Cinema Shock

The finale of our SUMMER OF '87 series ends with a look back at one of the biggest nostalgia favorites of the year: THE MONSTER SQUAD.

SYNOPSIS: A young group of monster fanatics attempt to save their hometown from Count Dracula and his monsters.

Special guests DJ Wilson, Todd Davis and Kat Davis fill in for Justin this week as they try and help Gary determine if this 1987 film is truly a Psychotonic Hall Of Fame-worthy classic or just another case of viewing a movie through nostalgia's rose-colored glasses.

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

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Our SUMMER OF '87 series continues with a look back on one of the more notorious sci-fi/fantasy films of the 1980's, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE.

SYNOPSIS: When the evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) finds a mysterious power called the Cosmic Key, he becomes nearly invincible. However, courageous warrior He-Man (Dolph Lundgren) locates inventor Gwildor (Billy Barty), who created the Key and has another version of it. During a battle, one of the Keys is transported to Earth, where it is found by teenagers Julie (Courteney Cox) and Kevin (Robert Duncan McNeill). Now both He-Man and Skeletor's forces arrive on Earth searching for the potent weapon.

Special guest DJ Wilson joins us as we dissect and review the film and it's colorful past as well as if it deserves to to be redeemed from the terrible reputation it's garnered over the past 30 years.

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

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Our SUMMER OF '87 series continues with what what many would consider a modern Vampire Classic: Joel Schumacher's THE LOST BOYS.

SYNOPSIS: Teenage brothers Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim) move with their mother (Dianne Wiest) to a small town in northern California. While the younger Sam meets a pair of kindred spirits in geeky comic-book nerds Edward (Corey Feldman) and Alan (Jamison Newlander), the angst-ridden Michael soon falls for Star (Jami Gertz) -- who turns out to be in thrall to David (Kiefer Sutherland), leader of a local gang of vampires. Sam and his new friends must save Michael and Star from the undead.

Join us with special guest Steve Jackson from the band DEAD LEGENDS as we discuss all of the thrills and chills of this 80's blockbuster. And of course, we discuss whether or not it belongs in the illustrious halls of the Psychotronic Hall of Fame.

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 pay our respects to one of the giants of psychotronic cinema who we lost last week, the great George Romero. To do so, we're taking a look at his groundbreaking 1968 film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.

SYNOPSIS: A group of people try to survive an attack of bloodthirsty zombies while trapped in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse. Although not the first zombie film, Night of the Living Dead is the progenitor of the contemporary “zombie apocalypse” horror film, and it greatly influenced the modern pop-culture zombie archetype.

We deep dive into the creation of this historical film and discuss its significance and its — and Romero's — legacy. And of course, we discuss whether or not it belongs in the illustrious halls of the Psychotronic Hall of Fame.

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

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After a couple of weeks in relative psychotronic obscurity, we're back on track this week with our Summer of '87 series to take a look at one of the biggest psychotronic films of that year (and maybe of all time): Paul Verhoeven's ROBOCOP! We're joined this week once again by special guest Todd Davis!

SYNOPSIS: In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company’s nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.

Will this ultraviolent satire masquerading as an action film make it into the Psychotronic Hall of Fame?

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 take a look at one of our most notorious films yet! it's the 1978 mondo doc FACES OF DEATH!

SYNOPSIS: A collection of death scenes, ranging from TV-material to home-made super-8 movies. The common factor is death by some means.

Okay, that wasn't much of a synopsis, but if you've seen the film, you understand why.

This "documentary", supposedly depicting scenes of actual death snd violence has been banned across the world, and was a staple in video stores everywhere during its heyday. It was a rite of passage for young horror fans in the '80s and '90s, but is that enough to get it into the Psychotronic Hall of Fame?

We’d love to hear from you! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below or give us a call at (864) 372-9931 and leave us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less 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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Another surprise minisode?! Don't ever say we didn't give you anything.

This week, everyone's favorite webslinger is taking the world by storm, and we thought we'd weigh in with our thoughts on SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING!

We'll inevitably compare it to previous big screen versions of the character and talk about how the film fits into the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe, but first and foremost on our minds is this: Is it any good? You'll have to listen to find out!

Come back soon for our next full-length episode, where we discuss our next nominee for the Psychotronic Hall of Fame, FACES OF DEATH!

We’d love to hear from you! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below or give us a call at (864) 372-9931 and leave us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less 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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This week, we take another break from nominated films for the Psychotronic Hall of Fame to focus on a film with a poor reputation and discuss whether or not it is deserving of redemption.

And that movie? 1987's meta-horror film RETURN TO HORROR HIGH.

SYNOPSIS: A few years ago, a mysterious serial-killer caused panic on Crippen High School. The killer was never caught. A movie company, Cosmic Pictures, has decided to make a feature movie about these events – on location, at the now abandoned school. Since members of cast and crew disappear without a trace, it seems as if history is repeating itself…

RETURN TO HORROR HIGH is currently sitting at 18% of Rotten Tomatoes. The question we ask is: Is it better than that? Sure, it's not worthy of the Psychotronic Hall of Fame, but does it have enough redeeming qualities to make it a film that fans of the psychotronic would want to visit?

We’d love to hear from you! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below or give us a call at (864) 372-9931 and leave us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less 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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This week, we continue our Summer of '87 series with a look back at Mel Brooks' classic STAR WARS spoof, SPACEBALLS!

SYNOPSIS: When the nefarious Dark Helmet hatches a plan to snatch Princess Vespa and steal her planet’s air, space-bum-for-hire Lone Starr and his clueless sidekick fly to the rescue. Along the way, they meet Yogurt, who puts Lone Starr wise to the power of “The Schwartz.” Can he master it in time to save the day?

We're joined this week by returning guest Daniel Rhodes!

We take a dive into the background of the film before asking the question: does SPACEBALLS hold up? Is it as good as you remember? And more importantly, we ask: is it good enough to go into the Psychotronic Hall of Fame?

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

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Brian De Palma's 1974 rock opera is the very definition of a "psychotronic film": derided by critics upon release and ignored by audiences (except in Winnipeg!), it's gone on to garner a huge cult following and is generally considered among De Palma's best.

And yet, Gary had never heard of it! Which means that its cult is still growing. So this week, we discuss whether or not the film is worthy to sit among the greats in the Psychotronic Hall of Fame!

SYNOPSIS: A disfigured composer sells his soul for the woman he loves so that she will perform his music. However, an evil record tycoon betrays him and steals his music to open his rock palace, The Paradise.

We’d love to hear from you! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below or give us a call at (864) 372-9931 and leave us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less 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

Follow the show: Twitter // Facebook // Instagram // Tumblr

Follow Justin: Twitter // Instagram // Letterboxd

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