Vintage Science Fiction Movie Posters!

 

Video - TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE (1972)

Here's Edgar Wright talking about one of his (and my) favorite Mario Bava films! He describes it as a kind of Tom & Jerry murder story and that is just about perfect. But I think I prefer the BAY OF BLOOD title. 

Poster Art for Ghost Movies!

 

Italian Vampire Movie Poster Art

 

Video - THE SOUND OF SUPERMARIONATION

This is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the creation of not just the incredible sound effects of the Gerry Anderson Supermarionation TV shows but at the entire editing process. Even if you aren't necessarily a fan, this is a compelling view of the ways that creative people craft visual entertainment. 

Wild, Wild Podcast - TIGER OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1962)

Has the man you love ever killed your father and stolen your pirate ship? Have you ever seduced a Spanish governor to gain access to his private dungeons? Have you ever dug for buried treasure whilst under attack from your enemies? If so, you might not want to listen to this week's episode. But if all that sounds kind of fun, then join Adrian and I for the latest episode in our new season Rapiers and Ruffles, as we set off across the Seven Seas with Tiger and his red-headed daughter Consuela looking for adventure.

If you want to play along at home you can find a version of TIGER OF THE SEVEN SEAS on YouTube but be aware that it's badly cropped.

You can get in touch with us (we love hearing from you!), follow us on social media, buy our merch, and all that stuff, through our LINKTREE.

Animated Star Trek Title Cards

I've been revisiting the Trek animated show from the early 1970's for a future podcast. It has been fun but a few of the episodes are as bad as I remember. Luckily, the good ones are very good.  

 

What I Watched in January 2025

I love it when a horror film is able to hide what it is doing from me long enough for me to start to be concerned that it doesn’t have an actual destination. Such is CUCKOO (2024) which bends its narrative into something I could not predict from the first half of the story. This might be off-putting for some but I found it an intriguing change of pace. The film begins with an American family arriving in the German Alps for the parents to begin a new job. Teenager Gretchen has been brought along by her father but she has a strained relationship with her step-mother and mute step-sister. The recent death of Gretchen’s mother hangs over her and this grief is clearly making the transition to her new surroundings very difficult. After taking a part time hotel clerk job offered by her father’s new employer, she gradually becomes aware that there are strange things happening in this isolated location. First is a lurking, cloaked person that seems to only come out of the woods at night and second is a creepy man that checks into the hotel. Gretchen begins to investigate the odd events she witnesses and folk horror and mad science rear their unlikely heads. The film has a great cast and a fascinating, oblique approach to its unfolding secrets that kept me curious the entire time. I suspect this won’t be everyone’s idea of a good time but I loved it. 

The List

DEPORTED (1950) – 7 (criminal is sent to Italy but will he reform)

NAKED EVIL (1966) – 6 (British tale of voodoo)

I HATE MY BODY (1974) – 7 (rewatch)

NAKED ALIBI (1954) – 8 (blistering noir)

WICKED (2024) – 7

RINGU (1998) – 8 (rewatch)

TERROR CREATURE FROM THE GRAVE (1965) – 7 (rewatch)

THE GENTLEMEN (2020) – 8 (rewatch)

KILLERS FROM SPACE (1954) – 3 (I thought I’d seen this boring sucker)

BEHIND THE MASK (1932) – 6 (chiller with Jack Holt and Karloff)

STAR TREK IV: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (1991) – 9 (rewatch)

THE THREAT (1949) – 7 (tight B-noir tale)

KRAVEN (2024) – 5 (a lot works but it never becomes what it was trying to be)

CUCKOO (2024) – 8 (fascinating modern folk horror)

FAST CHARLIE (2023) – 6 (Brosnan is good but the story is mostly a retread)

MIND FIELD (1989) – 4 (muddled Canadian thriller)

REBEL RIDGE (2024) – 8 (excellent action film)

