MANIAC, also known as SEX MANIAC is your deadicated hosts' first foray into exploitation horror -- and certainly won't be the last. Beware, this 1934 Dwain Esper classic is something to be experienced to truly be believed! Context setting 00:00; synopsis 21:20; discussion 37:23; ranking 43:37.
Columbia Pictures offers us our last pre-code horror film: the disappointing BLACK MOON (1934) directed by Roy William Neill and starring Jack Holt, Fay Wray, and Dorothy Burgess. Based off the 1933 novel of the same name by Clements Ripley. It's, uh, not good.
The film that could not possibly fail... your deadicated hosts review Edgar G Ulmer's 1934 pre-code classic THE BLACK CAT, bringing together Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, with third wheels David Manners and Julie Bishop. Hungary and Austria collide in this film about a satanic cultist by a Czech director. To contextualize this conflict, we cover Austria-Hungary's role in World War One. It's relevant, we promise! Context setting 00:00; synopsis 34:32; discussion 43:31; ranking 1:19:55
Your deadicated hosts review the poverty row film from Monogram Pictures HOUSE OF MYSTERY (1934) directed by William Nigh and starring Ed Lowry and Verna Hillie. Discover the mysterious origins of this Old Dark House rip-off, with added monkey! Context setting 00:00; synopsis 14:03; discussion 22:52; ranking 34:36
From the behind-the-scenes drama of James Whale's 1933 horror THE INVISIBLE MAN, to HG Wells' writing process, your deadicated hosts explore Claude Rains' iconic role as the Invisible Man! Context setting 00:00; synopsis 26:01; discussion 40:01; ranking 1:03:33
Your deadicated hosts uncover a copy of Ramón Peón's 1933 horror LA LLORONA with "English subtitles." Hear the stories behind Mexico's first horror film, and legendary Crying Woman legend! Context setting 00:00; synopsis 22:25; discussion 33:39; ranking 43:38
Boris Karloff returns to the UK and to the show with T Hayes Hunter's 1933 THE GHOUL; our first British horror film, and the first film rated H for horror! Context setting 00:00; synopsis 20:08; discussion 32:49; ranking 50:57
Your deadicated hosts encounter the pre-code poverty-row picture NIGHT OF TERROR from 1933 directed by Benjamin Stoloff. Despite what Bela Lugosi brings to this horror film, NIGHT OF TERROR is overwhelmingly monotonous and derivative of many films before it. Context setting 00:00; synopsis 10:28; discussion 20:11; ranking 33:29
The deadicated hosts confront the first so-bad-it's-good film on the list: SUPERNATURAL (1933) from the Halperin Bros starring Carole Lombard and Alan Dinehart. Context setting: 00:00; synopsis 12:29; discussion 27:34; ranking 41:07
Your deadicated hosts review Paramount Pictures' 1933 MURDERS IN THE ZOO, featuring the myriad of actors who either before or after this movie had established careers in law, politics, and the military. Plus, the spooky history of zoos! Context setting 00:00; synopsis 27:32; discussion 45:36; ranking 1:11:32
The deadicated hosts talk the morbid origins of wax figures and the lines between mystery thrillers & horror in this review of Curtiz's 1933 two-tone technicolour horror MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, and Glenda Farrell. Context setting 00:00; synopsis 26:11; discussion 37:41; ranking 1:05:33
Your deadicated hosts endure Majestic Pictures' 1933 mockbuster THE VAMPIRE BAT, directed by Frank Strayer and starring Fay Wray, Lionel Atwill, Melvyn Douglas and Dwight Frye! Context setting 00:00; plot summary 13:06; discussion 23:33; ranking 39:44
In this adaptation of HG Wells' "The Island of Doctor Moreau," the deadicated hosts dive in to Erle C Kenton's 1932 ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, starring Charles Laughton and Richard Arlen, a film banned in the UK for showing vivisection and its transgressive subject matter. Context setting 00:00; plot summary 28:52; discussion 39:20; ranking 1:16:45
It's a bonus episode! The deadicated hosts find and review Richard Oswald's 1932 UNHEIMLICHE GESCHICHTEN, featuring a journalist (Harald Paulsen) hounding a charismatic murderer (Paul Wegener), which surely has no relation to historical context... Context setting 00:00; plot summary 33:59; discussion 46:41; ranking 1:05:52
Our deadicated hosts review Karl Freund's directorial debut, 1932's THE MUMMY, starring Boris Karloff! We give historical context to both Ancient Egyptian burial practices and the film itself, while discussing the film's tepid middle-of-the-road nature and relationship with racism & colonialism. Context setting 00:00; plot summary 39:32; discussion 47:36; ranking 1:23:52
The deadicated hosts review the second James Whale film for the list: 1932's OLD DARK HOUSE, starring Boris Karloff & a merry cast. What we find locked in the closet is a horror that we all can relate to... This classic goes on to define the genre of Old Dark House horror, and with good reason. From the novel adaptation, to the character-driven horror on screen, we discuss the positives of offering just enough backstory. Context setting 00:00; plot summary 27:43; discussion 38:47; ranking 1:...
Your deadicated hosts tackle DOCTOR X (1932) by Michael Curtiz, starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, and Lee Tracy! We discuss sssynthetic flesshhhh, two-tone technicolor, and how we feel about horror and comedy... again! Context setting 00:00; plot summary 22:31; discussion 33:40; ranking 1:08:10
From Haiti's history, the film's racist themes, and it's silent film-inspired cinematography, your deadicated hosts dive in to the Halperin Bros' 1932 WHITE ZOMBIE, starring Bela Lugosi! Our first zombie movie! Context setting 00:00; plot summary 42:51; discussion 55:59; ranking 1:27:25
Carl Th Dreyer's 1932 horror film VAMPYR is exhumed and discussed in this episode of Scream Scene! How does it fare in comparison to Epstein's Fall of the House of Usher? Context 00:00; plot summary 32:52; discussion 49:42; ranking 1:23:53
The deadicated hosts cover the film that ruined two men’s careers… 1932’s MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, starring Bela Lugosi, directed by Robert Florey. What happened behind the scenes to make this transgressive horror film so disjointed? Context setting 00:00; plot summary 32:31; discussion 50:03; ranking 1:11:45
Meet Tod Browning's cast of FREAKS from 1932! Our deadicated hosts learn the production history of this unique film, share details about a few of the performers, and discuss how FREAKS fits within a unique horror subgenre. Context setting 00:00; plot summary 25:55; discussion 41:27; ranking 1:01:35
The deadicated hosts rely on their prescription glasses to see just what Frank R. Strayer's 1932 indie horror The Monster Walks is about... family lineage? An ape on the loose? Who knows? Starring Mischa Auer, with Willie Best. Context setting 00:00; plot summary 17:01; discussion 25:30; ranking 40:33
The deadicated hosts uncover the mystery around Rouben Mamoulian's 1931 pre-Code horror film Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde starring Fredric March! Context setting 00:00; plot summary 29:27; discussion 40:56; ranking 1:13:34
The deadicated hosts take on James Whale's 1931 classic Frankenstein! Starring Colin Clive and Boris Karloff. From Mary Shelley's life and the novel's origins, to the film's unique production history, there's all that and more in this terror-filled episode! Mary Shelley and novel background 00:00; film background 33:34; plot summary 51:25; discussion 1:03:30; ranking 1:42:38
This week, the deadicated hosts watch Drácula from 1931, directed by George Melford! We explain just what this Spanish version of Browning's classic film is, how it came to be, and about the stars Carlos Villarías and Lupita Tovar. Context setting 00:00; summary 13:39; discussion 17:07; ranking 42:54
Tod Browning's 1931 Dracula starring Bela Lugosi, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, and Helen Chandler wows the deadicated hosts as this film defines the American horror genre. Context setting 00:00; summary 40:34; discussion 47:05; ranking 1:21:33
Our deadicated hosts face their first sound picture... Roland West's remake of The Bat... The Bat Whispers (1930)! Starring Chester Morris and Una Merkel, with the history of sound in film, the Great Depression, and more! Context setting 00:00; summary 28:32; discussion 31:30; ranking 52:54
The deadicated hosts travel to France for Jean Epstein's 1928 La Chute de la maison Usher (The Fall of the House of Usher), where we disappoint our film profs in our description of French Impressionism. We also talk about Edgar Allen Poe! Context 00:00; summary 28:41; discussion 33:47; ranking 57:45
The deadicated hosts test even their resolve with Henrik Galeen's 1928 "German expressionist horror" film Alraune, starring Brigitte Helm and Paul Wegener. Context setting 00:00; summary 15:43; discussion 26:37; ranking 36:58
Lon Chaney returns with director Tod Browning and upcoming actress Joan Crawford in 1927's The Unknown! Our deadicated hosts discuss the film's title, the history of American circuses, and whether the film fits in the horror genre. 00:00 context setting; 20:26 summary; 27:23 discussion; 39:40 ranking
