Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio

"For all they've tried, the Mexicans haven't been able to destroy it," says the electronic voice of the Venusian's computer when describing Mexico in The Ship of Monsters (1960), aka La Nave de los Monstruos. Our very own Joseph Perry was so enamored with "Tiki Brain Guy" and Cyclops in Santo and Blue Demon Against the Monsters (Episode 19), he decided to take us back in time to 1960 to experience their earlier roles as Tagual and Uk, respectively. Ride along as this episode's Grue Crew - Joseph Perry, Chad Hunt, Jeff Mohr, and special guest host Kieran Fisher - take an interplanetary voyage on The Ship of Monsters!

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 23 – The Ship of Monsters (1960)

In The Ship of Monsters, the female population of Venus is in desperate need of men for the purposes of procreation and the survival of their race, To that end, the Venusians organize a mission whereby a rocketship and its crew will embark on a voyage to various planets to retrieve the best men from each and bring them back to repopulate Venus. The ship's crew, Gamma (Ana Bertha Lepe) and Beta (Lorena Velázquez), start their mission suitably clothed for space travel in their one-piece swimsuits.

By the time they get to Earth, they've acquired several male specimens: Tagual, Prince of Mars; Uk, a slobbering cyclops from the Red Planet; Utirr, a half-tick, half-spider creature with telescoping appendages from the fire planet; Zok, a sabre-toothed primate skeleton creature; and Tor, a robot from a barren planet whose population had long gone extinct. They are, indeed, a ship of monsters when they land on Earth and encounter the best male Earth has to offer, Lauriano (Eulalio González, aka Piporro), a tall-tale-telling cowboy with a decidedly comedic bent. Throw in an incognito vampire's plot to take over Earth and an interspecies love story or two and you have the ridiculous, but hilarious tale told in The Ship of Monsters.

This Mexican production is directed by Rogelio A. González and and the very smart script is written by José María Fernández Unsáin and Alfredo Varela. Don't let the cheap monster suits fool you! The filmmakers successfully skewer the alien invasion film genre as well as racism, colonialism, and a few other -isms in a way that will have you laughing out loud. The members of this episode's Grue Crew each give The Ship of Monsters a very strong thumbs up!

Listen and you'll be able to tell which of us made these comments regarding The Ship of Monsters:

• "I think that was maybe the underlying message for the film with all this weird interspecies shenanigans."
• "Beta, she's a naughty one."
• "You're asking how blown was your mind when you really thought about it? I tried not to really think about it because I kept throwing up in my mouth a little bit."
• "I've seen Humanoids of the Deep like a thousand times so I'm not bothered by that stuff any more."
• "They had me at, 'This is an atom.'"

We plan to release a new episode every other week. The next episode in our very flexible schedule is Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), selected and hosted by Jeff Mohr.

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!"

Gruesome's coverage of Blood in the Snow Film Festival continues with a fantasy, sci-fi thriller Darken (2017). Audrey Cummings directs from a script by RJ Lackie with a cast lead by Olunike Adeliyi, Paul Amos, and Rob Archer. In the story, Eve steps through a door into an alternate world where the denizens worship a woman named Mother Darken who hasn't been seen in many years. In her absence, Clarity rules with an iron fist. The film grows in interest as the mystery begins to unfold but the ambitious film's reach exceeds its grasp. The scope of the film feels better suited for an episodic television show than a single movie.

"Great party, isn't it?" The ghosts are all calling this party a big success. Congrats to Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) for being pull it off. Especially with his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) constantly nagging him about "please don't kill us." Pfft. Family, am I right? The Shining is a pretty big example of Stephen King adaptations, one commonly derided for not being too close to the book. Did Stanley Kubrick's lack of faithfulness stop it from being covered on the show? You're damn right it didn't!

Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 125 – The Shining (1980)

Based on the massive best seller from Stephen King, The Shining isn't too faithful to its source material. While the book heavily relies on knowing the madness behind Jack Torrance, Stanley Kubrick's film is more external. It shows the madness for what it is. Presenting the irrational haunts in a rational fashion. This dichotomy is what creates the conflicts of the Torrance family as they fall apart. The Shining isn't subtle, but the scares are just as big as Nicholson's wails of "DANNY!" Plus, Kubrick helped revolutionized the steadicam, creating smooth movements that revolutionized what cinema could be.

To celebrate all of this, Thomas, Doc Rotten and Christopher G. Moore attend the Overlook Hotel's July 4th Ball in the middle of winter. Now, some people on this crew admit they weren't huge fans of Kubrick's vision initially. Yet, it seems like there's a few converts to The Shining here. There's praise all around for Kubrick's direction, Nicholson's performance and the terrifying ghosts. However, there's also some crucial questions being asked. Could Chevy Chase have made a good Jack Torrance? Does Jack have "The Shine" like Danny? Wasn't Scatman Crothers also Hong Kong Phooey? All these and more are answered, folks!

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 Blob (1988)

Part fairy tale, part horror movie, The Gatehouse (2017) from director Martin Gooch delivers the goods. Scarlett Rayner, Simeon Willis, Linal Haft, Paul Freeman, Hannah Waddingham, Alix Wilton Regan, and Melissa Knatchbull star. Lead Rayner is exceptional, sucking you into her plights of dealing with the loss of her mom and facing the horrors of the forest nearby, including a fantastic practical effect creature. The gore is fun but the CGI is a little rough. Gooch provides a solid script as well. Well worth your time when you come across The Gatehouse.

