American tourist, picks up Joan, a young local, after Joan had previously lured him into a mugging. This rages her biker gang leading brother, King, who chases them around the coast. Eventually the pair take refuge in a very curious cave full of well mannered school children. An anti-nuclear sci-fi drama directed by a backlisted American director-  The Damned.
     A novelist arrives in an unassuming town, exactly 40 years after its last outbreak of vampires, just in time for its next one. Meanwhile, the reincarnated lady loving vampire finds a finishing school, stuffed to the rafters with nubile young socialites, on the grounds of their castle property. Having become obsessed with one of the students, the novelist maneuvers to become a teacher at the school. Soon enough both of the nubile focused predators cross paths but nothing can sate- Lust for a Vampire.
     Jean Carter, daughter of a small Canadian town's freshly hired school principal, has a restless night and confides to her parents about an event that happened with her new friend and an elderly man. The Carters demand charges be brought against the patriarch of the wealthiest and most powerful family in town. As extreme hostility toward the Carters build, another horrible crime looms in the future. A statement on community being weaponized to support wealth and power at all costs, regardless of victim and history- Never Take Sweets from a Stranger.
     Captain Collier comes to a town on the Romney Marsh to investigate rumors of smuggling. Doctor Blyss, the town's parson, is behind the smuggling ring and has a secret only shared with two others. The town's coffin-maker and a mute former pirate in the custody of Collier. The two men will soon have a fatal confrontation. Based on the first book in Russell Thorndike's classic adventure series and forced to use an alternate title due to Disney adapting another title in the series simultaneously- Captain Clegg.
     All that and Dave watches some TV, Tyler wonders if he's lost a bit of his joy, Kevin wonders if squirrels can smuggle, and Craig watches some deep cuts. Join us, won't you?
   Episode 458- Unswung Hammer

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)

To the Victor Goes the Spoils

     This week- two films about men driven to their breaking points by obsession and cognitive issues.

     As bombs fall on England, a once famous Shakespearean actor still takes to the boards every night, knowing ever line of The Bard by heart. While Sir may still be a commanding presence on stage, off he is beginning to succumb to his age and slowly progressing dementia. His life is managed by his dresser, Norman, who has taken Sir's tirades and rants for decades. Can the pair find new ground and accept the old becomes untenable? Will they cling to the niches they long ago carved out for themselves beyond the point of tragedy? Nominated for five Oscars and six BAFTAs and released the same years as director Peter Yates' fantasy cult classic, The Dresser.
     Awaiting execution in Switzerland, Baron Victor Frankenstein tells his incredible story to a priest. Orphaned and taking control of his family estate at 15, Victor finds a tutor, Paul, with an equally inquisitive scientific mind. Thinking he has found a kindred spirit, the pair begin to experiment with the intertwining foundations of existence, reversing the finality of death. Soon Victor conceives larger and more daring experiments. The first in Hammer's unique approach to a Frankenstein series that gifts one of the greatest and most compelling villains in film, The Curse of Frankenstein. 
     All that and Dave gets kawaii, Tyler denies the call of the footlights, Craig feels true emotions swelling in the cockles of his heart, and Kevin still likes to watch. Join us, won't you?
   Episode 426- To the Victor Goes the Spoils

 

Low Stakes Horror

     This week- a classic gothic horror from England and a, uh, different type of classic for a very dedicated type of audience.
     In 1885, self proclaimed librarian Jonathan Harker arrives take charge of some books at a lonely castle. Mr. Harker didn't tell anyone that his real job is vampire hunter and the noble whose books he used as cover is named Dracula. Things don't work out as planned and soon Dr. Van Helsing goes to find Harker while Dracula goes to find Harker's friends in England. Hammer's first entry in it's take on Bram Stoker's fangy fiend, Dracula (aka Horror of Dracula).
     In 1995, a shlub whose barely holding on to his job taking family portraits finds himself being called to be a hero. When he and five others are trapped inside a building by a mischievous spirit from the distant past. Will our shutterbug step up or will the sun rise on the building only inhabited by the dead? The middle entry in Donald G Jackson's puppet trilogy starring Joe Estevez and Conrad Brooks, Baby Ghost.
     All that and... three of us fall into unrelenting cinematic despair while Craig cackles from his hidden fortress's throne room. Join us, won't you?

    Episode 357- Low Stakes Horror

(Acid) Bath & Beyond

     This week- English people get up to some not nice things.

     A jogger collapses and wakes up an amputee. An Eastern European totalitarian murders his way up the ranks. Finally, the worst cop in London teams with the angriest young pathologist to stop a brutal killer targeting young women. An absurd exercise in science fiction with support from three of horror's favorite sons, Scream and Scream Again.
     Miriam and her husband take a long trip to visit her sister, Greta, and brother-in-law, Dylan. Sometime in the future, Miriam and Greta's relationship is strained to near breaking while they set up for Dylan's family reunion. Sometime between these scenes, a brutal act of betrayal and an equally brutal act of vengeance. In the end, Miriam makes ice cream. Writer-directors Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli's vicious rape-revenge film anchored by powerful lead performances, Violation. 
     All that and Dave objects, Craig makes recommendations, and Tyler is blissfully unaware of his impending doom at the cute paws of a squirrel army. Join us, won't you?
    Episode 352- (Acid) Bath & Beyond