“Galvanism isn’t working. It needs nourishment.” “Blood?” “Yes, blood. Human blood.” “The blood of a young girl?” “That would do perfectly.” Yup. That’s where they immediately went with no explanation, leaving your Grue Crew to wonder, “Why is it always the blood of a young girl?” Join this episode’s Grue Crew - Chad Hunt, Joseph Perry, Jeff Mohr, and guest host Mike Imboden - as they brave the film Peter Cushing considered to be the worst of his many films. The Blood Beast Terror (1968).
Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 27 – The Blood Beast Terror (1968)
A Tigon British Films Production, The Blood Beast Terror is tells the story of a series of murders, the victims of which are mysteriously drained of blood. Inspector Quinnell (Peter Cushing) is on the case, with the help of the intrepid Sergeant Allan (Glynn Edwards), and soon crosses paths with Dr. Mallinger (Robert Flemyng) and his beautiful daughter Clare (Wanda Ventham). Mallinger, an entomologist, has discovered a way to transform humans back and forth between a giant death’s head moth and their human form. As Quinnell’s and Allan’s investigation progresses, the body count rises and the clues become more and more alarming. The cast is rounded out with a morgue attendant (Roy Hudd) providing comic relief, Mallinger’s manservant Granger (Kevin Stoney), and Inspector Quinnell’s daughter Meg (Vanessa Howard).
Your Grue Crew is unanimous in their opinion that the story has potential, but the film seems to be missing essential bits while at the same time, includes lengthy scenes with no apparent value. The Blood Beast Terror is directed by Vernon Sewell, known as a director of British B-movies, and written by Peter Bryan, who scripted such films as The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), The Brides of Dracula (1960), and The Plague of the Zombies (1966). With those two filmmakers involved, it is difficult to see why the film feels so disjointed.
The saving grace of The Blood Beast Terror is Mr. Cushing’s acting and the film’s male and female versions of it’s monster. Jeff mentions that Mallinger’s manservant, Granger, looks more like a street thug than a butler and also wonders what’s up with the bird? According to Joseph, the entomological presentation Mallinger gives to his students is a spot on representation of a boring university lecture. Chad agrees that the low budget might have led to the missing chunks of the story. Even though the story seems to be missing pieces, Mike thinks the 88-minute run time feels much longer and points out the beginning of the film feels like three different movies, … and don’t forget the wiener dog. The entire Grue Crew thinks this film is ripe for a remake.
On this episode, the hosts also read listener feedback on the House of Wax (1953) episode from the Golden Age of Monster Movies FB Group: Steven Nevin, Leo Doroschenko, Viki Burns-Oexman, and Robert Browning; and the Horror News Radio FB Group: Albert Torres, Bill Gabriel, Jacob Allen, and John Slattery (for some reason, that name sounds familiar).
We plan to release a new episode every other week. The next episode in our very flexible schedule is Night of the Demon (1957), aka Curse of the Demon, selected by a Gruesome Magazine Patreon poll and hosted by Jeff Mohr, with guest host Jerry Chandler.
Please let us know what you think of Decades of Horror: The Classic Era and what films you’d like to hear us cover! We want to hear from you! After all, without you, we’re just four nutjobs talking about the films we love. Send us an email or leave us a message, a review, or a comment at GruesomeMagazine.com, iTunes, Stitcher, the Horror News Radio App, or the Horror News Radio Facebook group.
To each of you from each of us, “Thank you for listening!”
"It ate him... bit off his head... like a gingerbread man!" Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs) is mystified by the powers of creatures coming from The Resonator in From Beyond. The second HP Lovecraft adaptation from writer/director Stuart Gordon didn't blow up cult audiences nearly as much as Re-Animator upon its initial release. Yet, this feature adaptation is far closer to Lovecraft than most other versions of his stories out there. It's a bizarre, disorienting and - above all - goopy take on the legendary sci-fi/horror author. One that's clamoring for a dissection right here on Decades of Horror 1980s!
Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 129 – From Beyond (1986)
From Beyond did not ignite much attention when originally released. Shocker that a sci-fi horror story of BDSM, goopy mutation and body unraveling wasn't a mainstream hit. Yet, one can't help but be charmed now by Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton) trying to find out about this gap between humanity & alternative dimension aliens. Dr. Edward Pretorius (Ted Sorel) comes into our realm to show her. Thought the good doctor may not want the type of experimentation Dr. Pretorious is showing off. Hopefully, the pineal glands stay inside foreheads this time.
Here to describe all the bizarre horror of From Beyond is Doc Rotten, Thomas Mariani, and Christopher G. Moore. Thomas starts off by giving the apt adjective of "goopy." Doc has so much appreciation for the way Jeffrey Combs runs downstairs. Christopher takes a pause to mention how Lovecraftian this film is in comparison to Re-Animator and several other adaptations that followed. Unfortunately, Cthulhu doesn't show up to emphasize all this horror. Instead, there's plenty of goop to talk about! Just... make sure it doesn't get on your shoes.
We want to hear from you – the coolest, most gruesome fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at thomasmariani@decadesofhorror.com or docrotten@decadesofhorror.com.
Special thanks to Neon Devils for their awesome song Bone Chillin!
The Evil Dead (1981)
Parenting is tough. Sure, parents love their kids. But sometimes dealing with them is enough to be driven crazy. Well, hopefully not Nicolas Cage levels of crazy. Cage reunites with the Taylor half of Neveldine/Taylor for Mom and Dad, as he and Selma Blair are compelled to murder their children. Hilarity ensues... or does it? Horror News Radio's Grue Crew is set out to determine. Along for the ride is filmmaker and special effects guru Bill Mulligan, who puts his kaiju knowledge to the test as he analyzes the Netflix anime film Godzilla: Monster Planet. Does the King of Monsters take well to the animation format? Given the lack of Godzooky, one could probably assume yes. Dave Dreher is, unfortunately, M.I.A., but Doc steps in to breakdown Horror News of the Week. There's giant kaiju trailers, an announcement of a What We Do In The Shadows TV show and the possible return of Joe Bob Briggs to horror hosting. Then, Thomas wraps everything up with the return of the game show Phantom Factor. Hazzah!
As always, the HNR Grue-Crew would love to hear from you, the listeners, the fans. You can always reach out via email at feedback(AT)horrornewsradio(DOT)com or find us on Twitter: Doc Rotten | Dave Dreher | Thomas Mariani. Also, like us on Facebook and join the Horror News Radio Facebook Group.
Horror News Radio
Episode 251 – Mom And Dad – Godzilla: Monster Planet
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"Cinema! CINEMA!" Ben (Benoit Poelvoorde) celebrates his place in cinematic history to the empty buildings outside. Of course, it's merely an echo chamber for his own inflated ego. An ego he's bound to feed with continuous bouts of homicide. And it's all captured in Man Bites Dog, the French/Belgian mockumentary that's been crucial to the found footage and horror genres in general in the quarter of a century since its release. Decades of Horror 1990s and Beyond goes classy with a film about human ugliness, urban decay and the line between filmmaker & subject. Still, there's plenty of gore to be had. Ça semble excitant!
Decades of Horror 1990s And Beyond
Episode 35 – Man Bites Dog (1993)
Man Bites Dog is a challenging experience. We follow serial killer Ben as documentarians Remy and Andre (played by Poelvoorde's co-writers/directors Remy Belavaux and Andre Bonzel) film his exploits. Right from the start, Ben is killing innocent men and women without much remorse. It's how he makes ends meet. Kill a postman. Dump a body over a bridge. Invade an old person's house to find their stashed away money. As any professional murderer would do. Yet, he's not a discrete assassin without humanity. He's got a girlfriend and family he loves as well as a personable charisma that engages the audience. Which makes the horror all the more disturbing and the actions of Remy and Andre being seduced sadly relatable.
