Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Dagon (2001)

Bringing the works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft to the screen is not an easy task. Much of the horror Lovecraft talked about wasn't described or explained too much, leaving it up to the reader. But when director Stuart Gordon, producer Brian Yuzna, and writer Dennis Paoli got together to adapt Lovecraft's 1922 story "Herbert West - Re-Animator" for a movie, they changed cinema forever. Not only did they show us more than Lovecraft would ever dream of, they created a perfect blend of outrageous horror, gore, and bizarre imagery that would immediately put them in the horror history books.

The following year, they took another short story, From Beyond, first published in 1934, and showed even more strange, bizarre, and gooey things we'd seen before, going beyond then what the short story told us.

Then 15 years later, these three deranged creators returned to Lovecraft to take us to a fishing village filled with very unusual citizens, in 2001's Dagon.

While Gordon's filmography might not be filled with classic after classic, when he hit a home run, usually he was working with Yuzna and Paoli.

Films mentioned in this episode:

Black Gloves (2017), Color Out of Space (2019), Dagon (2001), Dust Devil (1992), From Beyond (1986), Halloween (1978), Hardware (1990), Lord of Tears (2013), Re-Animator (1985), Shrews Nest (2014), To Let (2006), Witching and Bitching (2013)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).

We've decided to take on a little twist here, doing an on-going series that we're calling Twice Told Tales. This is where we are going to compare two films, an original and its remake. This is not to say which one is better, but to highlight the positives of both, what we feel works, and the differences between them.

For our first episode in this series, we're going to tackle the first two versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. We're not discussing about the 2 later day versions for any reasons specifically, but wanted to concentrate on the two that are more well know, and obviously because they were the first two versions. With both of these titles recently being released on 4K, you might find yourself wanting to upgrade. Careful, there are spoilers here, but I'm sure any fan of any merit already knows of what we'll speak about. Enjoy!

Movies mentioned in this episode:

Alien (1979), Black Christmas (1974), The Birds (1963), The Body Snatchers (1993), The Brood (1979), Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995), Dead Zone (1983), Don’t Look Now (1973), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), (1931), (1941), The Golem (1914), (1920), (1936), The Fly (1986), Henry & June (1990), Invaders from Mars (1953), The Invasion (2007), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Lost Boys (1987), The Mummy (1932), (1959), (1999), (2017), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), (1943), (1962), (1988), (1998), Psycho (1960), (1998), Song at Midnight (1937), Suspiria (1977), The Thing (1982), The Thing from Another World (1951), Shock Waves (1977), The Stuff (1985)

Mother's Day (1980), Madman (1981), Pieces (1982), and Evil Dead Trap (1988)

When you’re talking about horror films with most non-horror fans, they usually are thinking about the slashers which they seem to encapsule all of that genre. But when us fans start to dig into that sub-genre, that’s when the questions arise, parameters seemed like they have to set, even though plenty of the films go out of their way to beyond said parameters. As if any were meant to stay between the lines!

Then you start to delve into when the sub-genre started, which can then start another round of questions and discussions.

To help get those arguments . . . we mean discussions started, in this episode we’re going to cover 4 different slasher films, granted, of varying types, but we feel still fits into the category of slasher films. And to help with this, we’ve invited Aaron Crowell, Managing Editor of HorrorHound Magazine back to join in the conversation.

Movies mentioned in this episode:

