Hey intrepid Gorepress fam!

Rosie, Sarah and Phil are back to take you on a tour of our first ever listener suggestion; lost 1989 b-movie Demon Wind. In true Radio Gorepress fashion there are many tangents along the way including but not limited to the MCU, the noise that doves may or may not make and how much of a rice pudding budget any film actually needs.

We also take some time to chat about what we’ve watched recently including Black Panther, Jordan Peele’s Us and how stoked we are for the second season of Mike Flanagan’s flawless Haunting Of Hill House.

Join us! – Instagram, Patreon and Redbubble await.

-Rosie, Sarah & Phil

Hey Gore-fam!

This week we thought we’d take a dive headlong into the dizzying hand-held world of found footage horror to align with Found Footage Horror Week over on Instagram. Given that we’re also fanatics of mysteries and unsolved crimes, we took to Amazon Prime and chose Renny Harlin‘s The Dyatlov Pass Incident (a.k.a Devil’s Pass.)

Along the way we talk about the untimely passing of effects legend John Carl Buechler, as well as what we’ve watched recently, including The Umbrella Academy and Await Further Instructions. We also take a heated detour into the Marvel fandom and get hyped for the upcoming Us.

Join us! – Instagram, Patreon and Redbubble await.

-Sarah & Phil.

In light of the saddening news of Luke Perry’s passing this week, we decided to go full 1990′s with a retrospective of the original Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Did we love it? “Does the word DUH mean anything to you?!”

We also take some interesting detours while discussing what we’ve recently watched, including Bohemian Rhapsody, Ghost Stories and Star Trek : Discovery. We even treat you to the World’s worst ASMR, so get your fangs stuck into an hour and a half of conversational goodness.

Don’t forget to check out our new merch HERE and become a Patreon from as little as $1 a month HERE!

-Phil, Rosie & Sarah.

Phil is back this week, so the full RG line-up is here to discuss Women In Horror Month! Recognising women in a male dominated genre is something that’s close to our hearts so we were excited to record this bumper show for you. Join us as we discuss regular stereotypes and tropes, and the female contribution to horror over the decades. We concentrate quite heavily on GP favourite The Witch and get on quite the philosophical debate about whether rape/revenge movies are a valid form of entertainment or simply pure exploitative trash. We’d love to hear from you about which side of the debate you fall on! Get in touch via Instagram (@radiogorepress) or send us an email to radiogorepress@gmail.com.

-Sarah, Phil & Rosie.

Join Sarah and Rosie as they discuss what they’ve watched in the last fortnight including Netflix’s art World critique Velvet Buzzsaw, the latest in the long running Puppet Master Franchise and how baffling it is that no-one has thought to make a Hoarders horror movie yet. Then settle in for their rundown on their recent trip to the movies to watch Adam Robitel’s high concept thriller Escape Room and complain about “the youth” ruining the cinema experience. Enjoy!

-Sarah & Rosie.

In our first podcast of the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Nineteen, Sarah, Phil and Rosie return after their Christmas hiatus to have a chat about all the films we watched over the break, before tackling Adam Wingard’s You’re Next!

-S&P&R

In no particular order, however, here are Phil’s top five horror movies of the year!

• Hereditary

Sarah nailed it in her eulogy, but really, in my opinion, all it took was that moment to elevate this film to Top 5 territory. A fantastic, tragic film that introduced a number of scenes that will surely go down in horror movie history.

• Upgrade

Upgrade is just a fucking cool movie. Go see it.

• Ghost Stories

In an adaptation of their 2010 play of the same name, Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s Ghost Stories follows the story of professor and paranormal sceptic Phillip Goodman, as he visits a number of people claiming to have experienced supernatural events. Filled with a number of genuinely scary moments, just like its namesake, it never forgets to inject a sense of fun into the proceedings.

• A Quiet Place

Containing a tension that is racketed and racketed up to almost unbearable degrees, part of the beauty of A Quiet Place is how director-cum-star John Krasinski explores the nature of family. Filled with a number of utterly terrifying moments, some great performances from the cast and a terrific monster design (and a few forgivable plot holes here and there), A Quiet Place is a brilliant first foray into the horror genre for Krasinski.

• The Endless

The Endless eschews superficial scares for something a little more insidious across its running time; a palpable sense of unease. Directed by Spring duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, The Endless follows the story of two friends visiting a cult they belonged to. Veering into very Lovecraftian territory, Benson and Moorhead wisely keep their story grounded in its participants.

