The Stacks

On The Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:31:59) Shana and j. discuss the 1976 Jean Rollin moody vampire picture Levres de Sang (Lips of Blood), in addition to the 11th episode of Star Trek (TOS), part one of their first two-parter "The Menagerie" (reusing the rejected pilot episode "The Cage"). In part two (1:32:00-3:16:55) we discuss 5 additional features: David Lynch's 2001 surrealist neo-noir masterpiece Mulholland Drive, The Wachowskis' glorious 2008 hyper-color anime adaptation Speed Racer, Ridley Scott's 2000 revival sword and sandal epic Gladiator, Juan Piquer Simón's bizarre 1983 ET / Alien knockoff Extraterrestrial Visitors, and Stephen Norrington's very 1994 absurdist dystopian sci-fi thriller Death Machine, as well as talking about the Cult of AGFA Trailer Show. As usual, in part three we talk about everything else we watched this week on physical media and make our picks for next week.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

This week on The Stacks we begin in part one (0:00-1:08:39) with a discussion of Charlie Chaplin's 1940 anti-fascist classic The Great Dictator, in addition to "The Corbomite Maneuver" - the 10th episode of the original 1966 Star Trek series. In part two (1:08:40-2:35:56), we have nine additional films we're talking about, beginning with the Qatsi Trilogy, directed by Godfrey Reggio, as well as Curtis Hanson's 1997 neo-noir LA Confidential, Norman Jewison's landmark adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, Jon Watts' 2017 MCU entry Spider-Man: Homecoming, Robert Stevenson's 1968 Disney ditch film Blackbeard's Ghost, the notorious cheap 1981 video nasty Zombie Lake (inherited by Jean Rollin from Jess Franco), and Kinji Fukasaku's pulpy American-style 1968 sci-fi horror The Green Slime. As usual, in part three we talk about everything else watched since last time, and make our picks for next week.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

On our return to the normal Stacks after the extended Spooky Stacks season, in part one (0:00-1:05:38) we talk in depth about the 1966 Yasuzo Masumura jidaigeki Irezumi, as well as the first episode of Ultraman - "Ultra Operation No. 1" (also from 1966). In part two (1:05:39-2:36:23) we have a large batch, discussing David Lynch's heartwarming 1999 Disney true-life drama The Straight Story, the 1979 Hanna-Barbera Don Chaffey slapstick comedy C.H.O.M.P.S., the 1970 Harald Reinl adaptation of Erich von Daniken's ancient aliens book Chariots of the Gods, the 2023 John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein D&D deep lore adventure Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the 1973 Jacinto Molina / Paul Naschy entry in the Count Waldemar Daninsky saga, The Fury of the Wolfman, David "The Rock" Nelson's 'Adventures of Janet' shorts, the 1985 entry in the Jaka Sembung series, The Warrior & The Ninja (directed by H. Tjut Dalil), Laura Gemser's film debut in Pier Ludovico Pavoni's 1974 sexploitation Amore Libero (Free Love), and the difficult 1972 Jane Arden experimental picture The Other Side of the Underneath. As usual, in part three, we talk about all the other physical media we've watched since last week and make our picks for next week's episode.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

On the held-over SPOOKY STACKS, part one (0:00-1:22:14) we discuss the 1987 Jim Muro splatter/melt movie epic Street Trash, in addition to "The Galaxy Being" - first episode of the original 60s Outer Limits TV series. Part two (1:22:15-3:03:25) is another deep grab bag of horror as we conclude the run-off from October, featuring chatter about Bernard Launois' 1985 bizarro French horse / mummy / Nazi freak horror Devil Story, the 1987 Cullen Blaine Robocop / Terminator knockoff ROTOR, the 1981(ish) Frank Roach-directed Renee Harmon-starring abstract ice zombie video nasty Frozen Scream, going way back to 1920 for Robert Wiene's landmark German Expressionist silent picture The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the zany 1994 Jennifer Prichard SOV midnight-movie parody Alien Sex Phone Psycho, the also 1994 Pierre David Scanners spinoff / loose sequel Scanner Cop, the 1986 Sisworo Gautama Putra / Suzzanna Indonesian black magic movie The Hungry Snake Woman, the 1981 Gwai Chi-Hung Shaw Brothers necrophile giallo Corpse Mania, and finally both the 1986 John Carl Buechler Troll film and its notorious 1990 Claudio Fragasso sequel, Troll 2. As we generally do, in part three we talk about everything else we've watched since last time and make our picks for next week.

The live list of The Spooky Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-spooky-stacks-1/

On The SPOOKY Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:39:29), first this week is 1985's Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, the (over-)hated fifth entry in the series, directed by Danny Steinmann, in addition to "El Jefe" - the first episode of Ash vs Evil Dead, directed by Sam Raimi. In part two (1:39:30-3:02:43), we have a massive selection to discuss for the last week of October Spooktacular picks: the 1993 Tony Randel DTV horror Ticks, the 1983 Jacinto Molina / Paul Naschy / Waldemar Daninsky epic The Beast and the Magic Sword, the 1984 Bruno Mattei / Claudio Fragasso video nasty Rats: Night of Terror, Roger Spottiswoode's 1980 video video nasty New Year's Eve slasher Terror Train, David "Rock" Nelson's 1993 SOV short Son of Werewolf, Roger Corman's 1957 creature feature Attack of the Crab Monsters, the 1988 William Webb erotic thriller Party Line, the 1990 Jose Ramon Larraz dreamy giallo Deadly Manor, Gianfranco Giagni's bizarre 1988 cosmic horror Spider Labyrinth, and the 1988 Augusto Caminito and Klaus Kinski 'sequel' Nosferatu in Venice. As always, in the third and final segment, we talk about everything else we've watched on physical media since last time and make our choices for next week.

