Shows
--And Now The Podcast Starts!Missed Classics? #12: Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) with Neil YoungExorcist II: The Heretic has been called "the worst film ever made" (by Mark Kermode) and has attracted derision ever since its release in 1977, not least by the makers of the original The Exorcist (1973). Our Ian, who worships The Exorcist, has always avoided it. But esteemed critic Neil Young, our special guest on this episode, insists The Heretic is a more interesting film than its progenitor. Listen as Neil explains while he feels this way, Ian and Stella react to The Heretic for the first time, and Dan tries to chart the middle ground!
(Regular listeners will be...2023-11-101h 34--And Now The Podcast Starts!Simon Clark on the Quatermass scriptsWe return to an unplanned irregular release schedule (Dan explains all on the pod) with the first in a series of long-envisioned specials in which horror maestro Simon Clark explains to Dan why the scripts of Nigel Kneale's 1950s trilogy of TV terror about Professor Bernard Quatermass are such an inspirational read. 2023 is the 70th anniversary of the transmission of the first serial, The Quatermass Experiment, and a very special live reading of the original scripts is to be performed for one night only at Alexandra Palace on Saturday 9th September.
The existing episodes of Th...2023-09-013h 36--And Now The Podcast Starts!Missed Classics #11: Addams Family Values (1993)At Stella's urging, Dan has finally checked out the ghoulish comedy sequel, Addams Family Values, and it's fair to say he loves it. Hear them rhapsodise, with spoilers throughout. It's the second Missed Classic in which the team are called to praise Carol Kane (the previous one being When A Stranger Calls), but Dan feels bad that they never mention Jimmy Workman, who's stuck in the least interesting Addams role of Pugsley, but gives a perfect performance.
Relevant Links
Addams Family Values (and 1991's The Addams Family) are streaming via Paramount+ and can be...2023-08-111h 11--And Now The Podcast Starts!Scream VI (2023)Welcome to our hot-take review of a movie that was released six months ago (and a discussion recorded four months ago)... In what will hopefully become an annual tradition, Stella and Dan get to talk about the new Scream movie. Just in case you still haven't seen it, the discussion is divided into spoiler-free and spoiler-filled sections.
00.00.00 Intro and our adventures getting into cinema screenings
00.19.06 Scream VI review - non spoiler
00.43.22 Spoilers ahoy!
Related links
Scream VI is available for rental streaming via YouTube and Amaz...2023-08-041h 18--And Now The Podcast Starts!Missed Classics #10: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)A long while after our last Missed Classic on When A Stranger Calls (1979), Ian Winterton confronts another feted movie he has heretofore avoided, 1984's iconic Wes Craven slasher, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Dan joins him for the discussion and there are spoilers from the start.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984 version) is available to rent on Amazon.
Since this chat was recorded, RedLetterMedia's two-part Re:View video on the Elm Street series has sadly become unavailable
Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com, and follow us on Mastodon and Twitter (or...2023-07-281h 00--And Now The Podcast Starts!Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass (2021)WARNING - SPOILERS FOR MIDNIGHT MASS ARE COMING IN THE VERY NEXT PARAGRAPH - AND THIS IS ONE (HUGELY RECOMMENDED) SERIES THAT'S BEST ENJOYED ENTIRELY UNSPOILED!
Or, "Vampire In A Cardigan".
Kirsty, Stella, Ian and Dan are reunited to discuss a real masterpiece of recent years, Mike Flanagan's seven-part Netflix drama, Midnight Mass. We've already discussed Flanagan's The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep on the podcast; hear how this measures up.
Midnight Mass is streaming via Netflix
Also check out:
Col...2023-07-211h 13--And Now The Podcast Starts!Omen Trilogy Retrospective #1: The Omen (1976)"It's a bit like The Beatles..."
Returning after a long delay, Dan, Stella, Ian and (in a surprise telephone cameo) Howard commence their latest series with a discussion of 1976's The Omen, the first in a series of retrospectives on The Omen Trilogy, inspired by the fact that all three films (plus the 2006 remake of the original) are now on Disney+. (However, Omen IV: The Awakening, 1991's forgotten TV movie continuation, is nowhere to be seen, and won't be discussed.)
Go to Disney+ to watch the 1976 film and the remake, both discussed here.
To...2023-07-141h 31--And Now The Podcast Starts!Revisitations #11: The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920)Kirsty wanted to talk about one of her true loves, Robert Wiene's 1920 Expressionist masterpiece, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, and Dan was only too happy to indulge. Although he drew the line at pronouncing the film's German title ('Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari') because he was chicken about pronouncing two syllables wrong.
The restored Blu-Ray version of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari to which Dan and Kirsty frequently refer is this release.
Kirsty's essay about Caligari and Hannbal is here.
Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
2023-02-2456 min--And Now The Podcast Starts!Revisitations #10: Rosemary’s Baby (1968)We're fishing some unreleased content from the vault this week, to present a 2021 discussion between Stella, Ian and Dan about Rosemary's Baby, Roman Polanski's still-powerful 1968 tale of inner-city Satanism, from the novel by Ira Levin.
We discuss how the film draws satirical parallels between fears of Satanism and anti-Semitism, how its meaning has changed for us since we first watched it 20-some years ago, and a little about the stigma of its criminally-convicted director. (Unfortunately the recording was interrupted at this point - that's why we never released it before - but for a discussion between Dan an...2023-02-171h 08--And Now The Podcast Starts!Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022): the Academy’s Favourite Cult FilmNot horror, but in many ways horror-adjacent, 2022's extremely quirky sci-fi comedy-drama Everything Everywhere All At Once was announced this week to be the unlikely recipient of 11 Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actress (twice), Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Score, Best Song, Best Film Editing and Best Costume Design. Kirsty and Dan wanted to talk about it. And they don't mention Short Round once. Although I just did, typing this.
Links
Everything Everywhere All At Once is available for rental streaming on YouTube and is free...2023-01-271h 08--And Now The Podcast Starts!Revisitations #9: Duel (1971) (or: Second-Guessing Spielberg)Stella and Dan have wanted for some time to discuss their love of Steven Spielberg's 1971 cinematic debut, Duel, written by Richard Matheson. However, they'd never seen the shorter, original intended-for-television version of the film before recording this episode, and therefore spend a lot of it speculating about what that version was like and how Spielberg might have made changes to Matheson's story to expand it for the cinema screen.
Then, after the recording, Dan did something he really should've done earlier - checked YouTube. For there, the (commercially unreleased) TV version is readily available. Therefore Dan had to...2023-01-201h 21--And Now The Podcast Starts!Star Wars movies post-2017, with Sean Mason and Spider-DanFollowing up (after a few delays) on our recent Lee/Cushing episode on the Star Wars franchise, the wonderful Sean Mason returns to the podcast to discuss the more recent instalments of George Lucas' cinematic legacy. He is joined by another favourite returning guest, Spider-Dan of the Spider-Dan & The Secret Bores podcast.
Relevant links
All films discussed are available for streaming via Disney+
The Star Wars: Force Commander cut scenes are on YouTube
All soundtrack and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism under Fair Use...2023-01-141h 18--And Now The Podcast Starts!More Horror Music: Kirsty, Ian and Dan’s Choice TracksHappy New Year!
