Savageland

HOLY COW! I loved this film! 

SAVAGELAND is a riveting and completely engaging "mocumentary" about the lone survivor of a small town attack by unseen forces. He shot a roll of film with many disturbing shots of multiple attackers, but was still tried for the murders.

What really happened?



This film was a masterwork of both writing and acting. Like LAKE MUNGO, this film is presented in documentary style and interviews are held with the people involved in the investigation - both within legal realm and the news and reporting realms. The actors playing the parts sell it all without question and the writing is rock solid.

And the images that were caught on film are horrific and creepy as hell! heheheh  I love them!

 Bad acting and crap writing can kill a film like this in a heartbeat, but the writer/director team up of Phil Guidry, Simon Herbert, and David Whelan was pure perfection! Things were tight, believeable, and took a few turns that I was not expecting, but loved when I saw them.

No, there are no masked, ax swinging madmen in here or smashed in jump scares. This is a creepy tale that takes it's time telling a story and brings it all home with some nightmare fuel stills that are fantastic. A must watch for lovers of a good, creeptastic, dark story. 

Currently available on AMAZON PRIME. 

Spookers

From SHUDDER
"At Spookers, an enormous haunted house in a shuttered New Zealand mental hospital, a merry band of amateur actors spend their nights scaring the pants off visitors. One night they might be clowns in a creepy carnival, the next night fearsome fairy tale figures. But the brilliance of this delightful documentary goes beyond the ins and outs of haunting, as director Florian Habicht shows how transforming themselves into monsters helps many staff members deal with their own traumas and phobias. Step into a place where fear is a family business - if you dare...A SHUDDER EXCLUSIVE."

This was an excellent little documentary. Not only does it cover the behind the scenes of the spooky little haunt in New Zealand and show the effect the players have on the attendees - some funny, some very sad, it also looks at the effect it has one people that used to work at the closed mental hospital and what people who have had issues with mental health think, too. I loved this aspect.

They also do a rather interesting thing where they look at the dreams and inner workings of the players with little music video like plays to accompany them. Many of the people working the haunt have interesting back stories that are discussed which added to the overall grade the doc for me. It was really rather interesting.






Well worth a viddy.

Their site:
http://www.spookers.co.nz/

Deliver Us

"Exorcism is still a fact of contemporary life. Every year, more and more people claim that their illnesses are caused by demonic possession.  

Father Cataldo is a veteran, one of the most sought-after exorcists in Sicily. Every Tuesday, many believers follow his mass of liberation, searching for a cure for some adversity for which there does not seem to be a label or a remedy."

This was a fascinating documentary.  It fits into the horror camp - I mean...exorcism. Hello. :) The thing that really got me was the fact that people are so into it. Like, all in. I'm not a religious person, but I loved seeing people who are religious jumping in with both feet as Father Cataldo worked his magic. The faith they have in what they believe in was somewhat inspiring. I couldn't think of anything that I had that kind of faith in other than immediate Family, honestly. These folks travel from far and wide to be seen by him and helped.

Seeing people who believed themselves caught in the heat of a possession was wild. It's one thing to see our horror movies do it with actors and actresses bouncing around and screaming lines of written dialogue, but it's way different when "real people" are doing it feeling like they are possessed by evil.

The flip side was also very interesting - the fact that some of the people were just being talked about as having medical disorders, not a possession, and how they distinguish between the two. A very tricky line.

It's also interesting to think that a ways back in the 1500's, many of these people might be "dealt with" in various, sordid ways - being possessed and full of evils.


A fantastic and well produced piece. Well worth a viddy for those so inclined. It was very interesting.

Horror Podcasts List - Updated for 2016

Hello All! 
I've added some podcasts onto my original list I made and taken some off that I don't listen to anymore. Hope you find it helpful in your search for horror podcasts! ~M~

I listen to a fair share of podcasts. A lot, really. I fill my chore hours with podcasts to take my mind off of the task at hand...and to drown out the voices in my head. heheheh  I took a look at my growing list of podcasts recently when I found myself running short on iPhone space and thought, "Wow...that's a lot of horror podcasts in there. Maybe I'll spread the word about some of the ones I like today."

So, here is the current list of items on my phone.






United Nations of Horror
http://www.unitednationsofhorror.com/
Like the Faculty of Horror Podcast listed below, the UNH podcast is a more in-depth look at the horror genre with carious roundups of films and news related to the main topic of discussion. They are also an "international podcast" with hosts based in the UK, Germany and the United States which makes it interesting as well. It's nice to get knowledge and viewpoints from other areas of the word.