To talk about the complex aspects of Man Bites Dog, Thomas brings on two new voices to the show. One is the founder of FoundFootageCritic.com Michael Steinberg. The other is video essayist Shannon Strucci of StrucciMovies. Michael educates the group about the history of found footage and why Man Bites Dog is a crucial early example. Shannon admits her complete adoration for the confrontational daring on display. Thomas rangles all this together by keeping the influences made and the homages that came later. This is more of a thinking man's episode as we dissect the Criterion Collection entry for all the disturbing truths in unveils about humanity in glorious black and white.
We want to hear from you – the coolest, most gruesome fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1990s And Beyond podcast hosts at thomasmariani@decadesofhorror.com or tweet Thomas @NotTheWhosTommy. Also, make sure to give us some love via iTunes reviews and ratings. Helps us get more notice along the way.
The intro and outro is “Suck City” by Black Math. Look for more of their music via Free Music Archive.
Misery (1990)
“What terrifying craving made her kill... and kill... and kill...” the intriguing tagline for Frightmare (1974), aka Cover Up, provides just a hint of what Dorothy Yeates (Sheila Kieth) is up to when her husband Edmund (Rubert Davies) isn't looking. And what does this mean for their children, Jackie (Deborah Fairfax) and Debbie (Kim Butcher), and their eating habits? Perhaps they're chips off the old butcher block...? Eh? Eh? Doc Rotten and Jeff Mohr are joined by Chad Hunt and Bill Mulligan to discuss this nearly forgotten British gem.
Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 67 – Frightmare (1974)
The film is from director Pete Walker who would give us similar intriguing genre movies House of the Whipcord, Schizo, and House of Long Shadows. The latter film features one of the last combinations of horror icons Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and John Carradine. Pete Walker's muse, Sheila Keith, would appear in most of them. In Frightmare, she stars as the elderly Dorothy, recently released from a mental hospital who is up to her old tricks once again...cannibalism. Rupert Davies plays her husband, Edmund, in what would be his last role. The terrific character actor would appear in many British horror films such as Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, The Conqueror Worm, The Brides of Fu Manchu, and The Oblong Box. Together Keith and Davies are the reason to catch this underseen, underappreciated nugget from 1974. That and all the goofy bright red gore. Good stuff.
"Worse than your most shocking nightmare!" - the poster tagline promises a nightmare to shock us all.
As soon as we mentioned "Pete Walker," Bill's ear perked up and he lauded with excitement. On the podcast, he shares why he enjoys the filmmaker so. Also, he discovers this is the one film of his he had never seen. In fact, none of the hosts had caught Frightmare before assigning it to this episode. A rarity, indeed. The film is similar to classic low budget horror films from England at that time, such as Pscyhomania which we covered in episode 49. Everyone shares their newfound admiration for this film and their shared hatred for the "Debbie" character, especially Chad who confesses it takes a lot for someone to elicit such disgust. But, it is all in service of the film itself.
We want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at docrotten@decadesofhorror.com.
No, you didn't read that number wrong. Horror News Radio is celebrating 250 episodes of scream-inducing, spine-tingling and point off trailing discussions! To celebrate, The Grue Crew are joined by Vanessa Thompson of the Gruesome Magazine Podcast for a couple of movies that show the diversity of the show. There's Day of the Dead: Bloodline, a remake of the underrated George A. Romero zombie trilogy that... pretty much does the same thing with one crucial - and critically misguided - twist. Then, there's the lost Mike Flanagan feature Before I Wake which recently arrived on Netflix. More dark fantasy than horror, this is a bit more of a positive diamond in the rough. Dave Dreher takes on Horror News of the Week for an Insidious/Sinister crossover, a trailer for the 10th entry in the Hellraiser franchise and Critters coming to the small screen. Then, Thomas introduces a new game show segment to cap off this momentous occasion called Phantom Factor.
As always, the HNR Grue-Crew would love to hear from you, the listeners, the fans. You can always reach out via email at feedback(AT)horrornewsradio(DOT)com or find us on Twitter: Doc Rotten | Dave Dreher | Thomas Mariani. Also, like us on Facebook and join the Horror News Radio Facebook Group.
