Cinema Shock

We spent the month of June exploring some of our favorite films of 1989 -- one of the biggest blockbuster movie years ever -- so for July we're jumping forward a decade to a year that gives '89 a run for its money.

1999 is widely considered one of the best movie years of all time, and few movies that year made as big an impact as THE MATRIX.

This week, we'll explore how the Wachowskis — young filmmakers with only one low budget thriller under their belts — went on to direct the biggest cultural moment of the year. There was a long journey to get to THE MATRIX that ended up in theaters in March of 1999 and we're gonna get into all of the details on how it came to be.

We'll also explore the cultural significance of the film and its many, many themes and influences. 

And of course, we discuss whether its significance qualifies it to be a member of the Psychotronic Hall of Fame. Let us know!

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below, or be a part of the show by calling us at (864) 371-9931 and leaving us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less and we'll use it on our next episode!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

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Welcome to another episode of PFS Weekly, where we'll be sharing some of our favorite psychotronic news of the week!

Stories covered this week:

• BILL & TED Sequel Adds New & Returning Cast Members: https://variety.com/2019/film/news/bill-and-ted-sequel-new-returning-cast-members-1203254965/

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below, or be a part of the show by calling us at (864) 371-9931 and leaving us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less and we'll use it on our next episode!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5Q3uUDv

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Please rate review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts!

Our Class of '89 series comes to a triumphant conclusion this week with a film that, well quite frankly got lost in the shuffle among the other films released during one of the biggest blockbuster summers of all time.

Starring "Weird Al" Yankovic in his sole feature film lead role, UHF — a strange little comedy that utilized its star's penchant for parody and general silliness — didn't stand much of a chance at the box office against such giants as BATMAN and INDIANA JONES & THE LAST CRUSADE, and was panned by critics, ignored by audiences and quickly forgotten.

However, Yankovic's legions of fans brought the film back from the dead, and it's gained quite a cult following. In this episode, we'll discuss just what went wrong initially, and how it managed to cultivate a following, even three decades after its original release and failure.

And since it does in fact appear in Michael J. Weldon's Psychotronic Video Guide, we're nominating it for the Psychotronic Hall of Fame, and we need your help to decide whether or not it goes in!

VOTE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9G5TKYW

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below, or be a part of the show by calling us at (864) 371-9931 and leaving us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less and we'll use it on our next episode!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5Q3uUDv

Follow the show: 

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Please rate review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts!

Our old friend writer/comedian Todd Davis is back on the show this week after a long hiatus, and he's here to usher in week 3 of our Class of 89 series, a look at Tim Burton's BATMAN!

BATMAN had a long, long road to the big screen, dating all the way back to the late-1970s when producers wished to capitalize on the success of Richard Donner's SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE. It went through multiple versions and multiple directors before hitting theaters 30 years ago. In this episode, we'll discuss its journey to become the biggest movie of 1989, plus how exactly it ended up being directed by Tim Burton of all people, and starring Michael Keaton, a guy known for his comedy (and all of the controversy that those decisions created).

And of course, we'll ask that big question: Is BATMAN one of the greatest genre films of all time and does it belong in the Psychotronic Hall of Fame?

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below, or be a part of the show by calling us at (864) 371-9931 and leaving us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less and we'll use it on our next episode!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5Q3uUDv

Follow the show: 

Follow Justin: 

Follow Gary:

Please rate review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts!

Week 2 of our Class of '89 series has us looking at a film that's we've been wanting to cover since before this little podcast ever existed.

It is possibly the apex of cinema. It's the film that taught us everything we've ever needed to know about life, the universe, and everything.

Ladies and germs, this week, we discuss the epic that is ROAD HOUSE.

As always, we'll get into the behind-the-scenes nuts and bolts behind the creation of this classic, plus discuss its ongoing popularity and cult status. Then we ask that ever-important question:

Does ROAD HOUSE deserve a spot in the Psychotronic Hall of Fame?

