Half Price Horror
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142 episodes
It's an adaptation of HP Lovecraft, directed by the great Stuart Gordon and starring Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, and Ken Foree! All coming out just a year after Gordon's hit film 'Re-Animator', and yet somehow it doesn't even get half the love of that cult classic. Come listen to an episode on it and let's see if we can't change all that.
Larry Cohen returns to the 'It's Alive' franchise one final time with this over-the-top celebration of everything wonderful about his maverick, high-concept style. Do you want to hear about a courtroom scene with stop-motion mutant babies? Do you want to hear about this film's influences on 'The Lost World'? Well strap in, because we've got a wild ride for you!
If there's one thing that feels like it should guarantee comedy gold, it's taking the satirical series "The Office" and combining it with a gruesome and gory horror premise. So why did 'Severance', a movie that asks the question, "What if the cast of 'The Office' wandered into 'Wrong Turn'?", fall so flat? Well, listen to the episode and find out!
More and more mutant babies are being born every day, and the government has decided to kill them in the delivery room rather than see them survive. Is it a metaphor for the generational clash that defined the 60s? Is it a commentary on the complicated fears surrounding parenting? Is it another Larry Cohen exploitation flick that we're about to do a deep dive into? The answer to all of it is "yes"!
Every once in a while, a new voice in cinema comes along to remind us that there's no such thing as a stale trope. Sure, we've all seen vampire movies... but have you seen a black-and-white Iranian feminist vampire romance with notes of Sergio Leone? Come along with HPH and explore this fascinating twist on a traditional tale!
"There's only one thing wrong with the Davis baby... It's Alive." One of the best slogans of the 70s heralds the introduction to maverick guerrilla director Larry Cohen and his iconic creations, the mutant babies with a telepathic ability to sense hatred and a vicious anger at anyone who would try to harm them. Let's dig into the whole weird, wonderful, shlocky, social-commentary heavy thing!
Some people call it the beginning of Romero's second zombie trilogy. Me, I think it's the perfect capper to the cycle of films he began all the way back in 1968 with 'Night of the Living Dead'. And maybe after you listen to this episode on the biggest-budget, most star-studded of all of the 'Dead' films, you'll agree!
We've stepped outside of the continuity of the 'Elm Street' films, but that doesn't mean there's no Freddy. And it certainly doesn't mean there's no danger. That's right, it's time for a deep dive into the trippy world of metafiction as the cast of the original 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' is menaced by the dream demon they created... perhaps... in 1994's 'Wes Craven's New Nightmare'!
So what happens when your visionary star director dips, your Oscar-winning screenwriter goes to jail, and a bunch of angry nerds have notes on how to make your sequel more like a video game? You get 'Silent Hill: Revelation', that's what! Come on over and hear about the beleaguered production, its many expositional speeches and dodgy accents, and the five minutes in the middle that make it all worthwhile.
We come here today to remember a man who was always generous with his laughter, who gave unstintingly of his time and attention to the vulnerable youths not just of Springwood but to the neighboring towns and cities. A father, a craftsman, and a survivor. It's time at last to put Freddy into the ground... and if he won't stay down, this episode will talk about the reasons why.
A patch of ground where the dead won't stay buried. A loving husband who gets sucked into a supernatural nightmare. Revenants who rise from their grave filled with a murderous hatred for the living. And yet, it's somehow not 'Pet Sematary'! It's not even an Italian knock-off - this is 'Zeder', an overlooked gem from 1983 that combines conspiracy thriller and zombie flick to create something strange and new and inventive. Join me for a deep dive into its mysteries!
The 80s are ending, the Satanic Panic is fading fast as we transition from Reagan to Bush... but you know what people are still freaking out about? Teen pregnancy! So naturally it's time for Freddy to menace a teen mom as we dig into the last of the "dream powers" trilogy of 'Nightmare' movies, 'A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child'. Come on and join in!
Time to take a detour into British Gothic horror, as we examine one of the few non-anthology films to come from Amicus and find out exactly what happens when the screaming starts!
With 'Dream Warriors' seemingly providing an infallible formula for the success of the franchise, New Line was quick to capitalize on their hit by rushing a new installment into theaters. But a shortened schedule and a writer's strike made this film into its own production nightmare--did they wake up to heaps of money and critical praise? Listen to this episode and find out!
Time to take a look at an 80s cult classic that's not to be confused with 'The Pit' or 'The Keep' - this one's about the kids who dig a hole all the way to Hell while looking for geodes in the backyard and unleash horrors beyond imagining. Join us for an exploration of childhood terrors, model rocketry, and stark body horror all wrapped up in a family-friendly package!
