Summer of the 80s, Part 5: 1984 - Mid-80s Mutations (Night of the Comet & C.H.U.D.)

The Winter of Folk Horror is not yet ready to let 2024 go. Cozy up with the comfort of witches, as we discuss three very different witch movies. Dueling witches, a witchy cousin, and a town filled with bigots. Welcome to the Witchy Winter Wonderland!

When a skeptical college professor demands his wife stop practicing protective conjure magic, he opens himself up to be the victim of an opposing force in Burn, Witch, Burn (1962)! A young woman loses her parents in a deadly crash, moves in with her cousin, Linda Blair, and proceeds to ruin her life, in the Wes Craven TV movie, Summer of Fear (1978)! And then from there, the residents of a small town believe that three new arrivals are reincarnations of witches that invoked a 300-year-old curse in The Devonsville Terror (1983)!

Adorable animals return! And at least some of them are back for the attack. Hopefully, our cat children were not negatively impacted during our viewing of these features.

The bodies from a local cemetery are used to develop a new taste sensation for cats in The Corpse Grinders (1971)! An alien cat arrives on Earth, in need of repairs to his spacecraft, while trying to avoid the military, spies, and gambling debts, in Disney's The Cat from Outer Space (1978)! Lucio Fulci brings us his freely adapted film version of the Edgar Allan Poe classic, featuring a really pissed off cat who loves to shred human flesh in The Black Cat (1981)! And then from there, Hong Kong brings us three knights from outer space (two humanoids, one cat), pursuing some kind of grotesque space...thing, and a must-see cat versus dog junkyard brawl in The Cat (1992)!

We've covered the more obvious directorial efforts of George A. Romero over the years. But, there is unseen by most, an underworld of Romero films. Movies that are just as real, but not as well-known. We crack open that creaky Dungeon of Directors and unleash these lesser-known Romero films.

The residents of a rural Pennsylvania town are accidentally exposed to a bioweapon, transforming them into The Crazies (1973)! A young man by appearance, may be an 84-year-old vampire, or in reality just a serial killer, in the ambiguous Martin (1977). A peek behind the curtain of the lives of a motorcycle-jousting, traveling troupe of renaissance faire-style performers in the cult oddity, Knightriders (1981)! And then from there, a service monkey develops an unhealthy attachment to a quadriplegic man in Monkey Shines (1988).

Have you noticed that it's kind of cold outside? Well, not everywhere, of course. But if you live near us, then you know what we're talking about. Why not warm up with a dose of cozy folk horror? It's the return of one of our favorites, the Winter of Folk Horror!

We travel the world, once again, stopping first in Norway for a swim in the Lake of the Dead (1958). The over to Ireland to spend some time with the forest creatures we find in The Hallow (2015). And then from there, we visit South Korea, and try to familiarize ourselves with a variety of religious elements on the fly, to better understand Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2019).

What else there to do in January other than sit around being cold? You should probably heat things up, Italian-style, by celebrating Giallo January! And when Sergio Martino brings Edwige Fenech along to star in his movie, that always helps.

Join us for discussions of Mario Bava's early giallo, Blood & Black Lace (1964), the third film in Dario Argento's "animal" trilogy, Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971), and Sergio Martino's mix of giallo and devil cult subgenres, All the Colors of the Dark (1972).

It's a December tradition here on the podcast, to discuss some holiday horror. Or holiday violence, at least. It must be time for Horror for the Holidays V!

This year, we're featuring David Harbour versus John Leguizamo in Violent Night (2022), a bunch of naked Santa helpers running around in Finland in Rare Exports (2010) , and two spooky stories that share the same name, Whistle and I'll Come to You (1968 and 2010)!

We've always loved Julian Sands, and were saddened to hear of his disappearance and the revelation of his passing in 2023. To celebrate his life and career, we discuss a personal favorite, along with a pair of campier entries that, if nothing else, are fun to laugh about.

What happens when a warlock escapes the clutches of death, travels through a portal three centuries into the future, to locate three parts of The Grand Grimoire to undo creation? Well, you'd better believe that a determined witch-hunter follows to try to stop him! Julian Sands is Warlock (1989)!

Not into warlocks and all that stuff? Well, how about Julian Sands as an infuriatingly meek surgeon who opportunistically uses a hit-and-run accident to imprison, and physically alter,  the woman of his dreams? Probably not a particularly healthy thing to do. It's a story of obsession and possession, with some questionable acting. But hey, if Boxing Helena (1993) is a match for your fetish, you do you.

And then from there, if you thought that the acting in Boxing Helena was bad, get ready for some of the most remarkably poor acting you have ever seen from a complete cast. Thankfully, Julian Sands returns as the warlock, the one marginal bright spot. Though it probably would have helped if these actors had some decent dialogue to work with. However, as it stands, Warlock: The Armageddon (1993) is probably best used as a device to torture your enemies.

So you heard us talking about our live podcast at Cape Con, but you were unable to attend? Well, you're in luck! We take you back to the beginnings of comic book horror, and then discuss two horror films adapted from comics.

It's a comic book movie team-up featuring Edward Scissorhands and Hagrid from the Harry Potter series! Kind of. You do get Johnny Depp and Robbie Coltrane on the same team, investigating the menace tormenting Heather Graham's character, along with other ladies of the night, on the streets of Victorian-era London. Could it possibly be Jack the Ripper? Whoever it is, they are clearly From Hell (2001)!

And then from there, let's go to Alaska, where Josh Hartnett is the youthful, handsome sheriff in a town that will be without sunlight for thirty days in winter. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, I suppose, as long as you are not a victim of seasonal affective disorder. Of course, there may be other problems. Like a group of vampires coming to town. Yeah, that could result in 30 Days of Night (2007) being a lot more challenging.

The Final Chapter of the 19th Annual A-Z of Horror Festival has finally arrived. Was it worth the wait? Well, let's call it a mix of good and bad. We have disappearing mothers, Kevin Bacon, a town filled with crazy southerners, werewolves, talking pets, a lost movie that should have stayed that way, and preferring the zombie apocalypse to going into work. Let's have ourselves a little chat about:

• Relic (2020)
• Stir of Echoes (1999)
• Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964)
• The Undying Monster (1942)
• The Voices (2014)
• Werewolf By Night (2022)
• Xenia (1990)
• You Are Not My Mother (2021)
• Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (2023)

The Festival demands a second episode! Because, well, it's not over. Get ready for letters I-Q, featuring Martians, a minister's wife becoming a vampire, a deadly web comic, a mysterious lodger, a vile prince from Poe, two movies that involve an inheritance, an anatomical dummy, and sinister doppelgangers! Listen in as we discuss:

• Invaders From Mars (1953)
• Jakob's Wife (2021)
• Killer Toon (2013)
• The Lodger (1927)
• The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
• Next of Kin (1982)
• The Old Dark House (1963)
• Pin (1988)
• Qorin (2022)

The 19th Annual A-Z of Horror Festival continues...