NaschyCast

Beyond Naschy Special - Video Watchdog and Jess Franco!

This month we bring you a special episode of the show. If you've listened to many of our shows you will have heard us mention the magazine Video Watchdog in reference to something or some movie. Both Troy and I have been readers of the 'Perfectionist's Guide to Fantastic Video' for decades now and each issue brings new delights. The depth and breadth of the coverage in the pages of this digest sized joy is incredible. Several years ago we met duo behind the magazine and became great friends with them resulting in many fun evenings of movie (and music) discussion that often saw the sun rise before we called things to a halt. Call them publishers, editors, writers, film historians or just great folks Tim and Donna Lucas are two of the nicest people in the world and we're proud to bring you a chance to sit in on a conversation with each of them. First up, Donna takes the opportunity to explain the details of Video Watchdog's move to the digital world. Luckily this does not mean the end of the print version of VW (Thank the stars!) but the bells and whistles added to the online versions of each issue are astonishing. And proving just how nice a lady she is, Donna let's you in on an amazing deal - By using coupon code PODCAST at the Video Watchdog online store checkout you receive 50% off the Digital Archive (176 issues) until December 31, 2016. That's right! For the rest of this year you can grab the VW Digital Archive for half off the (already low) digital price! And did I mention that each new issue is online to read free for the first two months after it's published for FREE! Amazing. So go check out the latest issue inline and see what's going on! The current issue has tons of reviews and a huge article on Carmilla and the various screen adaptations of that classic female vampire tale. Longtime listeners will know that back in 2011 I got Tim Lucas to sit down for a couple of chats about Naschy's films resulting in some great discussion. I still think his defense of several aspects of BEAST AND THE MAGIC SWORD are eye opening and it is just such differing, knowledgeable opinions that I want when talking about genre film. Of course, Tim is one of the top genre film writers working today and his recent awards for his Mario Bava commentary tracks show that his skills translate from page to audio very well. Here we spend some time discussing several Jess Franco films and a few of their variations. Movies we touch on include THE OBSCENE MIRROR and it's non-porn Spanish language version THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR, FURY IN THE TROPICS, THE DIABOLICAL DOCTOR Z, THE EROTIC RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN and Franco's two Fu Manchu films. I think that in my excitement I may have babbled too much but just listen in for the pearls of insight and wisdom Tim brings to the table and it will all even out! I hope! Here are the links to take advantage of the Video Watchdog Digital Archive Sale and look over the newest issue for free! Use coupon code PODCAST at checkout to receive 50% off the Digital Archive (176 issues) until December 31, 2016. Digital Editions: http://www.videowatchdog.com/home/digital/library.html Free Issue: http://videowatchdog.com/vw Free Keeper Issue: http://videowatchdog.com/home/digital/keeper Digital 'Dog Blog: http://vwdigitaldog.blogspot.com/ Link to your Naschy Cast page in VW 175: http://content.yudu.com/A2idht/current/resources/94.htm Video Watchdog Website: www.videowatchdog.com

Beyond Naschy #16 - THE LORELEY'S GRASP (1974)

Amando de Ossorio is the man best known for his quartet of Blind Dead films but he made quite a few other worthy movies as well. This horror fantasy combines a couple of European myths with elements from Stoker's Dracula story to create a creepy and unique monster tale. And, being a man with an eye for beauty, Ossorio populates his scary movie with about a dozen completely gorgeous ladies and the supremely hunky Tony Kendal to keep everyone distracted. Of course, any film featuring the amazing Helga Liné has my attention from the beginning! 

THE LORELEY'S GRASP also features some surprisingly gory violence with no regard for keeping the carnage confined to the bikini clad young ladies. In fact, the victim choice seems to be entirely unpredictable adding to the shock value of the monster's various stalking scenes. This film's nasty reptilian beast is not just after female hearts to eat - even bearded hippies are on the menu!

