Tag Archives: Sting of Death

Discover the Horror Podcast: Episode 56 – Turkey Day 2023

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The Sting of Death (1966), APE (1976), and Brutal Sorcery (1983)

It’s November, so that must mean its Turkey Time! Yes, that’s right, for the last 20 years, Jon has been holding his Turkey Day Marathon Event, where we spent Black Friday delving into some of the strangest, weirdest, cheesiest, but always entertaining films. The ones most would call bad, we call them Turkeys! Damien started holding his own Turkey Day events 12 years ago, and this year, Aaron is starting his own! So why don’t you?!?!

What we call a Turkey is just a film that doesn’t play by conventional standards. It may not have a budget, any real talent behind or in front of the camera, but they have passion, and are doing their best to make a good film. They just missed the mark here and there. But they are always entertaining and fun to watch. Especially if you are with other crazy, like-minded cinephiles!

Take a listen to this episode to learn more about what Turkey Day is, as well as hearing our thoughts on three new titles we’re covering this time around. Each one would be perfect for your own Turkey Day Marathon!

Movies mentioned in this episode:

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Friday Favorites: Underrated Unusual Monsters

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Our series of Friday Favorites dedicated to Underrated Films continues this week with the … unusual. We’re talking monsters, but not the usual fare, like vampires or werewolves, but one where someone came up with something pretty creative, such as a half-man / half jellyfish creature in Sting of Death (1966), or the chlorophyll-blooded monster from Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968)? But then is one that you just love but is just not getting the love that you think it deserves. Now these don’t need to be cheesy or schlocky, those were the first two that came to mind. But even something like the film Splinter (2008), which had a very unique and amazing monster in there, not to mention being a great little film. Remember though, we’re talking about UNDERRATED monsters, so as original and unique Alien might be, it definitely ain’t underrated. So dig deep here, people.

So let’s here those titles! Give us some movies to add to our watch list!

William Grefé Came from the Swamp

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There is a list of different filmmakers like Bill Rebane, Larry Buchanan, or Ted V. Mikels, that stayed away from Hollywood, making films on their own turf, with little or no money, but were still able to produce films that were entertaining. William Grefé was one of those, cranking out films made in Florida. Now thanks to Arrow Video, there is a box set of Grefé’s films coming out on Blu-ray this November that is a collection that I feel is a must for any fans of exploitation and drive-in features. The box set is going to feature 7 features, all newly restored from the best surviving film elements, in this one box set. The features are: Sting of Death (1966), Death Curse of Tartu (1966), The Hooked Generation (1968), The Psychedelic Priest (1971), The Naked Zoo (1971), Mako: Jaws of Death (1976) and Whiskey Mountain (1977). Haven’t heard of some of these? Well now is your chance to remedy that! I mean, how can you go wrong about a film that features a jellyfish man???

The set is going to be filled with extras to make any fan drool.  Amazon has it listed for $99.99, but you can pre-order it now from Diabolik DVD for only $59.99! Below is all the goodies in the set: Continue reading →

They Came From The Swamp!

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DVD-Ballyhoo-TheyCameFromTheSwamp-Cover-FrontWhat do titles like Sting of Death, Stanley, Mako: The Jaws of Death, Wild Rebels, The Naked Zoo, Death Curse of Tartu, Impulse all have in common? They were just a handful of the films directed by Florida based filmmaker William Grefé! And now, the incredible history of this low budget filmmaker comes to the screens in this new feature lenght documentary, thanks to Ballyhoo Motion Pictures this April!

While other low budget directors were running off the the sunny skies of California to make their independent pictures, William Grefé stayed in the other sunny part fo the country, in Florida everglades area and made that his own little Hollywood. There he created about sharks, snakes, a jellyfish man, bikers, and many more titles that were sure to lure them into the drive-ins. And he always delivered.

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Turkey Day 2009

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This year’s marathon brought something new to the table.  A third victim!  Joining me and AC this year was our buddy Matt Carr (aka gore artist Putrid) who finally decided to take up our offer to spend the day rolling around in cinematic garbage.  With Matt being a fan of such things and very used to it, we know he’d feel right at home.

stingofdeathSting of Death (1965) – Our first movie came from Florida’s own William Grefe, another renegade filmmaker that didn’t want to leave his Florida location and would stay and make his movies there.  Sting was Grefe’s first real venture into the horror genre, creating the first half man/half jellyfish creature that has to be seen to be believed.  Seeing a guy wearing a black wetsuit, with basically a plastic garbage bag over his head, and wires hanging off of him that are supposed to be tentacles is just priceless.  It really is one of the best cheesy monsters in cinematic history.  And it’s a blast.

A group of biology students head over to an island off the coast of the Everglades to have a party at Dr. Richardson’s house, where his daughter has just showed up to stay for a while.  The doctor’s assistant, Egon, stands out like a sore thumb amongst her friends because he’s slightly deformed.  So that makes it okay for all her friends to laugh, point, and generally make fun of him.  But hey…they’re just wacky kids.  In fact, right after they get there, they start the swinging dance party.  There’s even a song playing called ‘Do the Jellyfish’ that was written and sung by famous singer/songwriter Neil Sedaka.  I’m sure this was at the start of his career…But somehow, with all the dancing, the kids don’t happen to see this jellyfish creature sneak into the pool that they’re dancing around, waiting for someone to jump in the pool.  As we said, it has to be seen to be believed.

Grefe would go on to make other successful drive-in style movies, including his most famous one, Stanley (1972).

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Interview: Doug Hobart

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Doug Hobart is a name that up until a couple of years ago, I had no idea who he was. But because of an unusual birthday cake my wife Dawn made for me, not only would I find out just who Doug Hobart was, but I would eventually get to interview him. Every year for my birthday, I screen two movies in our backyard for a bunch of friends. This one particular year, the films were two Florida based movies, ZAAT and Sting of Death. For the cake (pictured below), my wife made a battle between the two title creatures from these movies. It was such an amazing cake, that once I posted a photo of it on Facebook, it was getting a lot of responses, even from people like cult directors Frank Henenlotter, Fred Olen Ray, and even William Grefe, who directed Sting of Death. Well, Fred Olen Ray made a comment and tagged someone named Doug Hobart. So I looked up the name on IMDB and was shocked not only to find out that he was the guy who played the jellyfish creature, but was on Facebook as well. So I quicky sent him a note, asking if he’d be willing to do an interview with me. A short time later, I was on the phone with him, hearing some amazing stories of his life in show business, which you’ll find below.

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