Black Sunday (1960) – Episode 40 – Decades of Horror: The Classic Era

September 6, 2018 by Jeff Mohr Posted in Featured, Gruesome Podcasts, The Classic Era Tagged American International Pictures, Andrea Checchi, Arturo Dominici, Barbara Steele, Black Sunday, Ennio De Concini, Ivo Garrani, John Richardson, La maschera del demonio, Mario Bava, Mario Serandrei., Nikolai Gogal, The Mask of Satan

Podcast (dohclassic): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:25:50 — 39.5MB)

Subscribe: Android | RSS

“You, too, can feel the joy and happiness of hating.” Hmmm, words like joy and happiness used to describe hate? Sounds enticing, right? Join Chad Hunt, Whitney Collazo, and Jeff Mohr, along with guest host Bill Mulligan, as they celebrate the early product of Mario Bava’s genius known as Black Sunday (1960).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 40 – Black Sunday (1960)

“Viy,” a short story by Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, provides a loose foundation for the film’s screenplay, written by Ennio De Concini and Mario Serandrei. Mario Bava is the director and cinematographer of Black Sunday and a beautifully shot film it is. Even though Black Sunday is Bava’s first official credit as the director of a feature film, he has dozens of credits as cinematographer as well as a few uncredited turns as director.

Released in the U.S. by American International Pictures, Black Sunday tells the story of a brother and sister burned at the stake as vampires. Or is it witches? Just before having spiked iron masks slammed home on their face with a gigantic mallet, they curse all future generations of the family. Flash forward 200 years when an incredibly inept doctor breaks the seals on Princess Asa’s crypt and then her coffin, initiates her resurrection by dripping blood on her (The Doctor That Dripped Blood?) so she can seek vengeance on the current incarnation of her family. Her plan includes raising her brother Igor from the dead and swapping bodies with her beautiful lookalike descendant, Katia. Barbara Steele is brilliant as Princess Asa/Katia and Arturo Dominici plays her evil accomplice, Igor. Other key players include Katia’s father (Ivo Garrani) and the two doctors (John Richardson and Andrea Checchi).

Whitney is impressed by Barbara Steele’s ability to play two such dichotomous roles: the consummately evil Asa and the innocent Katia. It is the spiked, iron masks and how they are pounded in place in the opening scene that leaves an impression on Chad. Bill, an avowed Bava fan, extols the virtues of the black and white cinematography, the set design, and the shot construction. Wholeheartedly agreeing with Bill, Jeff adds how impressed he is with the camera movement within those sets. You’re probably not surprised the Grue Crew thinks Black Sunday is a genuinely great film and is a sign of future promise Bava so expertly fulfilled.

We plan to release a new episode every other week. On the next episode in our very flexible schedule, we‘ll be covering the cult classic The Hideous Sun Demon (1958).

Please let us know what you think of Decades of Horror: The Classic Era! 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, Google Podcast, or the Horror News Radio Facebook group.

To each of you from each of us, “Thank you for listening!”

The Wolf Man (1941) – Episode 39 – Decades Of Horror: The Classic Era

August 23, 2018 by Jeff Mohr Posted in Featured, Gruesome Podcasts, The Classic Era Tagged Bela Lugosi, Claude Rains, Curt Siodmak, Evelyn Ankers, Fay Helm, George Waggner, Jack P. Pierce, Lon Chaney Jr, Maria Ouspenskaya, Patric Knowles, Ralph Bellamy, The Wolf Man, Universal Monsters, Warren William

Podcast (dohclassic): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:36:41 — 44.6MB)

Subscribe: Android | RSS

“Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.” Of course, that poem is in reference to the Universal Classic Monster film, The Wolf Man! Join Chad Hunt, Whitney Collazo, and Jeff Mohr, along with guest host Jacob Allen, as they take a midnight stroll with Larry Talbot through the fog-shrouded woods on a moonlit night. Be sure to bring your walking cane, the one with the silver wolf’s head! You will most certainly need it.

