Saucer Cinema

Happy Holidays! On this final episode of 2023 I'm joined by Aubrey Curtis and frequent guest John Ferrer to talk about one of our favorite films of the year, Wes Anderson's Asteroid City. We touch on Anderson’s oft-misunderstood ouvre and continuing influence, navigate the film’s labyrinthine meta-commentary on the creative process, marvel at the ridiculously stacked cast, enjoy alien-themed hoedowns, and much more!

(Note: this is a “rerun” of a previous episode. For some reason a few podcast platforms won’t display the first couple episodes so I am re-uploading them again for newer listeners.) Our movie this week is the 1995 made-for-television film Visitors of the Night. Directed by Jorge Montesi, it stars Markie Post and Candace Cameron. Joining me to discuss this shockingly-not-a-Lifetime-movie offering is the ever-delightful Mandee from the podcast Fake Movies.

(Note: this is a “rerun” of a previous episode. For some reason a few podcast platforms won’t display the first couple episodes so I am re-uploading them again for newer listeners.) Welcome to Saucer Cinema, the podcast about UFOs, aliens, and otherworldly phenomena in film, tv, and other media. For this inaugural episode I am joined by Erik Thybony of the podcast Illogical Contraption: Nights After Dark to discuss the 1989 film adaptation of Whitley Strieber’s alien abduction classic Communion, directed by Philippe Mora and starring Christopher Walken. We go into the allegedly true story behind the book and movie, speculate about the interior design tastes of extraterrestrials, and marvel at Christopher Walken’s performance which, like Strieber’s alien visitors, has to be seen to be believed. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween! For this episode I am joined by Bryan White from the podcast Bring Me The Axe to talk about the 1980 sci-fi slasher flick Without Warning. We discuss the film's claim to fame as a precursor to 1987's Predator, the veritable rogues gallery of crusty character actors playing demented coots (Jack Palance, Martin Landau, Cameron Mitchell), b-movie gore, flying death pancakes and much, much more!

It’s another super-sized episode this week! Veteran guest John Ferrer returns to talk about inter-dimensional high jinks, sentient fungi, dinosaur people and more in 1993’s video game adaptation Super Mario Bros. We also delve into the film’s unusual development and chaotic production as well a strange and somewhat tenuous connection to UFO lore (hey, we have to justify covering this one somehow!!)

We're back with a nice, long meaty episode! Eleanor Russell returns to talk about a film that embodies the Saucer Cinema ethos more than any other in recent memory: Jordan Peele's 2022 sci-fi/horror/satire Nope. We go into the film's examination of spectacle, showbiz history, and exploitation, its creative take on UFO mythology and iconography, and much, much more!

For this episode I'm joined by writer Jody Beth LaFosse to talk about John Binder's charming 1985 comedy UFOria, starring Cindy Williams, Fred Ward, and Harry Dean Stanton. We discuss the film's struggle to find a proper release, its subsequent rediscovery and championing by critics, the stacked all-star country western soundtrack that contributed to the film being unavailable on home video, the allure of the desert for filmmakers and would-be prophets alike, the American fusion of entertainment and religion, and more!

Season 2 of Saucer Cinema begins now! Veteran guest John Ferrer returns to talk about the 1993 straight-to-video sci-fi thriller Alien Intruder, directed by Ricardo Jacques Gale and starring Billy Dee Willams and Tracy Scoggins. Virtual reality, laser jail, alien trickster babes, lunkheaded space cons, a surprising connection to a beloved 90's CBS family drama...there's lots to unpack here! We also take a deep dive into the wild filmography of PM Entertainment Group, the production company behind the film.

Saucer Cinema’s Special Robert Vaughn Correspondent Jen Albright (of the podcast Have You Seen This?) returns once again to discuss the lethargic 1980 UFO cover-up thriller Hangar 18, directed by James L. Conway and starring Darren McGavin, Robert Vaughn, and Gary Collins. We touch upon the UFO lore that (loosely) inspired the movie, contemplate Darren McGavin’s eyebrows, explore alternate endings, appreciate alien font design and creepy robot voices, vibe with unexpectedly gnarly gore scenes, and more! (Note: somehow the Megadeth classic “Hangar 18” and its memorable video did not come up in conversation, which I consider a grave oversight on my part. I apologize and promise to do better in the future.)

