Psychotronic Sisters

Coffin Joe, aka Zé do Caixão was Brazil’s first horror icon. The alter ego of filmmaker José Mojica Marins, this amoral undertaker with a Nietzschian world view and the fiendish desire to kidnap a mother for his perfect child, took on a life of its own. We discussed the trilogy at the center of the Coffin Joe legacy and all the fantastic weirdness that came with it.   Subscribe to Psychotronic Sis...

Gerrit Graham (1948-2026) was that guy. While he occasionally bagged a starring role, he thrived most as a distinctive and prolific character actor. He’ll probably be best remembered for his memorable turn as Beef inBrian DePalma’s Phantom of the Paradise (1974), but he did so much more. His career included movies, television, voiceover, and even writinh a song for The Grateful Dead.  We discuss t...

The Mask (1961) is the first Canadian horror film, the first Canadian film widely distributed in the USA, and the only Canadian 3D film. Itswildly surreal fantasy sequences were graphic for the time and made more timeless by an eerie electronic score. While it has some of the gimmickry of a William Castle flick, it is also a uniquely fantastical, disturbing, and endlessly inventive creation.   Che...

How did the demented debauchery of Terminal USA (1993) ever get shown on public television? How does the beef industry relate to a punk trio of teenage girls in My Degeneration (1989)? We answer these questions and moreas we discuss the creative partnership of filmmaker Jon Moritsugu and artistAmy Davis.   Subscribe to Psychotronic Sisters YouTubechannel:https://www.youtube.com/@psychotronicsister...

This episode we dive into the maximalist, vicious, Czech psychodrama Morgiana (1972). Equal parts fractured fairy tale and politicalallegory, this flick dials everything up to 5,000.   Subscribe to Psychotronic Sisters YouTubechannel:https://www.youtube.com/@psychotronicsisters   Visit our site, sign up for email updates ⁠https://psychotronicsisters.wordpress.com/⁠   Get Psychotronic Sisters Merch...

Only in Hindi movies would crime and musical numbers fit together perfectly. Don (1978) and Disco Dancer (1982) add a little bit of gritto the singing and dancing. We talk about playback singers, the biggest filmindustry in the world, and its biggest star, Amitabh Bachchan.   Subscribe to Psychotronic Sisters YouTubechannel:https://www.youtube.com/@psychotronicsisters   Visit our site, sign up for...

We’re back with another grab bag ep. This time we’re celebrating four made-for-tv movies from the 70s, a bizarre, creative, and uniquely entertaining period for flicks made for the living room.   Subscribe to Psychotronic Sisters YouTubechannel:https://www.youtube.com/@psychotronicsisters   Visit our site, sign up for email updates ⁠https://psychotronicsisters.wordpress.com/⁠   Get Psychotronic Si...

The Devil Queen/ A Rainha Diaba (1974) is not your average crime flick. Full of great music, visuals, action, and fascinatingly complex queer and trans representation, and with charismatic Milton Gonçalves (Kiss of the Spider Woman) in the lead, this Brazilian masterpiece gave us lots to talk about.   Subscribe to Psychotronic Sisters YouTubechannel:https://www.youtube.com/@psychotronicsisters   V...

The legendary Italian director Mario Bava is best known for defining horror genres like giallo and slashers, so it should come as no surprise that his early work in peplum films had a darker, edgier feel than most of the genre. This bizarre, beautiful flick is also an early example of Bava’sinfluential, jaw-dropping use of color.   Subscribe to Psychotronic Sisters YouTubechannel:https://www.youtu...

At 6’9”, George Eastman, AKA Luigi Montefiori was a literal giant, in addition to being a giant of Italian cinema. We had a lot to say about this prolific actor and screenwriter who also had his moments behind the camera.   Subscribe to Psychotronic Sisters YouTubechannel:https://www.youtube.com/@psychotronicsisters   Visit our site, sign up for email updates ⁠https://psychotronicsisters.wordpress...

This ep we talk about four flicks we’ve loved lately that we think you should watch! Our selections will take you on a bizarre trip through time and space.   Subscribe to Psychotronic Sisters YouTubechannel:https://www.youtube.com/@psychotronicsisters   Visit our site, sign up for email updates ⁠https://psychotronicsisters.wordpress.com/⁠   Get Psychotronic Sisters Merch: ⁠https://psychotronic-sis...

Carroll Baker reached the heights of her successful career in Italy in the four films she made with director Umberto Lenzi. In this episode we talk about their first two collaborations, both filmed in 1969: Orgasmo (aka Paranoia) and So Sweet…So Perverse. Lenzi knew how to elevate genre flicks and Baker brought star power and bold energy to every role. They were a match made in movie heaven.   For...