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 39 – The Wolf Man (1941)

This episode’s Grue Crew loves The Wolf Man so much, they recorded this podcast twice! Whether beset by electromagic gremlins or cursed directly from film by Maleva, the first recording didn’t take, so they all went back for seconds. And you thought they’d been goofing off.

The Wolf Man might embody Universal’s most original monster. Based on an original screenplay by Curt Siodmakand directed by George Waggner, the film started much of the werewolf mythology still used in film today. The solid cast, sporting seven Oscar nominations among them, is led by Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot, and includes Claude Rains as his father, Evelyn Ankers as the female lead Gwen, Ralph Bellamy as Colonel Montford, Patric Knowles as Gwen’s boyfriend, Warren William as Dr. Boyd, and Fay Helm as Gwen’s friend. To top it off, the cast is blessed with Maria Ouspenskaya as Maleva and the inimitable Bela Lugosi as her son, Bela. The supernatural elements of the story or rendered entirely believable by the work of Jack Pierce, makeup artist extraordinaire.

Your Grue Crew marvels at the many facets through which Larry Talbot’s affliction can be viewed. Siodmak was surely thinking of the persecution he fled in Nazi Germany, but the story can be seen as a metaphor for a multitude of other conflicts common to most individuals’ lives, thereby explaining the film’s resonance with so many viewers.

Whitney proudly admits to being inspired by Jack Pierce’s makeup art. Claude Rains is only 17 years older than Lon Chaney Jr., who plays his son, and Jeff wonders how old Daddy Talbot must have been when his oldest son was born. Jacob is awed by the direction and organization it must have taken to complete the film in a short amount of time especially while working around the lengthy makeup process. When it comes to The Wolf Man, Chad is all about the mythic stature of Maria Ouspenskaya. As you may have guessed, their recommendation, assuming you’ve already seen this film, is see it again and again! Now!

We plan to release a new episode every other week. On the next episode in our very flexible schedule, we‘ll be covering Mario Bava’s Black Sunday (1960).

To each of you from each of us, “Thank you for listening!”

The Lost Boys (1987) – Episode 137 – Decades of Horror 1980s

August 21, 2018 by Doc Rotten Posted in Decades of Horror 1980s, Featured Tagged alex winter, Barnard Hughes, Billy Wirth, Brooke McCarter, Chance Michael Corbitt, Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrman, Jami Gertz, Jamison Newlander, Jason Patric, Joel Schumacher, Kiefer Sutherland, The Lost Boys, Tim Cappello

Podcast (doh80s): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:52 — 30.3MB)

Subscribe: Android | RSS

“Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire.” The tag-line for The Lost Boys (1987) captures the “Peter Pan” spirit of this classic Eighties vampire tale, romanticizing the creatures in an approachable and thrilling young adult spin without sacrificing the horror and the thrills. No sparkles here, folks! Josh Schafer joins Doc Rotten and Christopher G. Moore to revisit the film that solidified Joel Schumacher as a directing talent…well, at least until bat-nipples did him in.

Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 137 – The Lost Boys (1987)

Released in 1987, The Lost Boys introduced horror fans to a variety of iconic horror flash and style rarely matched in this day-and-age. This is the first film to provide fans with the “Two-Coreys” teaming Corey Haim and Corey Feldman together – even though Feldman has Jamison Newlander and Frog Brothers wingman. Keifer Sutherland makes a striking impression as David, the blonde leader of the gothic punk vampires and Jason Patric (son of Exorcist star Jason Miller) emo-acts his way into every young girl’s heart. And, above all, we have shirtless, oiled Timmy Cappello belting out “I Still Beleive” – what else do you need.

Christopher G. Moore, Doc Rotten, and guest-host Josh Schafer from Lunchmeat VHS gather to take a look at The Lost Boys perhaps one of the best and most influential vampire movies of the Eighties. The Grue-Crew debate the merit of director Joel Schumacher and whether Grampa was a werewolf in an alternate “Mandela Effect” universe. It’s all about the style, the clothes, the stars, and the songs; The Lost Boys holds up well after 30+ years and the Grue-Crew reflect on it all. “One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach; all the damn vampires.”

A mother and her two sons move to a small coast town in California. The town is plagued by bikers and some mysterious deaths. The younger boy makes friends with two other boys who claim to be vampire hunters while the older boy is drawn into the gang of bikers by a beautiful girl. The older boy starts sleeping days and staying out all night while the younger boy starts getting into trouble because of his friends’ obsession.

Contact Us

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 christopher@gruesomemagazine.com or dave@gruesomemagazine.com or docrotten@gruesomemagazine.com.

Special thanks to Neon Devils for their awesome song Bone Chillin!

Episode

Predator

The movie “The Lost Boys” (1987) was Directed by Joel Schumacher and cast members (l to r) Brooke McCarter, Billy Wirth, Chance Michael Corbitt, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz and Alex Winter .

A Bay of Blood (1971) – Episode 78 – Decades of Horror 1970s

August 1, 2018 by Jeff Mohr Posted in Decades of Horror 1970s, Featured, Gruesome Podcasts Tagged Bay of Blood, giallo, Mario Bava, Nicoletta Elmi, Twitch of the Death Nerve

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:08:16 — 31.8MB)

Subscribe: Android | RSS

“Diabolical! Fiendish! Savage… You may not walk away from this one!“ The Grue Crew are on a giallo kick, and as everyone knows, there’s always room for giallo. (Groan …) Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Bill Mulligan, and Chad Hunt, along with guest host Chad Lab – as they count the baker’s dozen of kills delivered in Mario Bava’s A Bay of Blood.

Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 78 – A Bay of Blood (1971)

Like a lot of foreign films released in the U.S., A Bay of Blood had a bit of an identity problem as it experienced several re-titles. Originally known as Reazione a catena, among its many other titles are Twitch of the Death Nerve, Carnage, Blood Bath, and even The Last House on the Left, Part II.

Mario Bava serves as director, co-writer, and cinematographer in this giallo gem. An heiress is murdered at the outset and from then on, it is no holds barred as the rest of family schemes, maneuvers, and murders while trying to secure the family inheritance for themselves. You might need a scorecard to track who is being killed, how they are killed, and who the killers are. Yes, there are killers, as in plural. The first and second murders quickly reveal A Bay of Blood as not your ordinary run of the mill slasher flick.

Speaking of slasher flicks, Doc identifies several very familiar looking kills and the influence A Bay of Blood must have surely had on Friday the 13th (1980), and hence, other 1980s slasher fare. Bill reveals, not that it was a big secret, that Bava is his favorite director and notes the appearance of for the second episode in a row following her role in Deep Red (1975). Most of the film’s characters have little to like, creating a bit of a hurdle for Chad Lab, but as the innovative kills mount, he quickly gets over it and comes to love the film. Chad Hunt helps the rest of the Grue Crew keep the characters straight and recounts his repeated cries of, “What? … What?! … What?!!” as the killings unfolded. With so many murders from which to choose – hanging, spear, octopus, billhook, etc. – the Grue Crew can’t resist picking each of their favorite kills

Of course, this episode’s Grue Crew gives a unanimous recommendation to this classic giallo film. If you haven’t seen A Bay of Blood, it is guaranteed you will not guess who commits the final murders.

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.

