German Westerns - Poster Art

Soon more of these are going to be on Blu-Ray!

 

Wild, Wild Podcast - COBRA MISSION (1986)

We've all been bored at a family wedding before, but it's unlikely that we've decided to leave early and head off to Vietnam to rescue some guys who got left behind! At least, not often. But that is what happens in this film as ex-soldiers head back in country with nothing but some misplaced courage, gritted teeth and a few guns that a French priest kept in his vestry. How can they fail?

In this episode Wild, Wild Podcast goes back into the jungle to try and decipher Donald Pleasence's dodgy accent, whilst coming to terms with the fact that Adrian has never seen Rambo. Weird! 

This season is dedicated to that great quiet man of British cinema, Donald Pleasence, who spent a great deal of time in Italy (and the Philippines) throughout the 1980’s. We would love to hear from you about your favorite Donald Pleasence films from this fertile period, or if you have ever been near an exploding helicopter. You can get in touch with us, follow us on social media, buy our merch, and all that stuff, through our LINKTREE.

'The Haunt of Horror' Covers

 

Beyond Naschy #39 - ATTACK OF THE ROBOTS (1966)

Our journey through Naschy adjacent Jess Franco films continues with ATTACK OF THE ROBOTS (1966)! Part of the brief spurt of Euro-Spy films that sprang up in response to Bond-mania the film features Eddie Constantine playing a slightly comedic version of his many tough guy roles. The film centers on a mysterious group of bronze-skinned automatons who are assassinating important European dignitaries. When their eyeglasses are removed, they turn into vegetative zombies and when killed their odd skin tone changes to pale white. Interpol calls in Constantine’s character Al Pereira to investigate. Throw in a seductive villainess, some mad science and Q-style gadgets and you have a breezy, fun adventure – at least for some. Not all Franco fans seem to like this one.

Bob Sargent joins Troy and I as we romp our way around Alicante with Pereira and try to unravel this bizarre mystery. We discuss the year the world turned to color and how this final black & white Franco film fits into his 60’s output. Bob recommends other Eddie Constantine films and I vow to track down more of his earlier crime movies. Where is the much hoped for Lemmy Caution boxed set, already? We relate our various reactions to the film’s amusing tone and note how easily it could fit into the Pink Panther universe. This is definitely not your average Jess Franco crime thriller and that might be why we enjoyed it.

 

If you have any comments about this or any other of Uncle Jess’ movies naschycast@gmail.com is the place to send them. We may not let Bob chose the next Beyond Naschy topic but you never know! Thanks for listening. 

What I Watched in February 2026

The short form critique of CRIME 101 (2026) is that is attempting to be a variation of Michael Mann’s HEAT for the 21^st century. I suppose that is a valid way to look at the film but it seems dismissive of the effective work being done on every level here. The entire cast is working in top form, the story is well constructed and the direction is tight and precise. I enjoyed it for the entire runtime and it left me with a satisfied smile at its conclusion. I don’t think it is as sharp as the aforementioned HEAT but it doesn’t need to be to be a good thriller. I look forward to seeing it a second time to luxuriate in watching the pieces rotate around the clever criminal plans before clicking into place. 

The List

THE MINOR (1974) – 6 (Italian sex drama/comedy)

COME DIE WITH ME (1974) – 6 (TV murder drama movie)

STREET GIRLS (1975) – 6 (low budget, grimy tale of strippers)

SEND HELP (2026) – 8 

THE SNOW CREATURE (1954) – 3 (terrible low budget yeti film)

THE ABOMNIBLE SNOWMAN (1957) – 8 (rewatch on Blu)

THE PUMAMAN (1980) – 4 (not as bad as I feared – not good either)

SHOT IN THE DARK (1933) – 6 (short British murder mystery/old dark house tale)

DRACULA (2026) – 7 (Luc Besson rips off several other films but his stew is tasty)

DEATHSTALKER (1983) – 6 (rewatch)

BLACK DRAGONS (1942) – 4 (rewatch)

CONVOY BUSTERS (1978) – 7 (Maurizio Merli slaps smugglers around)

CRIME 101 (2026) – 7 

CASTLE OF EVIL (1966) – 6 (interesting old dark house tale)

THE SIMON’S JIGSAW (2015) – 7 (entertaining documentary about Juan Piquer Simón)

EXTRA TERRESTRIAL VISITORS (1983) – 3 (I finally see the uncut film and it is bad)

THE BLACK DOLL (1938) – 6 (Crime Club mystery)

MOTHER OF FLIES (2025) – 8 (excellent slow burn folk horror)

NIGHTMARE AT 43 HILLCREST (1974) – 6 (TV movie about a criminal police prosecution) 

PHENOMNA (1985) – 7 (rewatch on 4K)

THE MYSTERY OF THE WHITE ROOM (1939) – 5 (Crime Club mystery)

HOUSE OF FEAR (1939) – 6 (Crime Club mystery in a ‘haunted’ theater)

 

Video - COBRA MISSION (1986)

COBRA MISSION (a.k.a. Operation Nam) is the subject of the next episode of Wild, Wild Podcast. We're covering the film because it features Donald Pleasence for a few minutes. Seriously, he is in the movie for less than ten minutes and everything he does was probably shot in a single day. But you still might want to watch this rip-off of UNCOMMON VALOR (1983) for what it has to offer which is plenty of explosions. 

