Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio

"Maybe you two kids are on a trip or something. I don't know and I don't care." Sheriff Jones (Richard Webb) has little patience for Bobby Hartford (Robert Walker Jr) and Lisa Clark (Gwynne Gilford) as they describe being attacked by a monstrous man-eating blob in Beware! The Blob (1972). Jeff Mohr, Chad Hunt, and Bill Mulligan are ready to pounce on Doc Rotten for suggesting this disastrous "treat" of a goofy horror film from director Larry Hagman - yeah, J.R. Ewing from the Dallas TV show (and Major Anthony Nelson from I Dream of Jeanie decades earlier). Oh, boy, this is going to get ripe.

Decades of Horror 1970s Episode 63 – Beware! the Blob (1972)

On a minuscule $150,000 budget shot almost entirely using friends and neighbors, Larry Hagman and Anthony Harris would craft a horror comedy sequel to Jack Harris' 50's monster movie classic The Blob (1958). Sadly, Beware! The Blob comes nowhere near as iconic or thrilling (or professional) as the film that inspired it. The supporting cast would include a who's who of TV actors of the Sixties and Seventies: Godfrey Cambridge, Richard Stahl, Carol Lynley, Marlene Clark, Gerrit Graham, Dick Van Patten, Del Close, Cindy Williams, Tiger Joe Marsh, and Burgess Meredith. While most everything about the film is subpar, on a curiosity level, the film is mildly entertaining. Beware this movie!

"It's loose again eating everyone!" - the poster tagline promises far more than the film delivers.

Being good spirits, the Grue-crew desperately try to find good things about the film. Mostly, they get distracted by all the cameos. The dialog, rumored to be mostly improvised, has the crew plugging their ears instead of covering their eyes. Still, there are some silly moments that give the film some gas but the effects are shotty and the direction is...worse. It is not difficult to see that this is Larry Hagman's sole cinematic directorial effort. Bill Mulligan wins the trivia award of the week for pointing out that Del Close, who has a cameo in this picture, is featured prominently in the 1988 remake from Chuck Russell. Go, team!

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].

Paul Cardullo returns with another review from the incredible George A. Romero Between Night and Dawn collection. This time around the film under Paul's microscope is the underappreciated The Crazies (1973). Taking a script called "The Mad People" (by Paul McCollough), Romero swaps out ghouls with townspeople infected by a biological weapon making them turn "crazy." Romero's version of the script focuses more on the military occupation of the towns under quarantine giving the film some of its iconic men-in-white-biohazard-suits visuals. Bill Hinzman, the "cemetery zombie" in Night of the Living Dead, is the film's cinematographer. Paul admits it may not be his favorite Romero film but praises the film's central themes and ideas. Check out Paul's review below.

Playing at the Screamfest Film Festival this past October and the Atlanta Horror Film Festival, Ruin Me (2017) took home the "Best Feature Film" award at the latter event. Doc Rotten takes a seat to take a look at what all the buzz is about and confirms that Atlanta got this one right. Ruin Me from director Prestin DeFrancis and written by Trysta A. Bissett & Preston DeFrancis is an undeniable treat for all horror fans. It features an extreme sleep over campaign called Slasher Sleepout, an unreliable narrator, and a possible escaped convict picking off our cast one-by-one - serious, what is not to love! The film also has a great cast with Marcienne Dwyer in the lead supported by Matt Dellapina, Chris Hill, Eva Hamilton, John Odom, Cameron Gordon, and Sam Ashdown. Doc is excited to give this his seal of approval, check out the review to find out why.

Justice League lands with a 93 Million dollar thud. But the Grue-Crew find plenty to enjoy with the League while questioning some of the forced humor, vanishing mustaches, and the (yet again) terrible villain. What is happening with the superhero films? Dave Dreher is here to provide some news about George Romero's rare cut of NOTLD, Steven Soderbergh's new horror film, and The Rock's adventures in the Rampage game-to-movie adaptation. Also, Doc and Thomas share their misadventures with a Patreon Livestream Q&A.

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.

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• The Rock vs... Mighty Joe Young(?) in the trailer for Rampage (2018)
• Steven Soderbergh announces his iPhone shot horror film Unsane (2018)
• NBCUniversal slashes the Chiller Network
• John Krasinski takes us to The Quiet Place (2018) with a new trailer
• Criterion is releasing a killer BluRay of Romero's never-before-seen cut of Night of the Living Dead

• Justice League (2017)
• director: Zack Snyder w/ Joss Whedon and Chris Terrio
• cast: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons, Joe Morton, Ciaran Hinds, Amber Heard

• CONTEST: Comet TV Teen Wolf Swag Bag Giveaway
  • Email "Favorite Werewolf Film" to [email protected] w/ "Comet TV" in the subject line by Midnight, November 26, 2017.

• 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

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"Have a potato." So said Horace Femm (Ernest Thesiger), one of our hosts as we all sat down to dinner. Join this episode's Grue Crew as we seek shelter from the storm in The Old Dark House (1932). It seemed like a swell idea at the time. Erin Miskell was not able to join us on this one, so Chad Hunt, Joseph Perry, and Jeff Mohr had to do all the heavy lifting themselves. (They all shouted in their best impersonation of Joey Starrett in Shane,"Come back, Erin!")

