Horror Movie Survival Guide

Julia and Marion discuss George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. It is a zombie classic. Support the show

If you have ever fantasized about Sting as Dr. Frankenstein and Jennifer Beals as the Bride, then this movie is for you! And it's like two movies in one, because we ALSO get Clancy Brown as Viktor "The Monster" Frankenstein and Time Bandit's David Rappaport on a side mission to join the circus! It doesn't quite work, but there's a lot to chew on! Support the show

Tom Hanks makes his illustrious film debut in this little seen Halloween knock off. Ostensibly about a killer who goes after brides, this flick has some enjoyable characters, a few scares and an adorable mortician - what more do you need? Support the show

Chuck Russell's super fun remake of The Blob has lots of superb gory effects and rockin' characters too! Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillon and - Julia's favorite- Donovan Leitch star. A rad romp! Support the show

Anne Rice's modern take on the vampire comes to life with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt tearing up the scenery and each other's hearts. With a sweeping score, gorgeous cinematography and extraordinary makeup, this is what happens when vampires have a big budget!  Support the show

Finishing up our killer kids round is the awesome film adaptation of Stephen King's Firestarter, with an all star cast led by little yet ferocious Drew Barrymore as Charlie, who must go on the lam when the government comes after her and her father to experiment on their special powers - including setting things on fire with a single look. The government's got some toasty work ahead of th...

With a score by Bernard Herrmann and makeup effects by Rick Baker, this film should knock it out of the park, and yet...It's Alive is as low budget as it gets (though is spawned 2 sequels!) and takes on the killer kid theme to a new height - killer babies! Larry Cohen's grindhouse schlockfest could use some serious trimming, but it's got a blood thirsty infant at the center of it, s...

Our killer kid theme continues with this 1981 film about three psychotic, voyeuristic astrologically linked 10 year olds who go on a killing spree to punish everyone who has done them wrong. A plucky final girl, lots of gratuitous nudity and a bow and arrow death - what more can you ask for in a film? Support the show

Children of the Corn, based on Stephen King's short story about a Nebraska town overrun by murderous teen and child religious cult members spawned 8 sequels as of this date and may still be chugging along as a series. Linda Hamilton and Peter Horton star as the hapless couple who stumble upon the town's evil and get dragged further into its clutches than they ever imagined. Support the s...

Wes Craven travels south to Haiti to join Bill Pullman's Harvard anthropologist Dennis Alan in his quest for a powder that can kill any human - then bring them back to life as a zombie - because somehow this will be helpful back at Harvard to create a new kind of anesthetic? Anyway, many voodoo frights await him in this moodily directed, surprisingly political horror flick. Support the show

It starts out as just a good old fashioned sorority & fraternity hazing ritual of spending the night inside the infamous Garth Manor where hideous murders occurred and where some of the "gorked out" survivors maybe still live - and it's only going downhill from there. Linda Blair shines as Marti, who is going to go through the wringer tonight along with three other pledges, when...

When your film has only three characters, you know that those three actors are going to be giving some intense performances, and Dead Calm doesn't disappoint. Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane play to the rafters and do some really impressive stunts - including under water work, fight and sex scenes AND Nicole Kidman actually steering a yacht in a storm. Support the show

Clive Barker's feature film debut has "Clive Barker" written all over it, and that's why Hellraiser works so well - it's one man's vision to marry gore and sex, repulsion and glamour. The story is fresh and unashamed of its perversity, Ashely Laurence shines in her first movie role as Kirsty, a bad ass Final Girl up there in the ranks - I mean, she's fighting dem...

Frank Marshall's directorial debut is a big budget ode to low budget monster movies and is a thrill ride for spider haters everywhere. Terrific performances by Jeff Daniels and John Goodman, plus more spider jump scares than you can shake a stick at, this film is fun for everyone! Support the show

Little monsters indeed. This film is a confusing mess, but hey! At least there's a ghoulie on the VHS cover coming out of a toilet wearing suspenders!* (*no actual ghoulie suspender wearing occurs in this film) Plus - Jack Nance! Support the show

This flick boasts the film debut of Stephen Dorff, special effects that are outta site, and a bitchin' best friend, Terry, who just loves him some satanic Canadian thrash metal. Lucky he does, because that record album might just come in handy when a demonic hole opens in the backyard... Support the show

Stephen Herek's 1986 creature feature is full of silliness, gore, intergalactic bounty hunters and Billy Zane with an earring/ponytail. When the crites hijack a spaceship and hightail it to Earth, they didn't expect to face off against the plucky Scott Grimes and Dee Wallace Stone! Fine little monster fun! Support the show

Linda Blair stars again as Regan, now a teenage girl more interested in tap dancing than demons, gets sucked back into Pazuzu's world of pain through a hypnotic synchronizer, apoplectic Richard Burton and James Earl Jones in a locust costume. Really! Support the show

Hot on the heels of 1984's Nightmare on Elm Street, and hot to cash in on this Freddy fellow, Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge follows Jessie, the weirdo boy who just unknowingly moved into Nancy's house and suddenly finds himself face to face with a man with knives for fingers who...wants him to kill for him? This is gonna turn out well, right? Support the show

Mary Lambert, director of the original Pet Sematary, comes back for more Micmac Burial Ground madness in this 1992 sequel, starring Eddie Furlong and Anthony Edwards as son and father who move to the same tiny town of Ludlow, Maine, and get mixed up in some gnarly undead action. Support the show

Starting our round of sequels is 1981's Halloween 2, notable for starting the EXACT second the first one ends and finishing up Michael's long, bloody night of carnage candy in an abandoned hospital, with Dr. Loomis hot on his heels, and newcomer (and Horror Movie Survival Guide favorite) Jimmy hot for Laurie - what will happen on the rest of the night he came home? Support the show

Joel Schumacher's quintessential 80's vampire movie flipped the script on the undead, turning the villains into heroes, and heroes into...well, weird comic book obsessed vampire hunters. Glamour, glitter, the first team up of the Coreys, Keifer Sutherland on full blast AND Timmy Cappello playing that sax and shaking his hips with all his might! It's fun to be a vampire! Support the...

Ken Russell directs 1980's Altered States, based on the novel by Paddy Chayefsky (who also wrote the screenplay - and then took his name off of it). This movie features the film debuts of both William Hurt and Drew Barrymore, and involves hallucinogenic psychedelic drugs, sensory depravation tanks and the eternal search for the "first self". Deep stuff! Support the show

1994 saw Kenneth Branagh giving 110% to starring/directing Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - a thinking man's version of the classic tale, somewhat faithfully adapted from the famous novel. Everything's ramped up to a 12, Robert DeNiro is our monster and Kenny B sports some wicked abs, so you know it's a sight to behold! Support the show

Dario Argento's 1977 cinematic sensory assault Suspiria is a giallo classic for a reason - the iconic score, the instantly recognizable color scheme, the bright red gore - this film is a must see! Jessica Harper is a new ballet student, cringing and sneaking endlessly around the dance academy where something strange is afoot! What could the secret be? Support the show