Years of Fear: A History of Horror

Bust out your drill guitars, because this week Michael is joined by Carolina Hidalgo of the fantastic music history podcast No Dogs in Space to discuss the 1987 slasher sequel classic SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE 2!  Listen in as the two discuss the original film's feminist satirical origins, the brilliance of Roger Corman, MANDY, DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW, being impressionable as a kid, the complicat...

This week on Toxic Schlock, Michael and Dylan Wachman of Dollar Signs dig into the underrated modern classic "DRAG ME TO HELL". Michael and Dylan dig into the career of director Sam Raimi, the film's dark humor and (perhaps questionable) CGI, terrible movie theater experiences, THE LIGHTHOUSE, A24 movies, video games to get through quarantine, and much more!

Josh Robbins returns to Toxic Schlock to discuss the Alfred Hitchcock murder mystery classic REAR WINDOW. Michael and Josh dig into the horror vs thriller dynamic, the best and worst of found footage films, Hitchcock's iconic style, Arnold Schwarzenegger, envisioning a remake of Rear Window, and much more!

Recorded from their individual quarantines, Michael and Eric remotely dig into the 1950s sci fi schlock of CREATURE FROM GREEN HELL. Along with digging into the film and the Misfits song it spawned, the fiends catch up on Danzig's upcoming Elvis covers album, bootleg shirts, staying sane during Covid19, Verotika, ranking the 10 Misfits movies thus far, and much more! We did have some technical dif...

Bust out your VCRs, because this week on Toxic Schlock, Michael talks with Ben and Gregg of the Neon Brainiacs podcast to do a deep dive into the horror films of the 1980s. They ask the question "why was this decade so iconic for horror and what made this era different than the ones before it?", and touch on classics films like THE THING, EVIL DEAD 2, KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE, VIDEODROME, TE...

Grab your Venom and NASA patches, because this week we sat down with Matty Morand of Pretty Matty to discuss the 1987 Canadian classic "THE GATE". Matty and Michael dig into the power of family friendly horror, the reality of pre teen metal heads, the impact of ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK, the best (and worst) of modern American horror, and much more! 

In podcasts, no one can hear you scream! Michael sits down with Connor Jacobus of The Districts to discuss their mutual favorite film, ALIEN. They dive deep into the morbid genius of HR Giger, the b-movie origins of the plot, the power of a slow burn, and much more! But first, Michael also catches up on a slew of recent horror releases like THE INVISIBLE MAN, THE COLOR OUT OF SPACE, and THE LODGE!

Death comes ripping this week on Toxic Schlock when Michael sits down with actor/comic creator David Dastmalchian. David talks about his fantastic horror comic series Count Crowley, and his life long journey to see it made. They also touch upon David's work in some of the best genre films of the last 15 years, and then dive into the 1933 Universal monster classic The Invisible Man!

The fiends are coming to get you Barbara, because this week on Misfits Mondays, Michael and Eric revisit George A Romero's zombie classic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. The fiends dig into the greatness and legacy of Romero's work, the classic Misfits track of the same name, VEROTIK, recent Misfits gossip, The MANDALORIAN, THE GIRL ON THE THIRD FLOOR, Darren Aronofsky, Johnny and Gilbert Ramone, the br...

Whip out those peacemakers, because this week on the show we've got Tim Kasher of indie/post hardcore legends Cursive and The Good Life to dive into the underrated Stephen King adaptation SILVER BULLET. They dig deep into the film, as well as being an early adopter of VHS, falling deeper in love with horror later in life, the tragic brilliance of Gary Busey and Corey Haim, the PHANTATSM-SILVER BUL...

In a very special episode, Michael sits down with his Misfits Mondays co-host Eric Kelly to look back at the 2010s in horror cinema. From their favorite films like THE WITCH and MANDY, to the stellar 2012 EVIL DEAD remake, to some of the not so great horror films, Michael and Eric discuss it all! The 2010s were a really special period for horror, so there was no shortage of cinema for the fiends t...

Rev up those chainsaws, because this week on Toxic Schlock, Michael chats with Jessie Clavin of Bleached about one of the greatest horror movies of all time, Tobe Hooper's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Michael and Jesse discuss the film's fairytale origins, cleverly implying gore, the unique experience of growing up in Los Angeles, the trauma of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, the soul purifying experience of...

Toxic Schlock goes back to high school this week with a chat with Sam Woodring (formerly of modern emo/indie greats Two Inch Astronaut and now of Mister Goblin) about the modern darkly comedic film Jennifer's Body. Sam and Michael dive into this deeply under-appreciated film, it's miscalculated promotion campaign, it's relevance in the modern landscape, the pitch perfect depiction of late 2000s ad...

