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)

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

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

 

Synaptic Rotation

     This week- two films featuring men abusing their positions of power and the fallout from it.

     Miss Giddens is hired as a governess at Bly Manor. She is immediately taken with her young charge, Flora, and strikes an instant friendship with Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper. Despite the encouraging start, small moments of discomfort begin to poke at Miss Giddens new normal. When Miles is expelled from his boarding school, Miss Giddens finds herself caught up in the effects from the not too distant past. Based on one of the most influential horror tales ever written with a screenplay co-written by Truman Capote, taking a three week break from his magnum opus to work on it, and casting its own shadow nearly as long for itself- The Innocents.
     Lillian founds a ballet company in the name of her late husband. Her ambulance-chasing attorney, Roland T. Flakfizer- assisted by associated   Rocco and Jacques, face off against the late husband's equally conniving lawyer, Edmundo Lazlo. The legal eagles compete to sign the world's greatest ballet dancer, "The Great" Volare, and to deliver an awe-inspiring Broadway debut for the new company. Inspired by the Marx Brothers, even being filmed at the same locations as several of their most beloved films, produced by David and Jerry Zucker, and fully embracing the "they don't make them like they used to" lifestyle- Brain Donors.
     All that and Kevin enthuses, Dave forgot, and Tyler weeps in his Happy Place. Join us, won't you?
   Episode 416- Synaptic Rotation

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
                 

That's an Odd Kiss

     This week we kick off October and Horror Season with something old from a legendary studio and something new from a go-to service for fright fiends.

     Gerald and Marianne honeymooning through Bavaria in 1910 run out of gas and learn they are miles off course and days away from any fuel delivery. Taking refuge at the local inn, they catch the eye of Dr. Ravna and his children who invite them to a ball at their home. Separated during the festivities Gerald soon discovers that under all the frivolity lies a vampiric cult. Can Gerald save his bride? Will anyone lend him aid besides the drunk professor? Could Marianne really prefer the life of a bloodsucker? Don Sharp's first film for Hammer, Kiss of the Vampire.
     Alone one night, while renovating her new home, Dani is brutally murdered. A former patient of her psychiatrist husband, Ted, is quickly convicted of the crime and sent back into Ted's care. Justice being quickly served, Ted begins his life anew and takes up with Yana, a pharmaceutical rep. Just when Ted thinks he can move on with his life, his deceased wife's blind twin sister shows up at his door with an unusual gift. Was the right person convicted? Will Ted ever find peace to leave his tragedy in the past? Could the mysterious gift be the key to supernatural justice? The second feature from Damian McCarthy, shot in the same converted barn as his first, Oddity.
     All that and Dave probably missed something, Tyler spelunks the depth of exploitation nastiness, Kevin mourns the loss of another regiment in the squirrel army, and special guest Christianne (who can be found blogging as Vulnavia Morbius at krelllabs.blogspot.com) returns just in time to learn some very disturbing history. Join us, won't you?
    Episode 381- That's an Odd Kiss

Hospitable Tentacle

     This week- two films about tentacled fiends who might also be friends.

     When the moon is blown into a permeant crescent and the monster that claims credit is threatening to do the same to Earth in one year's time... unless the underachieving delinquent misfits of Middle School Class 3-E are able to assassinate it before then. In order to nurture their killer instinct, the multi-limbed monstrosity places itself as their teacher. Will the kids rise to the challenge or will they fail in their duty and doom the whole planet? The live action adaption of a wildly popular manga and anime, Assassination Classroom.
     A cheap Airbnb in Tokyo doesn't keep guests for very long. Every night the same horrific events play out to deadly results. Will anyone survive a night at this dump? Can the fleshy nightmare stalking its rooms be stopped? How has no one noticed like 50 people disappearing after booking this one room? The second feature from director Doug Roos and an impressive exercise practical effects, Bakemono.
     All that and Dave feels ultimate despair, Tyler tries to bring his Sheri Moon tattoos to life, and Kevin plots against the others for steadfastly refusing to record on his days off. Join us, won't you?
   Episode 344- Hospitable Tentacle

Fetish Zoomie Doll

     This week- a pair of films where men nearly bring ruin to their closest female family member by not checking in during extended work trips.

     While Saeko's husband is out of the country for work, she immediately starts a torrid affair with the piano tuner who also lives in her apartment complex. Meanwhile, their complex is being stalked by a serial murdering rapist who burns his victims to death. The second entry in Nikkatsu's violent pinku series Zoom Up opts for a more surreal giallo approach, Zoom In: Rape Apartments (aka ZOOM IN: Sex Apartments).
     Kazuhiko takes the long trip to his girlfriend's isolated home immediately after returning from a six-month work trip abroad. When he fails to call his sister over the next eight days, she and her fiancé trace his steps to uncover a horrifying history and its tragic consequences. The first in Toho's Bloodthirsty Trilogy of vampire films, The Vampire Doll (aka Legacy of Dracula).
     All that and Kevin's gonna need a bigger media room, Dave keeps losing the thread, and Tyler finally realizes he's been tricked into getting Nightbeast as a full back piece. Join us, won't you?
    Episode 343- Fetish Zoomie Doll

Coyote Enfeeblement

     This week a pair of horror thrillers that have somehow skipped many people's radar. 

     When Nina, Hesty, and Pono decide to go camping on a lake for the weekend, they never expected to meet a pair of hunky divers. When Caroko hired Johan and Tommy to dive for a missing treasure, totally expecting they would be picked off one by one if they didn't work fast enough. An Indonesian thriller that takes a hard left in its last act to become a semi-remake of an 80s slasher classic- Srigala (aka Wolf).

     In the summer of 1979, the father of Adam and Fenton Meiks is visited by an angel. The angel commands him to destroy demons disguised as normal people. In 2001, Fenton Meiks enters the FBI's Dallas field office and tells his story to the agent in charge of the recent God's Hand serial killings. The only feature directed by Bill Paxton, Frailty.
     All that and Craig gets classy, Dave is completely incapable of properly pronouncing anything, and Tyler unveils his most evil scheme yet. Join us, won't we?
    Episode 325- Coyote Enfeeblement

Greeting Knoll

     This week- a piercer gone too far and ten attempts to summit an incline. 

     The 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division receive five fresh replacements. They are placed under battle-weary Frantz, who has only a brief amount of time to get them ready for a major operation in the A Shau Valley. The battalion faces unexpected resistance while trying to take Hill 937. Over the course of ten days, Hill 937 would become a pivotal battle that lead to a massive shift in the US strategy, including, the first withdrawals, and leave the battle know as Hamburger Hill.
     Helverton, Colorado is a nice mountain town where a shockingly large percentage of the population is into Urban Primitivism. This doesn't even register to the police or normies until one takes things too far. Hunting mid90s chatrooms under the screenname Captain Howdy, a predator is capturing and torturing young teens. When Howdy takes the daughter of a local detective, no one suspects the events that will unfold and the lasting scars left on the town. A film read the coming trends a bit too early for audiences, Strangeland.
     All that and Dave learns how to use AOL, Craig considers investing in a slip on catheter company, Tyler loves like a loving lover loves, and Kevin dreams of distant pastures and gasoline. Join us, won't we?
    Episode 324- Greeting Knoll

Beatroot, Texas

     This week- two trips into unfamiliar territory in vans that become crime scenes.

     When Dean, Duncan, DJ Beatroot, and Ian are dropped off along the road to hike through the highlands for a the Duke of Edinburgh Award, they never dreamed they would be hunted by an older couple wearing masks. Soon the boys are in a desperate fight for their lives with only their limited wits and local fauna excrement to save them. Meanwhile, Sargent Morag hunts a notorious thief. A darling of the 2019 South by Southwest Film Festival and debut feature of writer/director Ninian Doff- Get Duked! (aka Boyz in the Wood).
     It's 1974, for some reason, and a van full of kids are driving through remote and empty backroads they are totally unfamiliar with on their way to see Lynyrd Skynyrd, with front row seats. They decide to pick up a second female wondering the side of the road, probably hoping she will be as friendly as the first one was. Unfortunately, the new pick up is severely traumatized and our leads are too damn thick to not get themselves killed. The first film from Platinum Dunes, the feature debut of prolific music video director Marcus Nispel, and a remake of Craig's favorite horror movie- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003).
     All that and Kevin shouts from the void, Dave eats pizza, Tyler builds a nu metal instrument, and Craig has a existential crisis. Join us, won't we?
  Episode 321- Beatroot, Texas

Hill Street Boos

    This week- a couple of scam artists and a fistful of cops.

