The Rad Revival House brings back the enigmatically great Marlon Brando with our review of 1966’s THE CHASE!

Joining us is Newman, host of the excellent podcast Movies 4 Dayz as this week’s Special Guest Lecturer. Newman and our host, Professor Cesare August, put their heads together to review this socially-powerful mid-60s drama. Set in a small Texas town before the pre-Civil Rights Movement, THE CHASE surrounds the town’s panic when a notorious local bad boy (young Robert Redford) heads to their populace after escaping from prison. Amidst the emotional upheaval, Sheriff Calder (Brando) tries to keep the peace and his head from getting blown apart.

With an ensemble cast consisting of mid-century icons as Jane Fonda, Robert Duvall, Angie Dickinson, E.G. Marshall, and Paul Williams, THE CHASE is a fascinating melodrama that’s a ticking time bomb from the start. Fueled by high tension brought upon by racism, alcohol overindulgence, and good ol’ fashioned hate, this film is a must-see for aspiring filmmakers looking to beef up their talent for drama and human intensity!

On our newest episode, the Rad Revival House explores quite possibly the most BIZARRE film we’ve ever reviewed: 1977’s surrealistic nightmare, ERASERHEAD!

George Davison, a longtime friend of the RRH (and composer to our theme song!), returns as Special Guest Lecturer to lend a much-needed helping hand in analyzing this bonkers picture. Making his celebrated debut in ERASERHEAD, iconic filmmaker David Lynch (RIP) thrusts his stunningly-nihilistic tale about an introverted young man Henry, the titular Eraserhead (played with disturbing power by the late, great character Jack Nance) and his slow descent into madness. Did he, or did he not impregnate his girlfriend and conceive a snake-like creature as their baby? Just what are those visions Henry is having about sperm-like monsters, or strange women with unusual deformities? 

JUST WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN THIS PICTURE?!

Join George and Professor Cesare as they try to make sense in this utterly senseless film that somehow, Lynch had managed to make something incredibly striking and almost beautiful in its execution. But “beauty” may ultimately depend on who you ask. Opinions may vary, but nobody can deny the crazy visuals of ERASERHEAD!

On the VERY FIRST Rad Revival House review of 2025, we're ushering the new year with a literal BOOM with our review of the 1955 film noir classic, KISS ME DEADLY!

Returning to the RRH is our old friend, tough guy cinema aficionado, and author Fred Schaefer. Together, we analyze the grim bleakness that is KISS ME DEADLY. Criminally-underrated 50s actor Ralph Meeker is Mike Hammer, the world's toughest and unapologetically-sadistic private eye, who, after a chance encounter with a desperate young woman (Cloris Leachman), becomes embroiled in a brutal search for a mysterious box that also involves slimy gangsters, the LAPD, and mysterious government spies.

Fred and our host, Professor Cesare Augusto, discuss director Robert Aldrich's critically-effective capturing of 1950s Los Angeles on film, how Mike Hammer creator author Mickey Spillane created the template for the tough guy PI type for later icons to come, and the wonderfully gritty performance by lead Ralph Meeker, an actor who should have become an A-list movie star from this movie!

Happy New Years Eve from the Rad Revival House! We’re ending 2024 with quite the bang with the 1992 Mexican-American action classic EL MARIACHI!

This picture is the debut of the now-legendary filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (DESPERADO, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, SPY KIDS, MACHETE), and what a hell of a debut it is. Utilizing a whopping-low budget of only $7,000, Rodriguez crudely yet lovingly tells the tale of an innocent young Mexican musician (the titular Mariachi), who finds himself mistaken for a ruthless killer by a local crime boss and his henchmen. 

Despite his lack of funds and the picture’s crude guerilla-style filmmaking, EL MARIACHI is slam-bang entertainment which proves that you don’t need a billion-dollar budget to make a high-quality film. As long as you have a solid story, working filmmaking equipment, and a clear vision of your project, YOU TOO can launch your own debut movie. Follow in the hard footsteps of Robert Rodriguez and study how this little movie would lead to a grand filmmaking career!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all who celebrate! Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the Rad Revival House, not a creature was stirring…except the zombies of RABID!

Join host Professor Cesare Augusto as he reviews this masterfully done zombie outbreak film from the legendary body horror specialist, David Cronenburg. After a near-fatal motorcycle accident puts innocent young Canadian woman Rose (star Marilyn Chambers) in a coma, a radical and unapproved skin surgery is performed on her. To everyone’s shock, the skin surgery mutates Rose into a blood-craving monster who infects everyone around her into cannibalistic zombies!

The film may not be as famous as other holiday horror classics (i.e. BLACK CHRISTMAS, SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT). But RABID is notorious for its outlandishly violent, over-the-top gore, brutal action sequences (one involving a doomed mall Santa Claus), and the casting of a former porn star as its lead. Despite her checkered previous performances, however, Marilyn Chambers delivers a surprisingly strong dramatic portrayal as Rose, the unwitting patient zero in Canada’s worst zombie outbreak.

Horror aficionados looking for a little bit more heart and character to their zombie films will be pleased with RABID’s combined thought-provoking artistic flair with its generous heaping of blood and guts!

The Rad Revival House presents one slam-bang martial arts movie courtesy of that Hong Kong cinematic legend, John Woo: LAST HURRAH FOR CHIVALRY.

