Episode 21 - Trolling for Santa

Episode 21 of the podcast was born from a message from Daniel who got us thinking of covering films from the Scandinavian part of the world. We chose two films from 2010, Troll Hunter and Rare Exports. If you listen to the podcast, you will hear that we LOVED both of these movies and put them on the highest of pedestals. If you know of a film from a specific area of the world that might force us outside of our cultural comfort zone, please let us know by writing to us at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or by posting a message on our Facebook page.

Rest In Peace Mr. Russell

No one ever wishes to be the bearer of bad news, so I write this post with a heavy heart indeed. Legendary filmmaker Ken Russell has passed into the great beyond leaving an enormous gap in the world of bizarre and transgressive cinema. Probably most well known by mainstream audiences for Altered States, a film that delves into the world of psychedelic research and features many of his trademark flourishes, his canon includes so many more wonderfully strange and aggressively unsettling films. From the crazed drug fueled imagery of Tommy, based on the Who's album, to the gloriously blasphemous scenes of torture and debauchery featured in his high water mark film (my opinion) The Devil's, Mr. Russell never failed to press someone's buttons with his work. If you have never experienced any of his films for your self, please do. It will surely expand your cinematic horizons and maybe even blow your mind. R.I.P. Mr. Russell, you will be missed.


-Mike

Episode 20 - Magnum and Manson

Episode 20 focuses on some great prison exploitation films from opposite sides of the earth. 1973's Terminal Island and 1982's Turkey Shoot. They both posit a near future situation where socially undesirable types are shipped off to remote locations to protect the masses from either a murderous blood lust or a revolutionary mindset. In both there is violence, sexism and fantastic action set-pieces. These are not your typical exploitative fare though. Terminal Island is given an interesting spin by director Stephanie Rothman and Turkey Shoot is another in director Brian Trenchard-Smith's long career of outstanding films.
These both are well worth watching, especially if you love totally bizarre additions of things like werewolves, mini-bulldozers and evil villains who are afraid of the dark!

19 - Served Up Cold

Episode 19 of the podcast was spawned by a request from a listener for us to focus on revenge thrillers. The listener suggested 1980's The Exterminator and we chose 1988's Deadbeat at Dawn.
These are both low-budget but incredibly well executed examples of the revenge sub-genre.
The Exterminator stars Robert Ginty and Christopher George who both turn in respectable performances. Ginty is the eponymous character while George is the policeman who wants to end his vigilante justice.
Deadbeat at Dawn features the multi-talented Jim Van Bebber as writer,director,stunt coordinator, and star. It is one of the best examples of micro-budget filmmaking and is a powerful experience to this day.
Please continue writing us at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or leave a message on our Facebook page.
We would love more suggestions or any other type of feedback that you might want to offer.

Lucky Number 18

Episode 18 of the podcast focuses on the two films that bookend Lucky McKee's career so far. We start with May from 2002 and finish up with his newest film, 2011's The Woman. Both of these films feature female leads that are trying to make their way in a world where the odds are stacked against them ( lucky indeed ). The incredible Angela Bettis stars as the eponymous "May" and also as the unfortunate wife in "The Woman". These films are both full of issues and topics that can easily push a person's go button.
If you'd like to hear us spoiling both films, stick around after the closing music and listen to us lay out the details of both films in a new segment that was suggested by a listener.
We hope you enjoy the show and that you will continue to send us your thoughts and suggestions on the Facebook page or via email at flickersfrom@yahoo.com

17 - One in the Pink and One in the Stink

Episode 17 of the podcast focuses on 1986's Terrorvision and 1991's Shock'em Dead. These two films do not fit the traditional mold of a "good film" but they each hold their own charms. Terrorvision stars the excellent Gerrit Graham and Mary Woronov who turn in fantastic performances as hapless swingers whose happy home is invaded by a monster from another world.
Shock'em Dead stars the infamous porn star Traci Lords and none-other than Pride Fighting Championship's Stephen "The Fight Professor" Quadros. These are bad films, but they each have something in them that might make them worth watching. Listen to our discussion and see if you think there's something in there for you.
Terrorvision was suggested by a listener and we thank him profusely. Please let us know your own suggestions and you too could be thanked in a similar way or even more so.
Keep the cards and letters coming in to "flickersfrom@yahoo.com" or contact us on our Facebook page.

Special 1 - Flickers from Cimmeria

In this special episode of Flickers from the Cave, Marty is joined by guest co-hosts KMO and Olga to talk about the 2011 version of Conan the Barbarian. The talk turns frequently to the 1982 version which of course starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. Put on your leather corset and/or thong, grab your sword, make your peace with Crom and enjoy this special presentation.