Prime Directive: EXTERMINATE! The fiends return for a jam packed episodes of Misfits Mondays. Eric and Michael dig into the 1968 b-movie THE ASTRO-ZOMBIES, the recently announced Philly show, their Halloween retrospectives, Danzig's hilarious 80s movie reviews, The Mandalorian, the latest edition of absurd Misfits merchandise, and the toxicity of binge-watching culture.

Toxic Schlock gets extra gorey this week with Matt Harvey of Death Metal giants EXHUMED. Michael and Matt dig deep into the 1980 Fulci classic CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, where they discuss the power of Italian horror, the distinctions between Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, 80s euro sleaze horror, the intensity of Bay Area Powerviolence, the staggering popularity of late 80s thrash metal, and much mo...

Michael and special guest Samantha Poe light up some jack o lanterns and celebrate the Halloween season by waxing poetic on childhood horror movies, Halloween memories and costumes, and then doing a deep dive into some of the best and worst horror films of 2019 such as MIDSOMMAR, US, THE HAUNTING OF SHARON TATE, IT CHAPTER TWO, and more! This was a fun one where we got to take it easy and talk abo...

We're coming to get your Barbara! Michael sits down with Mike Taylor of Virginia screamo legends Pg 99 and Pygmy Lush to discuss one of the all time horror classics: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Along with discussing the creation, reaction, and legacy of George Romero's zombie classic, they dig into the early influences of the sound associated with screamo, what made that scene special, zombie movies...

Pull out your tongue and pluck out your eyes, cause this week the fiends dig into the Herschell Gordon Lewis schlock classic BLOODFEAST! Michael and Eric dig into the the influential career of Lewis and the classic Earth AD song that he inspired! They also dig into toxic fandom culture, the sonic power of Earth Ad, the importance of looking at films critically but without malice, the problems of I...

Ready your mondo horror heads for this one folks! Michael sits down with Jay Gambit of experimental metal crushers Crowhurst to discuss the 1978 exploitation cult phenomena FACES OF DEATH. This is a film that should need no introduction, but for the uninitiated, this faux documentary has become a rite of passage for curious teenagers worldwide. Michael and Jay also dig deep into the world of under...

Bust out your capes and fangs, because this week Michael sits down with Francis Kano of punk/metal dark lords DEVIL MASTER (and the live bass player for INTEGRITY) to discuss Werner Herzog's 1979 classic: NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE! Both Michael and Francis share adoration for this darkly atmospheric film, and they go all-in on discussing it's creation, the POPOL VUH soundtrack, Klaus Kinski's performa...

The Fiends come back ripping with a dive into the 1971 cult classic "THE MEPHISTO WALTZ". Along with tearing into the film, Mikey and Eric catch up on MIDSOMMAR, JAWS, NEUROSIS, VEIN, CRAWL, WARTHOG, energy drinks, the upcoming MISFITS show at Madison Square Garden, Danizg's film VEROTIKA, their dream classic Misfits show, and much more!

This week on the show we've got Dan Nielsen, drummer of post-punk giants ICEAGE on the show to discuss the 2016 Korean gem THE WAILING! Along with picking apart their theories for the dark events in the film, Dan discusses digging into classic horror cinema in Denmark during the turn of the century, his love of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, being a part of the first generation to use the internet for f...

Fire up those Murdergrams, because this week all hell breaks loose as Michael and Eric dive into the 1971 Horror gem Twins of Evil! But this creepshow was too much for them to take on alone, so they are joined by Jake and James of the new podcast The Nimrods. Along with with tearing into the film, the Fiends and The Nimrods dip back into their earliest experiences with Dan and the gang, recent Mis...

This week on Toxic Schlock, we show you some blood with Ian Shelton of modern Powerviolence rippers Regional Justice Center! We dive deep into the 1976 classic THE TENANT! Along with discussing Polanski's underrated headtrip of a film, we also dive deep into Ian's filmmaking background, growing up in the age of remakes, the models of Blumhouse and A24, as well as a loving tribute to Roky Erickson!...

And we are back back from our brief Spring break! This week on the show, Michael sits down with James Bulloch, aka Human Furnace of Cleveland metallic hardcore titans RINGWORM! They dive deep into James' early horror past, his late night favorites, and his passionate fandom of CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. For James' film pick, he chose William Blatty's massively underrated 1990 film THE EXORCIS...