The Stacks

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:14:48), we discuss the V.V. Dachin Hsu DTV Wings Hauser vampire picture Pale Blood, in addition to the first episode of the 70s giallo miniseries, Door Into Darkness, "La vicina di casa" (an early work by Luigi Cozzi). In part two (1:14:48-2:24:36) we talk in shorter format about 8 additional features: M. Night Shyamalan's highly Twilight-Zone-y 2021 film Old, the 1933 James Whale Universal Monsters classic The Invisible Man, the sunny and abstract 1987 slasher movie The Last Slumber Party, Rob Spera's weird and stereotype-heavy franchise entry Leprechaun in the Hood, Mark A.Z. Dippe's notorious 1997 comic book adaptation Spawn, Larry Cohen's great 1982 update of 50s giant monster flicks, Q the Winged Serpent, Andrea Bianchi's crazy lo-fi zombie exploitation feature Burial Ground, and the 1963 James Landis' based-on-true-crime potboiler The Sadist. In part three, we talk briefly 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/

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:30:45), we do a detailed look at Shinya Tsukamoto's 2011 psychological horror/drama Kotoko, in addition to the finale of Sergio Martino's Twin Peaks-y giallo TV miniseries Private Crimes. In part two (1:30:45-3:32:15) we talk in shorter format about an appropriate 13 additional features for our climactic Halloween roundup: Frank Henenlotter's incisive 1990 comedy-horror Frankenhooker, Claudio Fragasso's cheap and impenetrable 1989 sequel Zombi 4: After Death, the 2009 Coen Brothers' 60s Jewish identity / family curse film A Serious Man, the corny 2016 M. Night Shyamalan mental traumas are superpowers film Split and its wacky 2019 sequel Glass, Tony Randel's wild direct to video sequel Amityville 1992: It's About Time, Mary Lambert's 1989 Stephen King adaptation Pet Sematary and its 1992 sequel Pet Sematary II, the 1982 King and George A. Romero collaborative EC Comics tribute Creepshow and its 1987 sequel Creepshow 2 (directed by cinematographer Michael Gornick), the 1976 Richard Donner Catholic horror landmark The Omen, the Y2K Tarsem Singh serial killer procedural variant The Cell, and the exhausting 2007 Rob Zombie remake of Halloween. In part three, we talk briefly about the gigantic pile of other stuff 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/

Apologies for the interruption, have a spooky holiday

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:30:32), we discuss in detail the giant radioactive monster classic THEM! directed by Gordon Douglas, as well as part three of Sergio Martino's highly Twin Peaks-inspired mystery/giallo TV miniseries Private Crimes. In part two (1:30:33-2:35:32) we talk in shorter format about 9(ish) additional features: the 1990 Stephen Hopkins action/horror sequel Predator 2, Lucio Fulci's 1988 splatter sequel Zombi 3 (finished by Claudio Fragasso and Bruno Mattei), the unfinished scam horror sequel Grizzly II: Revenge (directed by Andre Szots), the goofy 1957 Dan Milner evil atomic tree movie From Hell It Came, the 1986 Charles Martin Smith Satanic Panic horror Trick or Treat, the individual parts of Phantasmatapes including the Max Headroom Pirate Incident as well as the wacky 1967 Norman Earl Thomson exploitation horror The Revenge of Doctor X and Joseph Green's highly influential 1962 grindhouse mad science picture The Brain That Wouldn't Die, the 1968 Roman Polanski Satanic horror / marital drama masterpiece Rosemary's Baby, and the beautifully handmade 1992 Christopher Thies regional horror Winterbeast. In part three, we talk briefly about the other stuff 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/

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:19:08) we discuss the 1983 high-fashion giallo Mystère, aka Dagger Eyes, directed by Carlo Vanzina, as well as part two of Sergio Martino's Italo-Twin Peaks-adjacent mystery/giallo TV miniseries Private Crimes. In part two (1:19:09-2:20:55) we talk in shorter format about 8 additional features: the 2025 James Gunn reboot of Superman, Steven Lisberger's 1982 Disney computer adventure Tron, the zany 1977 lo-fi Cheng Hu kung-fu picture Shaolin Invincibles, M. Night Shyamalan's kooky 2015 found footage kid horror The Visit, the 2007 Coen Brothers period crime masterpiece No Country for Old Men, the 1977 Alan J. Pakula political docudrama All the President's Men, James Wan's 2004 slasher franchise starter and directorial debut Saw, and the Coen Brothers' 2010 western remake True Grit. In part three, we talk briefly about the other stuff 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/

