Hellbent for Horror

  Nothing marks the end of an era more potently than when the icons of that era pass away. The cold reality is that when horror icons pass away, they rarely get memorialized in mainstream arenas. So, I wanted to give an "Irish Wake", a happy send-off for several of the people who passed away over the last few years. The people who gave horror fans their First Kiss. Consider this episode the Last K...

The best thing about being a horror fan is sharing the love with other horror fans! And I had the pleasure to do just that! On April 11th, 2019 we did a live podcast of Hellbent for Horror and a live reading from my book, "Screaming for Pleasure" from the legendary horror bookstore, Dark Delicacies in Burbank, CA . Special guest Heidi Honeycutt and I discuss horror, horrible/beautiful, and how we...

(Photo credit: CHRISTOPHER WAHL/CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES) If director Guillermo del Toro didn't exist, we horror fans would have had to invent him.   He's a true lifelong fan himself, who brought his unique style and passion to horror films, and his love for monsters paid off when The Shape of Water won Best Picture in 2017.  So...why is there so little conversation about Guillermo del Toro in the...

Fire! Flood! Earthquake! Killer bees! Disaster Movies have been a staple of cinema since the Silent Era, and they are far more diverse in scope than you might think. Most Disaster Movies want to thrill you, but there are those proud few that really want to scare you . Let's take a look at some of those movies that put the Fear of God into us! I hope you enjoy the show! We're taking Hellbent for Ho...

The excellent new documentary, HORROR NOIRE: A HISTORY OF BLACK HORROR, is a love letter to the rich, powerful history of Black American artists in horror cinema. The story is told by the artists who made the movies, and they give their unflinching perspectives on the past, present, and future of black horror. Join me as I speak with Executive Producers Dr. Robin Means Coleman and Tananarive Due ...

On October 4th, 2018, hundreds of figures dressed in black walked into the Wisdom Woods of Georgia to perform an unholy ceremony. Beasts were conjured and blood was spilled by the gallons in the pursuit of graven images. And popcorn was eaten. I was a witness to the Women in Horror Film Festival, and I lived to tell the tale! I interview festival co-founder and film director Vanessa Ionta Wright a...

February is Women in Horror Month , and we're celebrating with an interview with the writer/actress  Rakefet Abergel!  We discuss her short horror film, the multiple-award-winning  Jax in Love (2017). Join us as we discuss horror and comedy timing, Rakefet's First Kiss with horror, and her cinematic "guilty pleasures"!   Want to watch the video of the interview? Go to my YouTube Channel:  https://...

February is Women in Horror Month , and we're starting things off with an interview with  Tara Hall , the writer of the feature-length film, Buzzard Hollow Beef (2017).  Tara sat down with me to discuss her film, horror movies, how Sam Raimi made her want to be a filmmaker, her First Kiss with horror, and her favorite comedy! Want to watch the video of the interview? Go to my YouTube Channel:  htt...

So, what does "Punk Rock Attitude" mean, anyway? There are as many answers to this question as there are punk rockers.  Although the connection between heavy metal and horror is well documented, the connection between horror and punk rock isn't discussed as much. Yet, movies like CLASS OF 1984 , and LIQUID SKY , and RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD , and even RE-ANIMATOR exude a punk rock attitude with a...

One last surprise present "under the tree" for my listeners! I'm continuing the British tradition of the Christmas Ghost Story. Get some eggnog, put another log on the fire, nurse your wounds from your most recent game of "snapdragon", and sit back to listen to my rendition of Algernon Blackwood's "The Willows".   I can't wait to meet with all of you again in 2019! I hope you enjoy the show!   My...

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from MAGIC ". -Arthur C. Clarke "The only way of discovering the limits of the POSSIBLE is to venture a little way past them into the IMPOSSIBLE ". -Arthur C. Clarke When we watch a movie, or we listen to someone tell a story, we actively allow ourselves to believe in that level of magic. We want to believe there is still magic in the worl...

SPECIAL OFFER: FREE GIFT FOR FIRST 100 BUYERS OF "SCREAMING FOR PLEASURE" The first 100 purchasers of  Screaming for Pleasure  can get a FREE eBook of Isaac Thorne's  Road Kills !! Here is how to claim your FREE eBook: Purchase a copy (print or eBook) of  Screaming for Pleasure: How Horror Makes You Happy and Healthy. ( If you haven't purchased a copy yet, order through  here ) Email your proof of...

