Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio

Close Calls (2017) from writer-director Richard Stringham lands on the Gruesome Magazine desk via the New York City Horror Film Festival. The movie is part of the festival's opening night, October 27, 2017. Doc Rotten joins Paul Cardullo with a review of the film, citing its heavy Eighties feel and approach as one of the film's stronger qualities. The film has fun with its gore and story, planting its tongue firmly in its cheek but steering clear of outright parody. The film succeeds in this approach. But, what it is more notable in is the potential star-making turn with its lead actress Jordan Phipps. Check out the review to hear more.

Halloween comes in hot and cold for The Grue Crew. On one side of the pillow is the cool horrendousness of The Snowman, the latest thriller from Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In) that has everyone talking... for the wrong reasons. On the other side is Leatherface, the latest prequel for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise from the directors of Inside. The scariest surprise of all is that it may just be the better movie of the double feature but by how much? Dave Dreher brings home the Horror News of the Week with the passing of Italian filmmaker Umberto Lenzi, an Amazon zombie comedy series and the Hannibal death scene that was too gory for TV. Or was it just too expensive? Listen to Horror News Radio to find out!

As always, the HNR Grue-Crew would love to hear from you, the listeners, the fans. You can always reach out via email at feedback(AT)horrornewsradio(DOT)com or find us on Twitter: Doc Rotten | Dave Dreher | Thomas Mariani. Also, like us on Facebook and join the Horror News Radio Facebook Group.

Horror News Radio Episode 238 – The Snowman ( 2017) – Leatherface (2017) Subscribe – iTunes – Facebook – Stitcher

• 1 RIP Umberto Lenzi
• 2 Amazon bringing Zom/Com pilot to their streaming service
• 3 'The Lost Boys' credit scene that almost was
• 4 There was one scene that NBC refused to let the Hannibal team bring to life
• 5 Luke Evans wants to suck again

• The Snowman (2017)
• director: Tomas Alfredson
• cast: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, J.K. Simmons, Toby Jones, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Val Kilmer

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• Leatherface (2017)
• director: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury
• cast: Stephen Dorff, Lili Taylor, Sam Strike, Vanessa Grasse, Finn Jones

• Thanks to Tear Out the Heart and Victory Records for use of the song Undead Anthem for the intro and outro of the HNR podcast

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The Snowman (2017) has all the right ingredients to make a riveting, mind-blowing thriller. It has a solid director with Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In) and a popular source material from author Jo Nesbo. The film, produced by none other than Martin Scorsese, features a stellar cast including Michael Fassbender, Rebeccas Furguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, J.K. Simmons, Toby Jones, James D'Arcy, and Val Kilmer. Yet, somehow, The Snowman manages to spiral out of control becoming one of the very worst films of 2017. The Snowman is simply...abominable. Doc Rotten shares his review of the feature film that tanked at the box office this past weekend and provides a preview of what you will hear on Horror News Radio episode 238. Check out the review below.

"It's so strange. I'm actually rooting for this girl. She's got so much heart and you think of all the pain and the... TEQUILA IS MY LADY! MY LADY! TEQUILA! FROM DARKNESS, THERE IS LIGHT!" Steve (Bradley Whitford) avoids guilt with alcohol. Just like every responsible adult! Cabin in the Woods is easily one of the best horror films of this decade. Hard to believe it was shelved for a year or so before being released. Playing on all the tropes of horror while celebrating what draws people to them, Cabin really is the ultimate horror film. Both in the awe inspiring awesomeness sense and in the way that it feels like the final word on the genre. Make sure to sit back in your console chair and wait for the best horror climax of all time to unravel before your eyes... or ears.

