The Really Awful Movies Podcast

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bf/The_Witch_poster.png)"Those fingers in my hairThat sly come hither stareThat strips my conscience bareIt's witchcraft..." The Witch is a horror period drama that (deservedly) took the horror world by storm. It's a polarizing movie. We like it a lot (to varying degrees) but audiences were left cold compared with the critical reception. A Puritan famil...

(http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/scream/images/c/c2/Ee0gx7lh.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110518105516)It's hard to believe it's been 20 years since SCREAM. The film's hella fun, but polarizing, as some people aren't as enamored with its self-referential, ironic tone. Still, with a cast like that (C'mon, Barrymore/Cox/Campbell/Arquette) it's still one for the ages and the iconic killer has stood t...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/Curseofthefacelessman.jpg)1950s creature features are fun. In Episode 140, we examine THE CURSE OF THE FACELESS MAN. It's about a slave victim of the 79 AD Pompeii earthquake who re-animates then hunts the reincarnated spirit of a Roman noblewoman. Forensics experts and anthropologists investigate. It's much less entertaining than it sounds. Should'v...

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61MvgIrCXiL._SY300_.jpg)A bit deceptive, as the microwave is not actually used to kill...only to reheat...But still, MICROWAVE MASSACRE is a fun movie with a unique killing implement that could've made its way into our book, DEATH BY UMBRELLA! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons. You got a man...and all he wants is a sandwich. However, his wife k...

(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/77uVyKW-x3Q/hqdefault.jpg)Don't Go in the House. Don't Go in the Woods. Don't Go in the Basement. But DO check out Don't Answer the Phone!, a highly underrated 1980 horror directed by the excellently named Robert Hammer. It's got everything, and by that we mean a psychotic, weeping, daddy-issues Vietnam vet killer who poses as a photographer; his nubile victims; ineffectual...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/38/Cantstopthemusic. JPG)The Village People movie! Yes, Can't Stop the Music follows the exploits of the infamous 70s disco group whose hits like YMCA and Macho Man are absolutely impossible to avoid (no matter how hard we've tried). Go to a sporting event...and you're bound to hear the da-da-da...and "young men," etc, etc As a bonus: in this film you g...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0a/Final_exam_poster.jpg)A rather tepid offering from the slasher boom, FINAL EXAM doesn't live up to the promise of its cool poster. We get lots of backstory/investment in a bunch of rather tedious characters including the stock nerd, jock, final girl, hot blonde, taskmaster gym teacher, etc. The killer is about as unremarkable as you can get. Still, w...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/Ultra_Warrior.jpg)Ultra Warrior is a pastiche...Ah, forget the fancy verbiage...who are we kidding? It's cobbled together stock footage crap! The film takes leftover Corman footage, combining outer space, horror films and dystopian into one bizarro experience. Starring Dack Rambo (that is his real surname), the film focuses on the land of Oblivion, t...

(http://horrornews.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/exte-3.jpg)Our first podcast foray into J-horror with a bit of Japanese weirdness, EXTE by Sion Sono. Sono  (Suicide Club) is an odd duck and his movies are infused with strange set-pieces. And it goes without saying, they're not to everyone's taste. In this episode, we chat about the cultural phenomenon of hair, where it grows, how it's styled, wh...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0f/Videodromeposter.jpg)This week, the Cronenberg classic, arguably his best film, Videodrome. It's certainly up there with The Fly or Crash. We delve into the Toronto TV station that partly inspired the film, the media musings of Marshall McLuhan, the changing media landscape, where this film fits into David's oeuvre, and of course...gore, gore and mor...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5a/Thegingersnapsfilmposter.jpg)Some werewolf Canadiana this week courtesy of Ginger Snaps. It's a terrific feature that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Wolfen or The Howling. A solid coming-of-age horror set in a high school, Ginger Snaps is must viewing for fans of Canadian horror, werewolf films, or both. Recommended. Be sure to check...