Kolchak, The Night Stalker Collectable Figures!

Those madmen at Wandering Planet are at it again with a new Kickstarter for a Kolchak action figure! It's 1/12 scale with 22 points of articulation and sports a variety of accessories. They are also doing a figure of the vampire Janos Skorzeny and a two-pack of them together! 

Check it out at this LINK.

 

Video - ATTACK OF THE ROBOTS (1966) Trailer

Here is the French language trailer for this Jess Franco Euro-Spy film. It is not one of his most beloved films from the 1960's but I love it and I have a few friends that enjoy it as well. Beyond Naschy podcast episode on the way soon! 

Poster Art for ATTACK OF THE ROBOTS (1966)

 

Dario Argento's INFERNO (1980) Poster Art

 

The Bloody Pit #229 - BLACK DRAGONS (1942)

David Annandale and I walk back down Poverty Row just after the attack on Pearl Harbor to watch one of the most confusing and strange attempts at wartime propaganda a low budget studio could produce. BLACK DRAGONS (1942) has Bela Lugosi as a mysterious, menacing man who seems to be on a mission of revenge. But what does he have to do with the corpses that keep popping up on the steps of the Japanese embassy in Washington? Will FBI agent Clayton Moore be able to figure things out or will he spend his time chasing Joan Barclay around her uncle/father’s house until all the characters are dead? And how does David find a way to link Christopher Nolan and Bela Lugosi? Listen and learn!

 

BLACK DRAGONS is probably the oddest of the nine films Lugosi made for Poverty Row film producers and certainly the one with the most unintentionally funny dialog. Just as it was about to go into production the decision was made to shoehorn in topical plot elements ripped from the headlines. This means that the original reason behind events in the script has been lost leaving bits of their probable supernatural nature flapping around in the film. This is the only explanation I can imagine for the never addressed ability of Lugosi’s Monsieur Colomb to seemingly teleport in and out of moving taxicabs! But David has an interesting take on the film as a bizarre treatise on the subject of ‘acting’ both onscreen and within the structure of the story. His idea is a bold way to look at the picture as a whole and certainly makes it more entertaining as you try to figure out what the hell is happening at any point in the film’s hourlong running time. Rarely has such a barely planned collection of quirks and gaffs been so mesmerizing!

 

If you have any comments about this movie or any other film we’ve covered on the show thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. Thank you for listening and we’ll be back soon. 

Video - BLACK DRAGONS (1942)

If you have never seen this mad Poverty Row horror-espionage-mystery film then here it is on YouTube! This bizarre movie is the subject of the next episode of The Bloody Pit with David Annandale and I trying to figure out not just what is happening, but what it might mean. Like a message beamed from a different universe BLACK DRAGONS has always seemed like a film reassembled from fragments left over after a fire. It isn't coherent but it is fascinating! 

THE GHOST GALLEON (1974) is coming to Blu-Ray!

Vinegar Syndrome has announced the Blu-Ray release of the third of Amando De Ossorio's Blind Dead films and I am thrilled!

Pre-Order here.

 

Wild, Wild Podcast - PHENOMENA (1985)

An ill wind is blowing in the Swiss Alps, and it's going to take the combined might of a psychic teenager, a Scotsman in a wheelchair and a chimpanzee called Inga to do something about it - if they can hear themselves think over Iron Maiden being played at full blast!

Rod and Adrian are tackling the maestro Dario Argento for the first time, but thankfully it's one of his more restrained efforts to make it easier. Donald Pleasence naturally gets plenty of air time, but also discussed is the continued ineptitude of the Italian/Swiss police, what to do with several million unwanted flies and why you would try to escape in a boat when there's a perfectly good road right there to run down.

It's a new season, dedicated to that great quiet man of British cinema, Donald Pleasence, who spent a great deal of time in the 1980s in Italy.

We would love to hear from you about your favorite Donald Pleasence films from this period, or if you have ever been attacked by a chimp - visible or otherwise.

You can get in touch with us, follow us on social media, buy our merch, and all that stuff, through our LINKTREE.

PHENOMENA (1985) Poster Art

Dream logic and razor-wielding chimps!

 

Twilight Zone Comic Book Covers