Dismembering Horror

This week we traveled to Brazil to watch their first horror film ever! It’s a wild one, too. “At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul” was independently made, and ushered in a new era of horror for the country, along with the introduction of the iconic Coffin Joe. The film dives right into the macabre “Poe-esque” morality tale structure, and was made that much better by a wild performance from the lead ac...

We’ve got a real juicy one for you this week from our friends across the pond. Who doesn’t love some runes, a curse, and an ACTUAL DEMON? Right from the get-go, “Night of the Demon” threw us into a mysterious, windy, wet and witchy world with just the right amount of whodunnit. Even with a pretty unpalatable protagonist, the surrounding talent (both on-screen and behind the camera) carried this fi...

“Motel Hell” is one of those crazy-subversive, maybe-it’s-just-dumb-oh-wait-no-it’s-genius-how-did-I-not-know-about-this kinda movies. You know the type! Tim and Ryan had so much to dismember, the personal highlight being the psychedelic pinwheel human livestock fertilizer, which you have to see to believe. All in all, it’s a deeply intense satire, wrapped in a goofball cannibal slasher. What more...

Look, Mia Farrow is great, this movie is not. Even though there is some good stuff at the core of the story, we were underwhelmed, plain and simple. There’s a couple cool deaths, too. Ryan appreciated Mia Farrow enough to enjoy “Full Circle” overall more than Tim, but both agreed it was a slog through and through, earning it a “stream” and an “avoid,” respectively. But if you like moody, 70’s, low...

What a wild ride we went on this week with none other than Christopher Walken, and a plethora of different aliens doing... well, we’ll leave that up to your imagination. Based on a true account, this one gave us quite a few things to discuss. One thing is for sure: Walken couldn’t be more perfect as an eccentric fiction novelist with writer’s block who gets abducted by aliens. We gave it a “stream...

We did it, folks! We returned to a fan-favorite franchise to see what some new blood could do with rebooting a “classic.” The answer? Something... they did something; and that something wasn’t all that bad, either! While the new “Wrong Turn” took a wrong turn in certain regards, it took some right turns also (including the characters indeed taking the requisite wrong turn). Ultimately, this reboot...

This week we got nostalgic and traveled back to the early 2000’s, tickling our fancy for that special place that yearns for simpler times with young Anna Ferris and Jeremy Sisto. While there, we also got a fun, hyper-quirky, Dark-with-capital-”D” tale of the titular misanthrope, May. Fitting perfectly into the transition from pre-9/11 tranquility to post-9/11 dark-and-gritty, “May” taps into a str...

NEW RELEASE ALERT! Also, kick-ass horror film alert! The excitement was flowing for “Saint Maud,” our first new release film in a while, and what a joy to get such a crisp, haunting voice added to the horror realm via writer/director Rose Glass’ feature film debut. Firmly making her mark, “Saint Maud” delivers amazing performances, beautiful filmmaking, and eerie storytelling. You gotta get a hold...

Hold onto your arms y’all, this is not one to sleep on. “ Santa Sangre” comes to us straight from the ether thanks to acclaimed filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky, and his reputation definitely lived up to the hype. With a twinge of Giallo, and an elephant-coffin worth of deeply layered commentary, this magical movie is a bloody, trippy, sensual, irreverent piece of art. The guys split on their rating...

Let’s travel back over the Pacific to Taiwan for Mon Mon Mon Monsters (and no, we didn’t stutter)! This one paid off on the technical front: beautifully shot, cool camera work, and awesome composition. However, we didn’t think it quite made the cut on the story side despite there being some very cool subtext, and offering a fresh take on the vampire/zombie/voodoo cursed monster. With one absolute...

Wait, back-to-back, pre-1950, Robert Louis Stevenson adaptations?! The hat knows! After being somewhat underwhelmed with last week’s “The Body Snatcher,” we had quite the opposite reaction with the 1931 version of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” From the sets, to the makeup, the performances, to the pre-code sultriness, this stands up with the great classics of its time and then some. It’s no surprise...

Bela and Boris are at it again! In their final film together Boris takes on more of a lead, and Bela shines as only Bela could in a far lesser role, in this tale of treachery from Robert Louis Stevenson. Excelling at macabre, morbid imagery, along with standout performances, “The Body Snatcher” fell short for us on some of the broader storytelling elements, but compelled us nonetheless with its am...

