Cinema Shock

By Cinema ShockTV & Film Film History

Cinema Shock episodes

September 09, 2021HOLLOW MAN: Verhoeven’s Hollywood Exit | Sex + Violence
For the final entry in our Sex + Violence: The Films of Paul Verhoeven series, we’re examining the director’s last film made within the Hollywood system: HOLLOW MAN (2000).
Often dismissed by critics—and even by Verhoeven himself—HOLLOW MAN is rarely given the credit it deserves. While its story of invisibility and unchecked power may not have landed in its own time, the film’s special effects work was groundbreaking, and its themes hit differently in a post–#MeToo era.
In this episode, we explore how Sony Imageworks and Tippett Studio achieved the film’s remarkable (and Oscar-nominated) visual effects, what Verhoeven hoped to accomplish with the project, and how the film’s reputation has shifted over time. Was HOLLOW MAN simply a misfire, or a misunderstood provocation in disguise?
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Coming Up:
HOLLOW MAN (2000)
Up Next: The Wachowskis: Walking the Path
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
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1 hr 38 min
August 26, 2021STARSHIP TROOPERS: Would You Like to Know More? | Sex + Violence
After the critical and commercial disaster of SHOWGIRLS, Paul Verhoeven returned to familiar territory: big-budget science fiction. This time, he re-teamed with ROBOCOP screenwriter Ed Neumeier to adapt Robert Heinlein’s 1959 novel Starship Troopers—but not in the way anyone expected.
What Verhoeven delivered was less a straightforward adaptation and more a brutal, satirical takedown of militarism and fascist ideology, all wrapped in the glossy sheen of a 1990s teen soap and bug-splattering war epic. The result? Critics hated it. Audiences didn’t get it. And the film was dismissed as dumb jingoistic schlock.
In this episode, we chart the course of STARSHIP TROOPERS from Heinlein’s source novel to Verhoeven’s gleeful subversion, its troubled marketing and release, and its slow but steady transformation into one of the most critically celebrated sci-fi films of its era.
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Coming Up:
STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997)
HOLLOW MAN (2000)
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
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1 hr 50 min
August 12, 2021SHOWGIRLS: The NC-17 Disaster That Became a Cult Classic | Sex + Violence
After the smash success of BASIC INSTINCT, Paul Verhoeven had the Hollywood clout to push boundaries like never before. For his next film, he wanted total freedom—no rating compromises, no MPAA edits. What he made was one of the most notorious movies of the 1990s.
SHOWGIRLS.
Written by Joe Eszterhas and pitched (literally) on a cocktail napkin, SHOWGIRLS was meant to be Verhoeven’s ultimate statement on American decadence and ambition. Instead, it was universally panned, laughed out of theaters, and quickly became shorthand for “Hollywood disaster.” But over time, the film’s reputation has shifted—from box office bomb to camp classic, and now to a legitimate subject of critical reappraisal.
In this episode, we trace the full journey of SHOWGIRLS: its unlikely origins, wild production, disastrous release, and long road to redemption.
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Coming Up:
STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997)
HOLLOW MAN (2000)
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
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2 hr 1 min
July 29, 2021BASIC INSTINCT: Sharon Stone, Joe Eszterhas, and the Most Controversial Film of the ’90s | Sex + Violence
After back-to-back sci-fi hits with ROBOCOP and TOTAL RECALL, Paul Verhoeven took a surprising left turn. Instead of another effects-heavy blockbuster, he chose a smaller, more intimate (but no less explosive) project—a sexually charged neo-noir thriller that would push American taboos to the brink.
That film was BASIC INSTINCT.
In this episode, we trace the origin of BASIC INSTINCT, from Joe Eszterhas’s record-breaking screenplay sale to the casting of Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas, to the intense scrutiny and controversy the film faced both during production and after release. We also unpack how the film plays today, and how Verhoeven’s unique blend of sexual provocation and formal precision made BASIC INSTINCT one of the defining—and most debated—films of the 1990s.
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Coming Up:
SHOWGIRLS (1995)
STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997)
HOLLOW MAN (2000)
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
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1 hr 46 min
July 23, 2021 Cinema Shock Roundtable #3: Talking TOTAL RECALL Myles Griffin of The More You Nerd
For our latest Roundtable discussion, we're continuing our talk on TOTAL RECALL and we're joined by Myles Griffin of The More You Nerd!
In this bonus episode, we have a more freewheeling talk about the film, getting into the nitty gritty on all of the aspects of Verhoeven's sci-fi classic. As expected anytime Myles is on the show, things get real nerdy real fast.
1 hr 1 min
July 16, 2021TOTAL RECALL: Paul Verhoeven, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the Philip K. Dick Mind Trip | Sex + Violence
After the surprise success of ROBOCOP, Paul Verhoeven had officially made it to the A-list—and so it wasn’t long before Hollywood’s biggest star came knocking. Arnold Schwarzenegger, impressed by ROBOCOP’s mix of action and intelligence, personally recruited Verhoeven to direct his next film: TOTAL RECALL.
But the story of TOTAL RECALL doesn’t start there.
In this episode, we trace the film’s complex journey from its earliest incarnation as a Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett script—written in the same era as ALIEN—through a decade of rewrites, studio changes, and near-deaths in development hell. We break down how the film finally came together under Carolco Pictures, how Verhoeven put his stamp on the production, and how its mix of ultraviolence, mutant horror, and psychological ambiguity turned it into a sci-fi classic.
We also discuss the legacy of TOTAL RECALL, including the many attempts at a sequel—and the remake that couldn’t measure up.
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Coming Up:
TOTAL RECALL (1990)
BASIC INSTINCT (1992)
SHOWGIRLS (1995)
STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997)
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
twitter.com/cinema_shock
facebook.com/cinemashocknet
instagram.com/cinema_shock

