Episode 139 - Christmas in the Cave

Ho Ho No!!! It's that time of year again, so we have strung tinsel and lights all over the cave. Listen in as we raise a glass of nog and crunch roasted chestnuts as we discuss two twisted tales about that little old elf known as Santa Claus.  We start off with 1984's "Don't Open Till Christmas", from the team that brought us the movie Pieces, this yule log barely floats, but does feature a surprisingly high kill-count and a decidedly family-unfriendly amount of nudity. The film had a troubled past, but none of that excuses it's many flaws and missteps. Instead, turn your attention to 1980's "Christmas Evil". Now THIS is how to do a dark and twisted Christmas story. The story focuses on Harry, who LOVES the holidays and especially Santa. He is a special kind of crazy though, and we get to see the last part of his slide into insanity. This is good stuff and will have you wondering why you've waited so long to see it.
This is our final podcast of 2018 and we want to thank everyone for sticking around for so long. We will be back in 2019 with more weird and interesting movies, so keep writing to us with your thoughts, requests, suggestions, and nude photos. You can reach us at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. If you'd rather, you can post a message on our Facebook page, or over on Twitter @cavewalls, or on Instagram.
Happy Holidays and New Years to All!

Episode 138 - Mermaids and Murderers

We focus on noted genre filmmaker, Curtis Harrington on the podcast this time. We start off with his first feature, 1961's Night Tide, starring a very young Dennis Hopper as a young sailor that falls in love with a mysterious woman who seems to leave a trail of bodies in her wake. We follow that up with 1973's The Killing Kind which features a bravura performance by John Savage as Terry, the son of legendary actress Ann Southern. Terry is finally out of prison for a horrific crime, and is finding his head full of thoughts of revenge. These are very different films, but both are compelling and worth searching out. The Killing Kind, in particular, was truly a revelation, but is packed with problematic moments and a list of trigger-warnings as long a mermaid's tail.
Let us know what you thought of the show and recommend other films for us to look at by writing to us at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Get in touch! We'd love to hear from you!

 

Episode 137 - Cult Potential

With Julie gone this time, on assignment for "Action News from the Cave", we went for some older, weirder, more obscure selections for the podcast this time. Both films are focused on cults, but there's not a single blue oyster anywhere to be found. We start off with 1972's Enter the Devil, from director Frank Q. Dobbs. It is set in south-western US border town where strange lights and the sound of chanting are disturbing the locals. So they call in an expert who's studying strange cults to get to the bottom of things. This is a solid, but really low-budget production that exceeds it's budgetary restraints in truly impressive fashion. A well told, tight little story and surprisingly good performances ( for the most part ) really set this one at the top of the heap. We follow that up with 1975's The Astrologer ( also known as Suicide Cult ) which was the directorial debut of James Glickenhaus, who would go on to give the world ( and this podcast ) many more films. It is adapted from a novel about a top-secret government group called "Interzod" that studies the "zodiacal potential" of every person on earth, and follows their quest to discover the identity of the second coming of Christ...it is just as crazy as that sounds, and very compelling stuff. We recommend both films! Another thing we recommend is for you to write us a goddamn letter! You can send correspondence to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. If you're more comfortable with Facebook, you can leave us a message over there...you can reach us on Twitter @cavewalls or on Instagram @flickersfromthecave.

Episode 136 - What Scares You - Vol. 1

We are going to do a Halloween-themed series of shows, focused on each host's personal fears. The first focuses on Julie's fear of clowns! The rest of us totally understand her fear and we found two very disparate films that feature clowns. We start off with 1989's Clownhouse from convicted child molester Victor Salva...The conversation breezes through the film itself and then settles in to a conversation about Salva and the stories about groups of pedophiles who are in charge of Hollywood. We leave this unsavory topic behind and move on to a truly stellar film, 2014's Clown...all we can say is WOW! This was a great horror movie, and it's currently streaming on Netflix so check it out.
Let us know what scares YOU by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also post messages to us on Facebook, tweet at us @cavewalls or follow us on Instagram.

Episode 135 - Everybody Whack Chang Tonight

Thank you Julie for this awesome pairing of 90s action movies! We start off with 1992's Rapid Fire, starring the late Brandon Lee in a totally fun tale of crooked good guys, and sneaky bad guys and lots and lots of breaking glass. It completely satisfies the craving for mindless action. We follow up with the surprisingly-good The Perfect Weapon from 1991 which stars Jeff Speakman as a total badass who settles a metric ton of hash as he punches, whacks and kicks members of the Korean mob for 90 minutes. It is a mountain of fun and we have now made a vow to throw more of his movies into the mix. If you know of other films starring these two, let us know by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also post a message on our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Episode 134 - A Burt in the Hand

Our goal this time was to bid farewell to a legend. The world recently lost the ground-breaking Burt Reynolds and we could not let that moment pass without honoring him. We decided to celebrate Burt by focusing on two films where he was both the director AND the lead. We start off with 1985's Stick, which is based on a novel by another legend, Mr. Elmore Leonard. It's a tale of an ex-con, trying to get back on his feet after being released from prison. He gets wrapped up with some illegal goings-on that ends the life of his good friend and sets him on a circuitous path for revenge. With a great cast playing great characters, there are a lot of things to enjoy here. Even though the film is VERY far from perfect, we do recommend it with a few caveats. We follow that up with a movie that really made a splash when it was released in 1981, Sharky's Machine. Featuring a truly stellar cast and with some really impressive dialogue, this movie should've been much more satisfying than it was. We talk at length about the sexual politics of the movie and how it really makes it hard for the audience to pull for Sharky and we wish it had taken a different direction in certain areas. Overall, we still enjoyed it, but it feels like it was just slightly off the mark from being a masterpiece of police cinema.  Let us know your favorite Burt Reynolds movie by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also leave us a message on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram...get in touch with us, even if it's just to say hello!

Episode 133 - Cave of Conspiracy

We delve into dark corners of the cave this time as we look at two films from the 70s that focus on conspiracy theories. We start off with a TV movie from 1970 called "The Brotherhood of the Bell" which stars Glenn Ford and many other big names. It borrows from the legends of the Skull and Bones group at Yale that has given us multiple US presidents. The movie had enormous potential but we disagree about how successful it is with capitalizing on it. We follow that up with 1973's "Executive Action" which we all agree was a far superior film. It depicts a possible scenario to explain the assassination of John F. Kennedy and it is chilling to watch the masterminds at work behind the scenes, plotting to murder a sitting president.  Throughout the episode we ramble...at length...at extreme length, so...brace yourself. Please let us know some of your favorite conspiracy theories by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also post to our Facebook page, or message us on Twitter @cavewalls or even follow us over on Instagram.

 

Episode 132 - Proms and Trains and Terrormobiles

We ALL love Jamie Lee Curtis, and it was in the 1980s when she cemented her status as the ultimate "scream queen". We look at two films released in 1980 where she is the lead and where young adults and "teens" are carved, and sliced, and diced...We start off with Prom Night which is a familiar tale of a prank-gone-wrong and the eventual, bloody, revenge for that prank. A largely-great supporting cast, including Leslie Nielsen in a tiny role, help tell the tale. Genuinely engaging and very satisfying on every level.  We follow that up with Terror Train which Julie described as "Bloody Clue" which is really accurate if you're familiar with Parker Brother's classic mystery game.  A bunch of college students pile into an old train for a special New Year's Eve ride which turns into a game of cat and mouse as a mysterious passenger is killing off students, one by one, in revenge for a prank-gone-wrong ( sound familiar? ). This is another fun one, but the last 20-30 minutes are very intense with some truly haunting moments.  We loved both of these and recommend them highly. Please write to us with your own recommendations of other slasher films from the 1980s that you think more people should know about. Send emails to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also post messages to our Facebook page, or message us on Twitter, and please follow us on Instagram while you're at it!

 

Episode 131 - The Town That Dreaded Evictors

We happily ran back into the arms of legendary Arkansas film-maker, Charles B. Pierce this time on the podcast, choosing two of the films that he directed. We start of with "The Evictors" from 1979. With a great cast featuring Jessica Harper, Michael Parks and Vic Morrow, it is an effective tale of mysterious goings-on at a house in the 1940s. We follow it up with probably his second-most famous film "The Town That Dreaded Sundown" from 1976. With the incredible Andrew Prine and a fun cameo role by Pierce himself as "Sparkplug", this movie REALLY delivers some memorable moments as it tells the tale of a hooded killer called "The Phantom" that is stalking the back roads of Texarkana, claiming victims. We truly understand why this film has the excellent reputation it has. Let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also post messages to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

Episode 130 - Amazing Grace

Back in the 80s, Grace Jones was turning up everywhere. A striking and interesting person, she put out records, modeled and tried her hand at acting in a variety of films. We decided to look at two somewhat-random ones this time for the podcast. We start off with 1986's Vamp, which stars Chris Makepeace in a fairly standard tale of college students who get in over their heads at a strip club staffed with vampires ( yes, it does sound a LOT like From Dusk Till Dawn ). We follow that up with the mesmerizing Siesta, from 1987, which stars the frequently naked Ellen Barkin and is directed by Mary Lambert.  It is a very interesting film, with a really stellar cast, but...we might need to watch it again to really say if it's good or not. The conversation wanders, as it frequently does, so listen in and let us know what you thought by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also post a message on our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter @cavewalls or find us on Instagram.

Episode 129 - Rats Off to Ya!

We can NOT stay out of the sewers, maybe it's because we spend so much time in the dark and stanky confines of the cave. This time we're hunting rats...or are THEY hunting US!?!?!?!  We start off with 1982's Deadly Eyes from Mr. Gymkata, Robert Clouse. This is a solid thriller about a city being overrun by large rats ( that are actually dachshunds in costumes ) and it still packs lots of fun. We follow that up with 1983's Of Unknown Origin, starring Peter Weller and directed by show-favorite George P. Cosmatos.  This is another good one, though this time it's a one-on-one battle in a brownstone. Lots of great scares if you can forgive the fact that the rat is smarter than Willard's pal Socrates. Let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can leave us a message on Facebook, or on Twitter @cavewlls and you should certainly follow us on Instagram!

 

Episode 128 - There's Always Room for Giallo

With Julie "away on assignment", we decided to head back to Italy to look at a couple of films from a genre that is decidely unfriendly to women, the notorious "giallo".  We start with "What Have You Done To Solange" from 1972 which totally blew us both away. This was a really strong and well-told tale with tons of intrigue and mystery and some very unsavory moments. We use the word "masterpiece" several times in our discussion and stand firmly by that. We follow that up with another solid entry in the genre, 1973's "Torso" which hews much closer to the standards that you expect to see in any giallo.  It's good, but in comparison with the other film, it does not come out on top, but we still say it's worth your time to seek out.  Please let us know what you thought of the show and send us YOUR recommendations for some great giallos to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also post a message to our Facebook page or tweet us @cavewalls and don't forget about our Instagram page!

Episode 127 - Raw Vampire Robo Force

We kick and punch and resurrect the dead this time in the cave. We start off with a staggeringly inept film from 1988 called Robo Vampire which really has to be seen to be believed. If you are a fan of really bad cinema, this one deserves to be seen. We follow that up with a truly entertaining film from 1982 called Raw Force. It is packed with nudity and wacky comedy which serves to soften a tale of cannibal monks and an undead army of martial artists on a forbidden island. Listen in and then let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also find us on Twitter, on Facebook and also over on Instagram.

Episode 126 - Extreme Flickers

It's like a bag of flamin' hot cheetos in the cave this time...things are soooo EXTREME!!!  We start off with an amazing little movie from 1993 called "Extreme Justice" starring Lou Diamond Phillips and Scott Glenn ( and lots of others ) in a story of a secret team inside the LAPD with a mission to stop certain repeat offenders...permanently!  We follow that up with a movie from 1987 from legendary director Walter Hill called "Extreme Prejudice". This stars Nick Nolte and show-favorite Powers Boothe as two men in Texas that find themselves on opposite sides, of the law AND the Rio Grande.  It is a massively-operatic tale of good vs. evil and it drips with testosterone. Let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com  or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also post messages to our Facebook page, or tweet at us @cavewalls. You can also follow us and message us on Instagram.

Episode 125 - Jim Kata the Adventure Begins

There are all sorts of martial arts, but we picked two particularly interesting ones that were featured in films from 1985. We start of with the legendarily sketchy Gymkata, starring olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas who is recruited by the US government to take part in a dangerous game in central Europe, to win favor with the Khan. It is not good, but still, tons of fun to watch. We follow that up with the audaciously titled "Remo Williams - The Adventure Begins" starring the awesome Mr. Fred Ward.  Based on the long-running series of Destroyer novels, it is directed by Guy Hamilton who helmed many of the best films in the James Bond franchise. It was intended to be the start of a whole new set of movies but it mysteriously failed when it debuted.  We are using new equipment this time and are learning the ins and outs, but we think the sound quality is markedly better. Please let us know what you think of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can post a message on our Facebook page, or tweet us @cavewalls. Please check us out over on Instagram too!

 

Episode 124 - Flickers From the Sewer

We are getting all up in some manholes this time for the podcast.  Down in the darkness, under the city streets, there are things moving around in a very spooky way in both of the movies we talk about. We start with 1980's Scared to Death, from Bill Malone. It features a big humanoid monster known as the Syngenor that is killing people left and right. Only one former alcoholic, former cop has the skill to solve the mystery. It is very ambitious, and largely successful, especially when you consider the film's budget.  We follow that up with another from 1980, Lewis Teague's completely fantastic movie, Alligator.  Someone flushed a baby alligator down the toilet, 15 years ago, and that baby alligator has been eating the test animals from a local genetics lab which gives it a more than subtle growth-spurt. It stars the always-excellent Robert Forster and the totally gorgeous Robin Riker and the film is basically a perfect monster movie.  Let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also post a message on our Facebook page, and please follow us @cavewalls on Twitter and check out our newest addition over on Instagram!

Episode 123 - The Man-Cavian Candidate

We have two very disparate yet similar films this time in the cave. We start off with 1986's Hands of Steel, from Italian maestro Sergio Martino. It tells the story of Paco Queruak, a cyborg who begins to break from governmental control and rediscover his humanity. It is a quintessential 80's sci-fi movie and ultimately completely satisfying. We follow that up with a real mind-bender, the jaw-dropping Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning from 2012. Directed by John Hyams, it continues the story of the Universal Soldier franchise in a surreal, vicious, and completely over-the-top way.  This is dark, and shocking stuff, and WOW is it good!  Let us know what you thought of the show and send recommendations for future episodes by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also tweet at us @cavewalls, message us on our Facebook page, or follow our sparkling new instagram page.

 

Episode 122 - Sax-on Sax-off

There is no point in trying to deny it...we LOVE John Saxon! We look at two of his films this time, and, thanks to podcast-listener George, one of the films is his sole directorial effort! We start off with the legendary 1980 movie, Cannibal Apocalypse, which stars Saxon and Giovanni Radice in a tale of flesh-eating vietnam vets, running from the police in Atlanta, Georgia. We had heard about this one for years but it largely left us unimpressed. We follow this up with 1988's Zombie Death House, which was directed by Saxon, impressively! It is a total blast and it completely took us by surprise! Thank you George for the recommendation!  Please send YOUR suggestions for films to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also get ahold of us on our Facebook page or tweet at us @cavewalls.

