Horror Movie Survival Guide

The Crazies (1973)  - "The army ain't nobodies friend, man." George A. Romero is a filmmaker who was perpetually ahead of this time, and never has there been a more appropriate time to watch The Crazies than right now. A small town is forcibly put under quarantine by the army when a virus spreads that turns its victims insane. Chilling, brilliant and eerily prescient, this is one of...

Suzanne Desrocher-Romero is the founder and president of the George A. Romero Foundation and was married to George Romero from 2011 until his passing in 2017. Suzanne is working hard to preserve George's legacy by archiving his work, and opening an archive specifically for horror directors at the University of Pittsburgh. The foundation is also releasing a lost film Romero directed in 1973, T...

The Bride of Frankenstein 1935 - "She hate me" James Whale's 1935 film The Bride of Frankenstein is a cult classic for a reason - a beautifully shot film with stunning imagery, stupendous sets and great performances, this film continues where the first film left off and follows the tragic figure of Frankenstein's Monster as he wanders through the countryside, lonely and hunted....

Color out of Space (2019)  - "Everything's under control" Richard Stanley wrote and directed Color out of Space, based on a short story by HP Lovecraft and brought to us by the wonderful folks at Spectrevision. The film stars Nicolas Cage and Joely Richardson as a mother and father recently moved to the country when their world is turned upside down by a strange glowing magenta rock...

Dennis Christopher is a BAFTA award winning actor whose career has spanned decades, from his breakout role in Breaking Away and dozens of films and television shows including Fellini's Roma, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Profiler, FreakyLinks, Deadwood, Django Unchained and Horror Movie Survival Guide faves the 1990 mini-series of IT (as Julia's favorite character, Eddie Kaspbrak!) and Jul...

The Eyes of my Mother (2016) - "You're my only friend" Nicolas Pesce's 2016 film The Eyes of my Mother is a gorgeous black and white nightmarescape of a film, starting our brutal and only ramping up from there. While the influence of early horror films like Night of the Living Dead and Psycho is apparent, the film is totally unique and definitely has a style of its own. Stark i...

Misery (1990)   - "Making you feel all oogy" Stephen King's bestseller Misery is up at the top as one of the best adaptations of his work, with incredible performances by James Caan and Kathy Bates (who won both the Golden Globe and the Oscar for best actress for her turn as psychotic Annie Wilkes). Playing on King's worst fears as a writer, being trapped by a mentally unhinged...

Graham Skipper is an actor, writer and director, who came to horror hounds' attention with his bloody, brilliant performance as Herbert West in Stuart Gordon's stage production of Re-Animator: The Musical. He's starred in dozens of films, including Almost Human, The Mind's Eye, Beyond the Gates, Bliss and VFW. He also wrote and directed the horror film Sequence Break, as well a...

When a Stranger Calls (1979) - "Have you checked the children?" Based on an urban legend about a babysitter getting some disturbing phone calls (and clearly the inspiration for the beginning of Scream) this film goes for a real, gritty cat and mouse chase for an escaped lunatic killer - with great performances and some legit thrills. The final movie in our round of films from 1979!  Supp...

Dracula (1979)   - "Nice and fat and juicy" Dracula has been portrayed countless times on screen, but never with the unflappable raw sexuality that Frank Langella brings to his Count D. With Donald Pleasance as Dr. Seward and Laurence Olivier as Van Helsing, you know this film is going to bring the awesome. This is the third in our round of films from 1979!  Support the show

Tourist Trap (1979) - "Feels like Flesh" Everyone's been drawn into a run down roadside tourist trap while travelling, and this film proves they are great settings for a horror film too! Lots of loving homages to horror, creepy mannequins and masked figures takes this coulda-been-your-average-slasher up a notch! The second in our round of films from 1979!  Support the show

Phantasm (1979) - "Fear is the killer" Don Coscarelli's 1979 film Phantasm is a fever dream of strange creatures, devices, people and powers that never quite get explained, but that all come together beautifully. With fun characters and a great final boy, not to mention the iconic Tall Man and sentinel spheres, this film is a cult classic for a reason. The first of our round of film...

