Universal Horror – Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, 1994

Welcome back to week two of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers’ October Halloween Horror Movie Extravaganza! J. Blake and Dion Baia are celebrating the 200th anniversary of a book that set a standard and changed history forever. That’s right, the boys are talking Mary Shelley’s legendary debut novel Frankenstein, and tackling the Kenneth Branagh epic, his Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, from 1994!

Mary Shelleys Frankenstein

Dion and Blake discuss Ms. Shelley‘s background and circumstances surrounding her penning the 1818 classic, and the decisions Branagh made in the director’s chair as to include (for the first time) portions from the novel that had been previously omitted from other film adaptations. They analyze the 1994 movie, covering some of the aspects that made his version so polarizing for some. So be prepared as the boys bring you back to the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and the 1990’s gothic revival, in an all new installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers’ October Horror Movie Extravaganza!

Extras:

Have a read of the original masterpiece that started it all, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein!

Take a look at the Robert DeNiro Frankenstein vinyl model that was produced in 1994!

Take a listen to Part 1 of a 1955 Suspense! radio play of Frankenstein!

And of course, take a listen to Part 2!

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Category: Books, Classic, Fantasy, Film, History, Horror, Sci Fi | 1 Comment

November 25

Fright Night, 1985 – SNMS Presents: Saturday Night Movie Guestovers

Welcome to a new SNMS feature that we are affectionately referring to as Saturday Night Movie Guestovers, where an esteemed guest comes over and joins in on the movie sleepover fun!

Suffering from Halloween horror withdraw, this week J. Blake invites a good friend of the SNMS podcast, writer/podcaster/musician extraordinaire Mike Vanderbilt (@MikeVanderbilt), to discuss a mid-1980s horror film that Mike, in particular, holds near and dear to his heart, 1985’s Fright Night—written & directed by the great Tom Holland and starring the late Roddy McDowall.

After a brief introduction of Mike to the SNMS listeners and a discussion about writer/director Tom Holland’s career before Fright Night (as well as a bit of swapping stories about their own personal interactions with the horror movie living legend), the boys make their way through the beloved vampire classic, discussing the strength of its cast of actors and what they brought to the plot and their characters during the film’s extended rehearsal period. The guys also revel in the film’s numerous practical special effects, examine the state of horror and classic movie monsters at the time of Fright Night’s release, discuss the film’s original intended ending, its sequel as well as its remake, its fan-favorite soundtrack, the tie-in comic book series and much much more! Is this film actually the start of both the 1980s vampire boom and the “meta” horror film? Were all 80s teenage boys’ bedrooms exactly the same? Do vampires really eat apples? Are the film’s vampiric villain and his loyal manservant the “Odd Couple” of the 80s? Do they have thin crust pizza in Chicago? Was Marvel’s casting of Tom Holland as the new Spider-Man a bold choice? These are just some of the important questions J. Blake and special guest Mike Vanderbilt try to answer in this giant-sized premiere of Saturday Night Movie Guestovers!

As always the podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher and most other podcast apps and sites.

Follow Dion Baia on Twitter: @DionBaia

Follow J. Blake’s book on Twitter: @ScoredtoDeath

For all things Mike Vanderbilt, follow him on Twitter: @MikeVanderbilt

EXTRAS:

Check out Icons of Fright’s pirate commentaries, featuring cast & crew, for Fright Night and other films by CLICKING HERE!

As mentioned in this episode, you can read Mike Vanderbilt’s interview with Fright Night writer/director Tom Holland by CLICKING HERE!

Also, you can read Mike Vanderbilt’s interview with Fright Night music supervisor David Chackler by CLICKING HERE!

CLICK HERE to see the trailer for the documentary that the guys mention in this episode, You’re So Cool, Brewster! The Story of Fright Night.

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Category: Classic, Fantasy, Film, Horror, Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers Exclusive, Side Cast | 2 Comments

October 14

The Mummy, 1959

Welcome back to week two of Saturday Night Movie Sleepover‘s October-Halloween month of Horror, where for the four weeks of the Autumn month, J. Blake and Dion Baia are giving you four podcasts to help fill you nightmares with nostalgic terror! This installment the boys are showcasing a classic, and also the first Hammer Studios production to be discussed on the podcast. This week they chat about the iconic 1959 movie The Mummy, starring the legendary Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.

The Mummy, 1959

Dion and Blake chat again about their love for the classics and set the table and explain (within the cycle of the horror films) how the Hammer Studios helped revitalize the waning genre, and breathe new life into the catalog of monsters that Universal Pictures established some twenty years before. They go through the backstory of how a small British company like Hammer was able to successfully ‘borrow’ the classic monsters like Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, and this film’s central character, The Mummy and helped catapult them into the iconic status that we know them as today. The fellas also compare the template that we see these type of franchises cycle through, to the same template in films we see today like with the current trend of superhero movies, highlighting the similarities- e.g. first, the single-character ‘tent pole’ movies, then morphing into the multi-character team up installments. They also gush over their love for legendary actors Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, and how without these men who went on to endear themselves to over 8 decades of cinema lovers, there might never have been the monster revival that Hammer brought forth, and the lasting impact these amazing horror characters had on us, film fans, having been firmly cemented into our pop culture. But how was Hammer even able to swing using these monster icons and get around Universal’s copyrighting in the first place? How was this film revolutionary, not only within the monster sub-genre but in the overall horror genre in general? How does this film and story hold up today? And is this version of the Mummy actually the precursor to characters we see in decades to come like Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers? And what impact have these movies left upon cinema? Well come one down and listen to week two of the horror extravaganza in another all new edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

EXTRAS

Check out the original trailer for this 1959 classic!

Take a look at the TCM intro for 1959 The Mummy! AND here’s the Outro!

Here’s a great interview with Christopher Lee about Dracula and The Mummy!

Watch the Donald Fearney‘s documentary on Hammer‘s cycle of Mummy horror films!

Have a listen to the pilot of Suspense Radio show, of The Lodger, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, which is a radio series Dion and Blake absolutely flip over.

SNMS cannot recommend enough, for those interested to check out the classic radio shows (commonly referred to OTR, meaning Old Time Radio) on archive.org that are now public domain. On this .org site, enthusiasts compile the best surviving sources for each particular show and add new ones or discover better quality episodes everyday. Have a mozy and see if you can find a genre and/or show that you’d love today; and we guarantee that if you take the time, you will find a show you’d love. The rest is on you.

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Category: Action, Books, Classic, Drama, Horror, Sci Fi, Serial, Uncategorized | LEAVE A COMMENT

October 23

Silver Bullet, 1985 – SNMS Presents: The Side-Casts

For week 4 of SNMS’ epic October Halloween Month of Horror, J. Blake takes the show on the road and does a totally impromptu special Sunday Night Movie Sleepover “Side-Cast” from the nation’s capitol with a cherished old friend, former classmate and fellow sleepover & horror movie enthusiast, Dave…covering one of their all-time favorite 80s horror classics, Silver Bullet (1985).

In this first all new and original edition of SNMS’ “Side-Casts,” Blake calls on Dave’s love and knowledge of Stephen King to help examine this seldom mentioned King penned masterpiece. They discuss King as an author, Cycle of the Werewolf, (the novelette the film is based on) and King’s original screenplay. They discuss how the film is, at its core, really a beautifully executed family drama and marvel at the performances of Gary Busey and the late Corey Haim. They talk about composer Jay Chattaway and the film’s musical score. They explore the werewolf legend as metaphor. Blake tells the bone-chilling story about the first time he ever saw this movie and while under the influence of perhaps one growler of beer too many, the guys get a little deep.

Did Stephen King mean for some the dialogue to be a “tongue in cheek?” How does this film’s take on the werewolf transformation really work? Are we, as an audience, supposed know who the werewolf is before Janie does and are his intentions actually good? How loose is “The Buse” in this movie and why do Blake and Dave love this movie so darn much? Try your best not to “make lemonade in your pants,” because all these questions and more are answered in this special Halloween edition of SNMS’ Side-Casts!

EXTRAS:

Check out the original trailer!

Here’s a link to the printing of the film’s screenplay Blake and Dave talk about during the podcast.

Here’s a compilation of all of Silver Bullet’s werewolf attacks, by Gorey Bits on youtube.

Take a listen to Jay Chattway’s fantastic score!

Subscribe to SNMS on iTunes!

Listen to SNMS on Stitcher!

Listen to SNMS on Player FM!

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Category: Books, Horror, Side Cast, Thriller | LEAVE A COMMENT

October 9

Mad Love, 1935

The boys are back for week 2 in their October month of horror! This time around J. Blake and Dion Baia are going back to the basics, doing a true B-side from the Golden Age of Horror that stars one of their favorite actors of the day, the great Peter Lorre. Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers gets into their DeLorean to have a hand (pun intended) at the cult classic film Mad Love, from 1935.

Mad Love, 1935

Certainly the oldest film covered to date, Dion and Blake chat about the ground-breaking wave of American Horror in the 1930’s from studio’s like Universal or in this case MGM and discuss how it set the bar, its influence still even seen today. They set the stage by going through the mindset of Post-WWI Europe, a time when German Expressionism was first seen, a movement that played a huge role in Horror cinema and explain the context of the mass exodus from 1930’s Western Europe; the artists of which eventually landing in Tinseltown, and how their unique visions of the world gave Horror the foundation that it was built upon, which still continues to thrive over 85+ years on. They go into the history of Peter Lorre and this underrated and little-known film (his inaugural to American audiences) which contains a scene that might possibly be one of the most horrific and frightening images from the era(!). How the heck could this film actually help usher in a complete ban of the Horror genre in the United Kingdom, culminating eventually in Hollywood actually abandoning the genre entirely almost until after the Second World War? How many of the actors in this film alone met a sad demise due to alcohol and substance abuse, echoing the sad times of the day within Hollywood? And how the heck is this film connected to the 3 Stooges? And while you’re at it, learn about the faux-James Bond film that was never shot Blake and Dion devised, involving Cary Grant, James Mason, Peter Lorre, Jimmy Stewart and Vincent Price, directed by Alfred Hitchcock! It’s an all new fun, fact-filled, old school, Halloween edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

EXTRAS

Here’s the boxset Hollywood Legend’s of Horror Collection that contains Mad Love.

Straight out of the SNMS Archive and mentioned in the cast, have a look at an original autographed 8×10 of the legendary Conrad Veidt!

Another treasure in the SNMS Archive, is an original newspaper ad for (Dion’s recommendation this week) The Beast with Five Fingers, as well as an original cardboard printing plate used by newspapers to print the same ad.

Take a look at the picture that saved the life of Peter Lorre‘s daughter from the Hillside Stranglers!

Check out Peter Lorre lounging around, smoking and hanging out with a huge dog before introing the trailer for Mad Love! Boy, those were the days!

For more on the beloved Peter Lorre, have a look at this documentary on the iconic actor.