     Rookie cop Roy reports for duty in East LA. He is partnered with Andy, a veteran quickly approaching mandatory retirement. Roy thinks he will only be a cop long enough to make it through law school but, for some, the job becomes their all consuming obsession. Based on the novel by Joseph Wambaugh, The New Centurions.
     George and Kathy Lutz, with Kathy's three children, move into a beautiful home with enough room for all, a massive yard, and private lake access. It's perfect... and shocking affordable, due to one of the previous residents killing their whole family. Soon after they move in, strange things begin to happen. Is the house haunted? Will George reenact the horrific events of the previous owners? Will the priest ever get Ma Bell to fix his phone? The Amityville Horror.
     All that and Dave changes shape, Tyler rolls in something, and Kevin starts betting on internet cat fights. Join us, won't you?

     Episode 317- Hill Street Boos

Boards & Bars

     This week- a pair of nightmares.

     For Michael's seventeenth birthday, his bestie Tony gifts him one of Hasbro's most popular board games and a pair of supernatural bonus gifts that apparently come with it. Now Michael has to try and save people we have to assume are his friends, despite how much believing he has friends breaks suspension of disbelief, from a serial killer. Why is Michael having these visions? Who is killing his circle of distant acquaintances? How much extra did they pay the romantic interest for her massive ability to not roll her eyes while speaking to Michael? No matter what, just Don't Panic.
     DC area punk band, Arlington's The Ain't Rights, are on an extended couch surfing tour on the other side of the country. Low on cash, out of gas, and without any future gigs they take a well paying slot in a Neo-Nazi bar somewhere outside of Portland. Soon they are drawn into a violent event that leaves them terrified, barricaded, and with little hope they will see the next morning. What happened in the Green Room?
     All that and Dave hopes dimensions to meet other Daves - they are all bastards but very pretty, Tyler plots revenge against the Pokemon Company, and Kevin swears a blood oath to the demon that lives in his neighbor's sump pump. Join us, won't you?
    Episode 311- Boards & Bars

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

Bed, Baphomet, & Beyond

     This week a pair of trips to cities of night. 

     Aaron Boone dreams of Midian, a city of monsters. Boone's psychotherapist, Dr. Decker, has a hobby he wants Boone to take credit for. Soon both men will seek out Midian and its secrets for very different reasons. Will Boone be able to lead them to a safer future or will Decker see them all destroyed? Clive Barker's second directorial feature and cult favorite with nearly as many edits as Blade Runner, Nightbreed.

     Dylan Dog was the go-to for justice among the supernatural set until his wife was murdered and he took revenge against the vampires he believed responsible. Retiring to normal human PI work, Dylan is drawn back into the nocturnal when a werewolf murders an antiquities dealer for a mystical cross that summons an unstoppable demon. Can Dylan get his groove back before its too late? Very loosely based on the Italian fumetto that has been a huge inspiration to the horror genre globally for decades, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night.
     All that and Dave means Nightmare Man, Tyler gets his tv on, and Kevin vanishes under a postal delivery. Join us, won't you?
    Episode 301: Bed, Baphomet, & Beyond

Prestidigitation Automation

     This week- a whole bunch of people who are in questionable states of mind. 