They do the usual "What have we been watching" segment, a brief overview of items related to the main feature that they plan to discuss, then the main feature roundtable with the films plot run through by one of the members so they can talk about the various elements that make the film up. They also have special segments from time to time that focus on the headliner as well.
You can also find little side channels of podcasts on their page:
ACTION ZONE (action films)
THE (B)AD SIDE (a pay per listen coming soon, I believe)
and, for those so inclined...
SQUARED CIRCLE OF WRESTLING   :)  (for wrestling fans)

"The United Nations of Horror is a podcast featuring a group of hardcore horror movie fans from all over the globe coming together to discuss all things horror including but not limited to movies, television shows, books, video games and much more. Each episode will feature a main topic and may also include contributions on a variety of horror related topics."

Streampunk
http://www.streampunk.show/
The MONDO MOVIE PODCAST duo is BACK with the STREAMPUNK PODCAST! A great podcast idea - they review genre and more that is currently available for streaming through the usual suspects. This makes things much easier when you're trying to play along at home. You can usually stream through AMAZON, NETFLIX, or some other mainstream media servers so you can have easy access to the films being talked about.
Nothing better than listening to two guys who love genre movies and movie history talk movies! 





 

Lore
http://www.lorepodcast.com/
Another grand podcast for lovers of real world horror, LORE focuses on true horror tales and mythos from all over the world. Ghosts, happenings, and real world monsters such as serial killers are discussed in a very interesting and tight fashion. The research is fantastic and host Aaron Mahnke (a fiction writer) has a fantastic voice and grand writing style.

Man...there are some CREEPY things that happen in our world! 
"Lore is an award-winning, critically-acclaimed podcast about true life scary stories. Each episode examines a new dark tale from history, and presents it in a style that's been compared to a campfire experience. With over 3,200 5-star reviews and 2 million monthly listens, that's clearly a good thing.  New episodes are released every two weeks, on Mondays.  Our fears have roots. Lore exposes the darker side of history, exploring the creatures, people, and places of our wildest nightmares.  Because sometimes the truth is more frightening than fiction."



Night of the Living Podcast
http://nightofthelivingpodcast.com/
As with HAMMERED HORROR below, this podcast feels like hanging out at a friends house on a Friday night and talking about movies over beer and pizza. Super fun and very silly at times, the multiple host podcast covers what the folks have been watching and the main feature, but also do a fun segment called STRAIGHT TO VIDEO RUSSIAN ROULETTE where one host is selected Russian Roulette style to watch a straight to video movie and report back on it the following show.

Humorous and fun, this is a great podcast for horror shocks and goofy giggles. I have been brought to tears laughing at times. :) A lot of fun!

"Night of the Living Podcast is a weekly show hosted by six friends from Cincinnati, Ohio. Each week a randomly selected podcaster reviews a film for our “Straight-to-Video Russian Roulette” segment. In “The Main Attraction” segment, the entire NOTLP Crew discusses a horror or sci-fi genre feature."



Alice Isn't Dead 
http://www.nightvalepresents.com/aliceisntdead/     
Another fab story podcast by the makers of WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE. (listed below)

It's like THE NIGHT STALKER meets Bruce Banner wandering around in the Incredible Hulk TV show...with a dash of X-Files.

I'm totally hooked. It won't be for everyone - the delivery is not standard, linear storytelling, but I'm riveted by the situations and story weaving that goes on within it.

"A truck driver searches across America for the wife she had long assumed was dead. In the course of her search, she will encounter not-quite-human serial murderers, towns literally lost in time, and a conspiracy that goes way beyond one missing woman."

Uncanny County
http://uncannycounty.com/
More fantastic, odd tales! I love it! So many creative folks putting out wondrous art!
This one is special to me. It involves an area called Uncanny County and every podcast is a story about the area. Robots, killer clown demons, Twilight Zone style twist of fate tales....this podcast has a little bit of everything. And, the fun part is, if you don't happen to love the podcast one episode, you can just wait and see what they have to offer for the next round.

Archive 81
http://www.archive81.com/
I dig this podcast, but the benchmark set by THE BLACK TAPES PODCAST isn't really fair for it. Another ongoing story podcast here. This one deals with a man going though and archiving a set of tapes off in a bunker-like facility. He's supposed to record himself at all times. The man who has set him on his way for the task calls in from time to time to check in on him...making sure he stays on task.
As the tapes are played, you find out more of what's been happening...and you have more things happening to our archivist.
Interesting and atmospheric, this podcast and story line is well worth a listen.
"Three months ago Daniel Powell vanished.  These are the tapes he sent me.  If you know anything, please contact me at archive81podcast@gmail.com  New episodes will be released every other Wednesday."

