The Bear Cave of Terror

Steve Mowry
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Film Reviews
  • Weekly

Spinning off from the Comic Book Bears Podcast: your hairy, heavy, homo host, Steve Mowry, welcomes a different horror fanatic as guest host each week as they both dig their claws into a much-loved scary movie pulled from a variety of sub-genres and franchises - from classic to trashy, spooky to gory, commercial to obscure, and more. Together, they slash into each frightful film to expose its beating heart and delicious marrow, often from a queer perspective, to entice the listener to make it their newest horror obsession, and maybe learn a fun (or terrifying) fact or two along the way!

  1. 4d ago

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 64 - Cannibal Girls (1973)

    Joining Steve in the Bear Cave for the first time is Don Wells of Trident Studios, a classic film fan and relatively recent horror convert. His selected horror feature to talk about is the 1973 "Canuxploitation" classic, 1973's Cannibal Girls by none other than Ivan Reitman! Starring a young Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin, years before SCTV, and even before starring together on the famous and storied Toronto production of Godspell, here playing a young couple stranded in a small town during...winter? Spring? At some point where there may or may not be snow on the ground, at least. There, the legend of the Reverend and his 3 Cannibal Girls ends up more than just a story, and the townspeople themselves seem to be quite happy to enjoy the special meat brought to them by this fancily dressed cult figure and his siren lackeys! Complete with a William Castle-like gimmick of a ringing bell to warn of gore, completely improvised dialogue, questionable continuity, and even a cameo with the director, this is a fun early example of Canadian horror that paved the way for the stream of genre flicks from the North through the rest of the 70s and early 80s. So grab a meat pie and pour on some gravy as we chat about Cannibal Girls! Additional resources for the movie: canuxploitation.com "Cannibal Girls", Rick Trembles' Motion Picture Purgatory, 7/1/2010 dreadcentral.com and Fab Press

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 64 - Cannibal Girls (1973)

  2. Nov 1

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 63 - Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

    On this special Halloween episode of BCoT, we welcome back Jeffrey Hoffman and also joining is his partner in crime and podcasting, Katrina van Tassel! With both Pumpkin and Peach in the cave, we're talking about one of their collective favorites, the 1944 Frank Capra classic, Arsenic and Old Lace, starring Cary Grant. Does it count as a horror film, though? Well, let's see - it takes place on Halloween, involves two serial killing "angel of death" old ladies who live next to a graveyard, and tend to store their victims in a window seat. There's also a sadistic murderer with the face of a monster on the run, a scheme to perform unlicensed facial surgeries, and of course a basement full of corpses! This screwball comedy, based on the play of the same name, is filled with pratfalls, dark humor, plenty of poisoned elderberry wine, and Cary Grant being bound and gagged..for laughs! Be sure to check out Pumpkin and Peach here: https://www.youtube.com/@pumpkinandpeachpodcast or on your favorite podcatching platform

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 63 - Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

  3. Oct 25

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 62 - House on Haunted Hill (1959)

    In this episode, Rob Staeger is back to invite us all to a spooky haunted house party, with 1959's House on Haunted Hill, directed by famous gimmicky director, William Castle! Starring Vincent Price, and featuring some absolutely iconic and visually unforgettable moments, when this was first show in theaters, screenings would feature a 10-ft glowing skeleton that would "float" above the audience in a particular scene, one of many such gimmicks that Castle was known for in his film showings. But there's more to love in this classic cult horror/murder mystery/haunted house film, from iconic characters, great screams, and even some goofy fun, but weirdly enough...Spoiler Alert....no ghosts! We talk about Castle, this film's reception, some head-scratching moments, and the Scooby-Doo Mystery of it all! And of course, wonder about whether a built-in acid vat would increase or lower the asking price of a Mayan-revival L.A. mansion. Visit Rob's new blog at virtualappreciationsociety.com ! Additional Resources for this episode: "Emergo! Percepto! Illusion-O! The William Castle Circus comes to town" by Nick Pinkerton, 8/25/10, Village Voice "Frank Lloyd Wright Homes w/Haunted Histories" by Chelsea Blahut, 10/31/14, Architecturemagazine.com

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 62 - House on Haunted Hill (1959)

  4. Oct 18

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 61 - Buddy (2026)