Horror News Radio
Episode 250 – Day of the Dead Bloodline – Before I Wake
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“I've harmed nobody, just robbed a few graves!” Right! What’s the harm in that? Especially if your name is Baron Frankenstein. Join this episode’s Grue Crew - Chad Hunt, Joseph Perry, and Jeff Mohr - as they celebrate the podcast’s first anniversary by taking on The Curse of Frankenstein (1957). It’s an episode of firsts. Besides their first anniversary, it’s their first Hammer film, first Peter Cushing film, and first Christopher Lee film. Well, it’s about time!
Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 26 – The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Directed by Terence Fisher and written by Jimmy Sangster, both Hammer regulars, The Curse of Frankenstein is Hammer’s first outright gothic horror film and their first color film. With Peter Cushing as Dr. Victor Frankenstein and Christopher Lee as the Monster, co-starring for the first time, the die was set for many future Hammer film collaborations between the two. The cast is rounded out with Robert Urquhart as Paul Krempe, Victor’s mentor and partner; Hazel Court as Victor’s cousin and fiance, Elizabeth; Valerie Gaunt as Justine, the maid who is also having an affair with Victor; and Paul Hardtmuth as Professor Bernstein and the donor of the monster’s brain.
Under threat of lawsuit from Universal, the filmmakers made numerous changes to the classic story. The monster in The Curse of Frankenstein bears no resemblance to the Jack Pierce makeup Boris Karloff wears in Frankenstein (1931). Another major change depicts the Baron as a completely unsympathetic character, masterfully played by Cushing.
Jeff is surprised that Victor is engaged to his cousin, but admits social mores might have been a bit different in the nineteenth century. Chad is genuinely angry with Victor’s total lack of moral character and how little regard he gives the other characters. Joseph points out how shocking the color and blood must have been in 1957. All three of them are wowed with the acting in The Curse of Frankenstein, especially that of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
On the anniversary of their first episode, the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Grue Crew take time to stress how thankful they are for their listeners and for Doc Rotten allowing them the freedom to do the podcast and for providing the structure to talk about what they love: horror films from the beginning of film through 1969.
They finish the episode by reading a listener comment from Saltyessentials about Episode 24 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).
We plan to release a new episode every other week. The next episode in our very flexible schedule is The Blood Beast Terror (1968), selected and hosted by Joseph Perry.
Please let us know what you think of Decades of Horror: The Classic Era and what films you’d like to hear us cover! We want to hear from you! After all, without you, we’re just four nutjobs talking about the films we love. Send us an email (chadhunt@gruesomemagazine.com, erinmiskell@gruesomemagazine.com, jeffmohr@gruesomemagazine.com, or josephperry@gruesomemagazine.com) or leave us a message, a review, or a comment at GruesomeMagazine.com, iTunes, Stitcher, the Horror News Radio App, or the Horror News Radio Facebook group.
To each of you from each of us, “Thank you for listening!”
"You fool! You can not stop me! I am the ninja! No one, nothing can stop me!" Christie (Lucinda Dickey) is possessed by a killer ninja spirit and is out for blood. But how will this affect her career as a telephone poll worker and part-time aerobics instructor? Ugh, it makes you just wanna doing jumping jacks with weights, amirite? As one can clearly see, Ninja III: The Domination is a pretty silly movie. A blend of Flashdance, The Exorcist and every ninja movie out there. Then again, what else would you expect from Cannon?
Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 128 – Ninja III: The Domination (1984)
After an elaborate fight sequence at a golf course, Ninja III: The Domination continues the train of insanity tenfold by having the killing machine Black Ninja (David Chung) die after a police shootout and struggle with Christie. Christie is haunted by bizarre dreams and swords on strings, which hurts her budding relationship with cop/creepy hairy stalker Billy (Jordan Bennet). Now under the possessive influence of the Black Ninja's spirit, Christie proceeds to murder each of the officers who participated in the shootout, baffling the cop who is literally sleeping with her on a nightly basis. The only person with any kind of effectiveness is the mysterious Yamada (Sho Kosugi), who arrives from Japan to get his vengeance on The Black Ninja who killed his master and left him with one eye. Ninjitsu and 80s hair ensue from here.
