Make Your Own Damn Podcast

Co-written and directed by Jenna Fischer (THE OFFICE), LOLLILOVE is a mockumentary with an emphasis on mocking! When two shallow celebrities land on a self-serving idea for helping the homeless, they embark on an odyssey of rejection, relationship strain, and getting in over their heads. LOLLILOVE is a movie that launched multiple careers, and it's funny as hell to boot! It's a prime example of "m...

According to Wikipedia, "body horror" is "is a subgenre of horror that intentionally showcases grotesque or psychologically disturbing violations of the human body." The most famous purveyor of such films is the legendary Canadian director David Cronenberg, but he is one of many creators to work in this subgenre that traces its roots back to Gothic literature and remains more popular than ever. Pl...

From IMDB, "Five friends set sail and their yacht is overturned by a strange and sudden storm. A mysterious ship arrives to rescue them, and what happens next cannot be explained." Vague? It's because you can't talk about 2009's TRIANGLE without spoiling it. Oops.

On the heels of the controversial TROMA'S WAR, Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz returned to what brought em to the dance with THE TOXIC AVENGER, PART II. The film follows the titular monster hero of superhuman size and strength from the streets of Tromaville to the shores of Tokyo, where he arrives Godzilla style! Accidentally shot as a four-hour film, then split into two (with the later TOXIC AVENG...

There has never been a movie like Joseph Kahn's DETENTION. Like an Adderall-fueled dubstep remix of a 90s slasher, things get meta quickly, but that's only the beginning! There's a time-traveling alien bear, a slasher named Cinderhella, subverted stereotypes, and no respect for genre tropes. We at MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN PODCAST love it and think you will too!

In this controversial film, punk filmmaker Lech Kowalski gives us an up-close and personal look at the life of a junkie in 1980s New York. Awash in pre-Guliani grime and featuring scenes of authentic heroin use, STORY OF A JUNKIE is quintessential exploitation cinema. It's an ugly and uncomfortable watch, absent of story or commentary. Instead, Kowalski opted to frankly document these scenes witho...

Anchor Bay Entertainment can date its origins back to two home video distributors: Video Treasures, formed in 1985, and Starmaker Entertainment, founded in 1988. The companies competed with each other for years, until they were sold to the Handleman Company, and formed a new corporate umbrella: Anchor Bay Entertainment, on May 2, 1995. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Anchor Bay specialized in t...

One of Troma's most publicized titles, even decades after its release, A NYMPHOID BARBARIAN IN DINOSAUR HELL takes viewers in a post-nuclear fallout version of Tromaville, where all manner of mutants run rampant. Jeff Burk and Lucas Mangum take a deep dive into the cult hit, the low-budget production, and when it became the subject of clickbait outrage in 2010.

THE SADNESS is quintessential splatter horror. Inspired by the controversial CROSSED comics, this Taiwanese rage-zombie flick serves as a stark contrast to elevated horror and monster-as-metaphor movies that dominate the box office and streaming platforms.  When the populace of their city goes mad with sexually violent urges, a young couple traverses the carnage, hoping to find each other, but who...

On the eve of her execution, serial killer Tara (Debbie Rochon) passes the time by telling The Executioner (Gunnar Hansen, Leatherface in the original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE) a trilogy of horror stories, but that's not all she has planned for the night! HELLBLOCK 13 is Troma Entertainment's foray into the anthology format. Jeff and Lucas discuss the film and their favorite horror anthologies.   ...

In the summer of 1999, horror fans were treated to the now seminal THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. Not even a decade later, the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY franchise launched and consequently generated a resurgence of films using the found footage technique. While these are the two most notable examples, a plethora of other movies--not solely horror--have employed found footage to tell their stories. The techniq...

Lauded by the hosts of LAST PODCAST ON THE LEFT as the trashiest true crime documentary ever made, BAZAAR BIZARRE chronicles the life and crimes of serial killer Bob Berdella. Released by Troma Entertainment in 2004, it features interviews with those involved in the case intercut with gory reenactments, musical numbers, and rage-fueled narration by crime writer James Ellroy.   There has never been...

