Nightshade Cult; A Podcast Macabre

Cultists, your Horror Hosts are declaring July Werewolf Month, since both episode releases fall on Werewolf Wednesdays. First up we're putting Hammer's contribution to the genre on Exam Table, 1961's The Curse Of The Werewolf.  Based on Guy Endore's novel The Werewolf of Paris, but moving the action to Spain to make use of existing sets. Please join us for the Dissection.  Dissection Topic https:/...

Cultists, let's extend our vampire theme one more episode and catch up with a Dracula adaptation that slipped by your Horror Hosts last year. Luc Besson's Dracula: A Love Tale, is more of an adaptation of Coppola's Dracula than it is of Bram Stoker's Novel but it does have some pretty unique takes on lore as well. Please join us for the Dissection  Dissection Topic https://www.imdb.com/title/tt314...

Cultists 2024's Abigail isn't a "Remake" of Dracula's Daughter. To call it a "Reimagining" would even feel like a stretch. Instead it takes just the core concept of Dracula having a daughter and builds a blood splattered "Monster In The House" action comedy from it. Please join us for the Dissection  Dissection Topic  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27489557/?ref_=ext_shr   https://www.amazon.com/gp/...

Cultists, there's only a handful of female Monsters in the Universal canon, and while The Bride gets most of the attention, Countess Zaleska should not be overlooked. Dracula's Daughter introduced the trope of the reluctant and conflicted vampire to the mythos and was pretty subversive for the Hayes Code era. So to celebrate the film's 90th anniversary, we're putting it on the Exam Table. Please j...

Hard to believe it, Cultists but The Craft is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year! Perfect excuse for your Horror Hosts to finally put the Cult Classic Teen Horror on the Exam Table. Please join us for the Dissection.  Dissection Topic  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115963/?ref_=ext_shr   https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B000MQ7B0O/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r   Unholy Sacrament  Double Fink...

Cultists, after the success of Curse Of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula, Universal decided 'if you can't beat them, join them' and they entered into a partnership with Hammer Studios. The first film in that collaboration was 1959's The Mummy. It's not so much a remake as it is a Greatest Hits of plot elements from across the Mummy franchise. Please join us for the Dissection    Dissection Topic...

Cultists, eager to keep their hit streak going, Universal released The Mummy in 1932. Bringing back Frankenstein star Boris Karloff, and with Dracula cinematographer in the director's chair. The film capitalized on an Egyptian craze in the era, and spawned one of horror's most enduring franchises. So before the next iteration is released from its Tomb, let's put the original on the Exam Table.   ...

Cultists, we've been inspired by the release of The Bride! this month to put Frank Roddam's film of the same name on the Exam Table. Taking 1935's Bride Of Frankenstein as a jumping off point and bringing back several actors from Roddam's Cult Classic, Quadrophenia. The film reimagines The Monster and The Bride as star-crossed lovers to mixed results. Please join us for the Dissection.   Dissectio...

Cultists, it's only been a couple of months but your Horror Hosts are heading back to Castle Frankenstein. In the late 1950's, Horror had largely moved away from Gothic period pieces and toward Alien Invaders and Atomic Monsters. Terence Fisher's The Curse of Frankenstein brought the Gothic back, this time in glorious Eastman Color.    Dissection Topic https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050280/?ref_=ex...

Cultists, there's a handful of remakes that eclipse the original in the public consciousness. Phillip Kaufman's Invasion Of The Body Snatchers is certainly one of those.  Kaufman moved the setting into the urban heart of San Francisco and gave the Cult Classic the vibe of a 1970s paranoid thriller. Giving us some of the most iconic images of 1970s genre cinema. Please join us for the Dissection Di...

Cultists, it's the Seventieth anniversary of Don Siegel's Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. Something about the low budget B-Movie captured the zeitgeist of the McCarthy era, and it then later became a cult classic after its reassessment by the cinephile crowd. So it seems like a good time to put it on the Exam Table. Please join us for the Dissection.  Dissection Topic https://www.imdb.com/title/tt...

We've been on a bit of Western/Horror kick lately, and in that genre one film has been repeatedly recommended by the Cultists, S. Craig Zahler's Bone Tomahawk. The 2015 Cult Classic is part Revisionist Western and part Cannibal Horror, so we didn't take much convincing to put it in the Exam Table.  #bonetomahawk, #scraigzahler, #kurtrussell, #patrickwilson, #matthewfox, #richardjenkins, #lilisimmo...

Happy New Year, Cultists! This Episode your Horror Hosts are putting Noah Hawley's Alien:Earth on the Exam Table. Hawley has a knack for taking classic films and expanding on their themes to make great television. Also, this Episode, in lieu of the regular Vault Of Darkness segment, N&D will be running down their annual Year End Favorites of 2025! #alienearth, #alienearthfx, #alienearthseries, #no...

Cultists, your Horror Hosts aren't done with The Overlook Hotel just yet, or maybe it's not done with us. With 2019's Doctor Sleep, Mike Flanagan attempted the impossible, reconciling Stephen King's vision of The Shining with Stanley Kubrick's and sequalizing both. Was he successful? Please join us for the Dissection.  Dissection Topic https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5606664/?ref_=ext_shr   https://w...

Cultists, The Shining is 45 years old this year. So it's time for your Horror Hosts to head up to The Overlook Hotel and put Kubrick's psychological horror masterpiece on the Exam Table. Hopefully we don't get snowed in.  Dissection Topic  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/?ref_=ext_shr   https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0091XT22O/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r   Unholy Sacrament  Fresh Hop Redd,...

It's finally here, Cultists. Gothic Horror maestro Guillermo del Toro's long awaited adaptation of Frankenstein has dropped and your Horror Hosts promptly put it on the Exam Table. GDT has assembled a monster of a film, taking elements from all the most iconic versions of the story and filtering them through his own unique sensibility. Please join us for the Dissection    Dissection Topic https://...

Well Cultists, this month sees the release of Edgar Wright's adaptation of The Running Man by Richard Bachman (aka Stephen King). And you know your Horror Hosts won't pass up an excuse to throw an old Schwarzenegger film on the Exam Table, so this episode we'll be looking at the 1987 adaptation of the story. Please join us for the Dissection  #therunningman, #arnoldschwarzenegger, #runningmanmovie...

Cultists, five years after the previous entry in the series, and three years since they'd made a horror movie at all, Universal convinced Karloff to sit in Jack Pierce's make-up chair for one last outing as the iconic monster. Minus director James Whale's subversive edge but with Dracula star Bela Lugosi and future Sherlock Holmes star Basil Rathbone, Son Of Frankenstein marked a turning point in...

Cultists, whenever one of our favorite franchises comes out with a new instalment, your Horror Hosts like to look back at the original. So this episode John McTiernan's Predator will be going on the Exam Table in anticipation of Dan Trachtenberg's Predator: Badlands. Please join us for the Dissection.  Dissection Topic https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093773/?ref_=ext_shr   https://www.amcplus.com/mo...

Cultists, a successful film demands a sequel, and The Monster Demands a Mate! Coming four years after the original, and largely considered the pinnacle of the Classic Era of Universal Horror, Bride of Frankenstein arrived in a very different cinematic landscape than its predecessor. Karloff was now a Horror Movie Star, director James Whale had considerably more creative control, and there was a ne...

Cultists, it's the 25th anniversary of Canadian Cult Classic Teen Werewolf movie Ginger Snaps! Seems like a perfect excuse for your Horror Hosts to finally put it on the Exam Table. Please join us for the Dissection.  Dissection Topic https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210070/?ref_=ext_shr   https://shoutfactory.com/products/ginger-snaps-collector-s-edition   https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0B8...

Cultists, as promised, we're bringing you Bonus Episodes for Spooky Season! In anticipation of Guillermo del Toro's new adaptation, your Horror Hosts are putting the original Universal Studios Frankenstein films on the Exam Table. Starting of course with James Whale's seminal 1931 Gothic Horror masterpiece. Please join us for the Dissection.  Dissection Topic https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021884/?...

Cultists, your Horror Hosts are kicking off Spooky Season by putting Toyoo Ashida's Cult Classic anime Vampire Hunter D on the Exam Table.  Adapting the first volume of Hideyuki Kikuchi's popular novel series, the seminal OVA is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Not that we really need an excuse to watch an old favorite like this one. Please join us for the Dissection  Dissection Topic  https://ww...

Cultists, it's been 30 years since David Fincher's Se7en first shocked and disturbed audiences. Blurring the line between crime thriller and psychological horror, the film remains incredibly influential to this day. Please join us for the Dissection.  #se7en, #seven, #se7enmovie, #davidfincher, #bradpitt, #morganfreeman, #gwynethpaltrow, #kevinspacey, #whatsinthebox, #becomewrath, #johndoe, #seven...

Cultists, despite being somewhat underwhelmed on their first visit, your Horror Hosts are returning to the town of Salem's Lot. This episode, Gary Dauberman's 2024 adaptation of Stephen King's novel, will be going on the Exam Table. Released directly onto HBO Max and preceding Nosferatu by only a couple of months, this film may have slipped past you like it did us. It's time to rectify the oversig...