Really Awful Movies: Ep 276 – Psycho IV: The Beginning

Is this a necessary sequel? No. Is it particularly gripping? Not especially. But what it does have is the one and only Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates…so really, what else is required? On this week’s episode of the podcast, Psycho IV: The Beginning, director Mick Garris’ exploration into the myth, the man, the matricidal legend himself, Norman “Is that you, Norman?” Bates.

Installments two and three of the series, birthed by Alfred Hitchcock, are films we look upon fondly and favourably. They’re better than they had any right to be, especially when those entries had to live up to such an indelible classic (cue those screeching violins, everyone).

In Psycho VI, much of the story is flashbacks that distill the essence of what made Norman the man, and that of course, was the relationship with his mother.

There’s a lot of backstory filling in, so in a way this entry is a bit like Rob Zombie’s largely unbearable and overwrought Halloween entry…however, there is enough here to warrant an evening’s viewing.

Join us on this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast.

In this episode, we delve into Stephen King adaptations, the work of Mick Garris, the influence of Ed Gein, similarities between the familial horror of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho, Freudian psycho-dramas, the life and times of Anthony Perkins, and much, much more.

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Really Awful Movies: Ep 275 – Making Contact

On this week’s podcast, a young boy mourns the death of his father in…Making Contact, aka, Joey.

Then, under the covers and with a flashlight, he’s caught (no, not that!) communicating with the spirit world. His mother walks in, and notices that young Joey is babbling on as if pops was still on this terrestrial sphere, instead of being worm food.

Soon, the local school bullies start tormenting Joey, and he retreats to his bedroom, where a ventriloquist dummy starts communicating with the kid. And the dummy is possessed by some malevolent force (or something). This one is super confusing. For reasons unexplained, Joey suddenly develops telekinetic powers and moves glasses of milk across his dinner table.

Why? Don’t ask us, we’re just humble weird film aficionados. Maybe direct all inquiries Roland Emmerich’s way. He’s the director, whose take on American suburban culture is decidedly…off-base?

Making Contact (Joey) is another oddball film, of the kind we love to discuss. We encourage fans of the Really Awful Movies Podcast to watch the film in advance, and join us for (what we hope is) a lively discussion about this bizarre effort.

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Really Awful Movies: Ep 274 – Man’s Best Friend

Not so much a shaggy dog story as an angry dog story, Man’s Best Friend is a forgotten 90s New Line Cinema release that has an attack dog, Max, who has escaped from a top-secret laboratory run by the always excellent Lance Henriksen.

And you know when good ol’ LH is in a horror flick you’re in for some top-notch grimacing (and a healthy, heaping dose of menacing too).

Ally Sheedy plays a journalist, who is investigating abuses at an animal lab. She and her producer want a scoop, and sneak into the facility, releasing Max…and Max is an attack dog, genetically modified from bear/tiger/chimp and it should be said, very stupidly, chameleon parts.

The journalist rescues the dog from its pen, only to find out it…is quite vicious and will stop at nothing to attack anyone in its path.

We love our animal attack movies. You give us an animal attacking someone, and we’re thrilled. We don’t give a crap (or a rat’s ass) if it’s a rabbit like Night of the Lepus, or a gila monster from that…um…gila monster movie we podcasted. The best ones, of course, are Jaws and Alligator. But even the worst ones have something to commend about them. Especially when, well..Man’s Best Friend is involved.

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