Slashers Podcast

Some have called it "The Studio that Dripped Blood," and for good reason; Hammer Films was one of the most prolific horror production companies of all time and its legacy has permeated many forms of media, whether acknowledged or not. Founded by William Hinds and James Carreras, Hammer Film Productions, Ltd. was initially in the business of "quota quickies," which were cheap and uninspired filler...

Yōkai (妖怪, ghost, phantom, strange apparition), the term is basically a catchall for Japanese supernatural monsters, spirits, and demons in  folklore. The word itself is made up of the kanji for "bewitching; attractive; calamity" and "spectre; apparition; mystery; suspicious." Yokai were apparently the first monumental monster card game, pre-dating Pokemon by about a thousand years. Yokai h...

You may recall from last episode that Marvel Zombies was conceived by Mark Millar (Kickass, Kingsmen, Wanted, Nemesis, Starlight, and The Magic Order). After his initial Ultimate Fantastic Four storyline "Crossover," he gave over the Zombies imprint to Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Invincible) and Sean Phillips (Judge Dredd, Hellblazer, Sleeper, Criminal, Incognito, Fatale).  After Millar...

What started as an outwardly mocked pitch by Mark Millar in the break room at Marvel, turned into the best selling trade paper back of all time and a monumental franchise: Marvel Zombies. In this episode, Jake shows off just how deeply rooted his nerdism goes, rifling off trivia no one, not even the artists and creators who made this stuff, actually care about.  You might know Millar's name f...

Masterpiece or abomination? According to like, 90% of people, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is a peerless magnum opus; however, according to Stephen King and a few of his cronies, it's uglier than a naked old lady rotting in a bathtub.  Let's compare, shall we? Kubrick directed 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket. King directed Maximum Overdrive. Ahem... MOVING ON! Thi...

Truly, this film is legendary. With performances by Simon Pegg (Star Trek, The World's End, Hot Fuzz) and Nick Frost (Paul, Attack the Block, Into the Badlands) that have been often imitated, but never duplicated. Atop a stellar script by Edgar Wright (Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim) and Pegg, there is very little to change, even from the most critical perspective. Originally, this started out as a bi...

In space... no one can hear anything but my annoying nasally voice yelling at my wife and best friend about how much I love Alien! Written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the film was O'Bannon's reintroduction to Hollywood after living in a think-tank on the ill-fated Jodorowsky's Dune. The time abroad served invaluable, as it introduced him to H.R. Giger and his hideously sexual brooding art...

This is probably our most ambitious episode yet. This week, we create a bracket of 16 of North America's greatest cryptids, pitting them against each other to determine who's the best! Think Pokemon... from hell! Our contestants: jackalope, chupacabra, mothman, manipogo, Ozark Howler, wendigo, skinwalker, thunderbird, snallygaster, Jersey Devil, hodag, sasquatch, waheela, frogmen, Beast of Busco,...

Looking on the bright side of the legend, Wesley Earl Craven's passing, is that we can do a comprehensive biography on the fellow for your listening pleasure. Craven was an enigmatic character to say the least. He was raised in a strict religious household and only developed a love of film in his adult life, after pursuing another career entirely.  He would go on to write and direct such films as...

Another IT episode? That's right, two episodes dedicated to film adaptations in as many months. The legendary novel by Stephen King gets adapted much more competently in Andy Muschietti's very ambitious film series. If you are listening to this as a precursor to It: Chapter 2, fear not-- we announce when our discussion gets into spoiler territory.  2017 stars the magnanimous Bill Skarsgård as It /...

Have you ever seen a movie shot on 16mm that was supposed to be a 10 minute short film, that turned into a life-changing four year endeavor? That is this movie and the journey make's Frodo's little jaunt into Mordor look bland by comparison. Peter Jackson's debut, Bad Taste, features a cast and crew of his co-workers from his day job, who he suckered into getting together almost every Sunday for f...

Bill Gaines changed the comic industry in multiple ways, in multiple eras, it just so happens that our favorite involved schlocky gore and stolen stories. The "source material" included works from Ralph Murphy, Robert Florey, F. Marion Crawford, Arthur Machens, W.F. Harvey, H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradburry, David H. Keller, and Carl Theodor Dreyer.  In the episode, we try to herald...

