Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio

While GenreBlast is not strictly a horror film festival, it certainly features its share of horror fare along with many sci-fi epics, zany action films, and off the wall comedies. Paul Cardullo steps up to review one of the more comedic entries at the 2017 GenreBlast Film Festival - and his favorite of the weekend - Camino (2017). The film features a pair of Texan teens who drive around in an El Camino and like to steal unattended coolers hoping to score beer ... or tasty sandwiches, at the very least. When they lift a cooler loaded with a pair of kidneys from a group of gangsters things get dangerous, bloody, and downright hilarious for our no-good heroes. Check out why Paul digs this riotous blend of Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino.

[powerpress]

Camino (2017) 4 out of 5 stars

Director: Justin Herring

Writers: John Patrick Hughes & Justin Herring

Cast: Matthew James, Cody Michael Davids, Bonnie Gayle, Simon Phillips, Reynolds Washam, and D.B. Stewart

Joining the Grue-Crew this week for the in-depth review of Darren Aronofsky's Mother! is the one-and-only Caitlin Turner, the JLaw to Thomas' Bardem. Theories and interceptions abound as the Crew and guest alike try to decipher what the hell Mr. Aronofsky was really trying to tell his audience. Woof! Doc steps in for Dave with Horror News of the Week starting off with the loss of two iconic horror greats: the terrific character actor Harry Dean Stanton of Alien fame and the indelible Famous Monster artist Basil Gogos. Closing out the show Thomas has a few announcements about Stump the Saint.

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 | The Black Saint | Thomas Mariani. Also, like us on Facebook and join the Horror News Radio Facebook Group.

Horror News Radio Episode 233 – Mother! ( 2017) Subscribe – iTunes – Facebook – Stitcher

1. RIP Harry Dean Stanton
2. RIP Basil Gogos
3. Jamie Lee Curtis returning to Halloween for Blumhouse
4. Pic released of Dave Harbour as new Hellboy, Reboot Gets January 2019 Release
5. John Landis says Max Landis should not remake An American Werewolf in London

• Mother! (2017)
• director: Darren Aronofsky
• cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Brian Gleeson, and Domhnall Gleeson

• Convention and Film Festival Appearances
  • Wreak Havoc (Greensboro, NC, Sept 22-23)
  • Santos will once again be involved with the New York City Horror Film Festival (NYC October, 26-29)

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

• Jeff L., Angel G., Jay P., Nick S., and Stephen D. all have great things to share about HNR and the Grue-Crew.
• 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

• Friend Request
• Kingsman: The Golden Circle

"I see dead people." - Cole (Haley Joel Osment) reveals his secret to Dr. Malcolm (Bruce Willis) in the line that launched a thousand pop culture references. M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense was a phenomenon upon release in August of 1999. It made M. Night the new talk of Hollywood, being nominated for multiple Oscars and giving the twist ending a whole new revitalized image. However, as M. Night's career has gone through a real roller coaster experience over the past near 20 years, one wonders how well this film holds up. Luckily, Decades of Horror 1990s is here to investigate if The Sixth Sense still packs a punch or if there's a twist in it's legacy.

Decades of Horror 1990s Episode 24 – The Sixth Sense (1999)

Th Sixth Sense is mainly remembered for the influential twist. Obviously, it took the world by storm and has been parodied countless times. Yet, there's more going on here. The central theme of lacking communication plagues all our characters. Malcolm's wife Anna (Olivia Williams) is distant from him. Cole has to struggle with hiding his secret from his overworked mother Lynn (Toni Collette). Even the ghosts are unable to properly communicate with anyone other than Cole, who is at the short end of their confused and sometimes violent outbursts that scare the hell out of them. It's a subtle yet beautiful examination of regret, loss and connection that resonates between these characters, proving that horror can make us cry genuine tears of sadness in between fits of terror.

