Imported Horror

Why do haters gotta hate? Was Lucio Fulci full of crap? Who would you bribe to slap a TV-MA label on a PG parody? Find out this week as we discuss the Mexican and Native American roots of True Detective: Night Country, Hammer fanfic and "action" in Wrath of Dracula (United Kingdom, 2023) and influential classic horror in The House that Screamed (Spain, 1969). Plus - we get some help from Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, learn why you shouldn't adopt a ghost and/or vampire and get distracted by Elmo's preemo slasher villian potential.

"How Mexico City influenced the icy Alaska mystery of ‘True Detective: Night Country’" by Bernice Vautista for the Associated Press

"True Detective: Night Country’s indigenous representation offers hope for decolonising television," by Agata Lulkowska for the Conversation

We've got something for everyone this week. Grady gets blood splatter on his shoes with The Witch Part 1: The Subversion (South Korea, 2018), a John Wick-y action horror that pulls no punches. Melissa watched the French short film 3:36 (2017) four times and swears she had a different interpretation every time. Marcus loved the raw ambition of Out of Darkness (United Kingdom, 2022), a Stone Age monster flick with spectacular drone shots.

Plus - Scandinavian disasters, Scottish killers wearing pig masks and campy desert monsters are all dropping on streaming this week.

What if Footloose was secretly about Slovakian witches? What if Daren Aronofsky - or Alfred Hitchcock - directed a twisty Mongolian flick? What if a tire came to life and killed you with psionic powers? Talk a walk on the weird side with us this week as we discuss Nightsiren (Slovakia & The Czech Republic, 2022), Aberrance (Mongolia, 2022) and Rubber (France, 2010). Plus, a chanty Thai horror movie drops on Netflix this week.

We've got something for everyone this week. Grady gets his face melted off by an evil doctor with Eyes Without A Face (France & Italy, 1960), a noire chiller that works with classic film censors, not in spite of them. We fall out of tune with PussyCake (Argentina, 2021), a punk rock scifi horror with killer ideas that can't quite find its own beat, and Marcus kicks some ass with former UFC star Brandon Vera in Day Zero (Philippines, 2022). Also, a movie called Werewolf Santa drops on Tubi this week, and it's got a cameo from everyone's favorite drive-in movie critic.

Lucio Fulci - the man, the myth, the legend. We stroll down Bourbon street towards the gates of hell with The Beyond (Italy, 1981), a vintage gorefest with no thoughts but plenty of drippy grindhouse vibes. Melissa gets spooked and emotionally wrecked by the short film The Shop of Eternal Life (China & USA, 2016), Marcus gets underwhelmed by Huesera: The Bone Woman and Mongolia's first horror movie hits VOD. Plus, we chat about the just-announced film adaptation of Until Dawn, a fantastic horror video game that could really flop as a movie.

What's scarier: Islamic horror, Anglican horror, or a Japanese teenager with a chainsaw? What about all three in one podcast episode? This week, we dive into Shudder exclusives Kandisha (France, 2020) and Martyrs Lane (United Kingdom, 2021), two spiritual hauntings with very different vibes, and then chainsaw our way into something completely different with the Japanese manga Saitama Chainsaw Shoujo. Also, we unpack our wildly subjective favorites from 2023 and get confused by excitable doggos in an upcoming streaming drop.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

Saitama Chainsaw Shoujo, unofficial English translation on MangaKakaLot

We're back! Melissa checks out neighborly horror Nail (Mexico, 2017) on YouTube, Marcus gets himself to a freaky nunnery with Sister Death (Spain, 2023) on Netflix and Grady sees right through efforts to prank him with Mad Spider Sea (Taiwan, 2020). Also, will True Detective: Night Country be a return to form?

Sites mentioned in this episode:

Wicked Worldwide: International Horror Shorts on Alter Horror's YouTube Chanel

We interrupt your holiday cheer to bring you tales of the gothic, monstrous and macabre. This week, the posse unpacks tentacled dream horror in Housewife (Turkey, 2017) and uncanny puppet violence in Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (United Kingrom, 2022). We're also overwhelmed by the triumphant return of everybody's favorite kaiju in Godzilla Minus One (Japan, 2023) and underwhelmed by a spiteful demon in When Evil Lurks (Argentina & USA, 2023).

Big shout out to Faith, our gateway gargoyle and friend of the podcast. Feel better! We've got a Letterboxd list of gateway horror flicks to cheer you on.

We'll be back full time on January 11, 2024.

Websites mentioned in this episode:

16 days 16 films

Stick a fork in Thanksgiving. Listen to our blooper reel instead. We'll be back with actual episodes in December.

Is it a slow burn if every character is unlikeable? This week, we're pining for the fjords as we trek to Norway for Sacrifice (United Kingdom, 2020), an underwhelming Lovecrafty horror with too much angst and too few tentacles. We also watch a graphic betentacled affair between an alien and the protagonist of The Untamed (Mexico & others, 2016) and look forward to chilling goats and benthic arachnids as When Evil Lurks (Argentina & USA, 2023) and Mad Spider Sea (Taiwan, 2020) drop on streaming this week.

Do you have big feelings about divorce and tentacles? Have you ever writhed in agony on the floor of a subway? If so, Possession (France and West Germany, 1981) is the cult horror classic for you! We thought it was overrated, to be honest. Also, Chinese crocodiles Eastern European kidnappers and Japanese slashers are all dropping this week, plus a cursed ring tries to Final Destination Melissa's cat.

It's your last week as chief of police and a gnarly body floats down the river in a canoe. Better head into the hinterlands with your ex-girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend and check it out - there might be cosmic body horror afoot. This week, we trek into the Great White North with The Breach (Canada, 2022), the best horror film to ever be scored and produced by Slash. Also, Melissa dives into international short films on the Alter Horror channel on YouTube and Tubi and we discuss Mongolia's first horror flick.

Welcome to Cthuluween! We're celebrating the most wonderful time of the year with a month-long series of cosmic tentacles. First up is Dagon (Spain, 2001), a fun low-budger romp with fish people and a horny water god. You'll never guess what HP Lovecraft story it's based on. We also review Blood Glacier (Austria, 2013), a Thing adaptation that peaks with the Asylum-y line, "Stop eating that banana while you're crying!" before nose-diving with a super uncomfortable pet death scene and odd choices. Also, British werewolves, Thai monsters and a slasher wearing a lamb costume are all dropping this week, plus the triumphant return of the Funk Bot.

Horror doesn't just happen. It takes devoted special effects artists and a quirky sense of humor. This week, we head south of the border to answer the question, "What if Portlandia, but horror?" with Los Espookys (Mexico & The United States, 2018-2022), an offbeat NBC-ish horror comedy about making spooky happen. We also review Folklore, a pan-Asian anthology series, get distracted by The Perfect Host and No One Will Save You, and look forward to dream and classic gateway horrors dropping this week.

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