Imported Horror Barking Cat Studios

Do you hate your job? Would a zombie apocalypse feel like a vacation? Do you giant love sharks and sexy flight attendants? If so - Zom 100 (Japan, 2023) is going to make your week. We break down differences between the original manga, the anime series that's releasing week-to-week on several platforms and the live action Netflix movie. If you've got time for it, the anime was our favorite. Also - Melissa defends her favorite sing songy penguin body horror short film, Grady gets disturbed by the "Funk Bot," Marcus shares a weird dream and everybody gets excited for Islamic and Jewish folk horror dropping this week on Shudder.

Telekenetic ghosts, heroic kaiju, bleak folk horror and ... a movie about a man dressed up as a dog? We've got a little bit of everything this week as we unpack The Enfield Haunting (United Kingdom, 2015), Gamera Rebirth (Japan, 2023), Gwen (United Kingdom, 2018) and Good Boy (Norway, 2022). Also, an offbeat Chilean dictator vampire comedy and a queer Canadian werewolf movie drop this week on streaming and VOD.

This week, we get cartoonish with a pair of off-the-wall animated horror comedies. Sprite Fright (The Netherlands, 2021) pits awful teenagers against cheerful, bloodthirsty forest creatures who don't resemble smurfs in the slightest. Enjoy with salty snacks. The other, Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires (United Kingdom, 2018), gives 80s action tropes and drunken zombies a compelling claymation makeover. Too bad so many of the jokes are toxic and distracting. SAD! Also - Gamera makes a triumphant return and a creepy Norweigan movie about a "dog" drop this week.
Articles mentioned in this episode:
"Sprite Fright" by Blender Studios on YouTube
"Sprite Fright: Production Notes" by Blender on YouTube
"Chuck Steel Night of the Trampires Official Behind the Scenes" by Chuck Steel Night of the Trampires on YouTube
 

The jungle is a scary place. It's filled with vicious snakes, cackling brujas and plenty of surprises. This week, we hop a bus to Panama for the deliciously campy Diablo Rojo (PTY), a shameless flick full of 80s tropes with a killer ending. We also get stuck in Quicksand (Colombia, 2023), a plodding survival horror where a giant snake is the most likeable character. We also celebrate the triumphant return of Spirit Halloween and condemn the ceaseless War on Halloween.
Quicksand: Terror Scale: 1. Quality: 2. Enjoyment: 2
Diablo Rojo (PTY): T: 2. Q: 4. E: 4.5
Articles mentioned in this episode:
"‘Quicksand’ Interview: Star Allan Hawco Surfaces For Terrifying Survival Drama" by Mary Beth McAndrews for Dread Central
"Q&A WITH SOL MORENO, DIRECTOR OF DIABLO ROJO (PTY)" in Cult Projections
"An Interview with Sol Moreno, Director of Diablo Rojo PTY" by Mike Haberfelner for Search My Trash

Need a hairy gateway horror for a pre-teen? Want to watch something freaky on your laptop after the kid is asleep? We've got your Friday night all planned out with Viking Wolf (Norway, 2022) and Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (South Korea, 2018).
Note: We recorded this "backup episode" back in April. We chat about Night of the Killer Bears (Thailand, 2022) which we hadn't seen at the time. We reviewed it back in June - it's a shameless scream-y banger - and it's since dropped on Tubi. Plus, we talk Fulci and the Last Drive In and I give a quick review of The Meg 2: The Trench.
Articles mentioned in this episode:
"‘Gonjiam’ director energizes horror once again" in Korea JoongAng Daily
"The Haunted Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital: Gone But Not Forgotten" by Ashley for The Curious Archive
"Controversial action-cam horror film 'Gonjiam' sure to thrill and chill," by Ko Dong-hwan for The Korea Times

Is Mother Nature trying to kill you? Are sadistic guards crafting plots to break you? Do you like weird camera angles? If so, this double feature is for you - we get earthy with trippy eco-horror Gaia (South Africa, 2021) and debate the value of exploitation classic Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (Japan, 1972). Also - a creepy doll, a queer ghost and an empowering zombie apocalypse are all dropping over the next two weeks.
Articles mentioned in this episode:
"Jaco Bouwer Interview: Gaia," by Graeme Guttmann for Screen Rant
"The Japanese cult classic that paved the way for the modern female action hero," by James Balmont for Little White Lies
"Film Analysis: Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972) by Shunya Ito," by Rouven Linnarz for Asian Movie Pulse