THE BLACK TAPES
http://theblacktapespodcast.com/ 
This falls under story podcasts and I love it. THE BLACK TAPES is a paranormal serial, really, going over the Black Tapes - a series of cases of a paranormal de-bunker with an interesting past.

The Black Tapes is a weekly podcast from Pacific Northwest Stories and Minnow Beats Whale, and is hosted by Alex Reagan. The Black Tapes Podcast is a serialized docudrama about one journalist's search for truth, her enigmatic subject's mysterious past, and the literal and figurative ghosts that haunt them both. 
How do you feel about paranormal activity or supernatural? Ghosts? Spirits? Demons?
Do you believe?




DARK DISCUSSIONS
http://www.darkdiscussions.com/ 
Another cool group discussion about horror films and related topics. They are a lively bunch with a vast horror movie viewing history to pull from. Good conversations and some funny banter.




THE DRABBLECAST
http://www.drabblecast.org/ 
Not strictly horror, this story podcast offers up some fantastic literature readings. It's a "smart" podcast as well with some quick and nimble writing.

The Drabblecast is a weekly podcast featuring flash fictions from a variety of genres. Its singular message is that of off beat, funny, eclecticism. It is a paying fiction market, accepting submissions. The Drabblecast is the winner of the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Parsec Awards for Best Speculative Fiction Audio Magazine.





FACULTY OF HORROR
http://www.facultyofhorror.com/ 
THE FACULTY OF HORROR podcast is rather interesting in it's overall approach. It's more like a horror class in college with a bent towards women in horror and the roles of women in horror in various horror films and collections of horror imagery and tropes. They really do a grand job and it's always an interesting listen.

Tackling all things horror with a slash of analysis and research, horror journalists and occasional academics Andrea Subissati and Alexandra West are your hosts for brain plumping discussions on all things that go bump in the night.
Produced independently in Toronto, Ontario The Faculty of Horror is your best source for classic and contemporary horror film discussions that will haunt the libraries of your mind!

HAMMERED HORROR
http://www.hammeredhorror.net/ 
I used to LOVE the old MONDO MOVIE PODCAST and I was really sad when it ended. Listening to to fun English gents talk horror was a hoot. Well, HAMMERED HORROR brings it all back with two highly entertaining English gentleman talking and laughing about horror films whilst sipping adult beverages from time to time adding to the wild nature of the podcast. I love it. It's one of those, "MAN! These guys seem like they would be fun to hang with!" podcasts. :)



HORROR ETC PODCAST
(sadly, no more, but still worth a listen)
http://www.horroretc.com/ 
These two may not put out podcasts regularly, but the content is well worth the wait in most cases. I keep them in my podcast list and I'm pleasantly surprised when I see a new podcast in the listing. They are just super busy, which I completely understand. One of them even makes actual horror movies, which I can get behind completely!  Very entertaining horror discussions.




HORROR NEWS RADIO
http://horrornewsradio.com/ 
I'm relatively new to this podcast, but I dig it so far. Another group situation with lively conversations. What I've noticed so far is that these folks don't always agree on each others opinions and they are NOT afraid to let each other know about it! hehehehe  I've enjoyed people having debates on execution and the like - it makes it a more lively podcast indeed!





HYPNOBOBS / HYPNOGORIA
http://www.hypnogoria.com/html/podcast.html 
I love this podcast. It's fantastic. Jim Moon really knows his subject matter and I look forward to the podcast content every time. He covers a wide variety of offerings as well, which makes things interesting and highly entertaining. He covers film, literature, authors and more. His research is fantastic - a comprehensive coverage of the subject at hand for sure. One of my all time faves - especially when he does Christmas Ghost Story readings around the holidays!




KNIFEPOINT HORROR
http://knifepointhorror.libsyn.com/ 
Another favorite of mine, this horror story podcast is fantastic. It's presented in a very interesting way as well. Hardly any music or background sound effects. It's like you've walked into a room where someone is waiting for you. You sit down and listen to their story - a true telling of an even or happening in that person's life. Some of them are really chilling. Fantastic podcast.