(http://i1.wp.com/bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/foursome.jpg?resize=542%2C305)A murdered teen returns from the grave to seek vengeance... On this special episode of the podcast, the forthcoming film, Johnny Gruesome, directed by Greg Lamberson (Slime City and Killer Rack). The movie wrapped up principal photography in New York State and Jeff had the pleasure of visiting the set...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8f/The_Last_Dragon_%281985%29.jpg)On this episode of the podcast, our segment, CRAP OF THE WEEK where we spring movies on one another, unplanned and unencumbered by pesky research. First up, who knew Motown was involved in film production? Barry Gordy was the man behind the scenes for the bizarre The Last Dragon. Directed by Michael Schultz (Sergeant Pe...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/43/Planet-of-the-vampires-poster.jpg)Planet of the Vampires is 100% vampire-free. But who cares, right? It's freakin' Bava, people. And a little Super Mario goes a long way, even if this isn't the genre he's best known for. Because... We got space ships. We got explorers. We got mysterious space signals. We got doodads, knobs, levers...we got weird plan...

(http://img.src.ca/2014/07/17/635x357/140717_ua1h4_rci-fant_sn635.jpg)                     Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival is an incredible genre film festival that's been going strong since the mid 1990s, "the most important and prestigious genre festival on the continent" according to Quentin Tarantino. Jeff from the Really Awful Movies Podcast had the pleasure of attending the F...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8a/Theburningposter.jpg)This week, a look at the exemplary summer camp slasher, The Burning. The horror is based on a New York state urban legend, Cropsey. Legendary effects guru Tom Savini (Maniac/Dawn of the Dead) is the man behind the awesome effects here. Check out our chat with the man here: https://reallyawfulmovies.com/2014/11/06/talking-with-tom...

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51YS05W5XWL.jpg)There are many ways to finance a dream restaurant - line of credit, bank loan, angel investors - but none of these include robbing people from the personal ads. Unless of course, it's EATING RAOUL, a zany 1982 black comedy and brainchild of co-star Paul Bartel. This film is rightly "a tasty comedy of bad manners." The Blands, an upt...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f7/Psycho_ii.jpg)Is that you Norman? You better believe it. Anthony Perkins reprises his iconic role as creepy innkeeper Noman Bates in the long-after sequel to the Hitch original. On today's episode, Psycho II. Does it live up to the lofty standard set in the 60s? Surprisingly, yes. Let's peer behind the shower curtain to see what lurks...as Norman is...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c3/Jaws_3d.jpg)Steven Spielberg's Jaws is one of the defining classics of our age. Jaws 3-D. Um. Not so much. When a 10-foot great white gets into a Seaworld lagoon, that's a problem. But an even bigger problem, literally, is its mother, a 35-foot behemoth the size of a city bus and only slightly less unpleasant. Dennis Quaid, son of Sheriff Brody and c...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/da/Martyrs_tp01.jpg)This week, Pascal Laugier's excellent and devastatingly effective horror MARTYRS. Stellar performances by Mylène Jampanoï and Morjana Alaoui propel this captivating story of Lucie and Anna, two friends who grew up at the same orphanage, one of whom (Lucie) was rescued from an abattoir were sinister experimentations took place. A home...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c2/Noholdsbarred6pc.jpg)Popping vitamins and saying our prayers with the second Hulk Hogan movie we've endured on the podcast, 1989's NO HOLDS BARRED. A network with sagging ratings tries to boost their brand by signing the world's top wrestling draw, Rip (The Hulkster). When he balks, they produce their own long-form political drama for HBO, become hug...

(http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m517/KYLE-D1/Family%20Guy/FGDeathBitch0008.jpg)Death. We're all scared, well...to death of it. In this episode, we look at the concept of death, about which Mark Twain said, "The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time. Easy for him to say. Not so much for the rest of us. We examine how different culture...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/Thepitposter.jpg)Little Jamie has a problem. Well, he's got a lot of problems. For starters, he's got an unhealthy obsession with his babysitter. He's got no friends. He's ignored by his parents, who basically aren't in the picture. And then there's all this business about the pit. The Pit is an underseen 1981 horror, in which a 12-year old kid finds...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/68/Original_movie_poster_for_the_film_Zardoz.jpg)On this week's episode, the insane Sean Connery sci-fi oddity, Zardoz. In a dystopian future, 2293, humans are subdivided into Eternals and Brutals, and live in The Vortex. The latter is all Id: acting like rampaging Vikings or Mongols. The former, peaceniks who lead an agrarian sexless, dull existence, b...

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/95/Nosferatu_Phantom_der_Nacht.jpg)An art-house vampire flick, Nosferatu the Vampyre is the brainchild of auteur German filmmaker Werner Herzog. Originally known as Phantom der Nacht, it's set in northern Germany and Romania's Transylvania and is a pretty faithful redo of the 1922 silent Dracula classic, Nosferatu. The film stars Klaus Kinski, Bruno Gan...