Genre Grinder

ONCE UPON A TIME IN JAPAN, WARS RAGED, ANGRY SPIRITS STALKED THE COUNTRYSIDE, AND VILLAGERS HID FROM MURDEROUS YOKAI IN THE TALL REEDS…

Japanese cinema had an international breakthrough in the 1950s and '60s, fronted by a series of artful period pieces, known locally as jidaigeki. Many of these were supernatural folktales and ghost stories, called kaidan (or kwaidan). Join Gabe and returning guest Stefan Hammond as they discuss Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu (1953), Tokuzô Tanaka's Demon of Mount Oe (1960) and Snow Woman (1968), Kaneto Shindō's Onibaba (1964) and Kuroneko (1968), and, just for fun, Michio Yamamoto's Evil of Dracula (1974).

00:00 – Intro (a quick history of post-War Japan and regional ghost stories)

11:06 – Ugetsu

35:59 – Demon of Mount Oe

47:14 – Onibaba

1:04:46 – Kuroneko

1:20:58 – Snow Woman

1:38:09 – Evil of Dracula (and the rest of the Bloodthirsty Trilogy)

1:52:16 – Outro and other recommendations

WHAT'S THE ONLY THING SCARIER THAN GOING TO SCHOOL? LIVING AT SCHOOL!

Whether they're haunted by ghosts, run by toxic malcontents, or invaded by Satanists, boarding schools have been a horror, thriller, and dark melodrama fixture for decades. Join Gabe and returning guest Chloe Waryan as they enroll in a variety of spooky academic institutions, including Carlos Enrique Taboada's Even the Wind is Afraid (Spanish: Hasta el viento tiene miedo, 1967/8), Anthony Page's Absolution (1978), Dario Argento's Phenomena (1985), Yun Jae-yeon's Wishing Stairs (2005), and Jenn Wexler's Sacrifice Game (2023).

00:00 – Intro

7:05 – Even the Wind is Afraid

30:43 – Absolution

51:00 – Phenomena

1:14:06 – Wishing Stairs

1:37:30 – Sacrifice Game

1:50:34 – Outro

Check out Chloe's blog, Chloe's Not Scared, and her podcast, Not Scared: A Horror Movie Podcast.

BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES AS WE TAKE A DIVE INTO THE MORE BUDGET-FRIENDLY VERSION OF THE DARK AND BRINY!!

Gabe and Patrick Ripoll are back with another look at the Deep Sea Sci-fi/Horror movies of the year 1989 (and 1990, if we're getting technical). We talked about three studio-backed productions in part one. Now, part two covers the four indie releases: Mary Ann Fisher's Lords of the Deep, Antonio Margheriti's Alien From the Deep (Italian: Alien degli abissi, aka: Alien from the Abyss), Jean-Claude Dubois & Wayne Crawford's The Evil Below, and Juan Piquer Simón's The Rift (Spanish: La grieta).

00:00 – Intro

3:24 – Lords of the Deep

34:51 – Alien from the Deep

1:01:09 – The Evil Below

1:22:11 – The Rift

1:43:32 – Outro

BENEATH THE WAVES ROILS A MURKY STEW OF KILLER ALIENS, MONSTROUS MUTANTS, PSYCHOTIC SOLDIERS, AND EVIL CORPORATIONS!!

Welcome to another of Genre Grinder's patented deep(sea)-dives into a single year in cinema when a specific genre fad peaked. This time, Gabe and Patrick Ripoll are looking at a strange moment in time, the year 1989, when seven different undersea sci-fi/horror/adventures were released*. How did this happen? Your intrepid podcasters will attempt to answer that and other questions in this very damp two-part special episode.

Part one covers the three studio releases: James Cameron's The Abyss, Sean S. Cunningham's DeepStar Six, and George P. Cosmatos' Leviathan. Part two will feature the B-to-Z-grade examples: Mary Ann Fisher's Lords of the Deep, Antonio Margheriti's Alien of the Deep (Italian: Alien degli abissi), Jean-Claude Dubois & Wayne Crawford's The Evil Below, and Juan Piquer Simón's The Rift (Spanish: La grieta).

* Technically six, but we'll get into that in part two.

00:00 – Intro: An Abridged History of Underwater Science Fiction and the Impact of Alien & Aliens

20:04 – The Abyss

1:07:53 – DeepStar Six

1:45:38 – Leviathan

2:17:44 – Outro

TWIN WARRIORS, MUSCLEBOUND BARBARIANS, UNDEAD HORDES, EVIL KINGS, ENSLAVED PEASANTS, MYSTICAL WARFARE, BLOODTHIRSTY GODS & PLAYBOY PLAYMATES…ALL ON A BUDGET!!

