Birdhands

Wes Craven. The genius behind “A Nightmare on Elm Street” tries his hand at a sci-fi horror blend with a romance between robots and humans. Paul is a gifted young teenager who is in college for brain science and robot building. Or something to that effect. When his beloved robot BB gets shot by the lady from “The Goonies”, he is clearly heartbroken. But lucky for him the girl he has a crush on across the street gets beaten to death by her father the day after he gets to revive both inside of Kristy Swanson. Seems like a good idea. The only problem is BB was a bit of a violent robot and all hell breaks loose around town. Apparently this film was ordered to have massive re-shoots to add gore and horror after a test screening went terrible. Not sure what it would have been like without them but it did give us the most unique head explosion with a basketball scene ever put on film. And for that we can all be thankful. Join us in the Birdhands cave as we witness, Wes Craven’s Deadly Friend.

Stephen King and Ah-nold. You can’t go wrong can you? Two titans of the 1980’s film industry unite and we can expect nothing but gold. Right? Well all we really got were gold spandex, but maybe that is good enough for us. 1987’s sci-fi classic “The Running Man” is still very memorable after 30 years but mainly for the many things it has in common with the political climate today. But forget all that lets just watch the film and enjoy it for what it is. Buckle into your tunnel pod and cue up possibly the greatest film ever made about a game show. Join Birdhands as we have an in depth look at, “The Running Man”.  

In 1984, Paramount Pictures decided they were done making sequels to one of their most popular franchises and decided to kill Jason Voorhees off for good. Seems strange that you would want to do this to one of your most profitable series but that is what they were going with.The previous year Jason topped the box office in 3-D and had just found his now iconic hockey mask so it really is a puzzling decision. We have to give them credit though, they went all out and brought back Tom Savini to handle the special effects, and even had some decent actors like Crispin Glover and Corey Feldman. In what most fans believe to be the best installment in the series, they really were trying to go out with a bang and let audiences know that this was the end for everyone’s favorite goalie. What will BIRDHANDS make of this gem? Can Jason still shock us 30 years later? Is Crispin Glover’s dance still amazing? Is Corey Feldman as scary as he is present day? Should Paramount think about renaming this film since there are 7 more chapters? Put on your headphones and a hockey mask and join us as we view: Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.

Halloween. The franchise that will not die. It is now forty years after the original low budget horror classic took the world by storm and there is no end in sight. The newest installment just topped the box office and made over 250 million dollars worldwide. Michael Myers is as popular as ever and the biggest horror draw around. But it is hard to believe that after “Halloween 2” was released in 1981 and Michael and Dr Loomis were blown to bits in an explosion, the studios decided to continue the series without the characters and released “Halloween 3: Season of the Witch”. We all know how that turned out, audiences were let down and angry that they were tricked into seeing a movie about an evil mask company and it was a box office flop. The series seemed like it was over. However, in 1988 fans around the globe were thrilled to learn not only was a new film being released, it would feature both Michael Myers and Dr Loomis who somehow survived the explosion. This week on BIRDHANDS we go 30 years into the past when the series was undergoing its first of many comeback efforts. Please join us as we sit down and watch, “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers”.

I’d buy that for a dollar. Well it is 2019 and there is not much you can buy for a dollar. But you can enjoy the new year by watching a classic science fiction film with your new best friends, Birdhands. Robocop is a 1987 masterpiece that is as close to a perfect movie as you can get. The special effects are still convincing today and the acting is top notch. Peter Weller shows what can be done inside a suit without the help of CGI. Relying on body movement and method acting to make the audience believe they are seeing an actual cyborg. It is astonishing how well this still holds up today. Go get it, cue it up, and enjoy it because they just don’t make them like this anymore. Make sure you are watching the UNRATED version or we will be out of sync.

Thrill me! Its Christmas and what better way to spend it than with a couple of creeps. By which I mean Birdhands. But if that doesn’t satisfy you then there are a whole pile of them in this weeks episode, the 1986 horror gem, “Night of the Creeps”. In fact this movie has everything, ax murderers, space aliens, zombies, and slugs. Add in some detective drama and a bit of jocks vs nerd plot and you have a recipe for cinematic gold. Or do you? Sit back, pour yourself a glass of egg nog, and fire up the television set with us as we feast our eye holes on… Night of the Creeps!

The living dead have taken over the earth, and the Irish have taken over Delaware! Survival of the Dead is the final film in George Romero’s series created in 1968 with the release of the original “Night of the Living Dead” which gave birth to the entire zombie genre as we know it today. It was followed by two sequels that were just as groundbreaking and memorable. Romero took a break from zombies during the 1990’s and returned with a new trilogy in the 2000’s. A six film series with many parallels to the Star Wars franchise, both having an excellent first trilogy, and then a second trilogy released years later when the creators best years are clearly behind them. But will George Romero turn back time and reclaim his status as the creator of the zombie genre? Or will it be more like when your Grandfather is encouraged to dance at a wedding, and then embarrasses himself and gets severely injured. There is only one way to find out. Get your zombie apocalypse gear ready, butter the popcorn, cue up the movie, and join us as we try to survive….. Survival of the Dead!

  This week on BIRDHANDS, we watch a movie about people watching a movie. We think you should watch it as well. If you are into zombie films, gore, violence, bad dubbing, and plot twists that will leave you speechless, then this is for you. Made in Italy in 1985 but being discovered in North America via home video a year later, this holds a place in many eighties fan’s hearts. So cue up the movie and turn down the lights, and brace yourself as we tackle… DEMONS.

This week on BIRDHANDS, we get deep into a no budget gem from 1982 featuring an alien monster who according to the poster can rip flesh right from the bone!  Although he seems to prefer a laser gun to do most of his killing. Made on a $14,000 production budget it could have been much worse. But what it lacks in professionalism, it makes up for in spirit. Join us and watch along with BIRDHANDS as we try to survive…NIGHTBEAST Watch along with the version online that does NOT have the Troma logo or intro. The proper version to use is 81 minutes.

Sleepaway Camp. A classic? Not really, but one hell of a cult film that really stands out from all the early 1980’s slasher at a camp movies. Creative kills and some great make up effects, not including that infamous glued on mustache, make this a must watch for any movie buff. The ending alone is worth the price of admission. Guaranteed. Get this gem cued up and watch along with Birdhands!

In the debut episode of Birdhands, we sit down to watch a movie widely known as “the gayest horror film of all time” and see if it lives up to that honor. A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 has everything and then some, S&M high school teachers, exploding birds, and the first male scream queen! Watch along with us as we dissect the black sheep of the Elm St series!

Welcome to Birdhands! An introspective reflective perspective watch-along of the movies that shaped us from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and beyond… The best and worst of horror, sci-fi, flops and schlock – with talk.