Happy Halloween 2021!

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Audio - Spooky Scary Stories LP (1973)

Here's a fun set of scary tales from a vintage record I can remember from my youth. There's no telling how long this album remained in regular October rotation in homes around the country. Now, it can be heard right off of YouTube! 

00:00 The Dare 06:08 Dark, Dark, Dark 10:19 Big 'Fraid, Little 'Fraid 15:55 Wait 'Til Martin Comes 22:58 The Skinny Toe 25:40 The Thing At The Foot Of The Bed

Trailer - Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster (2021)

Here is the trailer for the new feature length documentary about the life and career of Boris Karloff. It is showing in selected locations around the country and available for rent on Prime, Apple TV and other streaming services. I'm hoping to see it soon!

 

The Bloody Pit #139 - EVILSPEAK (1981)

I am joined by John Hudson and Bobby Hazzard to discuss another strange horror film from the 1980’s. 

EVILSPEAK (1981) is an independently made supernatural tale of teenage bullies and the righteous revenge eventually visited upon them. It introduces us to poor charity case Stanley Coopersmith (the great Clint Howard) attending a California military academy where he is the target of verbal and physical abuse from most of his classmates. Oddly, he is also insulted and demeaned by the faculty as if he is somehow repulsive to their vision of who should be allowed in this school. What is a miserable misfit to do? Of course, any and all similarities to CARRIE (1976) are completely on purpose. But is it any good?

 

John Hudson makes his case for this often-maligned horror movie with more than a little pushback from the rest of us. We all agree that the film is character actor heaven with R. G. Armstrong, Richard Moll, Claude Earl Jones, Charles Tyner, Joe Cortese and Hamilton Camp lending their skills to the slow destruction of Clint Howard’s sad loser, Coopersmith. But the film has a number of points of interest beyond the cast. For cinephiles curious about movies that present early 80’s computers being used to accidentally invoke a centuries dead Spanish Satanic monk so that hell on earth can be unleashed – this is your film! If you have ever wondered what an attack of satanic pigs erupting from the netherworld would look like – this is your film! If the sight of a sweaty Clint Howard makes you happy – this is your film! If you are working your way through a list of the British Video Nasties – this is one you have to see. And if you are curious to see what one million dollars and a three-week shooting schedule can give you in 1981 – here you are! We can’t promise a smooth ride or that you won’t spot the flying-harness wires but we do all agree that the pig and sword violence infused finale is well worth seeing. It’s debatable that this is good, but it certainly is EVILSPEAK good!

 

If you have any comments or concerns for our sanity thebloodypit@gmail.com is the address. Let know what you think! We’ll veer back into covering European films shot in America next time out. 

Apple Podcast LINK

Direct MP3 Download LINK 

Charlton's Scary Tales Comic Book Cover Gallery

And at this LINK you can read issue 33 online - if you dare!

Monster Cereal Monsters Re-Record the Monster Mash!

First - the Behind The Music style mini-doc explaining why the Monsters reunited for this special tune! (It's pretty funny.) And then the new version of the classic song! Perfect for the Halloween season. 

Autumn Image Gallery

The most wonderful time of the year! 

Halloween Song - Punky Pumpkin by Roy Rogers

How about a Halloween themed song about a happy Jack O'Lantern sung by a singing cowboy? It kind of hits too many targets at once! This is a fun little seasonal tune and the video has some great vintage images as well. Enjoy! 

Then Is Now Podcast #70 - THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE (1974)

I have previously guested on this fine podcast in an episode in which the host and I discussed the Polizziotechi film, Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man. Today we dive into the excellent Spanish horror film The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, also known as Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, Don’t Open the Window and a slew of other titles! 

Italian heartthrob Ray Lovelock stars as George, an antiques dealer who ends up accidentally traveling with a girl named Edna to her sister’s country house. The two get lost and end up embroiled in a terrifying scenario of the dead coming back to life, presumably because of a machine designed to kill insects! This classic, hidden gem is starting to become more well known, and owes a lot to George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead! It's a surprisingly smart take on the zombie film and shows how the genre would shift and grow in the wake of Romero's influential classic. Check it out at the links below. 

Direct Podcast Show LINK 

Apple Podcast LINK 

The Bloody Pit #138 - Creepy Sherlock Radio!

For your October listening pleasure here are a couple of spooky Sherlock Holmes radio tales!

Beth has chosen these two as representative of the scary end of the classic radio format featuring the great detective. The first is from the 1940’s and is titled The Adventure of the Carpathian Horror so you know it’s going to be fun – with a splash of vampires! It has Nigel Bruce continuing his run as Dr. Watson and Tom Conway taking over from Basil Rathbone as Holmes. The second features Kevin McCarthy in the role for the CBS Mystery Theater and was originally broadcast in 1977. I think it is a solid version of that tale of a spectral hound! You know – the one that haunts the Baskervilles. I’ve edited out most of the commercials from the show but I left in one to give you a taste of what radio sounded like in the late 1970’s. Forgive me!

If you have any comments or suggestions thebloodypit@gmail.com is the address to which you can send them. We’d be glad to hear from you!

Download LINK 

A Peanuts Halloween Gallery

It's time for the annual viewing!

