Horroretc Podcast

Dim the lights, cue the title card and strike up the orchestra...lets talk about silent film. This week we discuss the birth of cinema and the subsequent development of a new medium of entertainment from the first (still existing) two second film from 1888 through to 1927 and the end of the silent era. We try to strike a balance between offering a rough primer on this early time period reviewing the technological challenges and evolutionary steps achieved by some true pioneers, as well as calling up a fair list of the titles recommended to begin exploring the surviving catalogue. The famous works are addressed as well as some lesser known gems including Der Golem (1920), Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), Nosferatu (1922), Phantom of the Opera (1925), Metropolis (1927), London After Midnight (1927), Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde (1920), The Unknown (1927)...and a dozen more. We spend time on and explain what the term 'German Expressionism' actually means, recognize the enormous contributions of George Melies and Lon Chaney, explain why projection speed was dictated by the fire hazard of nitrocellulose film and much more. Thoughts on a couple random movies round things out (Eyes Wide Shut - Anthony, and Defendor - Ted). Thanks to Brian Kaufman, Travis & Ernie for their various contributions and to misterD for a great audio review of Spiral (2007). We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

Movies...so many movies. The whole crew gathered this week to chat about the various films we have all been watching and there were a lot of them. The problem was there was really no cohesive theme or motif upon which we could build a show topic (there were a lot of UK titles? Most were fairly recent? Leprechaun movies for St. Patrick's Day?), so instead we'll just list the movies covered in the episode: Alice in Wonderand (2010) The House of the Devil (2009) Leprechaun 1-4 (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997) Lake Mungo (2008) The Fourth Kind (2009) El Orphanato / The Orphanage (2007) Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day (2009) Re-Animator, Bride of Re-Animator, Beyond Re-Animator (1985, 1990, 2003) The Machinist (2004) Repo Men (2010) Harry Brown (2009) Unforgiven (1992) Hush (2009) Tony (2009) The Orphan (2009) The Beacon (2009) The Descent 2 (2009) ...so there it is, 22 movies in all. Some were quick hits while others were dug into a little more. Our themed episodes will return but for the time being our eclectic viewing behaviour rules the day. Schlock corner has very little schlock content at all - the new trailer for Predators! Big thanks go out to all who participated in the original artwork and logo contests. Many submissions were received and we were incredibly impressed at the creative efforts put forth. We announce the winners of the first 2 prizes and keep open the requestion for questions for 1 more week. We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

Horror comics...the saga continues. With some of the history and evolution of the medium covered off in the first installment we proceed with getting into a little more detail on many titles available to explore. Our second volume features another great interview with friend of the show Ken calling in to share a wealth of information on the subject. A number of titles are bandied about including further discussion of the great zombie series The Walking Dead. Many renowned writers and artists in the industry are discussed as well as references to their well known works for those seeking to explore the subject further. Our intention at the outset of tackling horror comics was to educate ourselves and bring in the experts to help shed some light on the path to follow and share their recommendations. Special thanks to both Ilke and Ken for stepping up to the plate! Correspondence solicited from the listeners a few months back are finally shared as well in a 40(ish) minute feedback segment where a comprehensive list of further recommendations can be found. Thanks to all who wrote in and shared their favorites. We wrap things up with a quick schlock corner Shatner sings wresting themes (yeah, we know...but how much Shatnre is too much really?), and remind everyone this will be the final week for submissions to win one of several great prize packages: 2 volume graphic novel sets of Judge Death and Caballistics Inc, a single graphic novel Storming Heaven as well as a brand new DVD release of Dr. Who: The Brain of Morbius. Thanks again to our good friends at Rebellion Press and 2000 AD for providing great prizes. We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

