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)