As a counterpoint to the previous episode featuring Howard and Dan's archival music chats, here, as a final flourish of Christmassyness, is a more contemporary selection from Kirsty, Ian and Dan (again). Each of them has chosen three music tracks to talk about, which are excerpted in the episode, but you can find the full tracks at the YouTube links below:
The Woods
Bela Lugosi's Dead (plus Ian's 'definitive' Trent Reznor version - and also Lakme)
The Lightning Tree
Theme from Children of the St...2023-01-061h 08--And Now The Podcast Starts!Lee/Cushing, Howard/Dan #6: Star Wars movies (1977-2016)Apologies, yesterday's upload had a technical issue - this should now be fixed.
Blurb coming soon!
But make sure you visit Lucid Dimensions on YouTube
And Dan's daily Christmas comedy podcast is The Faces At The Window
2022-12-281h 21--And Now The Podcast Starts!Lee/Cushing, Howard/Dan #6: Star Wars movies (1977-2016)Blurb coming soon!
But make sure you visit Lucid Dimensions on YouTube
2022-12-261h 21--And Now The Podcast Starts!Questions of Horror #5: What Is It About Androids?Show notes coming soon!
2022-12-1655 min--And Now The Podcast Starts!Ruminating on The Cornetto TrilogyStella and Dan express their fandom of co-writer/star Simon Pegg and co-writer/director Edgar Wright's horror tinged 'Cornetto Trilogy', aka the comedy films Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World's End (2013), plus the TV series they co-created with Jessica Hynes, Spaced (1999-2001).
Links
Spaced is currently available for streaming on All4 (and the first episode is on YouTube)
Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are currently available for streaming on BritBox
The World's End can be rented for streaming on YouTube
All three f...2022-12-021h 00--And Now The Podcast Starts!Revisitations#8: Alien (1979)We go back to the Alien franchise again, as Ian and Dan compare their personal lists of five favourite things from the 1979 classic. We assume you've all seen this one, so it's spoiler-filled from the start. And if you haven't seen it, stop listening to us, get yourself to Disney+ and treat yourself to this ageless film!
Relevant Links
The Ghostwatch limited edition Blu-Ray is available now from 101 Films (and our interview with Stephen Volk is here)
The Mist is on All4 until 26th November so hurry and catch it!
I...2022-11-251h 40--And Now The Podcast Starts!10 Years of The Hunger GamesTogether as a foursome for the first time in a while, Kirsty, Stella, Ian and Dan discuss 2012's The Hunger Games, as well as touching on its sequels and the books the films were based on. Beware, some spoilers...
(Kirsty at one point says "kill to the death" instead of "fight to the death". Dan, who once said "murder kills" when he meant "mercy kills", feels seen.)
Relevant Links
The new Mads Mikkelsen/Bryan Fuller horror is Dust Bunny
Dan's comedy podcast The Faces at the Window can...2022-11-181h 25--And Now The Podcast Starts!Mini Review: L’Orafo/The Goldsmith (Grimmfest 2022)A few weeks late, we're giving our first coverage to Grimmfest 2022. Stella and Dan discuss the Italian comic heist thriller with a gruesome undertone, L'Orafo aka The Goldsmith, winner of the festival's Reaper Award for Best Screenplay. Dan was unable to attend Grimmfest itself due to illness, but Stella did and recorded a spoilery interview with co-writer/director Vincenzo Ricchiuti and producer Manuela De Tommaso, included in the middle of the podcast.
00.00.41 Grimmfest 2022 and non-spoiler discussion of The Goldsmith
00.15.46 Interview with Vincenzo Richiutti and Manuela De Tomasso (spoilers)
00.26.22 Spoiler discussion of Th...2022-11-1145 min--And Now The Podcast Starts!A Ramble About Body HorrorThis episode, Dan and Stella discuss the subgenre of body horror: what are our favourite body horror sequences in film and TV, what makes them work, how body horror crosses subgenres and how it's evolved with the development of FX techniques.
The discussion takes in the following films and shows, with occasional spoilers, so beware if you haven't seen them: Body Melt, Creepshow (TV), Hannibal (TV), The Relic, Robocop (1987), Scanners, Shivers (They Came From Within), Slither, Society, Starship Troopers, The Strain, Teeth, Torchwood: Miracle Day, Total Recall (1990), The Walking Dead.
00.00.41 Intro
00.05.04 B...2022-11-041h 48--And Now The Podcast Starts!Men (2022)Welcome to the second proper weekly series of --And Now The Podcast Starts! And happy Halloween.
This episode, Kirsty, Ian and Dan are discussing Men, director Alex Garland's recent hybrid of folk horror, gender commentary and body horror, first in spoiler-free fashion, then with full spoilers.
00.00.41 Intro
00.04.04 Men review (spoiler-free)
00.33.23 Men review (spoilerific)
01.20.45 Outro and Recommendations
Relevant Links
Men is currently out on DVD and Blu-Ray and can be rented for streaming via YouTube and Amazon Prime
Legend's full lis...2022-10-281h 25--And Now The Podcast Starts!Horror in Red DwarfA relaxed, horror-adjacent chat this week, as Stella and Dan put their feet up and chuckle about the horrific elements of their (and possibly everybody's) favourite sci-fi sitcom, Red Dwarf.
(The Series 2 episode they discuss without naming is called Thanks for the Memory.)
Red Dwarf Series 1-8 are available for streaming via Britbox. Series 9 onwards are frequently (but not always) available for streaming for free via UKTV Play.
All soundtrack and music clips are used for the purposes of criticism under Fair Use (US law) and Fair Dealing (UK law...2022-07-2954 min--And Now The Podcast Starts!Revisitations #7: Alien Resurrection (1997)Following their discussions of Aliens (1986) in the previous two episodes, and Alien3 (1992) much earlier, Dan and Ian now take on 1997's not-much-loved fourth part of the franchise, Alien Resurrection, although the two can't agree whose idea it was. Listen as Ian rediscovers a nightmare from literally half a lifetime ago. The discussion doesn't dwell on the story in detail, but if you haven't seen it, beware of spoilers.
There's also a very off-topic digression about Game of Thrones and The West Wing, but Dan cut most of it out...
Alien Resurrection is a...2022-07-221h 17--And Now The Podcast Starts!Revisitations #6: Aliens (1986)Following the brief discussion last episode, Ian and Dan now get to enthuse at length about one of their favourite movies, James Cameron's 1986 sequel to Alien, Aliens. Plus a child pops in.
All the Alien films are available for streaming via Disney+
Find out more about the new Aliens documentary, Aliens Expanded, here
Visit our website, andnowpodcast.com
2022-07-151h 35--And Now The Podcast Starts!Questions of Horror #4: Is It Horror?Apart from Howard (he says hello), the gang's all here as Stella, Kirsty and Ian join Dan to discuss how far the horror genre might stretch to include action, disaster and sci-fi films, with specific reference to The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Jaws (1975) and Aliens (1986). Beware: spoilers for The Poseidon Adventure - please note the timecodes below if you wish to avoid.
00.00.00 Intro and news
00.09.10 The Poseidon Adventure discussion
00.31.08 Jaws discussion
00.43.53 Aliens discussion
Relevant Links:
The new edition of Hammer and Beyond can be ordered for...2022-07-081h 00--And Now The Podcast Starts!DASHCAM - interview with Gemma Hurley & Jed ShepherdIan, Stella and Kirsty do their best without Dan's guidance (he's away on holiday, the slacker) and dig into 'Dashcam', Rob Savage's eagerly anticipated follow-up to 'Host', with a spoiler-free and spoiler-full discussions, plus an interview with 'Dashcam' screenwriter Gemma Hurley and its producer Jed Shepherd.