Welcome to an unscheduled From The Hip episode. We decided to interupt our look at horror comics to bring everyone up to speed on recent events that may be of importance to the horroretc community. Not to worry, the drama is minimal and this impromptu get together served to give us the chance to get caught up on some recent watches. In some treks to the theatre we have caught the remake of The Crazies (and cover off the '73 original as well), the latest collaboration of Scorsese/Dicaprio Shutter Island (spoiler talk is from 37:50 to 44:44), The 87' original and '09 remake of The Stepfather, an intriguing entry from a Horroretc favorite Christopher Smith called Triangle (2009), The Asylum's take on Sherlock Holmes and more. The story of Ted's complete computer failure, our take on Burton's upcoming Alice in Wonderland, the subtle alterations to the Nightmare on Elm Street trailer and much more round things out (plus some fun intermission music). Please don't hesitate to send in your entries to our ongoing contests (special thanks to our friends at Rebellion Press and 2000AD). Three graphic novel packages and a special Doctor Who DVD release are up for grabs. We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

The art of comics. It's been a long time in the making but your fiends at Horroretc have finally delivered on our long promised look at horror in comics. When we venture into territory that expands beyond our knowledge base we are certainly not above bringing in the experts to help educate us and this episode is no exception. A friend of the show sits in to discuss the long history of the medium and the tales of the macabre that have graced the newsprint for so many years. We also share a varied selection of titles we have personally enjoyed and get to some finds that have left us surprised at the entertainment waiting out there to be found. The comic book world has evolved significantly in the past few decades and it has been a revelation to your hosts. So much so that we promise a second horror comics episode next week! So please stay tuned for more comic goodness and if there is one small nugget to extract from our blathering it's this: read The Walking Dead. No zombie fan should be deprived of this excellent experience. We also announce 3, yes 3 new contests with terrific prizes offered up from our friends at Rebellion Press and 2000 AD (Storming Heaven, Judge Death and Caballistics Inc. totalling 5 graphic novels in all). Get your creative juices flowing. Finally, we wrap up with random talk and a literary schlock corner: How to make your own Necronomicon. We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

As a reconvening of the Horroretc Book Club is long overdue we present to you a second episode dedicated to the world of horror literature. Horror works very well on film as the medium allows for manipulation of the viewer's senses by visual means. The foreboding sense of a darkened alley can be conveyed by controlling the contrast of shadow, movement of a camera, the creeping dread delivered by a subtle musical underscore and many other elements. On the printed page however our minds are free to shape a scene and add all the ingredients necessary to truly frighten, all led by the workings of a singular author. When the words and imagery offered marry perfectly to the internal fears of the reader who is able to visualize and tailor the horror to their own subjective minds....terror is achieved. In an effort to again celebrate horror on the page, we delve into a whole list of titles be they favorites or recommendations to share some of the vast amount of content out there. Along with our choices, we hear from listeners who have their own suggestions to explore. The book club is joined by Peter Straub who sits in to reflect on a successful career, the process of horror writing and the story of his latest novel A Dark Matter. And we have giveaways. With six books handed out and a new contest announced (plus still more to come), there's no better time to participate than right now. We wrap things up with some casual banter including initial reaction to The Wolfman and the 10 Oscar best picture entries for 2010. We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

Once more unto Raimi for the third and concluding episode of our director retrospective. When last we met the floodgates had been thrown open for us to gush about our love of all things Evil Dead but this chapter has a few more lows to mix in with the successes. No stone is left unturned as we cover horror and non-horror output alike beginning with an eclectic list of films including The Quick and the Dead (1995), A Simple Plan (1998), For Love of the Game (1999) and The Gift (2000). And then came Spiderman. It was a rare convergence of studio blockbuster mega-project and just the right filmmaker to bring a beloved character to life with the all important (and often missing), element...fun! Three films, $ 2.5 Billion worldwide box-office revenue and a decade of Raimi's career. Was it worth it? We talk about about it. An excellent capper to the whole affair came in 2009's Drag Me To Hell where the gushing recommences. A fun schlock corner (Link), some more words from MisterD and a reminder that this week is the deadline to enter a great contest to win one of several books up for grabs by sending in your book review for our upcoming reconvening of the Horroretc Book Club. We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

