You're going to need a poncho this week, because we're diving into Dead Alive—the movie that asked, 'How much fake blood is too much?' and answered, 'Yes. DEAD ALIVE or Braindead

Theatrical Release: August 13, 1992 (New Zealand); February 12, 1993 (United States, as Dead Alive)

Budget: Approximately $3 million USD Dead Alive (released as Braindead in New Zealand) is a purposefully over-the-top splatter comedy from director and writer Peter Jackson. It was produced by Jim Booth, with writing help from Fran Walsh and Stephen Sinclair. The film stars Timothy Balme as the shy, soft-spoken Lionel Cosgrove, whose quiet life is thrown into absolute chaos after his domineering mother, played by Elizabeth Moody, is bitten by a bizarre Sumatran rat-monkey during a trip to the zoo. As Lionel desperately tries to hide her increasingly gruesome transformation while pursuing a romance with Diana Peñalver's Paquita, the undead outbreak quickly spirals into one of horror cinema's most outrageous bloodbaths. Ian Watkin rounds out the cast as Lionel's greedy Uncle Les, who somehow makes the zombie apocalypse even worse. The orchestral score by Peter Dasent does a great job bouncing back and forth to match the ridiculous yet gory vibes.

What begins as an awkward love story soon explodes into a carnival of severed limbs, possessed babies, undead priests, and enough fake blood to make even seasoned horror fans blush. Rather than aiming for realism, Dead Alive embraces cartoon logic, escalating every scene into something more absurd than the last before culminating in its legendary lawnmower showdown. Think Evil Dead meets Looney Tunes.

The film was shot in and around Wellington, New Zealand. Despite its modest budget of around $3 million, the production became famous for its elaborate practical effects, mountains of prosthetics, and an astonishing amount of stage blood. The climactic massacre alone required hundreds of liters of fake blood, helping Dead Alive earn a reputation as one of the bloodiest movies ever made. While it wasn't a major box office success outside New Zealand, the film became a cult classic and played a huge role in establishing Peter Jackson as one of horror's most inventive filmmakers years before The Lord of the Rings. It's a perfect snapshot of the fearless creativity that he would later bring to much bigger productions, proving that low-budget filmmaking can still feel wildly inventive.

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This week on Oh, the Horror!, we're unlocking the front door to The Changeling. Considered one of horror's greatest ghost stories, because sometimes the most terrifying monster is old-money real estate. It's the story of a ghost that's polite enough to knock first but relentless enough to make you answer.

THE CHANGELING

Theatrical Release: March 28, 1980 (United States & Canada) Budget: $6.6 million

The Changeling (1980) is one of those ghost stories that proves you don't need a lot of gore to be genuinely creepy. Directed by Peter Medak, produced by Joel B. Michaels, Garth H. Drabinsky, and Mario Kassar, and written by William Gray and Diana Maddox (from a story by Russell Hunter), the film stars George C. Scott as John Russell, a composer trying to rebuild his life after a heartbreaking family tragedy. He rents a huge old mansion in Seattle, only to discover it has a dark past... and something inside wants to be heard.

Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas, John Colicos, and Jean Marsh round out the cast, while Rick Wilkins delivers the film's haunting score.

Although the story is set in Seattle, most of the movie was filmed around Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. You'll spot locations including Hatley Castle, the Orpheum Theatre, and Vancouver's Hotel Europe, while the mansion itself was created using a real house, a custom-built facade, and studio sets. The story was inspired by paranormal experiences Russell Hunter claimed happened to him in a historic Denver mansion.

One of the coolest bits of trivia? The movie also features the very first screen appearance of Joshua Jackson, who was only seven months old during filming.

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Today's travel tip: if you're visiting a sleepy English village and someone uncovers a strange, hairy skull, book the next carriage out of town. THE BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW Release Date: January 17th, 1971 BUDGET: £82,000 When a farmer digs up the strange remains of a mysterious creature in a quiet 1700s English village, it awakens an ancient evil that slowly infects the community. Before long, the village's young people fall under the spell of the manipulative Angel Blake, played by Linda Hayden, while the local Judge, Patrick Wymark, races to stop the growing wave of terror. Barry Andrews, Michele Dotrice, and James Hayter round out the cast in this eerie tale of paranoia, witchcraft, and satanic influence.