THE NO SLEEP PODCAST
http://www.thenosleeppodcast.com/ 
For those who prefer a little more production in their story telling, there's the NO SLEEP PODCAST. Great acting and presentation for some truly creepy tails. Very NIGHT GALLERY in feel, these tales really do promote insomnia! :)

In the spring of 2010, a new forum appeared on Reddit.com. It was called “Nosleep” and the concept of this forum (or “subreddit”) was to be a place for people to post original scary stories about frightening experiences. It was an online version of telling spooky stories around the campfire.
A year later, as Nosleep was growing at a rapid pace, one member named Matt Hansen proposed the idea of doing a podcast where some of the top stories from Nosleep would be narrated in audiobook style. The response was quite positive and over the next few months a small group of members endeavored to put together what would come to be known as The Nosleep Podcast. On June 13th, 2011 Episode #1 was released.




PSEUDOPOD
http://pseudopod.org/ 
A wide variety of horror tales can be found here. PSEUDOPOD has been around for a long time and you can see why when you listen. It's really one of the best horror story podcast offerings out there.

WARNING: This is a podcast of horror fiction. The stories presented here are intended to disturb. They are likely to contain death, graphic violence, explicit sex (including sexual violence), hate crimes, blasphemy, or other themes and images that hook deep into your psyche. We do not provide ratings or content warnings. We assume by your listening that you wish to be disturbed for your entertainment. If there are any themes that you cannot deal with in fiction, that are too strongly personal to you, please do not listen.




THE SCREAM CAST
http://www.thescreamcast.com/ 
Horror discussion on the hip (...but not lame hip) side, these guys play well together and present a lot of interesting info and banter for sure. Lively and entertaining horror discussion. 

The ScreamCast is a podcast hosted by Sean Duregger, Brad Henderson and BJ Colangelo. It began as a celebration of one of our favorite Horror flick label, Scream Factory. Since then, however, we’ve moved into celebrating the many other boutique horror labels like Synapse, Vinegar Syndrome, Cult Epics and more.
With special guests, celebrity interviews, top 10 lists and reviews we celebrate all things retro, cult and fringe in horror!

 
THE SCRIPT
http://thescript.podbean.com/ 
These folks focus on the script of films and cover a wide variety of topics and films, not just horror related. They manage to focus on the script without being too dry about it, which is grand. This could be a super dry, saltine cracker of a podcast, but they manage to keep the conversation lively and interesting, bouncing from the film overview to how the script is structured. Very cool stuff.




 
WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE
http://commonplacebooks.com/ 
This is one wild podcast. It's played out like a small town radio station broadcast about the ULTRA-FRUCKING STRANGE goings on in NIGHT VALE, a location that one could look at as the place where every NIGHT GALLERY, TWILIGHT ZONE and RICHARD MATHESON story originates from! hehehehe  I love it! It's strange and fun and funny and the production is tight and crisp. ALWAYS entertaining. ALWAYS strange.

"The new dog park is now open. Remember, there are no dogs allowed in the dog park. Do not talk to the hooded figures that you may see in the dog park. Stay away...from the new dog park."   :)

And, podcasts I'm just starting to explore:

 

Small Town Horror http://www.smalltownhorrorpodcast.com/

This story podcast tells the tale of a man who played a small town, night scares game when he was a teen, but it actually worked and he was taken away by someone or something for a period of time. However, while he thought he was away for days, no one thought he'd been away longer than a few hours. He heads back to the small town where it happened to investigate after his Father passes away. Of course, this is fueled by a package arriving for him...that was sent by his Father days after he passed away. 

Everything is there in this story podcast. Interesting story, good pace for the most part...  I'm just waiting it out to see if the actor flow gets a bit better. I think the same thing happened when THE BLACK TAPES started - it takes a while to get everyone rolling. I do like the podcast - it's holding my interest. 

Found Footage Files

http://foundfootagefiles.org/

I'm not a found footage guy. I dislike it as a whole. However, there are some nuggets here and there. I just want to have to find them myself. 

Enter the FOUND FOOTAGE FILES podcast! hehehehe

They cover all things found footage. It's been helping to weed out the MEH! and get to the good stuff. They have a very cool, conversational style that sits well with me. Check it. 

"Found Footage Files is a movie review podcast that looks exclusively at films shot in the "found footage" or handheld camera style."

 

The Night Time Podcast

http://www.nighttimepodcast.com/

More goodness for lovers of real life strange tales, this podcast is really very engrossing. He tells the tale of the event - a UFO sighting some family members had and a missing persons case are the two I've heard so far, but then he actually speaks to the people involved. This aspect has been very interesting. (Though, it was very difficult to listen to the Mother of the missing person talk about her ordeal) I love that it's not done in a prying or upsetting way. It's conversational interview style and is presented in a calm, clear manor. 

Fans of real world mysteries and odd happenings will love this.

The Taking of Deborah Logan

Wow.