This is not just any martial arts film either; it’s the eclectic Wuxia style of Chinese martial arts cinema depicting tales of mythical derring-do set in Ancient China. Woo of course is more famously renowned for his “Heroic Bloodshed” style of graphically-violent action flicks from the late 1980s such as A BETTER TOMORROW, THE KILLER, and HARD BOILED, as well as his notable transition to Hollywood with grand-scale action epics as HARD TARGET and FACE/OFF. But before making his leap into modernized gun operas, Woo got his movie bones by filming this beautifully-brutal Wuxia tale about two swordsmen for hire who must defeat a deadly warlord at the behest of a vengeful clan leader. Woo adds his trademark loyalty-among-killers character trope to this early work, mixed with colorful martial arts fight sequences and colorful costumes.

Fans of John Woo looking to explore his classic films predating his Hong Kong and Hollywood action extravaganzas are sure to get their fill of cinematic combat with LAST HURRAH FOR CHIVALRY!

Yee-haw!

The RRH goes back to the wild, wild west with the great psychological western THE TALL T!

Making his much-anticipated comeback is Phillip Duke II, the host of the great movie review podcast Making Tarantino, as he helps to analyze this wonderful and criminally-underrated Western thriller. Directed by Budd Boetticher (RIDE LONESOME) and based on the short story “The Captives” by the legendary western and crime author Elmore Leonard (GET SHORTY, MR. MAJESTYK), THE TALL T tells the tale of honest but tough cowpoke Pat Brennan (Randolph Scott) who must fight for his survival and that of an innocent young heiress (Maureen O’Sullivan) when they are abducted by a trio of deadly outlaws (Richard Boone, Skip Homeier, and Henry Silva). What begins as a simple extortion scheme turns into a battle of wits when Brennan begins pitting the three bandits against each other.

Join Cesare and Phil as they look into the intricacies behind THE TALL T’s plot, the multi-layered characters, and Elmore Leonard’s signature dialogue. Aspiring filmmakers looking into attempting more twisty, suspenseful Westerns should sit and absorb THE TALL T for a true exercise in frontier intrigue!

The Rad Revival House rolls out a true barrel of 1960s laughs with the comedy classic THE ODD COUPLE!

Joining our discussion is film critic and broadcaster Jeanne Marie Denizard, as we explore Neil Simon’s hilarious and witty look at divorce and the after-effects it has on two New York City men. Newly-divorced neat freak Felix Unger (the great Jack Lemmon) must navigate through the murky waters of his life following the recent split from his wife and kids. Distraught with no place else to go, Felix shacks up with his best friend, sloppy sports writer Oscar Madison, whose wife also had left him previously. Sparks inevitably fly when obsessively-clean Felix clashes with ridiculously-messy Oscar in their huge Manhattan apartment.

Host Professor Cesare Augusto and Jeanne Denizard discuss Simon’s hilarious screenplay, the fantastic chemistry between Lemmon & Matthau (a decades-long collaboration), and the impact this picture has had on what would be referred to as the “buddy picture.” Aspiring comedy writers and filmmakers are highly encouraged to explore THE ODD COUPLE to sharpen their funny dialogue skills and create realistic character interactions among their cast!

The RRH returns to the Hammer Horror Studio with their gothic masterpiece, THE GORGON!

Also returning is Rob from the great film review podcast, The Cinemigos, as he joins our host, The Professor Cesare Augusto to analyze this little-seen scare-fest. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, the two titans of Hammer Horror (famously as Professor Van Helsing & Dracula), reunite in this film as both must contend with a series of ghastly murders in a German village where innocent townsfolk are mysteriously turned to stone. To their horror, they discover that a hideous female monster from Greek mythology is the culprit behind the killings!

Gloriously directed by Hammer legend Terrence Fisher, THE GORGON is a real treat to both Horror and Greek Mythology enthusiasts. Both Cesare and Rob discuss Hammer’s impact on Horror cinema, the great onscreen chemistry of Cushing and Lee, and the vintage special effects that make the titular creature so extraordinary. Aspiring Horror filmmakers looking to combine visual substance with great storytelling must explore Hammer for true creative inspiration!

For the first time, The Rad Revival House reviews a criminally-underrated classic from the Master of Suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock: THE WRONG MAN!

Joining us is Special Guest Lecturer Peter Mascuch, a Cinema Studies Professor at St. Joseph’s University of New York and a true great mind for film. We discuss what is arguably the most disturbing Hitchcock film due to its gripping realism and shattering bleakness.

Screen legend Henry Fonda stars as Manny Balestrero, a New York City nightclub musician and loving family man whose regular life plunges into a nightmare when he is mistaken for a criminal. When he is unfairly suspected and arrested for a string of robberies in his Queens neighborhood thanks to overzealous police officers and unreliable witnesses, Manny faces a brutal fate of life in prison. Worse yet, his wife Rose (the stunning Vera Miles) suffers a mental breakdown as they struggle to clear Manny’s good name.

Filmed in stark black and white and with a haunting sense of dread, THE WRONG MAN hammers audiences with its premise that it could happen to ANYONE. Cesare and Peter analyze the film’s legal conflicts (given it was released before the now-essential Miranda Rights), Hitchcock’s temporary departure from more escapist thriller films into more realistic territory, and the powerfully sobering performances by Fonda and Miles. THE WRONG MAN was based on a true story, which further adds to the film’s foreboding grimness.

Aspiring filmmakers looking to tackle a realistic suspense thriller are recommended to watch THE WRONG MAN, a truly under-looked gem from Alfred Hitchcock!