Directed by Piers Haggard, written by Robert Wynne-Simmons, produced by Malcolm B. Heyworth and Peter L. Andrews, and featuring an unsettling score by Marc Wilkinson, Blood on Satan's Claw has become one of the defining folk horror films, often mentioned alongside The Wicker Man and Witchfinder General.

The movie was filmed across the English countryside, and many of the cult scenes were shot at the ruins of St. James's Church. Fun fact: the script originally started as three separate horror stories before Piers Haggard and Robert Wynne-Simmons combined them into one longer story.

We hope you enjoy the show. You can email Sam, Sarah, and Meika here with questions, corrections, movie suggestions, or just to say hello. Want to support the show? Consider joining our Patreon, where you can gain access to our merchandise raffles, live Q&As, monthly Horror Book Club, and a lot more. Show links: Oh, the Horror! Official Instagram Oh, the Horror Official Patreon

Sam Pancake's X (Formerly known as Twitter) Sam Pancake's Instagram Sarah Burns' Instagram Sarah Burns' Linktree Get a custom Cameo video from Sarah! music & editing by Meika Grimm. Follow her on Instagram, or hire her for your audio/video/web needs. 😊

This week we're checking into The Orphanage—proof that if a creepy old mansion is available for purchase, there's probably a very good reason. Also, that might be your cue to request a discount! THE ORPHANAGE Release Date: May 20th, 2007 BUDGET: $4 million

The Orphanage (El Orfanato, 2007) is a Spanish gothic horror film directed by J. A. Bayona, written by Sergio G. Sánchez, and produced by Mar Targarona, Joaquín Padró, and Álvaro Augustin, with Guillermo del Toro serving as executive producer. The film stars Belén Rueda as Laura, who returns with her husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo) and adopted son Simón (Roger Príncep) to the orphanage where she grew up. Hoping to reopen the property as a home for disabled children, Laura instead finds herself drawn into a series of strange and unsettling events. The film's haunting score was composed by Fernando Velázquez.

When Simón suddenly disappears, Laura becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind his disappearance. Her search leads her to dark secrets hidden within the orphanage and to the spirits of children connected to its tragic past. As reality and the supernatural begin to blur, Laura must confront heartbreaking revelations that test her love and determination as a mother.

Filming took place primarily in Asturias, Spain, including the historic Partarríu Manor in Llanes, which served as the orphanage exterior. Much of the interior was later recreated on soundstages in Barcelona to give J. A. Bayona greater creative control. An interesting production fact is that Guillermo del Toro helped secure additional funding for the project after being impressed by the screenplay, allowing the film's budget and production scope to expand significantly. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007 and became one of the most acclaimed Spanish horror films of its generation.

We hope you enjoy the show. You can email Sam, Sarah, and Meika here with questions, corrections, movie suggestions, or just to say hello. Want to support the show? Consider joining our Patreon, where you can gain access to our merchandise raffles, live Q&As, monthly Horror Book Club, and a lot more. Show links: Oh, the Horror! Official Instagram Oh, the Horror Official Patreon

Sam Pancake's X (Formerly known as Twitter) Sam Pancake's Instagram Sarah Burns' Instagram Sarah Burns' Linktree Get a custom Cameo video from Sarah! music & editing by Meika Grimm. Follow her on Instagram, or hire her for your audio/video/web needs. 😊