Die, Monster, Die! (1965) – Episode 38 – Decades of Horror: The Classic Era

July 25, 2018 by Jeff Mohr Posted in Featured, Gruesome Podcasts, The Classic Era Tagged American International, Boris Karloff, Daniel Haller, Die Monster Die!, H.P. Lovecraft, Jerry Sohl, Monster of Terror, Nick Adams, Patrick Magee, Sheila Raynor, Suzan Farmer, Terence de Marney

Podcast (dohclassic): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:21:12 — 37.4MB)

Subscribe: Android | RSS

“It looks like a zoo in Hell!” Indeed it does! In fact, the whole film is a bit of a zoo. Join Chad Hunt, Joseph Perry, and Jeff Mohr, along with guest host Mike Imboden, as they visit the zoo in question, or in other words, discuss AIP’s Die, Monster, Die!, a film that tied for first place in our latest Patreon poll. In the process, maybe they can figure out why the monster has to die twice.

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 38 – Die, Monster, Die! (1965)

Die, Monster, Die!, also known as Monster of Terror, is helmed by first time director Daniel Haller. Loosely based on the H.P. Lovecraft story, “The Colour Out of Space,” the screenplay is written by Jerry Sohl. In this version, the story depicts Nahum Witley (Boris Karloff) as the head of the Witley family. Some years ago, the family property was hit by a radioactive meteorite that caused mutations, followed by decay, in all living things. Of course, Nahum thought it a good idea to bring the meteorite into the house for experiments there and in the greenhouse.

Not surprisingly, the radiation causes the physical deterioration of Nahum’s wife (Freda Jackson), her maid, and his butler (Terence de Marney). Nahum’s wife summons their daughter’s boyfriend (Nick Adams) from America to come save their daughter (Suzan Farmer) from the same fate. However, Nahum’s not having it. The cast is rounded out nicely with supporting roles from Patrick Magee as Dr. Henderson and Sheila Raynor as the Dr.’s housekeeper.

This episode’s Grue Crew have a mixed reaction to Die, Monster, Die! They all agree Boris Karloff is the main attraction and does a fine job and that the film looks great. Jeff appreciated the set design and furnishings in the English mansion. The opening scenes of the Nick Adams character’s attempts to find a ride to “the Witley place” tripped Mike’s trigger, but more importantly, he wants more Merwyn! Joseph, Chad, and Mike are fans of Nick Adams from his appearances in a few Toho productions while Jeff favors his output in westerns, purely from a nostalgia viewpoint. Though this film has a lot of issues, the script being the major one despite Jerry Sohl’s other credits, the Grue Crew think it’s worth a watch, especially if you’re looking for something different. After all, they don’t make them like Die, Monster, Die! anymore.

We plan to release a new episode every other week. On the next episode in our very flexible schedule, we‘ll be covering Universal’s The Wolf Man (1941), the other film that tied for first place in our latest Patreon Poll.

To each of you from each of us, “Thank you for listening!”

Burnt Offerings (1976) – Episode 76 – Decades of Horror 1970s

July 12, 2018 by Jeff Mohr Posted in Decades of Horror 1970s, Featured, Gruesome Podcasts Tagged Anthony James, Bette Davis, Burgess Meredith, Burnt Offerings, Dan Curtis, Eileen Heckart, Karen Black, Lee Montgomery, Oliver Reed, Robert Marasco, William F. Nolan

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13:31 — 33.7MB)

Subscribe: Android | RSS

“Oh yes, and this house will be here long, long after you have departed. You’ll believe me.” These ominous words turn out to be all too true for the summer renters of the Allardyce house. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they take a trip for a short summer stay with the Rolf family at the Allardyce house and encounter the horrors of Burnt Offerings (1976).

Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 76 – Burnt Offerings (1976)

Directed and co-written by Dan Curtis of Dark Shadows, Nightstalker, and Trilogy of Terror fame, Burnt Offerings is co-written by frequent Curtis-collaborator William F. Nolan, adapted from Robert Marasco’s novel of the same title. The film begins with the Rolf family – Marian (Karen Black). Ben (Oliver Reed), their son David (Lee Montgomery), and Aunt Elizabeth (Bette Davis) – arriving at their too-good-to-be-true summer rental. The family is greeted by the property’s brother and sister owners – Roz (Eileen Heckart) and Arnold (Burgess Meredith) Allardyce – and Walker (Dub Taylor), their handyman. The Allardyces explain to the Rolfs that their only duties during their summer stay are to keep up the house and property, and to feed Mother Allardyce, who will remain locked away and unseen in an upstairs bedroom. As soon as Roz, Arnold, and Walker leave for the summer, the house begins to have a very disturbing effect on each of the Rolfs.

