Discover the Horror Episode 46 – Horror & Heavy Metal

Horror movies and heavy metal music have almost gone hand in hand, since the real first heavy metal band, Black Sabbath- which was even named after a horror film! Horror films were a huge influence on the metal genre, from imagery on the album covers, to the lyrics, and even the sound and style of the music itself. And they continue to do so to this day.

To delve a little deeper into the connection between those two, we invited two members of Incantation, one of the oldest death metal bands out there, Kyle Severn and Chuck Sherwood. So, join us as we talk music, metal, and movies!

Films mentioned during this episode:

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Discover the Horror Podcast: Episode 45 – Hong Kong Black Magic

Corpse Mania (1981), Red Spell Spells Red (1983), The Rape After (1984)

Obviously, the title of our show, and its mission statement is about discovering new horror, In the past we’ve always brought films to the table that we already liked and wanted to discuss.  But on this episode, we were given a unique opportunity.  We were given a list of somewhat obscure Hong Kong-created black magic horror films which contained titles that none of us had seen, and it gave us an idea: maybe this time Aaron, Damien and Jon would be the ones who discover the horror! We each picked a film we’d never seen but sounded interesting, and on episode 45, we share our thoughts on these very unique films.

If you’ve not spent time in the utterly unhinged world of Hong Kong black magic horror, and are fond of the surreal, the impossible and the inexplicable, we think this show might just be for you.  Scorpion attacks, maggoty necrophilia, rats leaping from the mouths of dead fathers… this episode has it all. 

To join us, we invited Ryan Smith, who made the list and has gathered probably the largest collection of Hong Kong cinema that we’ve ever heard of.  Be careful- this is one where leaves can rip your face off!

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Discover the Horror Podcast: Episode 44 – Classic Mexican Gothics

El Vampiro (1957), The Black Pit of Dr. M (1959), and The Curse of the Crying Woman (1963). Any horror fan worth their weight in blood knows their fair share about the classic monster films from Universal from the 30s and 40s before they died a slow death. But do you know that in the late 50s and early 60s, there was a bunch of classical looking horror films made in Mexico? Looking a lot like their Universal brethren, these Mexican films cranked up the atmosphere (and the fog machines) to 11, using some of the traditional monsters, as well as developing some from their own heritage.

Mexican horror films from this era don’t seem to get the credit and notoriety that they should. We’re hoping to help change that by covering 3 that we think are pretty damn good. So, buckle up, get your pen and notepad ready and get ready to start down a very foggy path into a highly underrated sub-genre.

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Discover the Horror Podcast: Episode 43 – Tape Trading and Bootlegs

Back in ancient times, before Netflix and Amazon Prime, before Hulu and YouTube, even before DVDs and Blu-rays, if films weren’t available to you from either your local video stores, or if you wanted to see an uncut print of a movie, or even one that wasn’t released on VHS, the place you could find them would be in fuzzy gray market of the bootlegs.

These types of vendors were a staple to a lot of the early movie conventions, where fans could find titles that never even knew were out there. Some of us are old enough to remember being able to finally see the uncut full letterboxed version of Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond, after years of suffering though only being able to see the heavily edited Seven Doors of Death.

As your collection grew, you would usually start trading with others, increasing your collection even more, as well as helping to spread the love and passion of these amazing films. This is what we’re discussing in this episode, so sit back and either reminisce with us, or learn about the good old days, when we were happy for a 5th generation grainy print of Anthropophagus that had the infamous fetus scene!

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Discover the Horror Hits 10K Downloads!

Back in October of 2021, Aaron AuBuchon, Damien Glonek, and myself started the Discover the Horror podcast, with the goal of getting listeners to seek out other films that they hadn’t seen before, or taking another look at ones they had seen, maybe seeing it a little differently than before. I’d like to think we’ve consistently done that with each and every episode.

Well, it seems that last week, we hit 10,000 downloads! Now honestly, since I’m about as technical savvy as an abacus, I have no idea to what the magnitude of that number actually means, but it does tell me that people are listening to the shows and more importantly, coming back for more. We strive to create a show that hopefully sparks that passion inside the listener to take that extra step, or a bigger step, into the genre. As I’ve said before, as fans of the genre, this isn’t a race, but an incredible journey we’re all on together, all being on the same path, just at different points along the way.