I DRINK YOUR BLOOD is quintessential exploitation horror. It was made specifically to compete with the graphic violence on display in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, it was sold as a double feature with I EAT YOUR SKIN, a film made almost a decade earlier and never distributed, and writer/director David E. Durston went on from it to make hardcore gay pornography before leaving filmmaking for three decad...

From Troma's website: Childhood used to be about jumping rope and playing hopscotch…but in one little backwoods town it's now about slitting throats and eating flesh! While visiting Tromaville, the DeWolfe family discover a terrifying secret. God-fearing parents panic as their children mysteriously disappear. Little do they know that only thing worse than their children disappearing would be them...

Cannibalism, torture, rape, war crimes, and necrophilia. These are common themes found in underground cinema and extreme horror. Is it possible for art to go too far? What is the appeal of this vile content to seemingly well-adjusted fans? Authors Jeff Burk and Lucas Mangum attempt to unpack these questions and more as they examine some of the most extreme films ever made. This episode is one of s...

The Troma Team is proud to present SCREAMPLAY, the story of aspiring screenwriter Edgar Allen (Rufus B. Seder) as he arrives in Hollywood carrying his most valuable possessions: a battered suitcase and a typewriter. Edgar Allen's best attribute is his wild imagination. He imagines scenes so vividly for the murder mystery he is writing that they seem to come to life…and they do! As mysterious murde...

On the 259th episode of SModcast, indie legend turned Hollywood darling turned cinematic outlaw Kevin Smith and longtime collaborator Scott Mosier read a bizarre want ad in which a homeowner was offering free lodging, so long as the tenant was willing to wear a Walrus costume. This led to an in-depth discussion about a hypothetical horror film inspired in equal parts by Stuart Gordon, David Cronen...

We made it to 50 episodes and thought it all too appropriate to cover Troma's most famous movie, a movie as old as us and soon to be remade. We're talking, of course, about 1984's THE TOXIC AVENGER. With ripping limbs, head-crushing, and deep-frying of hands, this movie is a gory classic. It's also got a wicked sense of humor, social commentary that still resonates today, and a runtime that other...

Something Weird Video was founded in 1990 by Mike Vraney. Based out of Seattle, it takes its name from the movie Something Weird , which was directed by "Godfather of Gore" Herschel Gordon Lewis. In addition to distributing the works of Lewis, they've also distributed films by Doris Wishman (a prolific female director of sexploitation films) and Ed Wood (specifically, The Violent Years and Jailbai...

What do those final moments look like when someone chooses to end their life? What's the difference between a death film and a snuff film? This German horror movie from 2001 dares to ask these questions--and answer them. Plus, the value of extreme horror movies, the impact of losing a loved one, and the crassness of marketing.

Due to the success of The Witch and Midsommar, folk horror has become a trendy subgenre in the past decade, but it has its roots in films made as early as the 1950s. While The Wicker Man (1973) is the most famous example, there are numerous, lesser-known entries as well. One such film is 1983's Eyes of Fire. Boasting some impressive visual effects and cinematography, it shares a plot similar to Th...

In 1987, a group of Michigan filmmakers took to the wilderness to make a monster movie about something evil in the woods. No, we're not talking about Evil Dead 2; we're talking about the little-seen, DIY, slapstick creature feature Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo. Plus, indie horror comics, dubious origin stories, and the Michigan indie film scene.

Exploitation and grindhouse cinema are not dead! They have only changed skins. On the 45th episode of MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN PODCAST, authors Jeff Burk and Lucas Mangum examine how exploitation subgenres of the 1970s have influenced the mainstream blockbusters of today.

Following the tradition of other A-list stars getting their start with Troma, Kevin Costner appears in this borderline softcore, beach party movie from way back in 1981. Jeff does not like this movie. He wants to fight it. He wants to fight Lucas for making him watch it. Kevin Costner once sued to get the rights to this movie. Why? You'll need to listen to find out.

Paul Morrissey's FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN is a film that works on multiple levels: it's both a horror movie and a comedy, a gorefest and imbued with erotica, a marriage of New York arthouse and Italian sleaze. A new favorite for the show, it stars Udo Kier and bears only a few degrees of separation from Andy Warhol, E.T.: THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL, former president Donald Trump, Madonna, and Korn. It's a...