Given that Curtis made his reputation in television, your Grue Crew marvel at the quality of the cast of this theatrical release. Doc, Chad, and Jeff unabashedly love Burnt Offerings! On the other hand, Bill opines that haunted house films are not his thing, but even so, admits that Burnt Offerings is a pretty good example within its sub-genre. Doc expresses his appreciation for Karen Black’s performance and we discover that Chad has been a fan of Oliver Reed’s acting ever since Hammer’s The Curse of the Werewolf (1961), despite Reed’s legendary antics. The entire Grue Crew were freaked-out by the Hearse Driver/Chauffeur (Anthony James) that appears from Ben’s (and Dan Curtis’) childhood nightmares. As the show winds down, Jeff burns the remaining time to go all fanboy on William F. Nolan to the point that no one else can give their final thoughts.

Doc also reveals a guest appearance he made on Episode 107 of The Horror Returns Podcast on which they covered three films from 1978: The Manitou, Piranha, and Martin. They also give a special shout out to the late Santos Ellin Jr. and all he has done to promote the genre we love so much. You can find The Horror Returns on iTunes or at this link: The Horror Returns

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.

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974) – Episode 75 – Decades of Horror 1970s

June 28, 2018 by Jeff Mohr Posted in Decades of Horror 1970s, Featured, Gruesome Podcasts Tagged Arthur Kennedy, Don't Open the Window, Jorge Grau, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, Ray Lovelock, The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue, Zombie

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:53 — 27.5MB)

Subscribe: Android | RSS

“I wish the dead could come back to life, you bastard, so then I could kill you again!” Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they take a road trip to kick, examine, and generally disturb the sleeping corpses lying around in 1974’s Let Sleeping Corpses Lie.

Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 75 – Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974)

Directed by Jorge Grau and written by Sandro Continenza and Marcello Coscia, Let the Sleeping Corpses Lie pairs Edna Simmonds (Cristina Galbó) and George Meaning (Ray Lovelock) as two “accidental” companions traveling the English countryside during an ultrasonically created zombie apocalypse. Despite the SF-based zombie justification, a little schmear of blood on the eyelids of a fresh corpse inexplicably seems to be a catalyst for the transformation of the corpse to the living dead. A throwback police inspector (Arthur Kennedy) decides our two protagonists are drug-crazed, hippie satanists who are the cause of all the local mayhem and sets out to prove it.

Don’t be surprised if the plot sounds familiar even though you don’t recognize the title. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie is a film that never saw a title it didn’t like. Depending on when and where it was released, it was also known as The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue, aka Don’t Open the Window, aka Breakfast at the Manchester Morgue, aka Do Not Speak Ill of the Dead, aka Zombi 3, aka No profanar el sueño de los muertos, aka Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti, aka … well, you get the idea.

Bill Mulligan and Chad Hunt put Let Sleeping Corpses Lie in their lists of top 10 zombie films. As a first time viewer, Jeff Mohr found the mausoleum scene to be particularly horrifying while Doc Rotten points out the finale as the hospital is another key scene. Suffice it to say, the entire Grue Crew see Let Sleeping Corpses Lie as a very influential film and heartily recommend it. If you haven’t seen it, what are you waiting for?

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.

