At the Flicks At the Flicks

And so to our third show for this year’s Halloween specials.

No tricks, this all treats.  The At The Flicks team talk to Paul Scott about his love for Hammer films and his friendship with main Hammer scriptwriter Anthony Hinds.

Hammer films.  The makers of some of the best horror movies of the 60’s and 70’s.  Quintessentially British, gothic, with high production values (although cheap to make) and starring such luminaries as Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.  And the creatures they gave life to.  Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Werewolf, Zombies and numerous other horror creations besides. Then there is Anthony Hinds. The scriptwriter and driving force behind so many of the classics they created.

Yes, this is an in depth look at Hammer horror, with personal reminiscences.  We talk to Paul about the character actors Hammer frequently employed, such as the late great Michael Ripper.  The leading ladies (of course) such as Ingrid Pitt and Veronica Carlston.  All of this spiced up with various behind the scenes making of stories.  Finally we chat about their amazing composer James Bernard.  

For those of a certain age, this is a big trip down memory lane – anyone remember the late night horror double films the BBC used to put on during the Summer months?  Yes, when we were growing up Hammer films were the company that terrified us and why it has such a huge cult following today. 

We hope you enjoy the show as much as we enjoyed speaking to Paul about all things Hammer.

All that remains to be said is have a very happy Halloween and see you At The Flicks.

I bid you Velcome to the second of this year’s At The Flicks Halloween specials.

That rather odd introduction, with its mid European intonation, does contain a big clue as to the subject of this fearful show.  Vampires.  

For this horrifying edition, Graham and Jeff are joined by radio presenter Jo Durrant.  Normally you will find Jo, (and occasionally the other argumentative pair) on her own highly acclaimed science podcast called Jo Durrant’s Beautiful Universe.  If you haven’t checked it out yet, we whole heartedly urge you to do so (and we have put a link to it at the bottom of these notes).  Jo has many informative interviews on her shows and an abundance of all things factual.  That being the case, it makes you wonder why is Jo on our podcast talking about mythical creatures of the night.

As Jo reveals, she has had a fascination with these bloodsucking fiends for many years.  Knowing Jo is such a big fan, we just had to invite her onto the show to tell us what her favourites are.  

Welcome to Jo’s top five vampire films and TV shows.  There are some classic choices, and maybe the odd one that might surprise you.  We are not going to reveal the films in these notes, you will have to listen to the show to get the complete list.  Of course, there are a couple of clues in the links below, we wouldn’t lead you on without giving you a little “nip”. 

While Jo’s selection makes for a very entertaining show, there is something more for you to get your teeth into.  Jeff gives Jo a challenge.  Would she watch three of Jeff’s recommendations?  Will Jo take the challenge and watch them?  What may surprise you and which certainly surprised Jeff, is that Jo has actually seen some of them, and there is one where she would rather watch the remake of Jeff’s selection!   

So, we have a full blooded show for you to check out.  Have you seen Jo’s top five or indeed Jeff’s three recommendations? If you have, please let us know what you think of them.  We know our Neil won’t watch them, while listener Frank has already revealed to us that biting is one of his favourite hobbies.

Ah well, to each his own – especially at this spooky time of year.

Tomorrow we will be back with our final Halloween show of the year.  Until then, boo for now!

Halloween is fast approaching and as usual, your At The Flicks team have a few treats for you.

Coming your way is a trilogy of terror, no, not Jeff, Graham and Neil, instead three epically scary shows. The fun starts with this spooktacular Halloween party from another member of the team. It’s a big treat as Declan is allowing us into his Halloween home. Beamed direct from Declan’s haunted mansion is the scary time we all want at Halloween (not counting Graham and Neil of course).

This is a special building, designed for seasonal excitement. There are three sections in this massive gothic structure. The first is the movie hall where Dec will unveil five thrills of the season for you. No clues as to what they are, except to say most of them sent Graham’s fear factor up to 11 – even though one of them was in black and white. Mind you there was an equal scare for Jeff when it was revealed one of them had subtitles. Luckily, he remembered there was a passable American remake!

Then it’s a small walk to the next part of the crumbling abode to the TV section. Of course, Dec is the expert on all things streaming and the choices here are excellent – although once again Graham is refusing to come out from under the covers to watch any of them. That sheet was so tightly wrapped around him we thought it was a ghost impression! Despite that, Jeff even offered to hold his hand through some of the scary bits, but sadly that was also met with refusal.

Finally, we came to a section that Graham was happy to visit. Dec gave us five music tracks that will be on repeat for the evening. From the classic to the modern and thankfully no rap to scare Jeff!

Now if you are really lucky you will be getting your black card invite through the post for this amazing event very shortly. Forget Universal’s Horror Nights, this is the place to be seen this year – although the evil spirits that abide there do claim likeminded souls to join them. Funnily enough, no one has seen Neil or Listener Frank since their recent visits.

Once Halloween is over, Declan will be preparing for his next big event. The planning of this year’s Carry On Christmas Streaming.

Meanwhile, please come back tomorrow for another of our Halloween specials.

See you then or at the flicks.

