Imported Horror

What's your favorite 90s monster quote? Does un-funny office horror work? Could you read from a screen without tongue tying yourself? Get down on Friday with us this week as we get wild with the popcorny Carnifex (Australia, 2022) on Tubi, shrug at the wasted potential of The Belko Experiment on Tubi and get creeped out over late night snacks with Milk on Shortverse. Also,  movies about bad dads and the wilderness are dropping this week and Melissa reminds us what George Romero called them instead of zombies.

What's more frightening: anticipation, or realization? Amorous zombies, or giant holes in the ground? We get weird this week with Japanese folk horror classic Onibaba (1964) on Max, ultra-Italian bizarro flick Cemetery Man (1994) on Shudder and the trippy Canadian short Deja Vu on Shortverse. Plus - what major Asian city has not been attacked by a giant monster?

Why is it always rainy after the end of the world? If a serial killer is incompetent, does that make him more or less scary? Why was Wer so meh? Discover the answers to these questions - and more! - as we chat about Into the Abyss (Argentina, 2022), a SciFi noire horror somewhere between Blade Runner and 28 Days Later, and Angst (Austria, 1983), a true crime-inspired story of brutal murder. Also, Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color (Japan, 2023) might be a gimmick but its a magnificent gimmick, one of the protagonists from Wer (Romania & USA, 2013) gives Jar Jar Binks a run for his money, and we mourn the absence and passing of co-host Melissa, who was comically murdered by Lucifer herself.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

"Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color and the rise of the de-colorized version," by Matt Schimkowitz for The AV Club

Would you defend a werewolf in a court of law, even after it jumped the shark into a totally different movie? Would you hide from a villian named Scissorman? Would you pause a movie after discovering your toddler is afraid of the dark? We did! Join us this week as we chat about Wer (Romania & USA, 2013), Godzilla Minus One (Japan, 2023) and Monolith (Australia, 2022), plus upcoming video game remakes of slasher classic Clocktower, splattery zom-com Lillipop Chainsaw and spookfest Until Dawn.

After a waterlogged hiatus, we're pack to slice through the 2024 Chainsaw Awards. Which is better - The First Omen or Late Night With the Devil? Why were Sister Death and Project Wolf Hunting snubbed, and why is When Evil Lurks nominated for best wide release and best international movie? Pick a lane, Fangoria! Also, love you Nick Cage, but Longlegs (Canada & USA, 2024) is not a modern Silence of the Lambs. a bit overyped. We cut through the hype. Also, we revisit The First Omen and unpack trippy scifi arcs and unfortunate creature design in Joko Anwar's Nightmares and Daydreams (Indonesia, 2024).

Articles mentioned in this episode:

"The Wait Is Over: Here Are The 2024 FANGORIA CHAINSAW AWARDS Nominees," by Allison Melanson for Fangoria

"How ‘The First Omen’ Channels ’70s Horror Imagery and Remixes the Most Terrifying Scares From the 1976 Original, and What a Sequel Might Look Like," by William Earl for Variety

"‘The First Omen’ Filmmaker’s Pitch Was Bold Enough to Get Disney to Bite — and the MPA to Balk," by Kate Erbland for IndieWire

This week, Melissa explores a new-to-us website for short films and jives with Rhyme Or Die (United Kingdom, 2021), a blend of 8 Mile and Saw with killer beats. Grady watches Howl From Beyond The Fog (Japan, 2021), a fantastic practical effects kaiju flick with behind-the-scenes footage and a mischevious cat. Marcus watched Brazilian B-movie Cemetery of Lost Souls (2020) solo - big mistake, it needs a distracted crowd - and celebrated the campy alien action vibes of The Lair (UK, 2022). Also, Melissa just got back from a vacation that was very Colorado and Marcus' toddler relives the last scene of your favorite found footage movie.

Here's a link to the Texas Monthly article we mentioned. Not horror, but an interesting read.

Sharks are our friends! We should swim with them! Join us as we dive into the chummy waters of the Seine for the "platonic ideal" of so-bad-it's-good shark flicks, Under Paris (France, 2024). Then, watch the sincere but flawed folk horror Black Forest (Brazil, 2018), but if you jump ahead to the 1:18.20 mark, you'll be treated to the finest wild, cheesy, and splattery B-grade goodness that Tubi has to offer. Also, Marcus gets thoroughly creeped out by Stopmotion (United Kingdom, 2023) and a very Tales from the Crypt-y anthology series from Indonesia hits Netflix.

(Sidebar: Shark attacks are pretty rare and most of the time you can safely swim with many of them, Shark Week is coming up soon ... but we're not about to let that get in the way of fine cinema.)

What's scarier: Creatures from the uncanny valley crawling up to do horrifying things that shouldn't be possible for stop motion animation, or generations of serial killers stalking and scalping their victims? If you answered stop motion, you're right - that's undeniably freakier - but both options are totally worth watching. This week, Grady and Melissa are thoroughly chilled by Stopmotion (United Kingdom, 2023) and Marcus popped some popcorn for thirty years of creepy Danish slashers with Nightwatch (1994) and Nightwatch: Demons are Forever (2023). Plus - inky body horror and a Tubi surprise are dropping this week, and technical difficulties reawaken the AI-generated "Funk Bot" in the last seven-ish minutes.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

"Stopmotion director says his brand of animation is necromancy," by Tasha Robinson for Polygon

"AMC Networks Promotes Emily Gotto to Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Production for Shudder," by AMC Networks. Note: My memory of this release was fuzzy and I got some important details wrong, but the head of international acquisitions is still getting a big promotion and we still Stan Shudder.

Dive deep into fear with us this week as we wander into open waters, haunting forests and chilling catacombs. Melissa goes camping with a grisly throwback slasher in Cub (Belgium & Netherlands, 2014), Grady swims with cocaine-addled sharks that are just barely so-bad-they're-good in Deep Fear (UK & France, 2023) and Marcus gets lost in the ruins under Paris in the other Deep Fear (Belgium & France, 2022). Also - sure you've seen insane apocalyptic car chases before, but should you see Furiosa anyway? And, will the shark flick swimming onto Netflix next week be better?

Just a quick update this week - zoomer humor slays in the trailer for Killer Body Count (Canada & South Africa, 2024), possibly the most Tubi movie to ever Tubi, and the original Nightwatch (Denmark, 1994) has all the offbeat Blockbuster Energy vibes and some himbo-y surprises. Plus, we're taking a week to get stoked for patriarchal nightmare fuel In Flames (2023, Pakistan & Canada) and animated chills in Stopmotion (United Kingdom, 2023).

Articles mentioned in this episode:

"‘In Flames’ – Exclusive Clip from Pakistani Psychological Thriller Has Visions of the Dead," by John Squires for Bloody Disgusting

"Killer Body Count | Official Trailer | A Tubi Original" on YouTube