For those of you pining for the days of old, when we released episodes on Wednesdays, suffer no more! Here is a bonus episode just for you! If you like what you hear in this episode, please support Shawn with his short film, Night of the Axe, and our friends over at Gorelords, who are hosting a film festival on 8/31/19 at The Colonial Theater in Sacramento. The screening includes multiple short fi...

When a group of troubled teens (played by a group of bad actors) retreat to the San Bernardino Mountains to find themselves, they also find mutated Ticks and a world of woes. The movie features Seth Green (Robot Chicken, IT, Austin Powers), Alfonso Ribiero (Fresh Prince of Bel Air), the legendary Clint Howard (Ice Cream Man, Apollo 13, The Waterboy), and his dad.  With some charming special effect...

As we get ready for It: Chapter 2 coming out in September, please enjoy our raucous discussion on the 1990 made for TV movie. The film very competently shrinks 1,138 pages down to a comparatively breezy 192 minute event.  Basically, the film is the Tim Curry show. His portrayal of Pennywise the Dancing Clown is so iconic, that it nearly dwarfs his other performances such as The Darkness and Dr. Fr...

As the world premiere of his new film, Artik, looms on the horizon, Tom Botchii Skowronski takes time out of his schedule to chat with Jake about his work, influences, and love of Krispy Kreme donuts. The film is about a serial killer (Jerry G. Angelo), obsessed with comic books. teaching his son (Gavin White) how to effectively take up his mantle. All of this is spoiled when a mysterious stranger...

Remember when David Arquette just played a wrestler and was not actually having deathmatches on the weekends? Well, let's hope his real life persona does not replicate his role in this film, because I do not want to deal with giant, mutant spiders! This week is the 2002 flop Eight Legged Freaks. We analyze why the film likely failed based on its competition and as always, do a scene by scene analy...

Delirium has set in and you can hear it nowhere more clearly than this rambling journey to the car and into traffic. In this bonus episode, we recap the final day of Midsummer Scream. Of note, the 30 year retrospective on Tales from the Crypt and the Archaeology of the Haunted Mansion were the highlights. Please let us know if you found the show from our presence at the event, as we are considerin...

That's right, goons! Because of the wonderful support from our bodacious Patreon patrons, we were able to scrounge up enough cash to go to Midsummer Scream. This was our first horror event as a group and we are very excited for what 8/4/19 brings with day 2. In this mini bonus episode, we discuss which mazes we liked, what panels we appreciated, and what costumes we absolutely loved. If you would...

You've seen Steven Spielberg's Jaws, right? That movie we covered a few weeks ago? Yeah, well have you ever wanted to see the same movie with the guy from Dumb and Dumber and eight legs? Boom-- Arachnophobia!  All kidding aside, this is a very fun film, written by Don Jakoby and directed by co-founder of Amblin Entertainment, Frank Marshall. The film stars Jeff Daniels, with possibly the best char...

Have you ever wondered what it's like to have a rapid hallucination in a dizzying blur that was induced by cocaine, while reading a short story by Stephen King that did not make any sense? Well, that is basically Maximum Overdrive. Of all the stories he'd written, the man chose to adapt his short story, Trucks, which was famously compiled in the Night Shift compilation, to be his first (and only)...

While not as well-regarded as its source material, Dante Alighieri's Inferno, As Above, So Below certainly leaves an impression. The film was written and directed by John Erick Dowdle, with partial writing credits to his brother, John. The plot surrounds Scarlett Marlowe (Perdita Weeks) in her quest for the Philosopher's Stone, documented by camera man Benji (Edwin Hodge). Along the way, she joins...

Who knew that when we surveyed our fans they would be so passionate about anime? We had no idea we would ever do an anime movie review and yet, in this episode we review two! The films are Vampire Hunter D and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. The films are based on a lonstanding series of Japanese novels written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano. The first film was released in 198...

Jaws is something of a miracle. Even under the best of circumstances, it would have been a major cinematic achievement and surely a classic. When you learn of what struggles they had with production, this movie becomes a legend. The film was directed by a fledgling artist, Steven Spielberg. It is based on a novel by Peter Benchley, which was a massive success in its own right. Roy Scheider (The Fr...

Haven't you ever heard of that sacred pact between weirdos? Y'know where the weird kids to some extent rally against normal people and look out for one another? Oh right, because that doesn't exist and real weirdos have their dad nail your feet to the linoleum in the kitchen with a steak knife. This week's review is The Loved Ones, written and directed by Sean Byrne. The film stars a very capable...