Cinema Shock

This week, we're joined by special guest Ellison Brooks to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Tim Burton classic BEETLEJUICE!

Did you know that BEETLEJUICE began its life as a much darker, scarier picture before Burton put his signature stamp on it? And that actors such as Sammy Davis, Jr., and Sam Kinison were considered for the titular role?!

These tidbits are just a bit of the behind-the-scenes info we give you this week, along with our deep dive into the film's themes and we wax poetic about the amazingness of Michael Keaton's lead performance.

And then, of course, we ask the big question: Is this one of the all-time great genre films? Does it deserve a spot in the hallowed halls of the Psychotronic Hall of Fame or will it be sent to the waiting room of the afterlife?

The choice is yours!

VOTE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/63SQBXM

Hey Greenville! This week, we'll be appearing at Flipside Alternative Arts Fest. Come on out to Birds Fly South on May 25th & 26th to say hello and take a look at some amazing psychotronic art from artists all over the world!

We'd love to hear your thoughts! 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!

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

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This week, we're taking a look at not only one of the most controversial films that we've ever covered on the show, but one of the most controversial films of all time, Ruggero Deodato's 1980 cannibal exploitation film CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST!

Its reputation as a controversial film is one that it's certainly earned, as CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST features deplorable scenes of violence, rape and the actually on-screen killing of animals, but the argument can also be made for it as an incredibly influential horror film, spawning not only the cannibal film craze that immediately followed, but also the entire found footage genre and the torture porn boom of the 2000s.

But is that influence enough to make its wother nastiness forgiveable? An even bigger question: is that enough to make the film a worthy addition to the Psychotronic Hall of Fame? That's a decision that we're placing in your hands!

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

Come back next week to find out the final decision!

We'd love to hear your thoughts! 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!

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

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This week, we pay tribute to the late, great R. Lee Ermey (he was in other movies that didn't have the word "jacket" in the title") and discuss our very first David Fincher flick.

SEVEN (or SE7EN if ya nasty) is one of the best — and most influential — films of the 1990s and cemented Fincher as one of our great modern directors. It also influenced everything from music videos to torture porn to, well, pretty much every serial killer movie that followed it.

We dig deep into the film's themes and its creation and then we ask the all important question: does SEVEN deserve a spot in the Psychotronic Hall of Fame? Cast your vote to help us make that decision!

VOTE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QBDV3YF

'd love to hear your thoughts! 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!

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

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A couple of months ago, we asked you, our loyal listeners, to vote on your favorite Psychotronic Film of 2017! Well, as it turns out, this was a rare case where our Peoples Choice Award winner also happened to be the film that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences picked for their Best Picture of the year! Seriously folks, that's not something that's going to happen often, so enjoy it. This week, we're discussing Guillermo del Toro's THE SHAPE OF WATER!

SYNOPSIS: An other-worldly story, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962, where a mute janitor working at a lab falls in love with an amphibious man being held captive there and devises a plan to help him escape.

But what's more prestigious? An Oscar or a spot in the Psychotronic Hall of Fame?

This week, we're nominating your favorite film of 2017 for a spot in those illustrious halls, but it's up to you as to whether or not it makes it in!

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

We'd love to hear your thoughts! 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!

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

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We're concluding our cyberpunk series this week with a look at the seminal '90s flick, HACKERS!

SYNOPSIS: Along with his new friends, a teenager who was arrested by the US Secret Service and banned from using a computer for writing a computer virus discovers a plot by a nefarious hacker, but they must use their computer skills to find the evidence while being pursued by the Secret Service and the evil computer genius behind the virus.

Mostly seen a relic of its time, and known for its complete inability to understand how the internet works, but is HACKERS really an unsung masterpiece or an misunderstood gem?

We'll discuss all that as well as diving deep into the creation of the film as we always do on this week's show!

Next week we've got something special cooked up as we take a look at the film that one our People's Choice Award for 2017 and ask the question: does it belong in the Psychotronic Hall of Fame?

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We'd love to hear your thoughts! 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!

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

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We continue our cyberpunk series this week with one of the more recent entries into the subgenre, 2012's adaptation of the 2000 AD comic, DREDD!