Saucer Cinema veteran (and recent Hugo Award nominee) Bitter Karella and newbie guest Woosl join me to dissect the infamous 1995 Fox TV special Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction?, directed by Tom McGough and hosted by everybody's favorite Number One, Jonathan Frakes. We talk about the special’s dubious origins, media hoaxes and credulity, hugging celebrities, Klingon/goth kid encounters, unexpected trading card crossovers, Poppin' Fresh the Pilsbury Doughboy, and more!

Put on your tinfoil hats and swing away! Parker Bowman of the long-running podcast Junk Food Dinner joins me to talk about M. Night Shyamalan’s 2002 blockbuster Signs starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix. We discuss the fascinating-if-checkered career trajectories of the movie’s director and controversial star, the power of quiet and minimalism in building suspense, aliens as metaphorical (and possibly literal) demons, downloading pre-release bootlegs in the early days of internet file sharing, and much, much more!

Sex! Drugs! Fashion! Alienation! More drugs! Tiny UFOS! This week's movie is the cult classic Liquid Sky from 1982, starring Anne Carlisle and directed by Slava Tsukerman. Joining me to talk about the film is André Callot, a professor of Film and Digital Media Arts at the University of New Mexico.

This week I am joined by J.W. Friedman of the podcast I Don't Even Own A Television to talk about the Chiodo Brothers' cult classic 1988 sci-fi horror-comedy Killer Klowns From Outer Space. We discuss childhood fears, B-Movie ingenuity, the persistence of clown-related horror, Ancient Clown Astronauts, Juggalo journalists, the Nickelodeon-to-delinquent pipeline, and much, much more!

Erik Thybony of the podcast Illogical Contraption: Nights After Dark returns to discuss the 1993 alien abduction drama Fire in the Sky, directed by Robert Lieberman. We compare and contrast the film's harrowing depiction of Travis Walton's purported 1975 UFO abduction with Walton's own account of the incident, catch up with recent controversies, contemplate being healed by Swedish pop gods, and discover President Joe Biden's sinister secret. Plus: Erik recounts his tour of the alleged Walton abduction site in the mountains of Arizona.

Saucer Cinema ushers in the new year with a look at the 1993 TV miniseries adaption of Stephen King's The Tommyknockers, directed by John Power and starring Jimmy Smits and Marg Helgenberger. Mandee from Fake Movies Podcast returns to talk about magic typewriters, lipstick laser guns, deadly dolls, killer soda machines and other (literal) plot devices in this not-so-subtle sci-fi addiction allegory.

Captain Christmas himself, John Ferrer returns to the pod to discuss a truly uh, "unique" piece of children's entertainment: 1971's The Christmas Martian, directed by Bernard Gosselin. To quote a writer known for Christmas cheer: "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." Happy Holidays!

For this episode I am joined by Grimm to chat about the underrated 1996 thriller The Arrival, directed by David Twohy and starring Charlie Sheen. Among the topics discussed: the timeliness of the film’s commentary on climate change, its relationship to another Twohy-associated project (1995’s Waterworld), just how surprisingly well the visual effects hold up, the strange resemblance of the film’s aliens to a certain deceased politician, and more!

The space vampire mayhem continues with Part Two of our episode on Lifeforce (1985) featuring Jen Albright of Have You Seen This? and Bitter Karella Masochistic nurses, melting starship captains, cannibal sharks-there's something for everyone here!

In this special two-part (belated) Halloween event episode, Jen Albright of Have You Seen This? and Bitter Karella return to rap about Tobe Hooper's wild 1985 sci-fi/horror epic Lifeforce. We examine the film's depiction of British mores and sexual repression, delve into the fascinating career of British polymath Colin Wilson (author of the film's 1976 source novel, The Space Vampires), talk British comedy and horror cinema, and dissect the British media's penchant for transphobia. All in all, a lot of talk about and making fun of the British in this episode! Plus: space tiddies.

Christmas comes early this year as I am joined by John Ferrer, curator of the annual festival of bizarre Yuletide entertainment McArathon, to discuss 1990's I Come In Peace (aka Dark Angel), directed by Craig R. Baxley and starring Dolph Lundgren and Brian Benben. We talk about the use of compact discs as alien death weapons, yuppie drug gangs, jittery scientists, cop movie clichés, the oh-so-brief moment when Brian Benben was at the heart of the zeitgeist, and much more!