Really Awful Movies: Ep 71b – Slither and Squirm with Scott Drebit of Daily Dead

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Two times the worms! Twice the ooze. Last time we spoke with Scott, we had double the Shatner, two times as much Captain Kirk as anyone could justifiably handle.

One of our favorite podcast guests is Scott Drebit of the Daily Dead. He’s the brains behind Drive-In Dust Offs,a column that look back at some of his favorites from the mid 70s to early 80s such as Race with the Devil and Willard. He loves animal attack flicks as much as we do, so he was the perfect guest to talk slithery slimy flicks.

On this special episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, the three of us break down two very slimy films: Slither and Squirm. The former is a 2006 comedy horror hit starring Nathan Fillion (Castle) and Elizabeth Banks (40-Year Old Virgin). The latter is a fun, under- the-radar 1976 nature run amok film directed by Jeff Leiberman and starring Don Scardino.

We love ’em both – lots. They’re undeniably fun, goofy, gory and smart. You don’t get much better than that folks. Be sure and follow us at @awful_movies and Scot at @phantasm2

Really Awful Movies: Ep 71 – Hellraiser

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Clive Barker’s Hellraiser will send a chill up your spine.

In Episode 71 of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we decided to tear our souls apart and break down what makes this such a classic.

Pinhead has become a bona fide horror icon. Liverpudlian Doug Bradley, though not as well known as Robert Englund, has made quite a career of portraying ol’ pin cushion face. Although, in this first film of the series, he’s not even the chief antagonist. He does, however, steal the show.

The film predated torture horror and has multi-genre elements. There’s loads of subtext, gore and weirdness to satisfy every taste. Unlike some of its brethren, it gets better and better with age.

The 1987 classic British horror film, written and directed by Clive Barker, was based on his own novella The Hellbound Heart and unlike other adaptations, this one benefited from Mr. Barker not only intending to spawn a film from it, but taking his seat in the director’s chair as well.

It’s Hellraiser…it has many sights to show you.

Really Awful Movies: Ep 70b – Black Sunday with Andre from Horror Digest

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Longtime horror blogger Andre Dumas (The Horror Digest) joins our program from Boston.

We begin our chat with how Andre got into the genre and which films inspired her to delve more deeply into it. Among the films we discuss are Jaws, Suspiria, Hellraiser 2 and Killer Klowns from Outer Space. We talk about how horror films, despite their penchant for blood and guts, can actually be quite beautiful too. We also chat about where horror is going and discuss future classics such as Goodnight Mommy and The Babadook.

Since she’s a fan of Italian horror, we decided to chat about one of our faves, Mario Bava’s immortal classic, Black Sunday.

A witch/vampire hybrid, Black Sunday (La maschera del demonio; also known as The Mask of Satan and Revenge of the Vampire) is a 1960 B&W Italian Gothic horror. Based very, very loosely on Gogol’s short Viy (only a witch and the characters’ penchant for vodka survive) Black Sunday follows two doctors on route to a medical conference in Europe who get sidetracked by a…dark and dusty cobwebbed crypt! It happens to be the final (not quite) resting place of lovely witch Asa (the  gorgeous Barbara Steele) and her paramour, both burned at the stake and tortured by Inquisitors.

The film, very gory for its time, helped launch the careers of director Bava as well as beauty Barbara Steele, who went on to star in the Poe adaptation, The Pit and the Pendulum as well as Nightmare Castle and Cronenberg’s Shivers.