Make Your Own Damn Podcast

"The first stage is hallucinatory. The second stage is glandular. The third stage is .... AHHHHH." Body Melt is one of Australia's most bizarre genre films of the 1990s, perhaps ever. What do you get when you cross David Cronenberg, Troma, and the books of Edward Lee? Whatever you're picturing right now looks a lot like Body Melt.

How have we done this show about DIY filmmaking and independent horror movies without doing an episode on a George A. Romero movie? No idea. We bring in Pennsylvania writer/director Mike Lombardo to get to the bottom of it, as we discuss the lesser seen vampire film MARTN. 

2023 is officially history. Hear Jeff Burk and Lucas Mangum spit on its grave.

Jeff Burk and Lucas Mangum discuss the underrated 2008 horror movie THE CHILDREN. Have you seen this? What did you think?

Quite possibly the most problematic film ever made, Goodbye Uncle Tom is nonetheless a part of outsider filmmaking history and demands discussion. We took care to handle this discussion as responsibly as we could, given the content of the film and its troubled production.

In the late 1980s, filmmaker Dean Alioto took to the woods of Connecticut with a troop of improv actors and his camera to shoot a microbudget SF horror movie. A pioneering work utilizing the found footage technique, UFO Abduction turned out to be a lot more than that. The film has circulated heavily in UFO circles as evidence of extraterrestrial activity, even after the Alioto himself acknowledged that it was a work of fiction.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is over 35 years old and holds up brilliantly. Often named as a movie that's "so bad, it's good," we strongly disagree; this movie is smarter than a lot of people give it credit for. Great practical FX, a wicked sense of humor, and underlying social statements abound in this cult classic.

With one foot in Strangeville and one foot in Tromaville, we take a look at the 2009 feature from cult author/filmmaker/comic creator Kevin Strange. Together, we attempt to piece together the connections between it and Strange's other work and ogle some seriously impressive practical effects. Like what we do here? Want us to do more of it? Consider becoming a patron.

On today's episode, Jeff and Lucas discuss SLEEPAWAY CAMP II: UNHAPPY CAMPERS. Jeff is unhappy that Lucas made him watch it. Lucas is unhappy that Jeff doesn't like slasher movies. Plus, connectivity issues, the evolution of the slasher film, and 90s crime thrillers. 

This week, Jeff and Lucas discuss 2019's DEATH OF A VLOGGER. What's this hidden gem all about? Like a lot of underrated films, it's both of and ahead of its time. Our hosts dig into the nitty gritty details of this found footage creepshow. 

Jeff watched THE BEAR and rewatched all the SAW movies. Lucas watched PSYCHED BY THE 4D WITCH and DR. STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. They're both probably done with the MCU for the time being, but they're here for a Hasbro cinematic universe, only if it involves Ouija boards and Furby. Head to our Patreon for early access to weekly episodes: Patreon

Jeff and Lucas recap the shenanigans of Killer Con Weekend! Big shoutout to the new wave of extreme horror and splatterpunk.               

During the pandemic, Benson and Moorehead made perhaps the best movie about the pandemic without directly talking about it. Cosmic horror, relatable characters, and tragedy abound in this low-budget nightmare.

Sharks have been a staple of cinema since Jaws frightened a generation of swimmers way back in the summer of 1975, but few know just the extent of their involvement like author, poet, and marine biologist Susan Snyder. Jeff Burk and Lucas Mangum brought her on the show to discuss the depth and breadth of this subgenre and why it matters. 

Mad God is a nightmare captured on celluloid. From the mind of special FX artist Phil Tippet, the film follows an unnamed "assassin" as they descend into hell and encounter all sorts of hideous monstrosities. A passion project in every sense, Mad God is the ideal entry point for genre fans curious about true arthouse cinema.

Troma movies are objectively not for children, but that didn't stop a children's cartoon based on The Toxic Avenger from airing in the early 1990s. Essentially, a series of 30-minute toy commercials, the show was part of a wave of R-rated franchises rebranding themselves to sell toys to kids. The result is... not great. We dove into the movie version, which is a handful of episodes mashed together to form one narrative. Interestingly, television royalty Chuck Lorre wrote the pilot!

In 2010, first-time director Srđan Spasojević unleashed his debut feature onto the world. A Serbian Film has been accused of going too far and has even inspired some to call for the filmmaker's arrest, but just how extreme is it? And more importantly, is it any good? Jeff and Lucas give you the lowdown on this notorious slice of extreme DIY cinema.

Acclaimed author Judith Sonnet joins us to discuss movies that feel like Richard Laymon novels.               

Color Me Blood Red is the third film in cult director H.G. Lewis' "Blood Trilogy," which began with Blood Feast and continued with 2,000 Maniacs. How does it measure up to the others in the series? In Lewis' oeuvre, overall?  Jeff and Lucas examine this well-loved cult classic. We all know blood doesn't look like it does in these movies, and guess what? So did Lewis! It's an aesthetic. How much was he influenced by EC Comics? And in a callback to our Bloodsucking Freaks episode, we finally discuss the history of the Grand Guignol.

