Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#692

This week it’s time for some horror comedies, as Des and Duane review the demon-hunting hijinks of Hellbenders.  Then I follow McG back to the scene of his most successful crime and see if The Babysitter: Killer Queen stands up to its predecessor.

(Here's a hint...it sure as hell doesn't...)

The trailers are below, as are a profile of a real life exorcist, a play-through of a videogame based on a babysitter-themed horror film, and music from Hellbenders and all-female cover band The Killer Queens!

Listen to Dread Media #692 here

A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 55. All Roads Lead To Rome (The Roman, Episode Two)

As is the mode of these early serials, we have our team triforcated: Ian ends up on a slave galley, Barbara is sold to be a house slave for Nero’s Wife Pompeii, and the Doctor and Vicki get to meet Nero Ceaser themselves...of course, considering that the Doctor doesn’t actually know how to play the lyre and it looks like the lyre player he is pretending to be in involved in some sort of political plot, things potentially get complicated.  And it’s even more complicated when Ian and his new friend head to Rome after the galley is shipwrecked and is now going to be trained to fight stock footage lions as a gladiator....

Things are moving at a pretty fast clip, but that humor creep continues when it comes to Nero. There is no ambiguity when it comes to Derek Francis’ portrayal; he is a broadly comic buffoon.  I do wonder if that might be Dennis Spooner’s point--that when it comes to government, you cannot expect a moron to achieve greatness (kinda pertinent these days, huh?)--but Francis aims so far into the bleachers that it’s impossible to take him seriously.  It takes away from the absolute grimness of Ian’s thread and the nuanced performance of Michael Peake as Tavius, who ends up buying Barbara, which seem to exist in an entirely different serial.

To be fair, the resolution of the cliffhanger is also played for comedy, and it’s a joy to behold.  We get to see Hartnell (or Hartnell’s stunt double) get into a fight with the assassin and revel in his physicality after he and Vicki dispose of the threat.  This approach, with the Doctor and Vicki treating this as a grand escapade when their friends are going through a gauntlet of the worst Rome has to offer, actually was effective for me.  Of course, a lot of this might be because I am thoroughly on board with Vicki and her sunnier, more adventurous outlook.

So....I’m still on board.  I like that Spooner is continuing to deal with Rome’s ickier aspects head on.  But still, I fear that, with the appearance of Francis’ Nero, things are going to do downhill from here.

Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#691

This week, Des and The Local Crew of Brittney, Jo, Scott, Jeff and Mostly Silent Stacy take a look at the Shudder Original Blood Quantum, then Des gives us a Dread Media Top Five Indigineous Horror Films!

The trailer is below, as is a roundtable discussion with filmmakers represented in the Nightmare Vision Film Festival, the first Indigenous Horror Film Festival, ten horrifying Native American Legends, a reading list of Indigenous Horror Fiction, a featurette on the Navajo DIY Metal Scene, and music from Southeast Desert Metal and A Tribe Called Red featuring Black Bear!

Listen to Dread Media #691 here

Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#690

This week Des and Duane look at two different films with two different kinds of women at their center, as they review the Austrian/German period piece Hagazussa and the arthouse-y Darling!

The trailers are below, as are a history of witches in Europe, Audrey Hepburn dancing to AC/DC (look at that Darling trailer, it makes sense), and music from Witch Taint and Eyes Set To Kill!

Listen to Dread Media #690 here

A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 54. The Slave Traders (The Roman, Episode One)

In this episode, after Dennis Spooner waves away the literal cliff hanger from last episode, we check in with Team Tardis living comfortably in a villa some distance from Rome a month later.  The Doctor, Ian and Barbara have been loafing around enjoying the respite, while Vicki is anxious to start going on those adventures they were talking about.  When the Doctor’s feelings are hurt, he and Vicki head off for Rome--thus narrowly avoiding being taken by the titular slave traders that nab Ian and Barbara.  Luckily, that doesn’t mean the Doctor and Vicki are out for a couple of episodes, as he’s mistaken for a talented harpist who has an appointment with Nero....of course, considering the real harpist was murdered because Nero was jealous of his talent, this is not gonna be all puppies and lark’s tongues.

While there is some serious stuff in this half-hour--Spooner’s Slave Traders are properly loathesome and without morals, and Barbara is really getting a case of the Despairs over it--you will notice there’s a lightness of tone that we haven’t seen in the previous historical...well, at least the historicals we are able to see.  The whole first segment seems to be played for laughs.  This is the beginning of why I think the pure historicals disappeared shortly after Troughton took over.  As the emphasis of the series landed more and more on science fiction, the educational intent evaporated...and without that educational aspect, the pure historicals became less and less accurate to the point that some of those last serials are...well, really silly.

Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not looking down on this episode.  There’s an extended scene between Ian and Barbara after they’ve been left alone in the villa the Tardis Crew has been squatting in that’s utterly charming and sort of implies that their relationship has become very romantic without explicitly saying it.  And I am still totally on Team Vicki, as her wanderlust is a great contrast to the way our other travelers are content to be kinda lazy after all their adventures.  In fact, Spooner is doing thing with her that they could not do with Susan, like having her talk openly about London to cause Barbara to quickly cover up the gaff.

There’s not much more to report on this episode; let’s be honest, it’s all setting up stuff for the serial.  I’ve never seen this story before, although I do know something about the plot.  The character stuff does make up for this half hour’s sketchiness.

Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#689

This week Des and Duane look at Scream, Queen: My Nightmare on Elm Street, a documentary on Mark Patton, the star of Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy’s Nightmare and how that film impacted his career as a closeted gay actor in 1980's Hollywood.  Then Des returns for a Top Five Horror Film Documentaries!

The trailer is below, as is a recent interview with Patton, an essay on LGBTQ Representation in horror cinema, a list of top five homoerotic films, an overview of unmade Nightmare sequels, and music by The Fat Boys (yes, I’m going there) and Ice Nine Kills!

Listen to Dread Media #689 here

A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 53. Desperate Measures (The Rescue, Episode Two)

I am definitely on Team Vicki!

So The Doctor and Ian do get out of the Monsta Trap and eventually find their way to the rocket where the others are sheltered.  There’s a bit of tension going on as Barbara shot a monsta that she thought was about to eat Vicki, but turned out to be her...pet? Sandy looking for some veggie num-nums.  The Doctor goes to talk to Bennett to find the guy missing.  He also finds a trap door that leads to the seat of Dido Civilization.  The Doctor has figured out that Bennett is secretly Quollillion!  It seems Bennett had murdered someone on the ship and was going to go to prison...so he sabotaged the ship, killed off everyone on the ship save Vicki and the whole of Dido Civilization with a bomb, and was planning on killing Vicki, using Quollillion as a scapegoat!  The Doctor actually fights Bennett, and almost loses before two of the actual Dido natives (Didoians?  Didons?) show up to put an end to the villain’s shenanigans....and sabotaging the ship once the crew invite Vicki to join them on the Tardis.

If I was a little unsure last episode, I am not anymore; Vicki shows more range in this one serial then Susan did almost throughout her tenure.  O’Brien oozes chemistry with Hartnell in their scenes, and the scene of Vicki taking in the concept of the time travelers from the Pre-Swinging 60‘s is actually pretty good; our new companion treats the concept first as a joke, then actually works up to grasp what Barbara and Ian are saying.  I like that approach.  I like that she seems capable of contributing something to the crew--the whole twist with the Monsta having been domesticated was a lil’ surprise for me.

The other thing I really liked is how the Doctor ends up doing most of the heavy lifting himself, unraveling the mystery and revealing Bennett’s plan.  He even gets into something of a fight, and sensibly doesn’t come out on top.  Yeah, the idea of the Dido Guys showing up is bald-facedly deus ex machina, but considering how the Doctor has been emphatically portrayed in previous serials as aging and, well, if not feeble not in the prime of his life, it makes more sense than having him overpower a much younger, fitter man.  I liked that the Doctor is capable of taking the spotlight when needed.

...oh, and Barbara shoots a monsta!

Obviously, several minutes are spent inducting Vicki into Team Tardis.  I didn’t mind it as much as some of the NuWho onboardings, and I thought it didn’t become what we’ll see in the future with an accelerated acceptance (‘Hey, I just stumbled into this police box after my aunt was shrunk to death....uh, okay, I guess I’m a companion now.’).  And considering I was so sold on Vicki as a character, the wrap up made me happy...as did this story as a whole.

While I’m sure I should be a little upset that this is the first--and as far as I know, only Scooby-Doo serial, I actually was pleased to find a genuinely fun and interesting change of pace that ends up giving us what promises to be a great new companion.  Color me super-intrigued!

Meanwhile, Over At Dread Media....#688

This week, Des gets the Local Crew together to talk about the first Fox film to be released by Disney, Ready or Not, starring my super-crush, Samara Weaving.  Then Des and Duane examine a...post-modern?...rape revenge movie, not surprisingly titled REVENGE!

The trailers are below, as is some dating advice from Weaving and her Bill and Ted Face The Music compatriot Bridgette Lundy-Paine, an assortment of top-notch female revenge films, and music from Onyria and Violent Revenge (featuring a 13 year old singer rocking an Ozzy classic)!

Listen to Dread Media #687 here

Boycott Disney, kids.