Once Upon A VHS - 80s and 90s Fantasy

As you're pretty, so be wise - wolves may lurk in every guise... Rachel Lydia Barker, film critic, video essayist and creator of the Girl on Film YouTube channel joins us in straying from the path to discuss a truly wild film. It's not just a dark and edgy reworking of Little Red Riding Hood, but a surreal and sensual gothic fairytale overflowing with symbolism, feminist allegory and sharp comment...

With Michael lost in the woods, Callum calls upon returning guest co-hosts Pete and Scott from the fabulous Movies That Made Us Gay podcast to dive into discussion, dissection and dissemination of the Cannon Films "package" of fairy tale films, focusing in on Hansel and Gretel - it is the season of the witch, after all! We also discuss a few other adaptations of Hansel and Gretel including Shelley...

Witches of England... you are a disgrace! Robert Berg, writer and copy editorial director of Bona Books, a queer press specialising in fantasy, science fiction and horror, joins us to peel back the layers of weirdness with this unsettling adaptation. The complicated legacy of Roald Dahl, loving a sad wash, the performance of gender, gay gasps at the long list of women who might have played the Gra...

We are the weirdos, mister. Light as a feather, stiff as a board. I bind you, Nancy, from doing harm... It's October, it's an iconic performance from Fairuza Balk, it's time to celebrate Fairuzaween with THE millennial mall-goth high school witch horror, 1996's The Craft.  Our special guest Juno Dawson, bestselling author of the bewitching Her Majesty's Royal Coven series, screenwriter, actre...

Before the hugely popular 90s sitcom, Sabrina the Teenage Witch had something of a trial run with this tonally very different TV movie. The delightful Alice Boyd-Leslie of Drunken Horror and Not Another Teen Podcast joins us for a trip down Memory Lane in enchanted super-fast sneakers. We also discuss other incarnations from her 60s Archie Comics origin to the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Net...

Come on, you poor unfortunate souls! We've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty, and our first Disney animated classic deep dive brings us a real Renaissance woman for the season of the witch - Divine meets Joan Collins, the diva doll herself, Ursula. We have a sincere love for this one - just don't ask us to give up our voices for it. Hans Christian Andersen crying on Charles Dickens' lawn, the queer g...

A Kiki is a party for calming all your nerves, and we have a special delivery coming! The Pippi Longstocking connection, Hayao Miyazaki's perfectionism, coming of age, British publishing jargon, the origins of Ursula's painting, San Francisco apparently being a European city, Totoro on stage, variations between dubs, His Dark Materials, grief, geese, not being the baby any more, herring and pumpki...

Pick your soul pumpkin and grab a corner of a cape as we hurtle into the second part of our Ray Bradbury double bill with this Hanna-Barbera animated treat. Lollygagging, the Roseanne Halloween special, TV quality animation, "that mortician woman on YouTube" (Caitlin Doughty), edutainment, a slingshot on a sarcophagus, purple prose readings, Carmen Sandiego, the gargoyles of Notre Dame, transatlan...

Roll up, roll up! In this first part of our Ray Bradbury double bill, we take a ride on the creepy carousel of the October People in a dark and moody film that Disney would probably rather keep secret. Our thoughts on Ray Bradbury's writing, the politics in the Dark Pandemonium Carnival, extreme Pam Grier appreciation mania, Grandpa Simpson's onion on his belt which was the style at the time,...

The Brothers Grimm get even grimmer with this gothic horror dark fairytale with possibly the most metal trailer in existence, Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1998). Writer, artist, coin-operated fortune teller and marketing and design superstar at indie perfumery Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Tom Bloom, joins us for a deep dive into the old ways. Sigourney Weaver being mother, the grunge roots of the G...

Is it feminist? Is it queer? It's Cher, bitch! Seduced by this wayward success story of the witch film canon, we join forces with our longtime friend, writer, historian, artist and activist Morgan M Page, to mull over this oddball outlier. Barbra Streisand's fateful wig that led to giant mechanical spiders, everyone wanting a boyfriend who looks like a lesbian, zucchini, squirty cheese and cherry...

Get your jelly sandals on and your magic wands at the ready - we're not in Manhattan any more! The wickedly talented Tara Tagliaferro of Down the Yellow Brick Pod returns to chat with us about this quirky little number that captivated a micro-generation with its peculiar charms, and highlights some favourite fantasy books from her childhood. Truth-speaking 90s family movie icon Mara Wilson, prepos...

We're back - and it's the season of the witch! Join us as we fly over Salem with the Sanderson sisters for this Hallowe'en classic that is creepy, comedic, camp and a few other words beginning with "c". Pop culture witchcraft (and drag) reemerging in turbulent times, inflating a squashed cat puppet, "kiss me I'm Alison!", Bette Midler going on Zoom, an apology to David Kirschner, a virgin lighting...

