Happy October, everybody! It's high time for horror right now, and we're kicking things off with the first of several Halloween episodes that will hopefully give you a (severed) leg up in your seasonal film-viewing selections! Our theme this week is "possessed by aliens," and while both films we reviewed do indeed feature extraterrestrial takeovers of puny human minds, that's really about all they have in common. First up is the wild South African midnight movie Fried Barry, a Shudder exclusive written and directed by Ryan Kruger. Featuring a star-making lead performance by little-known actor Gary Green, a handful of scenes that are sure to gross out even the hardiest horror viewers, and a surprising amount of humor and heart to go along with all its weirdness, sex, and sleaze, this dark comedy is... well, it's really something, that's for sure! On the opposite end of the spectrum is our vintage pick, Horror Express, a comparatively classy movie feature genre royalty Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in the lead roles. Set on the Trans-Siberian Express in 1906, this sci-fi/horror hybrid from director Eugenio Martín features a vampiric alien menace that's been hiding out for millennia in the body of a prehistoric human. Oh, and let's not forget Shuddering favorite Telly Savalas, who puts in a memorable supporting performance that might be worth the price of admission on its own! Of course, with Halloween just around the corner, Chris and Nick also catch up about their "extracurricular" horror movie binges, including everything from current theatrical releases to classic 80s franchises to Shudder originals that might someday warrant their own episodes!
Happy October, everybody! It's high time for horror right now, and we're kicking things off with the first of several Halloween episodes that will hopefully give you a (severed) leg up in your seasonal film-viewing selections! Our theme this week is "possessed by aliens," and while both films we reviewed do indeed feature extraterrestrial takeovers of puny human minds, that's really about all they have in common. First up is the wild South African midnight movie Fried Barry, a Shudder exclusive written and directed by Ryan Kruger. Featuring a star-making lead performance by little-known actor Gary Green, a handful of scenes that are sure to gross out even the hardiest horror viewers, and a surprising amount of humor and heart to go along with all its weirdness, sex, and sleaze, this dark comedy is... well, it's really something, that's for sure! On the opposite end of the spectrum is our vintage pick, Horror Express, a comparatively classy movie feature genre royalty Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in the lead roles. Set on the Trans-Siberian Express in 1906, this sci-fi/horror hybrid from director Eugenio Martín features a vampiric alien menace that's been hiding out for millennia in the body of a prehistoric human. Oh, and let's not forget Shuddering favorite Telly Savalas, who puts in a memorable supporting performance that might be worth the price of admission on its own! Of course, with Halloween just around the corner, Chris and Nick also catch up about their "extracurricular" horror movie binges, including everything from current theatrical releases to classic 80s franchises to Shudder originals that might someday warrant their own episodes!