Saturday Night Freak Show

Sean makes a bet that he'll never be killed by lions, a claim that can't be made by the makers of Roar (1981). Called "the most dangerous movie ever made," a madman takes his family (including Melanie Griffith and her mother, The Birds star Tippi Hedren) into a habitat full of man-eating lions, tigers, and leopards to make a movie, resulting in over 70 cast and crew injuries. And that's what really happened, not the plot of the film! Listen as we share our slack-jawed disbelief at watching one of the most nail-bitingly irresponsible films ever made on this week's exciting show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin finds himself forever standing guard over the Gates of Hell as The Sentinel (1977), in a star-studded Satanic supernatural shocker from Death Wish director Michael Winner. A beautiful model moves into a New York City brownstone and finds herself terrorized by bizzaro neighbors and nightmarish visions while a blind priest, who lives in the apartment above hers, may hold the answers. Listen as we talk naked orgies involving the elderly, a touching scene involving Mrs. Clark Griswold, and one of 70's horror's most scary moments on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela finds herself surrounded by killer felines in Strays (1991), in which a family moves into a country home only to find it's cellar is the lair of one super-pissed off, territorial cat and a furry army of murderous pussies. Listen as we debate the existence of the LA Metro, discuss the dynamics of Lifetime movie dramas, and unravel the mysteries of one Chuck Lubin, all on this exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly gets baked with the stoner horror comedy Idle Hands (1999), in which forgotten teen heartthrob Devon Sawa discovers his right hand is possessed by Evil, his stoner buddies come back to life as zombies, the hot girl across the street improbably has the hots for him too, and a Druidic demon hunter wants to kill him. Listen as we talk about the career trajectories of Seth Green and Jessica Alba, severed hand movies, and teen girl crushes, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sean imagines ending the world with a plague of dinosaurs courtesy of this week's flick, Carnosaur (1993), an ultra low budget Roger Corman-produced quickie designed to ride the dinosaur phenomenon created by Jurassic Park. Diane Ladd stars as a mad scientist determined to destroy the civilized world and restore dinosaurs to their place at the top of the food chain. Somewhere in there, newly minted dinosaurs rampage through the small town of Climax, NV. Listen to our instructive advice for budding filmmakers after our brains overheat while trying to follow the plot of this movie! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin geeks out to flame-throwing, laser-blasting, smoke pellet-chucking ninja action in American Ninja (1985). Michael Dudikoff was chosen by Cannon Films to step in when Chuck Norris passed on the project, to play an American G.I. (named Joe!) who must use his master-level ninja skills to defeat an arms dealer and his army of ninja assassins. Listen as we marvel at hitherto unknown ninja magic, the star power of underappreciated action star Steve James, and the wisdom of keeping your kids away from ninja movies, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela finds herself pursued by a killer whale with a death wish in Orca (1977)! After a fisherman (Richard Harris) kills his mate and her baby, a killer whale single-mindedly hunts him down, killing everyone he knows in an attempt to bait him out to sea for open fish-vs-man combat! Listen as we talk about Jaws ripoffs, post-apocalyptic roller derbies, leg-capitation, and the best place to eat at the Wisconsin Dells, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly finds that it takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent's fritters, and worries about the fate of Igor the mailman as we watch Motel Hell (1980). A kindly farmer and his wife sell the best smoked meats out of their rural motel/hog farm -- the kind of cannibalistic treat made from the body parts of unfortunate visitors! Listen as we talk about the life and career of Freak Show Hall of Famer Rory Calhoun, the best way to season BBQ, chainsaw duels, and pig-headed killers on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sean heads off to a magical land of barbarian kickboxers in search of enlightenment with Circle of Iron (1978, aka The Silent Flute). Allegedly Bruce Lee's personal dream project, it was realized after his death with David Carradine taking on the role of The Blind Man (and several other characters) who lend wisdom to a muscular warrior on a quest to retrieve a sacred book from an evil wizard. Or something. Listen as Eastern philosophy comes crashing down on Western knuckleheads as we weigh the merits of dissolving the Terrible Thing with Eli Wallach, face the trials, and espouse our own nuggets of ancient wisdom on this most excellent episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin celebrates Alien's 40th anniversary by watching the sleazy, low-budget Roger Corman version: Forbidden World (1982, aka Mutant)! An intergalactic "troubleshooter" is summoned to a distant research outpost where all the women get naked and throw themselves at him while a giant creature alternately eats the crew and/or turns them into pulsating puddles of goo. Listen as we marvel at the styrofoam sets - designed by future wunderkind James Cameron, and witness gratuitous space nooky, gory prosthetic effects, and kamakaze space flute playing, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela spins us a full-on spider apocalypse as we watch William Shatner versus the Kingdom of the Spiders (1977), a movie that finds The Shat (in a lull between Star Treks) playing the curiously christened "Rack" Hansen: Horseback Veterinarian, a good-old-boy who must save his arid Arizona community from an attack by thousands of poisonous tarantulas. Listen as Shatner puts his real-life cowboy skills to use as hundreds of spiders learn how to cut power and phone lines (before breaking windows en masse) and one woman makes the questionable choice to use a firearm to remove spiders from her body; all this and more on this week's exciting episode!