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:24:05), we discuss the 1932 Universal Monsters classic The Mummy, directed by Karl Freund, as well as part one of Sergio Martino's highly Twin Peaks-inspired mystery/giallo TV miniseries Private Crimes. In part two (1:24:05-2:34:31) we talk in shorter form about 8 additional features: Bill Condon's enjoyably wacky conclusion to the Twilight Saga, 2012's Breaking Dawn Part 2, Caye Casas' extremely dark 2022 comedy-horror The Coffee Table, the 2013 M. Night Shyamalan sci-fi parenting adventure After Earth, the horrible 2018 Chris Columbus Adam Sandler picture Pixels, the Coen Brothers' 2008 idiots do espionage comedy Burn After Reading, the excellent 2025 Bleeding Skull film collage project Phantasmatapes (volume 1), the 2004 Coen Brothers remake of The Ladykillers, and the 1969 Henry Hathaway revisionist western True Grit. In part three, we talk briefly about the other stuff 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/

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:14:39), we're talking about Al Adamson's 1969 grindhouse horror Blood of Dracula's Castle, as well as "Erlenmeyer Flask" - the final episode of X-Files' first season. In part two (1:14:40-2:26:49) we talk in shorter format about 9ish additional features: Bill Condon's zany, elevated 2011 Twilight Saga entry, Breaking Dawn Part 1, the 2025 Jake Schreier entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thunderbolts, 2010's Devil - the first (and last) entry in The Night Chronicles, directed by John Erick Dowdie, the 1993 independent John De Hart production/starring vehicle Champagne and Bullets, the 1998 Alex Proyas sci-fi noir Dark City, the 6th season Flintstones episode introducing The Great Gazoo, James Wan's 2013 'based on a true story' haunted house movie The Conjuring, Shinji Somai's 1985 highly-regarded coming-of-age film Typhoon Club, Alexander Mackendrick's classic 1955 Ealing Studios black comedy The Ladykillers, and the original 1984 miniseries Challenge of the Gobots (which preceded the ongoing show). In part three, we talk briefly about the other stuff 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/

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:22:28), we talk about Jacques Tati's debut feature Jour de Fete (and related short "L'ecole des facteurs"), in addition to "Roland" - the 23rd and penultimate episode of X-Files' first season. In part two (1:22:29-2:28:50) we talk in shorter format about 8 additional features: M. Night Shyamalan's roundly despised 2010 Avatar adaptation The Last Airbender, David Slade's 2010 Twilight Saga entry Eclipse, Julius Onah's 2025 MCU entry Captain America: Brave New World, Todd Phillips' controversial 2019 supervillain origin story Joker, Lamberto Bava's 1984 creature feature Monster Shark (aka Devil Fish etc), Larry Fessenden's 1995 vampirism / addiction film Habit, the 2018 Travis Knight Transformers franchise soft reboot Bumblebee, and the 2001 Coen Brothers' philosophical noir The Man Who Wasn't There. In part three, we talk briefly about the other stuff we've watched 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/

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-58:08), we talk about the 1963 Kimiyoshi Yasuda film Zatoichi on the Road, in addition to "Born Again" - the 22nd episode of season 1 of X-Files. In part two (58:08-2:17:01) we talk in shorter format about 9 additional features: season one of MCU's Daredevil: Born Again TV series, Joel Schumacher's 1983 debut picture DC Cab, the 1979 Enzo G. Castellari beach hangout adventure The Shark Hunter, the 2009 Twilight entry New Moon, directed by Chris Weitz, Lucio Fulci's many-titled 1979 gore classic Zombie, the 1991 Pete Hewitt bizarro comedy sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, the 1982 Susan Seidelman NYC new wave scene film Smithereens, the controversial 2008 James Bond entry Quantum of Solace, directed by Marc Forster, and the first episode of Hanna-Barbera's Wacky Races. In part three, we talk briefly about the other stuff we've watched 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/

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:10:48), we talk about the 1973 Bruce Lee martial arts classic Enter the Dragon, directed by Robert Clouse, in addition to "Tooms" - the 21st episode of season 1 of X-Files. In part two (1:10-48-2:22:49) we talk in shorter format about 8 additional features: the 2025 MCU TV series Ironheart, the 2021 Nao Yoshigai semi-surrealist documentary Shari, the 2008 M. Night Shyamalan amorphous disaster film The Happening, Catherine Hardwicke's 2008 teen vampire romance Twilight, The Coen Brothers' 1998 cult comedy classic The Big Lebowski, Nick Millard's 1985 lo-fi flamenco action softcore picture Shotgun aka Gunblast, the 1988 Brett Piper homemade sci-fi sequel Mutant War, and Alex Proyas' highly influential 1994 comic book adaptation The Crow. In part three, we talk briefly about the other stuff we've watched since last time, make our picks for next week.

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