Horror-Themed Music Videos of the 1980s – Episode 135 – Decades of Horror 1980s

June 15, 2018 by Doc Rotten Posted in Decades of Horror 1980s, Gruesome Podcasts Tagged Bark at the Moon, Dancing With Myself, dream warriors, He's Back (Man Behind the Mask), killer klowns from outer space, Pet Sematary, Somebody's Watching Me, thriller, Total Eclipse of the Heart, Who Made Who

Podcast (doh80s): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:19:51 — 36.7MB)

Subscribe: Android | RSS

“Darkness falls across the land. The midnight hour is close at hand. Creatures crawl in search of blood. To terrorize y’all’s neighborhood.” Vincent Price helps make Michael Jackson’s Thriller one of the best horror-themed music videos of the 1980s along with director John Landis and special make-up effects designed and created by Rick Baker. Breaking out of our norm of covering horror films of the decades, for our special 2nd year anniversary episode we dive into the music videos that defined the Eighties, especially those with a tinge of horror to them. Join Dave Dreher, Christopher G. Moore, and Doc Rotten on this special visit back to when MTV played music videos 24×7 and some of them were as scary as they were awesome…well, in most cases…

Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 135 – Horror-Themed Music Videos of the 1980s

For this episode, with the help of previous co-host and Decades of Horror co-founder Thomas Mariani, we dropped a list of 15 horror-themed music videos for the grue-believers to vote on. The top 10 of that list, we discuss on this podcast. We also present some missed classics as provided by fans of the show and some congratulations on our 2nd anniversary. Thank you all for participating and listening.

The Top 10 Horror-Themed Music Videos

10 Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler (2/83)
09 Killer Klowns from Outer Space by the Dickies (88)
08 Bark at the Moon by Ozzy Osbourne (83)
07 Dancing with Myself by Billy Idol (82)
06 Who Made Who by AC/DC (86)
05 Pet Sematary by Ramones (89)
04 He’s Back (Man Behind the Mask) by Alice Cooper (86)
03 Dream Warriors by Dokken (87)
02 Somebody’s Watching Me by Rockwell (84)
01 Thriller by Michael Jackson (12/83)

The Ones We Missed

Dirk Rogers: Torture by the Jackson 5, TV Dinners by ZZ Top
Jane Smith: Too Much Blood by The Rolling Stones
Brian Davis: Lost in the Shadows by Lou Gramm from the Lost Boys soundtrack
John Doe: Land of Confusion by Genesis
Sean Henry: Rob zombie’s Dragula (Not the 80’s but it still rocks!)
Luis Franco: That “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell scared the shit out of me as a kid. Man,I miss the 80’s. The idea of a mini-movie to go with a song is a lost art. MTV is just not MTV anymore. There was 3 crazy sci-fi themed videos whose songs had nothing to with the video; Billy Ocean’s “Loverboy” KC & The Sunshine Band’s “Give It Up“, Duran Duran’s “The Wildboys“.Worth watching if you’ve never seen any of them.
Jerry Chandler: My Name is Norman Bates (1981) by Landscape; Pet Shop Boys: Heart (1988) if just for the sheer WTF of seeing Ian McKellen as a vampire lip syncing Pet Shop Boys; Metallica’s One (1989) that’s a whole different kind of horror.

The Birds (1963) – Episode 32 – Decades of Horror: The Classic Era

April 11, 2018 by Jeff Mohr Posted in Featured, Gruesome Podcasts, The Classic Era Tagged Albert Whitlock, Alfred Hitchcock, Evan Hunter, George Thomasini, Jessica Tandy, Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshettee, The Birds, Tippi Hedren, Ub Iwerks, Veronica Cartwright

Podcast (dohclassic): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:29:21 — 41.2MB)

Subscribe: Android | RSS

“I have never known birds of different species to flock together. The very concept is unimaginable. Why, if that happened, we wouldn’t stand a chance! How could we possibly hope to fight them?” Yikes! The ornithologist has a darn good point! Join Chad Hunt, Joseph Perry (He’s ba-a-a-ck!), and Jeff Mohr, along with guest host Dan Sellers, as we take a bird’s eye view of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 32 – The Birds (1963)

Based on Daphne du Maurier’s short story of the same title and adapted to the screen by Evan Hunter, The Birds tells the story of Bodega Bay, a California coastal town terrorized by inexplicably aggressive and belligerent birds.The film stars Tippi Hedren (Melanie), Suzanne Pleshette (Annie), Jessica Tandy (Lydia), Veronica Cartwright (Cathy), and Rod Taylor (Mitch) under the direction of Alfred Hitchcock.

