Night of the Demons (dir. Kevin S. Tenney, 1988) Night of the Demons is about a bunch of teenagers who break into an abandoned funeral home to party on Halloween night. A seance opens a portal to hell, unleashing demonic forces that kill and possess the teenagers. It’s a pretty standard setup and basically adequate … Continue reading Night of the Demons (1987)

Hausu (dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1977) One of my favorite jokes from The Simpsons is in the episode “Krusty Gets Kancelled.” Because Itchy and Scratchy have moved to the new hit Gabbo Show, Krusty is forced to play “Eastern Europe’s favorite cat and mouse team, Worker and Parasite.” A very representative clip of Soviet animation plays … Continue reading Hausu (1977)

Lifeforce (dir. Tobe Hooper, 1985) Colin Wilson had one of the odder careers of any postwar British writer. A working class autodidact, he came to prominence at the age of 24 with a popular work of nonfiction, The Outsider, a critical study of alienation in literature. He would soon become obsessed with the occult and … Continue reading Lifeforce (1985)

Blue Velvet (dir. David Lynch, 1986) While filming the scene where Frank Booth assaults Dorothy Vallens in her apartment, Jeffrey Beaumont hidden in the closet and unable to intervene without risking his own death, David Lynch would laugh. He couldn’t stop himself from laughing. The most upsetting scene in film full of them, and the … Continue reading Blue Velvet (1986)

The Unknown (dir. Tod Browning, 1927) Alonzo the Armless (Lon Chaney) is a fugitive criminal and fraudulent freak, a fully able-bodied man who presents himself as disabled in order to better sell his circus act where he flings knives and fires rifles using only his feet. This facade, which includes dressing as a Romani stereotype, … Continue reading The Unknown (1927)

London After Midnight (dir. Tod Browning, 1927) London After Midnight is a lost film, the last known nitrate print having been destroyed in a fire in 1965. It was one of the most widely seen films the year of its release, the most financially successful collaboration between director Tod Browning and its star Lon Chaney, … Continue reading London After Midnight (1927)

April Fool’s Day (dir. Fred Walton, 1986) The only people who enjoy April Fools Day are small children who don’t know any better and the sociopaths. It is a terrible holiday that celebrates the worst form of humor: the practical joke. At best it embarrasses someone who takes something at face value, and at worst … Continue reading April Fool’s Day (1986)

The Stuart Wellington Edition The Flop House is a bad movie podcast that has been around for over a decade now. At the end of each episode, the hosts recommend something to watch that isn’t terrible. Traditionally, Elliott Kalan, former head writer of both The Daily Show and the renewal of Mystery Science Theater 3000, … Continue reading The Invisible Maniac (1990), Castle Freak (1995), and Head of the Family (1996)

TerrorVision (dir. Ted Nicolaou, 1986) The Putterman family at the center of TerrorVision invite so many questions. What were their lives like before their newly installed satellite dish intercepted an extraterrestrial energy beam that teleported an amorphous monster into their enormous mansion in the Hollywood Hills? What experiences brought Grandpa Putterman to the survivalist lifestyle? … Continue reading TerrorVision (1986)

The WNUF Halloween Special (dir. Chris LaMartina, 2013) I know that referencing David Foster Wallace is a little passe now, which is fair, but I am reminded of a scene deep in Infinite Jest where the government agent Steeply tells the Quebec separatist Marathe how he misses watching TV rather than relying on the video … Continue reading The WNUF Halloween Special (2013)