Wild, Wild Podcast S5 E12 - THE FINAL EXECUTIONER (1984)

It's time for our epic journey across the irradiated wastelands to come to an end, so what better film to bring things to a satisfying conclusion than THE FINAL EXECUTIONER? Join Adrian and I as we struggle to find anything positive to say about this late entry in the pastapocalypse cycle while still remaining upbeat. Some would say that we are scraping the bottom of the barrel but sometimes there are tasty bits left behind. Is that the case here? Or is this a film that even its mother would have left out in the desert to fend for itself? Luckily there is violence, sexytime and the occasional bit of funky synth music so it's not all bad.

We would love to hear from you if you have any favorite post-apocalypse films. You can contact us on Twitter and Instagram or by email at wildwildpodcast@gmail.com. Please also remember to rate and review us on your podcast platform of choice!

Ken Reid's Creepy Creations!

I've become fascinated by British artist Ken Reid's monsters and creatures. The creativity and imagination on display is staggering making me wish there was a funny tale written about each one. 
 

Video - THE FINAL EXECUTIONER (1984)

YouTube is making things a little easier if you want to follow along with the films we cover on the Wild, Wild Podcast. Our next episode focuses on this example of the post-apocalyptic genre that neither Adrian or I had ever seen before. Check it out!

Retro Review - I HATE MY BODY (1974)

Philandering husband Ernest is out partying in a nightclub with some co-workers one night. He gets in his car to take one of the secretaries home for the evening for a little mattress bounce but has overestimated his ability to drive while drunk. One crash later the secretary is dead and he is on an operating table breathing his last. Enter mad scientist/doctor of insane medicine Adolph who is pressed by his nurse into continuing his concentration camp experiments on poor Ernest. A gleeful Adolph takes the fellow’s brain out of his dying body and pops it into the body of Leta. It seems that she’d had a terminal brain tumor but her body is in fine shape so it’s a perfect match- right? You would think so - especially if you were a Nazi doctor hell-bent on proving his mad theories to the world.

Of course if you’re a super macho man suddenly placed inside a woman’s body you might think otherwise. Ernst is shocked at his transformation and disgusted by the attention he/she gets from men. He’s still the same old pussy hound with the same old womanizing urges and the idea of sex with a man is just not going to work for him. (Alternate titles - Creation of a Lesbian!; Night of the Lesbian; The Lady Wears a Tie; Is That a Boobie in Your Bra or Are You Just Happy to See Me?) 

Pissed at his new lot in life and suffering some decided shock he seethes with anger. Only able to take being locked up in the hospital for a short time he/she starts a distracting fire, shoves Adolph into it and makes an escape. A visit to his ex (?) wife reveals that she’s now sleeping with his best friend/co-worker and living comfortably off the million dollar insurance policy Ernest left behind. Hard up for money Leta/Ernest tries to get Ernest’s old job at the engineering firm. After all - she has the same qualifications. When that doesn’t work (he/she actually calls his old boss a male chauvinist!) she tries to convince a psychiatrist of her predicament but he dismisses her story. Or he does until he realizes that this is the escaped crazy woman who burned old Dr. Adolph to death! At this point Leta decides to visit her new body’s parents for a break. But Ernest soon learns that Leta has a son from a youthful out of wedlock relationship! Oh my. Not just a woman but a mommy! He/she leaves almost as quickly as he/she arrived exiting the old hometown, setting up house in a boarding room and getting a job in a factory. But when this and a bar job don’t work out Leta hits on a much better plan for cash. It’s time to blackmail Ernest’s wife for half the insurance money.

This is a pretty good but not great slice of sleazy trash. A movie like this often teeters on the edge of unintentional humor but for the most part I HATE MY BODY maintains its balance. In the 1970's the idea of a man in a woman’s body is much more likely to be played for laughs than drama and there are some things in this story that are impossible to present without a bit of humor. I laughed out loud at Leta’s reaction to learning about her son. But for every scene that veered toward amusement there was another that pushed things in the other direction. Once Leta starts making her moves on the insurance money she also tracks down Dr. Adolph’s nurse and beats the hell out of her with a whip. And if there was any doubt about how the film was to be taken the downbeat ending should erase all confusion.

This is by far the weakest of director Leon Klimovsky’s movies that I’ve seen. That doesn’t mean its bad at all, but it doesn’t measure up to his better work. It’s well worth a look for the Euro-curious and it’s a shame the only way to get it is the dubbed scratchy print as it deserves a restored release. 

 

Poster Art and Lobby Cards for RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR (1984)

 

The Bloody Pit #178 - RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR (1984)

**Word of warning – the first fifty minutes of the show has less than great audio. For some reason a buzzing was on the track and the only way I could eliminate it was to crush some of the less loud portions of the sound out. Sadly, this dropped most of the laughter from the amused ladies in the room and causes the softer ends of some words to be lost as well. I’m sorry about this – I’ll work to make sure it doesn’t happen again.**

I am joined once again by Bobby Hazzard and John Hudson to roll around in Italian sleaze! This time I chose the film and, since I was in a post-apocalypse frame of mind, we end up talking about our first Bruno Mattei film. RATS NIGHT OF TERROR (1984) is probably my favorite of Mattei’s efforts, which some will claim is damning it with faint praise – I can’t disagree. 

We talk about how we first encountered this mad movie and its regular video companion HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD (1980). Tied into that, Hudson notes the strong similarities of this film’s plot to the classic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) siege scenario. Other post-apocalypse exploitation movies are used for comparison with this one coming in as a lesser effort in some way but not in others. The portentous ‘Star Wars’ inspired opening voiceover has us trying to square the supposed 225 years ‘After the Bomb’ timeline it provides, but we do have a lot of fun noting that the world ended in 2015. Actress Geretta Geretta has talked about this film on several occasions and we relate a few of her more interesting tales of working in Italian cinema without speaking the language. Other topics include dodging iguanas, buckets of rats and well-done fire stunts complete with some unfortunate animal cruelty. We do eventually end up spoiling the excellent ending, so you have been warned. 

If you have any comments about this film or any other we’ve covered on the show thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. We thank you for listening and we will do our best to avoid audio problems in the future. 

Wild, Wild Podcast Season 5 Episode 11 - A MAN CALLED RAGE (1984)

This film is about a man called Rage. His name is on the poster and everything! But is he actually full of rage? Or is he just a bit annoyed at being mildly inconvenienced by the post-apocalypse? There may have been nuclear war, but it hasn't stopped him being able to get a really good haircut or from going to the gym. It's hard to see what's got him so cross. Let's see if we can find out. Join Adrian and I for this latest episode as we get ripped with Rage and slashed with Slash – not the famous one, though. Yes, we head out once more into the forbidden lands in search of whatever it is they need this time, with only a gun and a girl in hot pants for company. Standard military issue denim hot pants, of course!

We would love to hear from you if you have any favorite post-apocalypse films that we haven’t covered yet. You can contact us on Twitter and Instagram or by email at wildwildpodcast@gmail.com. Please also remember to rate and review us on your podcast platform of choice!

What I Watched in July 2023

I was impressed by OPPENHIEMER (2023) and was happy to see such a smart drama being released to strong business in the good old summertime. For all the whining and crying about how Hollywood pumps out nothing but big budget entertainments fit only for children I have to note that there are still plenty of adult stories being produced even if most of them are on television. The fact that films aiming for a broader audience than a period drama usually garners are the norm isn’t a sign of the dumbing down of cinema any more than the release of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG was in 1968. I’m still amused by this type of constant complaining but it shows a lack of understanding of the business of movie making.

The biggest surprise of OPPENHIEMER (2023) for me was the final act of the film. I did not expect the detailed exploration of the nasty, petty political machinations that featured later in the main character’s life. I found it fascinating and of particular interest in relation to its parallels to the sad, needy animals that function today as our elected officials. There were no ‘good old days’, my friends. Only the distance of time seems to make it so.

The List

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDERVERSE (2023) – 7 (good but not as good as the first)

CONQUEST OF SPACE (1955) – 6 (rewatch on Blu)

BOG (1979) – 4 (low budget Wisconsin lake monster movie)

PLANET OF THE FEMALE INVADERS (1966) – 5 (silly but interesting Mexican SF)

TRESPASSERS (2018) – 5 (mediocre home invasion variation)

FLIGHT COMMAND (1940) – 6 (standard military training drama with good cast)

IKARIE XB-1 (1963) – 8 (excellent Czechoslovakian SF film)

GREEN HELL (1940) – 4 (Whale’s not great jungle adventure)

BEATRIZ (1976) – 6 (Spanish folk horror tale)

THE FATAL HOUR (1940) – 6 (rewatch on Blu)

DOOMED TO DIE (1940) – 5 (rewatch on Blu – Karloff’s last)

BIG BUSINESS GIRL (1931) – 5 (slight, creaky, predictable romantic comedy)

KING OF KONG ISLAND (1968) – 5

THE AMUSEMENT PARK (1975) – 6 (interesting allegory about the aging people of society)

THE KILLER IS STILL AMONG US (1986) – 6 (giallo based on a real case with an inconclusive ending)

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING PART ONE (2023) – 7 (exciting but exhausting)

INFLUENCER (2023) – 6 (interesting thriller with a female killer)

STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982) – 9 (rewatch)

DUDE COWBOY (1941) – 5 (Tim Holt B-western)

THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS (1957) – 6 (rewatch on Blu)

OPPENHIEMER (2023) – 9

SAMOA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE (1968) – 5 (Edwidge Fenech as a jungle girl) 

Video - A MAN CALLED RAGE (1984)

For those following along at home, here is the next film that Adrian and I will be covering on the Wild, Wild Podcast. It's a another in the long line of Italian post-apocalyptic epics produced on a tiny budget. It is exactly what you would expect but I found it to be pretty darned entertain. Can't understand how I missed seeing this one until now!

Star Spangled War Stories Cover Gallery

I might need to find a collection of this comic and read them all! Right after I get my hands on a collection Weird War Tales. How about that, DC?

 

NaschyCast #72 - Jon Kitley Visits!

This episode we are joined by Jon Kitley to talk about his love of and history with Paul Naschy! Readers of Horror Hound magazine are aware of his regular column ‘They Came from the Krypt’ but he has also published the book ‘Discover The Horror’ which is part genre exploration and part autobiography. Both Troy and I recommend it. As you might expect from such a conversation, the three of us range all over the place touching on more topics than we could comfortably list.

Suffice to say that we discuss horror conventions (where we all met), non-fiction horror genre books (which we all collect) and our shared fascination with movies and monstrous stories. Of course, we do finally get around to talking about Naschy with Jon falling squarely on my side of the critical Mummy divide! It is about time I had someone to stand with me on that hill! HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB was our guest’s introduction to the great man’s work and it becomes a big part of our chat. As a bonus, the legendary Spanish character actor Victor Israel gets more than a few minutes of glowing examination too. We had a great time talking Naschy and we hope you’ll enjoy listening. 

If you have any comments or question naschycast@gmail.com is the place to send your emails. Thank you for checking out the show and we’ll be back soon.

Classic Hawkman Cover Gallery

The Bloody Pit #177 - STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)

Mark Maddox and I return to the Star Trek feature films! This time we tackle the big one – the one that kept the franchise alive – STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982). It’s an important film for Trek fans and also an important part of the astonishing list of genre releases from that year. We briefly discuss the other films from 1982 to demonstrate the pivotal nature of the cinema of that time and its long-term effect on the genre. For this episode we assume you have some knowledge of the film and spoilers are in every corner of every deck. You have been warned.

 

We each relate our personal history with the film starting with theatrical viewings and then we dig into the details that make this one a classic. The selection of Nicholas Meyer as director is pointed to as the choice that probably guaranteed the project’s success with his melding of the various script ideas into a cohesive whole. The cast is discussed with Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley and Montalban singled out for praise for their excellent performances. Mark recounts his discouraging encounter with an odd form of homophobia when seeing the film for the first time and we compare the first film’s special effects to the smaller budgeted sequel. The story’s commentary on aging comes under scrutiny as both of us think about the changes in ourselves since this film came out. We ain’t getting any younger, that’s for sure!

 

If you have any comments about Star Trek thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. We’ll be back in a few weeks to continue this journey with Kirk and the gang and we hope you’ll join us. 

1987 Advertisement for a New Batmobile - Metro!

Wow! I never saw this until today but I completely love it! Well done and quite fun.