PODCAST TIMELINE
1'52 Trailer followed by spoiler-free discussion
22'00 Interview with Gemma & Jed
45'03 - TO END Spoilerific discussion - DO NOT LISTEN UNTIL YOU'VE WATCHED THE FILM.
To hear our previous interview with Gemma for 'Host' click here
To hear our previous interview...2022-05-311h 18--And Now The Podcast Starts!Revisitations #5: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) with Catherine BrayIt's time to talk Tolkien, and specifically the more horrific elements of the Middle Earth canon. Peter Jackson's 2001 film instalment The Fellowship of the Ring (featuring the ever-forbidding Christopher Lee, of course) has long given Ian, Stella and Dan the collywobbles, but Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version is also memorably nightmarish. Joining them to enthuse about these films is the brilliant film journalist, podcaster and producer Catherine Bray, co-host of the highly recommended new podcast Not Another F*cking Elf: A Lord of the Rings Character Guide.
00.00.41 Intro and news
00.06.04 The Lord of the Rin...2022-05-271h 35--And Now The Podcast Starts!Feasting on Hannibal #2: Season Two (2014) with Dr Lori Hitchcock Morimoto & Dr Rebecca WilliamsAKA: 'Another Hannibal Love-In'...
We return to the world of Hannibal, Bryan Fuller's majestic TV remix of the works of Thomas Harris. As with our Season One discussion last year, Kirsty and Dan are joined by very special guests Dr Lori Hitchcock Morimoto of the University of Virginia and Dr Rebecca Williams of the University of South Wales for an in depth aca-Fannibal chat, and then by Stella (our very own Dr) and Ian for their take on the show.
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS for the first and second seasons of Hannibal. If you've never seen th...2022-04-302h 07--And Now The Podcast Starts!Patreon Extract: 100 Years of Nigel KnealeThe date this episode drops, 28th April 2022, would've been the 100th birthday of Nigel Kneale, the great pioneer of SF/horror TV and film, who died in 2006. Here, in an extract from our forthcoming episode on Kneale's film version of Quatermass and the Pit (1967), renowned horror author Simon Clark tells Dan the story of how he found the script books of Kneale's 1950s Quatermass serials in a second-hand bookshop and why they are so important to him.
To hear the full version of this interview, in which Simon discusses in detail not just the three script books b...2022-04-2830 min--And Now The Podcast Starts!Revisitations #4: Martin (1977) (or: Educating Ian)It's April Fool's Day, so perhaps it's appropriate to admit our own foolishness in failing to put out our March episode actually in the month of March. Here it is instead, and you'll get a proper April episode in due course...
David Edwards, former film critic of the Daily Mirror and old mate of Ian's, is a great fan of and expert on George A Romero's unique 1977 vampire movie, Martin. He joins Ian (who is watching the film in its entirety for the first time) and Dan (who is rediscovering it after seeing the film when he wa...2022-04-021h 24--And Now The Podcast Starts!Mini Reviews #1: Sister Tempest (2020)Now that the major episodes of the podcast have moved to a monthly schedule, we'll be dropping occasional mini episodes in between, including reviews of new movies. Here is the first, as Kirsty and Dan sink their teeth into director Joe Badon's surreal dark comedy, Sister Tempest.
Relevant links:
Order Sister Tempest on Blu-Ray
Rent Sister Tempest to stream on Vimeo
Also - if you want to help the situation in Ukraine:
Donate to the DEC Ukraine Appeal (the UK government will match donations up to...2022-03-0436 min--And Now The Podcast Starts!Revisitations #3: Nosferatu (1922)It's 100 years since the premiere of FW Murnau's Nosferatu - Eine Symphonie des Grauens (A Symphony of Horror). Although not quite the first screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, it's the one by which all others are measured - a masterpiece of German Expressionist cinema that marks the beginning of modern screen horror.
For years Kirsty has been passing on her love of this classic to her students, and on such an important anniversary, Dan was more than happy revisit it with her.
Elsewhere, the two hosts discuss the trailers for the forthcoming films f...2022-02-1856 min--And Now The Podcast Starts!Scream (2022) - Should they have called it SCREAMS?Dan spent quite a while thinking up the title for this episode...
Yes, having graduated from high school (or 'left secondary school' as we tend to say in this part of the UK) just as Wes Craven's seminal slasher comedy Scream (1996) first hit UK cinemas, Stella and Dan are franchise fans and wouldn't dare miss the latest in-no-way-confusingly-titled instalment, Scream (2022). Kirsty thought it looked fun too, and Covid allowed them all to get to the cinema to see it. Hear them chat about it.
Oh, and the answer to the question posed in the title of...2022-01-211h 10--And Now The Podcast Starts!Doctor Sleep (2019) and The Shining (1980)Kirsty, Dan and Ian discuss 2019's Doctor Sleep and whether it was a good idea to make a direct sequel to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980).
Also, Merry Christmas!
00.00.00 Intro
00.09.25 Doctor Sleep and The Shining (non-spoilers)
00.40.49 Doctor Sleep (spoilers)
Recommendations
Doctor Sleep (in both theatrical and Director's Cut versions) is currently streaming via Amazon Prime
The Lost Boys is currently streaming via BBC iPlayer
Hannibal Season One is currently streaming for free via My5
BBC iPlayer currently contains se...2021-12-251h 26--And Now The Podcast Starts!Questions of Horror #3: Which Horror Films Will We Never Watch (Again)?Kirsty and Dan ponder the horror films they've decided never to go near, and the reasons behind their choice. Elsewhere, Howard returns - for the first time over Zoom - to delve into the Bag of Death.
00.00.41 Intro with Dan
00.04.55 The Bag of Death with Howard
00.25.46 The Question of Horror with Kirsty
01.24.28 Recommendations with Dan
Recommendations and Relevant Links
Val Lewton's Cat People: Beyond the Shadows and The Horror Films of Val Lewton are available to stream from Dark Corners Reviews' YouTube page
...2021-12-031h 33--And Now The Podcast Starts!Missed Classics #9: When A Stranger Calls (1979)Ian, Kirsty and Dan discover as one the highly influential 1979 thriller, When A Stranger Calls. Elsewhere, Dan rhapsodises about Shudder (where this film can actually be found... it's on Amazon Prime, too).
00.00.00 Intro
00.06.33 When A Stranger Calls spoiler-free discussion
00.16.39 When a Stranger Calls trailer (which contains a spoiler) and spoiler discussion
01.16.22 Recommendations
Do consider subscribing to our Patreon. Our discussion of Hannibal Season 2 has now been added, as has Dan and Kirsty's chat about which horror film's they'll never watch (to be released on the regu...2021-11-191h 25--And Now The Podcast Starts!Revisitations #2: Dog Soldiers (2002) (or: Ian‘s Regret)2002's Dog Soldiers is a fave for Stella, a 'like' for Kirsty and Dan, and frankly a source of personal angst for Ian. The foursome all get together to chew the fat on it (and somehow never mention that director Neil Marshall went on to be a key force behind our perennial love, TV's Hannibal). Elsewhere, Howard phones in for another pick from the Bag of Death.
Oh, and (sinister pause...) Happy Halloween!
Relevant Notes and Availability
(All these are relevant to the UK)
Dog Soldiers is out on DVD...2021-10-291h 38--And Now The Podcast Starts!Insane For The StrainAfter being introduced to the show via Stella's American TV horror two-parter last year, Dan is now a huge fan of Guillermo del Toro, Chuck Hogan and Carlton Cuse's FX series The Strain (2014-17). In this episode, Stella joins Dan for a spoilery chat about the whole series. Elsewhere, a pre-recorded Howard is present to pluck another random gem from The Bag of Death.
