Category Archives: Misc. Ramblings

DtH Podcast Episode 47 – William Castle

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House on Haunted Hill (1959), The Tingler (1959), and Mr. Sardonicus (1961). In the world of ballyhoo, nobody comes close to being a master at it than producer/director William Castle. From giving insurance policies to filmgoers in case they die of fright, promising the horrors onscreen will come off the screen into the audiences, to even letting the audience decide the fate of one of the characters in the film, Castle was a master of it. He treated his fans with respect and wanted everyone to have a great time with his pictures. And they still are entertaining today.

In this episode we’re going to delve into 3 of Castle’s films, as well as the man himself. Joining us to talk all things Castle is superfan and collector (not to mention Regional Warrior for Severin Films) Matt Harding!

Films Mentioned in this episode:

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Severin Kills with Promo Items!

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Back in the ’80s, in the midst of the video boom, there would be these awesome promo items the video companies would release. There was the Re-Animator (1985) paperweight, or the pack of matches promoting The Burning (1981), a Vamp (1986) credit card, and even a real box cutter for Blood Cult (1985). These of course, are highly collectible now and are a great reminder that those video companies understood the ballyhoo and doing little things to help promote the films they were releasing.

In today’s world of DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K releases, Severin Films are taking promo items to the next level.

Who could ever imagine that someone would create a plush toy for the notorious Italian gore film’s main character from Anthropophagus while he is eating his own intestines? Severin did. Why? Because they are as big of fans of these films as those who are buying their releases. Severin head guy, David Gregory is one of us. So, he makes these amazing items because he knows how damn cool they are! But they haven’t stopped there.

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Shock Waves Soundtrack Expanded!

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Back in 2014, Howlin’ Wolf Records made a dream of mine come true when they released Richard Einhorn’s score for the 1977 film Shock Waves on CD. Since I had seen the film more than a couple of times, I have always loved the weird and strange electronic score that Einhorn came up with, so I was thrilled and quickly ordered a copy of it. But now, even more Nazi horror has recently risen out of watery depths of terror!

Howlin’ Wolf Records have recently announced they will be releasing an expanded score of this release, almost doubling the amount from the original release. The one from 2014 was 31:31 minutes long, but this new release is 61:22 minutes long! It includes newly discovered tracks and bonus features, remastered from the composer’s personal 7.5 IPS master tapes. This release also features a 16-page booklet with new cover art by Austin Hinderliter, liner notes by Benjamin Chee, Ian Zapczynski, and an anecdote from composer Einhorn. Priced at only $17.95.

You can pre-order your copy, due to be released early next month, at Screen Archive Entertainment, by clicking HERE, or directly from Howlin’ Wolf Records, by clicking HERE.

Monster Bash This Weekend!

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We’ll soon be heading out to PA this weekend for this year’s spring Monster Bash! This has become one of our favorite shows over the years and is always a good time. Join us there for another weekend of movies, incredible deals in the vendor room, and more monsters to shake a stick at! We’ll have our usual array of books, magazines, movies, and soundtracks. Keep in mind folks, since my book selling days are coming to an end, now is the time to pick up some of those titles you’ve been wanting to get but just haven’t picked up yet. Of course, along with me is my partner-in-crime and wife Dawn with her selection of homemade tote bags and pillows.

The guests for this show include: Lynne Lugosi-Sparks, granddaughter of Bela Lugosi, Audrey Dalton from Mr. Sardonicus (1961) and The Monster that Challenged the World (1957), Daniel Roebuck, Beverly Washburn from Spider Baby (1967), Pamula Pierce, actress and daughter of the director of The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972), Tom Savini, as well as writers Tom Weaver, Frank Dello Stritto, Greg Mank, Sam Irvin, Rondo winning artist Mark Maddox, and more!

We’ll be there all 3 days at the show and hanging out afterhours to do some serious discussions on the world of monster movies and horror films! So come join us to escape from the real world (which is scarier than any movie), relax, and have a good time. Hope to see you there!

In Search of Darkness: The Book!

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Back in 2019, director David A. Weiner, and a host of names involved in the horror genre, from actors, directors, makeup artists, to a slew of genre journalists that gave us In Search of Darkness: A Journey Into Iconic ’80s Horror. I remember watching his epic documentary, running close to 4 1/2 hours, and really enjoyed it. My only complaint was that they were skipping quite a few titles. Little did I know that there would be 2 more entries in this series to come over the next 3 years, with part 2 coming out in 2020 and running close to 4 1/2 hours, and part 3 coming out last year and running OVER 5-1/2 hours! So yeah, one could really say they really covered a lot of ground in these three documentaries.

Which really is a love letter to one of the biggest and best times for horror fans, because that decade just exploded with movies. Again, with 3 documentaries running over 14 hours, that just shows how much was out there.

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Movie Review: Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares

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There are those icons from the golden age of horror, such as Lugosi & Karloff, or the generation after that, with names like Lee, Cushing, and Price. But if there was going to be one name from the modern generation of the horror genre, it would have to be Robert Englund. And now, thanks to this new documentary called Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, if you didn’t know already, you’ll learn why.

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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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