16 - Not Your Father's Delorean

Episode 16 turns toward the hoary idea of time travel by looking at two magnificent examples of that genre in 2004's Primer and 2007's Timecrimes. Both of these excellent films are 100% flux-capacitor free, and at no point do morlocks enslave any characters. Read as little about these two as you can but rush as fast as possible to watch them. If you enjoy storylines that mess with your head and leave you wondering what just happened, these are sure to satisfy. Let us know your thoughts and keep those cards and letters coming in at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or on our facebook page.

Episode 15 - Appetites from Space

Episode 15 marches once more into the low budget end of the cinematic pool and focuses on 1980's Without Warning and 1983's The Deadly Spawn. They both attempt to tell the story of extraterrestrial entities who are interested in much more than Reese's Pieces. Without Warning features Jack Palance and Martin Landau in roles that truly test the bounds of the art of acting. The Deadly Spawn is an amazing piece of low budget film making and succeeds on every level as it tells the story of a small town that is beset by very nasty, voracious and heavily-toothed beasties from outer space. Make sure to search this one out and watch it with all due haste.
Please keep writing to us and let us know your suggestions for hidden gems that need to be championed. You can find us on Facebook and at flickersfrom@yahoo.com

Episode 14 - No Reason

Episode 14 delves into the world of inanimate objects that become living vessels of evil as we focus on 1974's Killdozer and 2010's Rubber. Killdozer was a TV movie where a hulking D9 Bulldozer mysteriously starts to stalk the isolated team of workers on a tiny island off the coast of Africa. Starring the stoic Clint Walker and a team of talented character actors, Killdozer works surprisingly well and develops real tension as the men fall one by one. Rubber takes more of an art-school mentality to the subject of a standard car tire that comes to life for "no reason" and begins rampaging across the southwest on psychokinetic killing spree. Rubber uses the idea of a framing metafiction to great effect and really messes with the viewers minds. We heartily recommend both of these and would love to hear what you think. Let us know at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or on our Facebook page.

13 - Jason Is In The House

Lucky episode 13 focuses on an obvious subject, the notorious film-series Friday the 13th.
Beginning with 1980's original Friday the 13th, and continuing on through the next three films in the series and then we speak briefly about 2009's reboot which was also titled Friday the 13th.
Also included in the discussion is the wonderful retrospective His Name Was Jason which includes comments from basically everyone who was ever menaced by a Vorhees family member.
The conversation detours to talk about remakes/reboots in general and...

***** SPOILER ALERT ******

no clear consensus is reached.
We hope you enjoy this spoiler-packed episode where we ladle the love onto a film series that was a landmark in our formative years.
Let us know what you think at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or follow the link to the right and leave a message on our facebook page.
-Marty

12 - Space the Final Front Rear

Episode 12 swings back towards the lower budget goodness of Mr. Roger Corman. 1981's Galaxy of Terror and 1982's Forbidden World. These two were "inspired" by the runaway success of Ridley Scott's 1979 masterpiece Alien. Featuring competent casts, interesting scripts and surprisingly effective special effects from future oscar-winner James Cameron, these are two very successful tales of outer space horror. Join in on the conversation on our facebook page or email us directly at flickersfrom@yahoo.com

Episode 11 - Knick Knack Paddy Chat

Episode 11 of the podcast sees us welcome Doug Lain of the Diet Soap Podcast to our show. We look at three films that were written by the legendary Paddy Chayefsky, 1971's The Hospital starring George C. Scott, 1976's Network which features a bevy of talent, and 1980's Altered States which has entirely too much of William Hurt's naked body. The talk ranges from the Oedipal Complex to just how incredibly hot Blair Brown is. We hope you enjoy the show and that you'll get in touch with us at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or on the Facebook.
-Marty

Episode 10 - I Saw the Movie

Marty and Mike talk about 2011's I Saw the Devil from Korean director Jee-woon Kim. This bloodthirsty and brutal tale of revenge blew them both away and they talk at some length about how this film is different from others in the genre. The conversation continues and involves the surprisingly good Piranha from 2010. Enjoy the conversation and be sure to let us know what you think on Facebook or at flickersfrom@yahoo.com.

Episode 9 - Mi Dispiace Lucio

In episode 9 of the podcast, Mike and I attempt to make amends for all the bad things we've said about Lucio Fulci. We talk about two of his films that really impressed us both, 1972's Don't Torture a Duckling and 1982's The New York Ripper. These are both wonderful films that are distinctly and obviously "Fulci-films". These two are very different from each other, and even though "Don't Torture a Duckling" is focused on the murder of children, it ended up being far less grim and graphic than "New York Ripper" which is still very shocking in it's portrayal of sexualized violence. This podcast episode is quite a bit longer than our normal show, we began to ruminate on Lucio and lost track of time. We hope you enjoy it and that you will contact us with suggestions for future shows.
-Marty