    Children's shows have always been a bit strange and hyper-real, full of colorful sets, overly enthusiastic kids, puppets and mascots, and of course, a cuddly and bubbly host to bring it all together for 30 minutes of playing games, learning lessons, and punctuating every 5 minutes with perky and repetitive songs, week after week, resetting each episode with a final sing-a-long. This week in the Bear Cave, we welcome Gracie - a board member for the annual queer film festival in Winston-Salem, Out at the Movies, and a founder of the Post-Mortem players, a horror theater company in NC bringing horror and grand guignol to the stage. We're talking 2026's Buddy, directed by Casper Kelly, a twisted take on a children's show anchored by a fuzzy orange unicorn with a dark side, the kids who are starting to suspect something is rotten at the core of the magical land they live in (are trapped in), and a mother from the "real world" who is searching for her missing child. We look at the ways Kelly pulls off the transition from a fully-realized, 90s-style kid TV show to the real world through changing aspect ratios, color, and sound design. Gracie and Steve also look at lessons taken from real life horror - from stories about child actors' devastating realities, to the fuzzy and familiar image of safety that hides danger, or a protector that's actually a predator. Is Buddy cosmic horror, or an allegory for exploitation and loss of innocence? How about both - with poor anthropomorphic mailboxes, bunnies, backpacks, and several kids paying the ultimate price at the end of a goofy unicorn's rage! You can find more information about Post Mortem Players at postmortemplayers.com or on IG @postmortemplayers and support local live horror on stage More information about the annual LGBTQ+ film fest and other events by the organizaation available on @outatthemovies or outatthemovies.org Winston-Salem NC also hosts an annual queer-centered horror film festival! For more information check out @queerfearfilmfestival on IG Additional Resources for this episode: "Sundance Film Festival 2026 Line Up..." by Meagan Navarro, 12/10/25, Bloody-Disgusting.com "Casper Kelly Interview: Buddy's 90s TV Look and Hidden Easter Eggs" by Adam Manery, 8/21/26, pointsofviews.com

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 61 - Buddy (2026)

  5. Oct 5

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 60 - Scream (2022)

    Frequent guest host and Scream superfan Ben Raifsnider of the Little Dead Aliens podcast is back in the Bear Cave to talk about the next installment of his favorite horror franchise! Scream, aka "Scream 5" from 2022, was released 11 years after the 4th movie in the series, and during the later stage of the COVID pandemic, and still managed to be a certified hit. We talk about the reception and how excited fans were for a new Scream film, the "requel"/"anti-elevated horror" angle of this chapter, the devastating loss of a popular, long-running character, and more. With a ton of ADR and on-screen cameos from cast and crew from the previous 25 years of the franchise, a touching tribute to Wes Craven, and a fun twist on the "hot blonde-in-the-shower" trope, plus the usual ranking of the opening attack compared to the previous films, there's plenty to enjoy about Scream (2022)! Even if the Babadook is your favorite scary movie, this slasher is still a bunch of fun for horror fans. Additional Resources for this episode: "Will Scream end Spider-Man No Way Home's Mighty Box Office Reight?" by Rebecca Rubin, 1/12/22, Variety "Scream filmmakers reveal the surprise Easter Eggs..." by Meagan Navarro, 1/20/22, Bloody-Disgusting.com Scream: All the Easter Eggs you may have missed..." by George Nash, 2/2/22, flickeringmyth.com Your Favorite Scary Movie by Ashley Cullins, (2025) published by Plume

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 60 - Scream (2022)

  6. Sep 28

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 59 - Friday the 13th Part 6 - Jason Lives

    We've covered installments from two of the other big 80s horror franchises, Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween, and now for our first foray into the Jason Vorhees Saga, we're jumping right to 1986's Part 6 - Jason Lives, directed by Tom McLaughlin! Joining Steve in the Bear Cave for the first time is podcaster and horror superfan Jeff Hoffman of the Pumpkin and Peach Podcast, and he dives right in to his favorite sequel in the long-running series. There is a lot to love about Jason Lives, from the Frankenstein-like resurrection, some wacky and unforgettable kills, and for the first time, a camp full of campers! The newly-revived Jason hacks and slashes his way through corporate paintballers, a bevy of camp counselors, 4th-wall-breaking cemetery caretakers, and more! We discuss the studio's desire for more bodies, at the same time that they sought to limit the gore (really at cross-streams, there, Paramount), the direction they almost took for future sequels, the multiple takes and bloody effects that got left on the cutting room floor, and the tropes that all come into play in this mid-80s fright flick. And what's this about Jason's dad? With two different actors playing the iconic killer, an acting style that incorporated the director's background in mime, and even Alice Cooper's rocking track inspired by the film, there's plenty to chat about with this slasher classic! Additional Resources for this episode: "Jason Lives - Friday the 13th Part VI" by Variety Staff, 12/31/85 Variety "Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives Novelization lacks the movie's fun" by Brian W. Collins, 8/21/26 Fangoria.com "The Six Faces of Jason, Part 1 & 2" by Marc Shapiro, Fangoria no. 68, Oct 1987, pp. 20-23, 68; no. 69, Dec 1987, pp. 32-35 "Friday the 13th Part 6 FX - The Censors Live!" by Marc Shapiro, Fangoria no. 62, March 1987, pp.17-20, 67 "Jason Lives!" by Marc Shapiro, Fangoria no. 57, Sept 1986, pp. 36-39, 64