To horror fans who think "they don't make em like they used to," we point to the DIY, shot-on-digital gore flick Septic. Made over the course of five years and featuring some truly impressive special effects, Septic is 82 minutes of gratuitous violence and nasty sex. Because she pointed this flick out to us, we had splatterpunk and extreme horror author Judith Sonnet jump on board to discuss this little-seen slice of punk rock cinema. Plus, gay undertones in Die Hard, comic recommendations, melt movies, and the SOV horror scene.        

The Scary of Sixty-First: Lucas loves it, but Jeff has some strong opinions about its writer/director Dasha Nekrasova. The 92nd episode of Make Your Own Damn Podcast discusses separating art from the artist, Rosemary's Baby and Repulsion, Eyes Wide Shut, anime girls, conspiracies, and the current push to make the Republican Party appeal to young voters. Weirdly enough, all of that is relevant to this strange slice of modern trash cinema.

After Terror Firmer, it seems Lloyd and company aimed to up the ante in the offensive content department with Citizen Toxie. If so, this begs the question: did they succeed? And is there a point? We wrestle with this in our latest episode.

In Stuart Gordon's catalog of H.P. Lovecraft adaptations, Castle Freak doesn't get the love and attention that others (most notably Re-Animator, From Beyond) do. Does that mean it isn't any good? Join us as they explore this mid-90s, straight-to-VHS splatter film, produced and distributed by independent pioneers Full Moon Features. Plus, we discuss the 2020 remake, Gordon's legacy as a creator, and reading H.P. Lovecraft before it was cool (and later became very uncool). It's probably got our most tangents per a single episode, but there was a lot to unpack. And we had fun doing it.

Previously a Patreon-exclusive, here's Jeff and Lucas talking about the Academy Award-winning EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE.

Jeff and Lucas sit down to talk about one of the most creative movies in recent years. Dave Made a Maze examines creativity itself while crafting something truly unique. Plus, it's got a wrestler in it, so Lucas gets to do a fun sidebar on Lucha Underground. We're switching to a biweekly recording schedule for the foreseeable future, but we still plan to post weekly content of some kind. Check us out on Patreon.

Last House on the Left, I Spit on Your Grave, House on the Edge of the Park, Promising Young Woman... what do all these films have in common? They're all part of the r*pe/revenge subgenre. Jeff Burk and Lucas Mangum discuss these films in detail, as well as list some of their favorites.

In this previously Patreon-exclusive, Lucas and Jeff sit down with Kevin L. Donihe (author of Night of the Assholes) to discuss war movies and A24 fandom.

Troma has long been known for making films designed to provoke their audience, but have they ever taken things too far? Has the studio that gave us Bloodsucking Freaks and Terror Firmer ever outdone itself? We're not sure, but 2000's Unspeakable certainly comes close to crossing those boundaries. A low-budget, transgressive affair, Unspeakable follows a grieving father as he stalks the streets looking for victims in hopes that spilling the blood of the city's marginalized will reunite him with his dead daughter...who he also happens to lust after. Unspeakable is a mean film without a doubt, but is it any good? 

Why are there so many Amitville movies? Who is making them? How deep does Amitville Rabbit Hole (release date TBD) go? It's technically the horror franchise with the most sequels, but very few made in the past twenty years are canonical. Whatever that means. Join Jeff and Lucas on this strange, haunted journey to discover WTF is going on with the Amityville franchise.

In 1992, the BBC aired a Halloween special starring its own anchors and featuring an excursion into a purportedly haunted house. The results led to Ghostwatch being one of the most controversial made-for-TV movies ever made. Jeff and Lucas unpack the movie itself and its notorious reputation.

Shot on a budget of only $25,000, The Deadly Spawn is an iconic 80s monster movie. As much as Jeff loathes 80s slashers, he loves 80s monster movies. Lucas likes both, big surprise. They dive into the making of this movie and highlight their favorite moments. 

This week on Make Your Own Damn Podcast, Lucas tortures Jeff with another slasher movie. This time it's the well-loved (but not by Jeff) 1981 hidden gem Graduation Day. Distributed by Troma Entertainment, this cult classic features Christopher George (Fulci's Zombi 2 and City of the Living Dead), Linea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead, Night of the Demons), and Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White!

Jeff and Lucas come back swinging with their top ten movies of the previous year. A lot of the entries may surprise you, but not as much as a plethora of internet issues surprised us this week. The gods did not want us to do a listicle, it seems, but we did it. We won. If you love the show, consider supporting us on the Patreon. 

Director Mike Dougherty followed up his Halloween masterpiece Trick 'r Treat with Krampus an old school monster movie set on Christmas. Jeff and Lucas rundown the film's plot, the production, and Christmas movies in general in this extra special Christmas spooktacular episode of Make Your Own Damn Podcast.