Anna & the Apocalypse (2017) - "Withdraw your tongues!" Anna & the Apocalypse is the fourth film in our horror musical round and is not only a horror musical, but a *Christmas* horror musical! The film takes place around a Scottish school doing their Christmas show, where a group of students, parents and faculty must defend themselves against an ever growing zombie horde - in son...

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) - "You shall drip rubies" Tim Burton's 2007 film version of Stephen Sondheim's genius musical Sweeney Todd is a filthy, bloody Victorian London delight, with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter singing their hearts out as Sweeney Todd, an ex-con barber with murder & revenge on his mind and Mrs. Lovett, the scheming, lov...

The 2008 film Repo! The Genetic Opera is based on a stage musical. Set in the not too distant future, an evil corporation does organ transplants to those in need, but then repossesses those organs if a payment is missed - straight out of the debtors body (while they're alive). Bold visuals, fun casting and buckets of gore means its perfect for our second film in our horror musical round.  Sup...

If swooping/split-screen/colorful/hand-held/mind boggling camera/editing work is your scene, and/or you're super into updated Faustian tales turned rock musicals scored by Paul Williams, Phantom of the Paradise is for you! Written and directed by Brian De Palma, this 1974 film is firing on all guns - taking no less than 5 classic horror tales and sculpting them into this rock mashup! The firs...

COOTIES - "Oh, look. Carnage" 2014 Cooties is a film unafraid to cut apart a chicken on screen before the title even rolls, so you know it ain't afraid to bring the gore! Evil children infected by that very same chicken start hunting down a band of very un-hero like (but adorable!) teachers in a small town elementary school - and when that band of adventurers is lead by none other t...

THE INNOCENTS (1961) Jack Clayton 's 1961 film adaptation of The Innocents is based on the play by William Archibald (with a screenplay punched up by none other than Truman Capote) which is, in turn, based on Henry James' novel The Turn of the Screw. Shot in lush black and white cinemascope, this film is an absolute feast for the senses, with stunning cinematography, opulent costumes, an...

GREEN ROOM (2015) Jeremy Saulnier 's 2015 film Green Room is punk AF. When an out of state punk band suddenly become trapped in a club full of violent skinheads, they have to use their wits and everything within their grasp to try and survive. The cast is top drawer, and the movie is brutal, hilarious and no holds barred. This film is unlike any other! Highly Recommended!  Support the show

This bonkers film from 2017 written and directed by Brian Taylor features Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair as a mom and dad who wake up on a day where all parents inexplicably start murdering their own children. The darkest of dark comedies, this film has your laughs, your gore, and Nicolas Cage smashing a pool table to bits with a sledgehammer. What more could you ask for in a film?  Support the show

David Cronenberg's 1986 film The Fly is a body-horror-machine vs. man- mad-scientist's delight with Jeff Goldblum tearing up the scenery in the best way as Seth Brundle, whose inventions & ambitions will drive him mad, and Geena Davis as the lovestruck journalist who gets swept along in his madness. Goretastic fun!  Support the show

Can you believe it's 2020? We're living in the future! (Except we still cling to our vinyl/VHS analogue past!) Hope you have a great New Year's Eve and we're excited for another year of talking about scary films!  Support the show

Hope whatever you celebrate this holiday season is full of laughter, mirth, horror movies and wise final girl decisions.  Support the show

Ingmar Bergman's 1968 film Hour of the Wolf is his brilliant delve into horror, starring Max Von Sydow as an artist losing his mind and Liv Ullman as his long suffering wife, living together on a remote island that seems to be aiming to drive them apart and insane. An incredible look at marriage, insanity, fame and filmmaking itself.  Support the show

Herk Harvey's 1962 cult classic Carnival of Souls was a first watch for both Teri and Julia, and it blew them both away. Dreamlike, beautiful and haunting, this film is a clear inspiration for countless horror films that came after it, and is worth every moment of your time.  Support the show