 

Audio - 'The Great Should Have Been' by Frank Oreto

Below you will find a player that gives you access to an audio version of Frank Oreto's short tale The Great Should Have Been. I suggest listening to this fine story not just because it's a good and worthy thing to hear but to draw more attention to Mr. Oreto. I've known Frank so long I remember when I used to call him Jason and we both spent time hooting and joking on WTTU during our long ago college radio days. He has since moved onward and upward in life becoming by turns a businessman, a father and a damned fine writer of weird fiction. I'm lucky to be able to call him friend and you are lucky enough to be able to experience his storytelling right here. Check it out! 

If you want to read more of his work please click on the links below. His most recently published story in available in the new issue of Unnerving magazine. Number 16 in fact. I recommend it too.

 

Creepy Things Cover Gallery

This Charlton anthology comic series was published in 1975. 

There were only five issues.

 

Wild, Wild Podcast Bonus Episode - Matt Blake Interview!

 Adrian welcomes author Matt Blake to the podcast for this special bonus episode. It was Matt's book Science Fiction Italian Style that inspired this whole podcast in the first place, so it was great to get to talk to him about his work and his love for European genre cinema.

Several of Matt Blake's books are available on Amazon in the UK and around the world so do check them out, particularly his latest book Spanish Cult Cinema, Volume 1: 1960-1964. Check out the links below!

We would love to hear what you think about the podcast so far, and what you think we should cover in upcoming seasons. You can contact us on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at wildwildpodcast@gmail.com

MP3 Download LINK

Ghost Manor Cover Gallery

A friend just handed me a stack of old horror comics that included several issues of this classic Charlton title. Pure nostalgic fun! 

FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943) Deleted Scenes with Bela Lugosi's Dialogue

This is an excellent video! Using the shooting script they present the deleted dialog and various scenes that were (stupidly) excised from the film showing how much stronger the movie's story would have been. I long for the day we learn of the discovery of the footage from this beloved film that would allow for a patched together reassembly. But since the chances of that happening are virtually nonexistent this is a pretty solid substitute. Check it out!

  

What I Watched in September 2021

Rarely does a horror film shock me in the ways that MALIGNANT (2021). Here is a film that is determined to take its completely insane premise seriously while simultaneously allowing the clued-in film nerds to know what past insane movies the story is drawing from. While I thought I had twigged to the final twist about twenty-five minutes in I had only guessed half of the madness this thing has in store. That was the shocking part – fooling me! The filmmakers were smart enough to know that a general audience wouldn’t grasp the clues as quickly, but that horror fans would see the tell-tales and jump to part of the solution but still have the surprise of the film’s third act full monty. *chef’s kiss*

 

And, to top the trick of ‘hiding the ball from the very smart dog’, the film’s Cronenberg inspired freak-out is followed by a violent action scene straight out of a damned JOHN WICK rip-off with the added element of a creature involved that might have trouble fitting into even that bizarre universe. Whoever proposed a body-horror gun battle sequence needs an upgrade in pay immediately!  In the final analysis it's farfetched and ridiculous, yet fully dedicated to creating its own rules, sticking to them and daring you to refuse to go for the ride. I can hardly wait to see it again but I want to wait until I have forgotten some of the details. Even the little shocks in this one are nice. 

The List

WRATH OF MAN (2021) – 8 (somber Guy Ritchie crime tale) 

KILLER FORCE (1976) – 6 (a.k.a. THE DIAMOND MERCENARIES) (interesting cast) 

THE WITCHMAKER (1969) – 7 (supernatural investigators conduct research in swamp cabin)

THE HEIRLOOM (2005) – 5 (Taiwanese ghost tale isn’t bad but should be shorter) 

DAMIEN: THE OMEN II (1978) – 8 (rewatch)

TWILIGHT’S LAST GLEAMING (1977) – 8 (Aldrich political thriller) 

THE DEMONS OF LUDLOW (1983) – 5 (low budget regional horror) 

ABDUCTION (2019) – 6 (sci-fi action with Scott Adkins) 

DEATH BY INVITATION (1971) – 4 (revenge from beyond the grave on a low budget) 

MALIGNANT (2021) – 8 (bonkers horror film) 

THE BEAST IN SPACE (1980) – 4 (Italian space dud) 

FEAR STREET: PART 1 – 1994 (2021) – 7 (a bit spastic but fun) 

THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM (1967) – 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

A COMPANY MAN (2012) – 7 (interesting Korean hit man tale) 

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (2021) – 8 

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (1983) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

ESCAPE FROM GALAXY 3 (1981) – 4 

DEVIL’S EXPRESS (1976) – 4 (amateur martial arts insanity)

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1962) – 8 (rewatch on Blu) 

I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE (1958) – 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE HOUSE OF TERROR (1964) – 4 (Mexican horror/comedy w/Lon Chaney) (rewatch with better subtitles) 

NIGHT OF DEATH (1980) – 7 (French horror) 

FEAR STREET: PART 2 – 1978 (2021) – 8 (excellent middle chapter of this interesting experiment) 

THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE (1974) – 8 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE HAUNTING (2009) – 7 (Spanish ghost story) 

FEAR STREET: PART 3 – 1666 (2021) – 8 (strong wrap-up) 

THE GIANT CLAW (1957) – 4 (rewatch on Blu)  

THE CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN (1955) – 5 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY (1959) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

Tomb of Dracula Cover Gallery