In the wake of John Milius' Conan the Barbarian (1982) and the dawn of home video's dominance in genre filmmaking spaces, independent studios kicked off a short-lived, but prolific series of B-to-Z grade sword & sorcery, fantasy, and barbarian movies. Join Gabe and returning guest Luana Saitta as we look at three films from the usual suspects: Roger Corman, the Italians, and The Cannon Group - specifically Jack Hill's The Sorceress (1982), Lucio Fulci's Conquest (1983), and Fritz Kiersch's Gor (1987).

00:00 – Intro

11:47 – The Sorceress

45:25 – Conquest

1:23:00 – Gor

1:48:53 – Outro

Check out Luana's Wild Weird Fiction Compendium at luanawriters.carrd.co or maybe pick up a few stories from New Edge Sword & Sorcery:

• Love's Red Blossom

• The Dream Quest of Well-known Kawtar

• Zeynep's Judgment

• Staku-ra's Hoard

Also, follow her on her podcast with Travis Kirkland, Defend Your Trash Movie

If you are in a position to make the world a better place, please consider the following fundraisers:

• Immigrant Defense Project

• Rewilding Europe

• Stand with Minnesota charities and gofundme's

• Gender Justice MN

WITNESS THE LIVES OF INTERESTING PEOPLE MADE MORE INTERESTING VIA SUBJECTIVE TRUTHS, PLASTIC AVATARS, UNRELIABLE NARRATORS, AND CG MONKEY-FICATION!!

Biopics: bland, formulaic, predictable. You've seen one, you've seen them all, right? Well, not every filmmaker is content to follow the blueprint. Join Gabe and returning guest Tyler Foster as they explore four examples of Unconventional Biopics that break the narrative and aesthetic rules of the genre. This month's titles include Alex Cox's Walker (1987), Todd Haynes' Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987), Nicolas Winding Refn's Bronson (2008), and Michael Gracey's Better Man (2024).

• 00:00 – Intro

• 10:14 – Walker

• 40:37 – Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story

• 1:01:38 – Bronson

• 1:22:01 – Better Man

• 1:43:07 – Outro

Check out Tyler's reviews of Lost in Space (1998), The Mask (1994), and Eva Man (1980).

If you are in a position to make the world a better place, please consider the following fundraisers:

• Immigrant Defense Project

• Stand with Minnesota charities and gofundmes

• Gender Justice MN

• Defend Frogtown (support vendors affected by ICE)

SPLIT PERSONALITIES! BURIED TRAUMA! DEMANDING CAREERS! SHITTY BOYFRIENDS! COLD-BLOODED MURDER! IT'S HARD OUT HERE FOR A WOMAN!!

We've already talked about the giallo movies released during the genre's peak year of 1971 with Patrick and covered several of the American films found in the pages of Kier-La Janisse's House of Psychotic Women with Bill, so why not join Gabe and first-time guest host Sharon Gissy for a look at the female-centric gialli also found in Janisse's autobiographical topography of female neurosis in horror and exploitation film?

This month's titles include Francesco Barilli's The Perfume of the Lady in Black (Italian: Il profumo della signora in nero, 1974), Carlos Aured's Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (Spanish: Spanish: Los ojos azules de la muñeca rota; aka: House of Psychotic Women, 1973, released in '74), Armando Crispino's Autopsy (Italian: Macchie solari, 1975), and Luigi Bazzoni's Footprints (Italian: Le orme, 1975).

Please note that the podcasting app I use mistakenly recorded Sharon's laptop's built-in microphone instead of the one she was using, so there are some muffling and static issues with her audio. I've done what I could to correct this, but be ready for some minor crackles, pops, and inconsistencies.

• 00:00 – Intro

• 7:58 – Perfume of the Lady in Black

• 32:08 – Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll

• 52:55 – Autopsy

• 1:17:44 – Footprints

• 1:47:39 – Outro, including the other giallo titles in Janisse's book

Visit the Mental Filmness website: https://mentalfilmness.com/

Check out Kier-La Janisse's House of Psychotic Women website: https://houseofpsychoticwomen.com/

Read Michael Mackenzie's essay Gender, Genre and Sociocultural Change in the Giallo: 1970-1975: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/4730/

Outro song: "Walking on the Moon" by Rabbit Junk

HERE'S EVERYTHING YOU MISSED IN THE LAST 25 YEARS!!

The gang is back together and we're talking about our top 5 (sometimes 10) underrated films released between the years 2000 and 2025 (don't give me that whole "2001 is the first year of the 21st century" spiel, alright, let it go). Join Gabe and Patrick Ripoll, along with call ins from previous Genre Grinder guests Jim Laczkowski, Luana Saitta, Chloe Waryan, Tyler Foster, Kristine Fisher, and 96 Greers co-host Barry Linn.