Decades of Horror 1990s And Beyond Episode 28 - The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Cabin in the Woods came out at an interesting crossroads for the careers of many involved. It was shot before star Chris Hemsworth became known as Thor, put into theaters right before co-writer Joss Whedon's The Avengers became one of the most successful films of all time and right before Drew Goddard became the Academy Award nominated screenwriter behind The Martian. All of them came together in this one moment to make the perfect modern meta horror. Cabin one upped the Scream style self aware slashers into a new galaxy all its own. Now every horror film feels like it's being controlled by the likes of Steve and Gary (Richard Jenkins) pulling strings behind the scenes. If they can keep up with all the cubes underneath their office.

To contextualize everything about Cabin, Thomas brings aboard Shakyl Lambert, Doc Rotten and Christopher G. Moore to explore the offices below. Discussions are had about the impeccable cast, the meta commentary on the horror genre and the massively entertaining yet nihilistic ending. The trio can barely contain their love for all the creative monsters, hilarious character moments and nudges to the rib cage Cabin goes through over its run time. Plus we ask the truly important question; what is the line between Witches and Sexy Witches? Listen to find out!

"Flies? Flies? Poor puny things! Who wants to eat flies?... Not when I can get nice, fat spiders!" Join the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Grue Crew for this episode – Erin Miskell, Chad Hunt, Jeff Mohr, and special guest Dave Dreher – as we take a trip to Transylvania and ride aboard the schooner Vesta, only to end up in the Seward Sanitarium and rundown Carfax Abbey in search of Dracula (1931).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 20 – Dracula (1931)

Director Tod Browning and cinematographer Karl Freund collaborated during the production of Dracula to create some of the most lasting icons in horror film history. Bela Lugosi (Dracula), Dwight Frye (Renfield), and Edward Van Sloan (Dr. Van Helsing) are still the portrayals to which all later incarnations are compared. Though Lugosi is the star, your Classic Era Grue Crew all agree that Dracula is Dwight Frye's movie as he changes from a serious and dignified professional to an unpredictable, maniacal, and downright disturbing lunatic.

Unfortunately, the characters of Lucy (Frances Dade) and Mina (Helen Chandler) are barely more than props to be victimized by Dracula and saved by Van Helsing and John Harker (David Manners). On the other hand, Renfield's attendant Martin (Charles K. Gerrard) provides the very definition of comic relief. One of our Grue Crew also proclaims their love for Lupita Tovar, who plays Eva, the Spanish language version of Mina.

You'll also find the answers to these questions:

• How does the Tod Browning version of Dracula compare to the Spanish language production?
• What could the Looney Tunes bad-behaved version of Little Red Riding Hood possibly have to do with Dracula?
• How many degrees of separation are there between the Spanish language version of Dracula and the Star Wars film, Rogue One (2016)?

If you're paying attention, you'll find out which of this episode's Grue Crew made each of these statements during our podcast on Dracula:

• "Someone just kind of handed him (Dwight Frye) this steak of a role and he just sunk all of his teeth into it and chewed it for all it was worth."
• "Was I the only one, when you would see Martin on the screen, that was thinking of Eric Idle from Monty Python?"
• "The woman had many, many issues. She surpassed issue and went straight to subscriptions."
• "Who decided an armadillo was scary?"

We plan to release a new episode every other week. In timing with Halloween, our next episode in our very flexible schedule is Nosferatu (1922), hosted by Erin Miskell.

Please let us know what you think of Decades of Horror: The Classic Era and what films you'd like to hear us cover! We want to hear from you! After all, without you, we're just four nutjobs talking about the films we love. Send us an email ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected]) or leave us a message, a review, or a comment at GruesomeMagazine.com, iTunes, Stitcher, the Horror News Radio App, or the Horror News Radio Facebook group.

To each of you from each of us, "Thank you for listening!"