The live list of The Spooky Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-spooky-stacks-1/

On The Spooky Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:12:37), first up this week is Carlo Vanzina's flashy 80s fashion giallo Nothing Underneath, in addition to the first episode of the original Twilight Zone, "Where Is Everybody?" In part two (1:12:37-2:17:03), we talk about 8 additional features: the wacky full-tilt 1980 Umberto Lenzi zombie action film Nightmare City, the 1985 Michael Stanley lo-fi independent horror Attack of the Beast Creatures, the 1993 direct-to-video Alfredo Salazar Mexican haunted doll picture Herencia Diabolica, Giuliano Carnimeo's 1988 trash-horror Ratman, Bruce Toscano's 1984 art-horror The Jar, Bruno Mattei's ridiculous 1995 Jaws ripoff Cruel Jaws, the 90s James Bryan SOV The Shining ripoff Jungle Trap (not finished and released until 2016), and the 1989 Lucio Fulci too-gory-for-TV-movie The House of Clocks.

The live list of The Spooky Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-spooky-stacks-1/

On The Spooky Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:43:10), our main feature this week is Joseph Ruben's 1993 prestige trash killer kid movie, The Good Son, in addition to the first episode of the 2019 Jordan Peele-produced Twilight Zone series, "The Comedian" starring Kumail Nanjiani. In part two (1:43:11-3:15:55), we have 9 additional features to discuss: Steve Latshaw's 1995 lo-fi horror Jack-O, the 1982 Greydon Clark horror spoof Wacko, Philippe Mora's "true" 1989 alien abduction tale Communion, Tobe Hooper's 1986 tongue-in-cheek horror sequel Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, David Schmoeller's bizarre 1986 'Klaus Kinski is your landlord' horror Crawlspace, the 1977 William Girdler natural horror Day of the Animals, Edwin Brown's early 80s first-wave forest-based slasher The Prey, Sisworo Guatama Putra's 1981 Indonesian knockoff of Friday the 13th, Srigala, and finally, the 1958 Eugène Lourié sci-fi thriller The Colossus of New York. In the third and final section, as usual we talk about everything else we've watched since last time and make our picks for next week.

The live list of The Spooky Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-spooky-stacks-1/

Please excuse some haziness this week, j. had a fever and was slightly delirious during recording.

On The SPOOKY Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:17:05), we begin with Wes Craven's classic 1984 high-concept dream horror, A Nightmare on Elm Street, in addition to the second episode of the 1981 Italian TV series The Devil's Game, "Venus d'Ille' (the final work of Mario Bava, co-directed with his son Lamberto). In part two (1:17:05-2:16:45), we speed-run a lot of different features - a quick revisit of David Lynch's 1983 version of Dune, the Tod Browning 1927 silent horror classic The Unknown, Mike Flanagan's stylish retro 2016 horror prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil, Sergio Martino's harsh, gruesome 1973 giallo Torso, O Sing-Pui's 1990 grimy triad exploitation picture An Eye for an Eye, Luigi Cozzi's 1980 Alien ripoff video nasty Contamination, Worod Suma and Dasri Yacob's wildly violent Indonesian exploitation sequel, The Warrior & The Blind Swordsman, and finally, Ed Wood's rejected 1957 TV pilot, Final Curtain. In the third and final section, as usual we talk about everything else we've watched since last time and make our picks for next week.

The live list of The Spooky Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-spooky-stacks-1/

On The SPOOKY Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:54:12), we talk about Rick Rosenthal's Halloween II, the official 1981 sequel to Halloween, kicking off the franchise, in addition to the first episode of the 1981 Italian horror anthology TV series The Devil's Game, "The Sandman" directed by Giulio Questi. In part two (1:54:13-3:44:23), we discuss 7 additional features - David Lynch's 1986 masterpiece of suburban dread, Blue Velvet, Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack's legendary 1933 stop-motion creature feature King Kong, James Gunn's 2017 MCU feature Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, Theo Anthony's frightening 2016 Baltimore civic documentary Rat Film, continue our coverage of Denis Villeneuve's Dune with 2024's Part Two, Joseph Sargent's 1976 Burt Reynolds moonshine running flick White Lightning, and Jesus Franco's 1969 breezy sexspionage movie The Girl From Rio. In the third and final section, as usual we talk about everything else we've watched since last time and make our picks for next week.

The live list of The Spooky Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-spooky-stacks-1/

On The Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:33:45), we return to Severin's Black Emanuelle box with another bit of apocrypha, The Dirty Seven (also known as Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert), in addition to the 9th episode of Star Trek (TOS), "Dagger of the Mind." Part two (ranging 1:33:47-2:56:08) features briefer discussion on 7 additional films: Denis Villeneuve's 2021 version of Frank Herbert's Dune, David Cronenberg's twisted 1999 VR body horror film eXistenZ, Luigi Bazzoni's 1975 art-giallo Footprints, Sisworo Gautama Putra's gory anti-colonialist religious action exploitation feature The Warrior (aka Jaka Sembung), Matt Mitler's 1993 Surf Reality Movie of the Month Les enfants miserables, John Hughes' 1985 bizarro low fantasy coming of age film Weird Science, and Ed Wood's 1954 poverty row noir with a twist, Jail Bait. In part three, as usual we talk about everything else we've watched on physical media since last time and make our picks for next week, starting our Spooky Season.

The live list of The Spooky Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-spooky-stacks-1/