VOTE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8G7QLXK

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below, or be a part of the show by calling us at (864) 371-9931 and leaving us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less and we'll use it on our next episode!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5Q3uUDv

Follow the show: 

Follow Justin: 

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Please rate review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts!

On this week's episode of PFS Weekly, we're taking a short look at a couple of recent releases: GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS and BRIGHTBURN!

Please note: these reviews do contain spoilers! If you haven't seen GODZILLA and want to skip directly to the BRIGHTBURN review, skip ahead to the 20:35 point.

Have you seen either of these? Drop us a line to let us know what you think!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5Q3uUDv

Follow the show: 

Follow Justin: 

Follow Gary:

Please rate review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts!

A new month means a new series here at the Psychotronic Film Society and this month we're discussing four films that are all celebrating their 30th anniversary this year!

The first film in our Class of '89 series in Joe Dante's THE 'BURBS!

As always, we'll dive into the making of the film, and discuss how well it holds up 30 years later. Is this film -- which underperformed upon its original release -- really a cult classic? 

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below, or be a part of the show by calling us at (864) 371-9931 and leaving us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less and we'll use it on our next episode!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5Q3uUDv

Follow the show: 

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Please rate review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts!

We've spent the entire month of May focusing on genre films directed by women. While we haven't really even scratched the surface on what the female perspective has to offer genre cinema, we've had a lot of fun diving into these films and highlighting the work of these awesome directors.

For the fifth and final entry in this series, we're taking a look at a film whose feminism is front and center. Written and directed by women, with a main cast of women, JENNIFER'S BODY was misunderstood by nearly everyone upon original release, including its studio, which marketed it towards teenage boys — not its filmmakers' intended audience.

Over the last decade — and especially in the last two years, in the wake of the #MeToo movement — it's been reevaluated by critics and audiences alike as a work of subversive feminist cinema. JENNIFER'S BODY is finally getting its due, and its cult is growing every day.

One new member of that cult is our special guest Madelaine Hoptry, who watched the film for the first time before coming on our show. Join us and Maddi as we discuss the creation of the film, its themes and how it's gone on to become a new cult classic.

Is its new found status as a cult film enough to get it into the Psychotronic Hall of Fame? Vote in our poll to let us know!

VOTE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QSFS6Q2

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below, or be a part of the show by calling us at (864) 371-9931 and leaving us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less and we'll use it on our next episode!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5Q3uUDv

Follow the show: 

Follow Justin: 

Follow Gary:

Please rate review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts!

On this week's minisode, we discuss some stuff we've been watching lately, what we're looking forward to seeing this upcoming week, plus a few psychotronic movie news items!

News items covered this week:

• Shudder Renews The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs for a Second Season: https://bloody-disgusting.com/tv/3562782/shudder-just-renewed-last-drive-joe-bob-briggs-another-season-weekly-shows/

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below, or be a part of the show by calling us at (864) 371-9931 and leaving us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less and we'll use it on our next episode!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5Q3uUDv

Follow the show: 

Follow Justin: 

Follow Gary:

Please rate review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts!

On the fourth week of our Female Filmmakers series, we take a look back at the 2014 Australian horror film THE BABADOOK, directed by Jennifer Kent.

On this episode, we're joined by special guest Anna Seiler to discuss how Jennifer Kent went from a semi-successful Australian television actress to major cult filmmaker with just one film, and how THE BABADOOK has helped to shape the current boom of "arthouse horror".

We'll also dive deep into the film's themes of motherhood, grief, and mental illness as we discuss the film's impact and legacy. And we've nominated this one for the Psychotronic Hall of Fame, so it's up to you to let us know if it deserves to go in!

VOTE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PLR26LL

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below, or be a part of the show by calling us at (864) 371-9931 and leaving us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less and we'll use it on our next episode!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5Q3uUDv

Follow the show: 

Follow Justin: 

Follow Gary:

Please rate review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts!