Episode 160 - The Mankiwian Candidate

We head far far away to the land of middle earth for this episode, with two movies chosen by Mike. We start off with 1981's Strange Behavior, from director Michael Laughlin. Filmed in Auckland NZ, it is set in Illinois, with a mostly American cast. It tells the story of a university that is doing experiments on people to enhance their mental abilities, but which actually makes them exhibit the titular strange behavior. Some of that behavior even stretches into MURDER...the strangest behavior of them all!  It is an effective thriller, with some standout moments and a great 80s vibe. We follow that up with 1984's Death Warmed Over, from David Blyth. This is high-energy, low-budget filmaking with the craziness cranked up to 11! This is another story of experiments designed to control human  minds and, like the first film, those minds are controlled to MURDER!!!  This one is totally nuts and, at times, nonsensical, but sometimes that is exactly what we are looking for! Let us know what you'd like us to look at next by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Episode 159 - Toys Are Not for Mr Soames

We entered into this show without the guidance of Julie...and we felt her absence...but we persevered and made it through the fire of two VERY problematic and interesting films. We start off with 1970's "The Mind of Mr. Soames" with a great lead performance from Terrence Stamp and directed with flair by Alan Cooke. Based on a novel of the same name, it tells the story of a 30 year old man who's been in a coma since birth who is awoken after a surgery is performed. We then follow the titular character as he is brought through the various stages of human development at a very rapid pace. It is fascinating science fiction and totally worth your time. We follow that up with the real standout this time, the incredibly twisted and dark "Toys Are Not for Children" from 1972. It is one of only two films from Stanley H. Brassloff and we REALLY wish he had gone on to make more. The story is focused on young Jamie Goddard who's parents SERIOUSLY did a number on her. She is now an adult with an unusual series of connections in her brain that link toys, her father and sexuality. It goes there, and it stays there and it really makes you think. This is a strange combination of grindhouse exploitation and art-film. It blew us away and we recommend it highly, but with warnings...there is some deeply problematic stuff in there, but we do think it's worth your time. Let us know what you'd like us to look at next by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Episode 158 - Mo Meta Mo Betta

Julie picked some interesting and obscure films for the podcast this time. We start off with 1988's Destroyer with the late, football superstar Lyle Alzado playing a terrible criminal who is executed for his long list of crimes, but who may not actually be dead. The cast has some other familiar faces from the 80s in it, even Norman Bates himself, Anthony Perkins, who is clearly having a great time hamming it up. We follow that up with 1990's Invasion Force, from low budget powerhouse David A. Prior. The most recognizable person in the film is Richard Lynch who plays and evil military commander who is leading a group of commandos in an invasion of a small southern American town. The connecting thread between the two is that they both focus on a group of filmmakers who get caught up in proceedings they were NOT expecting. They are essentially "films-within-films" and that little twist adds a lot of interest to both. Let us know what you'd like us to look at next by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Episode 157 - What Scares You - Volume 2

We return to our Halloween theme of "what scares you", this time focusing on Mike's fear of his home being invaded. We look at two movies that are similar on the surface, but very different once you dig into them. First up is 2008's "The Strangers", directed by Bryan Bertino and starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. They play a couple that has VERY bad things happen "because they were home". We follow that up with one of our very favorite movies, 2011's "You're Next", from director Adam Wingard. This is a true masterpiece, and not only very scary, but a ton of fun. If you haven't seen it yet, we urge you to drop everything and search it out. We also do our normal rambling with personal stories and asides, so brace yourself for some meandering discussions. Let us know what you'd like us to look at next by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Episode 156 - Down the Hatch

We're back after an extended break while Julie is moving to her new digs. This time we look at two movies starring the late, great Richard Hatch. These are maybe not the two best movies to examine though if you want to prove that he truly was "great". We start off with 1983's Prisoners of the Lost Universe, which is staggeringly inept on many levels but still fun in a RiffTrax kind of way. We follow that up with 1985's Heated Vengeance, which was directed by Edward D. Murphy who had previously done one of our all time favorites, Raw Force. It's a pretty boilerplate tale about a Vietnam War veteran who returns to the country in search of a woman he had fallen in love with during his time in battle. It is not great either, but for both films we try to find the good elements where we can. For the second film we have a special guest, Dylan, who has plenty to add to the conversation. Please send us your thoughts by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 155 - Orphans and Eye Trauma

From out of the blue, came TWO movies that star Vic Tayback AND Gloria Grahame, so we had to feature them on the podcast this time. We start off with 1976's Mansion of the Doomed, which stars Richard Basehart as a CRAZY eye surgeon who's lovely young daughter has gone blind following a car accident. He makes it his mission to restore her sight, no matter how high the karmic debt is. It is dark and twisted and exceedingly grim...we loved it! We follow that up with 1971's Blood and Lace, which stars the gorgeous Melody Patterson as Ellie Masters, who's mother is viciously murdered with a hammer in the opening moments of the film, leading to her becoming and orphan and "ward of the state". She ends up in an orphanage that is more of a prison camp with a lot of sinister stuff going on behind the scenes. Frequently considered the most transgressive PG-rated film ever released, this one is a shocker in the best possible ways. We loved it too!  Please send us your thoughts by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 154 - Land Choppers

Two cinematic EPICS! are showing in the cave this time, as selected by our stalwart member, Julie.  We start off with 1989's Chopper Chicks in Zombietown, which has a cast filled with familiar faces. There was some disagreement in the cave about just how good this one was, but there was NO disagreement about film number two, 1991's Stone Cold, starting the Boz himself, Brian Bosworth. Directed by former stunt coordinator Craig R. Baxley, this one is 100% 80's action at it's cheesiest and most vicious. It ends in a truly impressive spectacle that blew us all away. Please send us your thoughts by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 153 - Flickers from the Thunderdome

Last episode we spontaneously decided to come up with a bunch of top 5 lists, so we did, and on this episode we whip-em out and compare'em...Tune in to find out what we each put on our own lists and hear how bummed we were to have to leave certain awesome movies off our lists and how some of us completely forgot the entire catalogs of some of our favorite filmmakers due to utter dumbness. Please send us your lists, and let us know your thoughts by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 152 - Shake and Bake

It seems fitting that the show where we focus on two of the most famous disaster epics from the 70s, would be the show where we experience disasters in the production. Our entire first section, where we spoke in depth about 1974's Earthquake, was TOTALLY lost due to a recording issue, so we recorded a doubled-up section where we tried to cover that film as well as 1974's The Towering Inferno...that recording only lasted about 30 minutes before it ALSO screwed up when the machine we were recording on, locked-up.  Soooooo, Julie and Marty had to record a THIRD section, where we again tried to summarize and settle all our thoughts on these two titans. It made for a wonky, disjointed show, but there's still plenty to chew on in there, so we hope you enjoy it.  Let us know your thoughts by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 151 - Flickers S Cavingham

We chose two movies from Mr. Sean S. Cunnigham for this episode, starting with 1982's A Stranger is Watching, from best selling author Mary Higgins Clark. Starring the late Rip Torn as a truly despicable monster who rapes and murders a woman in front of her young daughter at the very beginning of the film...this one is ROUGH! Though effectively tense, it felt slightly overlong, but it's impressive on many levels, most notably is Rip Torn's performance. Worth your time, but be warned that he is a REALLY bad man. We follow that up with 1985's revenge flick The New Kids, which features a bevy of great young actors including Lori Laughlin, Eric Stoltz and James Spader who is aggressively chewing up every bit of scenery he can as the dastardly Dutra. Packed with violence, and threats of violence, it is another rough ride but it has a heightened tone which helps to slightly smooth the edges.  Let us know your thoughts by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 150 - Hip-Mo-Tized!

The movies this time were picked by Julie and both feature stories where reality becomes unreliable. We start off with 1981's Looker from writer-director Michael Crichton and starring the fantastic Albert Finney.  It is a great sci-fi story that looks at a world where advertisers strive to present perfect images to help them sell products, and they use computers and doctored images to fool the populace...what a weird and highly unlikely situation THAT is.  We follow that up with 1994's Brainscan from director John Flynn and starring young John Connor...I mean, Edward Furlong.  This story is also somewhat sci-fi but leans heavily into horror as it shows us a disaffected youth who is sucked into a "game" which starts bleeding into real life...or does it. These were both entertaining and had plenty of elements that would make them worth your time. Let us know your thoughts by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 149 - Beep Beep Zip Tang!

We LOVE the original Cannonball Run movie from Hal Needham, so when we found these two movies that came out in 1976  ( 5 years BEFORE Cannonball Run ) that tell similar, fictionalized tales of the true story that inspired that later film...we had to cover them on the podcast! We start of with Cannonball from show-favorite Paul Bartel, with a great cast of regulars from the Roger Corman camp that focuses on David Carradine as Cannonball Buckman, who's trying to get from California to New York City in his badass TransAm. It's a solid, but largely disposable flick with a ridiculous amount of incredible cameos. We follow that up with The Gumball Rally from stuntman-turned director Charles Bail. Starring Michael Sarazin and Raul Julia ( as well as many other familiar faces ) it is a true powerhouse of amazing stuntwork and film making...this one is awesome!  We loved both of these movies and would love to hear what your favorite car-based movies are. Please send your thoughts and feedback to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

 

Episode 148 - Glick In House

We return to one of our favorites this time as we look at two films from director James Glickenhaus. We start off with the Jackie Chan vehicle The Protector from 1985. It co-stars Danny Aiello and casts Jackie as super-cop Billy Wong, a New York city cop with connections in Hong Kong. It is a crazy international story that has Chan and Aiello punching and shooting in a variety of exotic locales as they try to stop a sinister crime lord and rescue a socialite he had kidnapped. It has moments of Chan's signature stunts and some standout action set-pieces. VERY worth your time. We follow that up with 1988's Shakedown, starring Peter Weller and Sam Elliott. Also set in New York City, it follows a public defender played by Weller who relies on his rough and tumble, undercover cop friend played by Elliott to help him bust up a group of "blue jean cops" that are going wild in the city. There are some really nutso stunts and a very well told story that rockets right along until the very end. Another one well worth checking out.
Let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 147 - Hit the Highway

Julie ( with an assist from Eli ) suggested two great movies this time, where the characters take to the roadways in pursuit of love and happiness. Along the way they face darkly weird challenges and tests...do they succeed? We'll never tell, but we WILL tell you that you should track down both of these excellent flicks and put them into your eye holes.
We start off with 1991's Highway to Hell, from director Ate de Jong, which stars Chad Lowe and Kristy Swanson, with tons of surprise guests. The film starts with Swanson being kidnapped by the "Hellcop" which forces Lowe to pursue her down the eponymous highway, which is packed with puns, sight gags and references to mythology and literature...it is a totally bizarre but completely entertaining oddity that we all enjoyed.  We follow that up with 1987's Dudes, from director Penelope Spheeris and starring Jon Cryer, Daniel Roebuck and Flea as New York City punks who pack themselves into a dilapidated VW Beetle and head off to California in search of a better life. What they find instead is Lee Ving from Fear who turns EVERYTHING upside down and puts them on a path to revenge. This was another strange one, but a great little time capsule with incredible music and maybe the best character we've ever seen...Daredelvis!
Let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 146 - Canadian Cave

We head north this time for two really great Canadian slashers. We start off with Bob Clark's legendary Black Christmas from 1974 which is considered by many to be one of the proto-slashers that established many of the things we would come to expect from the genre. It has a great cast, and a tightly told story and is packed with genuinely creepy and dark moments. It truly deserves it's classic status.  We follow that up with the notorious My Bloody Valentine from 1981. We had only seen a heavily cut of the film before, but for the podcast we tracked down a version with ALL of the gore and violence intact. This is a strong movie, with some of the most impressive makeup effects we've seen.  Another excellently crafted thriller, with an interesting cast, great locations, and a unique spin on the idea of a slasher film, this one is a real standout. Let us know what your favorite Canadian film is or just send us your thoughts on the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also interact with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

 

Episode 145 - Thunder Crap

Thanks to Eli for pointing us in the direction of a series of films that had somehow flow under our collective radars...we are focusing on the "Thunder Warrior" series, starring Trash himself, mister Mark Gregory!  Borrowing liberally from movies like Billy Jack, First Blood, Cool Hand Luke, and lots of others, the "plots" focus on lead-character "Thunder" who is a descendant from a great warrior chief who is trying to right various wrongs for his tribe and for himself. He runs up against tons of racist cops, sheriffs, and townspeople over the course of the 3 films. We start off with "Thunder" from 1983, proceed to "Thunder 2" from 1987 and wrap things up with "Thunder 3" from 1988. The quality starts fairly high with the first and then just slides downward with the next two, but still, they are entertaining diversions with lots of goofy fun and more than a few cringe-worthy moments that will either start you laughing or make you gasp in disbelief...totally worth your time!  Thanks again Eli!
We also do our normal rambling with personal stories and asides, so brace yourself for some meandering discussions. Let us know what you'd like us to look at next by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Episode 144 - When Subs Fly

