It's Coming - Horror Hootenanny 15!

Nashville's annual shock n roll event is coming!

Scary Monsters Magazine #110

Coming soon, Scary Monsters Magazine #110, the Halloween issue...

Chiller Cinema #32 - Ed Wood Night

In this episode Dr. Gangrene interviews legendary sci-fi memorabilia collector Forrest J. Ackerman, and invites a swami back to his lab to summon the ghost of Ed Wood Jr. Originally broadcast on 01/04/01

Dr. Gangrene Presents - A Snapshot of Terror

Here's another episode of Dr. Gangrene Presents, from 1959 - Written and directed by Curt Siodmak.

Don (John Crawford) is a photographer with no respect for women. He heads on vacation to relax his overstressed mind, but ends up murdering a beautiful and strange woman he meets there. Once back home he can't seem to be free of this haunting woman...

Chiller Cinema #30 - When the Doctor's Away...

In this episode of Chiller Cinema Dr. Gangrene visits the Nashville Horror Festival, and interviews Dick Warlock, artist Jeff Pittarelli, and others, while Nurse Deadbody holds things down on Shackle Island. Originally aired 11-09-2000.


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Defy Festival 3

I found out about this upcoming film festival recently that sounds pretty cool, and wanted to pass the info along. 

It's the Defy Film Festival, in its 3rd year - Short films screen early in the evening followed by a feature-length Japanese horror film called "To Tokyo". It's at Studio 615, which I haven't been to yet, in Nashville, TN.

Friday, August 24th, starts at 6pm for the short films, feature starts at 8:30.

https://www.facebook.com/events/263142740946369/ 

Chiller Cinema - 1999 Maddest Moments

Here's one from the vaults, a Best of Season One (1999) episode. It originally aired September 21, 2000. br />

Roger Corman Month - Death Race 2000

Roger Corman Month continues with a look at one of the best films from New World Pictures, Death Race 2000, directed by the late Paul Bartel.

Roger Corman Month - X the Man with the X-Ray Eyes

Roger Corman Month continues with a  look at the 1963 mad science feature X the Man with the X-Ray Eyes starring Ray Milland.

Every Vincent Price Death Scene

I re-uploaded my video of every Vincent Price death scene to Youtube today, with some minor edits. If you are a Vincent Price fan and haven't seen it yet, check it out. It's pretty fascinating to see all of these scenes all in one place. Here's to you Vincent!

Roger Corman's Rock All Night

 Roger Corman Month continues as Dr. Gangrene looks at this Roger Corman directed and produced rock n roll film from 1957 - A pair of criminals hold a bar full of patrons at a rock n roll club at gunpoint. Starring Dick Miller, Russell Johnson, Abby Dalton, and Jonathan Haze.

Heroes of Horrorwood #1 - Roger Corman

Dr. Gangrene kicks off his new series, Heroes of Horrorwood, with episode 1 which pays tribute to legendary director/producer Roger Corman.

Dr. Gangrene's Creature Feature - The Descendant

Here's a throwback for you - An episode of my show Dr. Gangrene's Creature Feature that was originally broadcast on January 7, 2006.

The movie of the night was the 1997 film The Descendant, (aka Bleeders, aka Hemoglobin), a Lovecraftian tale about a couple who travel to an island in search of information about the man's family history. He suffers from a rare blood disease and is looking for information when he stumbles onto a centuries-old mystery. Based on the H.P. Lovecraft short story The Lurking Fear.

Meet The Creeping Cruds New Singer - Jimmy 2Beards

Greetings Fright Fans – Dr. Gangrene here, Nashville’s Physician of Fright, and tonight it’s my  pleasure to introduce you to the newest member of Nashville’s premiere horror band, The Creeping Cruds. They have a lot of big news on the horizon, so put your paws together and give a very cruddy howl of welcome to the Cruds new singer, Jimmy 2Beards.

Welcome, Jimmy! How did the gig with the Cruds come about?
Well, Doc, my path to becoming officially Cruddy started with accepting a frontman position leading the mighty Tinglers (actually The Cruds in misleading disguises) at last year's Shock Hop Tribute Show. Being a constant front row Creeping Cruds maniac (and therefore knowing a good deal of the songs) couldn't have hurt.

What did you do musically before the Creeping Cruds?
Prior to this, musically, I fronted the underrated TwoBeards Shower Time Singers.

What are your favorite/most influential bands?
Favorites include The Boils, The Ramones, The Misfits, and Screeching Weasel. Influential, well, Metallica was the band that started everything thing for me, took me out of oldies rock radio, which was all I knew as a kid. But the Glenn Danzig fronted bands and the mighty Cramps, with their masterful mix of rock and horror have made the biggest impact.

