October 19

Dawn of the Dead, 1978

Welcome back to the 3rd installment of 2018‘s October Halloween Horror Movie Extravagnza! This go-round Dion Baia and J. Blake are hitting another movie that has an anniversary! Turning 40 this year, it is the quintessential sequel that literally helped kick-start an entire subgenre, domestically and overseas in Italy, the George A. Romero cult classic, Dawn of the Dead from 1978.
Dawn of the Dead

The boys are on a timetable this week as they break down this massive topic, decimating the various cuts of the film, and the Dario Argento influence–like with the cult Italian band Goblin. Blake and Dion discuss the impact the Romero “dead films” had on the industry. They both reminisce about their personal histories with Dawn, as well as the other movies in Romero‘s catalog. So grab your batteries, extra ammo, gasoline and door keys, because we’re all taking a road trip to take shelter in the Monroeville Mall, in this all October Halloween Horror Edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! And a special thank you to our sponsors this week, TiVo and Simple Contacts!

Extras!

Please go check out J. Blake’s book, Scored to Death: Conversations with Some of Horror’s Greatest Composers and also its companion, Scored to Death: The Podcast, to further explore the interviews Blake did with many of the men involved with Dawn of the Dead, among many others.

Check out the official website of the (Night of the) Living Dead Museum!

Have a look at the Tom Savini book talked about in the podcast, titled Grande Illusions: A Learn-By-Example Guide to the Art and Technique of Special Make-Up Effects From the Films of Tom Savini.

Take a look at the classic 1985 documentary that breaks down the making of both Dawn of the Dead, called Document of the Dead, courtesy of YouTube! 

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October 2

The Blob, 1988

Here we go! Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers is working double time in October, delivering one horror film a week in celebration of Halloween! To start this insane marathon off the boys have picked a fan request, a remake of a classic property that scared SNMS‘s own Dion Baia so bad when he first saw it in the cinema that it scarred him for life. So along with his partner-in-crime J. Blake, they’re gonna have a massive therapy session to exorcise all those 35mm demons forever. The boys are all in this week as they examine Chuck Russell‘s film The Blob, from 1988.

The Blob 1988

They compare and contrast this from the 1958 original, analysing the updated themes (and SFX for that matter), seeing if this scary mass of crimson ooze is scarier and even craftier than it’s predecessor. Does this 1980’s film hold up to the more cynical and critical standards of today? How does this stack up against the other 1980’s creature-features that dealt with the same kind of ideas, i.e. foreign invaders wreaking havoc on helpless, isolated victims? Will doing 1 podcast a week for the month of October to celebrate Halloween burn Blake and Dion out? What other surprises lay ahead within a month of terrifying, unbridled horror? Hell, will they instead over stay their welcome? Well come check out another exciting, hilarious and informative episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers to find out!

EXTRAS:

Check out the surprising graphic trailer for the 1988 film!

Here’s the 1988 Cinefantastique article on The Blob, a retrospective of it and the original cult classic film.

Take a listen to the complete Soundtrack!

Have a look at the little known, an even lesser seen trailer for the 1972 sequel to the original 1958 film, entired The Blob 2: Son of the Blob aka Beware! The Blob!, directed by none other than Dallas‘ own Larry Hagman!!

 

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August 14

Zombie, 1979

This week around Dion Baia and J. Blake delve deep into the video store racks and bring out an absolute cult classic and a very personal favorite of theirs; a film which practically reinvigorated an entire genre in Italy, and lured in legions of soon-to-be horror and zombie fans… we of course are speaking of the Lucio Fulci classic, Zombie, from 1979.

zombie poster

This film is known by many names: Zombie Fresh Eaters, Island of the Living Dead, Zombie Island, Zombie 2: The Dead Walk Among Us, Woodoo, and was officially released in Italy as Zombi 2.

The boys breakdown the state of horror cinema in the 1970’s, giving a quick summary of the zombie genre leading up to 1979 and a history of Italian horror up to this point. Why (and how) was this Fulci masterpiece actually released as a sequel to George A Romero‘s Dawn of the Dead? They discuss their love for Fulci, Italian horror cinema in general, and the fabulous Fabio Frizzi soundtrack. Dion and Blake also explain their shared journey of discovering this movie while in Film School. We’re dropping some knowledge in this week’s episode so come on down, grab a seat and take a listen to another exciting edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! And remember, FULCI LIVES!

*And as an added bonus for our listeners this week, we’ve included our very first audio commentary for a film, so you can watch and follow right along with your friends, Blake and Dion. They may cover some of the same ground that they do in the podcast but this debut commentary lets the fellas stretch their legs, and go step by step and get into the nuts and bolts of the film, while having fun and spontaneously opining about their love of Fulci, horror films, and Italian babes- all in real-time with the movie. So let us know what you think and maybe we’ll do more down the road but remember, it’s our first attempt, so we’re still feeling it out. We hope you enjoy!

(*It is Val Lewton, not Hal.)

Here is the entire 1979 film, courtesy of YouTube!

Take a peek at an alternate poster, which actually is a deleted/or lost scene from the film.

This is the 2010 Windows 7 television commercial that featured the shark/zombie scene.

Blue Underground explains its 2K restoration process to get this film remastered and ready to be available on Blu Ray and DVD.

Check out Bill Lustig‘s thoughts on Fulci’s Zombie!

Here’s a peek at the 12″ Zombie Maquette Statue, courtesy of ArtofToys.

The book about Quentin Tarantino that J. Blake refers to in the podcast was the first edition of “King Pulp: The Wild World of Quentin Tarantino” by Paul A. Woods.

 

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October 8

5 Rentals for $5 – October Horror Film Recommendations

Maniac 1980
Courtesy of Mondo, poster by Ken Taylor

October is upon us and along with Autumn arriving, ’tis the season for scary movies! As a companion-piece to J. Blake & Dion‘s latest Side Cast in which they recommend 10 horror movies that they feel have either fallen through the cracks or have plain been forgotten, the lads have also put together another list of 10 films they wholeheartedly recommend, along with the podcast picks which can be found at The Podwits mother site.

 

 

 

But before we get to the 10 films the boys urge you to seek out, here is a round-up of the 10 recommended in the Side Cast Podcast: Continue reading

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