NaschyCast

Our journey through Naschy adjacent Jess Franco films continues with ATTACK OF THE ROBOTS (1966)! Part of the brief spurt of Euro-Spy films that sprang up in response to Bond-mania the film features Eddie Constantine playing a slightly comedic version of his many tough guy roles. The film centers on a mysterious group of bronze-skinned automatons who are assassinating important European dignitaries. When their eyeglasses are removed, they turn into vegetative zombies and when killed their odd skin tone changes to pale white. Interpol calls in Constantine’s character Al Pereira to investigate. Throw in a seductive villainess, some mad science and Q-style gadgets and you have a breezy, fun adventure – at least for some. Not all Franco fans seem to like this one. Bob Sargent joins Troy and I as we romp our way around Alicante with Pereira and try to unravel this bizarre mystery. We discuss the year the world turned to color and how this final black & white Franco film fits into his 60’s output. Bob recommends other Eddie Constantine films and I vow to track down more of his earlier crime movies. Where is the much hoped for Lemmy Caution boxed set, already? We relate our various reactions to the film’s amusing tone and note how easily it could fit into the Pink Panther universe. This is definitely not your average Jess Franco crime thriller and that might be why we enjoyed it.   If you have any comments about this or any other of Uncle Jess’ movies [email protected] is the place to send them. We may not let Bob chose the next Beyond Naschy topic but you never know! Thanks for listening. 

The Naschycast returns to the world of Jess Franco for an erotic ramble through late 1960’s Lisbon and Berlin. Bob Sargent joins Troy and I to examine SUCCUBUS (1968) because Bob wanted to rewatch the film. Two of us had not watched it in years and the third had never even seen it before! We turned this into a trip to the unwatched DVD pile again to take a look at the starting point for a certain type of Franco cinema. Your tolerance for the director’s sense of humor and the absurd will determine your level of enjoyment. We use Stephen Thrower’s excellent book on the work of Franco named ‘Murderous Passions’ to guide us and to provide a brief synopsis. We waffle through a discussion touching on the cast connections to Paul Naschy but mostly talk about our reactions to the often surrealistic events involving S & M stage performer Lorna (). She seems to navigating a strange period in her life with reoccurring visions of a different life impinging on her supposed reality. We see her interact with various romantic partners who end up dead at her hands. Or is that really what is happening? Along the way we get striking images, amusing commentary on arthouse pretentions and philosophical silliness draped in an encroaching ennui that seems to define Lorna’s confused life. Can cinema be therapy? Along the way we are reminded to always fear mannequins but we also take heart from the Algernon Charles Swinburne poem Faustine that seems to have been a major influence on the film.  Of course, we all wish a for a Blu-Ray release complete with multiple versions of this important effort. It clearly signposted many future Jess Franco films that fans laud to this day. If you have and comments [email protected] is the place to send them. Thank you for listening and we’ll be back soon.

Troy noticed that the mailbag had collected several new pieces of correspondence so we decided to find out what was on your minds. Strangely, Paul Naschy seemed to be a major subject of these missives! Will wonders never cease?  The email folder held five emails to read out and we respond to them to the best of our ability. My crushing inability to correctly pronounce several names is noted and corrected by a longtime listener and I promptly find other names to destroy. I should not be allowed near a podcast! We discuss keeping the Naschy flame burning and note recent online articles that a helpful fan of the show has provided. (See links below.) We also talk a bit about some upcoming Blu-Ray commentary tracks that are being released soon while giving a piece of bad news concerning a hoped for extra on another. Sometimes we have to hold on to older releases to sooth our collector minds. Our sick, sick collector minds.  If you want to be part of our next email show [email protected] is the place to send your thoughts. Thank you for listening!

We take a deep dive into Jess Franco’s THE SADISTIC BARON VON KLAUS (1963) and hope we can avoid the quicksand. Bob Sargent returns and joins Troy and I to discuss this krimi-like murder mystery. It even has a little comedy relief. Luckily, very little of that!  This film seems to be less well thought of among fans of Uncle Jess’ black & white output and I’ve never understood why. It has a great cast with Howard Vernon leading the way as the most obvious suspect when young women in an Austrian town start turning up dead. Is there anything to the legend of a Von Klaus ancestor who reincarnates every few decades to terrorize the locals? Or is there a much more human reason that lovely ladies are wise to not venture out after dark? And just how sadistic will the film be allowed to go to depict the amoral depths of the killer’s lustful urges? Pretty far, it turns out!  If you have any comments or suggestions [email protected] is the place to write the show. Thank you for listening and we’ll be back soon. 

Just in under the wire – a Naschycast episode! We wanted to get at least one more show out to everyone before 2025 strikes so here is out latest run through several emails. The concept of Naschycast goat plushies is submitted and both Troy and I love the idea! See the image attached to this episode for an example from Don Cunningham. Don also brings up the idea that perhaps all of the Daninsky werewolf’s victims are deserving of their fates but we think that requires some deep surmising. We then discuss the strange origin story of the show’s theme music complete with our clueless wondering about a CD release. Then Stephen Follows writes in to point the way toward his incredible and fascinating Horror Movie Report! This amazing study of (all?) horror films and the various revealing and noteworthy pieces of information that can be gleaned from even a surface examination of them is endlessly eye-opening. I recommend the curious to check out the full report here and Stephen’s website here. And Zach Lewis writes in to point all good Naschy fans to his excellent article about our beloved filmmaker on MUBI called Werewolf of Madrid. It’s well worth a read and could serve as a good introduction for newcomers curious about our hairy subject. We end the show with an unexpected pleasure – Troy presents his book report on the legendary novelization of WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMAN! This begins a discussion of film novelizations in general and possibly points the way toward a future aspect of shows over on The Bloody Pit. As soon as Troy finishes the doorstopper version of Hell of the Living Dead! Thank you for listening and please send your comments to [email protected] where we will eventually respond. This episode is proof, right?

Independent filmmaker Don Cunningham joins Troy and I to talk about Paul Naschy and how he has influenced Don’s work. We discuss favorite Naschy movies with our guest naming some surprising choices. I love getting different perspectives on the icon’s career and this conversation has a few curves I was not expecting. Of course, we could barely wait to ask about Don’s wonderful short film THE CASTLE OF BARON FINCH (2024). For this movie Mr. Cunningham writes, directs, produces and stars making him very much a man following in Paul Naschy’s footsteps. We dig into the production process, the genesis of the film’s story and the influences other than Naschy. The film is a (mostly) black & white silent movie featuring a vampire or two and a poor lovestruck soul with a moonlight and hair problem, so naming Jacinto Molina’s work as a major touchstone is perhaps a bit obvious. But this atmospheric little cinematic love letter stands on its own just fine. Don gives some details on the film’s release and places to see it. Oh! And I’ve scattered a bit of the fantastic score by Andreu Jacob into the latter half of the show as well. If you have any comments or questions [email protected] is the place to send them. If you want to reach out to Don’s you can message him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CastleBaronFinch or through email at [email protected] – thanks for listening!

The Naschycast opens the podcast mailbag, dusts off the cobwebs and answers a few questions. Like, why have we waited so long to respond to emails! We could plead a combination of busyness and laziness but that is not an excuse worthy of our fine listeners so we simply apologize and get on with the show.  We work our way through nearly a year of messages with only a few brief trips down barely connected side roads. We discuss the golden age of bootleggers and the discoveries made during that glorious time. Troy announces an upcoming release from his Celtic band The Secret Commonwealth and Rod goes through a listing of the commentary tracks the two of us have contributed to various Blu-Ray releases. And all of this culminates in a feline squabble in the background that signals that things have gone on long enough. We wrap up the show with a tune from another of Troy’s bands, The Exotic Ones. Enjoy!   Remember, [email protected] is the place to send us your thoughts and I swear we will eventually read them out – unless you don’t want us to! Thanks for listening. 