The directors of Inside, Alexandra Bustillo and Julien Maury, take a stab at putting their footprints on the history of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with the prequel, Leatherface (2017). The film follows a group of young patients escaping from a mental hospital and on the run. One of the madmen is a young Leatherface - ah, but which one. Lilly Taylor is the matriarch of the family while Stephen Dorff is out to destroy them. Vanessa Grasse is a nurse too green to know better mixed up in the middle of it all. And, for some reason, Finn (Iron Fist) Jones is included in the mix. Doc Rotten steps in to review the film finding it a deceptively entertaining film...as long as you forget that it is intended to be a Texas Chainsaw Massacre film. Hurray for gore and grue, the film is plenty bloody for the gore-hounds. Check out the review below.

"Science is neat, but I'm afraid it's not very forgiving." Mr. Clarke (Randall P. Havens) explains how harsh a mistress science can be to our young heroes. Luckily, our young boys can take on pretty much everything, including a horrific nightmare creature from a parallel dimension. All of it is up for grabs as we conclude our look at Stranger Things Season 1. Time to grab your Eggo waffles and settle in for a dark and stormy October night!

Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 121 – Stranger Things Season 1 Part 2 (2016)

When we last left our young heroes, Stranger Things were really starting to build. Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Lucas (Cale McLaughlin) try to find the gate where their friend Will (Noah Schnapp) was taken into. Yet, their friendship is already being strained by the presence of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), both for her supernatural powers and her closeness to Mike. Meanwhile, Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Will's brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) are on the hunt for the Demogorgon. Parallel to this, Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Sheriff Hopper (David Harbour) are on investigating the Hawkins National Laboratory and their shady operation. It'll all come to ahead as the reasoning behind these Stranger Things collide.

To discuss these Stranger Things, Doc Rotten, Christopher G. Moore and Thomas Mariani are traveling into The Upside Down. There's a bit of descent as to whether or not this is as strong as the first half of the season. Yet, there's unanimous agreement about many things. The kids are all still enjoyable and endearing. Our look into The Upside Down is still creepy and atmospheric. Matthew Modine goes out like a punk. There's also the question of what the upcoming new season will hold and where we could go from here. All this and more are going to stuff your earholes to the point where you may get a nosebleed. Get this cotton balls ready!

We want to hear from you – the coolest, most gruesome fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at [email protected] or [email protected].

Special thanks to Neon Devils for their awesome song Bone Chillin!

The Fog (1980)... Next Week!

The Grue Crew are joined by our very special guest Paul Cardullo as we discuss films that give us a bit of deja vu. First up is the surprise hit of the recent Friday the 13th weekend Happy Death Day. Our second feature is the gory romp The Babysitter which you can now stream on Netflix to keep yourself satiated before Stranger Things Season 2 arrives. Thomas also gives us a report from his trip to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Orlando Florida. Let's not forget that Dave steps in with Horror News of the Week featuring the X-Men going spooky for The New Mutants, a news update about the upcoming Halloween film and a Friday the 13th fan film which may just be the best excuse for a sequel we'll be getting for awhile. Spooktacular times are here again!

As always, the HNR Grue-Crew would love to hear from you, the listeners, the fans. You can always reach out via email at feedback(AT)horrornewsradio(DOT)com or find us on Twitter: Doc Rotten | Dave Dreher | Thomas Mariani. Also, like us on Facebook and join the Horror News Radio Facebook Group.

Horror News Radio Episode 237 – Happy Death Day ( 2017) – The Babysitter (2017) Subscribe – iTunes – Facebook – Stitcher

• 1 'The New Mutants' gets a Spoooooooky trailer!
• 2 Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross take JC's Halloween theme out for a ride
• 3 Black Panther Trailer 2
• 4 Chris Hardwick signs a three-picture deal with Blumhouse
• 5 F 13th Fan Film makes its YouTube debut - surprises abound! Never Hike Alone

• What is your favorite WINTER themed horror film?
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• Happy Death Day (2017)
• director: Christopher Landon
• cast: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine

• Thomas shares his recent visit to the annual Halloween haunt in Orlando, Florida

• The Babysitter (2017)
• director: McG
• cast: Samara Weaving, Bella Thorne, Leslie Bibb, Judah Lewis