SYNOPSIS: In the future, America is a dystopian wasteland. The latest scourge is Ma-Ma, a prostitute-turned-drug pusher with a dangerous new drug and aims to take over the city. The only possibility of stopping her is an elite group of urban police called Judges, who combine the duties of judge, jury and executioner to deliver a brutal brand of swift justice. But even the top-ranking Judge, Dredd, discovers that taking down Ma-Ma isn’t as easy as it seems in this explosive adaptation of the hugely popular comic series.

Is DREDD a modern classic? As always, we're diving deep into the movie's themes and the behind-the-scenes drama (and there's a lot of it, including reports that it wasn't actually directed by Pete Travis!). All of this and more in this week's episode!

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We'd love to hear your thoughts! 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!

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

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We're continuing our cyberpunk series this week with the 1995 Keanu Reeves-starring actioner JOHNNY MNEMONIC and we're bringing Myles from The More You Nerd along for the ride!

Synopsis:A data courier, literally carrying a data package inside his head, must deliver it before he dies from the burden or is killed by the Yakuza. In a dystopian 2021, Johnny (Keanu Reeves) is a data trafficker who has an implant that allows him to securely store data too sensitive for regular computer networks. On one delivery run, he accepts a package that not only exceeds the implant’s safety limits – and will kill him if the data is not removed in time – but also contains information far more important and valuable than he had ever imagined. On a race against time, he must avoid the assassins sent to kill him and remove the data before it, too, ends his life.

JOHNNY MNEMONIC was derided upon release, but how has it aged? Is it's wackiness (Ice-T! Henry Rollins! Bio-dolphins! Jesus Lundgren!) enough to make it worth another look? 

We'd love to hear your thoughts! 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!

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

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This week, we're kicking off our new cyberpunk series by visiting one of the most popular animated films of all time, 1988's AKIRA!

SYNOPSIS: Childhood friends Tetsuo and Kaneda are pulled into the post-apocalyptic underworld of Neo-Tokyo and forced to fight for their very survival. Kaneda is a bike gang leader, and Tetsuo is a member of a tough motorcycle crew who becomes involved in a covert government project called Akira. But a bloody battle ensues when Kaneda sets out to save his friend.

We're welcoming friend of the show Todd A. Davis back to discuss the cultural impact of the film, its creation and themes and, of course, whether or not it will become the first anime to make it into the Psychotronic Hall of Fame!

As always, we leave that decision up to you!

VOTE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FR28HXX

Come back next week, where we'll reveal the results and discuss another cyberpunk film -- this time from the 90s -- with another special guest!

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

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This week, Gary's chosen what seems like a pretty random movie for us to talk about — but it's one that's about to celebrate its 20th anniversary — the 1998 hitman action comedy starring Mark Wahlberg and Lou Diamond Phillips... THE BIG HIT!

Synopsis: Affable hit man Melvin Smiley is constantly being scammed by his cutthroat colleagues in the life-ending business. So, when he and his fellow assassins kidnap the daughter of an electronics mogul, it’s naturally Melvin who takes the fall when their prime score turns sour. That’s because the girl is the goddaughter of the gang’s ruthless crime boss. But, even while dodging bullets, Melvin has to keep his real job secret from his unsuspecting fiancée, Pam.

THE BIG HIT — directed by HK cinema vet Kirk Wong — was a bit of a sleeper 20 years ago. But how does it hold up now?

We want to hear your thoughts! Contact us at any of the social media platforms below, or if you really wanna be a part of the show, leave us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less at (864) 372-9931 and we'll feature you on the next show!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album Psychic Shield. More info: slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

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This week on the show, we're discussing the classic revenge film starring Charles Bronson (and recently the subject of an ill-advised remake from Eli Roth), 1974's DEATH WISH!

SYNOPSIS: After his wife is murdered by street punks, a pacifistic New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad, prowling the streets for would-be muggers after dark.

As always, we dive into the story behind the film and discuss its themes and its relevance to present day events. You don't wanna miss this one!

Come back next week for a forgotten 90s action film!

We’d love to hear from you regarding DEATH WISH, or any of the other films we've discussed recently! Give us a call at (864) 372-9931 and leave us a message and we’ll play it on the next show!

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

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Follow Gary: Twitter // Instagram // Letterboxd