What would you do if your child turned out to be the antichrist? I know some parents may secretly think that about their children during the more troubling moments, but The Omen's Damien takes the cake for sure. A face only a mother could love? THE OMEN Release Date: June 25th, 1976 BUDGET: $2.8 million The Omen is a chilling supernatural horror classic directed by Richard Donner, produced by Harvey Bernhard, written by David Seltzer, and featuring an unforgettable score by Jerry Goldsmith. The film stars Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Billie Whitelaw, Harvey Spencer Stephens, and Patrick Troughton. The story follows American diplomat Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck), whose newborn son dies shortly after birth. Desperate to spare his wife Katherine (Lee Remick) the grief, he secretly agrees to adopt an orphaned infant. Unbeknownst to either parent, the child they bring home is Damien, a boy whose arrival may signal the fulfillment of a terrifying biblical prophecy. What sets The Omen apart from many horror films of its era is its atmosphere of mounting dread and its focus on psychological terror rather than gore. Jerry Goldsmith's Academy Award-winning score, particularly the ominous choral piece "Ave Satani," amplifies the film's unsettling mood. Filmed in England and on location in several European settings, the production became famous for a number of strange occurences on set, which helped contribute to the movie's reputation as one of the best supernatural thrillers ever made. Decades later, The Omen remains a landmark of horror cinema and one of the defining films of the 1970s. We hope you enjoy the show. You can email Sam, Sarah, and Meika here with questions, corrections, movie suggestions, or just to say hello. Want to support the show? Consider joining our Patreon, where you can gain access to our merchandise raffles, live Q&As, monthly Horror Book Club, and a lot more. Show links: Oh, the Horror! Official Instagram Oh, the Horror Official Patreon

Sam Pancake's X (Formerly known as Twitter) Sam Pancake's Instagram Sarah Burns' Instagram Sarah Burns' Linktree Get a custom Cameo video from Sarah! music & editing by Meika Grimm. Follow her on Instagram, or hire her for your audio/video/web needs. 😊

This one was a must for Sam and Sarah. What better place to start off our podcast than THE quintessential zombie flick, the blueprint for all zombie movies to come?

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) BUDGET: $114,000 Released in 1968, Night of the Living Dead revolutionized horror cinema with its stark realism and constant tension. Directed by George A. Romero and co-written by George A. Romero and John A. Russo, the film follows a group of strangers who become trapped inside a rural farmhouse as the recently deceased begin rising from their graves to feed on the living. At the center of the story is Ben, portrayed by Duane Jones, whose calm demeanor contrasts with the anxious and fearful Harry Cooper, played by Karl Hardman. As the undead threat grows outside, the survivors slowly begin to turn on each other, revealing that their greatest danger may come from within the house itself. We hope you enjoy the show. You can email Sam, Sarah, and Meika here with questions, corrections, movie suggestions, or just to say hello. Want to support the show? Consider joining our Patreon, where you can gain access to our merchandise raffles, live Q&As, monthly Horror Book Club, and a lot more. Show links: Oh, the Horror! Official Instagram Oh, the Horror Official Patreon

Sam Pancake's X (Formerly known as Twitter) Sam Pancake's Instagram Sarah Burns' Instagram Sarah Burns' Linktree Get a custom Cameo video from Sarah! music & editing by Meika Grimm. Follow her on Instagram, or hire her for your audio/video/web needs. 😊

Oh, the Horror! with Sam and Sarah is officially live. Welcome to the new podcast where actors Sam Pancake and Sarah Burns meet up once a week to cover some of the most iconic and sometimes the most bonkers horror films from across the decades. We've got a double feature! Don't forget to follow this episode up with the next episode: Night of the Living Dead! What's in the basket? Easter eggs? Released in 1982, Basket Case is a gleefully twisted blend of horror, dark comedy, and grindhouse exploitation from writer-director Frank Henenlotter. The story follows Duane Bradley, played by Kevin Van Hentenryck, a quiet young man who arrives in New York City carrying a large wicker basket. What's in the basket? Tune in to find out. Made on an estimated budget of only about $35,000, Basket Case was filmed during weekends throughout 1981 on 16mm film and became one of the defining cult movies of the early 1980s. Frank Henenlotter reportedly developed much of the screenplay while exploring the then-seedy Times Square district, drawing inspiration from the neighborhood's colorful and often bizarre characters. Filming took place throughout Manhattan, including 42nd Street, Tribeca, Liberty Island, and the former Welfare Hotel in Times Square, which served as the infamous Hotel Broslin. Additional interiors were shot in homes and buildings around Glens Falls, New York. The film's homemade special effects, authentic New York locations, and unforgettable creature design helped transform it from a regional exploitation picture into one of horror cinema's most beloved cult classics. Show links: Oh, the Horror! Official Instagram

Sam Pancake's X (Formerly known as Twitter) Sam Pancake's Instagram Sarah Burns' Instagram Sarah Burns' Linktree Get a custom Cameo video from Sarah! This podcast was edited by Meika Grimm. Follow her on Instagram, or hire her for your audio/video/web needs. 😊