• Thanks to Tear Out the Heart and Victory Records for use of the song Undead Anthem for the intro and outro of the HNR podcast

• Patreon
• HNR & Gruesome Magazine T-Shirts
• Gruesome Magazine 2016 Yearbook
• Gruesome Magazine Spring 2017
• Gruesome Magazine Summer 2017

"Let the game begin." Jigsaw aka John Kramer (Tobin Bell) is the master of ceremonies of his morality inspired death traps. Given it was the franchise that started the torture porn movement, Saw is often maligned as a lesser example of mainstream horror. The fetishistic emphasis on death and soap opera antics only go so far, especially for a franchise with seven installments. Yet, there's somehow a new entry coming to theaters. So what better way to celebrate than by looking back at the first seven entries? Listen or not, make your choice. But seriously... please listen.

Decades of Horror 1990s And Beyond Episode 27 – Saw Retrospective (2004 - 2010)

Saw is an indie marvel. Made for a mere $1 million, the film grossed over 100 times that much. It tapped into an uncertain zeitgeist of troubling times. America was just starting the Iraq War. Torture was a common thread in news. Our world was still in the throes of confusion and distrust from 9/11. A world that sought escape in the form of a madman designing traps to test people's moral gumption. Saw continued this trend throughout the 2000s, each installment introducing new bits of continuity and trying to top one another with gory traps. The franchise started off the careers of modern horror masters like James Wan, Leigh Whannell, Darren Lynn Bousman and Marcus Dunstan. Saw was really the only mainstream horror franchise in theaters for half a decade... until it wasn't.

To dissect where everything went wrong, Thomas Mariani brings in a few familiar voices. Adam Thomas, Shakyl Lambert and Ryan Corderman are in for the long haul as all four hosts discuss all seven Saw films in this extended episode. The quartet examines each film in gruesome detail, praising consistent qualities like Tobin Bell while damning the soap opera continuity that gets tedious. There's praise thrown around for a few of the earlier entries and even a bit of love that trickles down into the latter parts of the series. But there's plenty of baffling elements of Saw for our heroes to question. How did Jigsaw get more elaborate traps put together? Why did we need to know more through endless flashbacks? Who thought Costas Mandylor was a good idea? All this and more tear the group apart as they try to understand what made people see Saw time and time again.

"Long Live The New Flesh!" Max Renn (James Woods) makes his declaration of rebellion against Videodrome, the very thing he's become so attached to. But is he really rebelling against the system or merely another cog in the machine? It's a question people often ask themselves every day with no easy answers. Luckily, those answers can come from the most unlikely of places. One such place is Decades of Horror 1980s! Hop into your connected device and hear just how depressing the world we live in really is. Hooray!

Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 120 - Videodrome (1983)

Videodrome didn't make much of a blip for Canadian writer/director David Cronenberg's career. Fresh off the heals of the cult success of The Brood and Scanners yet just before the mainstream explosion of The Dead Zone and The Fly, Videodrome quietly came in and out of theaters in 1983. The heavy horror sci-fi concept of a TV smut peddler hallucinating technology nightmares didn't seem to attract audiences at the time. Yet with time, this audacious subversion of narrative, time and culture became a cult hit that resonates even more in the ages long since Betamax was a viable platform.

Well, at least for some. This episode features a pretty clear divide for who can stand Cronenberg's Videodrome. But who could be the dissenter in the crowd? Did Doc Rotten appreciate the cynical bitter pills which needed swallowing? Can Christopher G. Moore tolerate the gross-out body horror on display? Will Thomas Mariani have issues with Debbie Harry not being her iconic Blondie self? Listen and find out for yourselves!

We want to hear from you – the coolest, most gruesome fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at [email protected] or [email protected].

Special thanks to Neon Devils for their awesome song Bone Chillin!

Stranger Things Season 1 Part 2 (2016)… Next Week!