Troy and I are joined by fellow podcaster Robert Kelly, host of Record All Monsters and author of Record All Monsters: the Book of the Essays from the Podcast. Don’t worry – he eventually explains the book’s title and his fascination with kaiju films.   Robert came to his love of Naschy in a very different manner than either of your Naschycast hosts, getting an unexpected full-strength version of WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMAN (1971) as a gift at far too young an age. The ways in which this may have warped his movie loving mind come under discussion as well as his more adult thoughts about the werewolf as a monster. We use the recent Vinegar Syndrome Blu-Ray as a reference to compare some of the differences in the Spanish and English dubs with crazy Pierre getting attention once again. The conversation ranges from odd spots in the narrative to random details that stick in our minds so don’t expect a coherent march through a synopsis. We were much more interested in picking each other’s brains about Naschy’s werewolf films and other favorites from his career. If you have half as much fun as we did you’ll completely enjoy yourself!   If you have any comments or questions [email protected] is the place to write. We do plan to record an email episode in the near future so now is the time. Thank you very much for listening and we’ll be back soon

The Naschycast returns for a brief overview of the Paul Naschy Blu-Rays that are currently available in Region A. Troy and I decided to record this show to give our North American listeners an indication of the wealth of high-definition offerings still on retail shelves – as long as you search the right retailers! Consider this also a warning that these wonderful discs don’t stay available forever and, in many cases, when they’re gone they are gone for good. We tried and failed to do a chronological rundown of the Blu-Rays that have come out over the last eight years or so with nods toward some blank spots in Naschy’s career we’d like to see filled with HD glory. The individual companies that have been releasing these Spanish horror classics have been doing us all a good service and let’s hope the releases continue past next year’s long awaited DR. JEKYLL AND THE WOLF MAN! If you have any comments [email protected] is the place to send them. We hope that you have had a good 2023 and that 2024 will be even better! Thank you for listening.

This episode we are joined by Jon Kitley to talk about his love of and history with Paul Naschy! Readers of Horror Hound magazine are aware of his regular column ‘They Came from the Krypt’ but he has also published the book ‘Discover The Horror’ which is part genre exploration and part autobiography. Both Troy and I recommend it.   As you might expect from such a conversation, the three of us range all over the place touching on more topics than we could comfortably list. Suffice to say that we discuss horror conventions (where we all met), non-fiction horror genre books (which we all collect) and our shared fascination with movies and monstrous stories. Of course, we do finally get around to talking about Naschy with Jon falling squarely on my side of the critical Mummy divide! It is about time I had someone to stand with me on that hill!  HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB was our guest’s introduction to the great man’s work and it becomes a big part of our chat. As a bonus, the legendary Spanish character actor Victor Israel gets more than a few minutes of glowing examination too. We had a great time talking Naschy and we hope you’ll enjoy listening.  If you have any comments or question [email protected] is the place to send your emails. Thank you for checking out the show and we’ll be back soon. 

Marc McCloud drops by the show to discuss Naschy’s tale of the Inquisition in France. Marc is the owner of Orbit DVD and a longtime friend of Troy and I, but this is the first time we’ve ever talked about our mutual love of the films of Paul Naschy. Our guest chose Naschy’s directorial debut as the topic and we were happy to oblige.   Religious hypocrisy is a big part of our conversation and this gets us into the thorny area of what to call the subset of exploitation films of which this is a part. We note the influence of the Catholic Church on the nature of the fears that undergird the horrors of the film and wonder about the connections to the Nunsploitation genre. The villains of the story come under scrutiny with an eye toward how they use their relative places of power to extract their desires from those around them. And we speak a little about the ways that women had to work to accomplish things in the society ruled by male religious leaders. Join us for what I will refuse to call a ‘romp’ through INQUSISTION.   We end the show with a short email from Kurt and if you’d like to send us your thoughts [email protected] is the address. Thank you for listening!

We return to the Beyond Naschy series with guest Bob Sargent making the choice of film this time out. ORLOFF AND THE INVISIBLE MAN (1970) is not a movie that is often called out as a favorite of even the most hardened Euro-Cult horror fanatics. In the past it has been mistaken as a Jess Franco effort with the director’s name, Pierre Chevalier, suspected of being another of the prolific filmmaker’s many pseudonyms. This appears to not be factual but anyone stumbling across this movie unaware couldn’t be blamed for making that assumption. It shares many of the standard tropes and oddities of one of Franco’s color gothics from the period which makes it a good companion piece of Franco’s EROTIC RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN (1973) and DRACULA, PRISONER OF FRANKENSTEIN (1972). It even sports Franco’s original Orloff actor Howard Vernon as ‘Professor’ Orloff who has somehow created an invisible man for the usual mad scientist reasons. The film’s story is a mish-mash of prematurely buried daughters, accidental murders and greedy servants who are not above a bit of graverobbing. Add to that one of the strangest rape sequences in cinema history and some obviously missing story pieces and you have an entertaining if often confusing 76 minutes. We talk about the cast and crew, including their various Naschy connections. We discuss the missing scenes that can be glimpsed in the French trailer for the film and in the extras included on the old Image DVD. We find some moments of real beauty in the cinematography and some unintentionally funny scenes that just don’t work. The English dialog causes quite a few laughs as we quote some standout circular conversations. Part of our discussion centers on the term ‘guilty pleasure’ and how each of the three of us feel about applying that overused phrase to our love of Euro-Cult cinema. As you might expect, there are more than a few verbal trips down barely connected cinema paths with the final forty-five minute mailbag section becoming a memory lane remembrance of our late friend Craig Ledbetter. If you’d like to add you voice to the show [email protected] is the place to send your thoughts and questions. Troy and I are very happy that Bob has joined us again and with a little luck we will have around for the rest of this year’s shows! Thanks for listening

Troy and I bring you a brief email episode to round out October. There are questions to address and opinions to discuss so check it out. We do take some occasional editorial privilege but are happy to pass along information about a subtitled DVD of THE TRANSEXUAL (1977) out there on the world wide web. Some talk of Monster Bash is on tap along with some news about upcoming episodes of Wild, Wild Podcast. And what is this we are told about a film in which Victor Israel plays the lead? This must be found! Also, a listener passes along information about a Laurel and Hardy podcast that has escaped our attention until now.  But luckily, we remain the rumbling tummy ache of podcasting!   If you want to add your voice to the show [email protected] is the place to send all missives. We look forward to your notes and thank you listening to the podcast. Oh – and Happy Halloween!

Troy and I once again welcome Bob Sargent to the Naschycast! This time we discuss one of our favorite Paul Naschy’s horror tales, THE HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE (1973). This film’s inspired madness is certainly worth talking about and we find some fresh areas to explore. The relative ease that Naschy’s poor hunchback Gotho has kidnapping women for the mad doctor’s experiments is a topic of some debate. Also, the fact that several characters have some knowledge of what is going on but they never compare notes well enough to raise the necessary alarm is something puzzled over. We notice that it doesn’t help that the local cops can’t seem to find a clue when it’s sitting right in front of them lying straight to their faces! Seriously – how suspicious does Orla have to be before you follow that nutcase around just to check up on things? Bob brings up some interesting questions that we’ve never examined before including the presence of some very odd decorations in a certain apartment. I think I’ve solved one of them but the other is still a mystery. Maybe you can help us out. If you have any comments or suggestions or if you have a guess about what that strange hanging object in Rosanna Yanni’s place might be [email protected] is the place to send them. Thank you for listening!

Bob Sargent returns to the show to discuss a very early Paul Naschy screen appearance. Rescued from Spanish language-only obscurity by the online fan-subbing community AGONIZANDO EN EL CRIMEN (1968) is a strange crime story centered on a serial killer obsessed with medical professionals - and their hands! This one is not easy to see but is it worth seeking out? Boy, do we have a lot to say.   Troy, Bob and I dig into the production of the film and how Naschy’s original job on this project was behind the camera. We spot a few interesting locations including a very familiar set of steps that are a big part of Naschy’s cinematic legacy. The film’s writer/star comes under scrutiny with Naschy’s pointed comments about fellow leaving no doubt about why these two men never worked together again. On the other hand, this movie’s director, Enrique López Eguiluz, played a major role in making Jacinto Molina into the horror movie star we know and love to this day.   We take our time and really pull this one apart with occasional sideroads into the Hammer Dracula films and the on-set shenanigans of Klaus Kinski. It can’t be helped! We have a lot to say about the Juan Logar’s wide-eyed, maniacal but still somehow detached performance. We chuckle over the casual 1960’s style of misogyny and the silly idea that a woman might become a surgeon. Madness! And it all circles round to an embarrassing discussion of how best to hide a murder boner. We are a strange trio.   We end the episode with a few new pieces of mail sent to [email protected] and if you have anything you’d like to tell us, that is the place. Thank you for listening to the show and we’ll be back soon. 

This short show is comprised of two segments of Troy and I reading several emails and answering questions sent to the podcast. Many topics are hashed over.   Originally this was to be an even briefer episode but I waited long enough that more emails came in allowing us to add extra responses. Never say that procrastination doesn’t sometimes have an upside!   If you have any comments, questions or ideas about the show [email protected] is the place to let us know. I think we’ll continue to handle new emails in this way as we go forward. Unless the listeners don’t like the shorter shows. We’ll see. Thanks for listening! 

