Trailers From Hell - DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012)

Australian Brian Trenchard-Smith muses about his love for this Tarantino western with attention to the vicious vision of American racism. Recent events here in the States certainly point to the original sin of our peculiar institution as a topic that should be the focus of many more movies. 

 

Trailers From Hell - STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979)

Comedian and massive Trek fan Dana Gould does the honors of giving a bit of background on the first feature film. 

Trailers From Hell - MACABRE (1958)

This is the often overlooked William Castle film that started his independent productions and brought us the master showman we all know and love. It's a darned good little film and Joe Dante gives you a little info about it in this Trailer From Hell. 

Trailers From Hell - THE LEECH WOMAN (1960)

Glad to see that I'm not the only person that thinks highly of this little film!

Trailers From Hell - THE BIG SLEEP (1946)

Director and screenwriter Larry Cohen talks a bit about one of my favorite movies of all time. Who did kill the chauffer? 

Trailers From Hell - BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF (2002)

It might be time to watch this one again. 

Trailers From Hell - THE NIGHT STALKER (1972)

I'm not sure I buy all of Dr. Z's tale of how McGavin was cast but its fun to get a little dirt on how the ape sausage gets made. 

Trailers From Hell - THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1973)

The recent news that this film and its immediate sequel THE FOUR MUSKETEERS are coming to Blu-Ray from the Criterion Collection has me excited to revisit these wonderful adventures. There was a time in my youth when I watched them both several times each year but it has been a long time since I've ridden the road with these colorful characters. If you've never experienced what I consider to be the best version of the novel ever brought to the screen, there is no time like now! 

Trailers From Hell - DOCTOR X (1932)

"Michael Curtiz’ perversely entertaining pre-code thriller would have been a perfect fit for Weird Tales Magazine. Lee Tracy plays a pushy reporter tracking down the so-called “Moon Killer”, Fay Wray is the soon-to-be damsel in distress and Lionel Atwill plays her father, the titular Doctor Xavier. The eleventh hour unveiling of the killer, bathed in eerie two-strip Technicolor, is the stuff of nightmares." 

Let inveterate jokester Michael Schlesinger tell you all about it! 

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. 

Trailers From Hell - SH! THE OCTOPUS (1937)

In this video Michael Schlesinger reveals the long shadow of a true cinematic classic. Or is he joking? Yeah, he's joking. But the movie is a must see for fans of silly 1930's cult movies that barely make sense. 

Mr. Schlesinger recently passed away and I have been thinking about him lately. I was able to meet him several years ago and took the opportunity to thank him for his efforts in getting a number of beloved B-movies released on DVD and eventually Blu-Ray. He was a champion of a lot of often overlooked films that have had the chance to be seen and reevaluated at least partially because of his work behind the scenes. I have occasionally used his Trailers From Hell appearances to give myself a little of the fun of being in the same room with him. If you never got to meet Michael you missed a funny fellow with a big heart. His love of movies and sense of humor were a glorious combination and I only wish I'd been able to talk him more often. 

Trailers From Hell - CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN (1943)

Joe Dante relates some details about this fun Universal thriller that we covered a while back on The Bloody Pit. Sadly, one detail is wrong. 

Trailers From Hell - CURSE OF THE DEMON (1957)

In this video Joe Dante speaks about one of the finest horror films of the 1950's and, for my money, one of the greatest of all time. Director Jacques Tourneur made several fantastic movies but this is probably the best of his impressive filmography. It is brilliant on nearly every level regardless of where you fall on the wisdom of showing the hideous demon onscreen. 

Trailers From Hell - GIANT FROM THE UNKNOWN (1958)

I have a probably unhealthy love for this film and my attempts to explain it to others will eventually result in a lengthy podcast. You have been warned. Here, Joe Dante supplies some information about the production and seems to like this cheap monster movie a little bit too. 

Trailers From Hell - 13 GHOSTS (1960)

Screenwriter Sam Hamm relates his tale of childhood humiliation at a viewing of this William Castle classic! Poor guy. 

Trailers From Hell - CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1982)

Writer Heidi Honeycutt speaks about her love this film and the reasons it has stood the test of time. 

Trailers From Hell - DEATHSPORT (1978)

Allan Arkush talks about Roger Corman bringing him in to try to save this mess of a movie. I enjoy watching this rolling disaster but it is an example of the story behind the film being much more interesting than the film itself. 

Trailers From Hell - BLADE RUNNER (1982)

Darren Bousman talks about his love of BLADE RUNNER (1982) and I understand his feelings. One note - it was a novel, not a short story. Even though the script really only uses part of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. 

Trailer From Hell - TALES OF TERROR (1962)

In this Trailer From Hell Roger Corman takes us behind the scenes of his fourth Edgar Allan Poe adaptation, a three-story omnibus written by the great Richard Matheson. The film has a great cast and it swings from funny to creepy with deft skill. Somehow this film is often forgotten when discussions of anthology horror films come up and it shouldn’t be. It isn’t my favorite of Corman’s Poe series but it is fantastic.

Trailers From Hell - DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE (1994) (Cemetery Man)

Director Ernest Dickerson presents the trailer for one of his (and my) favorite Italian horror films. It is a brilliant combination of arthouse intelligence and grindhouse sex and violence that seems to get better with each passing year. I once saw this with a horror marathon crowd in the 1990s that did not appreciate its surrealistic touches or bizarre black humor. Their loss, I thought at the time but you can now see this incredible movie on Blu-Ray and judge for yourself.  There is nothing else quite like it.