Well, at least for some of us. For this episode, Thomas Mariani enlists the help of a few others who can communicate with the undead, Doc Rotten and Caitlin Turner. Our trio harmoniously agrees that drama at the heart of The Sixth Sense is still palpable. Praise is spread for the entire cast, though Toni Collette gets the lion's share of the praise for grounding Haley Joel Osment from becoming a full-blown M. Night parody of a character we're used to. However, there's plenty of debate as to whether the ghosts are malicious and how much the film leans on the twist to support its storytelling. It's a... "spirited" discussion to say the least. Plus, there's a big announcement about a major change in the podcast to stay tuned for!

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 1990s podcast hosts at [email protected] or tweet Thomas @NotTheWhosTommy. Also, make sure to give us some love via iTunes reviews and ratings. Helps us get more notice along the way.

The intro and outro is "Suck City" by Black Math. Look for more of their music via Free Music Archive.

A Big Change! Listen to Find Out!

The vampy vixen Vanessa returns with another wacky review. Up this episode is the supernatural superhero epic Demon Hunter (2017). Niamh Hogan, Alan Talbot, Kevin O'Malley, Nic Furlong, Sarah Tapes Jenkinson, and Margarita Grillis star in writer-director Zoe Kavanagh's latest feature. Vanessa gives us a rundown of the plot, her opinion of the film, her score, and her favorite scene. Could this be the supernatural heroic adventure we've all been waiting for...?

Popcorn Frights Film Festival featured the Florida premiere of postpartum-themed chiller Still/Born on August 16, and Gruesome Magazine's Joseph Perry checks in with his thoughts on the film. Director/co-writer Brandon Christensen's psychological horror film stars Christie Burke as Mary, a new mother, and Jesse Moss as her husband Jack. The couple is the proud parents of a boy, but the baby's twin was stillborn. Mary becomes suspicious that the non-surviving baby is making its presence known in the house.

Jazzy Jeff Mohr returns to review another Sci-Fi joint. This go-around, the movie is Beyond the Trek (2017), a confusing retitling of a film previously known as Teleios. Director Ian Truitner guides the cast, which includes Sunny Mabrey (Snakes on a Plane, Species 3), Michael Nouri (The Hidden, TV's "Damages"), and Lance Broadway (Olympus Has Fallen), through a space adventure filled with genetically enhanced humans, snazzy space sets, and a WTF plot that keeps you guessing. But the film may be undone by "ill-fitting pieces of apparel' - uh, oh.

Beyond the Trek (Teleios, 2017) 1.5 out of 5

Beam up one of the most exciting science-fiction adventures of the month, Beyond the Trek available September 5 from Screen Media.

Winner of at least nine major film awards including Best Feature Films at the Los Angeles Movie Awards and Best Sci-Fi Feature at the New York Science Fiction Film Festival, Beyond the Trek is "Visually stunning and thematically engrossing..." (Indie Horror) and is "Reminiscent of an episode of Star Trek or 2001: A Space Odyssey...you feel completely immersed in this futuristic world" (Tai Freligh, Flickering Myth).

Five genetically engineered "perfect" humans are sent on a rescue mission to Titan, where only one man has survived a ruined expedition to retrieve a vital cargo. Under the stress of isolation in outer space, the five perfect humans begin to exhibit formerly-concealed character flaws that threaten to tear the mission (and their chances for survival) apart.

Sunny Mabrey (Snakes on a Plane, Species 3), Michael Nouri (The Hidden, TV's "Damages"), and Lance Broadway (Olympus Has Fallen) star in an Ian Truitner film, available on VOD and DVD (exclusively from Walmart) September 5.

Says director Ian Truitner, "Beyond the Trek reflects back to classic Sci-Fi in its aim to challenge how we see the world and ourselves. It's not the frantic spectacle of special effects extravaganzas made by huge studios, rather we aimed to draw audiences in with suspense, multidimensional characters, and thought-provoking themes. After a successful festival run that saw the film screen for Sci-Fi fans around the world, Beyond the Trek is now available to everyone!"