Ok...in a nutshell. This film does what many...MANY others have tried to do in the past. There are many elements we've seen before.
Faux documentary style footage. Cameras mounted on walls that we see footage from. Hand held camera footage with people running about and shouting things. BUT....The Taking of Deborah Logan does it all a lot better than many of the films I've seen of late.

The factors? More real world applications of the above and a better execution. The acting backs it all up as well. So, we have many of the same elements with a feel that makes it seem far more realistic than some of the other docu-footage films I've sat through and been sad about once they are done.

Example? Towards the end of this film I stood up, moved towards the TV and  folded my arms in front of my chest staring intently at the images on the screen. Then at one point I said, "Wait....WHAAAAT?! Holy CRAP!" out loud at the TV.

At another point I said, "Oh....fuck YOU guys!" and laughed because the filmmakers TOTALLY got me with a jumper. And, at yet another point I physically backed away from my screen a few inches and groaned, "Oh man...that's messed up."

The film is friggin creepy. It has a fantastic "spine" to build off of story wise and it makes use of every once and inch of it. Simple setup - a documentary crew is on site to film Deborah Logan as she fights Alzheimer's with her daughter in the family home. When Deborah takes a quick and unexpected turn for the worse, things get interesting. Nuff said.

And the acting. Holy crap.

Jill Larson

Anne Ramsay

Jill Larson turns in a frigging wondrous performance as Deborah. Riveting. Anne Ramsay plays her daughter, Sarah, and she is equally grand. Very believable and super solid performances that I never scoffed at. The rest of the cast was fab as well, though I have to say they were overshadowed by the performances of Larson and Ramsay. You know what they didn't do? They didn't fail the film and that's huge. In some of these films, the acting of a few misplaced folks completely KILL the film - ripping the viewer away from their involvement in the story into a realm of tearing their acting apart and bemoaning their presence.  Everyone felt "real" here and that was huge. Great casting all around.

And....Adam Robitel. Bravo, man. REALLY nice work.  Really knocked it out of the park with this one. There's a great interview with him on THE INSIDERS, but you should listen to it after watching the film.  He's a smart guy that is bound to do, more grand things in the future.

"FINE! Don't mention ME by name. I did a good job, too. Michelle Ang. I'M Michelle Ang! :)

Ok ok ok...Michelle Ang was good as well. :)



Man...I really enjoyed this film. Is it for everyone? No. In this internet anonymous world we live in, I'm sure people will bash SOMETHING about this film. 

"There's too much TAAAAAAlking...."  Whaa...quiet. I'm trying to listen to actual plot and character driven story. Go play with your CGI ghosts and silly jump-scares somewhere else. :)

"They are just doing stuff like Paranormal Activity."   Whaa...so are thousands of others, but the difference is these guys are kicking arse at it like Oren Peli did with the original.

Like story?  Good acting? FRUCKING CREEEEEEEPY scenes and genuine WTF?! moments?

Check out The Taking of Deborah Logan at once!    

Currently available on NETFLIX, AMAZON and iTunes at the time of this posting.

The Sacrament

I'm doing smaller, quicker posts this round just to get little reviews out. Short, sweet and to the point.
So...






 "Eli Roth presents"....THE SACRAMENT.   I like Eli more when he tosses cash at things to get them made. :)

My boy Ti West is back at it with this found footage nugget which I liked, but not as much as his other work. Let me explain. :::grin:::

SACRAMENT is a great film with some great performances for sure, but I wasn't ready for it.  Up to now, we have ghosts and the devil and all sorts of creepy from West. However, this is just...Jonestown, really. A nutty leader with some nutty followers and some followers who want to leave, but can't due to El Nutters armed "protectors".


Again, grand performances and some gripping scenes, but I kept waiting for...I don't know. A devil? Demon? Ghost?  Nope, not that film. So, here I was, thinking I was going to get a zinger GOT YA! at the end, but...no, it's just a great found footage flick about how people follow a guy to their doom. Honestly, the film was a bit too real for me. Demons and ghosts are highly entertaining to me, but sad, brainwashed followers dying is just too close to nightly news for this to be super entertaining.


I'm glad I saw it. AJ Bowen turns in another fab performance along with fellow regular Joe Swanberg. Kate Lyn Sheil and Amy Seimetz - also fab. Kentucker Audley sells a HORRID little scene...REALLY well. But, Gene Jones takes the cake as the cult leader "Father". He's spot on and perfect in the role. He doesn't overplay it at all. Highly believable.


Great film and well worth the watch. My fault for assuming Ti West would toss a zinger in at the end. :)  Check it out!