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1 hr 48 min
July 08, 2021 Let's Talk About the ROBOCOP Sequels | Bonus Episode
For our very first Cinema Shock Roundtable, we’re gonna tie things into our current series on Paul Verhoeven by discussing the non-Verhoeven sequels to ROBOCOP.
These Roundtable discussions are designed to be less structured than our regular episodes where we can play around with our format a bit. Got an idea for a bonus episode? Hit us up at @cinema_shock on Twitter or Instagram!
For even further ROBOCOP discussion, check out this episode from our friends at The More You Nerd where they discuss the ill-fated 90s ROBOCOP TV series.
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Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
twitter.com/cinema_shock
facebook.com/cinemashocknet
instagram.com/cinema_shock

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1 hr 6 min
July 01, 2021ROBOCOP: Paul Verhoeven, Corporate Satire, and Ultraviolent Salvation | Sex + Violence
After the commercial disappointment of FLESH + BLOOD, Paul Verhoeven made a bold move—he left the Netherlands and relocated to the United States, determined to understand American audiences from the inside out.
His first major project on U.S. soil? A dystopian action movie about a cyborg police officer called ROBOCOP.
In this episode, we track the development of ROBOCOP—from the satirical, ultra-violent script by Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, to Verhoeven’s initial dismissal (and eventual embrace) of the project, through its chaotic shoot and over-the-top violence that nearly earned it an X rating. We also explore the film’s legacy as one of the smartest, bloodiest, and most influential sci-fi films of the 1980s.
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Coming Up:
TOTAL RECALL (1990)
BASIC INSTINCT (1992)
SHOWGIRLS (1995)
STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997)
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
twitter.com/cinema_shock
facebook.com/cinemashocknet
instagram.com/cinema_shock

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2 hr 2 min
June 17, 2021FLESH + BLOOD: The Bloody American Debut of Paul Verhoeven | Sex + Violence
In our new series Sex + Violence: The Films of Paul Verhoeven, we’re diving into the provocative, satirical, and often controversial career of one of cinema’s boldest auteurs.
We kick things off with a look at Verhoeven’s first English-language film: the brutal 1985 medieval epic FLESH + BLOOD, starring Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Before we get there, we also spend time exploring Verhoeven’s early life, his rise through Dutch cinema, and how his distinct blend of sex, violence, and social critique began to take shape in films like TURKISH DELIGHT and SPETTERS.
Then, we get into the chaotic production of FLESH + BLOOD—from its battles behind the scenes to the uneasy balance of exploitation and artistry on screen—and how it set the tone for the American phase of Verhoeven’s career.
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Coming Up:
ROBOCOP (1987)
TOTAL RECALL (1990)
BASIC INSTINCT (1992)
STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997)
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
twitter.com/cinema_shock
facebook.com/cinemashocknet
instagram.com/cinema_shock

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1 hr 38 min
June 03, 2021THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2: Hooper Goes Wild With a Cult Sequel | Tobe Hooper: The Cannon Years
For the final film in Tobe Hooper’s Cannon Films trilogy—and the last wide theatrical release of his career—he returned to the movie that started it all.
At the end of his three-picture deal with Cannon, the studio asked Hooper to deliver a sequel to his 1974 horror masterpiece. But THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (1986) was not the film they—or most audiences—were expecting. Loud, gory, satirical, and often absurd, the film ditched the gritty realism of the original in favor of pitch-black comedy and over-the-top violence.
In this episode, we follow the story of how CHAINSAW 2 came to be, how it baffled critics and audiences upon release, and how it gradually found a second life as a cult classic—now considered one of Hooper’s most distinctive and beloved films.
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Coming Up:
FLESH + BLOOD (1985)
ROBOCOP (1987)
TOTAL RECALL (1990)
BASIC INSTINCT (1992)
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
twitter.com/cinema_shock
facebook.com/cinemashocknet
instagram.com/cinema_shock

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1 hr 43 min