• The ‘Wish It Were Better’ Award

2018 saw the release of You Might Be the Killer, a film based off of a hilarious twitter thread in which two writers improvise a conversation between two friends in which, you guessed it, the realisation occurs that one of them might be the killer. In adapting it for the big screen, however, the joke is sadly weakened; part of the appeal of the thread was the way the information was revealed as the thread progressed. Since film is a visual medium, however, the adaptation’s hand is shown too early, so it lacks the punch of the original thread. It features some very charismatic performances by the ever-reliable Fran Kranz and Alyson Hannigan, so it’s just a shame more work wasn’t put in to align the film’s pacing to match the delivery of the original conversation.

There has been a wealth to choose from but here’s Sarah’s top 5 of the year, in no particular order.

• Hereditary

With a peerless performance from the always incredible Toni Collette and a slew of incredibly shocking and memorable set pieces, Hereditary marked Ari Aster as one to watch. A grim slow-burn that chronicles the descent into misery and darkness of a family that endures one tragedy after another, Hereditary is undoubtedly going to reach the status of future classic, and will continue to divide audiences and unite critics. A truly unforgettable and intensely affecting experience.

• Overlord

Marketed as simply a Nazi zombie flick, Overlord manages to rise above its premise and seamlessly meld genres. It’s a truly harrowing war film, an effective shocker and a gnarly body horror all in one neat package. With a tremendously capable cast, Overlord is one of the years most enjoyable horror movies, and squeezes in some humour and a surprising amount of heart to boot. A real all-rounder.

• Halloween

There seems to be very little middle ground in the criticism of Halloween; audiences either loved it or hated it. Knowing the comedy calibre behind the movie and their decision to ignore everything beyond the 1978 classic, I was initially unsure, but the obvious love for the franchise oozes from every frame. Some elements work better than others, but seeing Jamie Lee Curtis reprise her star making turn in a film about three female generations of the Strode family and the damage that second-hand trauma can inflict, Halloween remains interesting while providing some affectionate and cheeky nods to the original. John Carpenter‘s reworked score is a particular highlight!

• Upgrade

Starring Tom Hardy-alike Logan Marshall Green in a demanding role as a recently crippled grieving husband, Upgrade is a cyber-action flick from genre alum Leigh Whannell. It exists in a near future and creates a really well rounded heightened reality for its inventive story to take place in. Featuring a wonderful Hal 9000-inspired disembodied voice, some incredible action pieces and a snappy running time, Upgrade is incredibly deserving of a place amongst this years top films. As an added bonus horror fans can take extra pleasure from spotting the handful of Easter eggs littered throughout.

• Summer Of 84

Unfairly written off as a Stranger Things rip-off or as “too slow” by some audiences, Summer Of 84 is much, much more. From the team behind the enjoyable but over-hyped Turbo Kid comes a suspenseful mystery with an unexpectedly simple premise; what if your neighbour was a serial killer? Boasting a fun and believable camaraderie from its young cast, Summer Of 84 is both a fun shot of nostalgia and something much darker, going to places you might not expect.

• Turd-Scooping Wooden Spoon Award – The Open House

An astonishingly mediocre jumbled mess of a film that wastes it’s cast, gives us zero payoff and asks more questions than it answers. With a damp squib of an ending, The Open House manages to be boring, nonsensical and willfully anti-climactic.

In our not-at-all rigged poll this week, we decided that we’d been having far too much fun recently and that we should be brought thoroughly down a peg or two. To that end, we decided that Ari Aster’s Hereditary would be a fantastic choice. Way to go, us.

-S&P&R

It’s Radio Gorepress’ fiftieth episode today, and to celebrate, Sarah, Rosie and Phil all decided to not be ill and to actually present an episode all together, for the first time in what seems like forever.

Taking the results of our earlier Instagram post, we honor the year’s spookiest celebration by turning our attention to the Halloween-sequel-but-not-really-Halloween-sequel, Season of the Witch. We also take some time to discuss the latest instalment in the franchise, as well as having a chat over just how amazing The Haunting of Hill House is.

Enjoy!

-S&P&R

Since we’ve clearly been taking it in turns to catch the lurgy in recent episodes, it’s Sarah’s turn this week…so in her absence, Rosie and Phil take a look at Spanish-language mindbending horror noir, The Similars!

-P&R

With Rosie struck down by the lurgy, Sarah and Phil go rogue and disregard our Instagram poll completely, instead choosing to take a look at 1973′s Don’t Look Now…and in doing so, stay surprisingly on track…setting aside an anti-Terrifier rant that was perhaps a little too passionate…

-S&P

With the sequel fast approaching later this year, we thought we’d use the opportunity to take a look at the slasher that started all slashers (well…arguably, anyway), John Carpenter’s original 1978 classic, Halloween!

-S&P&R

You voted; we listened! Clowns won out this week in our Instagram poll, so what better movie to watch than 1988′s Killer Klowns from Outer Space. And just so you know, despite all the tangents this episode we did actually enjoy it…

…promise!

- S&R&P

Instagram has spoken once more; this week you guys wanted us to watch an 80′s B-movie, so after some (read: very little) deliberation, we settled on 1983′s The Deadly Spawn!

-S&P&R

In our first (proper) attempt at turning the power over to you guys, bereft of a Rosie, we give 1989′s Puppet Master a watch! We also spend some time chatting about the TV and films we’ve been watching, as well as discussing how disgusting the concept of sweaty puppets is.

Enjoy!

-S&P

I think we’ve gotta come clean this episode…we’re pretty sure that this episode is more tangent than Actual Genuine Content. Well as long as it’s entertaining, right? This week, Sarah, Phil and Rosie talk – reluctantly – about 2015′s Starleaf.

-S&P&R

Bereft of a Sarah, Rosie and Phil take the reins of the episode this week. Taking a gamble at the wealth of movies on Amazon Prime, they settle on the 1-star-rated Haunted…but will it live up (or down, rather) to its reputation?

-R&P

In the latest – and probably most alcohol-fuelled (certainly in a long while, anyway) – podcast, we take inspiration from last week’s trailer chat and turn our attention to Dario Argento’s Suspiria, ready for the imminent release of the remake.

-S&P&R

Bloody hell, Instagram. The one time we let you decide what we watch and this is what you pick? You’re on thin ice, guys. This episode, we talk about 2017′s Land of Smiles. And we hate every second of it.

THANKS, Instagram.

-S&R&P

Better late that never, huh? We’re back with another episode of Radio Gorepress; this time, in what might be out most tangential podcast yet – which is saying something – we’re discussing 1985′s Return of the Living Dead!

-S&P&R

In what might possibly be our most tangentful (IT’S A WORD, SHUT UP) podcast yet, Sarah Phil and Rosie take a look at Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark in an effort to do their bit for Women in Horror Month!

- S&P&R

In Radio Gorepress’ first podcast of 2018, Sarah, Rosie and Phil turn their gaze to recent Netflix original, The Open House. It’s – spoiler alert – not actually that good at all, so expect tangents galore.

Even moreso than usual, I mean…

-S&P&R

Another year draws to a close, and to honour the occasion, Sarah, Rosie and Phil take a look back through the year and discuss their standout films and TV shows!

-S&R&P

Taking that perfect example of how to pull off a writing exercise from a man for whom just producing a classic novel is mind-numbingly simplistic and turning it into a movie is probably a harder task than King set for himself. If anyone could pull it off, it’s Mike Flanagan: a director who has brought us some of the best horror films of recent years, including Oculus and Hush. Still, I have to admit, when it was announced Flanagan would adapt Gerald’s Game as a Netflix Original movie, I was a little concerned.

Jessie (played with gusto by the terrifyingly unappreciated Carla Gugino) and her horrible husband, the titular Gerald (Bruce Greenwood, another one of those actors they call when more-famous people can’t pull off a character) are off to their holiday home in the middle of nowhere to try to spice up their marriage with a pair of handcuffs and a sturdy bed frame. Unfortunately, Gerald has a mid-bondage heart attack and dies on top of Jessie, leaving her trapped.

The rest of the novel is told by Jessie’s internal monologue as her starving, dehydrated mind psycho-analyses itself and determines exactly what went wrong in her life that led her to her fate. As such, Flanagan’s adaptation is inevitably compromised by having to leave the confines of the bed that Jessie is chained to in order to flashback to her childhood. Similarly, there are a few things that sounded spooky when King hinted at them in narration, but are a little cheesy when plainly presented in earnest, and while the novel really draws out Jessie’s plight and lets us get to know and root for her, the film, despite some padding, goes by at a blink-and-miss pace.

Still, the film is almost point-for-point faithful to the source material – not a bad thing for a King story. Likewise, as expected with Flanagan, it’s beautifully shot; Gugino and Greenwood are on point; and while I scoffed when a friend who saw the film before me complained about how gory it was, I have to admit that parts of Jessie’s plight were absolutely harrowing to watch.

With all else being equal, Flanagan set himself an impossible task and you were always going to be far better off with King’s prose. However, let’s be honest, Netflix Originals are available from your sofa, at no extra cost and require far less attention and time to appreciate than good, old-fashioned reading, so far more people will find time for the film than will get around to reading the book. If you’re the former then there are a hell of a lot of worse ways to spend two hours than treating yourself to Flanagan’s adaptation.

- Neil Sheppard

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars