The Bloody Pit #197 - A BOY AND HIS DOG (1975)

Writer Randy Fox returns to discuss a classic science fiction film from the 1970’s. A BOY AND HIS DOG (1975) was a box office flop initially but became a beloved cult movie pretty quickly. It is one of the very few adaptations of a Harlan Ellison story that got the author’s 95% approval and we dig into the reasons for that in our discussion.

Hugely influential, the film stands as a still relevant template for post-apocalyptic cinema all the way up to the recent TV series FALLOUT. Made for less than half a million dollars it is the rare low budget science fiction film that doesn’t show its financial constraints and manages to turn some detriments into positives. Featuring a fine central performance from Don Johnson and excellent supporting work from his canine companion (voiced by actor/musician Tim McIntire) the movie brings the original story to life brilliantly. We discuss the differences from the novella and the reasons for them as well as the few smart improvements the script weaves into the tale. Randy and I share our histories with the film and our own encounters with the legendary Ellison over the years. We dig into the charges of misogyny and misanthropy that are often leveled at the movie pulling apart the details to search for defenses. We find a few. We are, of course, amused that the film takes place in 2024.    

If you have any comments about A BOY AND HIS DOG or other 1970’s science fiction films thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. Thank you for listening! 

What I Watched in May 2024

I feared that the trailers for ABIGAIL (2024) had given away the big surprise of the film and that knowing that it was a vampire picture might stunt its effectiveness. Happily, I was wrong. Structured much like FROM DUSK TIL DAWN (1996) the film starts as a lean mean crime story as we follow a crew kidnapping the ballerina child of a wealthy family. They hole up in an abandoned mansion to wait for the father to fork over a ransom that they will split and then be on their way. But the imprisoned little girl turns out to be a vicious monster much worse than the criminals and quickly the situation reverses itself with the humans under threat and the pint-sized vamp gleefully working her way through fresh victims. The film becomes an entertaining stalk and bite affair with the criminal victims being interesting if not exactly sympathetic rats in a cage. There is some good dialog, a little wit, some very good actors and a few surprises in the final third that make the entire story particularly satisfying. And I’d love to know how many gallons of blood were used to make this film! Things get pretty red and sticky as the corpses flop around. There have been some nice horror surprises this year so far and ABIGAIL is on the plus side.  

The List 

NINE GUESTS FOR A CRIME (1977) – 7 (giallo version of And Then There Were None)

ABIGAIL (2024) – 8 (crime film becomes vampire film and I love it!)

SPACE AMOEBA (1970) – 8 (rewatch)

3 FANTASTIC SUPERMEN (1967) – 6

RINGS OF FEAR (1978) – 6 (least of this loose trilogy of gialli)

ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND (1980) – 8 (Sammo Hung horror/comedy is gold)

ANGELS FROM HELL (1968) – 4 (meandering biker film)

CHATTERBOX (1977) – 6 (slight, sloppy, silly comedy about a talking vagina)

HELLZAPOPPIN’ (1941) – 7 (actually fun Olsen & Johnson collection of stuff)

DEATH KISS (2018) – 3 (miserable right-wing screed masquerading as a vigilante film)

MAYA (1989) – 5 (flat Euro-horror)

THE TERROR (1963)- 6 (rewatch on Blu)

KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2024) – 8

MUTE WITNESS (1995) – 6

WHITE SAVAGE (1943) – 6 (Maria Montez and Jon Hall in the South Seas)

THE GHOST WALKS (1934) – 5 (not bad old dark house tale)

THE JAGUAR (1963) – 6 (Franco’s Shakespearian western tragedy set in 1860’s Venezuela)  

DORELLIK (1967) – 6 (Italian spoof of the Diabolik fumetti)

SONS OF STEEL (1988) – 4 (pretty bad but I enjoyed the music)

MARK OF THE GORILLA (1950) – 5 (typical Jungle Jim adventure)

THEY HAVE CHANGED THEIR FACES (1971) – 7 (excellent modern vampire tale with a perfect bloodsucker metaphor at its heart)

THE LIFT (1983) – 4

THE FALL GUY (2024) – 7 (funny but the leads’ charm papers over the need for stakes)

PYGMY ISLAND (1950) – 5 (Jungle Jim adventure)

A BOY AND HIS DOG (1975) – 8 (rewatch on Blu)

FURY OF THE CONGO (1951) – 5 (Jungle Jim tale)

THE RETURN OF PETER GRIM (1935) – 6 (play adaptation with Barrymore) 

 

Poster Art for THE TIME MACHINE (1960)

It might be time to watch this one again!

 

Video - Great Molasses Disaster by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

I've been a fan of the band The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for a while now but I struggle to choose my favorite of their songs. Although I love their attention to Lovecraft and Lovecraftian themes I have to admit that it is when they stray away from those subjects that I find myself more intrigued. Take this blast of a song about a terrible historical event that happened in 1919. You can read the details on this Wikipedia page but the video above does a good job of laying out some information from the newspaper headlines of the times. 

Wild, Wild Podcast Season 7: Ep 6 - FENOMENAL AND THE TREASURE OF TUTANKAMEN (1968)

In this phenomenally good episode, Rod and Adrian get to grips with a film that makes very little sense whichever language you watch it in. Yes, it's that dastardly master of crime/ vigilante hero (delete as appropriate, we couldn't work it out) Fenomenal! Thrill as he kicks drug dealers into the sea! Gasp as he climbs walls very carefully! Worry in case he bumps into the furniture with that mask on! Giggle as we wonder how anyone could NOT know who Fenomenal actually is! Is there more than one choice?

You can see the whole film for yourself on YouTubeYouTube.

We would love to hear from you if you have any favorite Italian comic or masked hero/ villain-based films, or if you have ever tried to steal priceless Egyptian relics. You can contact us on Twitter and Instagram or by email at wildwildpodcast@gmail.com. You can also find our YouTube channel here.

Please also remember to rate and review us on your podcast platform of choice and thank you for listening!

The Bloody Pit #196 - SONS OF STEEL (1988)

John Hudson and Bobby Hazzard join me for a raucous discussion of this bizarre Australian oddity. Are we able to figure out the story? What do we think of the main character? Do we maintain our sanity before the invisible chimp rears his furry head to fling poop everywhere? Thank goodness for the laughing audience in the room to keep us on track and aware of how silly we can be.

SONS OF STEEL (1988) is a film built out of bits & pieces of earlier movies but without the budget necessary to pull it off. It seems to be assembled from random parts of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Blade Runner, Back to the Future, Max Headroom and a little barbarian imagery for texture. The film follows Black Alice, a pompous singer strutting around a dystopian near-future momentarily mourning his dead girlfriend and trying to become a rock star. Strangely, he is also somehow an environmental peace activist – or at least we are told this by agents of the Oceana government. (Did I mention that 1984 is ripped off as well?) The movie is a series of music videos struggling to tell a tale of revolution, love and violence but the most memorable moments are the very 80’s songs scattered across the soundtrack. In Spiritus Wank’em!

If you have any thoughts on Black Alice, SONS OF STEEL or the sequel novels penning by the writer/director, thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. Thank you for listening to the show!

One More Model From Wonderfest 2024

I somehow skipped this one even though I loved the paintjob on it. Gorgeous!

 

More Models From Wonderfest 2024

I was surprised but happy to see The Human Fly represented!

 

Model Work from Wonderfest 2024!