Black & White Fright

1962's Hands of a Stranger is discussed. A concert pianist has his hands replaced with those of a murdered stranger after a horrible car accident. He gets mad and kills some people as his sister falls in love with the doctor that performed the controversial procedure.

The 1943 film the Leopard Man, the final team-up of Val Lewton and Jaques Tourneur, is covered this time. Is an escaped leopard terrorizing a sleepy New Mexico town? Maybe. Are there copious amounts of rapid fire castanet playing? Definitely! This was one of the first movies to attempt the presence of a serial killer before the classification even existed! 

The experimental 1955 film Dementia is discussed this week. Containing elements of horror and film noir, no dialogue, close ups of fried chicken being eaten, and an extended jazz sequence, this movie was pretty well-received amongst the hosts as a refreshing change of pace.

1943 was a lean year for horror and Dead Men Walk is proof. An interesting take on vampirism was found to be underwhelming by the co-hosts of this program. However, Dwight Frye puts in a solid performance as a manic servant to a mostly ineffective undead fella.

The 1943 Universal threequel Son of Dracula is this week's topic of discussion. Lon Chaney Jr. stars as the cleverly named Count Aculard creeping about New Orleans swamplands with plans to make it his new turf with help from occult enthusiast, Katherine. This was much better than the co-hosts of this program thought it would be with some spooky cinematography and great special effects. Spoiler: so...

The 1956 thriller the Bad Seed is covered this week. A murderous pig-tailed 8 year old girl? Check. A creepy apartment building janitor? Check.  A pitiful drunken mother bursting into someone's home multiple times to be sad about her dead son? Check. All this plus baskets of hugs exchanged for baskets of kisses in this week's episode!

What do you get when you combine the comedic antics of Tin Tan with a mute Lon Chaney Jr. playing a mummy that turns into a werewolf for some reason? You get the 1960 Mexican comedy/horror la Casa del Terror! We weren't exactly sure what was happening in this movie, and it had nothing to do with the language barrier.

How'd it take 75 episodes to cover Dracula??? Bela Lugosi's most famous role gets praise from everyone, but we feel Dwight Frye steals the show as Renfield. Creepy sets, floppy bats, multiple thick accents, and more are discussed with your oft distracted horror hosts.

Black leather, black leather, ta-ta-ta! "Oof" is all we can really say about this supposed black and white sci-fi/horror Hammer-produced movie that features a biker gang with their own theme song, crappy sculptures, and radioactive children kept in a secret underground military enclosure.

The 1936 Universal film Dracula’s Daughter is this week’s choice. Despite Gloria Holden’s great performance, we spend a lot of time wondering where the horror was in this not-so-great vampire flick that took Scott a record four times to get through without dozing off. That and why Van Helsing is now VON Helsing.

The third installment in the Universal Frankenstein series is covered this week with 1939’s Son of Frankenstein. Determined to clear his father’s name in the village where the monster was created and terrorized the locals, Baron Wolf von Frankenstein almost immediately forgets this and revives the monster who, under the control of Ygor, begins terrorizing the locals anew! Featuring disorienting Ge...

The 1958 film Attack of the Puppet People is discussed this week. A very lonely doll maker turns people tiny and keeps them against their will in glass tubes, with the occasional forced dance party. A useless detective chews up screen time. Spoilers: the people are NOT puppets and they do NOT attack anyone.

1958’s the Screaming Skull is covered this week. Bill is absent, but that just allows more time for Scott & Kevin to express their disappointment in this not-so-great film, despite the clever prologue claiming a free burial for anyone that dies of fright from viewing this movie.

Invisible atomic monsters suck the brains and spinal cords out of Canadiens living near a U.S. Air Force base. Beware of the mental vampires! The 1958 B-flick Fiend Without a Face gets covered this week and we ain’t too happy about it! This episode is sponsored by  Fright Lights  &  Gravely Unusual Magazine .

In Santa Mira, California, Dr. Miles Bennell is baffled when all his patients come to him with the same complaint: their loved ones seem to have been replaced by emotionless impostors. Despite others’ dismissive denials, Dr. Bennell, his former girlfriend Becky, and his friend Jack soon discover that the patients’ suspicions are true: an alien species of human duplicates, grown from plant-like pod...

Warner Bros. only horror movie of the 1940s is discussed this week in the form of the Beast With Fice Fingers from 1946 featuring a delightfully insane Peter Lorre. Astrologist Hilary Cummins works as a personal assistant to the eccentric and mostly paralyzed pianist, Francis Ingram. A nurse, Julie Holden also lives at the Italian villa to help care for Ingram, who plays the piano with only his un...

While in Tibet researching a mysterious flower that purportedly takes its strength from the moon, botanist Wilfred Glendon is bitten by a strange creature. Back in London, Glendon becomes absorbed in his research of the plant and is annoyed by the appearance of fellow scientist Dr. Yogami, who reveals that the plant is the only known temporary antidote for werewolves. Glendon remains skeptical unt...

Scott, freshly awakened from an impromptu nap, has chosen the 1932 classic the Mummy for this week’s discussion featuring KARLOFF! Will you go mad with hysterical laughter from witnessing this podcast recording about one of the all-time great Universal Horror movies? This episode is sponsored by  Fright Lights  &  Gravely Unusual Magazine .

1940’s Black Friday is covered this week. As Dr. Ernest Sovac makes his way to the electric chair, he recalls the events that landed him on death row. After placing brain matter from a violent gangster into the mind of a dying teacher named George Kingsley, Sovac watches his patient take on violent tendencies. When Sovac learns, through an almost-possessed Kingsley, about a hidden stash of mob mon...

We cover the 1945 RKO film the Body Snatcher this week. Boris Karloff is the dastardly titular character who goes to great lengths to supply Dr. MacFarlane with specimens for his medical class. This is the last film to feature Karloff and a sneaky, Shemp-haired Bela Lugosi together. This episode is sponsored by  Fright Lights  &  Gravely Unusual Magazine .

A young woman driving cross-country becomes frantic when she keeps passing the same man on the side of the road. No matter how fast she drives, the man is always up ahead, hitching her for a ride. Get ready to catch a case of the spooks! This episode is sponsored by  Fright Lights  &  Gravely Unusual Magazine .

The Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode Breakdown is covered this week. Jerky businessman William Callew is involved in a bad traffic accident on a rural road, that leaves him so paralyzed he appears lifeless, and when help arrives they think he’s really dead. Introduced and directed by the eternally droll Alfred Hitchcock. This episode is sponsored by  Fright Lights  &  Gravely U...

We continue our weekly October run with the Twilight Zone episode, the Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank. A young man wakes up at his own funeral and wants to know what the heck is going on. The townsfolk are glad to see him back, but they begin to wonder if he’s a man.. or something else? Starring the future Roscoe P. Coltrane himself, James Best! This episode is sponsored by  Fright Lights &nbs...

In the first of four weekly episodes for the month of October, we begin with Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Man From the South. A young couple meet a rich gambler in a bar. The gambler challenges the young man to a bet: If he can make his cigarette lighter light ten times in a row, the young man will win a convertible; if he can’t, he must forfeit his left pinky to the gambler. Based on a short story...

1933’s Murders in the Zoo is covered this week as chosen by Kevin. Dr. Gorman is a millionaire adventurer, traveling the world in search of dangerous game. His bored, beautiful, much younger wife entertains herself in the arms of other men. In turn, Gorman uses his animals to kill these men. When a New York City zoo suggests a fundraising gala, Gorman sees a prime opportunity to dispatch the dashi...