“So, each day science, founded on years of research and truth, merges with feats, which put our old fashioned magicians to shame. Aladdin rubbed the lamp and the genie appeared. Today we can press a button, and the whole of mankind is obliterated.” Professor Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde) utters this pronouncement to his students while standing in front of a classroom blackboard filled with references to the supernatural, superstition, ghosts, and witchcraft, on which he has written and underlined, “I DO NOT BELIEVE!” Eventually, Professor Taylor is convinced otherwise in Night of the Eagle (1962), released in the U.S. as Burn, Witch, Burn. Erin Miskell is still on sabbatical, flooding the world with “pineapple on pizza” memes, but you can join the rest of your regular Grue Crew - Joseph Perry, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr - along with guest host Eli Mohr, as they attempt to navigate the academic politics of a university ruled by witches’ spells and talismans.
Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 28 – Night of the Eagle (1962)
Based on Fritz Leiber Jr.’s classic horror novel Conjure Wife (1943), Night of the Eagle is directed by Sidney Hayers and adapted for the screen by none other than Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson. The story centers around Norman Taylor and his wife Tansy (Janet Blair) who casts spells and uses talismans to advance Norman’s career and ward off evil counterspells coming from other witches, though it is not clear which witches are which. The rest of the players in this academic world of Night of the Eagle are Flora (Margaret Johnston) and Lindsay (Colin Gordon) Carr, Evelyn (Kathleen Byron) and Harvey (Anthony Nicholls) Sawtelle, Hilda (Jessica Dunning) and Harold (Reginald Beckwith) Gunnison, and students Margaret Abbott (Judith Stott) and Fred Jennings (Bill Mitchell).
Jeff goes all fanboy over Leiber, Beaumont, and Mathison; Chad proclaims his love for the scene played out in the mausoleum; Joseph points out the errant tape reel; and Eli admits you should not be sleepy when you watch Night of the Eagle or you might miss the wealth of clues, details, and foreshadowing present in the first two acts of the film. The Grue Crew en masse highlight Matheson’s and Beaumont’s seemingly slow to develop, but very tight script and highly recommend Night of the Eagle.
We plan to release a new episode every other week. The next episode in our very flexible schedule is Dead of Night (1945), selected by Jeff Mohr.
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!”
"What is this? A homicide, or a bad B-movie?" Detective Ray Cameron (Tom Atkins) asks a trick question with an obvious answer. It's both. Then again, Night of the Creeps isn't really bad by any stretch. A sci-fi horror comedy for the ages, Night of the Creeps tells a simple story. One of college love, space slugs and zombies from the grave. Haven't we gotten enough of those, guys? Well, writer/director Fred Dekker at least manages to inject some B-movie fan charm in the proceedings in ways that anyone can get behind. The good news is Night of the Creeps is here on Decades of Horror 1980s. The bad news is... nothing, actually. Hooray!
Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 131 – Night of the Creeps (1986)
Night of the Creeps is the story of two college freshman who - in order to impress a fraternity - awaken a long frozen zombie and unleash chaos on a sleepy college town. Only depressed drunken Detective Cameron (Tom Atkins) can save the day while facing against demons of his past. While Night of the Creeps didn't make a big splash in theaters back in the summer of 1986, but managed to become a cult favorite on video. Not a surprise, given it's a mash of sci-fi aliens, axe murdering killers and Tom Atkins dishing out one liners. A rolicking good time that goes from space to 50s Americana to the nightmarish world of mid-80s college sex romp. It's got everything and the kitchen sink... Dick Miller! There's plenty of terror, romance and "thrill me"s to go around.