Just because things might seem normal and ordinary…doesn't mean they really ARE. Some places, no matter what your eyes tell you, just feel…weird…creepy…uncanny. Every culture has a haunted place…a haunted house. And Halloween is the night many of us go out to seek these haunted places! In this episode I visit some haunts in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Into the Dark's Terror Vault, Mr. No...

The '80s were horror movie heaven. A wild mixture of new technology, misfit filmmakers, obscure distributors, rich dentists trying to find tax shelters, buckets of blood and latex, and home video rental helped usher in one of the most prolific and influential eras in horror film history. A new documentary in the works, IN SEARCH OF DARKNESS: A JOURNEY INTO ICONIC '80s HORROR , that has the potenti...

Batshit Crazy horror movies are the messy upstarts that couldn't blend into the crowd if they tried. They may not be for everyone, and they may be far from perfect, and they may never get critical praise, but they are not boring. They are so out of step with what is popular at the time that they have a timelessness to them. Because REAL CRAZY never ages. I hope you enjoy the show! My book, Screami...

Welcome to a new installment of  HELLBENT FOR HORRIBLE QUESTIONS, a mini-digest of interviews and short discussions! In ISSUE #2, my guests are the creative team filmmaking team,  KEVIN AND JENNIFER SLUDER.   They have shepherded many independent horror and sci-fi films to  completion and now Kevin has directed his first horror short, HEARTLESS , which is winning awards and rave reviews. Kevin and...

Madness! Murder! Possession! Vengeful Gods! With the Ancient Greeks, it was all in the family. Many Greek Tragedies dealt with anxiety around the fragility of families in a dangerous world. The most frightening theme was the families destroying themselves from the inside . What is it in our nature that drives some of us to madness, cruelty and self-destruction? Just like the Greek Tragedies, some...

Welcome to a new installment of the "H4H Universe" we call HELLBENT FOR HORRIBLE QUESTIONS, a mini-digest of interviews and short discussions! In ISSUE #1, my guest is director SIMONE KISIEL , who has made two feature films, "HOUSED" and "BUGS: A TRILOGY." Simone talks about the joys of Indie Horror Filmmaking, her "First Kiss" with Horror, and her "guilty pleasures." "HOUSED" premieres on Amazon...

Back when the campfire was the center of the village, the woods were the dark home of dangerous creatures and magical beings. The woods were considered sinister places that epitomized the unknown. So, it's no surprise that horror films are right at home with the woods! My guests, Hope Madden and George Wolf from the Fright Club Podcast join me  to talk about some of the most interesting horror fil...

Is the supernatural an aspect of nature we haven't figured out yet? Is magic a concept we use to make sense out of the infinite? What if angels, aliens, and ghosts were all the same thing? Welcome to the cinematic universe of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead.  These two filmmakers who have been creating some of the most intriguing and thought-provoking horror films of the last decade. Their trilog...

Horror movies have looked to peoples' faith and beliefs to create some of our scariest monsters. When a movie becomes so ingrained in the culture, does the culture mimic it? Fact and fiction can blur , and the apocryphal story can become truth if it is perceived to be true. Guest John Arminio joins me to talk about the different ways that belief and faith has been used in horror films, and how som...

Being a horror fan comes with a stigma. Many groups from all sides of the social spectrum believe that horror movies are morally reprehensible and promote real-life violence. Because of that, the Horror Community is staunchly anti-censorship and broadly permissive around violent and disturbing content in horror movies. Sometimes, this allows real-life monsters to hide among our ranks, who promote...

Things might look bright and warm during Springtime, but there's something sinister underneath the surface. The pastel colors of the flowers camouflage the blood and death in the soil that helped them grow. When the difference between life and death depended on a bountiful harvest, people made human sacrifices to appease the Old Gods of the earth. In this episode I talk about horror movies devoted...

Can you use horror as a treatment for phobias?    Some psychologists think so.  In this episode I talk about some of the common phobias , and how horror movies might be a safe place to come to terms with some mild fears.    If you have a phobia, chances are there's a movie or book for you.  I talk about how I used horror to help me cope with my own phobias.   Also in this episode I read some liste...

A very NSFW episode! Lloyd Kaufman, the President of Troma Entertainment and the creator of "The Toxic Avenger" drops by to discuss his 50 years of independent filmmaking, his new movie, and the art of making obscenity fun again! I hope you enjoy the show! Join the Hellbent for Horror Horde! help support the show here!  http://bit.ly/2G6CpIJ If you like the show, please consider writing a review o...