To break down all the insanity of Ninja III: The Domination, Doc Rotten, Christopher G. Moore and Thomas Mariani look into this genre mashup to find a method to the madness. There's much love for the silly manic energy that made Cannon such a unique film production company. All the bad ADR, excessive use of explosions and physics-defying martial arts are dissected here. Doc Rotten is delighted that genre favorite James Hong has a cameo. Christopher makes a strong argument for this being the most 80s film ever covered on the show. Thomas brings to light the serious struggle Ninja III: The Domination highlights of PTSF (Post Traumatic Stock Footage) Syndrome. All of this and more can be shoved into your eardrums like a shuriken to the face.
We want to hear from you – the coolest, most gruesome fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at thomasmariani@decadesofhorror.com or docrotten@decadesofhorror.com.
Special thanks to Neon Devils for their awesome song Bone Chillin!
From Beyond (1986)
The insidious Insidious franchise returns with The Last Key, the fourth installment in the series that James Wan started back in 2010. Now, Adam Robitel (The Taking of Deborah Logan) takes the reigns as Elise (Lin Shaye) revisits her childhood home and the ghosts of her past. Both literally AND figuratively. Horror News Radio takes on the first theatrical horror film of January. More of the same dumping ground or does this one surprise? Listen to find out as The Grue Crew are joined by Joey Fittos. After that, they take a look at The Houses October Built 2, where we see plenty of diverse haunts and eventually get to something of a plot. Dave Dreher starts things off with Horror News of the Week, featuring congrats to Guillermo del Toro for his Golden Globe win, hilarity over the upcoming unintentional comedy of 2018 Truth or Dare and another George R.R. Martin adaptation that'll hopefully be as gory as Game of Thrones. Plus, a contest winner is announced!
As always, the HNR Grue-Crew would love to hear from you, the listeners, the fans. You can always reach out via email at feedback(AT)horrornewsradio(DOT)com or find us on Twitter: Doc Rotten | Dave Dreher | Thomas Mariani. Also, like us on Facebook and join the Horror News Radio Facebook Group.
Horror News Radio
Episode 249 – Insidious: The Last Key
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"I had a good day." Beth (Odette Yustman) declares her day at the carnival with Mike (Michael Stahl-David) to be a success. Little does she know that in a few months, their lives will be forever affected by the events codenamed Cloverfield. Ten years later, Cloverfield remains one of the few higher budgeted found footage films out there. It's ingenious viral marketing campaign and secrecy developed a huge amount of buzz out of so little. Just throw a mysterious trailer in front of the first Transformers movie with the date "01-18-08" and you'll gain a profit. But how does the film hold up long after the hype? Tune in to find out!
Decades of Horror 1990s And Beyond
Episode 34 – Cloverfield (2008)
Cloverfield was wrapped in mystery at the time it came out. Promotional websites helped build the hype started by the cryptic trailer. So many theories going in. Some suspected this was a secret new Godzilla film. Others even suspected a secret Lovecraft adaptation or Voltron live action film. Yet, Cloverfield ended up being... a completely original property about a giant monster attacking New York. In found footage style, we follow a group of young folks are shown having a party that's rudely interrupted by The Statue of Liberty's head roaring down the street. Now, they've got to find some way out as the monster and the little parasite creatures that come off it attack the city.
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of Cloverfield, Thomas Mariani enlists Adam Thomas, Sam Brutuxan and Ryan Corderman to dissect the footage left behind. There's much talk about the design of the monster, the underrated cast members and all the hype of the viral marketing. Plus, where does the monster codenamed Clover rank amongst other kaiju? Did Lily (Jessica Lucas) make it out at the end? Can the smooth vocals of Sean Kingston help us deal with the impending doom of New York? All those questions and more will be answered in this episode!
We want to hear from you – the coolest, most gruesome fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1990s And Beyond podcast hosts at thomasmariani@decadesofhorror.com or tweet Thomas @NotTheWhosTommy. Also, make sure to give us some love via iTunes reviews and ratings. Helps us get more notice along the way.
The intro and outro is “Suck City” by Black Math. Look for more of their music via Free Music Archive.