Episode 121 - Above the Deadly Ground

Julie took over the film-selection this week, so we ended up watching two from Mr. Steven Seagal. We start off with his first, Above the Law from 1988, which is directed by the reliable Andrew Davis. It tells a very boilerplate story, but it tells it VERY successfully and really established Seagal as a new type of action star. We follow that up with his only directorial effort, 1994's On Deadly Ground. In this story, Seagal plays a native American who works for an evil oil tycoon, played by Sir Michael Caine in one of the most over-the-top performances we've seen. It is totally nuts.  Though there was dissension about the directorial efforts, we all agree that the movie is totally entertaining. Please let us know what you thought of the episode by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also post a message to us on our Facebook page or on Twitter @cavewalls.

 

Episode 120 - Ya Heard?

We decided to watch two films that feature the multi-faceted actor John Heard, starting off with 1981's Cutter's Way and following up with 1977's Between the Lines. None of us really "enjoyed" either movie, and we struggled in some cases to even make it through them. We bit both bullets though and pushed through for our podcasting art and we present our summation here. Even though the movies weren't fun, the conversations that they inspired are excellent and we DO recommend that you listen to those.  Please let us know what you thought of the show by writing to us at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com.  You can also message us on Facebook or Twitter, where you can find us @cavewalls.

Episode 119 - Franciscus-Fest

We're not sure it's fair to call these movies "rip-offs" but...they are kinda rip-offs, but really, really entertaining ones! Both of the movies this time feature James Franciscus in the lead role, and deadly animals underneath the water!  We start off with 1979's "Killer Fish", which also stars Lee Majors, Karen Black and a lagoon full of hungry piranha! We follow that up with a 1981 "tribute" to Jaws that went by a million titles but we watched a copy called "L'Ultimo Squalo" ( The Last Shark ).  It adds Vic Morrow to the mix as a sort of Irish Captain Quint, with the emphasis on "sort of Irish".  We enjoyed both of these movies a lot and recommend them fully, just don't go in expecting them to be good in any sort of traditional way.  Let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com, leave us a message on Facebook or find us on Twitter @cavewalls.

Episode 118 - All Ages Show

Netflix! It brings us so many things, so often, that it can be overwhelming at times. For this show we decided to look at two films that are newly on Netflix that seemed like a good fit for the cave. Both are from 2017, but from opposite sides of the "pond". We start with "Bad Day for the Cut", an Irish production that tells a very twisty story of revenge where a quiet, unassuming farmer has to find out the reason his elderly mother is brutally murdered one night. It has moments of humor and surprising plot developments and, we think, is well worth your time. We follow that up with "Super Dark Times" which is set in a gray town in the US in the 1990s and follows a group of teens who get into some situations where things go VERY wrong and we see the extremely bad way they deal with it. The movie starts off strong but ends up losing it's way about halfway through and the ending is completely out of step with what happens prior. It's interesting, but not as entertaining as Bad Day for the Cut.  If you've seen these, let us know what you thought by writing to us at flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You could also post a message on our Facebook page or Tweet us @cavewalls.

 

Episode 117 - Jacked Up

Happy New Year and welcome back to the cave!  We have wanted to look at the Billy Jack series of films since before the podcast started, and it seemed like the 117th episode was a perfect place to finally do it! These are legendary low-budget movies and there is no question why...they are great! We start off with 1967's The Born Losers and follow that up with the masterpiece Billy Jack from 1971. Both films were directed by and star Tom Laughlin as Mr. Jack ( he directed both under the pseudonym T.C. Frank ).  There is a kinetic energy, and a vibrating core of danger in both films, with some amazing cinematography and powerful dialogue. Calling these "message films" is valid but the messages are relayed with such a high degree of craft that they rarely seem preachy. Both are fascinating studies of the 60's and 70's counter-culture movement, from within and without.  Mostly-excellent acting and some stirring music really round-out the packages and now we find ourselves eager to watch the 3rd and 4th films in the Billy Jack canon. Let us know what you thought of the show by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com or just leave us a message on our Facebook page.