To dissect all the remaining gory bits of mayhem, Doc Rotten, Christopher G. Moore and Thomas Mariani are here and hopefully the space slugs won't get them first! Marvel as Christopher admits the influence Night of the Creeps had on one of his short films. Shudder as Doc realizes he hasn't seen the Director's Cut ending that crept up on him upon this watch. Ponder with Thomas at the possibility of a Tom Atkins detective story comeback movie. Plus, plenty of discussions about Fred Dekker's love of the genre, distinguishing between Kevin Pollack & David Paymer and making a drinking game out of all the director name tributes. Of course, we don't condone irresponsible drinking. You'll be dead within the first 20 minutes. Or at least screaming like banshees! Heh heh... "screaming like banshees."
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!
Beetlejuice (1988)
The Grue Crew along with guest Yonathan Habtemichael return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a tour through Wakanda as they discuss Black Panther. After making a splash in Captain America: Civil War, Prince T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) has to take the reins of his father and the title of Black Panther in the film that's blowing up the box office. Then, The Grue Crew sees a faded sign on the side of the road and head over to the Dead Shack, baby! This independent zombie comedy is streaming on Shudder, but the question is... did we really shudder during it? Tune in for more! Dave Dreher gives us Horror News of the Week! This includes killer teddy bears, the return of Fangoria and Netflix gobbling up more films for us to consume! Plus, Thomas Mariani presents another round of Phantom Factor and Doc Rotten makes some big announcements. All for your ear holes!
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 255 – Black Panther – Dead Shack
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"I want your eye, man. I want those things you see through." Jim Hudson (Stephen Root) reveals the true purpose of injecting himself into Chris Washington's (Daniel Kaluuya) brain. Get Out was the movie of 2017. Released nearly a year ago, it managed to capture the paranoia, oppressively bleak and gradually bizarre facets the 10 months that would follow. It lasted so long in the popular consciousness that it earned writer/director Jordan Peele multiple Academy Award™ nominations. Yet, why exactly has Get Out maintained just a hold over the cultural zeitgeist? To examine this, Thomas enlists the help of a few friends who may just relate to the struggles Chris has. Luckily, they haven't gone through the Coagula transplant... or have they?!
Decades of Horror 1990s And Beyond
Episode 37 – Get Out (2017)
Get Out is a story of simmering racial tension. Jordan Peele decided to go with not an overtly racist family of white folks as the antagonist. No, instead Chris must go up against the seemingly well-meaning if an unintentionally cringy family of his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams). While the seemingly harmless Dean (Bradley Whitford) and Missy Armitage (Catherine Keener) are very inviting, something sinister lies beneath their smiles. Especially with the unusually chipper house staff of Georgina (Betty Gabriel) and Walter (Marcus Henderson) who make Chris raise a few eyebrows. Hopefully, he can raise his legs quick enough to Get Out before things get too crazy.
Even though Thomas just discussed Get Out on a Horror News Radio episode a little under a year ago, he just had to get a new one out. Not just because of the Oscar nominations or February being Black History Month. No, the big reason was simply this; there weren't any black people on a Gruesome Magazine podcast discussing the film yet. So, Thomas enlists familiar voices Yonathan Habtemichael and Shakyl Lambert as well as newcomer Torrey Depina to discuss Get Out as a film that represents the Black experience. Yes, even a horror film like Get Out speaks to race relations, cultural fetishization, and systemic oppression. But don't worry. There's plenty of silly talk about Denzel Washington, wrestling and horror cliches to lighten the mood.
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.
Army Of Darkness (1993)
"Open the window, Mark. Please! Let me in! It's OK, Mark, I'm your friend. He commands it!" If a floating Glick boy ever says this to you, no matter what, don’t open the window! Doc Rotten is off on assignment for this episode, but regular hosts Jeff Mohr, Bill Mulligan, and Chad Hunt are joined by Joey Fittos, the Thug with a Mug, as they travel to the not-so-quaint and disturbing New England village of Salem’s Lot to discuss the equally disturbing 1979 miniseries, Salem’s Lot.
Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 69 – Salem’s Lot (1979)
The literary juggernaut known as Stephen King had already made the book-to-movie transition with Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976) when Warner Brothers Television decided to adapt ‘Salem’s Lot, King’s second novel, to the TV miniseries format. Horror icon Tobe Hooper was enlisted to direct as was Paul Monash to provide the screenplay adaptation of King’s novel for an all star cast that includes James Mason, David Soul, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia, Lew Ayres, Reggie Nalder, Geoffrey Lewis, George Dzundza, Julie Cobb, Elisha Cook Jr., Marie Windsor, Fred Willard, Ed Flanders, Kenneth McMillan, and more. The result was Salem’s Lot, a now legendary, 2-part miniseries first broadcast November 1979 on CBS.
Each of this episode’s Grue Crew viewed Salem’s Lot during its premiere broadcast. Joey proclaims Salem’s Lot as one of his all time favorite horror films. Bill also loved it, but was a little put out by specific scenes present in King’s novel that are not included in the miniseries. David Soul (Starsky and Hutch, 1975-79) as the star gave Jeff some misgivings prior to seeing the film and he was annoyed at first by the changes made in the transformation of his beloved ‘Salem’s Lot (the book) into Salem’s Lot (the movie). It didn’t take long, however, for him to be won over by what was, in truth, an excellent horror film. Chad, along with Joey and Bill, in hindsight, saw definite similarities between Salem’s Lot and Fright Night (1985).
The film’s over 3-hour runtime is surprisingly even-paced and despite the length, the viewer is never caught wondering how much time is left. Scenes that have been frozen in your grue Crew’s nightmares are discussed, including, but not limited to, the floating Glick boys and Geoffrey Lewis in a rocking chair. The story is so well told, there are several unscary scenes that are memorable for their dialogue or visual impact alone. Salem’s Lot gets an enthusiastic thumbs-up from the whole Crew.
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.
The Grue Crew and guest Vanessa Thompson are stuck in the swamps of Louisiana with Victor Crowley hot on their tails. That's right! Horror News Radio is returning to the Hatchet franchise to see what slasher kills and laughs writer/director Adam Green has in store. The gore and guffaws continue from there as the slasher genre get a young feminine perspective with Tragedy Girls. The 80s slashers have bred the Generation Z killers who slice for the followers. Then, Dave Dreher settles in for Horror News of the Week with stories of a Child's Play series, Chris Columbus taking on Five Nights at Freddy's and Metallica's James Hetfield catching Ted Bundy. Thomas then closes it all out with a Phantom Factor all about Significant Slashers. Listen and fall to pieces!
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 254 – Victor Crowley – Tragedy Girls
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“Please don't treat me like a mental patient who has to be humored. I also majored in psychology.” As a horror fan, how many times have you said those very same words? It gets old, doesn’t it? Erin Miskell is still on sabbatical binging on pizza with pineapple, but you can join guest host Jerry Chandler and the rest of your regular Grue Crew - Joseph Perry, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr - as they attempt to hide behind a facade of sanity while, a little too gleefully, discussing one of Jacques Tourneur’s masterpieces, Night of the Demon (1957). Or is it Curse of the Demon? It’s hard to remember while faking sanity. We owe this selection to our faithful Patreon listeners who chose this film from a poll of six classic era titles.
Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 28 – Night of the Demon (1957)
Directed by Jacques Tourneur. That statement, alone, should be enough to interest viewers in Night of the Demon. Written by Charles Bennett. That, too, should be enough for fans of early Hitchcock to perk up and take notice. Adapted from the M. R. James story, “Casting the Runes.” Now the interest of 20th century ghost story fans is peaked.
Night of the Demon tells the story of Professor John Holden (Dana Andrews), a hardline skeptic of the occult, as he does battle with the evil Doctor Karswell (Niall MacGinnis), the leader of a cult of Satan worshippers. Holden is joined in his fight by Joanna Harrington (Peggy Cummins), whose father was murdered as the result of a Karswell curse. The intrepid professor is also aided by Karswell’s mother (Athene Seyler) and fellow professional Mark O'Brien (Liam Redmond).