Man Bites Dog (1993)
“The Fouke Monster always travels the creek...” the narrator of The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972) describes the nocturnal patterns of the Bigfoot-like creature spotted in Arkansas. The movie exploded onto the big screen and drive-in theaters nationwide in 1972 to the box office tune of $20 million big ones. And sparked a national fascination with the hairy cryptozoological monster. Doc Rotten and Jeff Mohr are joined by Chad Hunt and Bill Mulligan, along with HNR co-host Dave Dreher, to discuss what may be the most influential Bigfoot movie of the Seventies.
Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 66 – The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)
The first film from director Charles B. Pierce, The Legend of Boggy Creek, is also one of the most successful b-movie Bigfoot movies of all time. The film is presented as a pseudo-documentary with non-actor recreating scenes where they encountered the beast from Fouke County, Arkansas. Pierce is also responsible for films such as The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976), The Evictors (1979), and the sequel Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues (1984). Full of local color and more passion than panache, the film inspired a decade of Bigfoot frenzy, "In Search Of" style copy-cats, and - quite possibly - films like The Blair Witch Project. Perhaps best appreciated now by those who experienced the film "back in the day." the film is a slow build to a showdown between a family and the Fouke Monster pounding at their door. Hurray for a frightened childhood of Bigfoot nightmares!
"Half-man, half-beast ... a mysterious creature has been stalking the woods and waterways near Fouke, Arkansas since the 1940s" - the poster tagline get straight to the point needing little embellishment.
Dave Dreher, self-professed Bigfoot aficionado, joins the regular Grue-Crew to revisit The Legend of Boggy Creek. Like, Doc, Chad, and Bill, Dave caught the film during its original run, remembering fondly the effect it had on his much-younger self; Jeff, however, only just this week finally saw the film for the first time. Time has not been a friend to Boggy Creek. Oh, well. The team shares their impressions of the film, their experiences with it in 1972, and the influence it had on their fascination with film and cryptozoology. Dave also chimes in with a rundown of director Pierce's accomplishments.
We want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at docrotten@decadesofhorror.com.
Happy New Year, Grue Believers! To celebrate, Horror News Radio is going Beyond... Skyline! Yes, the sequel no one asked for is here and it's better than you'd think. Well, it's at least better than the first one. Join Frank Grillo and the guys from The Raid as they kick major alien ass. Afterward, The Grue Crew look towards the future and countdown The Most Anticipated Horror Films of 2018, as voted on by you! There are ghastly ghosts, returning slashers and even... a few horror bent superheroes?! Hey, it's 2018. Anything can happen at this point! Dave Dreher makes his triumphant return after being sick over the holidays with Horror News of the Week! There's an animated King of the Monsters, giant sharks and Nic Cage swinging a sledgehammer at children. What's not to love? Joining the Crew for all of this is South Korea correspondent & co-host of Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Joseph Perry! What a way to ring in 2018!
As always, the HNR Grue-Crew would love to hear from you, the listeners, the fans. You can always reach out via email at feedback(AT)horrornewsradio(DOT)com or find us on Twitter: Doc Rotten | Dave Dreher | Thomas Mariani. Also, like us on Facebook and join the Horror News Radio Facebook Group.
Horror News Radio
Episode 248 – Most Anticipated Horror Films of 2018 – Beyond Skyline
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“Everything I ever loved has been taken away from me, but not you, my Marie Antoinette, for I will give you eternal life.” A strange line indeed, especially when you discover Prof. Henry Jarrod is talking to a wax sculpture as if it is a living human being. Then you realize Vincent Price is the actor portraying Prof. Jarrod. The master of the macabre makes it all seem so much more normal. In this episode, your Grue Crew - Erin Miskell, Chad Hunt, Joseph Perry, & Jeff Mohr - wax poetic on the 3D groundbreaking House of Wax (1953).
Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 25 – House of Wax (1953)
Directed by André De Toth and written by Crane Wilbur from a story by Charles Belden, House of Wax tells the story of Prof. Henry Jarrod, a brilliant sculptor whose works populate the wax museum he owns. Early on, his partner (Roy Roberts) burns down the museum in pursuit for ill gotten gains with Prof. Jarrod inside. Badly burned, Jarrod can no longer sculpt so he enlists the aid of two assistants (Charles Bronson, Nedrick Young) to create his wax statues in order to reopen the museum. His intent is to use two beautiful roommates (Carolyn Jones, Phyllis Kirk) as his “models” for Joan of Arc and Marie Antoinette. It seems, however, that Prof. Jarrod’s trauma has taken his artistic obsession to a new level and his plans are far more diabolical than they at first appear.
House of Wax holds the distinction of being the first major studio production filmed in 3D. Who can forget the paddle-ball-thumping barker in front of Jarrod’s museum for its reopening, repeatedly whacking the ball straight into the camera? Joseph proclaims his love for the 3D gimmickry of this era, various items thrown into the screen and all.
For Erin, this one is all about the actors, Vincent Price and Carolyn Jones in a supporting role, and she wonders if Price’s character is the protagonist or the antagonist. House of Wax is a remake of Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) and Jeff discusses the difference in the way drug addiction is portrayed in the pre-code original and how alcoholism is portrayed in the 1953 version. Erin broadens the discussion of addiction beyond drugs and alcohol to include behavioral obsessions as depicted in the film. Chad carries that on to relate to the attachment that artists feel for their creations. Joseph admits yet another childhood trauma (remember Invasion of the Body Snatchers?) relating to mannequins as the result of House of Wax.
We plan to release a new episode every other week. The next episode in our very flexible schedule is The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), selected and hosted by Chad Hunt. Episode 26 will be our anniversary episode so we will also discuss the podcast’s first year.
Please let us know what you think of Decades of Horror: The Classic Era and what films you’d like to hear us cover! We want to hear from you! After all, without you, we’re just four nutjobs talking about the films we love. Send us an email (chadhunt@gruesomemagazine.com, erinmiskell@gruesomemagazine.com, jeffmohr@gruesomemagazine.com, or josephperry@gruesomemagazine.com) or leave us a message, a review, or a comment at GruesomeMagazine.com, iTunes, Stitcher, the Horror News Radio App, or the Horror News Radio Facebook group.
To each of you from each of us, “Thank you for listening!”
"Did you say 'all aboard'? That's ridiculous! They can't be bored. I haven't even started." Ed (Howard Busgang) does his best Groucho impression to annoy the train staff... and everyone else. Ed is just one of many slasher archetypes that populate the Terror Train on New Year's Eve. Every college kid is wearing a different costume. The perfect claustrophobic area for a killer to hide. Can our heroine Alana (Jamie Lee Curtis) survive the night and get to the next stop? Take a listen to find out!
Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 127 – Terror Train (1980)
Terror Train was one of the early examples of the post-Halloween slasher boom of the 80s. Everyone was trying to take their crack at a contained low budget slasher. So, Canada figured "Why not have one take place on a train, eh?" Terror Train also manages to subvert a few things that others in the genre would stick to, mainly by not restricting the slasher to one costume. Our villain jumps from one outfit to the next in order to avoid detection. It's a real case of misdirection with our killer...one that mirrors the magic on display throughout.
Doc Rotten, Christopher G. Moore and Thomas Mariani are here to dissect all the magic of Terror Train. Or perhaps, lack thereof. There are a few moments of surprise here. Mainly with how many familiar faces of the 80s pop up. Keep your eyes peeled for The Wild Bunch's Ben Johnson, model Vanity and Ellis from Die Hard himself Hart Bochner. And of course, magician David Copperfield. Then again, Terror Train stops dead many times to give him a spotlight, so he's hard to miss. The trio also discuss the direction, the kills and of course it's place in the decade. Some are fans, others aren't. You'll just have to listen to find out who is who. The answers may shock you.
We want to hear from you – the coolest, most gruesome fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at thomasmariani@decadesofhorror.com or docrotten@decadesofhorror.com.
Special thanks to Neon Devils for their awesome song Bone Chillin!
Ninja III: The Domination (1984)