Mellow, spoiler-heavy discussions exploring an absurd physical media collection
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 22, 2024
Tuesday Oct 22, 2024
On The Spooky Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:43:10), our main feature this week is Joseph Ruben's 1993 prestige trash killer kid movie, The Good Son, in addition to the first episode of the 2019 Jordan Peele-produced Twilight Zone series, "The Comedian" starring Kumail Nanjiani. In part two (1:43:11-3:15:55), we have 9 additional features to discuss: Steve Latshaw's 1995 lo-fi horror Jack-O, the 1982 Greydon Clark horror spoof Wacko, Philippe Mora's "true" 1989 alien abduction tale Communion, Tobe Hooper's 1986 tongue-in-cheek horror sequel Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, David Schmoeller's bizarre 1986 'Klaus Kinski is your landlord' horror Crawlspace, the 1977 William Girdler natural horror Day of the Animals, Edwin Brown's early 80s first-wave forest-based slasher The Prey, Sisworo Guatama Putra's 1981 Indonesian knockoff of Friday the 13th, Srigala, and finally, the 1958 Eugène Lourié sci-fi thriller The Colossus of New York. In the third and final section, as usual we talk about everything else we've watched since last time and make our picks for next week.
The live list of The Spooky Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-spooky-stacks-1/
Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
Please excuse some haziness this week, j. had a fever and was slightly delirious during recording.
On The SPOOKY Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:17:05), we begin with Wes Craven's classic 1984 high-concept dream horror, A Nightmare on Elm Street, in addition to the second episode of the 1981 Italian TV series The Devil's Game, "Venus d'Ille' (the final work of Mario Bava, co-directed with his son Lamberto). In part two (1:17:05-2:16:45), we speed-run a lot of different features - a quick revisit of David Lynch's 1983 version of Dune, the Tod Browning 1927 silent horror classic The Unknown, Mike Flanagan's stylish retro 2016 horror prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil, Sergio Martino's harsh, gruesome 1973 giallo Torso, O Sing-Pui's 1990 grimy triad exploitation picture An Eye for an Eye, Luigi Cozzi's 1980 Alien ripoff video nasty Contamination, Worod Suma and Dasri Yacob's wildly violent Indonesian exploitation sequel, The Warrior & The Blind Swordsman, and finally, Ed Wood's rejected 1957 TV pilot, Final Curtain. In the third and final section, as usual we talk about everything else we've watched since last time and make our picks for next week.
The live list of The Spooky Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-spooky-stacks-1/
Tuesday Oct 08, 2024
Tuesday Oct 08, 2024
On The SPOOKY Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:54:12), we talk about Rick Rosenthal's Halloween II, the official 1981 sequel to Halloween, kicking off the franchise, in addition to the first episode of the 1981 Italian horror anthology TV series The Devil's Game, "The Sandman" directed by Giulio Questi. In part two (1:54:13-3:44:23), we discuss 7 additional features - David Lynch's 1986 masterpiece of suburban dread, Blue Velvet, Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack's legendary 1933 stop-motion creature feature King Kong, James Gunn's 2017 MCU feature Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, Theo Anthony's frightening 2016 Baltimore civic documentary Rat Film, continue our coverage of Denis Villeneuve's Dune with 2024's Part Two, Joseph Sargent's 1976 Burt Reynolds moonshine running flick White Lightning, and Jesus Franco's 1969 breezy sexspionage movie The Girl From Rio. In the third and final section, as usual we talk about everything else we've watched since last time and make our picks for next week.
The live list of The Spooky Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-spooky-stacks-1/
Tuesday Oct 01, 2024
Tuesday Oct 01, 2024
On The Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:33:45), we return to Severin's Black Emanuelle box with another bit of apocrypha, The Dirty Seven (also known as Emanuelle, Queen of the Desert), in addition to the 9th episode of Star Trek (TOS), "Dagger of the Mind." Part two (ranging 1:33:47-2:56:08) features briefer discussion on 7 additional films: Denis Villeneuve's 2021 version of Frank Herbert's Dune, David Cronenberg's twisted 1999 VR body horror film eXistenZ, Luigi Bazzoni's 1975 art-giallo Footprints, Sisworo Gautama Putra's gory anti-colonialist religious action exploitation feature The Warrior (aka Jaka Sembung), Matt Mitler's 1993 Surf Reality Movie of the Month Les enfants miserables, John Hughes' 1985 bizarro low fantasy coming of age film Weird Science, and Ed Wood's 1954 poverty row noir with a twist, Jail Bait. In part three, as usual we talk about everything else we've watched on physical media since last time and make our picks for next week, starting our Spooky Season.