This week on Make Your Own Damn Podcast, Jeff and Lucas look at Troma's other killer kids movie. This one's got atomic hugs, body-melting, and a score by Friday the 13th's Harry Manfredini!

Jeff and Lucas discuss the much-maligned cannibal subgenre, as well as movies containing cannibalism either through explicit depictions or inference. Cannibal Ferox, Blood Diner, Motel Hell, Silence of the Lambs, The Green Inferno, and Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea all get mentions. Ruggero Deodato is still the king. We like Joe D'Amato too. Umberto Lenzi, not so much.

First, The Toxic Avenger saved Tromaville from a corrupt mayor and gym-rat bullies. Then, he took Tokyo, Godzilla-style. Now, he squares up against the Devil Himself in The Toxic Avenger III: The Last Temptation of Toxie. A self-fulfilling prophecy for Troma, it chronicles Toxie's selling out to Apocalypse Inc and subsequent redemption. It's an intriguing note in the company's history, but is it any good? Well, you'll have to listen and find out. If you want to support the show, check us out on Patreon.        

A meta labor of love sequel to a DIY, no-budget slasher, THANKSKILLING 3 has the dubious honor of being called the worst movie of all time by armchair movie critics, but is it? The short answer is no, and you might be a poser if you think it is. If you're not a poser, and you'd like to support our show, stop by our Patreon for bonus episodes and other goodies: Make Your Own Damn Podcast is creating podcasts | Patreon  

Somehow Troma Entertainment has the distribution rights to the 1940s-style wedding farce Brian DePalma made in graduate school. And Robert DeNiro's in it! We have... very little else.

Today, Jeff and Lucas discuss the much-maligned disaster movie genre. Like most much-maligned genres, we love it, and argue that it's a lot deeper and more interesting than its detractors would have you believe. 

A landmark film in the history of queer genre cinema, Killer Condom is a notorious entry from distributor Troma Entertainment's mid-90s revival. We've got a protagonist with a foot-long dong, prophylactics with sharp teeth designed by H.R. Geiger, mad scientists, and the grimy streets of pre-Guiliani New York. In other words, everything! Killer Condom is the rubber that rubs you out.

Unquestionably the most controversial film ever made, Cannibal Holocaust was unleashed upon audiences in 1980. It's been talked about at-length, but Jeff Burk has uncovered some even more shocking behind-the-scenes information regarding this landmark film. And despite all its baggage, Cannibal Holocaust remains infuriatingly good. Support the podcast by buying our merch: Home | Make Your Own Damn Podcast (bigcartel.com)      

PLAGA ZOMBIE is an independent horror movie short on resources but long on guts. Originally released in 1997, it launched a Latin American splatter franchise that's still going strong today. Jeff and Lucas take a deep dive into its goriest scenes.

Known primarily for schlocky hits like House on Haunted Hill and 13 Ghosts, William Castle was the horror genre's equivalent to a carnival barker. His movies came with unique theater experiences that still resonate to this day.

An 80s slasher movie with a Troma twist, Splatter University tells the age-old tale of an escaped mental patient stalking co-eds. Plus, the abortion conversation, dick stabbings, boob stabbings, and slasher movies where no character is safe.

We're not sure there's ever been a music video project like NIN's Broken Movie. A faux snuff film intercut with videos for every song off the Broken EP but "Last" and the two secret tracks, it was one of the most sought out pieces of media of the modern era. It was leaked to bootleg sites in the mid-2000s (purportedly by Trent Reznor himself), it's never had an official release. We discuss it in depth in this trip down memory lane for two 90s kids who are now approaching middle age. If you like the show, consider buying a shirt: Melting Tee | Make Your Own Damn Podcast (bigcartel.com)

In the late aughts, Virginia filmmakers Drew Bolduc Dan Nelson set out to film the post-apocalyptic splatter movie The Taint. An exploration of misogyny, violence, and sexual violence with some highly impressive Troma-esque gore, The Taint is the sort of B horror flick that would play well at a party. This episode was NOT sponsored by BlueChew.

Possibly the most polarizing figure in horror filmmaking, Eli Roth splattered onto the scene twenty years ago with CABIN FEVER. Jeff is a mega-fan, and in this week's episode, he argues for Roth's validity as a creator and personality. 

This week, Jeff and Lucas look at a slasher movie that also mines the haunted house and possession subgenres for its tropes. Girls School Screamers is basically a trope-fest, shot in Philadelphia in the 1980s by John P. Finnegan and distributed by Troma (who also reshot parts of the film). Lucas is much kinder to this one than Jeff is, but they both agree: the music by John Hodian is excellent.

In 1976, genre giants Samuel Z. Arkoff and Charles B. Pierce unleased the crime thriller THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN, a film that inspired a meta sequel/remake by the makers of American Horror Story, local controversy, and nightmares for co-host Lucas Mangum. We dive deep into this effective slice of regional filmmaking.