The NaschyCast returns with a long episode to reward your patience.   Bob Sargent was the man behind the excellent 1990’s cult movie fanzine Videooze. His issue devoted to Paul Naschy was a major contributor to my early knowledge of the man’s filmography and allowed for fans to have a roadmap to his career. Mr. Sargent is a huge fan of Naschy and reached out recently to gab about our shared fascination with the great Spanish Horror icon. Of course, Troy and I couldn’t wait to get him in front of a Zoom mic and pick his brain about Euro-Horror in general and Naschy in specific. He was even kind enough to put together a list of his personal Top Ten favorite films by Senor Molina! This a is a lively conversation and it ranges over the decades and across a dozen different topics. You might even learn a little about how Videooze came about and who Mr. Sargent credits with pushing him into self-publishing.   If you have any comments or questions [email protected] is still the address to send things to. We’ll be back soon with a short episode focused on answering a few emails.

Troy and I (finally) return with a new episode! This time we dive back into the Franco pool of cool and look longingly at the luminous Soledad Miranda. SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY (1971) was the final collaboration between the young actress and Jess Franco before her untimely passing. While it is generally not considered their best film together it contains many scenes that display the brilliance that they could achieve. Soledad’s skills are on full display in her role as a vengeful wife extracting blood from the people who hounded her husband into suicide. As the story plays out, she runs the gamut of human emotions from deep concern and grief-stricken to seductively aloof and finally filled with violent rage. Her performance is mesmerizing and is carried out so well that she could have embodied her character without dialog and still communicated every nuance necessary to engage the viewer. She was a powerhouse screen presence and her loss is only more deeply felt when watching her in this film. We dig into why we enjoy this film as much as we do with much attention paid to the strength of the central performance. We point to reoccurring plot elements within Franco’s work and his love of a certain visual metaphor involving boats at sea. We discuss the movie’s odd choice to rush past the possible mad scientist idea at the beginning to get to the righteous vengeance at the heart of things. We try to define what makes Soledad such a memorable screen actress even as this film refuses to even give her character a first name. Each of the murders is dissected as we try to understand what Franco might have had in mind as his story gains force, climaxing in a fascinating sequence in which the director is himself the victim. It certainly raises some questions about Jess’ sexual desires and points toward what might have been included in future unrealized projects. We hope you enjoy the episode and if you have any comments [email protected] is the show’s address. Thank you for listening and we’ll be back soon. I promise!

Post-apocalyptic stories don’t turn up in the Golden Age of Spanish Horror as frequently as I would like and until a listener asked us about REFUGE OF FEAR (1974) neither of us were aware of it being part of that sub-genre. Of course, once we learned about the cast, we immediately tracked down a copy and here we are!   Also known as CREATION OF THE DAMNED the film tells the story of a small group of survivors of a possible nuclear war. These five people live in a cramped underground complex while trying to wait out the effects of radiation on the world above. The teenage son of one couple is obsessed with trying to stay in contact with the outside by shortwave radio. He lives in the hope that his girlfriend is somehow still alive but is becoming less sure of that possibility while the pair of married couples are having problems of their own. The husbands are ex-military so are using their training to maintain order but as the film begins tensions are in evidence. One wife drinks and knits while the other tries to sleep away as many hours as she can. Soon, the cracks that begin to appear in the walls of their concrete bunker aren’t the most dangerous breaks in their lives as mentally fragile people start to fracture.   REFUGE OF FEAR (1974) has a generally bad reputation which both Troy and I feel is a shame. We were drawn to see this film because it stars the wonderful Patty Shepard who, along with Craig Hill, appeared in a couple of Paul Naschy’s films. She and Hill have he most screentime and are good in their roles with the script giving them some juicy dramatic meat to chew on. The interesting script comes under discussion even as we try to not spoil the turns things take in the final act. We both feel that the director lets the film down a bit and we dig into the possible reasons for that. And we once again find a film that is richly deserving of a quality Blu-Ray release. I think this could be considered a much better film if a good print was made available.  If you have any comments on the film or anything else [email protected] is the address. Or we can be found lurking over at the show’s FaceBook page as well. Thanks for listening! 

The Naschycast returns to the films of Amando De Ossorio for a romp through the jungle! THE NIGHT OF THE SORCERERS (1974) a.k.a. The Night of the Witches follows a small group of researchers seeking to document the endangered species of a fictional country in Africa. They make camp near a (miniature) village and then learn from a native about the supernatural history of the area. Of course, we have been made aware of the odd rituals of ‘Bumbasa’ in a prologue showing the kidnapping, rape and beheading of a British lady in 1910 on an altar that seemingly transforms her into a leopard demon! Or, at least, a fanged disembodied head that can turn and snarl at the camera! It’s a wild ride.  Troy and I hack our way through the jungle foliage to get a good look at this strange little film. As he had done with his Blind Dead movies Ossorio is clearly trying to create a new monster of his own design. But the leopard demons offer some technical hurdles that the writer/director’s usual low budget is often unable to jump. We discuss the various forms in which we see the creatures onscreen trying to decide which of them is most effective. Since these three forms are simply leopard stock footage, fake leopard heads partially hidden by leaves and female members of the cast running in slow motion through the jungle night it can be difficult to make a conclusive choice. And Ossorio throws in enough sex and blood to keep an exploitation audience distracted from the inherent silliness of the pieces of his narrative that don’t always work. But where does this film fall in the legacy of this legendary Spanish horror filmmaker? We share our opinions and hope to hear yours.  The podcast can be reached at [email protected] where you can send your thoughts on this episode’s film or Amando De Ossorio’s career as a whole. We’d love to hear from you! Thank you for listening and we’ll be back soon with more from the Golden Age of Spanish Horror. 

Re-upload of this episode! Originally released October, 2020.    Filmmaker Jaume Balagueró made the big time when he co-directed 2007’s REC but he is a much more accomplished than a found footage zombie film would imply. His feature film debut THE NAMELESS (1999) managed to both brilliantly adapt a Ramsey Campbell horror novel and find a smart way to darken the wrenching finale of the tale. Over the last twenty years he has become one of Spain’s hidden masters of taut thrillers and smart horror tales. The only complaint I have with his career is that I wish he had more completed films released but I continue to hope for more excellent cinema from him in the future.  SLEEP TIGHT (2011) is both a thriller and a character study of a deeply unhappy man named Cesar. As the concierge of a Barcelona apartment building, he presents a pleasant face to the upper middle-class residents but behind this mask he seethes with rage at their contented lives. Since he is incapable of being happy, he staves off his suicidal ideation by finding ways to make the people he serves in the building miserable. In both small ways and large he wages a one-man war to make them uncomfortable, embarrassed or inconvenienced in any way he can imagine. But he reserves his most vicious attention for Clara, a beautiful single woman of such sunny disposition as to seem angelic. She is the focal point of Cesar’s most persistent activities aimed at making her life unbearable. His repeated failures to change her optimistic outlook seem to only enrage him further until he finally resolves to escalate things to violence. But will circumstances allow his plans to succeed?   Troy and I dig into this film and its themes but we do our best not to spoil the final act’s shocks and surprises. Indeed, we begin the show with a discussion of several recent viewings to get the Halloween season off to the right start. We touch on THE GHOST AND MISTER CHICKEN, THE OPEN HOUSE, THE CHANGLING, the remake of THE BLOB and our plans for 2020’s indoor October 31st. It’s been a strange year, folks. We end the show with a listener email that prompts a series of interesting horror icon mash-ups.  We hope you enjoy the episode and if you have any comments [email protected] is the show’s address. Thank you for listening and we’ll be back soon.

