Optimism Vaccine

THIS WEEK: Road House (1989), Road House 2: Last Call (2006), Road House (2024), Road House (1948)

How do you follow up the Rowdy Herrington helmed, Patrick Swayze starring, down-and-dirty shit-kicker fest that is the original Road House? You don't. You just don't touch it. And if you do touch it, don't cast Jake Busey like you're making an extended episode of Shasta McNasty. While you're at it, don't try to remake it 35 years later and hire Conor McGregor either.

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THIS WEEK: Santo vs. Infernal Men (1961), Santo vs. the Evil Brain (1961), Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters (1970), Santo vs. Doctor Death (1973)

With a lucha libre wrestling career spanning 50 years and 50+ films under his belt, El Santo achieved god-like status in Mexico without ever taking his mask off in public. Join us as we survey his storied career and see if his star power can elevate low-budget genre films into something sublime.

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THIS WEEK: Cobweb (2023) and the other Cobweb (2023)

Last year we were blessed with not one but TWO underappreciated films named COBWEB. One is a wild Halloween-set horror flick buried at your local multiplex in the midst of Barbenheimer fever and the directorial debut of Samuel Bodin. The other is a classic film-about-a-film farce helmed by acclaimed Korean auteur Kim Jee-woon and ignored by the haters at Cannes.

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THIS WEEK: The Prophecy (1995), The Prophecy II (1998), The Prophecy III (2000)

Angels walk among us and it turns out they're just white guys with beautiful hair who wear school shooter trenchcoats. Wild! Join us as we explore the world of pre-9/11 heavenly deities and the films that made them famous*

*Syndicated on the SyFy channel and collecting dust on your local video store's shelves.

That Vinegar Syndrome box set sure is nice though...

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THIS WEEK: Scoundrels (1982), All American Girls (1982), Irresistible (1982), Night Hunger (1983), Nothing to Hide (1981)

It's that time of year again! The big award show! The hottest night in Hollywood! Step out on the red carpet with us and celebrate the stars of the silver screen!

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THIS WEEK: House of Wax (2005), Pledge This! (2006), The Hottie & The Nottie (2008), Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

Paris Hilton is a global cultural icon whose titles include, entrepreneur, reality tv show star, DJ, recording artist, model, designer, sex tape haver and New York Times bestselling author.

But what about ACTRESS? Yes, that too. Optimism Vaccine investigates.

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THIS WEEK: Visitor Q (2001), A Lonely Cow Weeps At Dawn (2003), The Cow Who Sang a Song Into The Future (2022)

People often accuse us of not "listening" to our "audience" so we're finally rolling out the long-awaited fetish content meets arthouse cinema episode you've been begging for. That's right! You can get your Takashi Miike shot-on-video fix while also appreciating an underrated indie film AND a softcore flick that looks like Ozu but swaps out the usual family drama for the heartwarming tale of a woman getting milked by her father-in-law. A tale as old as time!

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THIS WEEK: Urban Legend (1998), Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000), and Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005)

Nothing gets the 90s nostalgia juices flowing like watching Jared Leto with a terrible haircut pal around with Joshua Jackson and Tara Reid. Join us as we reflect on the only film franchise that dared to ask "What if Scream was dumb? No, like, REALLY dumb" before branching out into the realm of supernatural horror and fizzling into obscurity. Put on your favorite fencing mask and get the pop rocks and soda ready. It's Urban Legend time, baby.

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THIS WEEK: Hanging Heart (1989), Moonstalker (1989), and Dead Girls (1990)

We dive back into Vinegar Syndrome's Homegrown Horrors. What awaits within? A slasher without any gore, a hard rocking horror without any music, and a homoerotic legal thriller. The fun never ends here on Optimism Vaccine.

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THIS WEEK: Long Arm of the Law (1984), Long Arm of the Law: Part 2 (1987), Long Arm of the Law: Part 3 (1989), Long Arm of the Law: Part 4 (1990)

Before John Woo's stylish action flicks dominated the Hong Kong box office, Johnny Mak Tong-hung gave us his only feature film: Long Arm of the Law. And, like any classic Hong Kong action movie, three totally unrelated sequels were made (by Johnny's brother Michael, no less).

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