The Really Awful Movies Podcast

A superficially straight-ahead ghost story, there’s much more to The Changeling than meets the eye. There’s also a political procedural aspect to this, which is probably a bit less than successful, but that which keeps things interesting. Well-known in horror circles as among the best of its kind, The Changeling will delight fans of the supernatural. You really can’t go wrong wit...

There are a handful of movie stars who’re known by their first names. There’s Meryl, Clint, Harrison, Sylvester, and not to be outdone, Ah-nold. Commando blew out of the gates in the mid 80s, and it’s been tougher to recruit useless monosyllabic henchmen ever since. Commando is so bad for the health of moronic goons, it needs its own epidemiologist. That’s why as hosts of t...

Frank Henenlotter’s Basket Case follow up, the equally fascinating Brain Damage. “Aylmer” is a slug-like creature which injects a liquid into its host, giving them psychedelic highs. When our hero Brian gets “attached” to the thing, it starts to give him visions…and they’re addictive ones to boot. However, there’s a catch. For in the pharmaceutical w...

The coming together of two forces in the world of horror: Freddy vs. Jason! The gloved one has seen his power wane. And he needs to get kids scared of their dreams again. Why not bring the fear back? But again, he cannot get his strength back. So he enlists the help of none other than Jason Voorhees, rather than hitting the gym weights or doing push-ups. Suddenly, the body count begins to rise&#82...

This week, a look at the odd British cult horror, Psychomania. Tom is a shaggy-haired and quite amiable psychopath and the leader of a violent British teen gang, a la the Droogs from A Clockwork Orange. Tom barrels around on his motorcycle with his girlfriend and loves his doting mother. The gang, The Living Dead, dabble in black magic. Meanwhile, in a similar vein, his mother and her sinister but...

Some voodoo mumbo jumbo re-animates the dead (actually, some Etruscan mumbo jumbo to be precise). The dead, then go after the living. And the living try and escape! That’s the film  Burial Ground  (1981) in a nutshell. It’s an Italian Zombi knock-off, courtesy of director Andrea Bianchi . As a director, Bianchi is known for (among other things), Cry of a Prostitute (we haven’t a...

What reigns supreme? LA or Seattle karate? That’s a good question. And that’s one that is explored in the wacky chop-socky Karate Kid knock-off, No Retreat, No Surrender. Jason Stillwell is a 3-year veteran of the deadly arts, but not nearly competent enough to either a) represent Seattle in a TV combat tournament or more importantly, b) defend himself against bullies. That’s whe...

A punk band gets offered a seemingly lucrative gig, after tanking it at a crappy restaurant in front of indifferent dozens. But the band in GREEN ROOM ( the Ain’t Rights) doesn’t know what’s comin’ to them, as they answer the bell to open for Cowcatcher, a band that has a sizable neo-Nazi following. What could go wrong? Find out, and tune in to the podcast. But first, try a...

There’s a race. And there’s death involved. In the then distant future, society is transfixed by a bloodsport, one that involves mowing down pedestrians in a cross-continental race. David Carridine, of the legendary familial acting dynasty, stars as Frankenstein, a popular and seemingly indestructible driver in Death Race 2000 . He has to do battle with other drivers, and points are aw...

On this week’s episode of the podcast, Un Chien Andalou . You’ve probably seen the poster, even if you don’t recognize its origins. Un Chien Andalou is a 1929 silent surrealist short film by the Spanish director Luis Buñuel and infamous surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. The flick was Buñuel’s first film and was initially released in 1929 with a limited showing at Studio des...

Ah, title multiplication. Devil Times Five, aka Peopletoys aka The Horrible House on the Hill. There’s a positive correlation between number of titles and terribleness. “Not since Village of the Damned has death become so savage…” Um. Devil Times Five is a killer kid movie, but not just any killer kid movie. It’s also a home invasion movie, with weird soft-core exploi...

For some, the phrase “made-for-TV movie” is synonymous with crap. Those people are what we might call…”correct.” However, much like a basketball whipped overhand from half-court, there is the occasional one that connects and scores. Snowbeast , is not one of those. Duel is one of those. However, we are talking Snowbeast, an abominable Yeti creature feature featuring n...

Stone Cold is a 1991 action movie about a biker gang, The Brotherhood, who are going after legal officials. The brazen murder of a judge, sends the FBI into action. And that sent us into action. We love our action flicks, we love fights, we love explosions. The Really Awful Movies Podcast is all about that! Brian Bosworth is Joe Huff (a great action movie name if there ever was one), a tough South...