Cody Calahan directs Let Her Out (2017) featuring Alanna LeVierge, Nina Kiri, and Adam Christie. The story finds Helen (LeVierge) discovering that she has a tumor that appears to be the byproduct of a "phantom twin" that was absorbed in utero. Part body horror, part supernatural, part "possession" story, Let Her Out provides plenty of cringe-worthy story and effects that will delight horror fans and Gruesome listeners. LeVierge is spectacular in the lead and Calahan steers the cast and crew through a promising tale of thrilling terror.

Doc Rotten reins in another found footage film for Gruesome Magazine, this time from our good friends a POV Horror and Found Footage Files. The film is called The Last Witch (2017) from director Carlos Almón Muñoz. Following a trio of friends investigating a local legend about a witch that was killed along with her entire cover but her body was never recovered. Since then, even now hundreds of years later, the rumors persist that she still haunts the local village. Feeling very much in the vein of Blair Witch Project, The Last Witch struggles to strike its own mark but involves its characters into the mythology far more than other similar films.

The Grue Crew needs some rubbing alcohol after Nails digged into them. Horror News Radio tackles this Irish horror film about a hospital bound woman (Shauna MacDonald of The Descent) haunted by a ghost. Thomas and guest Chad Hunt then celebrate the release of Coco, Pixar's latest film focused around Dia de Los Muertos and talking skeletons singing their rib cages out. Muy Bueno! Dave and Doc Rotten even manage to sneak in a few bites at Attack of the Killer Donuts! Before all of that though, Dave's got Horror News of the Week to unveil. Including stories about KISS teaming up with Ash to slay Deadites, Jason Voorhees hunting down Cheech & Chong and a new Children of the Corn film that we totally needed!

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 243 – Nails - Coco Subscribe – iTunes – Facebook – Stitcher

• KISS Meets Army of Darkness in comic book crossover
• Tom McLoughlin wanted Jason vs Cheech & Chong
• Blumhouse is about to make you 'Run For Your Life'
• John Gulager's Children of the Corn flick finally seeing the light of day
• The Walking Dead reveals their series crossover character

• Nails (2017)
• director: Dennis Bartok (w/ Tom Abrams)
• cast: Shauna Macdonald, Ross Noble, Leah McNamara, Richard Foster-King

• CONTEST: Comet TV Teen Wolf Swag Bag Giveaway
  • Winner: Ashley Kolpak
  • Teen Wolf, Wolfcop, American Werewolf in London, Howling, House of Frankenstein, Dog Soldiers

• Coco (2017)
• director: Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina
• cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt

• Patrons who donate as low as $1 have until November 29th to vote for the last Decades of Horror 1990s and Beyond episode on the Gruesome Magazine Patreon Page.
• 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

• Attack of the Killer Donuts (2017)
• director: Scott Wheeler
• cast: Justin Ray, Kassandra Voyagis, Michael Swan, C. Thomas Howell

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

"A ghost is me." Dr. Casares (Federico Luppi) finally comes to terms with what he has become. As we all must do when facing The Devil's Backbone. Following the infamous production problems of Mimic, writer/director Guillermo Del Toro left Hollywood for a moment to collect himself. The film spawned from this - The Devil's Backbone - is a fascinating look at isolation, loss and destitution as a group of orphans try to fight for their lives. All while a mysterious spectre lurks in the basement. Thomas and his co-hosts are here to taste test that weird fetus juice as they dive into Del Toro in honor of his upcoming film The Shape of Water.

Decades of Horror 1990s And Beyond Episode 31 – The Devil's Backbone (2001)

While considered an older sibling to Guillermo Del Toro's big Oscar nomination heavy splash Pan's Labyrinth, The Devil's Backbone often feels left alone in the dust. Much like young Carlos (Fernando Tielve) is at the orphanage of Dr. Casares and his wife Carmen (Marisa Paredes). Carlos often gets picked on by the other orphans, particularly as Jaimie (Inigo Garces) picks on him. He eventually starts seeing some mysterious shapes and shadows, only to find out that this orphanage is haunted by the ghost of a young boy named Santi (Junio Valverde). Is this ghost out to kill or to protect the children?

Well, Thomas and his guests Caitlin Turner, Adam Thomas and Christopher G. Moore are here to answer such a crucial question. The Devil's Backbone is discussed at length by these four. All of them wonder why it isn't as well appreciated as other Del Toro films. Christopher G. Moore dishes out some intriguing trivia. Caitlin appreciates the more female gaze perspective. Adam is still frozen with tension at that door scene. Thomas just wants to know why the hell that one lady trying putting out a gas fire with a blanket. All this and more is revealed as they dive directly into The Devil's Backbone.

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 And Beyond 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.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Indie horror icon Todd Sheets gets behind the camera once again to bring us an old school werewolf flick, Bonehill Road (2017). Proudly touting a CGI free film, Todd pays homage to the classic werewolf films of our youth and brings scream queen Linnea Quigley along to raise the decibel level. And a bloody pack of werewolves to satisfy every werewolf fan. Blood flows, teeth tear and hair sprouts in all its low budget indie spectacle. Join Dave as he harkens back to the good old days of straight-to-VHS horror gruesome greatness.

Straight from the Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival held November 23 through November 26, 2017, in Toronto comes the holiday gorrific gem Once Upon a Time at Christmas (2017). Doc shares his reactions with Jeff Mohr praising the structure, the jolly villains, and the super splendid splatter. Simon Phillips and Sayla de Goede (credited as Sayla Vee) makes an entertaining pair of murderous misfits dressed as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. The film gives holiday favorites Silent Night Deadly Night and Christmas Evil a run for the money. A favorite from the festival, Once Upon a Time a Christmas from director Paul Tanter arrives just in time for some gruesome holiday cheer.