In this episode we delve into the "Toxic Avenger" franchise. There are five movies-- including this year's reboot starring Peter Dinklage ("Game of Thrones"), Kevin Bacon, Elijah Woods and a host of other famous faces. 

Toxic Avenger (affectionately known as "Toxie") is the brain child of Lloyd Kaufman. His company, Troma Entertainment, is the longest running independent film studio in existence. Besides "Toxic Avenger", the studio is most famous for "Sargent Kubikiman NYPD", "Class of Nuke Em High" and their various sequels. 

"Toxic Avenger" was not a success when it was first released in 1984. However midnight showings at Blecker Street Cinemas and word of mouth soon turned it into a cult classic. Toxie is a satirical take on superhero movies. He battles bad guys and protects the innocent in Tromaville, NJ (the toxic chemical capital of the world).

These movies are not for everyone. All were made on a shoe string budget and are ultra violent, very un-PC and feature excessive nudity, Their target demographic seems to be 13 year old boys.

I would suggest watching the first movie and the reboot. I would like to see more of this version of Toxie. Hopefully it will do well enough at the box office to justify a sequel. Forget the rest of the movies unless you're a die hard fan. Just a word of caution. The 80s (when the original came out) were different times so there is much here to offend younger viewers if you go in blind. 

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This episode of Horror Movie Franchises takes a deep dive into the "Witchboard" series — from the 1986 original, through two sequels, to the recent reboot. Movie plots, trivia, and how each film handles spirit boards and possession are covered. 

If you watch just one movie, make it the original. It has since become a cult classic largely due to Twaney Katean (as Linda) and the bromance between Jim and Brandon. Sadly, the rest (including this year's reboot) aren't that good. One reviewer refers to the franchise as "Witch Bored". That is both a funny and accurate description. 

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Ty West's "X" trilogy includes "X", it's prequel "Pearl", and it's sequel "MaXXXine". Each movie follows a different cinematic style:

Mia Goth is the standout of the series. I'll admit I didnt know much her before this. I had only seen her in the remake of "Suspiria". I really enjoyed her performance (especially in "Pearl"). It's a shame she didnt at least receive an Academy Award nomination for this character study. I look forward to seeing much more of her in future movies. 

Will there be other "X" movies? Ty West said he had an idea for a fourth but has since said he liked where the series ended. While I would like to see where else they could go, I'd glad someone in Hollywood knows when to end a story (vs beating a dead horse). 

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This episode covers the little known "The Prophecy" franchise. It's a five film series about a millennia-long war among angels. The first three movies star Christopher Walken. The last two were filmed back to back in Romania (and are really the same story). 

The first film was released theatrically in 1995 and has since become a cult classic. The other four were direct to video and have, for the most part, fallen out of the public conscience. 

If you like angel movies (such as "Legion", "Fallen", "Constantine", "Angel Heart" or "Warlock") give these a try. I would suggest the first (and possibly second) movies. The rest are not horrible but dont add much to the mythology.

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This episode surveys the vast screen history of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". There are some 120+ films ranging from the silent era through present day. Recurring themes include: the duality of man, the struggle between good and evil, civilized vs primitive, sexual repression, the constraints of society, etc.  These films are hard to distinguish from one another since many have the same title-- "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". 

The landmark versions are considered the 1920 silent movie (starring John Barrymore) and the 1931 black and white film (starring Frederic March). The role won March an Academy Award for Best Actor. This is highly unusual for a horror film. The only other actor to win an Oscar for Best Actor in a horror movie is Anthony Hopkins for "Silence Of The Lambs".  There's also a 1941 remake of the 1931 movie starring Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner. It definitely has a powerhouse cast but it just didnt have the depth of the earlier movie IMHO. 

Other notable interpretations include: 1968's "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" (a TV movie starring Jack Palance), 1971's "Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde", 1971's "I, Monster" (starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing), 1990's "Jekyll and Hyde" (a TV movie starring Michael Caine and Cheryl Ladd), a 2007 BBC miniseries called "Jekyll" (starring James Nesbitt) and 2023's "Doctor Jekyll" (starring Eddie Izzard).

We've got comedies, musicals, cartoons, parodies, versions where Dr Jekyll turns into a woman--you name it. And I didnt even include the shows where Jekyll/Hyde appear as ensemble characters such as "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman". We also have modern interpretations of this story that, while they dont feature Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, they're the same basic premise such as "The Nutty Professor" (both Jerry Lewis and Eddie Murphy adaptations), "The Hulk", etc. I'm sure Stevenson had no idea how many different forms his story about a man struggling with his inner demons would take. 

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This week we're doing something slightly different. We're talking about "wax museum" movies. "Wax museum" films are an interesting subgenre of horror. If you're like me, you have a hard time keeping track of which movie is which due to all the similar plots and titles. This is my attempt at sorting them out. 

