Category Archives: Misc. Ramblings

Naschy’s Night of the Executioner

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While this isn’t technically a horror film, it is Paul Naschy so of course I have to mention this. Any time one of his movies that had never been released here in the states (aside from a Spanish language version that was released) gets a release, it is something to be celebrated! And Mondo Macabro have continued to wave the Naschy flag in releasing a lot of his titles, that now American audiences are going to see Night of the Executioner (1992) for the first time.

Naschy plays a family man whose life is forever changed after his wife and daughter are both raped and murdered, and he has his tongue cut out. He then goes out on a killing spree avenging his family. This is a brand new 4K restoration from the original negative, in Spanish language track with optional English subtitles. It also has an audio commentary by Rod Barnett and Troy Guinn from the Naschycast podcast. Plus, there are interviews with Naschy son, Sergio Molina, and with actors Pepe Ruiz, Manuel Zarzo.

Right now, you can order the special “Red Case” edition, which comes with a full color booklet with a brand new essay by Troy Howarth, author of Human Beasts: The Films of Paul Naschy. This edition is limited to 1500 copies and can be ordered by clicking HERE.

I Do NOT Collect Toys!

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This statement is getting harder and harder for me to continue to state. I’m usually really good and looking at some new figures or toys coming out and saying, “that’s pretty cool” and move on. But then I came across this one and it immediately took me back to my childhood.

Scooby Doo, Where Are You? ran for only 2 years, but went on in various versions, updates, live action films, and way more than any this 5-year-old kid could have imagined back in 1970 when he was first watching them. Being a buddy young horror fan, Scooby Doo was the show for kids like me. While I do find it pretty interesting that while the joke out there that this TV show let kids know that the only real monsters out there were humans, it honestly did help this little kid understand that what we see in the movies where just that . . . a guy in a mask. No matter how scared and real they looked, Fred, Daphine, and the gang always uncovered the mystery to find the ghost, monster, creature, or whatever, was just a guy.

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Discover the Horror Hits 10K Downloads!

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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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Pete Walker Collection from 88 Films

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If you’re one of those out there that just hadn’t made the deep dive into the films of Pete Walker, then now is your chance. That is, of course, if you have an import Blu-ray player. If you don’t, what is the hold up?

88 Films is goign to release a deluxe edtion of Walker’s films in The Flesh & Blood Show set, featuring 7 of Walker’s titles. They include Die Screaming, Marianne (1971), The Flesh and Blood Show (1972), House of Whipcord (1974), Frightmare (1974), House of Mortal Sin (1976) Schizo (1977) and The Comeback (1978). They haven’t released any price or any details of the extras, but they do say these will all be “presented in new HD remasters, and featuring a scary array of exclusive extras, including brand-new interviews with Walker himself.” This set is to be released in September.

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Discover the Horror Podcast – Episode 39: William Girdler

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3 on a Meathook (1972), Grizzly (1976), & Day of the Animals (1977). Director William Girdler is a name that some horror fans might know some of his work, but probably don’t know a lot about the man himself, or maybe don’t realize how many great films he produced in a very short time, before his untimely death. 9 movies in only 6 years, and one of them being the most successful independent film for the time, which head that record until John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978). In this episode we cover one of his earlier films, as well as two of his most popular ones, or ones that might be more familiar with your average fan. But we invite you to listen up and even rewatch them and see if you don’t agree with us that William Girdler was much more than a low budget independent filmmaker, but one that consistently turned-out entertaining pictures.

Got any ideas for a future show? Any comments about this show, or any of our others? Please let us know! Leave your comments here, or send us an email at podcast@discoverthehorror.com, or on either our Facebook page or Instagram page!

Titles mentioned in this episode:

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Rondo Time Once Again

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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.

A Bookseller’s Quandary . . .

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As we get closer to starting our 2023 Kryptic World Tour, there is something that has been on my mind for more than a few months that I feel the need to get it out there.

Those of you out there that know me from conventions, know that I mainly deal in horror reference books. It is one of my strong passions as a horror fan, and love being one of the few dealers at the horror conventions that deal in them. I love being able to get a book out there to another fan, handing over the potential to learn more about a particular actor or film.

But the times are a changing, as they say.

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Must Have Box Sets

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You got to give some major props to these smaller boutique labels like Vinegar Syndrome, Synapse Films, and so many more, that keep putting out some rare titles that are either out-of-print on DVD or maybe never even been released in a digital format before. Today saw the announcement of two different box sets that I’m pretty excited about. One of the sets, I already all the titles, but upgrading to Blu-ray, especially with all the extras, it’s a no-brainer.

But let’s get to the first one that I’m most excited about. Today Severin Films announced Danza Macabra: The Italian Gothic Collection – Volume 1! For someone that is a huge Euro-Horror fan, especially the gothic horror titles, I’m very excited about this one. Coming out at the end of May, this box set will contain 4 features: The Monster of the Opera (1964), The Seventh Grave (1965), Scream of the Demon Lover (1970), and finally, Lady Frankenstein (1971), each one packed with extras.

The Monster of the Opera has a new 2K scan from the original negative, and will include audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, author of Daughters of Darkness. It will also have interviews with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, Italian film devotee Mark Thompson-Ashworth, and an archival interview with director Renato Polselli.

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Julia vs Julia

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A short time ago, I posted about the upcoming release of The Haunting of Julia on Blu-ray from the Australian company, Imprint Films. Shortly after that I was told that Shout Factory had also announced to release this film here in the states. But there are some dramatic differences between the two releases, which really has me in a quandary. We’ve waited decades for this film to get an actual release and now that we do, we get two of them!

As previously posted, the one from Imprint film has their presentation in a new 1080p High-Definition presentation on Blu-ray from a 4K scan from the original negative. But the Shout Factory release is a 4k UHD presentation.

The only extra it seems on the Shout Factory disc, if you order from them directly, is a 18×24 rolled poster of the theatrical artwork.

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The Haunting of Julia to Hit Blu-Ray

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Before the success of the 1981 adaptation of Peter Straub’s 1979 novel Ghost Story, and earlier novel simply called Julia, published in 1975, was made into a film called Full Circle, but was released over here in the states under the title The Haunting of Julia. Mia Farrow stars as a recently separated woman who is struggling to regain her life back after the death of her young daughter. She moves to London to start that new life, but the place she picks seems to have another presence there, one of a young girl. Also starring Keir Dullea, Tom Conti, Jill Bennett & Robin Gammell.

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