Back to Japan for this episode! We look at two movies from the father of Godzilla, Mr. Ishiro Honda, starting off with 1963's Atragon which tells a complicated story of toxic masculinity and intrigue. Featuring a miraculous flying sub that is sent to defend the earth from a lost undersea kingdom that has it's eyes set on conquering the world! It is delightfully cheesy and full of signature Tsuburaya effects. We follow that up with 1969's Latitude Zero, which raises the bar in every conceivable direction...this movie is INSANE in the very best ways. We have hidden societies, miraculous machines, incredible cross-breeding surgeries, lasers, and some impossibly skimpy outfits...oh, and also jet belts!!!  This is pure, nutty, gold! Let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also send us messages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

 

Episode 143 - Night of the Flickers

We got really lucky once again as we feature two extremely enjoyable movies in the cave this time. We start off with the thoroughly delightful 1984 movie "Night of the Comet" which is a charming spin on the post-apocalyptic genre, with two teeenage sisters in southern California finding themselves two of few survivors after a mysterious comet passes close to earth and starts all sorts of trouble. This is a lightweight, fluffy little movie with some surprising twists and turns and a satisfyingly cheesy ending. We follow that up with a classic though, 1986's "Night of the Creeps" from genre wunderkind, Fred Dekker. Featuring an outstanding performance from Tom Atkins as Detective Ray Cameron, who finds himself at odds with squirmy little extraterrestrials who infest a college town and interrupt everyone's date nights. This is a total blast of a movie, with great gore effects, solid writing, mostly good performances and a killer 80's soundtrack. It's as close to mana from heaven as we are likely to find.  Please let us know what you thought of the show and send us suggestions for future shows to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. Take a minute and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Episode 142 - Phantom of the Angry Inch

Settle in for some seriously good stuff this time in the cave...we are going to rock out with some visionary, risky, brave and thoroughly entertaining films. We start off with 1974's The Phantom of the Paradise from legendary filmmaker Brian DePalma, which takes several sources and mixes them together with the music ( and solid acting ) of Paul Williams, to create a truly incredible combination.  It is partly the story of Faust with some Dorian Gray and a whole lot of the Phantom of the Opera, and, strangely enough, it all really works. Maybe the music isn't quite as memorable as it might've been in 1974 but the overall package and also the tone are not-to-be-missed. And speaking of works of art that you MUST see, let's move on to our second film, 2001's Hedwig and the Angry Inch, from the infinitely talented John Cameron Mitchell who directs, co-writes and stars as Hedwig him/herself. This movie is really hard to explain and even harder to turn away from once it starts. Everything works, everything is willing to challenge the viewer, and there are constant tugs at your heart as you learn all about Hedwig and how he/she came to have an angry inch. You simply MUST see it, and if you already have...go watch it again! You're welcome ;)
Let us know what you think of these two and send us your suggestions for future shows to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also post a message to us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Episode 141 - Never Too Young to Flicker

It was the best of caves, it was the worst of caves...this is truly the tale of two movies. We start off with a hollow thud by focusing on 1987's Deadly Illusion, a film written and partly-directed by show-favorite Larry Cohen. It stars Lando Calrissian...I mean Billy Dee Williams, as Detective Hamburger ( please no jokes about the name ) and Vanity as his stalwart girl-friday. We also get Morgan Fairchild in a sort of dual role ( sort of ) and a brief glimpse of Joe Spinell.  This is a wanna-be noir, and despite have a few really cool moments, is a real slog. The real reason we were doing this episode was to talk about the second film...1986's Never Too Young to Die, which also features Vanity, but which stars John Stamos and Kiss' Gene Simmons.  We heard about this movie on the How Did This Get Made podcast and could not resist featuring it in the cave...and we are REALLY glad we did. This is a totally batty film that is sort of a send-up of the Bond movies, with  the excesses of the 80s on full display. This is an epic accomplishment and the very best kind of bad movie. We urge you to search for it and check it out.  Let us know what you thought of the show by writing to us at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also check us out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

 

Episode 140 - Ninjas are Mammals

We decided to come racing into the new year, kicking and punching and shooting. Welcome to the wild and dangerous world of the legendary ninja! We start off with 1985's Nine Deaths of the Ninja, which stars Sho Kosugi as a member of an anti-terrorist force who hates watermelons but loves kittens.  His team is sent up against an evil group that includes Colonel Honeyhump and the father of the lead-singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers...it's as weird, and wonderful as you are thinking it is.  We follow that up with 1984's Ninja Busters, which stars no one, but is so full of innocent charm and goofy sincerity that it's almost impossible to dislike.  We enjoyed these movies on levels that you don't expect to find when you sit down to watch something with the word "ninja" in the title. Let us know what you thought of the show and also what you'd like to see us cover as we move into 2019. You can write to us at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also reach us on our Facebook page, on Twitter and even over at Instagram!