Since this is our first Beyond Naschy in a few months we have a backlog of comments and letters to sift through. We get to those in the show's last segment but we actually start the episode with the live opening of several stunning gifts from a dear listener. This is a first for us and - as you will hear - we were overwhelmed with the generosity of these presents. And, like the whores we are, we couldn't help but turn this into an open plea for more! Who wants to be our Number 1 fan? Send money! But, in all seriousness, we are so happy to have you folks out there willing to listen to us. We're just two Tennessee boys with a love for cinema and the desire to find out more about what we enjoy. It is wonderful to know our efforts are appreciated as we share the love. You people keep us going.

So, stock up on irradiated cutlery just in case a mythical murdering monster comes calling and drop us a line.

NaschyCast #55 - MUCHA SANGRE (2002)

2016 brings us back to the much feared (by Troy and I, anyway) genre of Spanish comedy. Followers of this podcast will know that we've had little to no luck with our exploration of the various comedy/horror movies Naschy made over the years and MUCHA SANGRE features examples of each reason why we struggle to understand and enjoy them. That's not to say that we didn't have fun with the film but, as we discuss, we don't have the cultural references to get some jokes and often that kind of context matters. Truly, with any comedy your mileage will vary and with one like this that fancies itself a kind of Rock 'n' Roll movie warnings are appropriate for newbies. Luckily we have a friend in Madrid to help us out with some questions about the movie's odder moments! Yes, Elena of Horror Rises From Spain and Spanishfear.com comes to our rescue yet again! It's always good to get a lady's perspective on Naschy. Oh, and we spoil the hell out of the film's story, so be aware! Sorry. Of course, we also touch on a few other subjects as the show progresses including our recently seen films, a brief discussion of 50's sci-fi movies, Kurt Russell westerns and the current spate of depressing celebrity deaths that have hit both of us so hard. Also in this show we announce some news about the podcast's future that will be of interest to fans and lay out the next few months schedule of films to be covered for those who wish to play along. Long story short- expect more Toho film talk over on the Bloody Pit podcast and the return of Amando de Ossorio here! The mailbag section allows us to catch up on our correspondence, answer a few questions and, as you will hear, take a few suggestions for shows down the road. I can't wait to one day podcast about the films of Bruno Mattei! We can be reached at naschycast@gmail.com with any an all comments and we thank you for downloading the show. Please let us know what you think and what movies you'd like us to cover in the new year.

NaschyCast #54 - MORTAL SIN (1977)

We are back again to talk about another Naschy film. Of course, this one has very little Naschy in it, but at this point we'll take what we can get! MORTAL SIN is a pastoral drama set in a Spanish country in the 1940's with the ghosts of the previous decades civil war hanging over everything. The story plays out as a study of several characters attempting to find their place in the war changed world with particular focus on the three female members of the family - two sisters and the widowed matriarch - as they react to the presence of a young man of marriageable age who moves into the house. The three servants also factor into the proceedings as the relationships become more complicated and the expected romantic entanglements begin to take shape. You might think this is very different from the films we have covered here before but, as we point out, there are many similarities to past subjects of this podcast than you might think. One note- both Troy and I refer to this as episode #55 at the beginning of the show and we are mistaken. I don't know how we screwed that up but we did. I guess jumping back and forth between this and The Bloody Pit is making us lose track of numbers in general! Sorry! This is #54. There is no mail in the bag this time around but that doesn't stop us from veering far from our stated purpose in this one. The first half hour we discuss the KickStarter campaign to bring back Mystery Science Theater 3000; the Daniel Craig Bond films and how the new one measures up (spoiler free!); the difficulty of actresses being nominated for genre work and our respective horror Halloween viewings before we segue into going all moist over Paul Naschy. After the discussion and Our Man in the Field Dan's new horror host segment we then talk at length about the SAW movies and the various long running horror film series. Has anyone out there ever watched all the Children of the Corn films? Really? You can reach us at naschycast@gmail.com or over on the FaceBook page. Don't let us ramble free-range like this again folks! We'll get even further off into the weeds next time without leading questions.

Beyond Naschy #15 - PIECES (1982)

You don't need to go to Texas to have a chainsaw massacre! Finally bowing to listener pressure Troy and I are covering our first Juan Piquer Simón movie. To say that PIECES (1982) is a unique film is to undersell it's many odd qualities and the strange pleasures that can be derived from this incredible horror effort. Simón is infamous for directing several terrible movies in the 1980's that are usually hidden behind his Anglicized pseudonym J. P. Simon. Besides this film he is responsible for the movie at the heart of the classic Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode 'Pod People' as well as SLUGS (1988). Simon's films often got distribution outside of Spain because of his insistence on filming in English knowing that America was the biggest market for genre pictures - don't ever sell the man short when it comes to business! Simon's original title for his script was 'Mil gritos tiene la noche' which translates to 'A Thousand Screams in the Night' and while that might be an interesting name for this tale, PIECES truly sums it up perfectly. Pulling inspiration (to be generous) from several different sources (The Shadow, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, anything that might occur on set, etc.) the movie might not be very original but it is also never boring. I have a personal affinity for PIECES that stems from having seen it on the big screen in its American theatrical run in 1983. We touch on this tale of teenaged movie going and how it might have been the beginnings of my adult fascination with Euro-Trash cinema as well as Troy's earliest impressions of this gore drenched classic. We have a great time discussing this crazed film and I get so excited I spend several minutes referring to Lynda Day George as Susan George! Jeeze! Luckily Troy notices and steers me back to the correct name and then we publically embarrass the poor actress by playing her most cringe inducing line from this film. We can be bastards! Bastards. Bastards. The mailbag is light this month but we do have some interesting comments from a listener who has gone and created his own podcast - Fandom Radio Podcast! Go check it out! I also relate the discovery that the novel on which ROTTWEILER (2004) was based was actually filmed once before in 1979 with EXORCIST star Jason Miller in the lead role. I now need to watch this version and report back to compare and contrast. You can reach us over on the Naschycast Facebook page or email us your thoughts at naschycast@gmail.com if you so desire. We'll be back next month with a very obscure Naschy film from the 1970's. Thanks for downloading and listening.

NaschyCast #53 - ROTTWEILER (2004)

Episode 53 puts us back in 2004 to discuss a film that features Naschy in a small but impressive role as - wait for it - the bad guy! ROTTWEILER is an English language film made in Spain by American director Brian Yuzna during his short lived Fantastic Factory production company's existence. We start the conversation talking about the various film directed by Yuzna and segue into the other movies made by Fantastic Factory. There are some good films and some bad films on that list! ROTTWEILER was based on a novel by Spanish author Alberto Vázquez Figueroa also wrote the script. In cases like this I love to read the source work but I haven't been able to locate an English translation so if anyone out there has any information on such a thing please let me know at naschycast@gmail.com. I'm very curious about the novel's structure in comparison to the film and how close the story stay to the book. As usual Troy and I stray from our assigned path a few times to talk about other possibly related subjects but we keep mostly on target I promise. The mailbag segment has some fun food for thought as we learn about a fellow Naschy fan that we somehow missed crossing paths with during our days living in Murfreesboro, TN in the 1990s. Strange! And Dan returns with his segment this time out to talk about Rottweiler and another horror host. 

NaschyCast #52 - DOCTOR JUSTICE (1975)

The NaschyCast returns with a French produced gem from the 1970's. Paul Naschy's role in this action adventure is pretty small but the film is well worth seeing for the rest of the cat and the fun story. DOCTOR JUSTICE is based on a series of French comic books that were very popular at the time. Dr. Benjamin Justice is an humanitarian doctor and works for the WHO (World Health Organization) tackling medical problems all over the globe. He is an expert of judo (6th dan), ju-jitsu and karaté. In the film he is played by John Phillip Law as an incredibly optimistic force for all that is right and good (justice, no?) with a will to put every bit of his abilities in the service of bringing criminals to heel. In this case the (very) good Doctor is up against some very clever oil thieves who have found a way to highjack an entire tanker of the black gold while the ship is still in transit - and without the crew even knowing the oil is gone! These criminals are lead by Gert Fröbe who will be instantly recognizable as Auric Goldfinger from the Bond film, of course but the rest of the bad guys a prove to be of interest as well including a martial arts expert that makes the numerous fight scenes very entertaining. Troy and I are happy to be back in the saddle with a Naschy film to discuss even one with as little of our hero as this. We keep the show on track for the most part but there are the usual side conversations about what we've been watching and reading lately as well as some music talk. The Mail Bag this time out gives us some food for thought but we are always hungry for more feedback so if you wish please contact the show at naschycast@gmail.com to add your musings to the proceedings. Thanks for downloading and listening to our babble - we are grateful for your attention!

Beyond Naschy #14 - THE VAMPIRES' NIGHT ORGY (1974)

Major spoiler warning! We talk about the entire film this time out, all the way through to the ending image - I just had to! And man - this episode sprawled out of control! With great joy, Troy and I cover the Spanish Horror gem THE VAMPIRES' NIGHT ORGY but the verbal side trips stretch the show to a length I am slightly sheepish to see. But maybe the long running time is a good thing? Maybe providing a nearly three hour long podcast is appreciated! I hope. At any rate, we start out talking about a couple of recent horror films (IT FOLLOWS, THE LAZARUS EFFECT) and in an amusing (and accidental) way this discussion informs our analysis of the film we focus on here you never know what connection exist, huh? The is the eighth Leon Klimovsky feature film we have covered which puts him at the top of the list of directors we have examined. This gives us a chance to talk about the very good qualities he brings to the table as well as the less than admirable choices that seem to consistently afflict his work. We both feel that a through exploration of his lesser known movies might be fascinating as long as we can locate English friendly copies.

NaschyCast #51 - WAX (2014)

After a couple of non - Paul Naschy months we come back with a posthumous Naschy film released just last year. Although this may be the Naschy movie with the least amount of Naschy in it, we are thrilled that the legacy of his career is still inspiring young Spanish filmmakers. WAX is a variation on the old 'wax museum' classics of old with a heaping helping of modern sensibilities thrown in for good measure as a young television journalist is locked in a supposedly haunted building for the night. He films his experiences and we also witness the night's events through the museum's security cameras. The biggest draw for fans of Euro-Cult films of the Golden Era of the 1960's and 70's is the star turn by Jack Taylor. Taylor is an amazing actor who has worked with nearly all the big names of that period from Franco, Naschy, de Ossorio, Larraz and even Simon in the incredible PIECES (1982). There are lots of knowing nods to Spanish Horror of the past and Naschy's career gets singled out as well. Much creepy fun is here to be enjoyed and we try to talk about as much of the film as possible without spoiling it, even as we are interrupted by Katie the Cat! We answer several emails at the end of the show and we thank everyone that writes in to give us pointers and suggestions. The email address remains naschycast@gmail.com and we look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for downloading and listening to the show.

Beyond Naschy #13 - MURDER MANSION (1972)

After several attempts, Troy and I have finally braved the hellish ice storm weather of February and now bring you a new Beyond Naschy episode! It wasn't easy. After years of speaking about MURDER MANSION in passing, we at long last discuss the film at length even if we may set a new NaschyCast record for conversational tangents. Seriously- we talk a bit about the HIGHLANDER film series as well as the TERMINATOR movies and Joe Lansdale stories before we launch into a navel gazing meditation on the permanence of podcasts as a form. Whew! We need to podcast more often, I think. If you've never seen MURDER MANSION you really should catch it as soon as possible. This one is fairly easy to come by on DVD and even on several streaming services so, unlike some of the movies we cover, the special antenna isn't necessary. We don't spoil the ending of the movie in this episode but you might want to avoid online reviews of the film if you want to reach the final act with the mystery still intact. The movie is a great combination of several horror themes including the Old Dark House setting, the Agatha Christie Ten Little Indians plot, lurking ghosts, tales of vampires and even a touch of giallo stalker flair to spice up the stew. In incompetent hands this mélange could have been a disaster, but the magic of that amazing year of 1972 seems to have made blending them somehow achievable. All we can do is be happy they once made movies like this! The mailbag over-floweth this month as several fine folks write in to congratulate us for five years of podcasting. With any luck we'll If you have any comments or questions please write us at naschycast@gmail.com or visit us over on the NaschyCast FaceBook page. .