Amsterdamned (1988), Angel Guts: High School Coed (1978), The Bad Seed (1956), Beyond the Darkness (1979), Black Christmas (1974), Blood Song (1982), Candyman (1992), Don’t Go in the House (1979), Don’t Go to Sleep (1982), Evil Dead Trap (1988), Evil Dead Trap 2 (1992), The Exorcist (1973), Final Exam (1981), Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks (1974), Friday the 13th (1980), Frightmare (1974), The Girl in Room 2A (1974), The Girl Next Door (2007), Halloween (1978), Hatchet (2006), House on Sorority Row (1982), The Incubus (1982), It Follows (1914), Killer Party (1986), Lady Frankenstein (1971), The Leopard Man (1943), Living Doll (1990), The Lost (2006), Madman (1981), Maniac (1980), Mother’s Day (1980), Mother’s Day (2010), My Bloody Valentine (1981), Offspring (2009), Paranormal Activity (2007), Peeping Tom (1960), Pieces (1982), Psycho (1960), Rape Man (2008)The Rift (1990), Satan’s Blood (1978), Scream (1996), Slaughter High (1986), The Slayer (1982), Sleepaway Camp (1983), Slugs (1988), Sting of Death (1965), Supersonic Man (1979), Superstition (1982), Terrifier (2016), Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Thanksgiving (2023), The Thing (1982), Thirteen Women (1932), Tourist Trap (1979), The Woman (2011), You’re Next (2011)

Films discussed: Satan's Sadists (1969), Brain of Blood (1970), Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

From the mid-60's until the late 70's director Al Adamson and producer Sam Sherman made some of the most memorable low-budget horror and exploitation pictures to slide across American drive-in and grindhouse screens. Together they made films that not only exemplified genre, they also often transcend and blended genres, creating something that has stuck in the filmgoing collective consciousness for over half a century. And when Severin Films released The Al Adamson Masterpiece Collection boxed set in 2020, whole new generations were introduced to Al and Sam's work, and those of us who were already familiar learned a thing or two (or twenty) and got to see them look better than they have since they sat on a double bill in a 70s sleaze palace.

All hail Al and Sam!

Movies mention in this episode:

Black Shampoo (1976), Blood and Flesh: The Real Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019), Blood of Ghastly Horror (1967), Brain of Blood (1971), Brides of Blood (1968), The Crawling Hand (1963), The Day Mars Invaded Earth (1962), Dracula vs Frankenstein (1971), Easy Rider (1969), Five Bloody Graves (1969), Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror (1968), Hell’s Bloody Devils (1970), Kingdom of the Spiders (1977), Laserblast (1978), The Mighty Gorga (1969), The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals (1969), Mutant (1984), The Navy vs The Night Monster (1966), Night of the Blood Monster (1970), The Phantom of the Hollywood (1974), The Sadists (1963), Satan’s Cheerleaders (1977), Satan’s Sadist (1969), Shock (1946), Star Wars (1977), The Thrill Killers (1964), Trick or Treats (1982), The Wasp Woman (1959), The Witchmaker (1969), Without Warning (1980), The Wolf Man (1941)

In the realm of low budget filmmakers, Al Adamson, along with his partner, producer Sam Sherman, are gods among men. They created a wide variety of pictures, in just about every sub-genre out there, and made with more love than money. But they were entertaining, and always memorable. Perhaps their most memorable (and successful) film was 1971's Dracula vs. Frankenstein, in no small part thanks to the casting of a young, unknown actor in the iconic role of Dracula. Raphael Engel, rechristened Zandor Vorkov was a whole new kind of creature of the night-longhaired, goateed, and able to shoot fire out of his ring, this was a brand-new Dracula for a brand-new age. Zandor's Dracula stalked across the screen of virtually every grindhouse and drive-in screen in America in the early 70s and then across every television screen in America for a couple of decades after that. While his Dracula was being elevated to pop culture celebrity, Zandor himself left the movie business and fell out of the public eye for decades. Go to a convention, and bring up Al Adamson, and someone would eventually say "I wonder what ever happened to Zandor Vorkov?"

Like any good vampire, he was just lying in the shadows, waiting to emerge anew!

And on this very special episode, we have asked Raphael to join us to and talk a little about himself, his time working with Adamson and Sherman, and his fascinating take on the horror fandom that he's only recently learned existed, but has embraced warmly.

You can check out Zandor's website by going to https://zandorvorkov.com or hitting him up on Facebook by clicking HERE.

And if you love Al Adamson and Sam Sherman, check out the next episode we're going to do, where we dig into three of our favorite films from them!

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Golem (1920), and Waxworks (1924).