What’s your favorite Cruds song to sing?
I Was A Teenage Werewolf. My favorite part of the Cruds live set for years.

You’re trapped in a secluded castle and can only take one movie with you. What would you choose?
Dawn of the Dead. Not my favorite (that would be Return Of The Living Dead) but the one I can see myself never tiring of.

 Fulci or Argento?
Lucio Fulci, by far. The Godfather Of Gore's mastery of what nauseates and terrifies is legendary.

Zombies: shamble or run?
The shambling dead are the dead for me. In my opinion, zombification is a reset button. Zombies are hungry babies.

I’ve heard the new Cruds song, and think it turned out great! Is it true you almost got arrested making the music video?
Thanks for the kind words, the creative and recording process has been an incredible, as well as surreal experience. As for life in the big house. We came close. Peeping eyes took offense to "objects" being put on the graves. They had no idea they were calling the fuzz on some rather respectful ghouls who left the graveyard as it has been for centuries. As we say at the Cruds Crypt, "Just 10 minutes earlier..."

Does this mean there is a new Cruds album on the horizon?
There's enough Cruddy live favorites that are just itchin' to be finally recorded and a tomb full of new terror tunes being worked on, so a new Creeping Cruds album is definitely showing signs of life, starting to react to the 2-4-5 Trioxin.

What are you going to be for Halloween?
With my home being the yet-to-be infamous Creepsville Cabin, I'm sure my Halloween costume this year will be slasher related, perhaps one of those hockey players, or the homicidal burned caretaker or that little girl that turned out to be a boy.

Ok, fangs and beast of luck to you, Jimmy, and I’ll see you at the next Cruds show, and the Horror
Hootenanny this October! And now, without further adieu, here is the brand new video from The Creeping Cruds - I Eats The Dead.

Horror Hootenanny 14 - Horror Rock Party!

I finally got a chance to cut together some of the footage from last year's Horror Hootenanny - this was our 14th annual event. The Hoot is an annual Rock n Roll horror event in Nashville TN, hosted by yours gruely, Dr. Gangrene, Physician of Fright. On deck this year were The Vamptones, Dead Dick Hammer, The Creeping Cruds, A special Beasto Blanco set featuring Chuck Garrick and Calico Cooper, and The Dead Deads. The crowd went all out with the costumes, and we awarded a ton of great prizes. All in all a great night - looking forward to year 15, coming this October at The End in Nashville, TN. Stay Tuned for more details!!

Movie Review – The Odds, 2018

I got a chance to check out a new independent horror film this weekend called The Odds. It’s a 2018 film, feature-length, made by Uproar Pictures, written and directed by Bob Giordano.

The story revolves around two main characters, a woman and a man whose names we never learn. It is basically a two-person film (for the most part), and takes place almost entirely in one location. I’ve seen some terrific films of this sort in the past – “man in a box” type stories that are true character-driven stories.  Buried, from 2010 comes to mind (starring Ryan Reynolds), which takes place entirely in a coffin buried underground. For this type story to work you need two main things; a solid script, and great actors. The Odds has both.

The story opens with a young woman (Abbi Butler) entering a warehouse type facility. A man (James J. Fuertes) enters the room and sits at a table opposite her. We learn that she has entered a game, and the man is the facilitator of the game. She is competing against unseen players in distant locations, the winner to receive one million dollars. To win, she must have a high threshold for pain, as she is subjected to a different torture technique each round. The facilitator is in communication with the game leaders through a Bluetooth earpiece. Once three players drop out each round is over. We learn that the final round involves a game of Russian roulette, and once you reach that round there is no backing out. This ultimately leads her to question herself, her motivations, the man across from her, and even the game itself.

The film brought to mind for me a short story by Roald Dahl called Man from the South, which has been adapted several times, initially for TV as an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (starring Peter Lorre), where a man bets his car against another man’s little finger that his lighter will work ten times in a row. Most recently Quentin Tarantino did a version of this same story for the 1995 film Four Rooms.

The bulk of the story of THE ODDS involves the back and forth dialogue between the two main actors. It would be easy to become bored with a 107-minute movie featuring just two characters, but that isn’t the case here. The script is well-written and builds tension throughout, engaging the viewer and drawing them in with excellent performances from the two leads.

The violence may be tough to watch in places for some people, but I thought the film did an excellent job presenting it without wallowing in it, walking that fine line without crossing into torture-porn territory. I found it an entertaining film, and worth tracking down. I understand a sequel in in the works, as well.