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 22 – The Old Dark House (1932)

The story of The Old Dark House begins with five weary travelers caught between avalanches on a stormy night and searching for a place to spend the night. The first to arrive are the Wavertons - Philip (Raymond Massey) and Margaret (Gloria Stuart) - and their travel companion, a light-hearted chap named Penderel (Melvyn Douglas). They are joined a short time later by Sir William Porterhouse (Charles Laughton) and his travel companion Gladys (Lilian Bond). Both groups of travelers are greeted at the door by Morgan (Boris Karloff), the owners' mute and intimidating butler. They are soon joined by Horace Femm (Ernest Thesiger) and his sister Emma (Eva Moore). Eventually, the Femms' guests learn of the third Femm sibling, the insane and dangerous Saul (Brember Wills), and meet his 102-year-old, bedridden father, Sir Roderick Femm (Elspeth Dudgeon). Many high jinx ensue in tandem with seriously dreadful and life threatening encounters.

The second of director James Whale's four entries in the Universal horror pantheon, The Old Dark House is rife with the director's signature shadow play, comedic overtones, and attention to detail. The entire film takes place during the clichéd dark and stormy night lit only by flickering candlelight, oil lamplight, and fireplace flame, but cinematographer Arthur Edeson still delivers clear but menacing depictions of the the goings-on in The Old Dark House. Boris Karloff receives star billing in contrast to his "hidden" credit in Frankenstein (1931), but still is not given a single line of dialogue to utter.

Chad and Jeff (he does go on) enthusiastically recommend repeated viewings of The Old Dark House. Joseph also recommends the film and promises repeated viewings in the future.

We plan to release a new episode every other week. The next episode in our very flexible schedule is The Ship of Monsters (1960) aka La Nave de los Monstruos, selected and hosted by Joseph Perry.

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!"

Vanessa straps in to tackle an action thriller from director Steven LaMorte called Never Leave Alive (2017). The film expands on the "most dangerous game" themes where characters Rick (John Hennigan) and Anna (Michelle Taylor) find themselves being hunted by the villainous Zaroff (Eric Eterbari). Vanessa shares the humor in the script from J. Amanda Sabater tends to undermine the suspense from the action but that Hennigan delivers and that Eterbari is a gem.

"Who the hell is going to believe a ritual sacrificial murder in 1982?!" Sgt Powell (Richard Roundtree) asking the question on everyone's mind. Yet - in a film with a flying lizard creature, cop drama and an interpersonal struggle of an ex-junkie - a ritual sacrifice is the bottom barrel in the list of weird crap in Q The Winged Serpent. Our Patreon picked episode! Do we owe our friends a skyscraper roof sunbathing session? Or are we hoping they get covered in Q poop? Listen to find out!

Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 124 – Q The Winged Serpent (1982)

Q The Winged Serpent is a hodgepodge of so many film tropes. There's the giant flying monster eating people, which is one we're all more than familiar with. Leading to a buddy cop drama where Sgt. Powell and his partner Detective Sheppard (David Carradine) investigate the string of ritual sacrificial murders in the wake of this creature. Meanwhile, an ex-junkie turned thief (Michael Moriarty) becomes seduced by the power of the titular bird and holds leverage over the city while arguing with his girlfriend (Candy Clark). Needless to say, it's all over the place.

To decipher all the plots, Christopher G. Moore, Thomas Mariani and Doc Rotten sit down to discuss Q The Winged Serpent in detail. Christopher is baffled by Michael Moriarty's crazed performance. Thomas praises the barrage of influences that crafted a pretty unique package. Doc really wants to know what happened to all the Q poop. Regardless, they're all very happy that the folks at Patreon gave them an interesting film to discuss. After all, how many monster flicks have improvised jazz piano? Exactly!

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 Shining (1980)

Paul Cardullo sits down with Doc Rotten to review one of the unsung classics found in the George A. Romero collection from Arrow Video, Between Night and Dawn. The film is Season of the Witch (1972) originally called Jack's Wife and released under the title Hungry Wives. Paul shares the strange and unusual history of Romero's "witchcraft" offering. He praises actress Jan White who plays the lead and encourages horror fans - especially Romero fans - to hold out until the third act which pays off this early Romero film. Check out the review for more.

Talented actor Nicholas Vince, who played The Chatterer Cenobite in Clive Barker's Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II and Kinski in Barker's Nightbreed, makes his horror short writing and directorial debut with The Night Whispered. This short will remind viewers of classic supernatural tales, perhaps ones that they read or viewed in their younger years or even today. Check out Joseph's full audio review below, and then rent or buy The Night Whispered at http://www.nicholasvince.com/the-night-whispered!

Doc Rotten dives into another film from the fantastic Cinepocalypse Film Festival held in Chicago from November 2nd through the 9th. Downrange (2017) proves to be a gripping thriller from director Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus, Godzilla: Final Wars, The Midnight Meat Train) featuring Kelly Connaire, Stephanie Pearson, and Rod Hernandez. The plot is extremely minimalistic with a group of friends stranded on an isolated stretch of rural country road with no cell reception. Soon, they discover that a sniper is in the trees nearby taking them out one by one, toying with them as the day creeps into night. The premise is wrought with tension but the current real-life environment makes this a difficult film to watch with a sense of entertainment which is unfortunate for the filmmakers. But, it is also too hard to ignore. The film is either a few years too late or a few years too early to make the most of the story. The movie itself has its own troubles as the conclusion robs much of the film of its tension. However, the acting from leads Kelly Connaire and Stephanie Pearson is the film's strongest asset.