On The Stacks this week, part one (0:00-1:17:14) features the next entry in the original Gamera series, Noriaki Yuasa's 1970 film Gamera vs Jiger, while in Ultra Q episode 15, "Kanegon's Cocoon" we encounter a yokai rather than a kaiju. In an extended part two (1:17:15-2:52:56), we discuss four additional features, going deep on Steve Barron's 1990 kids' movie classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Amir Shervan's delirious lo-fi 1991 action b-movie Samurai Cop, the beautifully aesthetic 1990 triad film from Benny Chan, A Moment of Romance, and the bizarre 2023 sci-fi beat-em-up Divinity, from Eddie Alcazar. As usual, in part three, we discuss all the other physical media we've watched in between episodes 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, in part one (0:00-1:21:52) we conclude the original Michael Caine Harry Palmer trilogy with Ken Russell's 1967 spy parody Billion Dollar Brain, in addition to the 14th episode of Ultra Q, "Tokyo Ice Age." In part two (1:21:53-2:32:57), we have four additional films - Bruno Mattei's 1983 Claudio Fragasso-penned entry in the Emanuelle series, Women's Prison Massacre (aka Blade Violent! or Emanuelle in Prison), the 1973 Peter Newbrook steampunk British gothic horror The Asphyx, Banmei Takahashi's 1988 home invasion thriller Door, and finally, Michael Fischa's absurd neon 1989 supernatural horror Death Spa. As usual, we conclude with capsule discussion of all the other stuff we've watched on physical media since last time 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/

This week on The Stacks, after an unplanned week off due to illness, Shana and j. are back with a full-bore exploitation week, continuing coverage of the Stray Cat Rock series in part one (0:00-1:34:33) with both Toshiya Fujita's Wild Jumbo and Yasuharu Hasebe's Sex Hunter (both released in 1970) in addition to the 13th episode of Ultra Q, "Garadama" directed by series creator Hajime Tsuburaya. In part two (1:34:34-2:54:30), we discuss three additional films - Paul Verhoeven's cult classic 1995 Hollywood satire Showgirls, the 1991 Vanilla Ice vanity project Cool as Ice (directed by David Kellogg) and Bruno Mattei's 1982 Emanuelle women-in-prison mashup Violence in a Women's Prison. As usual, in (an extended) part three we talk about everything else we've watched on physical media since last time and make our picks for next episode.

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

Breaking slightly with tradition for the titling this week, due to us covering six films this week (plus one TV episode). In part 1 (0:00-1:39:33), we discuss the next two entries in the All the Haunts Be Ours folk horror box set - the 1958 Norwegian film Lake of the Dead, directed by Kåre Bergstrøm, and the 1987 Icelandic TV movie Tilbury, directed by Viðar Víkingsson - as well as "I Saw a Bird," the twelfth episode of Ultra Q. In part 2 (1:39:33-2:28:40), we run through four additional films - the 1994 Jon Moritsugu cinema of transgression indie Mod Fuck Explosion, León Klimovsky's 1972 entry in Paul Naschy's Waldemar Daninsky series, Dr. Jekyll vs the Wolfman, and two David F. Friedman formative sexploitation / roughie productions, 1965's The Defilers (directed by Lee Frost) and 1966's A Smell of Honey, A Swallow of Brine (directed by Byron Mabe, star of The Defilers). As usual in part three we talk briefly about all the other movies we've watched on physical media 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/

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. discuss Michael J. Murphy's 1995 direct-to-video folk horror The Rite of Spring and episode 11 of Ultra Q, "Balloonga" in part one (0:00-1:33:48), while part two (1:33:49-2:50:05) features three 70s film picks - Pedro Olea's 1973 Spanish exploitation drama It's Not Good for a Man to Be Alone, a 1978 entry in the long-running Black Emanuelle series, Joe D'Amato's Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade, as well as the 1976 John Guillermin King Kong remake. As usual, in part three, we talk about all the other physical media we've watched since last time and decide on next week's picks.

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

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. return to the films of Al Adamson, with part one (0:00-1:15:56) discussing his 1960 directorial and acting debut, Half Way to Hell, as well as his 1969 psychotronic western Five Bloody Graves. In part two (1:15:57-2:42:47) we talk about three additional features - the 2000 Coen Brothers megahit O Brother Where Art Thou?, Enzo G. Castellari's brisk 1974 poliziotteschi Street Law, and Jon Moritsugu's candy-colored PBS sitcom satire Terminal USA. As usual, part three consists of capsule discussion of everything else we watched on physical media in the past week and decisions on what to cover next episode.

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

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. return to the films of Werner Herzog in part 1 (0:00-1:30:45) with 1977's Klaus Kinski character study Woyzeck, in addition to our ongoing coverage of Ultra Q with the tenth episode, "The Underground Super Express Goes West." In part 2 (1:30:46-3:08:03), we talk about three additional features - John McTiernan's classic 1990 cold war action-drama The Hunt for Red October, Giuseppi Vari's wild swerve into surreal nunsploitation for 1977's Sister Emanuelle from the long-running Black Emanuelle series, and the 1983 Spanish documentary Dressed in Blue, from director Antonio Giménez-Rico. As usual, we conclude in our third section with briefer capsule discussion of everything else we've watched on physical media since last time and make our choices for next week's episode.

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

On The Stacks this week, Shana and j. bookend our February gore month with another Herschell Gordon Lewis feature, 1970's surrealist horror The Wizard of Gore, in addition to episode 9 of Ultra Q, "Baron Spider" to conclude part one (0:00-1:24:23). In part two (1:24:24-3:10:23), we cover three additional films - John McTiernan's peak action blockbuster Die Hard (1988), Pericles Lewnes' wild SOV Troma gore comedy Redneck Zombies (1989), and Brian Trenchard-Smith's first of two entries in the Leprechaun series, the Vegas-set Leprechaun 3 (1995). As usual, in part three we conclude with some capsule discussion of all the other physical media we've watched since last time and make our choices for next week's show.

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

On The Stacks this week, Shana and j. conclude our bloody February with four films and one television episode. In part 1 (0:00-1:36:49), we cover Jess Franco's notorious lo-fi 1981 video nasty Oasis of the Zombies as well as "Terror of the Sweet Honey" - the 8th episode of Ultra Q. In part 2 (1:36:50-2:49:59), we discuss three additional films - Paul Morrissey's classic Marxist vampire satire Blood for Dracula, the very heightened and ridiculous sequel Black Cat 2 (like the first, directed by Stephen Shin), and Max Pecas' ultra-violent 80s French crime film Death Squad. As usual, we conclude with briefer discussion of the other movies we've watched on physical media since last time and decide what we're going to cover next week.

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

This week in The Stacks, our impromptu February gore month continues! In part one (0:00-1:09:42), we discuss David Cronenberg's 1983 body horror / media satire Videodrome, while part three (1:09:43-2:25:36) features three additional bloody films: Douglas Grossman's late-80s teen slasher Hell High, the Indonesian black magic / comedy sequel Santet 2 (as with the first, directed by Sisworo Guatama Putra), and Lucio Fulci's career-retrospective 1990 black comedy / horror Cat in the Brain. As usual, we conclude with some briefer discussion of all the other physical media we've watched in-between and choose our picks for next week.

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