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly explores the 90's movies' fascination with serial killers with the Serial Killer Greatest Hits movie Copycat (1995), wherein Sigourney Weaver plays agoraphobic psychologist who lends her expertise to the San Francisco P.D. when a psychopath begins recreating the murder scenes of infamous mass killers all around town. Listen as we revisit the "computer morph", ogle open floor plan houses, and marvel at the way the 90's understood the Internet, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sean sneaks a made-for-video movie into the dark bowels of the Saturday Night Freak Show screening room with his pick of Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996), the promised final entry in his 2019 Spring of Sequels selections. Listen as we talk about the extended life of the beloved(?) Tremors movie series (and retirement savings project for series regular Michael Gross) which currently stands at four sequels, a prequel, and a TV series, with an announced 7th movie on the way! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin thinks The Manitou (1978) is the greatest movie ever made about a woman with a reincarnated 400-year-old Indian medicine man growing on her neck! In one of the 70's strangest supernatural thrillers, Tony Curtis plays a fortune teller who has to recruit a modern day Native American shaman to combat an evil spirit that's taken possession of his girlfriend. Listen as we endure hysterical fortune telling, breezy seances, Indian mysticism, an evil dwarf, ghost lizards, skinned men, frozen hospitals, exploding typewriters, and cosmic encounters on this week's episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela thinks Jaws would have been better with paws, and to prove it she offers up Man's Best Friend (1993)! Intrepid reporter Ally Sheedy frees Max, a Tibetan Mastiff, from an experimental medical facility and slowly learns, to her horror, that the genetically-engineered mutt is an unstoppable, blood-thirsty killer. Meanwhile, dogged scientist Lance Henriksen does his best to retrieve the beast before it's too late. Listen as we talk about "when animals attack" movies, "lecture" movies, and potential health benefits of drinking "celery water," all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Holly takes us back to a simpler time, when a giant crocodile ate a small Maine town called Lake Placid (1999). National treasure Betty White feeds cows to the beast, which eventually starts eating the locals, which doesn't set well with the local sheriff, who calls in DNR specialist Bill Pullman, paleontologist Bridget Fonda, and crocodile-worshiping freak Oliver Platt to deal with the creature. Listen as we make a case for Twister being the best giant monster movie of the '90's on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sean gets under the hood of Robocop 2 (1990), which sees our favorite cyborg police officer go up against both a corrupt corporation and the minions of a cult leader/drug peddler/terrorist before becoming literally transformed into the P.C. police and then regaining his senses to lead what's left of Detroit's law enforcement against a technological terror known as RoboCop Two. Listen as we get into the nuts and bolts of comic-book scribe Frank Miller's dystopian sequel and hear your thoughts on the new Pet Sematary remake, all on this week's exciting show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colin brings on the monster apocalypse by opening the doors to Waxwork (1988). Six friends spend the night at a ghoulish wax museum where each fall through portals into scenes from monster movies from the past, facing werewolves, Dracula and the mummy, as a diabolical warlock plots to bring the creatures back to life and destroy the world. Listen as we long for the halcyon days of Vestron Video, VHS movie nights, steak tartare, self referential horror movies, and goopy special effects, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michaela comes to find out there's truth in the phrase "sometimes, dead is better" as we watch the remake of Pet Sematary (2019). Stephen King's classic novel gets resurrected, this time with stars Jason Clarke, John Lithgow, and Amy Seimetz. Listen to our overlong therapy session (masquerading as a podcast) and talk about Wendigos, kids in animal masks and undead cows, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sean wonders if The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999) is the most '90's movie that ever '90'd. A sort-of-sequel to Stephen King's troubled teenager story, The Rage features an angsty teenage protagonist who begins to manifest telekinetic powers while being tormented by the jocks on the football team. Listen as we learn more about Sean's love of sequels, discuss "artistic" filmmaking, and find out why CD's make the best murder weapons, all on this week's exciting episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.