Night of the Bloody Apes (1969), Don't Go in the House (1979), Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1981)

In 1984, in the U.K., the Video Recording Act was passed, which required certification of all video releases by the British Board of Film Classification, aka BBFC. This all came about due to a list of video titles that a group of various religious and other social groups run by the likes of Mary Whitehouse, deemed unsuitable to be viewed and thought for sure it would help corrupt the youth of England. The initial list had 72 titles on it, both films that had already been released after obtaining a BBFC certificate but now was deemed too offensive, as well as a whole bunch of other titles that were believed to fall under the obscenity law. If you own a shop that rented or sold one of these titles, you could be shut down, fined, and possibly even go to jail for it. And this all took place, not in the dark ages, but in the mid 1980s. Hard to believe it, especially growing up here in the U.S.

Some of those titles have only recently gotten passed and released over in the U.K., even 40 years later. Blows the mind.

In this episode, we discuss not only the whole Video Nasty era, but cover 3 films from that list, with each of us watching all 3 and see if we made it through without turning us into mindless deviants. Oops. Too late.

Films mentioned in this episode:

The Bat Woman (1968), Beast in Heat (1977), The Body Snatcher (1957), The Braniac (1962), The Burning (1981), Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1981), Curse of the Crying Woman (1962), The Curious Dr. Hump (1969), Dead of Winter (1987), Doctor of Doom (1963), Don’t Answer the Phone (1980), Don’t Go in the House (1979), Don’t Look in the Basement (1973), Don’t Open Till Christmas (1984), Driller Killer (1979), Entrails of a Virgin (1986), Eyes of a Stranger (1981), Faces of Death (1978), Fear No Evil (1981), The Gestapo’s Last Orgy (1977), Horror High (1973), I Drink Your Blood (1971), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974), Maniac (1980), Mortuary (1982), Mother’s Day (1980), Nekromantik (1988), New York Ripper (1982), Night of the Bloody Apes (1969), Perdita Durango (1997), The Prowler (1981), Psycho (1960), Roar (1981), Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dracula and the Wolf Man (1973), Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters (1970), Santo vs. Frankenstein’s Daughter (1972), Santo vs. the Head Hunters (1971), Santo in the Treasure of Dracula (1969),Santo in the Vengeance of the Mummy (1971), Shock Waves (1977), Silent Night Deadly Night (1984), Speed (1994), SS Experiment Love Camp (1976), Subspecies (1991), Suspiria (1977), Terrorvision (1986), Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Twister (1996), Unhinged (1982), El Vampiro (1957), The Wresting Women vs. the Aztec Mummy (1964)

In the horror community, the easiest way to show you are a fan is by what you wear. The horror T-shirt has been a staple in the fandom for what seems like forever. But it wasn’t always like that. To say that fans have it easy today is a slight understatement. Not only in terms of their availability, but of the selection that is out there! It is an easy way to show the public that you are a card-carrying horror fan, whether you’re wearing a Texas Chain Saw t-shirt, Cannibal Holocaust, or even a Night of the Living Dead shirt, it gives others that immediate notation that this person likes horror films.

Fright Rags, one of the bigger horror T-shirt companies, has been around for over 2 decades, so we decided to ask owner/operator Ben Scrivens on the show to not only talk about the ins and outs of running a T-shirt company, but also to talk about our love of horror films and conventions.

Films mentioned in this episode:

Blood Sucking Freaks (1976), Braindead (1992), Bride of Re-Animator (1990), Burial Ground (1981), Cannibal Holocaust (1980), Christine (1983), Day of the Dead (1985), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead 2 (1987), Faces of Death (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982), Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988), The Gates of Hell (1980), The Greasy Strangler (2016), Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), Hellraiser (1987), House by the Cemetery (1981), Humanoids from the Deep (1980), I Spit on your Grave (1978), It’s Alive (1974), Jaws 2 (1978), Jaws 3D (1983), Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), Let Sleeping Corpse Lie (1974), A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985), Night of the Living Dead (1982), Q: The Winged Serpent (1982), Return of the Living Dead (1985), The Shining (1980), Tales from the Darkside (1990), Tenebrae (1982), Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), They Live (1988), The Thing (1982), Videodrome (1983), The Warriors (1979), The Wicker Man (1973)

The Leopard Man (1943), The Seventh Victim (1943), Isle of the Dead (1945)

Back in episode 23, we covered producer Val Lewton and three of his films. While Lewton only produced about a dozen films—and only a handful of them horror—his work made a huge impact on the genre. That’s why we’ve decided to discuss three more of his films, hoping to inspire other fans to seek out not only the ones we’ve covered but his other titles as well.

With the help of a talented group of craftsmen—including directors Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson, screenwriter Ardel Wray, and a skilled cast of actors he worked with repeatedly—Lewton created films that stood apart. They weren’t just different from what he was hired to produce; they defied the expectations of most horror fans at the time. His films had style, compelling stories, and uniquely well-developed characters. They’re a testament to how effective something as simple as a walk down the street can be when crafted by the right people.

Films mentioned in this episode:

The Body Snatcher (1945), Cat People (1942), The Curse the Cat People (1944), Curse of the Demon (1957), The Day After (1983), Isle of the Dead (1945), I Walked with a Zombie (1943), The Leopard Man (1943), Old Dark House (1932), The Seventh Victim (1943)