00.00.42 Intro and news
00.10.46 The Strain
01.09.20 The Bag of Death
01.32.15 Recommendations
Relevant Links
Details of the Horror Channel's films for Hall...2021-10-231h 38--And Now The Podcast Starts!Halloween Retrospective #11: Halloween (2018)FINALLY it's here, only three years after being recorded! Join Howard, Dan and Spider-Dan (known on this recording as Dan B), in the pub with Ian Winterton (in chronologically his first appearance on this podcast) to discuss their first impressions, in both spoiler-free and spoilery fashion, of David Gordon Green's 2018 Halloween film - just in time for the release of his eagerly-awaited sequel, Halloween Kills.
Elsewhere, in the present day, Stella and Dan are joyfully rejoined by Kirsty, recent life stresses all behind her, to indulge in excitement about the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of Rob S...2021-10-162h 06--And Now The Podcast Starts!(Virtual) Grimmfest Preview #3: Aaron Bartuska on For RogerThis weekend (14-17 October) it's the virtual version of Grimmfest, giving all of us lounge-lizards who missed the live festival the opportunity to catch many of its filmic highlights from the comfort of our homes. In this mini-episode, Dan talks to Aaron Bartuska, debut director and co-writer, about his found footage/slasher/character study hybrid For Roger, which has its UK premiere as part of the online event.
All films in the virtual version of Grimmfest can be viewed at any time between 1.30pm on Thursday 14th October and 11.30pm on Sunday 17th October.
Click h...2021-10-1434 min--And Now The Podcast Starts!Grimmfest 2021 Preview #2The date this episode drops (7th October 2021) is the first day of Grimmfest, Manchester's festival of fantastic film, returning as a live event for the first time since 2019. And here is the second of our preview episodes, in which you can learn some details about two of the films screening there - Tarumama and Slapface. Dan and Stella are here to introduce the interviews.
00.16.20 The first interviewee is Andrés Beltran (@andresbcine on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook), director and co-writer of Columbian supernatural horror drama from Dynamo Productions, Tarumama (Columbian title: Llanto Maldito). Dan spoke to him over...2021-10-071h 55--And Now The Podcast Starts!Grimmfest 2021 Preview #1We're back! Or at least... some of us are. Dan and Ian will be your company for the first episode of the second series of --And Now The Podcast Starts! But fear not, Kirsty, Stella and Howard will all be returning in future episodes, accompanied by a number of great guests.
And Grimmfest is back! Yes, it's time again for the North of England's premiere festival of fantastic films, which, following an all-virtual festival last year during lockdown, now reappears as a hybrid. It returns as a live event to its traditional home, the Odeon Great...2021-09-252h 01--And Now The Podcast Starts!The Final Girls and Boys: Series Finale, Part TwoKirsty, Stella, Ian and Dan gather for the last time this series, to cast their minds back over the podcast so far and discuss whatever comes to mind. Meanwhile, Howard (who has now recovered from his COVID-19 jab) phones in for another delve into the Bag of Death.
The show will now go on a short hiatus. We'll be returning around June to discuss, once again, the best and worst of horror with the choicest of guests. In the meantime, keep an eye on our webite, andnowpodcast.com, for new content, follow us on Twitter (@AndNowPodcast, @KirstyWorrow, @Ste...2021-04-101h 32--And Now The Podcast Starts!Things We Forgot To Say: Series Finale, Part OneIt's time to wrap up the first series of --And Now The Podcast Starts! with a general chat between Kirsty, Stella, Ian and Dan as they reflect on producing 60-odd episodes of horror discussions during a global pandemic, pick out some favourite moments, and add in some bits they meant to say about earlier topics. More in this style next week, and then we're taking three months off.
Please note: the sound quality is a little lower than usual this week, as a tight turnaround caused by everyone's pre-Easter work pressures meant we had to use the Z...2021-04-021h 16--And Now The Podcast Starts!Halloween Retrospective #10: Halloween II (2009)A return to 2018 (oh, those carefree, carefree days) this episode, as we release the second-to-last of our series of Halloween franchise reviews recorded in that year, with our look at Rob Zombie's sequel to his own remake. Usual suspects Dan and Howard are joined by regular Halloween guests Spider-Dan (who at the time of recording was only just starting his own illustrious podcast) and actor, writer and sometime Michael Myers, Luke Richards. But what will be their verdict? As if you can't guess.
Relevant Links and Availability
Halloween II (2009) is available on DVD, Blue...2021-03-261h 41--And Now The Podcast Starts!Pandemic Horror: Contagion (2011) and Survivors (1975)Dan used to love post-apocalypse horror, especially the BBC's 'humanity-destroying plague' classic, Survivors (1975-77). But he hasn't re-watched it since COVID-19 hit, as he feared it would be too much like real life; for the same reason he hasn't seen Steven Soderbergh's eerily prophetic film Contagion (2011), which has had a new lease of life on streaming since lockdown. Stella and Ian join him in rediscovering these chilling tales and to discuss horror in a time of pandemic. And there's another phone call from Howard, bringing The Bag of Death.
Please note, the general discussion of Contagion and the...2021-03-191h 37--And Now The Podcast Starts!Danny Robins on The Battersea PoltergeistThe brilliant drama/documentary podcast The Battersea Poltergeist has just completed its eight-part run on BBC Radio 4 (although a bonus ninth episode is due to be released in a couple of weeks), and it's also available on BBC Sounds and all the podcatchers. Kirsty and Ian have been raving about it for weeks, and finally Stella and Dan are caught up and just as enthused about its brilliant mix of investigation and storytelling.
The show's writer and host, Danny Robins, was kind enough to give us an hour of his time for a fascinating chat ab...2021-03-122h 06--And Now The Podcast Starts!Feasting on Hannibal #1: Season One (2013) with Dr Rebecca Williams & Dr Lori Hitchcock MorimotoNBC's Hannibal (2013-15) brought to the small screen, and re-imagined, the world of FBI profiler Will Graham and his colleague/nemesis, cannibalistic psychiatrist Dr Hannibal Lecter, after their introduction in Thomas Harris' novel Red Dragon (1981) and its subsequent sequels and film adaptations. Kirsty and (to a lesser extent) Dan have been talking about devoting episodes to it since the beginning of this podcast, and now the show is finally getting the spotlight it deserves with the first of a three-part, season-by-season retrospective.
Joining us on this journey will be two very special guest 'Fannibals'. Dr Reb...2021-03-063h 11--And Now The Podcast Starts!Writer Stephen Volk on Under A Raven's Wing and a lifetime in the horror businessStephen Volk wrote Ghostwatch, the 1992 TV play which rated so highly on Kirsty, Stella and Dan's list of Movies That Scared Us The Most last year. And Ghostwatch is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Stephen's diverse array of horror output in a variety of media, including prose fiction: his new collection of stories featuring a teaming of the legendary literary detectives C Auguste Dupin and Sherlock Holmes, has just been released by PS Publishing.