The live list of The Spooky Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-spooky-stacks-1/
Tuesday Sep 24, 2024
Tuesday Sep 24, 2024
On The Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:43:02), we continue our coverage of the films of Werner Herzog with one of his best-known, beginning a series of collaborations with Klaus Kinski in 1979's Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht, in addition to "Miri" - the 9th episode of Star Trek (TOS). In part two (1:43:03-2:54:25), we talk Matt Reeves' 2022 recontextualization of The Batman, the infamous 1993 Super Mario Bros movie (directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel), the 1994 David "The Rock" Nelson home video Conrad Brooks vs. the Werewolf, Bruce Le's self-directed 1980 Brucesploitation film Challenge of the Tiger, the 1991 Jeff Speakman martial arts picture The Perfect Weapon (directed by Mark DiSalle), Bosco Lam's 1994 HK Cat III black comedy A Chinese Torture Chamber Story, and finally, Colin Eggleston's 1986 Ozploitation Indiana Jones ripoff Sky Pirates. As usual, in part three, we talk briefly about everything else we've watched on physical media since last time and decide what to cover next week.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/
Monday Sep 16, 2024
Monday Sep 16, 2024
On The Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:58:10), we start our coverage of the films of Jackie Chan with his Brucesploitation debut, New Fist of Fury, the 1979 official sequel directed by Lo Wei, in addition to discussing "What Little Girls Are Made Of" - the seventh episode of Star Trek (TOS). In part two (1:58:11-3:14:57), we have shorter discussions on David Lynch's 1980 masterpiece The Elephant Man, the underappreciated 1984 Ray Cameron British horror spoof Bloodbath at the House of Death, George P. Cosmatos' wild 1983 silly giant rat horror Of Unknown Origin, the 1958(ish) Ed Wood b-movie Night of the Ghouls, the 1992 Matt Mitler Surf Reality Movie of the Month I Was a Teenage Bride of Christ, and the 1977 no-budget Rene Martinez Jr blaxploitation picture The Guy From Harlem.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/
Monday Sep 09, 2024
Monday Sep 09, 2024
This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:26:02), we discuss the operatic action epic Conan the Barbarian, directed by John Milius, as well as "Mudd's Women" - the sixth episode of Star Trek (TOS). In part two (1:26:03-2:42:44), we talk about six additional features - David Lynch's surrealist masterpiece debut Eraserhead (as well as a bit on his early shorts), Junta Yamaguchi's lovely, romantic 2023 time-loop film River, Grzegorz Warchoł's wild 1986 folk-horror / black comedy I Like Bats, Tod Browning's landmark 1932 sideshow horror feature Freaks, To Lo Po's 1979 gritty Brucesploitation kung fu crime picture Bruce and the Iron Finger, and Duccio Tessari's 1973 poliziotteschi precursor to John Wick, Tony Arzenta. As usual in part three, we finish off with discussion of everything else we've watched since last week and our picks for next week.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/
Monday Sep 02, 2024
Monday Sep 02, 2024
This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. return to the works of Guy Maddin in part one (0:00-2:01:30), doing a detailed analysis of his 2007 film My Winnipeg, as well as talking the fifth episode of Star Trek (TOS), "The Enemy Within." In part two (2:01:30-3:07:20) we discuss six additional features - the much-derided 1987 Garbage Pail Kids Movie (directed by Rod Amateau), the fun 1986 James Bond Jr / Gymkata exploitation knockoff Never Too Young to Die (directed by Gil Bettman), Joe D'Amato's 1982 post-apocalypse motorcycle stunt mayhem flick 2020 Texas Gladiators, the landmark early 80s Indonesian supernatural horror Satan's Slave (directed by Sisworo Guatama Putra), Yang Zhimou's glossy, tony update of the 70s triad film to 90s international arthouse style with 1995's Shanghai Triad, and finally the Surf Reality Movie of the Month, Dick & Jane Drop Acid and Die, directed by Matt Mitler. As usual, in part three, we discuss everything else we've watched on physical media since last time and make our choices for next week.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/
Monday Aug 26, 2024
Monday Aug 26, 2024
This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:13:41), Shana and j. get back into classic kaiju territory with Ishiro Honda's 1966 film War of the Gargantuas, as well as covering the iconic fourth episode of Star Trek (TOS), "The Naked Time" with a swashbuckling Sulu. In part two (1:13:42-2:40:02), we have six additional features: Georgiy Danileya's 1986 Soviet satire Kin-Dza-Dza, Law Kei's demented 1977 Brucesploitation oddity The Dragon Lives Again, the 2015 Peyton Reed MCU superhero entry Ant-Man, the unfinished 1969 Oliver Drake regional exploitation flick The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals, Roland Klick's bleak, icy 1974 crime neo-noir Supermarkt, and the silly, bloody 2001 Todd Reynolds SOV feature Kitty Killers. As usual, in part three, we discuss everything else we've watched on physical media since last time and make our picks for next week's episode.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/
Tuesday Aug 20, 2024
Tuesday Aug 20, 2024
This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:24:58), we continue the films of Bruce Lee with the breakthrough 1972 Lo Wei feature Fist of Fury, in addition to the third episode of Star Trek (TOS), "Where No Man Has Gone Before." Next, in part two (1:24:59-2:47:35) there are six additional features - the 1978 Italian TV movie Closed Circuit, directed by Giuliano Montaldo, Giuseppi Patroni Griffi's 1974 experimental mystery Identikit, Michael Mann's hyper-stylized 1986 feature Manhunter (first appearance of Hannibal 'Lecktor'), the Y2K Hong Kong-satellite teen gang / coming-of-age picture Spacked Out (directed by Lawrence Ah Mon), Vojtěch Jasný's demented 1986 Canadian children's movie The Great Land of Small, and finally, Klaus Kinski's sole directorial entry, the borderline incoherent 1989 biopic Paganini. As usual, in part three we discuss everything else we've watched on social media since last time.
The live list of The Stacks is online at https://letterboxd.com/jshopa/list/the-stacks/