Category: Horror films

Really Awful Movies: Ep 213 – Hell Night

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Watching this is a hellish experience. Well, not really, but close enough to warrant the terrible pun. Hell Night is one of those forgotten films from the slasher boom, and only known today because of two things: 1) incredibly cool cover art and 2) the presence of genre icon Linda Blair in the lead role as sorority/frat pledge Marti Gaines.

When a movie has “hell” in the title, there are basically three places it can end up: 1) a stone-cold classic like Hellraiser, 2) perfectly serviceable like The Legend of Hell House, or 3) total ineptitude like Motel Hell. Hell Night is the latter, although not even that fun.

The premise is pretty straightforward: a bunch of pledges are put through their paces in an initiation rite. They have to spend a night at a dwelling where SOMETHING TERRIBLE TOOK PLACE.

This is boilerplate horror, stretching back to House on Haunted Hill with Vincent Price. And with the frat kick, it’s a bit like Pledge Night with that singer from Anthrax with the poodle hair who is killed in a frat stunt. Either way you slice it, Yawn Town population, you.

So, in a perfect world, what do you get when there’s a neat backstory, attractive people and a scary scene setting? Usually, there’s a twist, nudity, and filmmakers exploiting the terrifying sense of place. In Hell Night, none of the above happens, which is…hella weird, it should be said.

Hard-partying coeds are all talk (and all clothed). The killer isn’t all that interesting…and the “haunted/cursed” house is pretty and candle-lit, but meh.

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we put this film in context.

We talk about our indifference to Linda Blair post-Exorcist, we chat about Passover seders (for the first time on the show!), silly plot devices, heroism in Hell Night, the old house motif, Italian Gothic horror, and movies similar to this one.

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Really Awful Movies: Ep 210 – Cujo

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On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a look at the unconventional animal attack movie, Cujo.

Adapted from a Stephen King novel, which oddly, as Stephen King die-hards neither of us had read, we decided to take a look at this one.

Cujo was directed by Lewis Teague, and written by Don Carlos Dunaway and Barbara Turner (under the nome de plume of Lauren Currier).

The film stars scream queen Dee Wallace (The Howling/The Stepford Wives), Daniel Hugh Kelly (Hardcastle and McCormick) and Danny Pintauro (Who’s the Boss?).

Cujo the tale (or, er…tail) of the eponymous dog, a St. Bernard. He gets rabies from burrowing underground and getting bitten on the nose by a bat. He goes after his owner, an off-the-grid mechanic, his buddy, and the Trenton family (whose lemon was being serviced by said mechanic).

On an earlier episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast…we covered two movies “inspired” by the great JAWS, The Car and Grizzly, with Scott Drebit from Daily Dead. We love our animal attack movies!

However, Cujo is cut from a different cloth. Usually animal attack movies involve some experiment gone wrong, which results in animals growing to super-sized level and going haywire, attacking the townsfolk. And invariably, authority figures get involved and nobody listens. However, that is not the case here.

Cujo is quiet, and inward focused. But it’s still worth checking out despite a few lulls.

On this episode, your genial hosts Chris and Jeff, talk about getting attack by dogs growing up, and what it’s like to be a dog, versus a cat person. We also talk about our love for Mr. King, his scene settings, and our fondness for Danse Macabre.  We also break down what makes this different from other natural horrors.

We’ll undoubtedly cover more King on the show.

Really Awful Movies: Ep 208 – Black Sabbath

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Mario Bava. Super Mario. Molto Mario. Mario the Magnificent. On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, your genial hosts talk about Black Sabbath, the early 60s horror film anthology that gave Ozzy’s band, Black Sabbath, its name.

Black Sabbath, aka, i tre volti della paura (The Three Faces of Fear) is a three-part flick that’s harmonious, and lush in color. And to introduce the segments, none other than the legendary Boris Karloff himself.

The original Italian language version of Black Sabbath features the installments in this order: The Telephone (a lady of the evening is tormented by threatening calls from a former pimp), The Wurdalak, a vampiric tale of woe set in a remote cottage in 18th century Eastern Europe, and finally, The Drop of Water, in which a nurse purloins jewelry from a deceased old lady, only to be tormented from beyond the grave.

In 1958, the founders of American International Pictures hired Flavio Lucisano (a talent agent) to look for Italian crossover films. In 1963, AIP made a deal to distribute a bunch of Ital co-productions. Black Sabbath was one of them. There was a trend to make anthology films to keep costs down. And Black Sabbath was no exception, a film that was an 8-week shoot.

While not exactly showered with praise upon release, Black Sabbath has certainly found more defenders than detractors. In fact, Quentin Tarantino was influenced by the story structure for his film, Pulp Fiction.

So…tune in to the Really Awful Movies Podcast as we break down each of the segments. While The Telephone is seen as the slightest (probably with good reason) it nonetheless has a lot going for it and should not be overlooked. The Wurkalak, while long, has enough trademark Bava touches to make it memorable…and for us, the standout is the exemplary, timeless, The Drop of Water – a master class in sensory Gothic Horror.