The Shuddering Christopher Oliphant, Nick Rocco Scalia

This week, on our trippiest episode to date, we take a look at two horror films that both feature LSD as a major plot point. First up is the recent Shudder release Spoonful of Sugar, a twisted and often stunning domestic nightmare that features a star-making performance by Homeland co-star Morgan Saylor, a set of truly disturbing family dynamics, and an ending that packs in some serious "wow" factor. And then, things get really weird when we check out the late 70s cult oddity Blue Sunshine, another movie that includes a enjoyably loopy leading performance (from Zalman King, whose later exploits in the film industry were, uh, pretty saucy), as well as the scariest bald people ever put on film, an absurdist climax set in a mall, and a Hitchcockian plot that mixes (unintentional?) comedy and surprisingly shocking horror moments. Trust us: it's WILD. All that, plus: Nick and Chris chat about genre heavyweight Jamie Lee Curtis's recent Academy Award win, Brandon Cronenberg's buzzworthy Infinity Pool, and an indie movie from the 90s that really deserves some love in 2023!

Well, the theme of this episode is "witches," but if you're expecting pointy hats, eyes of newt, or anyone getting burned at the stake, you're bound to be disappointed. Still, we've got a couple of fascinating flicks to talk about this week, both of which have at least some version of a witch in them... or, in one case, at least in the title? Anyway, first up is the 1983 folk horror oddity Eyes of Fire, an obscure film that we -- and, apparently, the folks at Shudder -- think ought to be more well-known to fans of 80s horror as well as the artsier side of genre cinema. This period piece, set in pre-Revolutionary America, finds a sleazy preacher and his flock running afoul of ancient terrors deep in the primeval forest, and it features some striking imagery and a fair amount of scares in its chronicle of adulterous colonists, rugged trappers, and vengeful forest spirits. And then, we've got our more modern pick, the South Korean film The Witch: Part 1 - The Subversion, which sure sounds like a horror movie but, it turns out, is much more of a bloody, R-rated sci-fi/superhero concoction... and, also, a touching story of a young girl attempting to save her family by winning an America's Got Talent-like TV game show. Yes, really. Chris and Nick are both HUGE fans of South Korean cinema in general, but does this (somewhat) action-packed film live up to that country's choicest genre-movie exports? Listen and find out! Plus, Nick can't stop gushing over Return of the Living Dead 3, Chris finally checks out M3gan, and we discuss a brand-new found-footage sensation that's left quite an impression on the one of us who's seen it thus far.

This week, we're all about the zombies... sort of. That flesh-eating, world-ending, gore-splattering subgenre of horror -- currently enjoying its latest resurgence thanks to HBO's The Last of Us -- is the unifying theme for the two films we reviewed, but neither one is your standard zombie saga, exactly. First up is writer/director Rob Jabbaz's recent effort The Sadness, a film that unleashes some of the most disturbing, plentiful carnage and mayhem ever filmed on an unsuspecting Taipei. Does it live up to its billing as the "most depraved zombie movie ever made?" The answer, probably, is yeah. But, does that alone make the film worth seeing? Tune in and find out... And then, definitely stick around for our discussion of the third film in the Return of the Living Dead franchise, a film that mixes comedy, action, and a surprisingly heartfelt love story into the usual zombie-movie stew. We're BIG fans of Dan O'Bannon's original Return film, but while this "three-quel" retains its basic premise and some of its lighter-hearted tone, it also stakes out some unusual new territory for the series -- and offers up a showcase for the directorial talents of genre legend Brian Yuzna. And, much like the living dead themselves, our "recommendations" segment returns again, with some more Skinamarink talk (don't worry, not that much) and a few other prime cuts from recent horror history. Enjoy, and... send more paramedics!

We're back again, and this week, it's all about the bloodsuckers! We really wanted to cover Kathryn Bigelow's directorial debut, the cult classic Near Dark, back when we made our own debut on The Shuddering, but the film was pulled from Shudder's library right before we sat down to record. Well, now it's back on Shudder, and we couldn't be happier to finally take on the 1987 vampire/western that features a movie-stealing performance from the late, great Bill Paxton (and he's just the start of this film's amazingly stacked supporting cast!). Our modern pick for the week is the Irish vampire comedy Boys from County Hell, which puts a fun spin on the old Bram Stoker vampire mythos and has some truly witty dialogue to go along with its blood-draining mayhem. It's not exactly the horror version of The Banshees of Inisherin, but it's not so far off from that, either. And, in our typically jam-packed "recommendations" segment: Chris revisits some mid-2000s horror that's well worth a second look and, of course, we've got some discussion of the controversial Shudder release Skinamarink, too. Nick shares his thoughts on the film, to the best that he's been able to collect them, anyway...

At long last, we're back with our first episode of 2023 (sorry about the wait!). This week, Chris and Nick check out a pair of Japanese films that, it turns out, have very little in common aside from their country of origin. First up is Tetsuya Nakashima's The World of Kanako, a brutal mystery/crime film that strays a little bit from the conventions of horror but nevertheless remains one of the most disturbing (yet also wildly energetic and complex) films we've seen in a long time. And then, with Evil Dead Rise right around the corner, we thought we'd spend an hour and change with the "Japanese Evil Dead," which goes by the amazing title Bloody Muscle Bodybuilder in Hell. This 1995 film, not released until nearly two decades after it was made, is a madcap no-budget reimagining of Sam Raimi's iconic horror/comedy franchise from writer/director/star Shinichi Fukazawa. Clearly a great appreciator of Raimi's films, Fukazawa tries on the well-worn shoes of Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell in a movie that is an obvious and reverent labor of love, made on a shoestring but never skimping on the splattery goodness that its inspiration brought so spectacularly. And, keeping with the Evil Dead theme, we discuss our thoughts on Rise and the 2013 Fede Alvarez reboot; we also get into the latest works of filmmaker Edgar Wright and Rodney Ascher, both of which are "horror-adjacent" movies that we think our listeners might want to look into.

The holidays are here, and we at The Shuddering are celebrating the most wonderful time of the year with a couple of films that forcibly injected some Christmas spirit into our beloved horror genre. First up on this final episode of 2022 is the classic Black Christmas, directed by the late, great Bob Clark -- the filmmaker who, less than a decade later, would bring us the very different (but also quite fondly remembered) A Christmas Story. Does this Yuletide-themed early slasher film hold up nearly a half-century after its release? We've got some thoughts! Then, it's on to a recent Shudder offering, Christmas Bloody Christmas, the latest effort from V.F.W./Bliss director Joe Begos. This one features a robot Santa Claus on a killing spree, but -- as fun as that concept obviously sounds on paper -- we're here to figure out whether this is a new film to add to the all-time holiday horror canon or simply another cinematic stocking stuffer. Plus, we address the recent personnel shake-up at Shudder and its parent company (not exactly cheery holiday news), as well as the psychedelic new Shudder original A Wounded Fawn, some of our favorite films of 2022, and lots more! Thanks again for listening, and have a happy holiday and an amazing 2023... We'll catch you again in the new year!