The Crazies has all the great elements you’d expect from George Romero. It’s a bio-hazard film, wherein an experimental “vaccine” is accidentally released into a town’s water supply when a military plane crashes. And wouldn’t you know it? Why, it’s not a vaccine at all, but a secret bit of bio-weaponry. Some of the townsfolk are resistant — to being quaran...

Slimy slimy slugs. Slugs is a gross-out 1988 Spanish/American co-production. People are dying due to mysterious causes, and naturally, because this is an eco-horror, there is a lone voice of reason calling for action (who’s being summarily ignored). It’s surprisingly gory for a nature-run-amok horror. Or maybe not so surprising. After all, this was directed by J. Piquer Simon, the Span...

First Blood folks. RAMBO time. First Blood is the iconic 1982 Stallone-starrer directed by Ted Kotcheff. A troubled ‘Nam vet gets harassed by cops, then flees into the woods. He then has to rely on his formidable combat skills to fight off the police. Based on David Morrell’s 1972 novel of the same name it’s the first installment of the Rambo series. The film was released in the...

Jack Hill’s Spider Baby is a black horror film with comedic elements, shot in resplendent black and white in 1964, and released in 1968. It stars Lon Chaney, Jr. as Bruno, the aged chauffeur and caretaker of a trio of orphaned siblings who suffer from “Merrye Syndrome.” This affliction, explained in an introduction read from a family tome, causes them to regress mentally, sociall...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ac/Night_of_the_Demons_poster.jpg)Angela is having a party... Night of the Demons is a terrific 80s supernatural horror. We get the usual set up: a bunch of kids convening at Hull House, an abandoned funeral home, for a Halloween throw-down. But then, all hell breaks loose after the crew conducts a seance. Initially panned by critics, the film has achie...

(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yrEjzH6Dzdk/hqdefault.jpg)On this episode of the podcast, from Toronto's only horror convention, HORROR RAMA:   JEFF LIEBERMAN. The director of the incredible Squirm, Blue Sunshine, and Just Before Dawn talks about the enduring appeal of killer worm movies, as well as what inspired Squirm. Also part of the chat, Lieberman's love of boxing, and his take on drug culture and m...

(https://dynamic.indigoimages.ca/books/1593939310.jpg?altimages=true&width=260&quality=85&maxheight=400&lang=en)We had the pleasure of taking part in a panel discussion on horror movie deaths and our book, Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons, at Toronto's only horror convention, Horror Rama. The panel is moderated by Luis Ceriz, proprietor of Toronto's Suspect Video and co-org...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cd/Burnt_offerings_movie_poster.jpg)Oliver Reed and familial disintegration. Join us as we chat Burnt Offerings and The Brood, which both star ol' Ollie. We're happy to have Scott Drebit, recurring guest, on the show. He's of course the guy behind Drive In Dust Offs and It Came from the Tube, both columns at Daily Dead. He's one of a handful of writers...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2c/Dontgointhewoodsposter.jpg)Don't Go in the Woods (or, Don't Go in the Woods...Alone) is a 1981 slasher, which benefited from its inclusion on the UK Video Nasties list. But really, it has none of what we've come to associate with said list, namely the nudity and the conspicuous gore. A bunch of campers, led by a wilderness guru Craig, are lost in the...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5f/Maniac_Cop_Movie_Poster.jpg)Robert Z'Dar. The unmistakable face (and chin) of genre films, starred in Maniac Cop, alongside Tom Atkins and Bruce Campbell. Many people are fearful of law enforcement, and this Larry Cohen-penned feature exploits that very fear. Under the direction of William Lustig (Maniac), we enter a dark, sinister, urban landscape.....

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/Torsoposter.jpg)On this episode, we look at the 1973 giallo feature, Torso. Set amidst the pristine historic backdrop of Perugia, Italy, there's a black-gloved killer on the loose. Of course. And he's hunting down college students in this gorgeous setting, using a silk scarf as his MO. Directed by Sergio Martino, the man behind the infamous The Mount...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b5/Captainkronosposter.jpg)A swashbuckling vampire hunter? Sign us up. Check out Captain Kronos, a late-era Hammer Horror production that is heaps of fun and well worth a look. Directed by Brian Clemens (best known for the 60s Brit spy series The Avengers), it co-stars Caroline Munro, the lovely and talented star of Starcrash and Maniac. The tale upends...