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 59 - Friday the 13th Part 6 - Jason Lives

  7. Sep 20

    CBB presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 58 - Braindead (1992)

    Making their way to the Bear Cave for the first time, bringing with them a 90s zombie flick chock full of gore galore, is Drew Ladd! A fan from childhood of horror films, this particular example, 1992's Braindead (aka Dead Alive when originally released in the US) by a young Peter Jackson, is the bonkers favorite that he was excited to talk about. From pus-infused custard, to sentient entrails, zombie babies and mutated super-creatures, this Kiwi classic combines over-the-top gore effects with a critique of New Zealand life, throwing out the rule book the same time it rips apart the idea of a safe fortress home that maintains social order, but instead breeds its own chaos and destruction. Heady stuff - and did we also mention that there are plenty of severed heads, degloved (depantsed?) legs, severe bangs, and undead-lovin'? Get out a raincoat, and try not to watch with snacks, you'll never look at a bowl of pudding or a lawnmower the same way again... Additional Resources for this episode: "Dead Alive" by Scott Tobias, 3/1/12 AVclub,com "Down Under and Braindead" by Michael Hemls, Aug 1992, Fangoria no. 115, pp 28-32, 69

    CBB presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep. 58 - Braindead (1992)

  8. Sep 15

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep 57 - The Sentinel (1977)

    Finding his way to the Bear Cave of Terror for the first time is the Big Gay Horror Fan himself, Brian Kirst! Brian brings with him his second favorite horror movie of all time, the controversial 1977 doorway to hell feature from Brian Winner, The Sentinel! Brian and Steve come at the film from different angles, since Steve isn't shy in saying he wasn't a fan at first viewing! From the exploitative vibe of how some of the actresses were presented ("the Lesbians!"), to the use of disabled actors for spectacle, how self-harm is damned in the film, and of course the complicit and sometimes overtly villainous Catholic Church, the presentation is controversial to say the least. However, there are some gems to the film, like getting to see Old Hollywood actors mingling with the (at the time) New Hollywood up-and-comers, like Burgess Meredith, Sylvia Miles, Ava Gardner and John Carradine opposite Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Walken, Chris Sarandon, Tom Berenger, and Nana Visitor, to name a few. Chilling make-up effects and atmosphere, some truly scary moments, and we don't even have time to talk about the score! So keep an eye out for rentals that are too good to be true, and have a listen. Additional Resources for the episode: "Michael Winner Shocks with the Armies of Hell" by Rex Reed, 2/27/77, San Francisco Examiner "Amusing Hokum in the Sentinel" by Kevin Thomas, 2/11/77 L.A. Times "The Sentinel: of Pre-internet feline birthday parties and..." by PopMatters Staff, 9/29/15 popmatters.com

    CBB Presents the Bear Cave of Terror - Ep 57 - The Sentinel (1977)
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About

Spinning off from the Comic Book Bears Podcast: your hairy, heavy, homo host, Steve Mowry, welcomes a different horror fanatic as guest host each week as they both dig their claws into a much-loved scary movie pulled from a variety of sub-genres and franchises - from classic to trashy, spooky to gory, commercial to obscure, and more. Together, they slash into each frightful film to expose its beating heart and delicious marrow, often from a queer perspective, to entice the listener to make it their newest horror obsession, and maybe learn a fun (or terrifying) fact or two along the way!

Information

  • Creator
    Steve Mowry
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    64
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Stephen T Mowry 2025
  • Show Website
    The Bear Cave of Terror

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