Hellbent For Horror

What are you dressing up as for Halloween? I have some ideas... This month I went to the Sinister Creature Con in Sacramento, CA.  This convention focuses on the technicians behind the shock effects, and it’s filled with artists demonstrating their work and their passion for everyone to see.  This Convention is the brainchild of Tim Meunier, who also runs the Sacramento horror film festival.  I had a great weekend at the con and at the amazing after-parties that featured make up effects from some of the artists in residence.  One of those make up effects was turning a woman into a mermaid to swim in a pool behind the bar at one of the parties.  Simply amazing and beautiful work by Nicole Chilelli and Vicious Vanity FX.  I was fortunate to be able to interview 3 of the artists at the convention.  Two make up and special effects artists (Erin Koskella/Koastkilla SFX, Margaret Caragan/Pandora FX) and another artist (Kaci Hansen/The Homicidal Homemaker) who uses food as her medium to create horrific looking, but

Have you gotten your Halloween scare yet? In this episode, I give a selection of movies to watch for this Halloween season.  My list skips the "old reliables" in favor of some lesser known films you may not have seen before.  It’s a mixture of old and new, American and foreign, monsters, ghosts, and some new disturbing characters.  I hope you find at least one in this list that surprises and creeps you out.  Happy Halloween! If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes or Google Play.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.      You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes, Google Play, PlayerFM, and Stitcher.   You can keep up with Hellbent for Horror on iTunes @iTunesPodcasts     iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hellbent-for-horror/id1090978706 Google Play link:https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ibsk2i4bbprrplyvs37c6aqv2ny Stitcher link: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/hellbent-for-horror?refid=stpr   For you, the listeners

My Halloween celebration has a soundtrack.    And, along with all the standards, I collect “non-traditional” horror songs; ones that induce dread, or shock, maybe even fear.    In this episode I share some of the songs that are mainstays in my October playlist.  Maybe some of these songs will inspire you, and become part of your own celebration of Halloween.  Happy Listening.   If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes or Google Play.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.      You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes, Google Play, PlayerFM, and Stitcher.   You can keep up with Hellbent for Horror on iTunes @iTunesPodcasts     iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hellbent-for-horror/id1090978706 Google Play link:https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ibsk2i4bbprrplyvs37c6aqv2ny Stitcher link: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/hellbent-for-horror?refid=stpr   For you, the listeners of Hellbent for Horror, Audible is offering a f

My biggest thrill doing this podcast is getting to talk to people about this stuff.  I really want to start conversations with you...and now I get to! Recently, an H4H listener named Bradley J. Kornish started an email conversation with me. I decided it would be fun to do a phone interview with another passionate horror fan!   Bradley J Kornish is the creative force behind Black Ark Studios and Black Ark Magazine. He is the author of dark fiction and horror including the web serials 'Mother' and 'Goth Girl'. You can find more info at http://blackarkstudios.com/ Bradley’s website and forum are up and active and he encouraged other writers and creatives to join in...   If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes or Google Play.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.      You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.   You can keep up with Hellbent for Horror on iTunes @iTunesPodcasts     iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.

Movies last a couple of hours, but you spend significant time with a book.  Reading is a direct upload of words that transition into your own images that go right to your brain.  It can be powerful.  And horror books let you live with the scare and the thrill for days!  In this episode I talk about my love of reading, and how horror stories and books from the library deepened my love of horror, and helped me get to know myself. Books were my salvation…and my corruption!   If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes or Google Play.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.      You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.   You can keep up with Hellbent for Horror on iTunes @iTunesPodcasts     iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hellbent-for-horror/id1090978706 Google Play link:https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ibsk2i4bbprrplyvs37c6aqv2ny Stitcher link: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/hellbent-for-horro

In this special edition of Hellbent for Horror I review the new movie Blair Witch 2016, directed by Adam Wingard.  This is a sequel to The Blair Witch Project, and I can’t help but think of this new movie in relation to the original.  So, that’s what I do in this episode.  I recorded some of my thoughts about both movies.  What made the first movie so original?  Does the new movie hold up under that weight?  Does it blaze its own trail or get lost in the woods?   Special bonus: hear my comparison of the original Blair Witch Project to Roberto Rossellini’s Rome-Open City and the Italian neo-realism movement. If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes or Google Play.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.      You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.   You can keep up with Hellbent for Horror on iTunes @iTunesPodcasts     iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hellbent-for-horror/id1090978706 Google Play l

Coppola, Scorsese, Friedkin, Altman, Penn, Bogdanavitch, Spielberg… Carpenter? You’re damn right. All of these directors earned their place in Cinema History. Each of them made at least one great movie that made an impact where the film changed the direction of how movies look and feel. Each of them influenced a new generation of film directors. And yet, John Carpenter rarely gets included in lists or conversations that also include the other maverick filmmakers of the 1970’s. And John Carpenter changed the course of the horror film not once, but TWICE. Once, to great acclaim. Once to great condemnation. Listen: art is art and a good movie is a good movie no matter what the source material might be. In this episode, I talk about John Carpenter’s contributions to great movies and great art, and those two times that not only altered the course of horror films, but also altered his career and his legacy.    

You tell me: Why is Silence of the Lambs billed as a “psychological thriller,” and not a horror film?  It looks and acts like a horror movie.  Or is it that when movies hit it big with the general culture that we can’t label them horror movies? I think there are lots of examples of movies billed as “thrillers,” or “suspense,” or even “drama” that are actually horror movies, and in this podcast I begin calling some out.  In this episode I’ll talk about Silence of the Lambs, and compare aspects of Platoon and Full Metal Jacket to look for horror aspects.  I’ll delve into Deliverance and even Dirty Harry.  Dirty Harry a horror movie?  I think so.  Maybe I can convince you.  I’m feeling lucky. If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes or Google Play.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.      You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.   You can keep up with Hellbent for Horror on iTunes @iTunesPodcasts     iTunes link

Horror stories are supposed to upset the apple cart. Great stories captivate us.  Some narratives are timeless.  Some comment on the times in which they’re born.  And some stories are timeless because their meanings change with time.  Stories can be great in themselves, but sometimes they resonate with something we experienced, our times, our culture, our politics. And sometimes, that isn’t pretty at all.  And even widely different interpretations of the story can be right.  After all, art reflects whoever is experiencing it, as well as the intentions of the artist.  In this episode I talk about how horror is wonderfully suited to comment (or not) on the time it’s written, and sometimes the message only shows up after time has passed.  Do the zombies in George Romero’s 1968 movie "Night of the Living Dead” mean something different than zombies in Zack Snyder’s 2004 remake of "Dawn of the Dead?"  John Carpenter’s “They Live” has different meanings to someone who watched it for the first time this year than som

Recently I traveled to Iceland, and I spoke with and interviewed several Icelanders about their native horror folklore and legends.  This land is rich in stories of hidden people, elves, and trolls who interfere in the lives of humans.  In addition, the land has its own real bloody stories to tell.  In this episode I talk about horror folk tales from Iceland and speculate on the role nature plays in these folk tales.   If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes or Google Play.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.      You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.   You can keep up with Hellbent for Horror on iTunes @iTunesPodcasts     iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hellbent-for-horror/id1090978706 Google Play link:https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ibsk2i4bbprrplyvs37c6aqv2ny Stitcher link: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/hellbent-for-horror?refid=stpr   For you, the listeners of Hellbent for

Continuing with the horror and music theme, I’m focusing this episode on Heavy Metal music.  This hugely popular music bears the brunt of accusations of satanic imagery and messages.  Few actual crimes were influenced by heavy metal, but it became associated with satanic rituals and murders due to a “satanic panic” that gripped the nation in the 1980’s.  Did the furor over the music by a “moral majority” actually fuel crimes associated with it?  I also talk about my own relationship with Metal, and how it empowered me, led to great friendships, and endless arguments with my family.   If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes or Google Play.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.      You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.   You can keep up with Hellbent for Horror on iTunes @iTunesPodcasts     iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hellbent-for-horror/id1090978706 Google Play link: https://play.googl

How would you like to make a “Cameo” on Hellbent for Horror? I wanted to do something special to thank this community of hellbent listeners! Interaction with others is where the real inspiration for imagination comes from, and I talk about how some listeners have been integral in sparking ideas. Making this podcast has energized and rejuvenated me. We all need a creative outlet, and a place to be heard. I’d love to give my listeners that outlet as well! In this bonus episode, I talk directly to you about how to make this show a little more interactive. Let’s start a conversation around your talent and passions. I’ll be showcasing music from a listener on this episode, and I’ll also go into some detail about my “illicit proposition” to you. Plus, there’s a little news about upcoming Horror Conventions I’ll be attending. Who knows? If you find me at one of the shows, you might just get interviewed about your “first kiss”!   If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes.  It really helps.  Tha

Music can be scary, even terrifying.  Certain combinations of notes induce nervousness and unease in the listener.  Musicians have known about these intervals for centuries.  They can induce tension, character, and depth into a song, and have been used in music throughout the world since before music theory was even a thing.  In modern music these intervals are the roots of jazz, blues, and rock and roll.  In the medieval European Christian church, however, religious leaders branded these intervals satanic – making them even more unsettling.  But it’s not just tones that can make music horrifying.  There’s a long history of folk songs telling stories of real murders in graphic detail, and these murder ballads have been popular for centuries.  Music goes right to your emotions, which makes it a fabulous way to induce horror.  In this episode I’ll talk about the “devil’s tone,” murder ballads, and other tricks of recorded music that induced horror hysteria over the years – some of it imagined, and some of it ve