     When Gallico, an aspiring magician and underappreciated inventor of death defying stage effects, is stopped in the middle of his professional debut by his employer he might finally be pushed too far. With his brilliant mind for tricks and make up, Gallico begins a path of revenge in glorious 3D. Can anyone stop The Mad Magician?
     Young-goon refuses to eat, believing she is a cyborg. After trying to plug herself in to recharge, an action interpreted as a suicide attempt by all around her, she is institutionalized. Il-soon is an anti-social kleptomaniac, who believes he can steal other's attributes and skills, with a penchant for rabbit masks. Will Young-goon waste away, can Il-soon steal her sympathy so she can get revenge on the "men in white"? Either way I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK.
     All that and Tyler gets stuck burning through the witches ditches, Dave finds a hidden treasure, and Kevin gives up speech for interpretive dance. Join us, won't you?
    Episode 299- Prestidigitation Automation

Pious Vice

     This week a pair of walks on the wild side that end in fairly similar results.
     The movie version of a 1980s titan of television. Crockett and Tubs are undercover vice detectives. When they stumble on to a joint federal agency operation against a paramilitary cartel. The operation is leaking information and unable to move forward. Soon Crockett and Tubs take the reigns and find themselves in deep cover making inroad to what could be the largest trafficking takedown in history. Michael Mann's 2006 update of the show that made casual suits cool for a decade- Miami Vice.
     Down a major highway, in the middle of nowhere, you will find a truck stop known for such good and clean sex workers that it has earned a very special call sign. Not far from them a very devout cult have also taken up residence. When a seemingly timid girl from the cult takes refuge with the sex workers, things take a sharp turn into the nightmarish. A throwback thriller that gets the feel right- Candy Land.
     All that and Craig awakens, Tyler searches for beskar, Dave gets toony, and Kevin watches over something truly vile. Join us, won't you?
    Episode 396- Pious Vice

Perpetual Luminescence

     This week- a dream of forgetting and a dream of the undead.

     After learning that his former girlfriend had her memories of him erased, Joel decides to undergo the same procedure. Meanwhile, the staff of the mind wiping clinic have drama of their own. Michel Gondry's surrealist exploration of memory and romance- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
     Keith and AJ want to hire a stripper to bypass the normal fraternity initiation. Since living in a 1980s movie means being unable to do anything in a reasonable way, the pair make a deal with rich and lonely student Duncan to get a ride to the next town where they plan to find a dancer to hire for immediate return to the campus. Going to an area of town where everything else shuts down before sunset, they decide to stop at the most desperate to avoid outside attention club ever opened. Of course, the club is owned and operated by vampires. The first feature by prolific action screenwriter Richard Wenk- Vamp.

     All that and Kevin slips in to some holly jolly, Dave scams for a slot on the nice list, and Tyler has a body cast chair made of Craig. Join us, won't you?
    Episode 287- Perpetual Luminescence

Congruous Sights

      This week three films that pair well together for a part of your October Challenge intake.

     Angela and Jackson Sayers are running a psychic scam on the people of Scotland. Jackson is in murderously deep debt to loan sharks and Angela begins to fear that her mental health is crumbling, just like her mother's years before. Jackson forces Angela to take on a case in what might be the worst possible place for them. Will the frauds see the light? Are there really ghosts in the West Wing? What was the real fate to befall these screaming specters? Will this be another job or are the forces at work Malevolent?

     Riley is a recovering addict living with her brother, his boyfriend, and their roommate. When her boyfriend convinces her to break into a warehouse, they find only a puzzle box. Riley accidentally solves the puzzle and avoids the hidden sacrificial blade. Soon the Hell Priest arrives to demand another sacrifice. After 15 years of development and delays and rights affirming franchise entries, the long promised reboot Hellraiser (2022).
     Chris Cleek, country attorney and extreme misogynist, discovers a feral cannibal woman bathing in a river. He decides to trap her, keep her in his root cellar, and domesticate her. Meanwhile, his daughter is going through issues of her own and his son could be following his father's footsteps a bit too closely. The middle entry in a trilogy following the supernatural feral cannibal, The Woman.

     All that and Tyler begins the Ritual of the Thorne, Dave catches up on hot titles, and Anna argues with the DA that her film choices do not equal elder abuse. Join us, won't you?
   Episode 279- Congruous Sights

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