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Naschycast Mailbag Episode for October 2022

Troy and I bring you a brief email episode to round out October. There are questions to address and opinions to discuss so check it out. We do take some occasional editorial privilege but are happy to pass along information about a subtitled DVD of THE TRANSEXUAL (1977) out there on the world wide web. Some talk of Monster Bash is on tap along with some news about upcoming episodes of Wild, Wild Podcast. And what is this we are told about a film in which Victor Israel plays the lead? This must be found! Also, a listener passes along information about a Laurel and Hardy podcast that has escaped our attention until now.  But luckily, we remain the rumbling tummy ache of podcasting!

If you want to add your voice to the show naschycast@gmail.com is the place to send all missives. We look forward to your notes and thank you for listening to the podcast. Oh – and Happy Halloween!

FREDDY'S NIGHTMARES : A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series

I’ve been given the opportunity to finally see some episodes of the late 80’s syndicated television offshoot Freddy’s Nightmares. I have heard for years about how bad it was with some dissenting opinions sometimes expressed in carefully couched terms. I can only imagine how it might have felt to catch this show on late cable channels and wonder what in the world was going on. It must have seemed incredibly transgressive at the time but time has certainly moved on. I’ve watched two episodes to get a taste and neither one was good at all. Even at roughly 45 minutes they both strained to fill time as if they might have been scripted for a shorter time slot.

 

The first was a restaging/retelling of the origin of Freddy Krueger, but showing us exactly how a child murderer was denied a conviction because of a paperwork mistake sounds more interesting than this show can manage. The biggest problem is the low budget the series seems to have had. Everything looks cheap. Everything! The sets, the lighting, the costumes, the effects and score all feel slapped together. I can only assume that there was less than a couple of days to get each episode shot as the only explanation for how uninteresting it is. The visual look is the same as a soap opera, all flat lighting, basic camera setups and sloppy editing. The visuals are so dull that it at times it feels like a parody or an SNL skit. I suspect that most of the meager money spent on this thing went to convince Robert Englund to reprise his signature role as Freddy. But I think they must have only had him for a few days at a time because there are a few scenes in the first episode where it is clear that the actor is not on set. One sequence has Freddy with his back to the camera while Englund seems to be performing his dialog in an ADR booth in another state or well after the fact. It is embarrassing! But the entire thing is embarrassing, truth be told. 

The second episode I watched was slightly better but still pretty dull. It’s a Halloween themed tale with Freddie as a boogeyman still lurking around trying to murder teenagers. It involves a scientist who can record dreams and an attempt to best ol’ Krueger but we know how that’s going to play out – dully! I might watch a few more of these to see if there are any gems among the dross but maybe not. I wonder if there are any fans out there who feel a sense of nostalgia for this show. Even the worst of the Elm Street sequel films is better than this, so far.

Trailers From Hell - DEAD & BURIED (1981)

Guillermo del Toro and I share a love of this amazing film and it's fun to hear him talk about it. If you've never visited Potter's Bluff and you think it's just another quaint New England small town, you need to see Gary Sherman’s stylish cult horror classic. This is one of the best horror films of the 1980's. 

Jigsaw Puzzle Haunted House Art

Dark Mysteries - Classic Pre-Code Horror Comic Book

If the covers offer any clue, this boundary-pushing horror 1950's comic was mostly about vengeful living skeletons murdering people in hideous ways. Sign me up for the entire run!

Some issues can be found here.

And here's one too.

The Phantom Stranger Cover Gallery

The Bloody Pit #159 - THE HORRIBLE SEXY VAMPIRE (1970)

Cort Psyops returns to discuss THE HORRIBLE SEXY VAMPIRE (1970)! Just how many words in this title accurately describe the film’s contents? Woo boy. Your mileage may vary……

Recently rescued from dodgy video presentations by Mondo Macabro, this Spanish oddity is one of the stranger examples of Euro-Horror. We start our discussion remarking that the story behind the making of the film is probably more interesting than the film itself, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of onscreen elements to puzzle over. While the movie does sport a standard Lugosi-style vampire lurking around gothic places, the majority of the killings are handled nontraditionally. By that I mean that this vampire can somehow render himself invisible! Was this a stylistic choice on the filmmakers’ part or a budgetary one? It hardly matters as it creates one of the more memorable aspects of the movie. Watching victims flail about fighting someone that isn’t there is sure to keep you staring at the screen wondering just how crazy things will get.

Mondo Macabro’s Blu-Ray has a few excellent extras that give an explanation for how and why this film was made. The most interesting information involves the star of the picture and how he started an acting career. This disc proves that any film can be made fascinating the more you know about it. I can only imagine what viewers in the past thought of this bizarre movie with no frame of reference for what went on behind the scenes. This is the kind of thing I live for!

If you have any comments or questions thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. Cort and I thank you for your time and attention! Happy Halloween.