The Really Awful Movies Podcast

This week on the podcast, add another critter to the list of creature features/nature run amok flicks. If you thought rabbits in Night of the Lepus was pushing the envelope, well...here...we've got beavers. Zombeavers is from the producers of American Pie, so there are of course lots of the expected jokes. This one debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival of all places, and is a bit smarter than you'd think (but not by much). Tune in and subscribe!

This week, we examine the quirky action film and Bob Odenkirk starrer, Nobody. Odenkirk, of course, is best known for two exemplary shows, Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, and is hardly the first actor to spring to mind when you think "action." But he acquires himself wonderfully here as a supposed family man with a shady shady past who crosses wires with some Russian goons. On this episode: John Wick Bob Odenkirk Road House Canadian suburbs A History of Violence/Eastern Promises Middle aged masculinity Tattoos in action films Tune in, subscribe to the podcast! New episodes are released every Friday. And if you're a fan of nutty genre films, check out two of the books I co-authored: Mine's Bigger Than Yours! The 100 Wackiest Action Movies and Death by Umbrella: the 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons.

This week on the show, Alice, Sweet Alice - a classic horror from the 1970s. A young girl, Karen (played by Brooke Shields) meets an untimely end in this religious-themed regional slasher by director Alfred Sole. Karen is murdered by an unknown assailant in a yellow raincoat and creepy translucent mask. And speaking of yellow, this one bears some of the hallmarks of giallo films from that era, despite these not being an influence on Sole.

This week, a shortened version of the podcast, as befits a shortened week: Dolly Dearest. A few short years post-Child's Play, another sentient doll movie nearly graced cinemas. Well, some cinemas as this got minimal distribution. It features a cast that includes Denise Crosby and Rip Torn, so there's that. And the poster art is quite nice.

On this episode, pain don't hurt. Here's a reboot of the Patrick Swayze 80s action film. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Dalton in this, a more comedic approach to the source material. It's set in the unlikeliest of locales, the Florida Keys, and has a twist that's based around the UFC. Tune in, check out the latest episode.

This week on the podcast, some sword and sandal fun and games courtesy of Deathstalker. It combines the tournament conceit of something like Enter the Dragon, with the standard jerkin / fur / broadsword / wrist band aesthetic of Conan the Barbarian. Apparently, this one is getting a remake too! Anyway, this joint Argentinian American production is pretty wild and pretty exploitative. Tune in, and don't forget to subscribe to the show!

This week on the podcast, a trip back to arguably the greatest decade in cinema, the 70s, for the caper, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. A Tokyo transit delegation is visiting the Big Apple, getting a tour of the MTA headquarters, and learning how the city runs its transit. Against this backdrop, Hijackers commandeer a New York City subway train near Central Park, and threaten to kill a passenger a minute if their demands aren't met. Rip-roaring stuff, starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw. This one uses naming character conventions of Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, etc., which Quentin Tarantino paid homage to (err, ripped off) in Reservoir Dogs. Accept no substitutes, and no crummy remakes with Travolta and Denzel. The doors are now closing, stand clear of the doors! Tune in, subscribe, tell your friends. New episodes of the show are uploaded every Friday.

On this episode of the podcast, the killer monkey movie, Shakma! We turn our gaze to the 90s, and to this animal / nature run amok flick, which, all things considered, remains a lesser known sub genre entry. Roddy McDowall plays a research scientist, and he's working at a facility doing strange experiments. All the while, his colleagues are obsessed with live action role play and some elaborate game on the premises. Shakma has its moments, though can't be considered Olympic podium-worthy, when it comes to animal attack movies (that's reserved for Jaws, Back Country, Alligator, etc). Tune in, and tell your friends. Sub to the Really Awful Movies Podcast.

Stuck in a theatre and being attacked by...DEMONS! This week on the podcast, a look back at the inestimable Lamberto Bava classic, and all its weirdness. And there's no time like the present to tackle this one, especially on the heels of Demons 3. Tune in, subscribe, and enjoy the show.

This week on the podcast, an unheralded "sequel" to the first two Demons, which Demons 3 has nothing to do with. Oops. At least Lamberto Bava is in the director's chair. We're in Southern Italy. An American family is coming down from Milan on vacation, and they have rented a sprawling castle. What could possibly go wrong? Turns out, a lot. Demons III: The Ogre contains no demons. But there is an ogre, so there's that.

This week on the podcast, Justin Long stars in the Kevin Smith-directed, Tusk. Wallace (Long), one half of a podcast duo, flies up to Winnipeg to interview a Lolcow to make fun of him. Unfortunately, the kid's got other plans so Wallace does as well. Needing content for his show, Wallace comes across a strange message in the men's room and decides to pursue the lead. And does so..AT HIS OWN PERIL. Tusk is a body horror comedy set in Manitoba that has its moments. Tune in and subscribe to the show. Apologies for the audio quality, as this was a phone recording. Back to the usual mic / recording set up for next week's show. THANKS.