We tackle a listener submitted film and question this week: why the hype for these filmmakers? We do our best to answer that question as we delve into “The Endless,” from the directing team of Benson and Moorhead, starring Benson and Moorhead. This "Lovecraftian" tale picks up where the duo’s first film left off and carries on with maybe more explanation than Ryan and Tim wanted. Eerie, creepy, an...

Imagine being a nine year old and seeing Steve McQueen take on an alien blob as it devours small town U.S.A. and everything in its path! Well, that’s just what Tim’s dad did, and it’s left its stamp on him to this day. But did “The Blob” leave a similar stamp on Ryan and Tim? Were they able to suspend their disbelief that Steve McQueen was supposed to be a teenager? Were the special effects of the...

Picture this: 1977, swinging New York City...what’s a beautiful model in search of meaning in this crazy town to do? Well, have Ava Gardner find her an amazing apartment in Brooklyn that just so happens to be a gateway to hell that is being protected by the Catholic Church by a single sentinel which they place there every generation, of course! While we thought “The Sentinel” was far from its cont...

“BUTCHYA ARE BLANCHE, Y’ARE IN THAT CHAIR!” That’s right, we hit a big one with the incomparable duo of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford and boy oh boy was there plenty to dismember (least of which being a bird and a rat)! What more can be said without “hammering” home that we loved this film and gave it a much deserved double “buy?” A true classic with all the things you never knew you needed: old H...

We wish you a very happy New Year's...EVIL! HAHAHA...err herm, anyway, not to get too carried away like the crazy killer in this raunchy, raucous and ravin' 1980 slasher film, we here at Dismembering Horror do wish you all a happy new year and thank you for being with us on this journey from one year into the next. There's just so much going on in "New Year's Evil" it feels weird to try and say an...

We sojourn way back to 1932 for this week’s film, and don’t be fooled: this incredible vampire tale feels eerily real and strangely modern. Perhaps ahead of its time with incredible, sweeping camera work, indelible art direction, and an experimental, dream-like spirit, Tim and Ryan absolutely loved Vampyr. Sinking their teeth deep into the neck of this timeless classic, they couldn’t help but conj...

Kurt Russell delivered for us, as usual...and to everyone’s surprise, Ryan actually liked Patrick Wilson in this slow-burn, modern, western-horror mashup. Skirting and/or deconstructing the more problematic aspects of the westerns of yesteryear, “Bone Tomahawk” manages to weave wonderfully constructed characters to broader themes, driving it all home for an overall satisfying venture. Plus, litera...

You read that right, this week we are covering a listener-submission that's based off of the famed(?) Hanna-Barbera show “The Banana Splits” called...you guessed it: “The Banana Splits Movie.” Of course this being a horror podcast, this adaptation involved killer robots and some over-the-top gore that we have to assume was never a part of the original show. The film may have come up short, leading...

CLASSIC! That’s right, we said it, CLASSIC! It’s the sci-fi horror film that started it all by spawning countless versions of the “monster on the loose” tale, “The Thing from Another World”! Although we loved many elements (especially the titular “thing”), it was held back by some minor limitations leading to a double “rent”. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t incredible and indelible moments that...

Let’s be honest, as horrific as much of this movie’s content is, it’s really more of a fantasy/fairytale. Apropos to the incomparable Terry Gilliam, this controversial entry of his did much the same for Ryan and Tim: breed controversy. Although magic and wonder and terror abound, this one really missed its mark and led to a near double ”avoid”... BUT ultimately was given a “stream” from Ryan and a...

Put your hands together for our special guest Carly D. Weckstein, who helps us dismember this week’s film “Climax!” What a perfect addition to help us cover such a rich and complex story, one that explores themes of consent and so much more. This “dance horror film” sent us on quite the trip with its intensity, insanity, irreverence, and imagery. Earning a triple “rent” that verged very nearly on...

Look out, it’s Jack Bauer back again to take down a new mysterious enemy threat in 24’s Halloween Special! What’s that? This isn’t actually an episode of 24? Well you could have fooled us, because Keifer Sutherland is as Jack Bauer as only Keifer knows how to Jack. Allowing us to “reflect” on some interesting ideas, and fully embracing being a scary movie about mirrors, “Mirrors” is true popcorn f...

REDEMPTION! Not that Nicolas Pesce really needed it, but we are here to make clear that the 2020 “Grudge” film can not and will not be a reflection of this filmmaker’s talent. Here’s why: “Piercing” is amazing and so so so so deliciously twisted and beautiful and disquieting and fun. This visually and emotionally wonderful piece of filmmaking taps into the underbelly of psychosis, sex, kink, pleas...