Video Store Nightmares

Join us this week as we discuss yet another small town under siege by a mutated animal - cockroaches! The town's sheriff, after casually dropping his girlfriend for his ex, must find a way to destroy the roaches and their monstrous queen. To complicate matters, these roaches mutate into the things they've eaten! 

This week, we watched one of the most beloved book-to-film adaptations of the 80s: 1988's Slugs - the Movie. Toxic waste has mutated the local slug population. They are now carnivorous - with teeth - and hungry for human flesh! It's up to the town's health inspector and a goofy scientist to save the day. On this episode: fishing on a date, vehicular carelessness, bad dog owners, slime trails, the costs of pre-marital sex, reckless sewer explosions, and eyes exploding with worms!

Greetings little mantis-eggs! This week, we watched Eric Marciano's 1990 obscurity - The Age of Insects. A mad scientist takes unsuspecting young men and - using questionable methods - changes their personalities to those of harmless grubs. One such pupa is trapped between his wimp father, his domineering mother, and the mad doctor Benedict. You've definitely never seen one quite like this before, and it's probably the only film we've covered that was exhibited by New York's Museum of Modern Art. On this episode: a fight with a vacuum cleaner, a lot of insect stock footage, oil massages, insect monologues, the virtues of becoming a drone, queen worship, suspicious parents, questions of paternity,  and the future of Beverly's Hose and Lingerie!

This week, we visit the gore-horror-comedy classic - Dead Alive! One of Peter Jackson's early efforts, Dead Alive features buckets more blood than any movie we can think of, before or since! When Lionel's overbearing mother is bitten by the dreaded Sumatran Rat Monkey, a zombie virus is unleashed and Lionel can't keep them tied up in the basement forever. On this episode: the growth in stop-motion effects, offensive native stereotypes, offensive mother stereotypes, offensive monkey stereotypes, tarot readings, protective talismans, zombie procreation, an evil uncle, maternal secrets, and the effects of animal stimulants on zombies!

This week, we go into the gutter - literally - and watch the sequel to 1980's Alligator: 1991's Alligator II - the Mutation! Another alligator is terrorizing a city, while the mayor and a sleazy real estate developer turn a blind eye. It's up to Joseph Bologna and Dee Wallace to save the day. On this episode: an implied election, the importance of alligator origin stories (this movie has none), virtual birthday parties, burnt steak, preposterous romances, oddly placed wrestling matches, severed legs, toxic waste disposal, and a constantly shape-shifting alligator.

This week, we revisit the work of famed exploitation director Jack Hill (Switchblade Sisters) with the queen of blaxploitation pictures - 1973's Coffy! Pam Grier - in her starmaking role - is a nurse with an 11-year old sister on smack, a corrupt politician boyfriend, and a police love-interest. To avenge her sister, Coffy works her way through the criminal underworld, one pimp and drug pusher at a time. On this episode: an exploding head, forced overdose, childhood drug addiction, bad Jamaican accents, lynching by car, murder by hair pin, and a very sexy Pam Grier, armed with a sawed off shotgun and razor blades in her hair!

*I apologize - the initial version of this episode had an audio bug. It's been fixed! Please re-download.

This week, we visit the works of Al Adamson, known for his cheap, drive-in fare. A mysterious cult leader dies, then possesses Nurse Sherri, forcing her to avenge his death. Meanwhile, multiple characters search for his body, determined to destroy him and free Sherri from his grasp. On this episode: inter-office romances, wearing business suits in the desert, a three week long resurrection attempt, car chases, a magical charm bracelet, voodoo practicing grandmothers, and condemnation to a 70s insane asylum.

This week, we continue our nurse-themed episodes and return to the world of Nick Millard (Criminally Insane) to discuss Death Nurse and Death Nurse II. Priscilla Alden (Crazy Fat Ethel, herself) plays Edith Mortley, a "nurse" who runs a sort of rehab house with her brother, "Doctor" Gordon Mortley. This duo pretends to lovingly care for the sick, but really puts them through gruesome amateur surgeries and buries them on the hill ("more expensive plots") in the backyard. On this episode: diabolical laughter, steak knives for scalpels, trading alcohol for sex, nosy social workers, Nick Millard's family, flashbacks to other movies, a small couch and lengthy dream sequences, and many many hand held camera zoom-ins.

This week, we go vacationing in the British countryside at 1973's Horror Hospital. Michael Gough plays a wheelchair-bound madman with a diabolical scheme to lobotomize unsuspecting guests into an army of slaves. Jason and Judy must escape with their minds intact. On this episode: transvestite fist fights, non-rape intentions, hairy holidays, slave gymnastics, Bond-villain monologues, interchangeable motorcycle guards, a machete car, beheadings, and getting ahead on the backs of others.