On today's episode, we turn to blood suckers and Hammer Horror for the criminally underappreciated and underrated, Kiss of the Vampire. Newlyweds find themselves in the company of a suave, debonair family in their ornate, stately home. You know the drill! That's always what happens. What makes this one interesting is neither Peter Cushing nor Christopher Lee is present, plus their are cultic elements. Tune in and subscribe!

Meatcleaver Massacre, AKA, Hollywood Meatcleaver Massacre! This is a 70s affair, with an intro by none other than Christopher Lee. Unbeknownst to the legend, he was to shoot an intro for a different movie, and ended up in this - resulting in a lawsuit. All said and done, however, this one is an interesting curiosity and more fun than it had any right to be!

This week on the podcast, Michele Soavi's Stage Fright AKA Deleria. This is an 80s Italian horror that's based around a theatrical production all about, you guessed it, a murderer on the loose. Does art imitate life? Is the Pope Catholic? This is a super fun flick from a protégé of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, who is of course, the masked quasi star of the excellent Demons. Genre fans will also get a kick out of Italian gore whipping boy, Giovanni Lombardo Radice as one of the dancers. Break a leg, and join us for a quick chat about Stage Fright!

We turn our eyes to Sweden on the podcast, and check in on the spirited and gory horror-comedy, The Conference. More accurately a corporate retreat, the folks behind a contentious shopping mall development head out to some rustic cabins to brainstorm and team-build and all that fun stuff. They do some zip lining, eat and drink, question a few barriers/headwinds the real estate development project could face, and generally have a swell time at first. That is, until, something incriminating is found on a laptop. Meanwhile, there is a killer on the loose. And he's masked, of course. The Conference has a lot of neat backstory, and some terrific kills. It's marred by slickness, but is overall a pretty compelling effort. Tune in and subscribe to the Really Awful Movies Podcast!

A New Year's horror as we enter 2024. On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, the Canadian tax shelter horror, Ghostkeeper. This is a low budget affair about three snowmobilers caught in a blizzard in the Alberta Rockies, the most Canadiana plot ever for any horror film. The trio takes refuge in a seemingly abandoned ski lodge and encounter a strange occupant. Tune in, and don't forget to subscribe to the show and throw in a few iTunes reviews if you like what you're hearing. Remember, new episodes of the show - which focuses on horror and action, but also other genre films - are uploaded every Friday.

Merry Christmas, and happy holidays to everyone. Today on the podcast, the 70s horror curiosity, Silent Night, Bloody Night. The mansion. The madness. The Maniac. No Escape. A lawyer and his paramour are tending to an estate, converting a sprawling mansion into equity. The scion of the Butler family, Jeffrey, meanwhile, leaves California for New England to help settle the family matter as well. He soon finds that his grandfather's home, is cursed. And that the townsfolk are less than welcoming, claiming bad mojo about the dwelling that's persisted for decades. Genre heads will enjoy this, as we've got legendary John Carradine as a newspaper magnate and Mary Woronov as the mayor's daughter.

On this episode of the podcast, Cannon time! Enter the Ninja is a silly 80s exploitation/martial arts filmed in, where else? The Philippines! Because of course it is. That was a very cheap place to film back in the day, and is the geographical backdrop for many a cult classic. And there's a fun genre cast including Django's Franco Nero, but also the Italian horror staple, Christopher George. When a couple of plantation landowners are harassed by a wealthy developer, the male half enlists an old war buddy to help - a man trained in the deadly arts of the ninja! Soon, the white ninja is beating the holy tar out of every village barfly, and even kicking the crap out of a man with a hook for a hand, a very Bond-esque villain. Tune in!

This week on the podcast, peace, love and mayhem. The Last House on the Left (1972) is the directorial debut of the man, the myth, the legend, Wes Craven. Two women on their way to a concert, are kidnapped by a menacing foursome of escaped cons and taken to the woods, somewhere in Connecticut. This one is unflinching and unrelenting. And this is definitely not Christmas fare. Thanks for checking out the podcast, and subscribe!

There are a lot of Santa Claus slashers. But with Don't Open Till Christmas, Kris Kringle characters are the vics not the perps. Don't Open Till Christmas is a 1984 British slasher film. It is directed by Edmund Purdom, who also stars. But based on the end project, viewers can tell it is the work of >1 director in the chair. The flick introduces a mysterious killer murdering Santa Claus impersonators in London during Christmas season, first off, through a Black Christmas-like POV shot. Thereafter, a Santa at a nightclub is murdered in front of dozens of witnesses. Turns out, it's the father of one, Kate, whose boyfriend soon becomes embroiled in a giallo-like murder investigation by New Scotland Yard.