The Sam Raimi director spotlight gets going in full swing as we take a look back at his 1978 - 1993 works. As many know, the inspiration for The Evil Dead was born from a 1978 short film titled Within The Woods and it's interesting to find that many distinct Raimi trademarks are present from the very beginning. Between the Evil Dead trilogy chapters there were a couple films that may be classified as 'forgotten' and 'underappreciated' respectively, Crimewave (1985) and Darkman (1990). We should give out a warning ahead of time - when attempting to discuss the Evil Dead films we failed utterly at covering the plotlines, story structure, key scenes, etc. Instead, we fell into fanboy gushing at just how well these films work for us and why we all have a responsibility to initiate those who have not yet shared the experience. It's difficult to imagine a fan of horror films who would have no appreciation for The Evil Dead. That said, the gushing comes to an abrupt end when the topic of Legion (2010) is raised. We put out the call again for Book Club submissions and we hope to hear from many members of the community in our forthcoming episode. Finally, we hear from listener misterD who calls in to add to the Tarantino discussion. Thank you to Rhys, Robb and Laura for their generous contributions to the show. We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

Welcome to another Horroretc audio commentary. As a kickoff to our extended Sam Raimi director's spotlight we sit down to revisit one of the all time great films of the genre. It's a pretty one-sided argument to say Evil Dead 2 is one of the most beloved horror flicks out there with a truly iconic performance by one Bruce Campbell so it's only fitting that an episode is devoted to discussing what makes this such a fun watch. Despite our best efforts, things did end up coming down to reactions to the frenetic craziness happening on screen but we hope you take from the show some of our enjoyment of watching Ash and company continue the never-ending battle with those pesky Candarian demons - the deadites. In an extra bit of campy fun we join William Shatner (once again) giving his thoughts on Star Trek 2009 and lament the passing of a pioneer podcast. Finally, your participation in an upcoming reconvening of the Horroretc Book Club is solicited with some tantalizing prizes teased. We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

Ozploitation - Round 2 Another great roster of Aussie film picks this week complete with all new content. Exploring the list of titles from week to week was a great way to discover the many genre films the land down under has to offer and served as a reminder of how much we have enjoyed many classics along the way (Road Warrior ended up being a segment unto itself). Schlock corner covers a short video that made the rounds a few months ago but deserves our attention and Panic Attack is definitely worth checking out if you haven't yet seen it. This is a road to being discovered brought on by the wonders of modern technology. We wrap up the show with an examination of the criminally underseen ghost story The Lady In Black (1989). It's a throwback to days gone by when getting your hands on a rare gem took some effort. Thanks to everyone for bearing with the repetition of clips in this Aussie retrospective, it was a lot of fun to put together. Please consider our invitation to send in your reviews of Italian horror selections to be part of a future Pasta Splatter exploration. The Ferryman (8:36) The Road Warrior (14:46) Long Weekend '08 (4:24) Mad Dog Morgan (10:38) - thanks to Stephen at JAFMP Storm Warning (7:19) Patrick (5:15) The Return of Captain Invincible (10:27) Dead-End Drive In (8:47) Razorback (8:02) Fortress (5:18) We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

It's a clip show? Well, not really. Some time ago we enjoyed a rollicking documentary called Not Quite Hollywood where we were introduced to a huge roster of little known Australian genre films while simultaneously reminded about the classics we know and love. Thus began a pseudo filmfest where an individual film was chosen at random to discuss each week on the podcast. Over the course of a couple of months many titles were covered that ended up being almost unanimous recommendations with friends of the show pitching in along the way. Several of those segments have been compiled with additional titles added to the bill in the form of new recordings to deliver a true Ozploitation film festival. So while the show this week includes several clips from previous episodes, we hope the process of collecting these commentaries combined with new content will help to inspire digging up some of these titles to enjoy as well. We indulge in some extended general movie chat for the opening 38 minutes of the show followed by discussions about a great list of Aussie picks. Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild Untold Story of Ozploitation / Turkey Shoot (15 min) Black Sheep (6 min) Long Weekend (1978) (11 min) Road Games (8 min) The Cars That Ate Paris (10 min) Mad Max (10 min) We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