This episode’s Grue Crew universally loves Night of the Demon. They discuss the difference between the 95-minute U.K. version and the shortened 82-minute U.S. version, retitled Curse of the Demon, and which one they prefer. Hal E. Chester’s heavy-handed approach as a producer and its effect on Night of the Demon are also topics fcovered. You will also discover where each of them stand in the more demon vs. less demon debate. Which side are you on?
A bundle of listener feedback is also read this episode. A hearty handclasp and your loyal Grue Crew's love go out to Symon O’Hagan, Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, Aaron Albrecht, Rafael Fernandez, Leontyne Jacquart, and saltyessentials for your feedback and your time!
We plan to release a new episode every other week. The next episode in our very flexible schedule is Night of the Eagle, (1962), aka Burn, Witch, Burn, selected by our very own 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 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 bastards. Why are you torturing me like this? WHY?!" Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) ponders this aloud to the Deadites torturing them. Or maybe this question is more directed toward writer/director Sam Raimi hauling abuse at Bruce. Either way, The Evil Dead is definitely a punishing film, both toward its cast and the audience. Every time someone gets stabbed in the ankle or thrown into a bookshelf, both the actor and the audience feels it. Raimi started his illustrious career with this independent horror flick and it sure did shape where he'd go from here. There's gore, mayhem and low budget craziness abound. Might as well... JOIN US for it!
Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 130– The Evil Dead (1981)
The Evil Dead is sort of a black sheep in the franchise from a modern perspective. While Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness resemble more of what fans love about the franchise, The Evil Dead is a straight up horror film with little comedy to be found. Basically, the foundation from which the surreal comedy would spring forth. That doesn't mean it's without merit. By no means. Sam Raimi even this early has so many dynamic camera moves that would later revolutionize blockbusters come Spider-Man. Helps that Bruce Campbell gets the crap beat out of him.
To talk all things The Evil Dead, Christopher G. Moore, Doc Rotten and Thomas Mariani are joined by Adam Thomas. Thomas discusses the evolution of the franchise. Christopher elaborates on how big an influence Sam Raimi had on his young filmmaker mind. Doc talks about how much it created the cabin in the woods genre. Adam winces while describing how brutal Campbell's painful moments are. Listen to find out all the details!
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!
Night of the Creeps (1986)
Horror is in the home and in the stars this week on Horror News Radio! The Grue Crew viewed the theatrical release Winchester! Decades of Horror: The Classic Era host Jeff Mohr to witness acclaimed actress Helen Mirren battle ghosts in this based-on-a-true story horror film. Now, this is the only film planned... until Netflix threw us for a loop during The Super Bowl for the surprise reveal of The Cloverfield Paradox that came right after the game. Yes, The Cloverfield Paradox continues the mystery box ladened series with sci-fi/horror to... intriguing results. Speaking of the Super Bowl, Dave Dreher brings the big genre trailers to Horror News of the Week, along with news of Roxanne Benjamin making her debut and Sundance darling Hereditary blowing horror expectations out of the water. Thomas wraps it all up with another round of the game Phantom Factor and some listener feedback!
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 253 – Winchester – Cloverfield Paradox
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"He didn't get out of the cock-a-doodie car!" Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) won't be taking any guff from her favorite author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) about cliffhangers. Which isn't ideal for Paul. At the mercy of his number one fan who's abusive and pretty much off her rocker. Paul's in pain and needs to get out real quick. One could say his situation leaves him in... Misery. Based on the acclaimed novel from Stephen King, Misery helped legitimize the horror genre in the 90s with an Academy Award-winning performance. However, how does it hold up to this day? The answers are contained in Decades of Horror 1990s and Beyond!
