The Stacks

Episode 137 - Stray Cat Rock: Wild Jumbo and Sex Hunter + 3 more

This week on The Stacks, after an unplanned week off due to illness, Shana and j. are back with a full-bore exploitation week, continuing coverage of the Stray Cat Rock series in part one (0:00-1:34:33) with both Toshiya Fujita's Wild Jumbo and Yasuharu Hasebe's Sex Hunter (both released in 1970) in addition to the 13th episode of Ultra Q, "Garadama" directed by series creator Hajime Tsuburaya. In part two (1:34:34-2:54:30), we discuss three additional films - Paul Verhoeven's cult classic 1995 Hollywood satire Showgirls, the 1991 Vanilla Ice vanity project Cool as Ice (directed by David Kellogg) and Bruno Mattei's 1982 Emanuelle women-in-prison mashup Violence in a Women's Prison. As usual, in (an extended) part three we talk about everything else we've watched on physical media since last time and make our picks for next episode.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 136 - Lake of the Dead + Tilbury + 4 more!

Breaking slightly with tradition for the titling this week, due to us covering six films this week (plus one TV episode). In part 1 (0:00-1:39:33), we discuss the next two entries in the All the Haunts Be Ours folk horror box set - the 1958 Norwegian film Lake of the Dead, directed by Kåre Bergstrøm, and the 1987 Icelandic TV movie Tilbury, directed by Viðar Víkingsson - as well as "I Saw a Bird," the twelfth episode of Ultra Q. In part 2 (1:39:33-2:28:40), we run through four additional films - the 1994 Jon Moritsugu cinema of transgression indie Mod Fuck Explosion, León Klimovsky's 1972 entry in Paul Naschy's Waldemar Daninsky series, Dr. Jekyll vs the Wolfman, and two David F. Friedman formative sexploitation / roughie productions, 1965's The Defilers (directed by Lee Frost) and 1966's A Smell of Honey, A Swallow of Brine (directed by Byron Mabe, star of The Defilers). As usual in part three we talk briefly about all the other movies we've watched on physical media since last time and make our picks for next week.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 135 - The Rite of Spring + It's Not Good for a Man to Be Alone + Emanuelle & the White Slave Trade + King Kong

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. discuss Michael J. Murphy's 1995 direct-to-video folk horror The Rite of Spring and episode 11 of Ultra Q, "Balloonga" in part one (0:00-1:33:48), while part two (1:33:49-2:50:05) features three 70s film picks - Pedro Olea's 1973 Spanish exploitation drama It's Not Good for a Man to Be Alone, a 1978 entry in the long-running Black Emanuelle series, Joe D'Amato's Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade, as well as the 1976 John Guillermin King Kong remake. As usual, in part three, we talk about all the other physical media we've watched since last time and decide on next week's picks.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 134 - Half Way to Hell + Five Bloody Graves + O Brother Where Art Thou + Street Law + Terminal USA

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. return to the films of Al Adamson, with part one (0:00-1:15:56) discussing his 1960 directorial and acting debut, Half Way to Hell, as well as his 1969 psychotronic western Five Bloody Graves. In part two (1:15:57-2:42:47) we talk about three additional features - the 2000 Coen Brothers megahit O Brother Where Art Thou?, Enzo G. Castellari's brisk 1974 poliziotteschi Street Law, and Jon Moritsugu's candy-colored PBS sitcom satire Terminal USA. As usual, part three consists of capsule discussion of everything else we watched on physical media in the past week and decisions on what to cover next episode.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 133 - Woyzeck + Hunt for Red October +Sister Emanuelle + Dressed in Blue

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. return to the films of Werner Herzog in part 1 (0:00-1:30:45) with 1977's Klaus Kinski character study Woyzeck, in addition to our ongoing coverage of Ultra Q with the tenth episode, "The Underground Super Express Goes West." In part 2 (1:30:46-3:08:03), we talk about three additional features - John McTiernan's classic 1990 cold war action-drama The Hunt for Red October, Giuseppi Vari's wild swerve into surreal nunsploitation for 1977's Sister Emanuelle from the long-running Black Emanuelle series, and the 1983 Spanish documentary Dressed in Blue, from director Antonio Giménez-Rico. As usual, we conclude in our third section with briefer capsule discussion of everything else we've watched on physical media since last time and make our choices for next week's episode.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 132 - Wizard of Gore + Die Hard + Redneck Zombies + Leprechaun 3