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Discover the Horror – Episode 42: Universal Frankensteins

Frankenstein (1931), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Son of Frankenstein (1939), and The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942).

Time to go back to the source! The films that started a mythology, created the stereotypes, and taught us everything we were going to need to know about the mad genius that created a “monster” and the innocent, child-like creature that would eventually be known by his creator’s own name. In this episode, we look back at the first four Universal Frankenstein films, before the monster-ramas, when the main point was the creature and his maker. While there is a lot of material to cover in only one episode, we cover as much as we can, trying to show you just how important, entertaining and well-made these films are after close to a century.

Films mentioned during this episode:

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Discover the Horror: Episode 41 – Made for TV Horrors 2

Devil Dog: Hound of Hell (1978), Vampire (1979), & Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981). Back in Episode 11, we covered 3 Made-for-TV films that we felt were must see! And now we’re back again to go over another 3 titles that we think are well worth your time and attention. During the late ’70s and early ’80s was still a time of great films that were made to premiere on your television at home, decades before streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime were available. Thankfully, these three are available in a variety of formats, but you may have to do a little searching first. But that’s okay…the hunt is part of the fun!

So sit back, hit play, and listen to us ramble on about some really good films, with incredible casts, and some damn entertaining monsters!

Here are the titles mentioned in this episode:

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Discover the Horror Podcast – Episode 40: Generations of Horror with Guest S.A. Bradley

Depending on when you not only grew up but grew up with the horror genre could define what films you like, and what you don’t like. But then there are other fans that open up the borders and search outside their comfort zone. In this episode, we discuss those ideas with our special guest, S.A. Bradley, author of Screaming for Pleasure: How Horror Makes You Happy and Healthy, as well as the host for the podcast Hellbent for Horror.

This isn’t an episode about specific films, though plenty are mentioned and discussed in great detail, but also on how they are received by the current audiences, as well as the older, and sometimes younger audiences, and what the differences are.

These are the films mentioned in this episode:

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Rondo Time Once Again

The nominations for the Rondo Awards have been announced, with plenty of great names and titles to be voting on. Remember, for most of the nominees, what they are being praised for is done out of passion and love for the horror, sci-fi, fantasy, classic monsters, or whatever genre you want to call it, but it is what we all share the same passion with. Winning one of these awards would not only help put their name on the map but give them a little assurance of what they are doing actually means something. So, take a few minutes to go through the list of nominations and send in your vote. You can see the whole list and all the info you need to vote by going to the official website by clicking HERE.

Now, I do have to take a few seconds to mention that my column in HorrorHound magazine, They Came from the Krypt, has been nominated for Best Column, so I would love to have your vote.

Plus, it seems our little podcast endeavor, Discover the Horror, that I do along with my good friends and fellow deviants, Damien Glonek and Aaron AuBuchon, has been nominated for Best Podcast as well. So again, we’d love to get your vote.

And while I would never tell you to vote for another podcast besides our’s, S.A. Bradley’s Hellbent for Horror is a bit of alright as well!

Another personal note, another good friend of mine, Gavin Schmitt, has his book Karl Freund: The Life and Films, has been nominated as well. So maybe give him a consideration as well!

But seriously, take a few minutes, go through the list and vote from the heart. If you don’t know anything in that category, just skip it. You don’t have to vote in everything, but just the ones you know.

Discover the Horror Episode 38: Italian Horror with Troy Howarth

There are plenty of ways to help you on your way to discovering more about the films you love, as well as ones you might not know too much about. There’s always books on different filmmakers, or sort of the audio form of that, the audio commentaries that are usually found on most of our favorite films. The more insight you have, the more you will know, and maybe even enjoy it more. One of those that is helping fans learn just that is Troy Howarth. He’s written over a dozen books on a variety of subjects, usually in the Italian film genre, covering directors like Argento, Bava, Fulci, and more recently, Umberto Lenzi. He’s also published a 3-volume set on the giallo film. Plus, he has done a ton of different commentaries, giving fans even more info!

Films mentioned in this episode:

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