Really Awful Movies: Ep 303 – The Wax Mask

This week on the podcast, another foray into one of our favorite horror sub-genres, Italian horror! The Wax Mask is an olive branch of sorts, extended from one rival to another, Dario Argento to Lucio Fulci, towering giants of Italian horror. The latter was in ill health, so Argento along with long-time Fulci collaborator/effects guru Sergio Stivaletti executed this one for him.

A re-imagining of Vincent Price’s horror-thriller House of Wax from 1953, this one also features another evil wax museum curator up to no good in what’s supposed to be Belle Epoque Paris (filmed in Rome). Released in 1997 (Severin released a pristine blu-ray edition of The Wax Mask with a bunch of cool special features).

A john from a local brothel turns up dead, not an unusual occurrence in 1900s Paris, but here his cause of death is fright and he turns up belly up in the local wax museum. A journalist, Andrea, begins investigating and poking around the institution to see what’s up.

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we talk about how we got into Italian horror, how Lucio Fulci worked in different sub-genres, the differences stylistically between Argento and Fulci, the films that scared us as kids, wax museums in Niagara Falls, London and Berlin, and much, much more.

Take a listen and subscribe to the podcast, where we focus on genre films of all stripes, particularly horror and action movies.

Really Awful Movies: Ep 302 – Dog Soldiers

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies podcast, the directorial debut of Neil Marshall (The Descent) and what a debut it is! Dog Soldiers.

Six British soldiers are carrying out a training mission in the wilds of Scotland, and they come across a Special Forces Op with severe gashes to his torso. What could have befallen him?

The crew, under the watch of one Sergeant Wells (the outstanding Sean Pertwee) soon finds itself having to deal with what’s lurking in the deep, dark woods.

They band together, and with the help of another Highlands denizen, beat back their adversary.

Character driven and action packed, Dog Soldiers is an exemplary genre bender that’s really well executed.

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Really Awful Movies: Ep 301 – Final Destination

This week on the Really Awful Movies Podcast, the film that launched a somewhat inexplicably popular franchise, kinda like Subway Restaurants…Final Destination!  Hey, that’s not quite a slight…every now and then, a meatball sub hits the spot, right?

A bunch of kids are boarding a plane for France (or, pre-boarding, the phrase that really irked the late, great George Carlin). One member of the class has a premonition, wigs out, and demands to get off the aircraft causing quite a commotion.

A bunch of others soon follow, including a teacher/chaperone and BOOOOOOOM, the jet explodes over JKF Airport.

Who is this kid with the horrifying vision? (and with the bad ‘N Sync boy-band ‘do?). That’s what the NTSB wants to find out, that’s what the FBI wants to find out…and that’s what viewers will wanna find out.

James Wong (Black Christmas) directs…and Kerr Smith (Dawson’s Creek) plays a good jock villain. Devon Sawa is the kid who can see into the future…

So sit back, put your seat in a reclining position….and check out the latest installment of the show.

And don’t forget, support us by picking up a copy of either of our books: Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons and Mine’s Bigger Than Yours! The 100 Wackiest Action Movies

If you’re a fan of the show, the horror film genre, or braindead action movies, you’ll LOVE them.

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