So get your watchlists ready and get in the comments or email me to tell me your top 5 underrated films of the first quarter of the 21st century (again, keep your opinions about what year was the first of the 21st century to yourself, just let me have this).

00:00 – Intro and Gabe & Patrick's first two

16:57 – Jim's list

25:17 – Gabe & Patrick's next two

36:15 – Luana's list

44:19 – Chloe's list

50:35 – Gabe & Patrick's next two

58:23 – Tyler's list (featuring Gabe)

1:30:35 – Gabe & Patrick's next two

1:43:03 – Barry's list

1:46:51 – Kristine's list

1:54:36 – Gabe & Patrick's last two and outro

You can find more of Patrick and Barry on the 96 Greers podcast!

You can find more from Jim at his Linktree! You can find Luana's story writing at the following links:

• Love's Red Blossom

• The Dream Quest of Well-known Kawtar

• Hedging Your Bets (part of Wyngraf Romance Special 2025)

• New Edge Sword & Sorcery 2025 (pre-order)

You can find more Chloe at the Chloe's Not Scared Substack!

You can find more or Tyler right here on the Genre Grinder Website!

You can join Kristine's Music League here!

I used a lot of music on this episode so here's a track list, though that might spoil some of the picks for some of you, so proceed with caution:

"Land of the Dead" by The Misfits

"Galaxies" by Laura Veirs

"Makin' Some Noise" by Tom Petty

"Schweden Schweden" by Ebba Grön

"Lagaan... Once Upon a Time in India" by A.R. Rahman & Anuradha Sriram

"Night Club Fight" by Fajar Yuskemal & Aria Prayogi

"Fish Story" by Kazuyoshi Saito

"Horizon Of Computation" by Morgan Coy

"Friends Come in All Sizes" by David Newman (feat. Robin Williams)

"Digital Versicolor" by Glass Candy

"Hail Halyx" performed by Shelly Regner, Roger Freeland, Jeff Hoeppner, Brendan McCreary, Selena Moshell, and Ryan Dean

YOU DIDN'T CUT YOUR CARBON EMISSIONS AND NOW WE'RE UP TO OUR EYEBALLS IN SMOG MONSTERS, MUTANT ISOPODS, AND VENGEFUL NATURE SPIRITS!! We've already covered natural disasters and killer animals on Genre Grinder, but what about some specifically man-made environmental horrors? Well, that's where Gabe and returning guest Justin Clark come in. After last month's epic seven-movie podcast, we're dialing things back to a more manageable three films, all from different countries and different decades. First up is the Toho kaiju classic, Yoshimitsu Banno and Teruyoshi Nakano's Godzilla vs. Hedorah (aka: Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, 1971), followed by Barry Levinson's eerie mockumentary The Bay (2012), and Lee Haven Jones' Welsh folkhorror film The Feast (Welsh: Gwleðð, 2021). 00:00 – Intro 4:09 – Godzilla vs. Hedorah 49:41 – The Bay 1:24:28 – The Feast 1:51:02 – Outro

WRIGGLING WORMS, CRAWLING BUGS, SLITHERING SNAKES, WITCHCRAFT, RITUALS, AND BODILY FLUIDS OF EVERY COLOR IMAGINABLE!! Once upon a time, three brothers named Shaw started a film studio in Hong Kong. That studio grew into a Southeast Asian powerhouse, building its reputation on wuxia, kung fu, period dramas, comedies, and, in the mid '70s, horror. The special Shaw brand of horror, defined by black magic rituals, wild visuals, and exploitation spectacle was, in part, spearheaded by two filmmakers – Ho Meng-Hua and Kuei Chih-Hung.

Join Gabe and special guest host Stefan Hammond, author of Sex & Zen and a Bullet in the Head (with Mike Wilkins, 1996), Hollywood East (2000), and More Sex, Better Zen, Faster Bullets (2020), as they explore the history of the studio and films of these two maverick directors. This is a particularly packed episode, covering Shaw's horror films in general, but focusing mostly on Ho's Black Magic (1975), Black Magic 2 (1976), and The Oily Maniac (1976), and Kuei's Killer Snakes (1974), Hex (1980), Bewitched (1981), and The Boxer's Omen (1983). 00:00 – Intro (a brief history of Shaw and Southeast Asian horror) 20:20 – Ho Meng-Hua, Black Magic, and Black Magic 2 53:52 – The Oily Maniac (and more Ho) 1:01:24 – Kuei Chih-Hung and The Killer Snakes 1:33:28 – Hex, Bewitched, and The Boxer's Omen (and more Kuei) 2:06:32 – Outro