The busiest years of Paul Naschy’s career were the early 1970’s. Moving from one project to the next at incredible speed he often finished one film while still writing the final draft of another and negotiating a deal for a third. During this period, he produced some of his best work including a large percentage of the movies that still define his image as a Spanish horror icon. But a few of his films from the 1970’s were thrillers that, for various reasons, were rarely distributed outside of Spain or even dubbed into English. This has made it very difficult to see these movies and for non-Spanish speakers to comprehend them in the rare instances of locating a copy to watch. Thank the strs for the fun-subbing community out there on the internet!  Troy and I finally get a chance to see TODOS LOS GRITOS DEL SILENCIO (1975) and we are so happy that not even the crappy VHS sourced print can dull our enthusiasm. Yes, there are a few scenes that are a little too dark to be sure of what we’re supposed to be seeing but the fact that solid subtitles are onscreen means that we can follow the story anyway. And that turns out to be very important with this film because it is a twisty murder mystery that falls easily within the giallo genre even if it doesn’t have a few of the usual elements you might expect. ALL THE SCREAMS OF SILENCE has very little blood since the killer’s preferred method of dealing death is a silenced gun (hence the title) and the amount of flesh on display is low which might factor into this thriller being so underseen for the past forty plus years. No gore or nudity? What were they thinking? But the film does have a great performance from Naschy as a journalist chasing the bullet-slinging murderer while at the same time trying to locate his missing girlfriend. Are the two mysteries connected? With a script by Jacinto Molina you can bet some surprises are coming in the third act.   We begin the episode with some news about the upcoming Blu-Ray release of TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD and hint at a few more commentary tracks from the Naschycast down the road. Also, we mention a new podcast project coming soon from our buddy Adrian Smith that will be of interest to fans of European Cult cinema. And we end the show with several letters from listeners that put some fresh ideas in our head for possible YouTube projects too. If you have any comments on the podcast [email protected] is the address and we’d love to hear from you. Thanks for listening to the show! 

Years ago I decided that, because I did not want to watch SHADOWS OF BLOOD (1988), we would not cover it on the Naschycast. I could simply see no upside to wallowing in what we knew was commonly considered the star’s worst film. I suspected that it would be a painful and depressing experience so I opted to avoid it and instead seek out less reviled fodder for the show. But then a friend pointed Troy and I toward a humorous Australian podcast called Finding Desperado. In that show the hosts conduct a hunt for a lost film that eventually finds them bemusedly watching SOB as part of their research. After listening to the eight hilarious episodes of this podcast I realized that these two funny men had pointed the way toward covering this movie – puzzled confusion. So, we decided to finally dive into what I’ll forever refer to as Naschy’s Nadir.  We dig into the genesis of this film starting with some details about the low career point that Naschy had come to by the mid-1980’s. We doubt that he would have participated in this shot on video ‘production’ if he had had anything better as an alternative but chance often leads the dance in movie making. We discuss Lord Sidney Ling who is the writer/director responsible for this film including his bizarre history as a fabulist of the highest order. Finding Desperado relates much more detail about this strange man and his self-aggrandizing nature but we concentrate on what might have influenced the poorly thought out ‘story’ he concocted for SHADOWS OF BLOOD. We trudge through the film trying to understand what might have been intended, occasionally getting lost in the dull sameness of the events onscreen. The sloppy narrative follows two escaped lunatics as they walk (and walk) around Amsterdam murdering random people in a competition to see who can kill the most victims. It is a mostly embarrassing exercise in senseless tedium that, even with its short running time, will test the most devoted Naschy fan. I’m just glad we finally have this one behind us!   We have a couple of emails at the end of the show including an amazing tale from listener Kurt that reads like a possible future noir film. His brief life story is well worth knowing. If you want to add your story to the podcast [email protected] is the address where we can be reached. Let us know what’s on your mind! And thanks for listening to the show. 

We begin our eleventh year of the show by having a Satanic discussion!   Author and podcaster Samm Deighan returns to dig into two specific Paul Naschy films. In both EXORCISM (1975) and INQUISITION (1977) Naschy plays a man of God working to help his flock overcome the influence of The Evil One. In one he is a paragon of virtue and in the other he is definitely not. Both films feature women placed in horrible positions by outside forces that seem to be Satanic in origin. But in each case the question of the how or even if these terrible things are happening is central to story. Are these people possessed by the Devil or is there a more human quality to the awful events depicted?  Samm, Troy and I engage in a freewheeling discussion of these movies jumping from topic to topic as one point leads to another. The conversation assumes that you are familiar with both films and spoilers are certainly in the air. Religion is the main part of our talk but we also look at the obvious class commentary layered into the scripts. We talk about the movies that influenced these Naschy classics and how some later movies may have taken some ideas from them for sleazier effect. We drag in everything from HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER (1973), MALIBIMBA (1979) and ANGEL HEART (1987) as we look at different ways of portraying the Dark One onscreen. Of course, as with any such chat, we end up ranging off the main topic which is how we somehow end up in nipple territory again! I’m not sure how this happens but I’m going to blame Samm. Yeah! It’s her fault. I also make time for a short anecdote about subjecting my unsuspecting beloved to a Jess Franco directed Fu Manchu film. Give her your sympathy.  We end the show with an email that was sent to [email protected] in which we are asked to make a terrible purchasing choice. It takes us a while to decide! You can ask similar question or tell us your favorite onscreen Satan at that same address. Thank you for listening and we’ll be back soon. 

As 2020 rolls on we continue to bring new voices onto the show! This time Troy and I sit down with the amazing Samm Deighan to talk about the joys of Spanish horror. Miss Deighan is an associate editor of Diabolique Magazine and co-host of the Daughters of Darkness Podcast. She is also the editor of Lost Girls: The Phantasmagorical Cinema of Jean Rollin and her book on Fritz Lang’s M (1931) is a must read for those interested in movie serial killers. We are very lucky to have her on the show!  While the main subject of this episode is the brilliant and underseen A BELL FROM HELL (1973) there is no way to be a guest on the Naschycast without talking a (long) while about the hirsute icon of the genre – Paul Naschy! That means that at some point chest hair is brought up and hairpieces are discussed. It cannot be avoided.  Samm comes with a list of her favorite Naschy films and manages to gives us a fresh perspective on a couple of them. The repressed Spanish society is a major topic with the country’s rigid genre roles playing into the ways that these stories are told. A BELL FORM HELL is especially interesting when examining the skewed power dynamics of the story with the wheelchair bound aunt exerting her control over the only male in the family. Also, we dig into the often bizarre 1970’s film attitude toward rape as a plot point or harmless joke with the women sometimes seeming to long for the act or even encourage it. Repressive cultures shape psyches into twisted forms! The genre’s common scenes of animal cruelty get into the mix with Samm’s take on modern sensibilities bringing some unexpected laughs to Troy and I. But nothing can prepare you for the out-of-left-field discussion of Yeti nipples! You’ll just have to listen to understand. Plus, Troy and Samm briefly talk about their mutual love for the severely neglected folk horror film EYES OF FIRE (1983) and their wonder that it has yet to appear on any form of digital media. What is up with that?   If you have any comments or questions the show can be reached at [email protected] or over on the podcast’s FaceBook page. Thank you for listening! 

THE BLANCHEVILLE MONSTER (1963) is a gothic horror film set in 1884 which has a small cast of characters wandering around a huge castle-like home searching for different things. At times the castle search is for the origin of a strange nighttime noise (Is that a man moaning in pain?) or for a missing companion (Did they go down to the dungeons for some reason?). Sound familiar? But, in the end, everyone is searching for both romance and the answer to a family mystery. Well, usually that’s what happens in these types of movies. Actually, this film throws us several curveballs by, at first, having a haunting mystery at its center (“Oh, you silly dear. You didn’t really see what you clearly saw.”) and then tossing it out for a darker plot involving disfigurement, madness and murderous intent. It all revolves around family curses so at least that aspect of gothic tales is kept all the way through! Troy and I step carefully through this film’s dark corridors holding our candelabras aloft searching for the meaning of it all. We discuss the Gothic Romance as a genre and I outline my newer understanding of it. We talk about the usual tropes of these tales and the ways in which this one adheres and deviates from them. I was actually shocked that there was no incest! The period setting and real castle locations work well to create a fair amount of atmosphere and the fact that we can almost always see the actor’s breath adds to the chilly mood. It is really a shame that this movie’s status as a Public Domain work continues to keep a good looking print available. The black and white photography cries out for sharp resolution without the dark, muddy smearing that obscures from view the efforts of the legendary cinematographer Alejandro Ulloa. I sincerely hope that we one day get a remastered version of this interesting film. I did I mention that Helga Line is in this? We must get a better print!  We end the show with a new instrumental song called Mystery Machine from Troy’s band The Exotic Ones. This tune is on their forthcoming EP and it drops in the next few days. Check it out! The podcasters can be reached at [email protected] with any comments or suggestions. As is evidenced by this episode we do take advice from listeners, so add your voice to the proceedings. We’re always interested in what Naschy related films we could cover next! Thank you for listening.

