NaschyCast

Has it really been two years since we covered TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD? That is far too long! It is with great pleasure that we return to the land of the living dead Templar Knights! For the second of Ossorio's fantastic Blind Dead films we examine the two different cuts available on Region 1 DVD and then ponder the deeper social commentary buried within the story. Really? Only for a little while. We mostly chat about the casting choices, the relative beauty of the female actors, the story's odd love rectangle, the mechanics of the creeping living dead and the number of homages to (or steals from) other movies that Ossorio weaves into the story. I wish we had spent more time on how difficult it is to destroy these walking corpses but some things get lost in the stumble/shuffle. Of course, this being the NaschyCast the show starts with some unrelated discussion of several monster related topics. I wax enthusiastic about Universal Horror novels and we discuss the joys of Shaun Hutson's horror epic 'Slugs', which leads us to the question of why we have yet to cover any examples of the cinema of Spain's Juan Piquer Simon. He certainly fits our criteria as he is Spanish and has directed plenty of Horror, so maybe a show on PIECES is in our future. That one won't be for the faint of heart! We also have an impromptu discussion of Lucio Fulci's tetralogy of gore films and - just for fun - rank them from best to worst. In the mailbag section we commiserate with a listener fresh from a viewing of FURY OF THE WOLFMAN and talk briefly about several worthy Jess Franco titles. How long before we just dive headlong into Uncle Jess' catalog and never look back? We can be contacted at [email protected] and the show can be downloaded at the link below or subscribed to in the iTunes store. Let us know what you think and if you want your comments to be a part of the podcast. Thanks for listening!

The sharp eyed listener will notice an odd numbering or this episode so I must explain things. As we move in our fourth year of the Nschycast we are going to be occasionally spreading our wings wider to embrace more Spanish Horror than ever before. We started doing shows we called Beyond Naschy a couple OF years ago to cover some of the great films of the genre from Spain - TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD, HORROR EXPRESS, etc.- as well as lesser know examples - I HATE MY BODY, CUT THROATS NINE. We did seven previous of these shows and have been hoping to return to talking about non-Naschy movies sooner than now but time is a precious commodity. Now we have decided to fold the Beyond shows into our regular schedule to supplement our Naschy coverage and to talk about the less well known corners of Spanish Horror. Of course, THE AWFUL DOCTOR ORLOFF is far from obscure in Euro-Horror circles but its new Blu-Ray release is cause enough for discussion. Troy and I delve into this beautiful, haunting black & white film with real joy. We find much to chew on from implied incest to dull protagonists to colorful characters to mysterious motivations. We don't spoil the ending but we do talk about most of the characters in depth with our thoughts on their desires and competence. Many questions are asked such as- Is this film one of the great links connecting the classic Universal Monster films to later splashes of the grotesque that Euro-Sleaze would bring to screen around the world? Is Howard Vernon one of the coolest mo-fos of all time? Does Franco know how to photograph beautiful women? I think you know the answers! Join us for a creepy night of horror, blood an a bit of nudity. You can contact us at [email protected] or Like us over on the Facebook page. If you subscribe through iTunes take the time to rate and review us over there - it really helps us out. Thanks for listening!

In my opinion, unusual is an overused word when discussing Cult Cinema. It is often employed to describe films of any type with little regard for just how far outside the lines the filmmakers tried to color. I don't consider most movies very unusual because is have bathed in every kind of cinema I can find for so long that for me (and I suspect for most Cult Film Fans) unusual is the norm in our regular viewing. Is CHAINED HEAT (1983) more or less unusual than THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (2011)? Is a horror film that surprises you with its twist ending stranger than A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL (1966)? All of these are interesting movies but are they 'unusual? I submit to you a truly unusual movie! THE TRANSSEXUAL (1977) is part investigative mystery, part documentary and part cabaret act. Naschy wrote and stared in this film and although its short it packs a number of very strange sights into its 76 minutes. It showcases many odd thing but the best sight is Naschy displaying his understanding and empathic heart as he talks about subjects society (especially at the time) considers taboo. This is worth your time Cult Film Fans - you haven't seen a movie quite like this. If you wish to unburden yourself in our direction please write the show at [email protected] or join us over on the Facebook group. As always the show is available from the link below or through the iTunes store or streaming from Stitcher Radio. If you subscribe in iTunes please consider giving us a review in the iTunes' Store. It gets us noticed in new places by new people. Thanks for listening!

When we started this podcast entered on the works of Paul Naschy I had no idea it would take us to some of the places we have gone. I never expected to delve into an acidic view of religion and human nature filtered through a Medieval tale of ribald wickedness (EL CAMINANTE); a dark but funny look at modern Spanish society (NAKED MADRID); or a sympathetic look at a real life killer (THE FRENCHMAN'S GARDEN). None of those subjects were on my radar but even they seem like a natural extension of Naschy's career compared to the thought of our favorite Spanish werewolf running around in a Tarzan movie. WTF? How did this happen? First it must be made clear that Naschy does NOT play Tarzan. There have been dozens o screen Jungle Lords but I'm not sure anyone would have been able to suspend their disbelief enough to accept that peculiar casting. No- in TARZAN IN KING SOLOMON'S MINES Naschy plays the part of the Great White Hunter with criminal intent. He sports a mustache, a rifle, canned meat and the coolest Safari hat in Africa. The movie also stars the dark eyed German beauty Nadiuska in the role of the love interest. She is returning to the podcast for her second appearance in a Naschy film after her work in THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THE DARK. We doubt much, if any, of this movie was shot in Africa (other than the stock footage!) but its still a jungle adventure so surely it will be fun. Right? We'll see. Troy and I discuss our first encounters with the greatest of Edgar Rice Burroughs' creations; good and bad Tarzan actors; favorite versions of the character in film; jungle movies as a genre; etc. We try to stay on track but this subject is fertile ground and there are just too many vines to choose from. Please write and let us know what you think of the show. The email address is [email protected] and the Facebook group is in full swing. If you get the show through iTunes please take the time to rate and review us. And thanks for listening!