Decades of Horror 1990s And Beyond
Episode 36 - Misery (1990)
Misery was based on a novel that writer Stephen King said was a metaphor for his substance abuse. Yet, the film adaptation feels more like a meditation on fandom. Kathy Bates' Oscar-winning turn as Annie Wilkes feels like a meditation on the type of fans we see on a daily basis on the internet. After saving Paul from a blizzard, she forces him to essentially write her fan fiction. All in order to bring back Paul's titular character from the dead. It's a brutal case of holding a twist on the captive audience. Rather, it's the captive writer providing a story for is captor.
To break down all of this, Thomas Mariani enlists Dave Dreher, Scott Johnson, and Kaycee Jarrard. Resident Stephen King expert Dave describes how well the novel embodied everything he imagined while reading the novel. Kaycee notes how James Caan's performance really is one that needed to be played by a supporting actor. Scott notes just how scarily accurate this ends up being to modern fan culture. Thomas notes how this is part of the damn impressive first decade of Rob Reiner's career. Truly, they know that Misery loves company.
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.
Get Out (2017)
“It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature...... it can be HORRIFYING!” the overzealous tagline for The Mutations (1974), aka The Freakmaker, promises a monster film for the ages. To be fair, some stills from the film of the main "Venus-fly-trap" monster may back up that claim. However, most of the Grue Crew may beg to differ. And, then, there's Bill. Doc Rotten and Jeff Mohr are joined by Chad Hunt and Bill Mulligan to discuss this nearly forgotten British gem. Special guest host Adam Thomas settles in to help put Donald Pleasence in his place.
Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 68 – The Mutations (1974)
Learning that Vincent Price was the first actor cast as Professor Nolter in JackCardiff's The Mutations puts a lot of that role into perspective. With Donald Pleasence (Halloween) settling into the part in Price's place leaves all the necessary scene chewing off the cuff. But, hey, we still love as much Donald Pleasence as we can get. The fan-favorite fourth Doctor, Tom Baker (The Vault of Horror, Doctor Who) plays Lynch, Nolter's "henchmen" who continually gathers the mad scientist victims for his evil experiments...all in hopes that the good doctor will cure him of his deformities. In a subplot. Lynch is also the leader of a troop of "freaks" (as they are called in the film) who entertain patrons at a local amusement sideshow. Enter in a group of Nolter's students who get in the way of the madman's plot, including Julie Ege (The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires) as Hedi. Before you know it, Hedi's friend Tony (Scott Anthony) is kidnapped by Lynch and turned into a horrific monster by Nolter. Chaos ensues. Hurray!
Both Doc and Bill fondly remember reading about The Mutations in Famous Monsters in the Seventies but were unable to catch the film until much later. Bill a decade or so ago, but Doc only this week for this show. Both were eager to watch the film to discuss here on Decades of Horror along with Chad and guest host Adam Thomas. However, while the finale is fun with the monster finally set loose and on the rampage, the plot meanders through each of its loosely connected subplots. Bill still champions the film while Adam curses Doc's name. Oh, dear. There's plenty to discuss, speculate, demonize, and enjoy with The Mutations and the Grue Crew cover it all.
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.
The diagnosis for The Grue Crew is a pretty mixed bag. The main topic for this episode of Horror News Radio is Inoperable starring Danielle Harris as a woman wondering an evacuated hospital. Not only does she have to face an oncoming hurricane, Danielle also has to face her time displacement that's driving her up the wall. Then, The Grue Crew countdown the Most Anticipated Genre Films of 2018. Yes, it's the other non-horror films of science fiction, fantasy and superheroes. Still, there's plenty of weird monsters, gore galore and post apocalyptic nightmares. Dave Dreher then dispenses Horror News of the Week, with horror Academy Award nominations, a new Steven Soderbergh horror film trailer and the passing of a great horror author. Thomas then wraps up with another edition of Phantom Factor. Award winning filmmaker Christopher G. Moore is also in for all the fun on an extended Horror News Radio!
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 252 – Inoperable – Most Anticipated Genre Films of 2018
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