NaschyCast

For the first time in a while we give you a bonus episode! Now that we've completed a full year of podcasts Troy and I take a breath, relax and look back at the dozen Naschy films we've covered so far. We rank them from worst to best and debate the relative merits of each film once again in relation to Naschy's career and our own reactions to them. Troy's hatred for mummies still shines as his largest film-lover's failure but I have assurances that if I keep forcing him to rewatch VENGEANCE OF THE MUMMY he will eventually relent. The hardest part is propping open his eyes with the little toothpicks. 

For episode #12 we lurch back into the 1980s for Naschy’s horrific variation on a couple of classic old stories. Of course, since it’s filtered through Spanish Horror the nastiness is severe, the relationships complicated and the violence bloody. With PANIC BEATS we see that Naschy’s love for classic stories ranges wider than just monster films or stereotypical horror fiction. His openness to different styles of imaginative tales is one of the things that made him so versatile a filmmaker able to make several different kinds of films. This movie shows him moving from the creature features of his 1970s period into a more a intricate form of thriller he may have hoped his career would gravitate toward as he aged. This, of course, was not to be, but this film shows that he had the capacity to craft such tales and it is disheartening that he rarely got the chance to make more with this kind of creative control.

Oh my goodness! Naschy tries his hand at the giallo genre and hits one out of the park. In this episode we celebrate and analyze this thriller with more twists and turns than a mountain road. BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL is a stylish but sleazy murder mystery sure to keep you guessing up until the final scene. Naschy places his character Gilles in a bad spot as a man with personal demons of the mind and a nasty past and in a big house surrounded by a group of beautiful sisters. But is it a good place or a dangerous spot? When the cast features four of the most beautiful ladies working in Euro-Trash film in the early 1970s it’s a good place for us at least! Naschy squeezes udders, chops wood, rakes yards and does other things that might be considered sexual metaphors while the color red dances through his life. How many of the siblings will Gilles seduce? How many times will he be threatened with violence? How often will he have to take off his shirt to get his hard work done? Oh my.Troy and I sing the praises of the high quality work involved and lament (repeatedly) the execrable score that attempts to undermine nearly every one of the story's emotional highlights. If a film can be said to be deeply flawed but still brilliant then BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL fits that description. As we dissect the film the attentive listener might ask many questions, such as - How many times will I mispronounce Gilles’ name? How often will the Blind Dead movies be mentioned? When will we break down and do a podcast on I HATE MY BODY? What is the connection this film has to both Hitchcock and the Coen Brothers? The answers to some of these are waiting within. You can also contact us at [email protected] and subscribe through iTunes. Thanks! 

After putting it off for months we finally take aim at one of Naschy’s best known and most beloved Waldemar Daninsky tales. Mostly seen in the US on television under its alternate title of THE WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMEN it’s a film near and dear to fans for its sexy bloodsuckers as well as its monster battle. It sports the usual mix of romantic angst, tragic fate, and gory throat ripping violence all whipped together into a heady, unique creature feature that could only have been produced in the swinging 70s. While far from perfect it has more than enough horror entertainment value to keep most anyone staring at the screen – often in amazement and sometimes in complete confusion. But as with most Naschy scripts the story does eventually make a sort of mad sense and this scary suspense tale finds multiple ways to satisfy its audience. 

It’s an October surprise you can be happy about! Troy and I return briefly to let you in on some Naschy news and to expand on our ideas about COUNT DRACULA’S GREAT LOVE. That’s right! You only thought we’d talked enough about that film but after we recorded episode 8 new information came to light that clarifies some of the problems of its production. Its fascinating stuff and we’ve added a couple of other good things to make this .5 show a fun listen. We can be reached for comment at [email protected] and the first five minutes of the forthcoming documentary called THE MAN WHO SAW FRANKENSTEIN CRY can be seen around the web. 

As HOWL OF THE DEVIL is a hard to find title we’ve decided to be as careful as we could in our discussion so others can discover the many surprises it holds. This is a film with a lot to say even if sometimes what it says might not be pleasant or kind. Adding to the discussion we have a surprise guest! A spoiler free Naschycast? How is that even possible? Well…...it’s complicated. October brings podcast number nine (number nine) focusing on our first 80s film from Mr. Molina. Described by Nashcy as “a howl of anguish, a painful catharsis which finally liberated me from long repressed phobias and obsessions” HOWL OF THE DEVIL is a harsh stab of cinema violence directed at his critics and his own alleged failings and comes on like the meanest version of horror that he could muster. A fascinating film, full blooded in its depiction of human cruelty it serves as a fascinating look back at Naschy’s career up to that point and a dark goodbye to that fertile period as well. An essential film if a deeply flawed one.

Proving that there are no obstacles that we won’t overcome to bring you Naschy film discussion here is number Ocho. One of the most talked about of his non-Daninsky films COUNT DRACULA’S GREAT LOVE is an amazing mix of the clunky and the sublime. In a way, this film is a succinct summation of all that is usually praised in a Naschy film and all that is usually criticized. A mangled mess of a story with elements that don’t come together it still shines as an atmospheric horror piece with some truly brilliant moments that often distract you from a script that seems to be running in two directions at once. This film might be the perfect Rorschach test for fans- What do you remember from the film when it’s over? 

Here’s an unexpected surprise! Let’s call this the first ‘extra’ show for the NaschyCast with no promises that we’ll do this kind of thing often. We decided to record this brief episode to answer a few questions, ask for listener input on a few topics and tell everyone about a friend of the show’s new Spanish horror internet radio program. But the biggest reason for this bonus bit of audio babble is to let everyone know that the uncut version of NIGHT OF THE HOWLING BEAST is out there! It may be available only on the bootleg market but, as we relate, it contains far more than you might have guessed. We were just thrilled to be able to see it. Listen closely and you’ll hear Troy’s cat Flex enter the room and make his presence known. 

This time out we venture back to the 16th century for a dose of religious persecution during one of history’s nastier periods of paranoia. Who’s a witch, there’s a witch, everywhere a witch witch! 

It's that time once again my friends, so gather around! The moon is rising and so is our favorite hairy beast. This time out Naschy indulges his love for the Monster Mash and combines two unlikely members of the classic horror gallery for a romp through swinging London. Knowing that putting these two together requires some work Naschy first takes us to the rural villages of the Carpathian Mountains for a gothic tinged introduction to our old friend Waldemar Daninksy before his trip to England in search of a cure for his unfortunate problem. The grandson of the infamous Dr. Jekyll agrees to try an unorthodox (and completely nutty) method of dealing with lycanthropy, but, as is usual in a Paul Naschy script, things don’t go quite as well as our poor cursed man might hope.