Everywhere in the world has its own local ghost stories – scary places that have haunting reputations.  Then there are people who actually deal with these ghosts and demons.  You’ve heard the stories, and they’ve made movies “based on true events” of supposed real hauntings and possessions.  Two famous paranormal investigators were Ed and Lorraine Warren who have been the subject of several movies and books, including “The Conjuring 2.” In this episode I talk about home town hauntings where I grew up, and my eventual visit to the home of Ed and Lorraine Warren where I met and spoke with them, and encountered their notorious Occult Museum of possessed objects. If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.    You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes and Stitcher   iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hellbent-for-horror/id1090978706 Stitcher link: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/hellbent-for-ho

So, what scares you?  Really.  What takes you out of your “horror comfort zone?”  In this episode I talk about my own horror triggers.  I don’t rationally believe these things exist. But, somewhere deep inside me…  Triggers often come from events that happen to us as children, and my trigger is no exception.  I talk about some of the movies that REALLY scared me on a primal level, and then talk about my past to figure out where those triggers come from. If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.    You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes and Stitcher   iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hellbent-for-horror/id1090978706 Stitcher link: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/hellbent-for-horror?refid=stpr   For you, the listeners of Hellbent for Horror, Audible is offering a free audiobook download with a free 30-day trial to give you the opportunity to check out their service. To download your f

Boo!  You know those scary monsters that haunt your dreams?  Make-up artists and actors make them come to life.  Make-up effects have evolved with film from the beginning of cinema.  Artists delve into the dark parts of themselves to make real horrors we may not have even imagined.  Sometimes the work is so good that the monsters become iconic in our culture.  Can you imagine a time when no one knew what the Frankenstein monster looked like?  In this episode I talk about make-up artists who transformed the craft and in turn transformed cinema.   If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.    You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes and Stitcher   iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hellbent-for-horror/id1090978706 Stitcher link: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/hellbent-for-horror?refid=stpr   For you, the listeners of Hellbent for Horror, Audible is offering a free audiobook download with

This is a companion piece to Episode 6, which was about the creation and history of Shock Theater and Horror Hosts. When you’re creating podcasts like this, you have great ideas that just don’t make the final cut. Sometimes, though, there’s just more story to tell. Join me as I dig a little deeper into the world of Modern Horror Hosts. And… I make a confession about my own childhood Horror Host, “Uncle Ted.” This “Addendum of Doom” is called, “Close Encounters of the Horror Host Kind!” Enter The Addendum of Doom!   If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.    You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes and Stitcher   iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hellbent-for-horror/id1090978706 Stitcher link: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/hellbent-for-horror?refid=stpr   For you, the listeners of Hellbent for Horror, Audible is offering a free audiobook download with a free 30-day trial to give you

A lot of us were introduced to classic horror films through midnight showings on local TV on Saturday nights. Many of us knew of our local horror host.  The horror host was (and still is) a great American phenomenon full of crazy costumes, clever names, and a lot of charisma.  The greats are still legendary, and horror hosts continue entertaining us on the internet and streaming video outlets.  In this episode I talk about the confluence of events that led to late night horror movies on television, and some of the unique personalities that haunt our memories with our first views of classic scary Universal monsters.   If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.    You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes and Stitcher   iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hellbent-for-horror/id1090978706 Stitcher link: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/hellbent-for-horror?refid=stpr   For you, the listeners of

Warning: Explicit content. What are your limits?  Surely there are some types of horror movies that you will not watch.  Or are there?  There has always been an audience for the disturbing and unsettling image. And there’s an intimate relationship between the violence and sensationalism shown in Underground Movies and the anxieties of our culture. In this episode I discuss Exploitation Films and Extreme Horror: its history starting with Thomas Edison’s first experiments with the movie camera through the Grindhouse Era to Modern Horror Cinema.  If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.    You can now subscribe to the Hellbent for Horror podcast now available on iTunes and Stitcher   iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hellbent-for-horror/id1090978706 Stitcher link: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/hellbent-for-horror?refid=stpr   For you, the listeners of Hellbent for Horror, Audible is offering a free audiobook download with a

This episode is a companion piece to Episode 4, “Blood Oaths and Bar Tabs: Horror Conventions and Cinema Wasteland.” In this episode we interview Dave Kosanke, the creator of the long-running and legendary underground fanzine “Liquid Cheese.” It is an exhaustive love letter to everything from horror to heavy metal to XXX films. Since 1993, Dave has been a one-man Army. Liquid Cheese is a true fanzine in every sense of the word. Dave puts the whole thing together himself, and he has done that for 23 years, outliving most other fanzines and one or two professional magazines. The words “labor of love” were made for Dave Kosanke and “Liquid Cheese”. Now, an Interview from the Abyss with Dave Kosanke! Liquid Cheese Fanzine: http://liquidcheesefanzine.storenvy.com/ Liquid Cheese Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Liquid-Cheese-Fanzine-160299044088480/?fref=ts If you like the show, please consider writing a review on iTunes.  It really helps.  Thanks a lot for listening.    You can now subscribe to the Hellben