The Odds is currently making the festival circuit and will be screening at this year’s Nashville Film Festival on Friday May 11^th, 9pm, and Thursday May 17 at 8:30pm.

The Final Episode of The Fantastic Films of Vincent Price - Edward Scissorhands

Here it is, the final episode of The Fantastic Films of Vincent Price, exploring Vincent's last three films - Catchfire, Edward Scissorhands, and The Heart of Justice. This has been quite a ride, making a video for each of Vincent's theatrically released films as well as a number of other projects along the way, including his books, TV work, radio and more. Thank you all for joining me along the way, and for all your support. It's been a fun project.


In closing, I just want to mention that this series is nominated for a Rondo Award for classic horror excellence. If you have enjoyed this series, please consider voting for it for Best Multimedia. The ballot is at rondoaward.com, or you can just send an email to taraco@aol.com and let them know you'd like to vote for The Fantastic Films of Vincent Price for best Multimedia. Voting goes through April 8th.

The Fantastic Films of Vincent Price #86 - Dead Heat

In this episode, Dr. Gangrene takes a look at this 1988 horror/comedy film starring Joe Piscopo and Treat Williams, with appearances from two genre favorites, Vincent Price and Darren McGavin.

 About this series: Dr. Gangrene, Physician of Fright and Award-winning Nashville-based TV Horror Host explores the films of the merchant of menace, Vincent Price, in chronological order from first to last, approaching them from a scholarly perspective, offering commentary, review, and criticism.

 Music: "Backed Vibes", "Hot Swing" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Opening Credits Artwork: Used by permission from Mark Maddox, http://www.maddoxplanet.com/ All film clips © respective studios and used purely for academic purposes and Fair Use under Copyright Act 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107 #drgangrene #vincentprice

The Fantastic Films of Vincent Price #85 - The Whales of August

In this episode, Dr. Gangrene takes a look at the 1987 drama THE WHALES OF AUGUST, starring Vincent Price, Lillian Gish, and Betty Davis.

Alfred Hitchcock Music to be Murdered by LP

 Dr. Gangrene takes a look at the reissue Lp for the 1958 album ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S MUSIC TO BE MURDERED BY. Music by the Jeff Alexander Orchestra. Get your copy here - Amazon affiliate link: http://amzn.to/2HPzuEL

Scary Monsters Memories #26

 Scary Monster Memories #26 is coming soon to noose stands near you. Available for preorder now at www.scarymonstersmagazine.com

Monsters DVD Box Set

Taking a look at the MONSTERS DVD box set. Great vintage TV anthology horror, a follow up to TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE.

Tales from the Darkside, the Complete Series DVD box set

In this video I take a look at the TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE boxset, the complete series. This is a must have for fans of this series, which ran from 1983-1988. 

ESCAPE - Three Skeleton Key

Old Time Radio broadcast of ESCAPE, titles Three Skeleton Key. Originally aired November 15, 1950.

Horror Hall of Fame DVD set

In this video I take a look at the new Horror Hall of Fame DVD box set featuring 26 classic horror movies. Now available much cheaper than when I bought it - 27 bucks on Amazon, around 24 at Walmart. A great little box set that's worth picking up!

 

The Fantastic Films of Vincent Price #84 - From a Whisper to a Scream

In this episode Dr. Gangrene takes a look at a pair of 1980s horror anthology films featuring Vincent Price - ESCAPES, and FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM.

 

Benedictine the Mad Monk - 80s Nashville Horror Host

Here's a fun one. I've had this footage for some time now, not sure exactly where I got it. But I dug it out and got to looking, and realized this was a horror host from Nashville TN. He is called Benedictine the Mad Monk, and his show aired on WZTV Nashville Ch17. The movie he is hosting was the Hammer film TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA. I was able to piece together the year from clues in the video, and realized it was from 1989.

I posted it on Youtube and asked if anyone has information on the identity of the Mad Monk to please let me know. Sure enough, a viewer chimed in within a day or so and filled me in on the mystery. Turns out this is none other than radio talk show host Phil Valentine! I would never have guessed. Phil himself then posted a comment a couple days later confirming that yes, that was indeed him under the monk's robes. The show only ran for about 3 weeks, which is why so many of us Nashvillians missed it. You can check it out below:

 

The Fantastic Films of Vincent Price #83 - The Great Mouse Detective

Episode #83 of The Fantastic Films of Vincent Price spotlights a pair of animated projects from the 80s in which Price voiced characters - The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo, and The Great Mouse Detective.