Flickers from the Cave
102 episodes - English - Latest episode: 23 days ago - ★★★★★ - 9 ratingscult cinema, horror film, genre film, horror cinema, genre cinema, cult film, cult movies, horror movies, genre movies, podcast, blog, b movies
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Episodes
Sideshow - 3
April 07, 2024 17:46It's the third episode of the Flickers from the Cave Sideshow! Recorded on February 25, 2024, we talk about all the things we've been watching since the last full episode of the podcast! We offer recommendations and warnings for a LOT of different things to watch or listen to. We encourage you to email us at [email protected] or [email protected]. You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Episode 231 - Django and Stubby
March 31, 2024 14:19Western films made in Italy are very special to us in the cave. They turn the American version of the genre on its ear and give a whole new way to view that era. We look at two interesting examples on this episode of the podcast. We start off with the epically titled "Django Kill! If You Live, Shoot!" from 1967. Directed by Giulio Questi and starring Tomas Milian as "The Stranger" it's a twisty tale of revenge set in a surreal western town, and the film frequently lapses into bizareness. It's...
Sideshow - 2
March 02, 2024 14:12It's the second episode of the Flickers from the Cave Sideshow! Recorded on January 28, 2024, we talk about all the things we've been watching since the last full episode of the podcast! We offer recommendations and warnings for a LOT of different things to watch or listen to. We encourage you to email us at [email protected] or [email protected]. You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Episode 230 - Warhawk in the Cave
February 24, 2024 16:00Welcome back to the 70's in the cave this time as we celebrate the two films of Warhawk Tanzania. We start off with Force Four from 1975 where Tanzania is part of a 4-person team that are assigned special missions by an unknown group. Their mission in the movie is to recover a stolen African artifact, but to do so is going to require a LOT of martial arts, and this movie really piles it on. We follow that with his starring role in 1976's Devil's Express. This really shows how magnetic he is ...
Sideshow - 1
February 03, 2024 15:48Welcome to the very first episode of the Flickers from the Cave Sideshow! Recorded on December 12, 2023, we talk about all the things we've been watching since the last full episode of the podcast! We offer recommendations and warnings for a LOT of different things to watch or listen to. We encourage you to email us at [email protected] or [email protected]. You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Episode 229 - Silver Screen Slashers
January 20, 2024 18:37As we kick off 2024, we are changing a few things in the cave. We are staying true to our mission of finding strange little movies and telling you about them, but we're making some small adjustments to the overall format. To begin the new year, we're looking at two films about movie-fans who are more than a little bit out of control. As fanatics ourselves, these both struck pretty close to home! We start off with "Fade to Black" from 1980. Starring Dennis Christopher and with a fun appearanc...
Episode 228 - Be Kind Rewind 2023
December 25, 2023 21:06Brace yourself for a truly epic episode! As a special gift during the holidays, we bring you a very fond retrospective of the year 2023 and the movies we REALLY liked and the ones we REALLY didn't! But, before we get to that, we spend time remembering the good old days of visiting actual video rental stores and the magic of discovering something new based entirely on the box art or the simple fact that it was available when the movie you came for was already rented. Our friend Eli joins us fo...
Episode 227 - All Dolled Up
November 26, 2023 16:39There is something undeniably freaky about puppets and mannequins. This time in the cave we look at two movies which feature this fact at the core of their stories. We start off with "Magic" from 1978. Directed by Richard Attenborough and starring true Hollywood heavyweights Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margaret and Burgess Meredith, and with a script by the legendary William Goldman, based on his own novel...it's no suprise that it's great! This is a dark tale of derangement and psychosis, with youn...
Episode 226 - What Scares You Vol. 4 - Clowns Redux
October 30, 2023 21:30To celebrate Halloween, we went back to the well for another round of "What Scares You?"© where Julie returned to the creepy land of clowns! We start off with the abysmal "The Clown Murders" from 1976. Directed by Martyn Burke, who've we talked about before, this is a fully Canadian production with some familiar faces in the cast, including the late great John Candy! The story is more complicated than it needs to be and the script wanders here and there, leaving the viewer dissatisfied and co...
Episode 225 - Ron Or Mond
September 24, 2023 17:04This one has been a long time coming! We have been wanting to cover the work of Ron Ormond since we first stepped into the cave, many years ago! He has been slowly gaining more recognition recently and a box set of his films has been released. Starting out on stage, he moved into films and had a successful run making exploitation movies primarily for drive-in audiences. After an accident in a small plane which he survived, he became a devout christian and redirected his efforts toward religi...
Episode 224 - Mondo Carne
August 19, 2023 13:01For the epically-long episode 224 we look at two dark comedies with cannibalism at their core. We start off with the 1980 classic "Motel Hell" from show-favorite director Kevin Connor. It focuses on "Farmer Vincent" played by Rory Calhoun and his sister Ida, played by Porky's-own Nancy Parsons. They run the "Motel Hello" and are known all across the local area as the purveyors of "Farmer Vincent's Smoked Meats" which we find out are made from waylaid motorists who are trapped, buried in the g...
Episode 223 - Vamp Stamp
July 30, 2023 22:21We cross "the pond" to find two unique films from the legendary British film studio "Hammer". Both movies feature vampires and supple young females, and both are VERY entertaining! We start off with 1971's "Twins of Evil" which stars Grand Moff Tarkin himself, Peter Cushing, as a crusading member of "The Brotherhood" who is trying to save the souls of everyone in his small European village from the women he suspects are witches. His recently-ophaned twin neices come to town and coincidentall...
Episode 222 - Two in the Busch
June 24, 2023 12:49It's Pride month and we are looking at two really fun movies written by and starring the iconic Charles Busch! We start off with "Psycho Beach Party" from 2000 which is a mash-up of the old beach party movies from the 50's and 60's combined with a bit of the "teens running amok" films, but with all of that projected through a modern lens and presented in a campy, tongue-in-cheek send up of all those genres. The campiness continues with our second film, 2003's "Die Mommie Die" which has Busch ...
Episode 221 - More or Lester
June 12, 2023 22:29We're back to the fascinating world of stuntmen and daredevils this time in the cave. We are looking at two films from director Mark L. Lester which he made very early in his prolific career. We start off with "Steel Arena" from 1973 which stars several real-life daredevils as they tour the backroads of America, performing their insane stunts at county fairs. We learn all about the struggles and dangers within the troupe and are treated to a few truly memorable moments. This is a very unique...
Episode 220 - Spontaneous Reflection
May 21, 2023 15:00Mirrors are objects of fascination and have become powerful symbols through the course of human history. Our two movies this time have mirrors as the heart of the stories and, in both cases, these are mirrors you might want to avoid looking into! We start off with 1980's "The Boogey Man" from director Ulli Lommel. Opening in a flashback, set in a rural area, we see two young siblings involved with a reprehinsible mother. The brother and sister decide, on a fateful evening, that "enough is en...
Episode 219 - Sweet Mutant
April 29, 2023 17:08We return to the familiar territory of the 80's for our selections this time, starting out with 1983's "Sweet Sixteen" directed by Jim Sotos. It's a sordid and occasionally confusing tale of a small town that is suddenly plagued with mysterious events, including murders! The local sherrif, played by show-favorite Bo Hopkins attempts to get to the bottom of things with the help of his two teenaged children. It's fun but doesn't hold a candle to our second movie, 1984's "Mutant" directed by Jo...
Episode 218 - Suds and Songs
April 10, 2023 18:58Come back with us to the 70's for two music-focused films that you may know more for the songs on their soundtracks than for the story content. We start off with "FM" from 1978, with an incredible cast, including Martin Mull, Cleavon Little and Eileen Brennan. The plot follows the staff at a radio station in Los Angeles that is struggling to maintain it's integrity while corporate forces want to blindly pursue profits. It's a noble tale, but it doesn't completely hit the target. We follow tha...
Episode 217 - Stripped to Flicker
March 11, 2023 19:41There is so much glitter scattered all over the cave this time after we watched two movies that center around the workers at strip clubs. In both movies, there are mysterious deaths occuring, the police are called in, and clothes are discarded...these are pure 80's nonsense and great examples of the sort of low-budget filmmaking that was happening back then. Both films are written and directed by the completely bad-ass Katt Shea and produced by none other than Mr Roger Corman himself! We sta...
Episode 216 - Better Dead Than Red
February 05, 2023 16:43For our first episode recorded in 2023, we look at two films from writer/director Eric Red! We start off with "Cohen and Tate" from 1988, starring Roy Scheider and Adam Baldwin in a tale of two hitmen sent to retrieve a young boy and bring him in for questioning by the mob. It's a bit of a mess, with cartoony performances but it has enough good ideas and moments that it's ultimately satisfying. We follow that up with the entertaining "Bad Moon" from 1996, which stars Michael Pare and Mariel H...
Episode 215 - Under the Flickering Brick
January 01, 2023 17:40Happy New Year! Our last recording of 2022 is the first posted episode of 2023! We look at two weird little movies from directors we are very fond of. We start off with Rian Johnson's "Brick" from 2005. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan, a high-schooler who is wrapped up in a very tangled and tragic mystery. Presented like a classic noir detective story, with sharp dialogue and double-crosses, it is a very strange amalgam but we all enjoyed it a lot. We follow that up with "Under the ...
Episode 214 - What's Grim Below
December 10, 2022 19:01We make this podcast in a cave, so it should come as no surprise that our movies this time involve journeys deep under the surface of the earth. We start off with "Grim" from 1996, a tiny little movie from director Paul Matthews with an impressive monster suit and a story that almost instantly fell out of our brains after watching it. It is set in a small town with an elaborate set of caves running beneath it which are inhabited by a demon that is wreaking havoc across town. We follow that u...
Episode 213 - Shut Your Witchy Mouth
October 30, 2022 16:07Happy Halloween from the Cave!!! In the "spirit" of the season, we look at two very fun films from the 80s that focus on witches, curses and the overwhelming influence of evil. We start off with 1983's The Devonsville Terror from director Ulli Lommel. A new teacher shows up in a small town where the locals are NOT open to oustiders. The teacher learns about the checkered past of the town, and how they killed women who were accused of practicing witchcraft. Is she the reincarnation of one of ...
Episode 212 - Everything's Under Control
October 15, 2022 17:47Who's that watching you from across the street? Is someone listening in to your private conversation? Did someone put something in your drink? Why is everyone out to get you? These are all questions that swirl in the minds of the conspiratorial and also in the cave this time as we look at two EXCELLENT conspiracy-related films. We start off with 1974's The Parallax View, directed by the legendary Alan J. Pakula and starring the also-legendary Warren Beatty. This is such a great piece of 70's...
Episode 211 - Flickering for Vengeance
September 24, 2022 15:12In a world that seems to be clearly working AGAINST women, there is something cathartic about watching films where females turn the tables on the people keeping them down and teach them a little something about right and wrong. We watch two VERY wild examples of this type of storyline this time in the cave. We start off with 1987's Angel of Vengeance co-directed by two legends of low-budget filmmaking, Ted V. Mikels and Ray Dennis Steckler. It's a very rough tale of a woman beset by a group ...
Episode 210 - Guys and Dahls
August 28, 2022 18:38We are focusing on the respected director John Dahl on this episode of the podcast. A front-runner in the Neo-Noir movement, he has produced a number of films that drip with style and he loves a twisty plot full of backstabs and deceit. We start off by talking about The Last Seduction from 1994. Starring actor-turned-director Peter Berg and Linda Fiorentino, it's a pitch-black tale of a woman on the run who will use anything she can to control the people around her and to come out on top. We...
Episode 209 - Snipe Hunt
July 24, 2022 15:01America has a gun problem. So much media is out there where guns are featured almost as the lead characters, and sometimes there's nothing more fun than getting lost in this alternate reality and letting the cathartic violence wash away your cares of the day. It seems lately though that the reality of gun violence is harder and harder to ignore. We picked two movies for the podcast that focus on gun violence and the people who are behind those guns. These are both powerful and expertly-crafte...
Episode 208 - The Price is Right
June 26, 2022 17:15Vincent Price is a horror icon for good reason...he's been in so many classics and has one of the most recognizable voices ever. We looked at two of his films that are a little lighter for the podcast this time. Starting with 1983's "The House of the Long Shadows" that has a truly stellar cast of horror luminaries including Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and John Carridine. The lead is played by Desi Arnaz Jr, who's clearly doing his best but can't hold a candle ( literally ) to his costars....
Episode 207 - Dirtbikes to Dentures
June 05, 2022 22:34When we sat down to record episode 207, we just wanted to talk about Fred Ward and how much we love him in everything! Several days after recording, the world learned that he had passed away, and we were left with an episode where we talk at length about him, not knowing what was to come. So, please think of this episode as a memoriam for a great actor who was great in every film he was in, with a wonderful smile and a tendency to outshine anyone he was acting beside. What a legend, and what...
Episode 206 - Cunning Stunts
May 15, 2022 22:12We head to Australia for a couple of VERY fun stuntman-focused films that both star the magnetic and truly daring Grant Page and both are directed by show-favorite Brian Trenchard-Smith. We start off with 1976's Death Cheaters which co-stars John Hargreaves as Page's partner who are recruited to help the government deal with a group of bad guys by using their stunt-focused skills. It is a blast and has some incredible stunt segments but is also really well written and paced. We follow that u...
Episode 205 - Evil Editors
April 10, 2022 21:48We have another interesting pairing of films that have a lot in common. They both focus on film editors who get caught up in some crazy moments and violence and murder ensues! We start off with Evil Ed from 1995, a Swedish production that really goes for it! This movie is incredibly ambitious, especially when considering it's small budget, but the filmmakers really succeed! The film follows a mild-mannered editor, named Ed, who is tasked with editing a series of slasher films. The act of wo...
Episode 204 - Fangs of New York
March 06, 2022 19:21Once again, we've found two VERY similar films to talk about. This time we look at two black & white vampire movies set in New York City, with VERY big ideas, awesome cinematography and great music. We start off with 1995's The Addiction from director Abel Ferrara. It stars Lili Taylor as a graduate student who is attacked by a vampire and begins to turn. It presents vampirism as a parable for a number of things and goes into some very heady places at times. We follow that with 1994's Nadja ...
Episode 203 - Why So Cirio?
February 13, 2022 20:49It seems like we just can't get enough of the films of director Cirio Santiago! We look at two from him that are VERY similar...maybe a little TOO similar when you get right down to it! We start off with "Wheels of Fire" from 1985 which stars Gary Watkins as a Mad-Max-Alike named Trace who is driving around a post apocalyptic wasteland trying to save his sister from an evil cabal known as "The Ownership". It has lots of explosions and action but a very murky plot but is totally fun in a dispo...
Episode 202 - Stylish Tejano
January 30, 2022 22:00For episode 202 we are joined by friend-of-the-show Eli who was the brains behind the movies we feature. We start off with 2018's "Tejano" from director David Blue Garcia. It takes some familiar crime story tropes and combines them with small town border drama to create a unique look at a world that was entirely alien to the cave dwellers. Beautifully shot and packed with action, we all really liked it. We follow that up with a real masterpiece, 2020's "The Stylist" from director Jill Gevarg...
Episode 201 - Double Dolph
January 16, 2022 16:46We're back! It's the start of a new era as we get into the 200's in the cave. Kicking things off are two movies starring the iconic Dolph Lundgren. We start off with "Red Scorpion" from 1988. Directed by show-favorite Joe Zito, it's the tale of a soldier who learns that he has been sent on an immoral mission and who has to find his humanity. It's full of violence but also has moments of real emotion. With a strong supporting cast, it's a winner! We then look at "Showdown in Little Tokyo" from...
Episode 200 - Beast and Wurst
December 25, 2021 13:00We finally hit our 200th episode! Wow! To commemorate the milestone, we decided to look back at the movies we've featured since episode 100 and rank them. We start with our favorites and end with the ones that we thought were scraping the dark corners of the cave. It's a fun talk with lots of memories and love. Please email us your suggestions for future shows at [email protected] or [email protected]. You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Episode 199 - Homegrown Horror
December 12, 2021 19:39We're staying close to home for this episode as we look at two films produced here in North Carolina. We start off with the completely entertaining "Death Screams" from 1982. Low budget, but packed with fun, it's a tale of a mysterious killer stalking a small town and leaving a trail of bodies in his tracks. We follow that with 1984's "The Mutilator". Featuring top-notch gore effects from Mark Shostrom, it's a wild ride, with some sketchy acting and the world's most rusty refrigerator. We th...
Episode 198 - You're In or You're in the Way
November 21, 2021 21:08We turn our attention this time to two films from Mr. Duke Mitchell. After a VERY interesting career of acting and singing he decided he wanted to try directing so, in 1974, he released "Massacre Mafia Style". He plays Mimi, who comes to Hollywood with the intent to force his way into the local Mafia. It is violent and full of all sorts of distasteful shenanigans, but VERY entertaining and earnest. Mitchell's only other directing effort was lost for many years but was finally released in 201...
Episode 197 - Hallo-Weed Vern
October 31, 2021 14:00In this, the scariest of seasons, we decided to soften the spookiness with two horror films that lean into the funnier side of the holiday. We start off with 1999's "Ernest, Scared Stupid" from director John Cherry and starring the late great Jim Varney in the role that made him a star. It's a sweet-tempered movie aimed at a younger crowd, but at least two of us found it completely charming. We follow that up with 1999's "Idle Hands" from Rodman Flender and featuring a great cast of young ac...
Episode 196 - Rutger Power Hauer
October 12, 2021 22:49Rutger Hauer was one of our favorites, from Nighthawks, to Blade Runner, to Wedlock, to Flesh+Blood, to Hobo with a Shotgun and countless other films, he left a huge mark on world cinema. We decided to look at two of his films on the show, starting off with 1986's Wanted Dead or Alive, from one of our favorite directors Gary Sherman. It's an action packed tale of a terrorist, played by Gene Simmons, being pursued by a former intelligence agent, played by Hauer, who now works as a bounty hunte...
Episode 195 - Desiegance
September 25, 2021 21:10We are back with more oddball movies from the dustiest shelf in the video store! This time we start with 1980's "Defiance", from director John Flynn. It has a star-studded cast lead by Jan-Michael Vincent. He plays a sailor who finds himself staying in an apartment in a neighborhood that is being terrorized by a gang called the "Souls". It's the story of how he comes to think of this neighborhood as his own and decides to stand up against the gang. It is 100% solid throughout with some very ...
Episode 194 - Neon Hunters
August 29, 2021 21:50As we attempt to get back into a more regular schedule, we turn to something that is almost always reliable...the movies that seem at least slightly inspired by the epic Mad Max. We start off with 1988's Future Hunters which mixes the Bible, mythology, Nazis, Amazon warriors, kung fu and everything else you can imagine. All these crazy elements should not work together, but somehow director Cirio Santiago pulls it off to great success! We then move on to 1991's Neon City, starring the legend...
Episode 193 - The Wings Beneath Our Wind
August 14, 2021 14:21After a VERY long and unplanned break, we are finally returning with episode 193. We had technical issues the first time we tried to record this one, but we succeeded the second time! Our focus for the second attempt was the actor Wings Hauser, who always seems to rise to the top in any film he's in. We start off with 1983's Deadly Force, from director Paul Aaron, where Wings plays Stoney Cooper, a former Los Angeles cop who is pulled back into town to search for a serial killer. It plays it...