The stars are surrounded by a cast populated with some of the best character actors in the business, including Ethel Griffies as the ornithologist, Charles McGraw as the fishing boat captain, Lonny Chapman as the innkeeper, Doreen Lang as the hysterical mother, Karl Swenson as the drunken prophet, Joe Mantell as the cynical businessman, Ruth McDevitt as the owner of bird shop, Malcolm Atterbury as the deputy, Richard Deacon as Mitch’s neighbor in San Francisco, Doodles Weaver as a fisherman helping with a rental boat, and William Quinn as a man in the diner. You might not recognize all of their names, but if you watched many movies or television shows from the 1950s through the 1970s, you will most assuredly recognize their faces.

Jeff points out The Birds has been called Hitchcock’s monster movie. Chad proclaims his love of Albert Whitlock’s matte paintings and explains the method used by longtime Disney employee Ub Iwerks in providing the special effects for The Birds. Joseph marvels at Hitchcock’s ability to build and hold tension and suspense, and they all agree the credit should be shared with editor George Tomasini. Dan discusses the prototypical “Hitchcock blonde” and confides to the Grue Crew that he’s just glad to be doing a podcast without Sammie Cassell.

We plan to release a new episode every other week. The next episode in our very flexible schedule is John Frankenheimer’s Seconds (1963), 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!”

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) – Episode 134 – Decades of Horror 1980s

April 8, 2018 by Doc Rotten Posted in Decades of Horror 1980s, Gruesome Podcasts Tagged Decades of Horror, Friday the 13th, friday the 13th part vii: The new blood, Jason Voorhees, john carl buechler, Kane Hodder, Lar Park Lincoln

Podcast (doh80s): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:03:34 — 29.2MB)

Subscribe: Android | RSS

“There’s a legend ’round here. A killer buried, but not dead. A curse on Crystal Lake, a death curse: Jason Voorhees’ curse.” Our narrator (Walt “Crazy Ralph” Gorney) details the legend of Jason Voorhees. After being stuck at the bottom of Camp Crystal Lake in the last film, Jason is awoken by a young lady named Tina (Lar Park Lincoln) with psychic abilities. It’s essentially Carrie vs. Jason… at least that’s the intent. So is this a slashing entry in the franchise or is Pamela going to warn her son that “They’re All Gonna Laugh at You?” Listen to find out!

Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 134 – Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

Released in 1988, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood came out near the end of the slasher genre’s reign. It was a time when the MPAA became more critical of violence, causing the iconic kills the franchise was known for to be cut down severely. Director John Carl Buechler has been publically against how this turned out and we’ve only seen daily footage of the kills. Some of them were pretty gruesome, but alas not to be. Which makes some of the teen stuff all the more of a slog to get through.

Luckily, Doc Rotten, Christopher G. Moore, and Thomas Mariani are here to take a closer look at Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood. All of them appreciate the final fight with Tina and the ambition of having a superpowered heroine fight Jason. Especially when that Jason is played for the first time by iconic stuntman Kane Hodder. Yet, there’s plenty of issues to have with the editing and lack originality amongst the supporting cast. All this and more is discussed on Decades of Horror 1980s!

Contact Us

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!

Remember to vote in our two year anniversary poll about The Top 10 Best 80s Horror Music Videos!

Next Episode

Top 10 Best 80s Horror Themed Music Videos!