Welcome to an At The Flicks show that is different to anything we have done before.

For this show Jeff and Graham interview a director and a star in front of a live audience.  Not something we have ever done before.  However, the topic we moderated was for a worthy cause.  It was for an upcoming documentary feature called Black Dog Way.

Sam Pope, who we have worked with previously, asked us to get involved, for us to interview him and the star of the documentary Steve Gower.  

You may be thinking what is it that got us involved.  Quite simply the subject matter is of important relevance, not only in the UK, but also in many of the countries in the world today.  To explain what Black Dog Way is about, here is the synopsis as written by Sam Pope for the official website.

“In the winter of 2016, Steve found himself homeless aged 49, in the wake of a family tragedy. His story is like many others. 219,000 in England alone, every single year. 

Steve was a victim of circumstance and a man suffering from his memories. He became trapped moving through the support system, trying and failing to navigate his way back. Experiencing the system from the inside, he saw it as fundamentally broken. After getting himself back on his feet, he vowed to ensure others wouldn’t go through the same experience. He became a homeless advocate, helping people and asking for nothing in return. In doing so, he became a voice for those in need. He remained determined in the belief that things could and should be better. Steve set out, along with many others in the city of Gloucester, to do just that. 

This is Steve’s story.”

A link to the trailer is shown below.  As for the film itself, some work is required to complete the editing.  That was the other reason for the live event, to raise funds for the film.  If after listening to the show you would like to contribute to this work in progress, please see the link below for the crowdfunding page.  

As always we look forward to your feedback.

One of our more typical shows will be coming shortly.  Until then, see you At The Flicks.

Welcome back to At The Flicks

In yesterday’s show (episode 231) we set out the rules for our new review show (a bit like Fight Club, with the main difference being we encourage you to talk about it).

If you followed that layout, then you know that this episode features our three remaining reviews.

They are:

Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3 – yes a Marvel film, and we all know Jeff’s view on them. Surprisingly, one of the converted (or infected) also turns on Marvel this episode. His excuse? He went to see it with Jeff. Clearly that de-programming works!

Spider-Man Across The Spider Verse – If you thought Jeff’s extreme superhero views were at high volume in the last review, they are off the charts for this one! Trouble starts when someone else calls it one of the films of the year. A good job we deal with our reviews remotely or this could have ended in a hospital visit for one of them!

The Swimmers – A Netflix drama based on a true story. A much more serious discussion about a very powerful film.

And there you have it – the first double header review show.

What do you think? Please let us know.

In the meantime we will hope to see you At The Flicks

Welcome to the At The Flicks early Summer review show.

Early Summer I hear you say, as everyone prepares for Halloween.  Ah, but the At The Flicks team are like fine wine, we age well (other than referring to someone in the present tense who passed away after we completed the show!).  And just to compound that delay, this is only half of the show! The other half will be released tomorrow.

Trust me, there is method behind the madness of that split.  With our extended team of excellent reviewers (and Jeff), we are having more in-depth discussions on our chosen movies these days.  We tried to edit them down, however, to be honest we just didn’t know what to cut out.  Although we all panicked when Graham started brandishing one of Elijah’s excellent swords!  But we argued, we just cannot drop a two hour review show on our listeners.  Not even Jeff’s wife wants to hear him whittering on for that length of time.  So, we had to come up with another solution. 

The answer is to split these shows in two now and in the future.  

In future the format will be

Show one - A topical movie discussion then two film reviews (and from next time a special something just for listeners).

Show two -  three in depth reviews. 

And we promise you that show two will always be released the day after show one.  There’s too much stress in the world as it is, we don’t want to keep you waiting any longer than we have to for you to hear your favourite reviewer.  Now that’s an idea, maybe we can have a poll to decide who that is – no, strike that, Graham will just get his extended family to vote for himself multiple times.

Now that’s sorted, let’s talk about our “topical” discussion from a couple of months ago as featured in this edition.  Since the recording, an aspect of the discussion is now out of date.  Mainly because the director we referenced, William Freidkin, has sadly passed away since we recorded this episode.  A great loss to cinema – and certainly to 1970’s cinema.  The Exorcist, The French Connection and the incredibly under rated Sorcerer – three of the best films of the decade.  A magnificent talent, a sad loss.

Coming back up to date as this recording will allow, there are two extended reviews for you here, and they couldn’t be more different

Air : The story of the Michael Jordan shoe.  Now in the previous review extravaganza, Darren blew everyone’s mind with his alternate take on Tar.  This time he does it again with Air.  Listen to what he says and how everyone reacts to that. We have all had to watch this superior movie again.

Fast X : Jeff, the ultimate Fast and Furious fan leads this review.  Is he mocked by the rest of the reviewers (wouldn’t be the first time) or do they humour him as he calls it one of the best action films of all time? Check out our review to find out.  Don’t judge to harshly, remember he is still receiving treatment

Tomorrow, we release the second half of the show which has reviews of Guardians Of The Galaxy 3, Spiderman Across The Spider Verse and The Swimmers.

Find out what the team think of that motley crew.  See you then.

Bye for now.