Westerns are not the most frequent category of cinema covered on this podcast. In fact, this episode marks only the third one in the ten years we’ve been doing this! That might be considered strange when you know just how many fine examples of the genre were made in Spain employing Spanish actors and technicians. Because of the low costs of production many westerns were shot in the Spanish countryside and on the standing sets built for countless Italian movies including some American productions. The cleverest of filmmakers found ways to make those places look fresh and interesting. Such is true of THE MAN CALLED NOON (1973). We discovered this film while digging into the credit listings of one of Paul Naschy’s most impressive female co-stars. The sight of Patty Shepard aiming a six-gun while dressed in an all black cowboy ensemble encouraged our curiosity and the online plot synopsis grabbed our attention. Based on a Louis L’amour novel? Directed by the guy who made THE ITALIAN JOB (1969)? The lead is played by Rambo’s boss? And the luminous Rosanna Schiaffino is in it as well? How could we resist? The mystery at the heart of this twisty tale is unraveled slowly over the film’s running time so we do our best to keep spoilers out of our discussion. There are so many reveals and discoveries along the way that we thought it would be best to let new viewers find them as the story plays out. This is a movie with a lot of interesting characters and learning about them is more than half the fun. We don’t have any new emails or messages to respond to in this episode so if you have any comments for the show we can be reached at [email protected] or over on the FaceBook page. We’d be thrilled to hear from you!

The year of new guests continues as the 10th anniversary year celebration rolls on! This time we have only two people visiting but we talk to them for quite a long time. Kat Ellinger has made a name for herself in film fanatic circles over the last several years as the editor-in-chief of Diabolique Magazine as well as writing for both that site and the British Film Institute among others. She is a prolific commentary track creator contributing to dozens of Blu-Rays ranging from classic Hollywood to arthouse cinema to Euro-Trash of the filthiest type! She’s even a podcaster, teaming with up with fellow female film fans to discuss cult movies in Daughters of Darkness and Helles Belles. And did I mention her book about the great Sergio Martino? Kat was nice enough to add her voice to this show and chose DOCTOR JEKYLL AND THE WEREWOLF (1972) to dig into. I had a blast talking with her and can’t wait to do it again! Robert Monell has been a guest on The Bloody Pit but never before on this show. His is the writer behind the amazing blog “I’m In a Jess Franco State of Mind” where he has reviewed and dissected the work of that Spanish filmmaker since 2006. He has since branched out into creating extras for various Franco Blu-Ray releases and moved into commentating on movies as well. He also runs the Cinemadrome film forum which hosts some of the most interesting discussions of cult cinema you’ll find on the web. For his visit to this show Mr. Monell chose one of the most problematic of Naschy’s werewolf films, FURY OF THE WOLFMAN (1970). He has some interesting things to say about it starting with digging into the probable origins of its basic plot. It is quite an interesting find! Troy and I end the show with an extended dive into the mailbag to finally catch up on our backlog. We answer a lot of questions and take notes on possible future episode subjects. We can be reached at [email protected] or over on the FaceBook page for the show. Let us know what you think and we’ll be back soon with more Spanish Horror!

With this episode we cross the one decade mark! Neither Troy or I thought we’d still be making this podcast ten years after we began, but here we are! We realized that, although our enthusiasm for Paul Naschy’s work has only grown, it was time to actively seek out more new voices to include on the show. So, our goal for 2020 is to speak to a host of people who have never been on the podcast to get their perspectives on his movies. A diversity of opinion is always food for thought and we think this will be the perfect way to start new discussions about the long legacy of Jacinto Molina. These are great days for Senor Naschy as more and more of his films are available on Blu-Ray bringing a whole new generation of fans to his mad world of monsters and horror. That means people are discovering El Hombre Lobo and his other creations every day so its time to kick open the doors and see what his influence is a full decade after his passing. This giant-sized episode includes four new voices to the podcast. I asked each participant to talk about one of the Waldemar Daninsky films and they (luckily) jumped at the chance. Adrian Smith has podcasted with me over on The Bloody Pit discussing INSEMINOID and CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST but he steps up to discuss his first Naschy werewolf film - WEREWOLF SHADOW. Derek Koch is a podcasting O.G. with his incredibly popular Monster Kid Radio serving as a focal point for these kinds of classic (and not so classic) movies. He joins us to talk about the Naschy monster mash ASSIGNMENT TERROR. Author Steven Sullivan has been on the Bloody Pit in the past talking about the colorful Doctor Who films made in the 1960’s, but his love of all things Naschy bubbles over in our conversation about CURSE OF THE DEVIL. Matthew Kowalski is a longtime fan of the podcast and has often written in to give us his thoughts on the various Spanish horror topics we dig into on the show. He sat down to talk about his favorite of the Daninsky films – WEREWOLF SHADOW - giving us a different look at that iconic movie. Afterward, Troy and I tackle an email and makes plans to get to our backlogged correspondence over the next couple of shows. We promise! I’ve already got a couple more guests for future episodes lined up including some folks I’ve never spoken with before. So exciting! This is going to be a great year for the Naschycast even if I don’t think we’ll produce another four-and-a-half-hour episode! Seriously, I’ll try to break things up as we go forward. If you have any comments or suggestion please write us at [email protected] or message us on the Facebook page. Thank you for listening and we’ll be back soon!

The Naschycast returns for October! Barely. And we work diligently to NOT spoil this film for newcomers!  THE CORRUPTION OF CHRIS MILLER (1973) is one of the most overlooked and least talked about of the Spanish horror films of the 1970’s. In a way this is good because its rarity leaves its many secrets and revelations unknown to modern viewers. There’s a good debate to be had about how the film should be labeled. Is it a thriller or a horror film? Often the line between those two symbiotic genres can be teased apart but I think this film straddles the fence right up until the mid-point farmhouse set-piece. That is a sequence that is sure to impress even the most jaded of horror fans! Mark this film down as another precursor of the slasher genre.    We start off this show with some news and a sad goodbye to a good friend and contributor to the podcast. As stated, Troy and I do our best to not spoil the many third act disclosures that twist this amazingly well written thriller into new and wholly unexpected shapes. We talk a little about the three actors at the center of this pressure cooker drama with some attention to the earlier careers of the two female leads. Jean Seberg is a screen legend with a dozen films on her resume that would be the highlight of any actor’s life. The lovely Marisol is great here but it’s fascinating to learn of her very successful music career as a young woman. And we speculate that Barry Stokes may have been asked by a British director to essentially play exactly the same role he does here in a later film. I’d love to find out how much this movie influenced that 1977 picture. We marvel over the fine direction and cinematography, the sharp dialog and nuanced characters as we strain to keep from discussing the end of the story. It is not easy!  If you have any thoughts about THE CORRUPTION OF CHRIS MILLER or anything else we discuss in this episode please drop us a line at [email protected] and we’ll include them in the next episode. Thank you for listening and we’ll talk to you again soon.

After nearly ten years of covering Paul Naschy films it is no secret that we have reached the final few movies that are available for us to see. Sure, we’ve stayed away from some later efforts with very small roles for our hero that might be worthy of attention. But, of the movies made during his most productive years, there are not many left to dig into and most of those are movies that were never released in the United States or, in some cases, outside of Spain. Luckily, the fan-subbing community once again comes to the rescue allowing us to finally check another rare one off our Naschy bucket list. The film’s cast also includes the excellent Aurora Bautista in a significant role as well as Eva León and Loreta Tovar so there are some familiar faces for Spanish Horror fans.   LOS PASAJEROS (1975) is a hard to find film for many reasons. It seems to have been barely released even in Spain and to have been the first of only two feature films directed by José Antonio Barrero. Mr. Barrero contributed the screen story for this effort as well so it seems logical to attribute the film’s quirks to his sensibilities. He appears to have been aiming this movie at the arthouse crowd couching his (supposedly) big statements in arch symbolic actions that often leave viewers scratching their heads. It may be that a Spanish filmgoer in the mid-1970’s would have been able to puzzle out the meaning of what happens onscreen but we might never know. Still, there are points of interest for the hardcore Naschy fan since Mr. Molina has a substantial role as the rich patron presiding over a house filled with subservient people. Naschy commands these visitors to his isolated home to act out scenes from plays while he watches. It’s all pretty weird!   At the end of the show we reply to a pair of recent emails to the podcast. If you have comments or questions the address is [email protected] where we’ll be glad to hear from you. If you don’t want us to use your full name on the show please let us know. Thank you for listening to this episode and we’ll be back soon with another Beyond Naschy show!

It’s not often we get the opportunity to meet any of the friends we’ve made over the course of making the Naschycast. When we do (and I have enough lead-time) I try to record these fellow fans’ thoughts on our favorite Spanish Horror star. Such is the case with this mini-episode interview with longtime fan of the show and major fan of Paul Naschy – Mike Tutino! Mike has been a generous contributor to the podcast over the years with several letters of comment and observation as we’ve gone along. It was a joy to finally meet him at this summer’s Monster Bash in Pittsburgh and he is more than willing to give us a list of his favorite Naschy movies. There are a few surprises in our discussion with some affection lavished on films that Troy and I have possibly given less attention than we should. Food for further thought……..  Also, we mention the details of the upcoming releases of the new Naschy Blu-Rays coming out this year but – when talking about the exciting release of THE MUMMY’S REVENGE on Blu-Ray we neglected to tell listeners to go to the Ronin Flix website to purchase that disc. That is the only place you’ll be able to buy the film before it starts turning up on secondary sites for outrageous inflated prices. Don’t miss out!   If you have any comments or suggestions or if you want to let us know what your favorite lesser talked about Naschy film might be the email address is [email protected] where we’ll be thrilled to hear from you. We’ll be back next month with a new, regular episode covering a really rare Naschy film from 1975. Thanks for listening!

Leon Klimovsky directed dozens of films of all genres but will forever be remembered for his substantial contributions to Spanish Horror. In collaboration with Paul Naschy he made some of the most successful and effective monster movies to come out of Europe in the 1970's. The horror tales he made without Naschy are often overlooked with THE DRACULA SAGA (1973) being a perfect example. Graced with a literate, intelligent script and the music of Bach, Klimovsky brings all of his impressive skill to making a smart and, in the end, surprising take on classic vampire mythology. This one doesn't end the way you might think it will!    Troy and I are clearly thrilled to be back in the Golden Age of Spanish Horror again. We marvel over the very strong cast that includes an actor who played Dracula multiple times over the years but is rarely talked about when discussing screen vampires. Working with the director again is the always wonderful Helga Liné as the matriarch of the cursed family, Maria Kosty as a young, dangerous part of the clan and Betsabé Ruiz as a local bar wench gone vamp. Add in Tony Isbert as a husband with a wandering eye and the talented Tina Sáinz in the lead role and you have a great group of actors giving this story their full attention. And how many Dracula films add the lamia myths to the mix?    If you have any comments or suggestions we can be reached at [email protected] or on the show's FaceBook page. Thank you for listening and we'll be back soon with another very rare Naschy film! 

Our latest episode has us finally covering an under seen and not often spoken about horror classic. A BELL FROM HELL (1973) straddles the fence between the worlds of Art-House and Exploitation cinema taking elements from both to create an impressive fusion. It's easy to imagine this film playing to highbrow crowds seeking an intellectual vision of the fate of aristocratic families in rural Spain under the Franco regime. But it's even easier to think of it playing in grindhouse theaters for people looking for cheap horror thrills from a film about a well planned, well deserved revenge. Luckily, these dissimilar audiences get what they want here with enough intelligence and excitement for both types to feel satisfied with this darkly comic tale. It's a creepy tale of hate, greed and lust couched in clearly symbolic terms to make comment on life under a repressive government. It'll keep you guessing right up until the end credits!   Troy and I try not to spoil too much of this one as it is less well known than it should be. (Where is the Blu-Ray of this exceptional work?) Nevertheless, we talk about the obvious symbolic connection between the titular bell and the film's main character as we watch him released from an asylum to return home. His aunt and cousins welcome him back, with reservations, as we watch him begin a series of increasingly cruel practical jokes with a deadly endpoint in mind. We discuss the unfortunate fate of the film's talented director, the exceptional career of the screenwriter and explain that you certainly have seen some of the cast in other places. See if you can spot where I catch myself when delineating the possible symbolic nature of certain characters because I realize I might end up spoiling one of the film's nastier surprises. Sometimes my thoughts race ahead of my best intentions!   We end the show with a voicemail from a British listener which prompts us to talk a bit about Jess Franco films again. It's pretty easy to get us onto that topic, huh? If you have any comments or questions the email address is [email protected] or we can be reached on the show's FaceBook page. Thank you for downloading and listening! Oh -and vote for us in the Rondo Awards! We'd love to win in the category BEST MULTIMEDIA SITE! 

The Naschycast returns with our ninth anniversary episode! We dive back into the films of beloved Spanish filmmaker Jess Franco with THE DIABOLICAL DR. Z (1966). This is one of the director's final black & white movies and is considered by many to be his most accomplished work. I'm not sure where I would rank it on Franco's long list of credits but it is certainly a fantastic and beautiful horror film that features several amazing performances. It also has one of the best revenge seeking female mad scientist characters in cinema history. The lovely and deadly Doctor Zimmer is not someone you want to antagonize! Especially not when she can bend to her will the incredible nightclub dancer Nadia (a.k.a. Miss Death) whose long fingernails are laced with poison! And did I mention the murderous, mind-controlled escaped convict willing to strangle anyone blocking the destructive path of this mad woman? Strap in or, more likely, be held down by scary robotic arms for this amazing film! Troy and I ramble our way through a discussion of this Spanish Horror classic marveling at the clarity and sharpness of the print available on the Kino Blu-Ray. The black & white  cinematography of Alejandro Ulloa is remarkable to see in high definition. As fans of his director of photography work for Naschy's lushly colorful EL CAMINATE (1979) and NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF (1981) we're amazed by his ingenuity at presenting shades of light and darkness without losing detail. Even if the film was only half as good as it is Ulloa's skill would make this a must-see for curious cinema aficionados. We pick apart the plot, question the need for certain evil elements and gush about the intelligence of the script. Some time is spent on co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière's amazing career with me delighting in talking about his late 1950's Frankenstein sequel novels. The adult nature of the story is discussed as we make note of possible censored spots in the narrative. The amusing onscreen roles played by Franco and his longtime musical collaborator Daniel White are pointed out so that we can praise their acting talent. And we can't resist taking note of Franco's kitty co-star in one scene and his rather direct directorial touch with this wandering performer. Meow! Any comments or questions can be sent to [email protected] or dropped on the Naschycast Facebook page. We read out a couple of missives in the final few minutes of this episode and they stir some unexpected conversation, as always. Thank you for downloading and listening to the show. We'll be back next month with more Spanish Horror!

In general, our shows focus on the Golden Age period of Spanish horror but the genre continues to flourish in Spain. Throughout the 90's and on up to today there have been some extraordinary horror movies produced in Naschy's home country including some efforts that were actually copied/remade here in the States. One of those genre films that we've been planning to view for a few years now finally gets our attention in this episode. You would think that a Spanish made werewolf film would be a natural given the Waldemar Daninsky series being such an iconic pert of horror cinema history. But the number of 21st century lycanthrope tales produced there - or, in Europe actually - can be counted on one hand. Luckily LOBOS DE ARGA (2012) found its way through the hell of modern film financing to the big screen. It must have been a hard sell because not only is it a werewolf story but it's also one of the most difficult genre combinations to attempt - a horror/comedy! That doesn't usually go very well. Indeed, the Naschycast's history with Spanish comedy is......... not good. So, what did Troy and I think of this modern monster wolf story that comes spiked with laughs? Listen and we promise not to spoil the film for you. Seriously. We have a couple of emails that we answer in the final segment of the show including a voicemail from Britain. You can send your comments and questions to [email protected] and we'll spill our guts to you next time out. We can also be reached on the Facebook page where interesting links show up regularly. Thanks for downloading and listening. If you like the show let others know about it!

Sharp-eyed or eared (?) listeners to the Naschycast will recognize THE UNLIVING as an alternate title for a film we've already covered on the show. Troy and I took a look at this Fred Olin Ray joint a few years ago under it's more evocative name TOMB OF THE WEREWOLF and you can still check out episode #30 for our original assessment. This time out we revisit this problematic entry on Paul Naschy's credits at the request of our new guest - David Zuzelco! David is an old friend from the early days of Euro-Trash horror online fandom and someone I should have included in the show much sooner than now. He's a horror comic writer and expert on the trashier side of cinema making him the perfect man to talk about this uncut sex-filled werewolf romp. The three of us spend a lot of time on this film discussing it's flaws, it's points of interest and David brings some fascinating behind the scenes information to the table. Of course, as you might expect with Euro-Horror fans, we also branch off onto related subjects with a lengthy musing on Jess Franco and the more obscure films of Amando De Ossorio. David and I reminisce a bit about our first podcast experience together on Horror Rise From Spain and his upcoming work in horror comics. Troy and I wrap the show with a brief email from Our Man In The Field before we let you go. He sends us a Powerwolf link!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLkyn7wk5GM If you have any comments or questions the address is [email protected] or you can join us on the Facebook page. Thanks for downloading and listening!