On The Stacks this week, Shana and j. bookend our February gore month with another Herschell Gordon Lewis feature, 1970's surrealist horror The Wizard of Gore, in addition to episode 9 of Ultra Q, "Baron Spider" to conclude part one (0:00-1:24:23). In part two (1:24:24-3:10:23), we cover three additional films - John McTiernan's peak action blockbuster Die Hard (1988), Pericles Lewnes' wild SOV Troma gore comedy Redneck Zombies (1989), and Brian Trenchard-Smith's first of two entries in the Leprechaun series, the Vegas-set Leprechaun 3 (1995). As usual, in part three we conclude with some capsule discussion of all the other physical media we've watched since last time and make our choices for next week's show.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 131 - Oasis of the Zombies + Blood for Dracula + Black Cat 2 + Death Squad

On The Stacks this week, Shana and j. conclude our bloody February with four films and one television episode. In part 1 (0:00-1:36:49), we cover Jess Franco's notorious lo-fi 1981 video nasty Oasis of the Zombies as well as "Terror of the Sweet Honey" - the 8th episode of Ultra Q. In part 2 (1:36:50-2:49:59), we discuss three additional films - Paul Morrissey's classic Marxist vampire satire Blood for Dracula, the very heightened and ridiculous sequel Black Cat 2 (like the first, directed by Stephen Shin), and Max Pecas' ultra-violent 80s French crime film Death Squad. As usual, we conclude with briefer discussion of the other movies we've watched on physical media since last time and decide what we're going to cover next week.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 130 - Videodrome + Hell High + Santet 2 + Cat in the Brain

This week in The Stacks, our impromptu February gore month continues! In part one (0:00-1:09:42), we discuss David Cronenberg's 1983 body horror / media satire Videodrome, while part three (1:09:43-2:25:36) features three additional bloody films: Douglas Grossman's late-80s teen slasher Hell High, the Indonesian black magic / comedy sequel Santet 2 (as with the first, directed by Sisworo Guatama Putra), and Lucio Fulci's career-retrospective 1990 black comedy / horror Cat in the Brain. As usual, we conclude with some briefer discussion of all the other physical media we've watched in-between and choose our picks for next week.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 129 - Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals + The Iron Prefect + Black Cat + Killer Condom

Our bloody February continues this week - in part 1 (0:00-1:22:47) we discuss the sixth(ish) entry in the Black Emanuelle series, Joe D'Amato's 1977 sexploitation gore feature Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals, as well as the 7th episode in the Ultra Q series, "S.O.S. Mount Fuji." In part 2 (1:22:48-2:59:59) we have three additional features: Pasquale Squitieri's 1977 historical drama / poliziotteschi The Iron Prefect (aka I Am the Law), Stephen Shin's 1991 Vancouver-shot HK action feature Black Cat, and the 1996 satirical German queer cop movie Killer Condom, directed by Martin Walz. As usual, we conclude in part three with discussion of all the other physical media we've watched since last time and decide what we'll be covering in next week's episode.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/

Episode 128 - Blood Feast + At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul + Santet

This week, we begin a bloody February in The Stacks, beginning with Herschell Gordon Lewis' 1963 landmark gore feature Blood Feast, joined in part 1 (0:00-1:24:35) with the weird, off-model sixth episode of Ultra Q, "Grow Up! Little Turtle!" In part 2 (1:24:36-2:32:53), we have two additional gory features - the first in José Mojica Marins' classic Coffin Joe series, 1964's At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, in addition to Sisworo Gautama Putra's 1988 black magic horror comedy Santet. As usual, part 3 features capsule reviews of all the other physical media we've watched during the week, and our decisions for next week's features.

The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/