THE KEEP (1983) – 6 (rewatch on Blu)

THE BLACK DUKE (1963) – 7 (Cameron Mitchell as Cesare Borgia)

WOLF MAN (2025) – 4 (never really works)

FEMALE PRISONER: CAGED (1983) – 6 (good roman porno)

THE HOUSE AND THE BRAIN (1973) – 6 (ghost story TV movie)

THE EXECUTIONER (1974) – 7 (Sonny Chiba action film)

RINGU 2 (1999) – 6 (pretty good follow up)

TERROR OF THE RED MASK (1960) – 7 (Lex Barker adventure tale)

THE HOUSE OF CLOCKS (1989) – 6 (rewatch on Blu)

PRESENCE (2025) – 7 (Soderberg chiller)

The Bloody Pit #211 - THE CLIMAX (1944)

We take a trip to Vienna to see what Boris Karloff looks like in color! Or is that colour?

 

Troy and I discuss THE CLIMAX (1944), Universal’s attempt to craft a follow-up to their 1943 hit remake of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. They took a 1909 stage play, grafted on some Phantom elements and used the same sets from the previous year’s film to create a beautiful looking final product. They even carried over some of the cast in similar roles. But did they make a good movie?

 

We dig into the things we like and dislike about this often overlooked entry in the horror films of the 1940’s. Both of us marvel at the opulent sets while being impressed by Susanna Foster’s singing talents. We examine some of our favorite cast members including Gale Sondergaard and Thomas Gomez. The multiple audiences that the film was trying to appeal to comes under scrutiny as we lament the fact that the horror portion of the mix seems to get little attention. Sometimes striving for broad appeal results in a work that pleases no one. As the episode goes on we give voice to our many questions about the story’s details that require an almost supernatural suspension of disbelief.

 

If you have any comments about THE CLIMAX thebloodypit@gmail.com is the address. If you want to hear me ramble on about movies and media even more my Patreon page is active. Thank you for listening!

THE TIGER OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1962) Poster Art

Podcast on the way!

 

Poster Art for DICK TRACY VS CUEBALL (1946)

 

Poster Art for ZORRO THE AVENGER (1962)

Show about this film coming soon from Wild, Wild Podcast!

Wild, Wild Podcast - TERROR OF THE RED MASK (1960)

Attack some monks, steal their habits and then sneak into the castle of Duke Astolfo with Adrian and I as we try to free the people, find out the identity of the Red Mask, and get our pet monkey back! That thing needs a diaper.

 

The Rapiers and Ruffles season is in full swing. If you want to play along at home you can find a version of Terror of the Red Mask on YouTube or Tubi.

The gallery of excellent behind the scenes photos mentioned by Adrian can be found HERE.

You can get in touch with us (we love hearing from you!), follow us on social media, buy our merch, and all that stuff, through our Linktree.

Philip Jose Farmer's 'Venus on the Half-Shell'

Lately I’ve been reading some older science fiction novels that I’ve had on the ‘to read’ pile for a while. After Arthur C. Clarke’s excellent The City and the Stars I dove into Philip Jose Farmer’s comic novel Venus on the Half-Shell. Written as if it was a novel penned by the fictional Kilgore Trout (who was created by Kurt Vonnegut) it is very funny and becomes more amusing the more you know about the machine-gun speed references Farmer packs the story with. I’ll finish it up in the next couple of days as time permits, but it is so much fun I kind of want to just sit and laugh my way through it right now!

 

I’ve paused reading because one humorous detail in the story keeps popping back into my head and making me giggle. The protagonist Simon Wagstaff (yes, that is a penis joke) has found a one man escape spacecraft and he relates that it was built by Titanic & Icarus Spaceship Company, Inc. He notes that name does not inspire confidence.

 

It’s not the funniest moment so far but my brain keeps circling back to it and making me smile. Sometimes it’s the smaller bits that stick the longest. 

House of Mystery Cover Gallery