Time for a bit of a hawt take, as we take a look at the single most popular installment of the 'Nightmare' franchise and suggest that maybe, just maybe, taking the single bleakest script Wes Craven ever wrote and crashing it straight into Chuck Russell's "spooky carnival ride" aesthetic - then adding a helping of sexual assault - might have produced something that's a little bit of a trainwreck. Agree? Disagree? Listen to the podcast and find out where we're getting it from!
"I'm changing specialties, Doctor Grant." It's a small sentence, but it's got a big impact as Mary Mason goes from rising-star medical student to illegal mob doctor, professional torturer, and "extreme body modifier" for a niche community of body mod enthusiasts in this extremely unconventional crime/horror movie. Are you ready to find out all the things people can do to themselves and each other? Then let's dive in!
It's 1985 - do you know what your children are dreaming about? Of course they're dreaming about Freddy, in a sequel that's decidedly different and very interesting to discuss! We get into the film's queer subtext, its very nearly queer text, and the bizarre decision to include a murder parakeet in what's ostensibly a horror movie.
Who'd have thunk that a 90s video game would lead to one of the best Southern Gothics ever committed to film? Join us for every convoluted plot twist, every decaying building, every collision of past and present as we dig into 2006's 'Silent Hill'!
We've dug deep into Jason, we've analyzed Michael to death, but there's one horror icon of the 80s we haven't even dreamed about tackling until now... Robert Englund's classic slasher, Fred Krueger. So let's take a look at the 1984 original and all the ways it tackles very 80s fears about neglectful parenting, recovered memories, and liberal judges in its skillful blending of dreams and reality.
They say silence kills, but what do you do when talking can be just as lethal? Take a risk and listen to me speak in English about the 2008 ferociously independent, utterly brilliant low-budget indie horror movie 'Pontypool'! It's a film words really can't suffice to describe, but I'll try. Try. Try. Try.
Somewhere between 'Day of the Dead' and 'Land of the Dead' lies an odd, sometimes forgotten oddity - a remake of the original 'Night' authorized and produced by George A Romero, but directed by his friend and collaborator Tom Savini. What does it have to say? Honestly quite a lot, so let's dive into it together!
It's Halloween weekend, and y'all know what that means: Elvira! This year, we join Elvira as she skewers the 1980... ish... creature feature 'Monstroid', aka 'Monster' aka 'It Came From the Lake' aka 'The Toxic Horror'. And with that many titles, you know you're dealing with a great movie!
Start spreading the news, because just like Jason Voorhees, Ghostface is heading to the City That Never Sleeps! Join us for every gory detail... literally and figuratively... as the Scream franchise officially enters the Core Four installment with 'Scream VI'!
Spooky Season just wouldn't be spooky without a little dip into found footage, and they don't come much better than 2007's Spanish classic, 'Rec'! So come ride along with our crew of first responders and our TV journalists as they stumble into a nightmare of claustrophobia, paranoia, and the most ferocious gaggle of zombies this side of '28 Days Later' as we take a deep dive into a modern classic!
It's time to conclude our look at the 'Evil Dead' franchise and continue our trip through Spooky Season at the same time, as we dive into the high-profile and big-ticket sequel to Sam Raimi's classic helmed by writer/director Lee Cronin. But between the weird pro-life messaging, the antiquated worship of the nuclear family, and some problematic behavior from the lone trans character, let's just say that it's also time to give a little side-eye to the latest 'Evil Dead'. Join us!
Spooky Season's starting, and the movies don't come much bigger than this - literally or figuratively. Almost seventy years ago, the atomic monster known as Godzilla first came to Japan's shores... and while he's visited some thirty times since then, there's nothing quite like the original. Let's dive in and talk nuclear paranoia, post-war pacifism, and everything else that makes up the 1954 classic 'Godzilla'!
The time has come to test the mettle of man, as Ash Williams tries to fight evil without his chainsaw, his sidekicks, or even his trusty Delta 88 Classic in the series finale of 'Ash Vs Evil Dead'! JOIN US... as we break down the last five episodes and see how the last season of the cult series sticks the landing and goes out with a bang as the "Summer of Sam" concludes!
The long Summer of Sam is winding to a close... but we can't leave without looking at where the man is today, and that means examining Raimi's latest directorial effort for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But is it horror? Well, it's got people possessing corpses, mouths sealing up into blank flesh, and the souls of the damned, so that qualifies it in my unholy book! Let's dive into the Multiverse of Madness!
It's time to enter the final season of Ashley Joanna Williams' adventures fighting the Evil Dead, and that means secret kids, magical kids, ancient knightly orders, and a ghostly return for everyone's favorite Six Million Dollar Dad! That's right, we are going in hot for the first half of Season Three of 'Ash Vs Evil Dead'... JOIN US!
