As 2024 comes to an end, we look in a rearview mirror filled with some amazing films, especially ones that came out this year. Filmmakers around the world wowed us with creative stories, intriguing plots and outstanding techniques. It is definitely a great time to be a horror fan.

2024 was another stellar year for us at the podcast, where we covered a wide variety of subjects, from Bigfoot to Amicus Films, from Women Directors to Al Adamson & Sam Sherman, to more obscure topics like German Expressionism, and much more. We also had an astonishing lineup of special guests including Severin’s David Gregory, Vinegar Syndrome’s Archivist Oscar Becher, HorrorHound’s Aaron Crowell, and Will Morris from Oscarbate and The Music Box Theatre, just to name a few.

One thing that continues through this year is our constant love and admiration for those that have made some long-lasting impact on the genre, and our constant striving to help share that love with our listeners. Nothing excites us more than hearing that we’ve turned someone on to a film or filmmaker or even sub-genre that they might have not experienced before. And you can be damned sure that we plan to continue that in 2025.

So, join us in this extra-long special episode as we go over our favorite viewings of this year, as well as some shout-outs and discussions on other films that came out in 2024.

Titles mentioned in this episode:

Continue reading “Episode 86 – 2024 Wrap Up”

Blood Feast (1963), Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964), The Gruesome Twosome (1967), The Wizard of Gore (1970)

When Herschell Gordon Lewis made his first nudie cutie film in 1961, nobody would have expected that he’d become one of the most important names in the history of horror. But with the release of Blood Feast just two years later, Lewis and his producing partner David F. Friedman would invent the gore subgenre and would fundamentally reshape horror as we knew and understood it. And for about a decade after it, Lewis would continue to release gore-obsessed fare to grindhouses and drive-ins across the nation. When those sorts of theaters started to fade away in the 70s, so did Lewis, who went back to his previous career in advertising. But in the 80s and beyond his fame was resuscitated on home video and in the pages of magazines like Fangoria and Deep Red where he became known as The Godfather of Gore.

With some help from Christopher Wayne Curry, author of A Taste of Blood: The Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis, we dive into four of his films and manage to talk about a whole slew of others.

Movies mentioned in this episode:

Continue reading “Episode 53 – H.G. Lewis”

In two days, at 8pm (CST), we will be celebrating our 50th episode by doing a LIVE show! The best part is that there will be a chat room, so you are welcome to ask questions, make comments, and maybe even count how many times Jon swears, or has technical difficulties, which then usually leads to more swearing!

Your Hosts:
Jon Kitley – Damien Glonek – Aaron AuBuchon

The plan is to go live at 8pm, and we’ll have a few subjects that we’ll be covering, but the main point of this is to hear from our fans. If you have suggestions for a possible topic, let’s hear it! If there is a particular episode that you really enjoyed, let us know! If there was a movie you watched because of one of our episodes and really enjoyed it, let’s hear it!

All you do is click on the link below at 8pm and it will take you to YouTube channel where you’ll be able to see us during the chat. Hope to hear from you and hear your thoughts and suggestions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RTujjw6IaA

Back in ancient times, before Netflix and Amazon Prime, before Hulu and YouTube, even before DVDs and Blu-rays, if films weren’t available to you from either your local video stores, or if you wanted to see an uncut print of a movie, or even one that wasn’t released on VHS, the place you could find them would be in fuzzy gray market of the bootlegs.

These types of vendors were a staple to a lot of the early movie conventions, where fans could find titles that never even knew were out there. Some of us are old enough to remember being able to finally see the uncut full letterboxed version of Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond, after years of suffering though only being able to see the heavily edited Seven Doors of Death.

As your collection grew, you would usually start trading with others, increasing your collection even more, as well as helping to spread the love and passion of these amazing films. This is what we’re discussing in this episode, so sit back and either reminisce with us, or learn about the good old days, when we were happy for a 5th generation grainy print of Anthropophagus that had the infamous fetus scene!

Films mentioned in this episode:

Continue reading “Episode 43 – Bootlegs and Tape Trading”

While we all love monsters, there is something about films that can still be creepy in what they don’t show us instead. Producer Val Lewton was a genius at that. In this episode, we delved into the light within the darkness, deep into the shadows, where atmosphere is king. We cover three titles from the talented producer, but Lewton was so much more than just that. While he only produced a handful of films, the ones he did in the early ’40s remain not only classics but set the standard for what a low budget horror film could look like when you had the talent behind it.

Sit back, turn the light down low, and get ready to learn about how you can show very little onscreen, but still make some well-acted, smart, and scary little films.

The films mentioned in this episode are:

The Body Snatcher (1945), The Cat People (1942), Cat People (1982), The Curse of the Cat People (1944), Curse of the Demon (1957), The Haunting (1963), House of Frankenstein (1944), Isle of the Dead (1945), I Walked with a Zombie (1943), King of the Zombies (1941), The Last Patrol (1934), Revenge of the Zombies (1943), Revolt of the Zombies (1936), The Tale of Two Cities (1935), White Zombie (1932), Zombie (1979)

The movie soundtrack can be just as important and effective as anything we’re seeing on screen, especially when it comes to the horror film. Just think of The Omen, The Exorcist, or even Creepshow. This episode we discuss some of our favorites and why we think they are effective. 

Below are all the titles that are mentioned during the podcast, some in more details than others! Be sure to check some of these out and next time you’re watching one of them, or any movie, maybe pay a little more attention to what you’re hearing.

Continue reading “Episode 10: Soundtracks”

In this episode, we talk about the Italian Godfather of Gore, Lucio Fulci. But while everyone has seen his films like Zombie (1979) and City of the Living Dead (1980), we thought we’d discuss a few of his lesser-known films, such as Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972), The Psychic (1977), and House of Clocks (1989). So, you can either click below, go to Discover the Horror’s website, or find it on whatever platform you listen to podcasts. And once you’re done listening, let us know what you think? Thoughts? Comments? Got any suggestions for future shows? Let us know!

This week’s episode we discuss the glory days of black and white cinema. We pick three of our favorite black and white movies that we feel excel in this monochrome medium and wouldn’t work with the use of color. Pull up a seat and discover the wonders of a trio of films that take advantage of the blackest shadows and brightest highlights, yet still reign as some of the greatest horror films to this day.