It’s Slab City meets Burning Man in Dead End Drive-In (1986). Aussie director Brian Trenchard-Smith’s entertaining, action-packed flick is even more relevant today in the way it reflects car culture, the prison system, and the way society as a whole can be a prison. This is part two of our Aussie Double Feature in which we praise the entertaining and surprisingly progressive Trenchard-Smith.   Sub...

Stunt Rock (1978), where dangerous stunts meet a metal band/magic act. Aussie director Brian Trenchard-Smith turned his brilliant ideainto an outrageously entertaining flick and the perfect showcase for legendary stuntman Grant Page. It wasn’t the hit they’d hope for, but it now has well-deserved cult status. This is part one of our Aussie Double Feature in which we praise the entertaining and sur...

Our second random pick from Michael Weldon’s Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film is Judex (1963), director Georges Franju’s (Eyes Without aFace) bizarre and exciting remake of the classic silent serial. This vigilante character is the first caped crusader of the silver screen and the start of the long road that led to Batman and our current superhero-obsessed culture. Judexis the Latin word for Just...

Fabio Testi stars in this stylish, horror-tinged tribute to 60s spy flicks. It’s packed with classic giallo flourishes and needle drops from the best composers of the time. We talked about the many influences of this amazing movie and how married co-directors Hélène Cattet and BrunoForzani (Let the Corpses Tan) have made a career of paying tribute to an era while building their own strong, unique...

We dug into our first random pick from Michael Weldon’s Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film: Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968). This Japanese flick has everything: airplane crashes, aliens, goo, social commentary, a mismatchedband of messy passengers, and gorgeous imagery inspired by the bold colors ofMario Bava. Subscribe to Psychotronic Sisters YouTubechannel:https://www.youtube.com/@psychotron...

Carroll Baker had an amazing run in Europe in the 1960s-70s, and that memorable period of her career is part of what inspired us to startPsychotronic Sisters. In The Sky is Falling she leads a group of hapless, hedonistic expatriates with Dennis Hopper, who essentially played himself as an unhinged drug addict. We talked about this messy, baffling Euro folk horror andthe fascinating people behind...

Gaspar Noé’s Climax (2018) uses the dance world as the setting for a descent into chaos. While this rebellious, tense film stands inits own category in a lot of ways, its use of the performing arts as a background for horror goes back to the silent age (Phantom of the Opera [1929] remains effective today). In this two-parter we talk about three flicks thatecho the themes of Climax while weaving in...

Gaspar Noé’s Climax (2018) uses the dance world as the setting for a descent into chaos. While this rebellious, tense film stands inits own category in a lot of ways, its use of the performing arts as a background for horror goes back to the silent age (Phantom of the Opera [1929] remains effective today). In this two-parter we talk about three flicks thatecho the themes of Climax while weaving in...

It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Udo Kier the godfather of psychotronic film stars. He embodied everything that makes this kind offlick exciting and unforgettable. From Flesh for Frankenstein to Swan Song, in this tribute episode we talked about his amazing career and life.   The interviews mentioned in the episode: Conversation with Udo Kier: Locarno Film Festival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...

Messiah of Evil (1974) is essential viewing for fans of atmospheric slow burn horror. Moody cinematography, a blood moon, a century oldcurse on a coastal town, the return of a “dark stranger,” possessed ghoulish locals. A nightmarish descent into surreal eerie dread. Some of the most unsettling sequences in horror movies, and a bonafide 70s masterpiece and cultclassic.   Subscribe to Psychotronic...

While home invasion flicks have existed since the dawn of cinema (see Lois Weber’s Suspense from 1916), the 80s seemed to lean into theidea of apartment invasions and the way they reflected societal unrest. While Tenement(1985), Siege (1983), and Enemy Territory (1987) have a lot in common, they also have widely different styles of approaching the subject.     Come visit us at:   ⁠⁠https://psychot...

While home invasion flicks have existed since the dawn of cinema (see Lois Weber’s Suspense from 1916), 80s movies seemed to lean into theidea of apartment invasions and the way they reflected societal unrest. While Tenement(1985), Siege (1983), and Enemy Territory (1987) have a lot in common, they also have widely different styles of approaching the subject.   Come visit us at:   ⁠⁠https://psycho...

How many secretaries have told their boss about a wild dream and ended up being directed by that same employer in a movie about it? Asfar as we know, one. Dementia (and its goofy sibling Daughter of Horror) is a one-of-a-kind movie and we had a blast talking about it.   Come visit us at:   ⁠https://psychotronicsisters.wordpress.com/⁠   ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@psychotronicsisters⁠