While most films made in Spain during The Golden Age of Spanish Horror could be seen as comments about the repressive fascist government of that countrY, few films so blatantly addressed the clash of conservative ideas with modernity as A CANDLE FOR THE DEVIL. Set in a small country town outside of Madrid, the film casts two middle aged spinsters as hypocritical defenders of the old ways. These sisters make their living running an inn that seems to mostly attract young, sexually liberated women. When an accidental death is interpreted to have been divinely intended, the ladies dispose of the body and pretend nothing happened. Their rationalization is that if God wishes them punished, it is his will. But crime often has unexpected consequences so soon the duo's lies are piling up as well as more young corpses. Is there any horrible act for which these two deluded women can't find a religious justification? Time and the symbolic secrets in the cellar will eventually tell all.       The Golden Age of Spanish Horror is renowned for it's variations on classic monster movie tropes but there are other less well remembered sub-genres that got attention as well. Although this film could be easily seen as a proto-slasher it also fits nicely into the short lived Psycho-Biddy or Hag Horror genre best exemplified by WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE (1962). We discuss this film's connections to that long dead type of scary movie noting the specific Catholic tone imparted by the influence of the Spanish government. This was director Eugenio Martín's second horror film after the exceptionally fun HORROR EXPRESS (1972) showing that he had the touch necessary for the genre. His marriage to Lone Fleming also explains her very sexy presence here. The entire very talented cast comes under discussion as we marvel at the female performances and wonder at Vic Winner's inability to survive a Spanish horror film. We can be reached at [email protected] where we'll be happy to hear from you. Send along any comments, suggestions or questions and we'll try to answer them next month. If you subscribe to the show in iTunes we'd be thrilled if you could rate & review us there. it helps other people discover what we're doing. Thank you for downloading and listening!

I thought it might be fun to make a list of favorite non-Naschy Spanish Horror films and also get Troy to make one of his own so we could argue the various qualities of the films we love. Then I realized how much fun it might be to get others to play along! So, Cort Psyops joins us again this time out to indulge in one of fandom's great games - the making and comparing of lists of favorites! No conversation about shared passions can go on for too long before people are arguing their favorites and explaining the reasons for rating one beloved thing over another. It is in these discussions that fans come to know each other. The communal exploration of Spanish Horror is something that we've tried to foster with the Naschycast and shows like this might be one of the best ways to bring more people to the party. I know we had a blast trying to name our three favorite of this very thin slice of the genre! Of course, only one of us was able stick the limit of three so the conversation ranges across the decades with many extra titles getting honorable mentions. And the sidetracks are numerous! Be warned - we digress from the topic more than once. We just hope that our ramblings are amusing enough keep your entertained. One note - when Troy and I return near the end to talk about the Lists left on the Naschycast Facebook page there is a strange crackling on the audio that I could not remove. It only lasts for the first few minutes but it is distracting. Sorry! Technical difficulties are sometimes unavoidable (and mysterious). If you've never heard Cort's excellent podcast Cinema Psyops you are cheating yourself out of a damned good time. Head on over there and give that show a listen. If you have any comments about this episode or just want to give us your list of favorite non-Naschy Spanish Horror films the email address is [email protected]. We'd be glad to hear from you. The music this time comes from Jonathan Coulton, Piero Piccioni and The Decemberists.

Sorry for the break! We're back with a Mini-Episode - we'll not call it a .5 episode, I guess. This time out we bring a new voice to the show. Author Troy Howarth has just published a new book about Jacinto Molina entitled Human Beasts: The Films of Paul Naschy. He debuted this look at the career of our favorite Hombre Lobo at this year's Monster Bash in Pittsburgh, PA. I took the opportunity to sit down and ask Mr. Howarth about the book, his first encounter with these films and even his three favorite Naschy movies. We even make time to badmouth cover artist Mark Maddox just because we can!   So check out this brief conversation focused on a few aspects of Naschy's career and then pick up a copy of Troy's book and let us know what you think. With a little luck this will be the start of a wave of books published on the subject to match the flood of Blu-Rays we've been seeing lately. I could do with an entire shelf in my house dedicated to just this field of study! There are links to the book below.   We'll be back very soon with the next Beyond Naschy episode. If you have any comments the email address is [email protected] - we'd love to hear from you.

This month marks the 8th anniversary of the Naschycast! To celebrate we tackle a Paul Naschy film that neither of us have ever seen before. Many things have made SECQUESTRO a difficult film to view, not the least of which is that there has never been an English language version available. Luckily, just a few months ago, some clever, talented people translated the Spanish dialog and created subtitles for fans curious to see this hard to find mid-70's effort. So - is it any good? Listen in! We go through the entire film. This turns out to be one of Naschy's many crime films, very much in the vein of HUMAN BEASTS, DEATH OF A PRESIDENT or THE SNIPER but, this time, focused on non-professional criminals. The story is a combination of the 'ripped-from-the-headlines' idea about a kidnapping for profit and Naschy's go-to vision of himself as a cursed man trying to just survive in a world in which circumstances are always against him. The film reunites him with director Leon Klimovsky and a few actors that would play roles in important future films. Pretty kidnap victim María José Cantudo was last seen in the Naschy-Verse having her heart cut out in HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB and would later star in THE FRENCHMAN'S GARDEN. Tony Isbert would return to the screen for Naschy in INQUISITION and DEATH OF A PRESIDENT. We discuss the surprising strong score with Troy finding similarities to a certain hit song from the 1970's, but we'll let you decide if some thievery was going on. We question the realism of junkie shakes, the choice to make the most sadistic character gay, the wisdom of letting Naschy near your wife and the dangers of the Stockholm Syndrome. Also, I can't help but make note of the fine hairpiece(s) our star utilizes at this point in his career. we close out the show with a couple of emails and if you have any questions we can be reached at [email protected] or on the FaceBook page. Thanks for listening!

The new year starts with a shiny new episode of Beyond Naschy! Finally returning to the cinema of Amando De Ossorio the NaschyCast dives into the waters of the North Sea and are surprised to find that the Blind Dead lurk there waiting for fresh victims. The third of this classic Spanish Horror series is called THE GHOST GALLEON or HORROR OF THE ZOMBIES or THE CURSED SHIP but under any title it is a problematic film. Seeking to add new ideas to his signature creation Ossorio puts his Undead Knight Templar on an 18th century galleon that seems adrift in both the oceans and time itself. Only occasionally visible in our world this ship encounters unlucky sailors or tourists and, in this case, it happens to bump into a pair of bikini clad young ladies looking to set a ridiculous publicity stunt in motion. As you might expect, things do not go well for them or their intended rescuers. The satanic living dead rarely seem to take pity on people no matter how cute they may be.  Troy and I deep dive into this one with the hopes of changing our original poor impressions of it. Do we come to love this film now or has age still not scraped the barnacles off this dark hulk? Listen in and see! We talk about the film's rushed production and it's multiple titles while also letting listeners chime in with their thoughts as well. We discuss the possible symbolism present in the movie and spend some time picking over the film's troubling attitude toward women. The wacky professor character shows us how to be a very strange fellow but somehow also the most useful member of the crew. Who knew that a flaming crucifix would help hold off the Blind Dead? The show can be reached by email at [email protected] or on the FaceBook page. We plan to ask for more input in the future over on FB so join us there for more information. Thank you for downloading and listening!

Maybe the last thing we expected when we watched EL CAMINANTE (a.k.a. THE TRAVELLER) was that we would discover one of Naschy’s best movies. That it is also an incredibly funny, bawdy, cynical and darkly incisive view of how the world works was a revelation. The last time we strayed away from his horror output we were cursed by CRIMSON but this time we struck blessed gold! Naschy described EL CAMINANTE as the most personal and sensitive of all his films and it was also one of his most critically lauded works. Looked at as a morality play it is brilliant and as a sharp critique of the ethical deficiencies of mankind it is excellent. As writer, director and star Naschy uses the classic tale of the Devil travelling the world to explore his own philosophy of life while never losing sight of the need to make an entertaining story. Even as the fable becomes more disturbing, reflecting his unfortunate disillusionment with people, the film retains its engaging spirit. The story’s episodic nature keeps it unpredictable and fun with one adventure leading to the next as each of the seven deadly sins gets its moment on stage. It may just be that my own view of life lines up pretty closely with Naschy’s but I found a lot with which to identify in this film and I feel that it is easily one of his finest works. Graced with fantastic dialog, fine performances, a good score and a creator in full flower EL CAMINANTE is a true classic that should be seen by anyone with an interest in quality cinema. This is our most surprising discovery from Naschy’s filmography yet and I recommend that everyone seek it out.