A preview of our brand new Patreon exclusive coverage of Jim Henson's The Storyteller featuring the pilot episode, Hans My Hedgehog. To hear the whole thing, our Star Wars and Lord of the Rings episodes and much more to come, check out our Patreon: https://patreon.com/onceuponavhs Join our Clamshell Club for $5 or £4 per month to gain access to three strands of exclusive bonus episodes: Boxset - r...

Hello Podlings, it's time for a chat! Join us as we talk a load of rubbish and have a rummage in the hero's knapsack. We answer listener questions, look back on our journey so far, share some exciting news about our Clamshell Club and crown this season's Miss Fan Favourite. The Once Upon A Time magazine and audio cassette carrycase, Gobbolino the Witch's Cat, Michael's mum reading 50 Shades of Gre...

In the Age of Wonder, everybody loves puppets! We're journeying through Thra, somewhere between the Land of Gorch and Fraggle Rock, on a quest to restore balance to a broken world. Or at least make an entertaining podcast. To celebrate this iconic movie in the spirit of collaboration, community and The Great Conjunction, we invited our listeners and guests from previous episodes to contribute shar...

We're joined by fabulous artist and writer Rose Ruane to unpick this oft-reviled movie about an unruly, uncouth and uncanny imaginary friend in the form of a surprisingly sexy Rik Mayall. Heads up: while packaged as a comedy caper, this film deals with some heavy topics of otherness, mental health and overcoming abuse, and we discuss its suprising emotional impact. Queer failure, the hauntology of...

Kodama-rama! We finally cover a Studio Ghibli anime classic with this brutal and brilliant film from Hayao Miyazaki. Gorgeous foliage, graphic violence, a wolf goddess with the voice of a drag queen, the curse of generative AI, Uncle Boonmee-coded apes, the "No Cuts" story, Final Fantasy VII, Lady Eboshi serving Creation Destruction Charisma Uniqueness Nerve and Talent, and a star-studded dub awai...

We're feeling the romantasy with this swoonworthy effort from Richard Donner. We also insist that Michelle Pfeiffer needs to get her flowers. Great casting, gorgeous cinematography, grappling with the commodification of nostalgia, a horse in a wig, a detour to the origins of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the curse of desire, deleted monsters, reverse penetration, a hot take about Grease 2 and our...

Radical Ryan Hunter, hilarious host of Radical Retro Rewind?! podcast, joins us to dissect one helluva frog prince-turned-secret-agent in a deeply peculiar British animated adventure. Chekhov's Nessie, shrinking monuments, Blockbuster nostalgia, a revealing behind-the-scenes documentary, Boy George's disdain for the Ninja Turtles, bemusing musical numbers, Electric Soldier Porygon, interspecies ro...

We're joined by actor, writer and 90s afficionado Josh Tonks to revisit the oft-shaded original movie incarnation of an iconic heroine. Gay vampire Pee Wee Herman's improvised death scene, the cultural significance of Tokyo Pop, Hilary Swank's stank face, Luke Perry's soul patch, Spike on a rollercoaster with Lisa Loeb, yellow jackets (but not those ones), Josh's musical pitch, Cher's home decor c...

Super-talented writer, director and Superman aficionado Raisah Ahmed swoops in for a chat about a very peculiar entry in the superhero movie canon. The magic of escapism, being starstruck at the BAFTAs by Christopher Reeve's kids, clingfilm walls, Dolly Parton not wanting to play a witch, making an entrance on a ghost train, Peter O'Toole waving around a bong in his H&M cardigan, "squirt",&nbs...

RELEASE THE KRAKEN! The Harry Hamlin M&M (husband of the Lisa Rinna M&M), anachronistic garage door eyeshadow, Maggie Smith's face crack of the century, simping for Bubo, the Argos catalogue, grandad watching Teen Wolf, a Mia Goth household, a tangential trip to Gregory Maguire's island of Maricoor, Ray Harryhausen being gagged and gooped, and the greatest stop motion sequence of all time...

We were excited to revisit this oft-quoted smash from our childhoods but did NOT care for it on a rewatch! Ruh-roh! Awooga! The peplum on Cameron Diaz's jacket, an electric pencil sharpener, green men issues, Anna Nicole Smith and Vanessa Williams entries in the multiverse, Canada's Walk of Fame, 2025 goggles, Caggie from Big Brother's single Prince Charming, Loki's greasy hair, the hugeness of Ji...

Our good friend Chris O'Brien joins us for an epic episode encompassing the Mattel toys, the various animated He-Man and She-Ra series, and the Cannon Films feature. Skeletor's set of "boobs", The Eyes of Evil-lyn, Stinkor, Raspberry Pi powered Cosmic Key synths, Courtney Cox's grisly gash, Orko's glow up, BBQ on Gwildor's beard, the inaugural use of the Star Trek alarm, Filmation, financial fiasc...