The first such movie is the 1914 French silent film "The Man with the Wax Faces". Next is 1924 German silent anthology "Waxworks". Then the first entry in the "House of Wax" trilogy-- 1933's "Mystery of the Wax Museum". It was remade 20 years later as "House of Wax"-- starring Vincent Price. The 3rd entry is a slasher by the same name. It features Paris Hilton in her film debut. And lastly is an unofficial Italian giallo entry from 1996 called "Wax Mask". The story is by Dario Argento and screenplay by Lucio Fulci. He began as director but unfortunately passed away before the film's completion. 

There are a number of other "wax museum" movies besides these. Most are standalones. These movies typically follow one of three horror tropes: 1. Someone bets someone they wont stay overnight alone in a wax museum; 2. Some crazy sculptor/artist is killing people and turning them into wax figures; or 3. Wax statues are coming to life and attacking people. 

Is there a future for wax museum movies or are they part of a bygone era? None have been released recently. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments. Also check out @VintageHorrorMovies here for a more in-depth review of the earliest wax museum movies. 

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This episode (which originally aired in 10/19) has been re-recorded. The newest movie has been added and it has been edited for time (including removing some of the trivia and the recipe). 

This week we take a look at one of the largest but somewhat lesser known franchises. "HellRaiser" has 11 movies total as well and a number of related books, comic books, documentaries, short stories, etc.

When the first "HellRaiser" movie was released back in 1986, there wasnt anything like it. S&M demons from Hell, lead by the iconic Pinhead, torture anyone who opens a mysterious puzzle box. I wanted to learn more. Despite the decline in quality of later movies (5-10 were released direct to home video) the franchise still has lots to offer. 

Due to the success of the series reboot (in 2022) a sequel is supposedly in the works. I hope so. I think there's a lot more they can do with this franchise (as long as Clive Barker is involved). We need to learn more about Levithan and the other Cenobites (as well as all the people they've tortured through the centuries). 

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This episode originally aired way back in 8/19. I have re-recorded to add the newest film entry as well as editing for time (including removing some trivia and the recipe). 

This week we review the "Omen" franchise. There are five original films (the latest is 2024's "The First Omen"), a 2006 remake, a failed TV pilot and a TV series that ran for one season on A&E. The original "Omen" from 1976 holds up surprisingly well after some 45 years. Just dont expect jump scares every five minutes. This movie focuses more on story telling but still has some excellent special effects.  

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Last week we talked about the Spanish "Blind Dead" zombie franchise. This time we're diving into the Italian franchise "Zombi".

This franchise is one of the most confusing due to it's differing titles. Back in the day some marketers, film studios, etc would title movies a sequel to a more popular film (in order to cash in on it's popularity). Also, to make it even more confusing, movies might be released under different names in each country. Thus is the case with this franchise. 

George A Romero's "Dawn Of The Dead" was released as just "Zombi" in Europe. Lucio Fulci's zombie movie was then released as "Zombi 2". Fulci has said himself that his movie is not a sequel to anything. Then the next movie (which Fulci had to bow out of due to health reasons) was released as "Zombi 3". 

In the US "Zombi 2" was released as just "Zombie". Then the next film is "Zombi 3". In the UK the films were released as "Zombi Flesh Eaters" and additional unrelated films were added. In Australia there were 8+ unrelated films in the franchise (including one of the "Blind Dead" movies we talked about last week). Way too confusing!

Fulci's zombies are different in that they arise from the voodoo traditions of Haiti and the Caribbean. The zombie look here is possibly some of the best in the business (thanks to makeup artist Giannetti De Rossi). The rise of the 400 year old Spanish conquistador (complete with worms in his eye socket) is a standout.  

Other famous scenes include: 1. The eye gouging scene (definitely cringe inducing); 2. the zombie vs shark fight (yes it's real shark).

While "Zombi 2" is a classic, "Zombi 3" is really, really boring. Feel free to skip that one. Too bad we'll never know what it would have looked like had Fulci been able to complete it himself. 

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In this episode we're reviewing a lesser known Spanish zombie franchise. It's the four moves of the "Blind Dead". They were all written and directed by Amando del Ossorio. Each was released under several different titles so it's a bit of a challenge to find them. 

None of the stories are related except that each follows a group of zombies (Templar Knights that were killed for their devil worship and human sacrifices) as they terrorize the neighborhood.

These are not your typical zombies. They're more like a zombie/vampire hybrid. They rise each night from their graves to kill people and drink their blood. They look more like skeletal mummies in dirty monk robes. They like to hit people with their swords. They also really, really like to ride zombie horses (which always travel is SLOW MOTION). It's a good thing they have those horses. The zombies themselves are so slow, they'd never sneak up on anyone otherwise. 

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