We’re back with our second Beyond Naschy mini-episode in which we talk about…well… a lot of things actually, but we try to stay on topic. The IMDb lists THE STRANGE LOVES OF THE VAMPIRE as a 1977 release but it turns out that Phil Hardy’s guide to horror films claims it as a 1975 film so your guess is as good as ours. I think it is likely that the film debuted in the US in 1977 and Europe two years earlier making both dates accurate depending on your location. Further complicating things is that in the US the film was given the misleading title of NIGHT OF THE WALKING DEAD! I suspect that drive-in patrons in ’77 expecting a zombie movie, maybe even a sequel to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, had to feel disappointment but I can’t imagine the sight of the frequently nude Emma Cohen made the men in the audience unhappy. Wowsa! Only available as a bootleg sourced from a Dutch VHS tape (I mistakenly say Turkish in the show!) with subtitles hardcoded onto the screen this turns out to still be a film well worth hunting down. Although we complain a lot about the crappy print quality the film’s strengths win us over and it joins my long list of movies that need a good DVD release. Settle in and listen as we try not to spoil the movie while praising its finer points, and we don’t mean just the several sets of impressive nipples on display. Write us at [email protected] and let us know what you think of our efforts. 

The good, the bad and the primordial! Naschy called HUNCHBACK ‘one of the best Spanish Fantastic Films of all time’ and who are we to argue? Among the many awards heaped on this standout film was Naschy’s first acting prize- the George Melies Award for best actor and his beautiful, sensitive performance is only one of many reasons to see this classic. Of course, this being a horror film, Naschy’s sad character Gotho is more than able to dish out the violence when pushed. This leads to some of the strongest gore of any of his movies with heads flying from shoulders, intestines spilling across floors and medieval torture implements doing what they were designed to do. And did I mention the unrequited love and unexpected romance angle? Ah, yes! This one has something for everyone so gather the family around the screen and lets enjoy this tale of sad outcasts, mad scientists, ineffectual cops and Lovecraftian monsters. It’s one of the best tasting stews that Spain will ever cook up! The show can be grabbed at the link below or subscribed to over at the iTunes store. Drop us a note at [email protected] and give us your rankings of the the films we've covered so far. The mailbag segment is really turning out to be one of the most fun sections of the show! And thanks to Dan for the cool image below. If only we looked that good while recording the show.

In our first ‘Beyond Naschy’ episode we take a look at Leon Klimovosky’s bizarre gender switch film I HATE MY BODY (1974). To call this a strange film is to undervalue the concept of weird cinema. I have no idea how folks who might have seen this movie at a drive-in theater in the 1970s actually reacted but I can guess that stunned shock would be at least a fairly common response. Until I can dig up a detailed interview with director Klimovsky we will just have to speculate on the reasons for choosing such an outlandish story but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying ourselves and it shouldn’t stop you either. We make sure to not spoil too much of this hard-to-find bit of sleazy Euro-trash even as our discussion rambles all over the place. We talk about the use and misuse of voiceovers, the definition of lesbian sex and the choice of pet names in a relationship. Please forgive my occasional cough as I work my way through a headcold and be glad that, unlike Troy, you weren’t in the room when I had to blow my nose. We can be reached at [email protected] and the podcast can be found on iTunes. We look forward to your thoughts. 

Rarely have we been as confused, flabbergasted and frustrated as we were by FURY OF THE WOLFMAN even though we went into this one with our eyes wide open, knowing full well that Naschy himself hated the film and decried what was done to his script. We weren’t completely surprised but it is still a kick in the head to watch the film ramble itself apart. Trying to figure out what might have been intended is kind of fascinating which probably explains why we babbled for over two hours about what has to be labeled the weakest of the Waldemar Daninksy films. We attempt to understand what the hell is happening as ideas are brought up and dropped, characters slip in and out of the film randomly and crypt orgies are popped indiscriminately throughout the second half. Plant monsters, werewolf sex, Nazi scientists and the question of crazy love possibly being ‘true love’ are all topics that we discuss as we navigate this muddled misadventure. You'll hear the film start to take its toll on us near the end as our stated goal of mentioning the good things in the movie begins to wear us down. But there is a female werewolf! Strap in and join us if you dare! The email address is [email protected] and we'd love to hear from you. 

For the first time in a while we give you a bonus episode! Now that we've completed a full year of podcasts Troy and I take a breath, relax and look back at the dozen Naschy films we've covered so far. We rank them from worst to best and debate the relative merits of each film once again in relation to Naschy's career and our own reactions to them. Troy's hatred for mummies still shines as his largest film-lover's failure but I have assurances that if I keep forcing him to rewatch VENGEANCE OF THE MUMMY he will eventually relent. The hardest part is propping open his eyes with the little toothpicks.  We also take a look into our mailbag and read out a few recent missives. It's a lot of fun to hear from our fellow Naschy fans and we learn some amazing things from this batch of emails. Keep'em coming to [email protected] and let us know if you'd rather not have your words read out on the show. Thanks! 

For episode #12 we lurch back into the 1980s for Naschy’s horrific variation on a couple of classic old stories. Of course, since it’s filtered through Spanish Horror the nastiness is severe, the relationships complicated and the violence bloody. With PANIC BEATS we see that Naschy’s love for classic stories ranges wider than just monster films or stereotypical horror fiction. His openness to different styles of imaginative tales is one of the things that made him so versatile a filmmaker able to make several different kinds of films. This movie shows him moving from the creature features of his 1970s period into a more a intricate form of thriller he may have hoped his career would gravitate toward as he aged. This, of course, was not to be, but this film shows that he had the capacity to craft such tales and it is disheartening that he rarely got the chance to make more with this kind of creative control. In a nice change and for the first time Naschy plays a man called Paul, which allows Troy and I to talk about him as director, actor, writer and icon without flipping between different names and confusing each other. This episode is looser than our usual show. We range a little wider than normal and don’t stop ourselves from traveling down some tangential paths when they pop up. I had no idea I would include a mini-review of CANNIBAL TERROR in an episode of NaschyCast but Troy brought it up and I just had to unload. I suspect this might make things more fun but if not I’m sure listeners will let us know. Employing his usual modus operandi the mighty Naschy beds multiple women and plays more than one role which gives his fans even more to love. As with so many of his scripts it’s the female characters that get the most to do. We see nearly every type of emotion from four actresses as they cope with medical problems, plot evil acts, grieve, bemoan their dire fates, demand what’s coming to them and suffer the consequences of their actions. From Naschy we see the evil that men do and the harsh retribution they that deserve and dish out. Strap on your armor- its gonna be a bloody knight! Drop us a line at [email protected] to set us straight or defend your love of CANNIBAL TERROR. 

Oh my goodness! Naschy tries his hand at the giallo genre and hits one out of the park. In this episode we celebrate and analyze this thriller with more twists and turns than a mountain road. BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL is a stylish but sleazy murder mystery sure to keep you guessing up until the final scene. Naschy places his character Gilles in a bad spot as a man with personal demons of the mind and a nasty past and in a big house surrounded by a group of beautiful sisters. But is it a good place or a dangerous spot? When the cast features four of the most beautiful ladies working in Euro-Trash film in the early 1970s it’s a good place for us at least! Naschy squeezes udders, chops wood, rakes yards and does other things that might be considered sexual metaphors while the color red dances through his life. How many of the siblings will Gilles seduce? How many times will he be threatened with violence? How often will he have to take off his shirt to get his hard work done? Oh my.Troy and I sing the praises of the high quality work involved and lament (repeatedly) the execrable score that attempts to undermine nearly every one of the story's emotional highlights. If a film can be said to be deeply flawed but still brilliant then BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL fits that description. As we dissect the film the attentive listener might ask many questions, such as - How many times will I mispronounce Gilles’ name? How often will the Blind Dead movies be mentioned? When will we break down and do a podcast on I HATE MY BODY? What is the connection this film has to both Hitchcock and the Coen Brothers? The answers to some of these are waiting within. You can also contact us at [email protected] and subscribe through iTunes. Thanks!