Studio: Screen Media Director: Ian Truitner Cast: Sunny Mabrey, Michael Nouri

"Rabbits aren't your bag, Roy." It's pretty safe to say rabbits aren't anyone's bag in Night of the Lepus, especially the pseudo-savage, overgrown, mutant versions in this film. The Black Saint was unable to join us for this episode and Doc Rotten is still on hiatus, diligently working on the next issues of the Gruesome Magazine quarterly print and electronic editions. Sometimes, you just can't do everything you want to do, can you, guys? In the interim, your regular host, Jeff Mohr, is joined by the capable and knowledgeable Bill Mulligan, film director, and Chad Hunt, comic book artist/writer and co-host of Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast. Join them as they weave their way through the killer rabbits of Night of the Lepus.

Decades of Horror 1970s Episode 59 – Night of the Lepus (1972)

Night of the Lepus is director William F. Claxton's only entry in the horror film. Most of his experience is in the western genre, so it's no surprise that most of the cast are frequent performers in westerns. Highly recognizable leads and supporting cast are played by Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, Stuart Whitman, DeForest Kelley, and Paul Fix, who all give it the old college try, but they don't have much with which to work.

The screenplay is written by Don Holliday and Gene R. Kearney and is based on The Year of the Angry Rabbit (1964), an Australian, comic/horror/science fiction novel by Russell Braddon. Though the plot is outrageous, the novel is appreciated for its comic shadings. In Night of the Lepus, however, the filmmakers forsake any attempt at humor and go straight for outright horror, a fatal mistake. Unfortunately, no matter how ominous the script or intense the acting, the special effects are not up to the task of inciting horror from domestic rabbits performing on miniature sets.

Despite its flaws, Night of the Lepus still holds a special place in the hearts of the members of your faithful Grue Crew. Jeff Mohr has on an ongoing bromance with Rory Calhoun. Though he agrees it is a terrible film, Bill Mulligan professes a love for many of the images in Night of the Lepus and uses them in his party videos. Now there's a party we'd love to attend! Chad Hunt, well, Chad Hunt can't figure out why, but when he's channel surfing and runs across Night of the Lepus, he can't keep from pausing to watch the proverbial trainwreck.

We want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at [email protected] or [email protected].

Paul Cardullo returns with another Groovy Gory Gruesome Gold entry that should not be missed. Doc Rotten and Paul Cardullo ventured to the RetroFantasma event recently at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, North Caroline to catch a Sci-Fi classic double feature, the epic Forbidden Planet (1956) and the film Paul reviews here and now, The Green Slime (1968). Paul shares his views on the ups and downs of this z-grade classic that should not be missed with a theme song that will stay with you forever. Check out his review below.

The Grue-Crew welcomes Rafe Telsch to the fold to review Darren Aronofsky's latest cinematic wonder Mother! (2017). The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfieffer. Rafe confirms that if you are an Aronofsky fan, you will want to see Mother!; however, he warns the film goes a bit insane for its third act. Having just seen it prior to recording his review, Rafe suggests that his rating of the film could either climb a point or drop a point as he continues to digest the film itself. It seems Aronofsky has delivered a divisive but thought-provoking masterpiece. Check out Rafe's review below.

Jeff Mohr reviews the Sci-Fi epic Anti-Matter (2017) from director Kier Burrows which is described as a noir sci-fi version of Alice in Wonderland. Check out Jeff's review to see if he agrees. The film stars Yaiza Figueroa, Philippa Carson, Tom Barber-Duffy, Noah Maxwell Clarke.

Anti-Matter (2017) 4 out of 5 stars

Writer-director Keir Burrow's critically acclaimed sci-fi masterpiece "Anti Matter" hits theaters and VOD this September from Uncork'd Entertainment.

Experience "art-house psychological horror at its finest" (MovieCrypt.com) in a "stylish and intriguing" (Shadows on the Wall) take on "Alice in Wonderland".

Ana, an Oxford Ph.D. student finds herself unable to build new memories following an experiment to generate and travel through a wormhole. The story follows her increasingly desperate efforts to understand what happened and to find out who – or what - is behind the rising horror in her life.

Featuring a cast "anchored by a strong performance from Yaiza Figueroa" (Eye for Film), "Anti Matter" is a "taut thriller that should appeal to both hard sci-fi fans and those who don't know their wormholes from their warp drives" (One Room With a View).

"Anti Matter" in select theaters and VOD September 8.