In the very beginning of cinema, it was the German filmmakers who took cinema to the next level, even when it was still in its infancy. Creating strange angles, weird landscapes and buildings, and bizarre stories, these filmmakers gave audiences something completely new and different. It made such an impact, that it would inspire future filmmakers for generations to come.

While being silent, these films still created such haunting images, wild characters, and fantastical designs of the sets, that can still make an impact to today's modern audiences. When Discovering the Horror, it is always important to know how we got to where we are, and the German expressionist horror films of that era is a great place to start. If you want to scoff at silent cinema, then you are depriving yourself of some truly great pieces of art, and of history.

Films mentioned in this episode:

The Arrival of a Train (1896), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Casablanca (1942), The Cat and the Canary (1927), The Devil and Daniel Webster, Dr. Caligari (1989), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Golem (1915), The Golem (1967), The Golem (2018), The Golem; How He Came into the World (1920), The Golem and the Dancer (1917), The Great Train Robbery (1903), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), It! (1967), Ivan the Terrible (1944), The Man Who Laughs (1928), The Mummy (1932), Nosferatu (1922), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Son of Frankenstein (1939), The Unknown (1927), Waxworks (1924)

In the mid 1950's an overzealous witch hunt took place in the United States focused on the corrupting effects of comic books on young people, which ended in horror comics being banned from the shelves by a draconian comics code. But why? What did those comics contain that got people so riled up? Well, it depends on who you ask.

WE asked Dr. Dan Yezbick, a comics scholar, and he sparked a lively discussion. If you're only vaguely aware of this chapter of horror history, strap in, because pre-code horror is one of the more fascinating areas of the history of the genre.

Comics mention in this episode:

Adventure into Darkness, Adventures into the Unknown, Amazing Mysteries, Archies, Beware, Black Cat Mystery, Boris Karloff’s Tales of Mystery, Boris Karloff’s Thriller, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Chamber of Chills, City of the Living Dead, Creepy, Crypt of Terror, Dark Shadows, Dead of Night, The Dead That Walk, Eerie Comics, Eerie, Grimm’s Ghost Stories, Haunt of Fear, Horrific, House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Judgement Day, Master Race, Mister Mystery, Morbius, The Occult Files of Dr. Spector, Ripley’s Believe It or Not True Ghost Stories, Shock Suspense Stories, Skeleton Hand, Tales from the Crypt, Tales from the Tomb, Tales Too Terrible to Tell, Terror Tales, Tomb of Dracula, Tower of Shadows, Twilight Zone, Vault of Horror, Werewolf by Night, Witch Doctor

Them! (1954), The Deadly Mantis (1957), and The Black Scorpion (1957)

The decade of the 1950s gave horror fans a ton of different giant monster flicks, but usually taking something seemingly harmless, such as ants or grasshoppers, but somehow, someway, are mutated into growing into gigantic proportions! We had giant spiders, praying mantis, mollusks, and anything these creative filmmakers could come up, just make them bigger and let them loose!

While modern critics, or even those at the time when these titles came out, passed them off as something for the kiddies and not to be taken seriously. And sure, they were definitely made under the term of exploitation, but when you really look at them, there is a lot of talented people behind and in front of the camera, and some really well-made and creative craftsmanship going on as well. Some aspects may seem and are very dated by today's standards, but there is still a lot there, as well as a lot of entertainment value. So grab your can of raid, a giant size flyswatter, and maybe even some industrial strength gloves to wear so you don't have to tough any of these nasty little buggers, and listen to us have a little fun discussing some big creepy crawlers!

Movies mentioned in this episode:

Aliens (1986), Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), The Beginning of the End (1957), The Black Scorpion (1957), The Blob (1958), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), The Deadly Mantis (1957), The Gauntlet (1977), Godzilla (1954), House of Dracula (1945), King Kong (1933), The Lost World (1925), Mighty Joe Young (1949), The Monster that Challenged the World (1957), Son of Kong (1933), S.O.S. Iceberg (1933), Sudden Impact (1983), Tarantula (1955), Them! (1954), The Thing from Another World (1951)