Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio

Arguably the start of the Universal Monster craze, Dracula released in 1931 stars Bela Lugosi as Bram Stoker’s lead vampire, Dracula. Tod Browning directs the first vampire film with Dracula in the title, a film that frightened audiences with its initial release. Dracula begins the Golden Age of Horror podcast with hosts Dave Dreher and Doc Rotten as they cover the films from the beginning of the horror genre.

Originally set to be a reunion for director Tod Browning and star Lon Chaney, Sr., Dracula is a film that started as a monumental epic from Universal producer Carl Laemmle, Jr. Sadly, Chaney succumbs to throat cancer before filming can begin and is replaced by the stage actor who played the title role on Broadway, Bela Lugosi. Edward Van Sloan signs on to play Van Helsing and David Manners is given the role of John Harker with Helen Chandler as Mina and Frances Dade as Lucy. Dwight Frye makes a lasting impression as Renfield driven mad by Dracula’s influence, eating flies, bugs and rats. His laugh alone is chilling. But it is Lugosi who owns the film and sets the film firmly into the halls of horror history.

Dave Dreher, the lead news writer for HorrorNews.Net, is joined by Doc Rotten from Monster Movie Podcast and the American Horror Story Fan podcast to begin a journey through the origins of terror cinema, the Golden Age of Horror. Starting off by concentrating on the Universal Films, the podcast will stretch out to cover other films of the 20s through the 50s such as The Fly, King Kong, The Uninvited, The Thing from Another World and House of Wax and many, many more. Both co-hosts are huge fans of the early films of the genre having watched the films when they were children in the age when Shock Theater was on weekend television, usually paired with a horror host and are both contributors to HorrorNews.Net and other online horror outlets.

Be sure to contact us with any questions, suggestions or reaction. Let us know what your favorite Universal Horror film is and what films you want the Golden Age of Horror to cover in future episodes. What is your most cherished memory with these classic films? What was the first Horror Film you watched? Or send us photos of your coolest horror collectible or memorabilia. As always, thanks for listening and welcome to the show.

A very special thanks to Midnight Syndicate for allowing us to user their song “It’s Lives!” from their spectacular CD, The Monsters of Legend. It’s the perfect soundtrack for the life of any horror film fan, with 21 terrifying tracks. Check out the details at MidnightSyndicate.com – they even have a limited collector’s edition 12″ vinyl cut of it. You’ll love it!

Dave Dreher: facebook drehershouseofhorrors, twitter @savinifan- [email protected] Rotten: facebook DoctorRotten, twitter @doc_rotten, letterboxd DocRotten- [email protected]

Join us this week as we face down a trio of horrifying Halloween masks: The Witch, The Skull and The Pumpkin. That’s right! It’s the infamous Michael-Myers-less Halloween sequel, Halloween III Season of the Witch from director Tommy Lee Wallace featuring Tom Adkins.

“The Night No One Comes Home!”

Special guest host, Ormon Grimsby returns to the Monster Movie Podcast bringing with him one of his beloved favorites from the 1980′s. He also drops some mask knowledge about Don Post and some little hidden nuggets found in the film like actor Dick Warlock and Jamie Lee Curtis as a voice over actress. Speaking of the 1980′s, the Monster Movie Podcast is going to be featuring horror films and monster films from the Eighties all 2014 as the show becomes part of the Decades of Horror Podcast Network, beginning with this very episode. Let us know what your favorite monster from the decade is.

Halloween III Season of the Witch represents the perfect idea gone wrong. John Carpenter and Debra Hill decide to create a franchise where every Halloween a new horror film is released feature monsters and terror surrounding the beloved holiday: a new terrifying story each and every year, an annual event to delight horror fans across the globe. What the delivered, however, was a film drop into an existing franchise that featured a well-known, popular knife wielding maniac named Michael Myer. The film which was initially pans by critics and fans alike is now considered a cult classic and is loved by scores of horror fans who are able to look at it without the stigma of being a part of the Halloween franchise. Doc Rotten and Ormon Grimsby take a fresh look at the film attempting to review the film on its own merits.

We want to hear from you, our valued listeners: click on the Send Voicemail link on the DocRotten.com site and leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Monster Movie Podcast at [email protected].

Welcome to The American Horror Story Fan Podcast: Coven. This week, co-hosts Doc Rotten and Thomas Mariani provide a spoiler filled review of American Horror Story: Coven episode 11 starring Jessica Lange, Taissa Farmiga, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Evan Peters, Denis O’Hare and Emma Roberts. The eleventh episode of Coven is titled “Protect the Coven” which spotlights the return of Delphine and her perverse fascination with blood. In addition we are treated with the awesome Jazz hits of the Axeman! Sweet!

The show starts off with the shocking return of Queenie and Delphine – at the funeral of Nan who was murdered last week. Delphine plots her revenge on Marie with the help of the ghostly Spalding, but with a twist. Bwah hah hah. Maria however is joining Fiona and the Axeman in destroying the Delphi group in a bloody, violent mess. It’s another great episode of American Horror Story: Coven.

After the recap, Thomas provides his Crazy Moment of the Week and Doc shares his Outrageous Theory of the Week. Out of all the nutty things that show creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk could possibly shove into a single episode, what could Thomas possibly settle upon? And what theory could possibly come out of Doc’s warped mind to shed any light into the Coven’s bewitching voodoo ways? Listen to the podcast and find out.

We also want to hear from you! The American Horror Story Fan Podcast is designed with the fan in mind and listener feedback is encouraged. That’s right, we want to hear from you! To help you out, we have a Speakpipe account set up for you to leave your Voice Messages. Click on this link and leave Doc and Thomas your thoughts. What are your theories? What was the craziest moment of the show? Who’s your favorite character? Which character do you despise the most? The service is free and no number is required, all you need is a PC and mic.