"Tarantino is an aesthete, a Fitzgeraldian observer of the delicate dance of social interaction" - Ron Rosenbaum (critic) "Tarantino doesnâ??t communicate anything to the audience except 'look how fucking cool I am' â?? - (anonymous blogger) A special directors spotlight this week as we scrutinize the works of the man himself, Quentin Tarantino. Obviously there are differing opinions of the value and quality of the films he has made over in 15 years, as sparse as they may be, but for the genre fan there is so much to appreciate. In honour of the extensive character rosters Tarantino likes to incorporate, its a full Horroretc crew discussing our highlights and complaints about his filmography thus far including writing and acting contributions. Rather than regurgitate the factoids and anecdotes of the productions (see wikipedia etc), we focus on our general take on the films and discuss how Tarantino has crafted unique and powerful works from the history of cinema that came before. So please sit back and enjoy a feature length conversation about QT with our most produced episode to date. And yes...there's some other stuff at the end too. Check out the site for the links referenced in the episode for more info: Tarantino trademarks - excellent summary of all the recurring Tarantino trademarks Reservoir Dogs - how the mexican standoff went down - Nuff said Wikipedia - check out the collaborators chart - all the information we chose not to convey The Films of Quentin Tarantino - nice 4 minute homage to the man's movies We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

Time to bury the past in a shallow grave as we take a look back to the past decade. Okay, so maybe its a bit cliche to throw out a 'best of' summary just because the year changed but its also a great opportunity to recap the big titles that hit the mark for horror fans. The past decade also represented a rebirth of the horror genre following the polished indulgences of the '90's. In an effort to get to as many quality recommendations as possible we mined the best of lists posted by a cross section of horror blogs and websites. With 10 years of output there are many selections that need to be given their due (Slither anyone?). Following some lists of movies we drill things down to figure out the year to credit for horror's ressurection. In addition to an extended casual chat where Night of the Demon, Sherlock Holmes and much more are discussed we offer a special segment dedicated entirely to The Road after the whole Horroretc crew was lucky(?) enough to see the film in a small arthouse theatre. The episode closes out with this half hour portion and while the discussion was satisfyingly on point we do cover a lot of spoilers so please be warned. Special thanks to Stacey for the awesome original music this episode. We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

Hello Dexter Morgan! Welcome to the Horroretc recap of Dexter season 4 (the penultimate season?). A couple disclaimers first - as before we discuss the 12 episodes in their entirety and as such we only recommend listening once you have finished watching the season or to get our impressions of why this show is so worth your time to head back to the beginning and start catching up. Second, we understand this may exclude many listeners who have not completed the season or watch the show in general - to you we apologize and promise a return to more Horroretc goodness next week. It was quite a season which featured the best adversary yet in John Lithgow's trinity killer and culminated in a shocker ending that sent us spinning into speculations of what turns season 5 may hold. We have our theories and welcome thoughts on the show as a whole or how things will in fact wrap up. No supplemental segments this week as we consider the Dexter episodes to be defacto Horroretc specials devoted entirely to the main subject. We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM

Welcome to the third annual Horroretc X-mas Spectacular. In keeping with tradition we offer up a feature length film discussion followed by some random topics and a gift exchange. Of course the main subject has to be...Avatar. Yes we know there is no shortage of discussion about this event film but we take the opportunity to throw in our two cents on the subject. It is something to behold but the real question is how rewatchable it can be and how much the home viewing experience will differ from the big screen 3D presentation. Random films we've seen are covered as well including It! (1967), Lake Mungo (2008) - a very tenuous X-mas connection here, American Movie (1999), Christine (1983) again, some Italian Horror stuff and this year's X-mas horror feature...Treevenge! Yes Treevenge. For those unfamiliar, check out the link here to enjoy this 17 minute gem. If you only watch one horror X-mas film this year...make it Treevenge. And yes, things wouldn't be complete without the traditional gift exchange. This year, some listeners got in on the fun too. Special thanks to Scott, Nick and Stovern! We always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.com WWW.HORRORETC.COM