In this lengthy interview, Stephen discusses these new and old triumphs, and many things that came between them i...2021-02-261h 58--And Now The Podcast Starts!True Love for True BloodStella, Kirsty and Ian have all seen lots of True Blood, HBO's steamy vampire romance, and love it to bits. On the other hand, Dan has only seen a bit of it, but he loved that. Listen to them wax lyrical and philosophical about why it's so good (except for, as Ian points out, when it isn't) and how it compares to the Charlaine Harris books it was adapted from. And if you've never seen it, the gang pretty much avoid spoilers, for once. Plus, we have another phone call with Howard and Dan as another random film is pluc...2021-02-201h 40--And Now The Podcast Starts!Halloween Retrospective #9: Halloween (2007)It's time to return to our series of Halloween franchise reviews, recorded back in 2018. Dan and Howard are joined by returning guests Luke Richards (actor and writer-star of the upcoming Halloween fan film, One Night in Haddonfield) and Spider-Dan (host of the podcast Spider-Dan and the Secret Bores) for a spoiler-filled discussion of Rob Zombie's 2007 reboot of the franchise.
In more recently recorded material, Stella and Dan chat about their winter reading, viewing and listening, and Howard phones in to pluck another horror film at random from The Bag of Death.
Relevant Links an...2021-02-122h 21--And Now The Podcast Starts!Writer Gemma Hurley on Host, genre on TV and loving folk horrorKirsty, Stella, Dan and Ian have been raving about Host, last year's 'Zoom seance' movie from Shudder, almost since before it was released, and now they are blessed to be joined for a freewheeling chat by one of its writers, Gemma Hurley. Gemma talks about the experience of writing that film, her rollercoaster 2020, the challenges of pitching genre material for TV in the UK, and why she loves folk horror. Meanwhile, Howard calls in with another pick from The Bag of Death.
If you haven't yet seen Host, don't worry, the chat is spoiler-free - but...2021-02-051h 33--And Now The Podcast Starts!Missed Classics (?) #8: The Exorcist III (1990)Ian and Stella are both big fans of 1973's The Exorcist (it's Ian's favourite film), but neither have ever seen the occasionally-feted-in-cult-film-circles standalone sequel written and directed by original Exorcist author and producer William Peter Blatty, 1990's The Exorcist III. Dan has seen it before, and read Blatty's novel Legion, from which it was adapted, and was left with mixed feelings. Now it's time for all three to walk those Georgetown steps again. Warning: contains strong opinions...
Relevant Links and Availability
The Exorcist III is available on Blu-Ray from Scream Factory (including the orig...2021-02-012h 31--And Now The Podcast Starts!90s Gothic #2: Interview with the Vampire (1994)Kirsty, Stella, Ian and Dan return to their survey of Hollywood's procession of Gothic horrors from the 1990s with the one non-Columbia/TriStar/Zoetrope film on the list - but a film we couldn't possibly leave out - Neil Jordan's sumptuous adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. But how does it look to modern eyes? And is the apparently ageless Tom Cruise actually a vampire in real life? And which names will Ian drop this week?
Relevant Links and Availability
Interview with the Vampire, Byzantium and The Expanse are all currently avai...2021-01-221h 23--And Now The Podcast Starts!Loving The ChangelingAfter yet another delay (look, our rhythms haven't adjusted to the craziness of 2021 yet, okay), we're finally going in-depth on 1980's The Changeling. Ian, Stella and Dan talk about how the discovered this oft-overlooked gem of haunted house cinema, and what's great about it.
Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
2021-01-171h 30--And Now The Podcast Starts!Halloween Retrospective #8: Halloween Resurrection (2002)We're returning to the Halloween franchise this episode, and one of the least-loved films in the franchise, the Busta Rhymes-starring final instalment of the 'original Laurie Strode timeline'. Dan and Howard are joined by longtime Halloween pundits Spider-Dan and Luke Richards.
Relevant Links and Availability
Halloween Resurrection is available on DVD and Blu-Ray and for rental streaming via Amazon and YouTube in the UK
Katee Sackhoff's reaction as she watches her performance Halloween Resurrection can be seen on YouTube
Rampage is currently available to stream in the UK via Ne...2021-01-081h 37--And Now The Podcast Starts!90s Gothic #1: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)Happy New Year! We begin the (tentatively hopeful) 2021 by starting a new strand: Nineties Gothic, examining each film in the flow of big-budget, 'respectable' spins on the classic horror texts and archetypes, mostly produced by Columbia TriStar and/or American Zoetrope.
The first of these was Bram Stoker's Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and released globally during 1992-93. Kirsty, Stella and Dan all saw during their teenage years and had their worlds rocked. Ian was a more cynical university student in 1992 and reacted... differently. But how do they all feel about the film on re-watching it now...2021-01-021h 44--And Now The Podcast Starts!Have Yourself A Merry Little Quiz-masIn lieu of a proper episode, here's our (delayed) Christmas knees-up and horror trivia quiz episode, presided over by Ian, with Kirsty, Stella, Dan and special guests Kelly, Sven and Elliott.
To send in an answer to our listener questions, and stand a chance of winning one of our excellent prizes, email Dan at ambisolsltd@gmail.com.
Ghost Stories (2018) and Mark Gatiss' The Tractate Midddoth, The Dead Room, Martin's Close and MR James documentary The Lost Ghost Story are currently available for streaming on BBC iPlayer.
Visit our website, www.ambisolsltd@gmail.com.2020-12-281h 54--And Now The Podcast Starts!Missed Classics #7: The Legend of Hell House (1973)Ian and Dan are joined by a special guest returning from our Horror Express episode, writer and podcaster Tim Shaw, to discuss another favourite from Tim's childhood, and a supernatural spine-chiller that Ian's never seen before, 1973's The Legend of Hell House.
Four psychic investigators - played by powerhouse actors Pamela Franklyn, Roddy McDowall, Clive Revill and Gayle Hunnicutt - have one week to solve the mystery of "the Mount Everest of haunted houses", but how does this overlooked thriller stand up today, and how does it compare to the 1970 Richard Matheson novel from which it's adapted? ...2020-12-192h 27--And Now The Podcast Starts!Death: Bags Of ItCircumstances have prompted that this week's recorded episode - a discussion of Bram Stoker's Dracula - has been postponed by a few days. In its place, Dan bids a sad farewell to a much-mentioned friend of the show, and introduces a collection of 'The Bag of Death', a segment from The Lee/Cushing Podcast from 2016-17, featuring Howard and Dan.
Quatermass 2 (1957) is currently free to stream for subscribers to Amazon Prime. Island of Terror (1966) and Lust for a Vampire (1971) are available on DVD and Blu-Ray and frequently seen on the UK Horror Channel.
More short di...2020-12-121h 11--And Now The Podcast Starts!Missed Classics #6: The Haunting of Hill House (and a bit of Bly Manor)Does the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House (2018) count as a Missed Classic just because it's two years old and Dan hasn't seen it before? Short answer: yes. Longer answer: yes, especially in the light of its instant acclaim and the general derision granted to its 2020 follow-up, The Haunting of Bly Manor (which Kirsty, Stella and Ian can't resist talking about even though this episode isn't supposed to be about that and Dan hasn't seen it). If you haven't yet seen Hill House, go and watch it, because everyone agrees it's good and this episode is mostly spoilers.
...2020-12-041h 27--And Now The Podcast Starts!Questions of Horror #2: Why Are Ghosts Frightening?Stella, Ian and Dan all agree that their scariest horror moments involve ghosts, but they aren't sure what it exactly is that makes a spectral visitor from beyond the grave so frightening. Listen to them ponder out loud. Be warned, the conversation gets surprisingly unsettling in places!
Related Links and Availability
The Possession of Hannah Grace and His House are currently available to stream on Netflix UK
His Dark Materials and Westworld (1973) are currently available to stream on BBC iPlayer
Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
2020-11-271h 18--And Now The Podcast Starts!Revisitations #1: Alien3 (1992)Today's panel of hosts have all seen controversial science-fiction horror and follow-up to 1979's Alien and 1986's Aliens, Alien3, before. Ian saw it at the cinema in 1992 and was disgusted. Kirsty caught it on video as a young adult and didn't think much of it, but went on to become a huge fan of its director, David Fincher. And Dan is a full-on Alien fan who's seen it multiple times in both released versions and knows it inside out.
But Ian has recently discovered the wonders of its soundtrack music and that's inspired him to revisit the film...2020-11-201h 21--And Now The Podcast Starts!Missed Classics #5: During Barty's Party (1976)You may not have heard of During Barty's Party, an episode from the 1976 anthology TV series, Beasts, written by Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale. Ian and Stella hadn't, when Dan suggested this episode to them. But Dan insists it's an absolutely terrifying Missed Classic. Will Stella and Ian agree? And after listening to this episode, will you be tempted to seek it out? And whatever you do, don't miss out on the real-life horror of Ian's rat story...
00.00.42 Introduction and news
00.16.05 During Barty's Party (non-spoiler)
00.51.46 During Barty's Party (spoiler)
01.20.12 Ian and Da...2020-11-131h 43--And Now The Podcast Starts!Missed Classics #4: The Cabin in the Woods (2012)Hope you all had a good Halloween, folks. This episode, Kirsty and Stella introduce Dan to their beloved The Cabin in the Woods (2012). But how will Dan react to this postmodern piece of pop culture?
0.00.41 Introduction and news
00.09.21 The Cabin in the Woods spoiler-free discussion
00.35.35 The Cabin in the Woods - full spoilers
01.13.50 Recommendations
Relevant links and availability
The Cabin in the Woods is currently available to stream if you're a Netflix or Amazon Prime subscriber (the 4K version on Amazon is superior, Dan...2020-11-071h 22--And Now The Podcast Starts!Halloween Retrospective #7: Halloween H20 Twenty Years Later (1998)Happy Halloween everybody! It's the latest episode of our Halloween retrospective, as Howard and Dan turn their attention to the FIRST return (well, third if you count Halloween II as a return... although actually it never happened according to Halloween 2018 - never mind) of Laurie Strode, from 1998. For the first time, their usual Halloween review sidekick Spider-Dan couldn't make this one, but his boots are ably filled by actor Luke Richards. And yes, everybody calls the film 'H-Two-Oh', not 'H-Twenty', which is the only sensible way to read that title, but the damage done by the original marketing campaign can...2020-10-301h 47--And Now The Podcast Starts!The Wicker Mann: Anthony DP Mann on bringing the folk horror classic to audioDan and Ian are both devoted fans of Robin Hardy's 1973 film The Wicker Man. In this episode they have the pleasure of a lengthy chat with British-Canadian storyteller Anthony DP Mann, whose company Bleak December Inc is releasing a lovingly-produced audio adaptation of the folk horror classic. Anthony wrote and directed the audio version and also stars in it alongside the legendary Brian Blessed and Laurence R Harvey.
Relevant links and availability:
For more on the production go to the Bleak December website. It will shortly be released through Cadabra Records.
You...2020-10-231h 51--And Now The Podcast Starts!Grimmfest 2020 Reviews #2In our final discussion of 2020's Grimmfest, which wrapped up last weekend, Stella, Ian and Dan talk about the films They Reach, Fried Barry, The Unhealer and Death Ranch. Plus we have a surprise guest pop up for this week's recommendations!
00.13.01They Reach
00.33.03 Fried Barry
00.47.56 The Unhealer
01.02.46 Death Ranch
Relevant links and availability
All of the films are currently on the festival circuit and yet to go on wide release, so watch out for further announcements.
You can sign up...2020-10-161h 40--And Now The Podcast Starts!Oh dearIt happens.
Visit our website, www.andnowpodcast.com
2020-10-1000 min--And Now The Podcast Starts!Grimmfest 2020 Reviews #1As Grimmfest 2020 makes its way through its penultimate day, we can bring you reviews of some of the films already shown. Apologies for the one-day-delay!
Kirsty and Ian discuss The Deep Ones and The Oak Room, Dan and Ian discuss Unearth and 12 Hour Shift, and finally Stella joins in to talk The Horror Crowd with Ian. (In other words, Ian is he star of the show!)
03.40 The Deep Ones
19.45 The Horror Crowd
37.08 Unearth
56.08 The Oak Room
01.13.38 12 Hour Shift
Grimmfest 2020 continues until Sunday 11th October and yo...2020-10-101h 31--And Now The Podcast Starts!Grimmfest 2020 Preview #2This week (Wednesday 7th - Sunday 11th October) it's the online edition of the 12th annual Grimmfest, and here's the second of our three special preview episodes (the third will be released in time for the start of this fantastic film festival on Wednesday).
Regular host Dan is joined by guest host Ian Winterton for preview discussions of three of the festival's film highlights. Ian interviews some key talents behind the splattery and nostalgic period-set teen monster flick They Reach (co-writer/director Sylas Dall, co-writer/producer Bry Troyer and star Mary Madeline Roe) and Ruben Pla, director o...2020-10-081h 58--And Now The Podcast Starts!Grimmfest 2020 Preview #3The day this episode drops is the first day of the online Grimmfest, and here is our final selection of interviews with some of the creators behind its 2020 line-up.
Dan and Ian discuss the unique teen revenge thriller with a Native American spin, The Unhealer, talking to screen legend Lance Henriksen, director Martin Guigui, co-stars Adam Beach, Elijah Nelson, Kayla Carlson and Branscombe Richmond, co-writer/producer J Shawn Harris, and producer/actor Cristi Harris. Then writer/director Alejandro Ibeniz tells Ian why he remade classic Spanish horror film Would You Kill A Child? (not 'Who Can Kill A...2020-10-072h 00--And Now The Podcast Starts!Host Spoiler Special with director Rob Savage(With apologies to the Empire podcast, because we stole their format wholesale for this episode)
The brilliant Shudder original 'Zoom seance' movie Host has been out for a couple of months now (you can check out our initial spoiler-free review and preview interview with its director Rob Savage earlier on this podcast feed). Now you get to hear the second half of our interview with Rob, in which he goes into spoilery behind-the-scenes detail on the film. And then we have a spoiler-heavy discussion/review on the film with Kirsty, Stella, Dan, and returning guest Ian Winterton....2020-10-021h 25--And Now The Podcast Starts!Halloween Retrospective #6: Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)It's time for another in our series of Halloween film reviews, freed at last from the 2018 vault which houses all of the recordings that Howard and Dan made in the run-up to the release of Halloween (2018).
For this episode, focusing on perhaps the most peculiar instalment of the franchise (which reportedly gave Christopher Lee his second opportunity to turn the series down), they're joined by Halloween review veteran Spider-Dan and a new guest to the podcast, actor Luke Richards.
Relevant links and availability:
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (theatrical cut) i...2020-09-251h 45--And Now The Podcast Starts!Grimmfest 2020 Preview #1In a change to the promised episode, this week we offer the first of our previews of October's Grimmfest digital horror film festival. (The latest in our Halloween franchise reviews will come next week instead.)
We hope the diversity of the content will help you forgive the lower-than-usual Zoom-call sound quality. Guest host Ian Winterton has been working hard interviewing a raft of filmmakers from the festival's slate, and here he joins regular host Dan to give an overview of the films on offer over the 7th-11th October. Ian's been kind enough to invite Dan aboard som...2020-09-192h 08--And Now The Podcast Starts!Film Reviews: Frightfest 2020This week, Stella and Dan talk about the films they saw at the recent digital Frightfest, including Logan Thomas' road-movie-with-the-undead There's No Such Thing As Vampires, the anthology-with-multiple-directors Dark Place, Jessie O'Brien's outback splatter comedy Two Heads Creek, Adam Stovall's spectral comedy romance A Ghost Waits and Dean Kapsalis' doom-laden drama The Swerve. Stella also gives special mention to Triggered and The Columnist. Being on the festival circuit, these movies aren't in general release yet, but keep an eye out for them!
Stella also discloses her heartbreak over the just-announced termination of The Walking Dead.
...2020-09-111h 28--And Now The Podcast Starts!Missed Classics #3: Il Gatto Nero/The Black Cat (1981)For the first time ever on ANTPS, both Stella and Kirsty are absent this week, prioritising work duties as the UK's educational system goes full steam ahead again. However, Dan is instead fortunate to have another Dan to keep him company - the illustrious Spider-Dan, from the podcast Spider-Dan and the Secret Bores.
Spider-Dan's here to discuss one of his favourite films, a horror cult classic that the other Dan has never seen before - Il Gatto Nero/The Black Cat (1981), an Italian horror film intended for international audiences by that country's 'godfather of gore', di...2020-09-041h 35--And Now The Podcast Starts!Questions of Horror #1: Why Dark Endings?In the first of an occasional series, Kirsty, Stella and Dan ponder some wide-ranging questions of the horror genre. Dan's been wondering why it is that so many horror films have dark endings of one kind or another, and why we spectators enjoy these endings, comparatively rare in other genres.
SPOILER WARNING - By the nature of the discussion we spoil the endings of a great many films. So if you haven't seen the following films and don't want the endings ruined, don't listen to this episode! Although if the one you've missed is Blood from the Mum...2020-08-281h 15--And Now The Podcast Starts!What We Love About What We Do In The Shadows
A shamelessly indulgent episode, as Kirsty, Stella and Dan rabbit on at length about why and how much they love the 2014 horror mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows, its current TV incarnation and other spin-offs. It's mostly spoiler-free, for the uninitiated (apart from a spoiler section beginning at 01:20:48), but it does contain some swearing. Which is becoming a habit.
An apology and a correction: Dan remarks that Natasia Demetriou's performance as Greek-accented Nadja is essentially an impression of her mother, but Dan is misremembering this biographical detail. Natasia's mother is English, it's her f...2020-08-211h 57--And Now The Podcast Starts!Missed Classics #2: Paranormal Activity (2009)/Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)Kirsty's off on a lovely Scottish holiday this week, so Stella and Dan are joined by film journalist and playwright Ian Winterton for a spoilery discussion of a landmark horror that Dan's never seen before, Oren Peli's 'found footage' haunted house film, Paranormal Activity. They also go into detail on its 2010 sequel by director Tod Williams (although not the rest of the franchise).
So, spoilers beware! Also, apologies for the lower-than-usual audio quality this week, which is due to unexpected occurrences taking away our editing time and forcing us to use the Zoom call audio (and not hav...2020-08-141h 38--And Now The Podcast Starts!Director Rob Savage on Host (NON-SPOILER)One week after its release on the streaming service Shudder, it's already been called the horror film of the year and even, by Dread Central, the scariest film of the decade. It's Host, a British horror film written and produced entirely during lockdown and over Zoom. We've been following its director, Rob Savage, since the start of our podcast, and now the man himself joins us for a spoiler-free discussion about what inspired the film and how it was made.
Kirsty, Stella and Dan have all seen the film and, as you'll hear, it's at the top of...2020-08-071h 22--And Now The Podcast Starts!Witchcraft and Paganism, Part 2Following on from last week's episode, in which Kirsty led Stella and Dan on a dive into witchcraft through history, reality and fiction, she's now widening her scope to include other types of paganism. If you only know paganism through what you've seen in horror films, there'll be a lot to learn here - but this discussion also takes time to go in-depth on two of cinema's most notable pagan horrors, Ari Aster's Midsommar (2019) and Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man (1973). It's another bumper-length episode and, hopefully, a fascinating chat.
Relevant Links and Availability:
2020-07-312h 14--And Now The Podcast Starts!Witchcraft and Paganism, Part 1Ever since 1922's Haxan, depictions of pagan practices and witchcraft have been part of cinema, and particularly, of horror cinema. But do such depictions have more to do with dominant impressions of witchcraft than with witchcraft itself?
In the first of a two-part exploration, Kirsty, who knows a thing or two about her subject, guides Stella and Dan on a journey into the history of the witch as a historical reality, as a cinematic fixture (with a spoiler-filled discussion of Robert Eggers' The Witch, 2015, in particular) and as an often-misunderstood part of contemporary culture.
...2020-07-242h 01--And Now The Podcast Starts!Halloween Retrospective #5: Halloween 5 (1989)2018-vintage Howard, Dan and special guest Spider-Dan continue their retrospective of the Halloween franchise with a look at director Dominique Othenin-Girard's quickly-churned-out, not-too-highly-regarded Halloween 5. But is there more to it than meets the eye?
Elsewhere, Kirsty, Stella and 2020-vintage Dan are present to discuss horror news and give their recommendations for the week.
All soundtrack clips are used for the purposes of criticism, in the spirit of Fair Dealing (UK law) and Fair Use (US law). No copyright infringement is intended.
Relevant Links and Availability:
Halloween 5 is available for streaming on Am...2020-07-171h 37--And Now The Podcast Starts!Halloween Retrospective #4: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)We previously announced that this episode would be a Missed Classic episode on Fulci's The Black Cat with special guest Spider-Dan. However, circumstances have forced us to shift things around, and so here is the fourth of our series reviewing every film in the Halloween franchise, featuring the return of Howard and a guest appearance from... none other than Spider Dan. So you do get him after all.
This part of the episode was recorded back in 2018, before any of those present had seen David Gordon Green's then-new franchise rebootquel. However, this chat is bookended by some up...2020-07-101h 49--And Now The Podcast Starts!Modern TV and Serialised Horror, Part 2: Beyond The Walking DeadStella, Kirsty and Dan return to their discussion of the recent revolution in US TV horror triggered by the success of AMC's The Walking Dead, taking in subsequent series like American Horror Story (2011-), Fear The Walking Dead (2015-), The Strain (2014-18), The Haunting of Hill House (2018) and Scream Queens (2015-16). There are very mild spoilers for Fear The Walking Dead season one and one major spoiler for The Walking Dead Season 7 (concerning Glenn).
Relevant Links and Availability:
Ana Lily Amirpour's episode of Homemade on Netflix
Hannibal reunion on the Nerdist YouTube Channel (av...2020-07-031h 29--And Now The Podcast Starts!Modern TV and Serialised Horror, Part 1: The Walking DeadStella did her PhD in modern TV horror, and in this week's episode she begins to take Kirsty and Dan on a tour of how the TV landscape has changed in the last ten years allowing the genre to flourish. The trio discuss the state of TV horror on either side of the Atlantic prior to 2010, and go into detail on the trend-setting series that changed everything, AMC's The Walking Dead.
(Spoiler warning for various elements of this show's first seven seasons: if you don't want to know what happens to Glenn, don't listen to this until y...2020-06-261h 33--And Now The Podcast Starts!Female Voices In Modern Horror CinemaDespite the debt owed by the horror genre to the works of female novelists like Mary Shelley and the Brontes, female authorial voices were rare in horror cinema throughout the twentieth century. However, the 2010s saw a proliferation of fascinating horror debuts by a stream of female directors, and in the main feature here, recorded in October 2019, Kirsty and Dan focus on four key examples: Jennifer Kent's The Babadook (2013), Ana Lily Amirpour's A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014), Anna Biller's The Love Witch (2016) and Alice Lowe's Prevenge (2016).
There's also some up-to-date content in which Stella joins K...2020-06-192h 16--And Now The Podcast Starts!Lee/Cushing, Howard/Dan #1: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and sequels (RE-UPLOAD)(NB. This is an episode which has mysteriously disappeared from our podcast feed following its original upload some weeks ago. So now we're adding it again.)
To follow-up on Kirsty and Dan’s episode on Christopher Lee/Peter Cushing films, here is the first of four re-uploads of previously released Howard/Dan chats on Cushing/Lee films.
This episode was recorded in May 2015, a week after the death of Christopher Lee, so Howard and Dan take a moment to pay tribute to the actor and his legacy. They then go on to discuss the film that...2020-06-121h 34--And Now The Podcast Starts!The Case For Horror RemakesJoin Kirsty, Dan and Stella as Stella makes her case for why the generally disparaged horror film remake is a valuable and worthy part of the horror genre. To test this, the trio discuss four key examples of horror remakes from the last 20 years: The Grudge (2003), Let Me In (2010), The Crazies (2010) and Carrie (2013).
Please forgive the teammates occasionally being less coherent than usual, which was down to being forced to record the episode in the morning, rather than the usual afternoon!
Relevant links and availability:
MGM on Amazon Prime - to watch Carrie (1976 o...2020-06-121h 43--And Now The Podcast Starts!The Movies That Scared Us The MostThis week, Kirsty, Stella and Dan each present their two scariest film experiences, encountered at different times in their lives, and discuss why they found the films so terrifying, and whether the fear lingers years later. Prepare for a six-film menu of extreme horror! What would your choices be?
In addition, Kirsty has news that her husband and ace recordist Sven (@svenworrow on Twitter) is subjecting himself to a heroic and possibly horrific sacrifice this weekend - shaving off his beard for the first time in their marriage. He's doing this to raise money for NHS Charities, Sto...2020-06-051h 42--And Now The Podcast Starts!Lee/Cushing, Howard/Dan #5: Horror Express (1972)In Howard and Dan's first 'new' recording (actually recorded in September) on a Lee/Cushing film since 2017, the duo are joined by uber-fan Tim Shaw to discuss an often-overlooked gem in the canon, 1972's Spanish period genre mash-up co-starring Telly Savalas, Horror Express. Somehow they manage to talk about the film for two hours without mentioning the brilliant editor Robert Dearberg, but apart from that, it's fairly in-depth!
Stella also drops in with present-day Dan to discuss the state of coronavirus Britain, horror highlights streaming in the UK, and her favourite fact about Christopher Lee.
Re...2020-05-292h 45--And Now The Podcast Starts!Lee/Cushing, Howard/Dan #4: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) and other SherlocksIn our final (for now) re-upload of old material from The Lee/Cushing Podcast, Howard and Dan look at the Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee's sixth film together, and third for Hammer Films. 1959's The Hound of the Baskervilles starred Cushing as Sherlock Holmes and Lee as Sir Henry Baskerville.
In a separate discussion (recorded in an unfortunately noisy cafe) they also consider the numerous other film and TV productions which saw either Lee or Cushing venturing into Arthur Conan Doyle's world.
Referenced works:
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) and the existing episodes...2020-05-281h 48--And Now The Podcast Starts!Lee/Cushing, Howard/Dan #3: Scream and Scream Again (1970)In the third of four re-edited re-uploads from their previous series The Lee/Cushing Podcast, Howard and Dan discuss an unusual Amicus/American International Pictures co-production that billed Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing alongside Vincent Price, without the three stars ever sharing the screen: Scream and Scream Again (1970), a unique science fiction-horror-conspiracy thriller from director Gordon Hessler.
They also take some time to discuss the career of Price, the British horror star who wasn't British. This episode was recorded in 2016, shortly after the death of Rod Temperton, the songwriter behind Price's last major horror success - Michael J...2020-05-261h 27--And Now The Podcast Starts!Lee/Cushing, Howard/Dan #2: Dr Terror's House of Horrors (1965)In the second of four re-edited re-uploads from their previous series The Lee/Cushing Podcast, Howard and Dan discuss the first of the many all-star horror anthologies from Amicus Productions, Dr Terror's House of Horrors (1965), in which Cushing plays a train-based teller of strange tales, and Lee one of the travellers who share his carriage.
They also touch on two related anthologies from director Freddie Francis: Torture Garden (1967) and Tales That Witness Madness (1973).
Referenced works:
Dr Terror's House of Horrors is available on DVD, YouTube Movies and is part of Amazon Prime's current pac...2020-05-261h 08--And Now The Podcast Starts!Lee and Cushing: An Introductory Chat with Dan and KirstyHoward and Dan will soon resume their epic quest to document in podcasts every filmic collaboration between actors and sometime horror stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. As a curtain-raiser, Kirsty offered to bring her perspective to the table and accept an introductory exploration of this unique filmography from Dan.
As part of this, Kirsty sampled two particular examples from either end of the Lee/Cushing horror pantheon, The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) - the film which inspired our lovely Brian Gorman podcast artwork - and brings her academic perspective to bear o...2020-05-221h 41--And Now The Podcast Starts!New(ish) Film Reviews: Grimmfest 2019Hear Stella and Dan's post-festival chat about five films they saw at Manchester Grimmfest last October: Tone Deaf, Why Don't You Just Die!, Artik, Extra Ordinary and The Shed.
There's also a 2020-recorded wraparound with Kirsty and Dan which, let's be honest, goes off topic a little as they talk extensively about Alex Garland's TV series Devs and upcoming productions based on Clarice Starling and The Sandman. (We must apologise to the director and sometime-producer of TV's Hannibal, David Slade, as at one point Dan calls him 'David Spade', confusing him with a largely-forgotten Saturday Night Live c...2020-05-151h 53--And Now The Podcast Starts!Missed Classics #1: Suspiria (1977)In the first of our occasional strand of 'Missed Classics' - episodes focusing on a milestone work of horror cinema or TV that one or more of the hosts has just never got around to watching - we are devoting an episode to discussing Dario Argento's seminal 1977 Italian shocker, Suspiria.
Dan had never seen the film before watching it for this podcast, but Kirsty and Stella, with their academic background, are more familiar with it. The three spend the bulk of the episode discussing Suspiria's unique stylisation, its story and themes and its place within the horror g...2020-05-081h 23--And Now The Podcast Starts!Halloween Retrospective #3: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)A special, extra-long, extra-in-depth podcast about the reviled non-sequel turned cult classic, which we've been working on for some time.
As part of their series of discussions about every single film in the Halloween franchise in 2018, Howard and Dan recorded a chat with returning Halloween review guests, Steve Timms and Spider-Dan, and you can hear that in this episode. But also in 2018, uber-Halloween III fan Dave Moore held a fan screening of the film in Bury, Lancashire, UK. Dan was present to talk to Dave about his love for the film and his merchandise collection, and to ta...2020-05-012h 26