Episode 192 - Pride from the Cave
June 26, 2021 21:10In honor of Pride month, we looked at two films that we felt were interesting celebrations of different aspects of the LGBTQ+ world. We don't think these movies are going to necessarily change anyone or make the world a better place, but they are both excellent, thoughtful, and most-of-all FUN! We start off with 1982's Liquid Sky, from director Slava Tsukerman and featuring an amazing dual-lead performance from Anne Carlisle. It is an arty science fiction tale that reminded us all of Repo Ma...
Episode 191 - Cobracabana
June 13, 2021 18:56We love Fred Williamson so we went back to his filmography for this episode. We look at the first 2 of the "Black Cobra" films. The first from 1987 is a boilerplate actioner with a typically cool performance from Williamson. The sequel "Black Cobra 2" from 1989 ups the ante by adding TV's Spiderman Nicholas Hammond as a sidekick when Williamson's character is sent to the Phillipines where he finds romance, intrigue and danger! These are both appealing and will not stretch your brain with sim...
Episode 190 - Two Lane Cock Fight
May 23, 2021 14:15We bring out the Hellman's on this episode of the podcast as we look at two from Monte Hellman. We start off with the controversial 1974 movie "Cockfighter" and follow it up with the metaphorical masterpiece "Two Lane Blacktop" from 1971. Both films feature Warren Oates, Laurie Bird and Harry Dean Stanton, all turning in strong performances. Cockfighter follows a deliberately mute Oates as he competes in a series of cockfights across the south, in pursuit of respect and love. It's tough to w...
Episode 189 - Fruet of the Loom
May 02, 2021 21:47We decided to return to the work of Canadian director William Fruet this time for the podcast. We start off with "The House By the Lake" from 1976 ( also known as "Death Weekend" ). Starring one of our favorites, Don Stroud, and with a great performance from Brenda Vaccaro, it is a very well-told tale of home invasion which does NOT disappoint. We follow that up with "Baker County U.S.A." ( also known as "Trapped" ) from 1982. Henry Silva turns in really strong performance as a villainous hi...
Episode 188 - Kong vs Flickerzilla
April 18, 2021 16:13We turn our attention to director Jackie Kong in the cave this week by looking at two films from her career. We start off with her third film, 1987's "Blood Diner" which was originally planned as a follow-up to H.G. Lewis' "Blood Feast". It tells the story of two brothers who have the brain of their uncle in a jar and are being directed, by the brain, to perform a variety of rituals to resurrect an ancient goddess. The cave was divided on this one, but we were more aligned on the second film...
Episode 187 - Grefe not Covfefe
March 28, 2021 16:18We return to one of our favorite subjects, the "Regional Filmmaker", focusing on Mr. William Grefe, He produced most of his films in Florida and we had covered another of his films "Mako, the Jaws of Death" back on episode 90 of the podcast. We start off with 1977's "Whiskey Mountain" which stars one of our favorite actors, Christopher George. It follows 4 people on a bit of a treasure hunt through lush woodlands, who run afoul of some people growing marijuana. It is surprisingly brutal for ...
Episode 186 - Joe Mama
March 07, 2021 15:22We look at two films that feature the martial arts legend Joe Lewis this time on the podcast. We were not familiar with him but he popped up on our radar and seemed perfect for the show. We start off with his debut starring role in 1979's "Jaguar Lives" which also features a sizeable cast of legendary actors. It's a fun combination of martial arts and James Bond, with globe-trotting, intrigue and an inscrutable plot. We follow that up with 1981's "Force Five" from show-favorite director Robe...
Episode 185 - Sexually Transmitted Demons
February 21, 2021 16:54We recorded this episode on Valentine's Day, with love and romance filling our hearts and minds as we looked at two disparate films where sex and demons are connected. We start off with the light hearted goofiness of 1987's "My Demon Lover" where a woman in New York City is struggling to find the right man until she meets a weirdo who's possessed with a demon that presents itself any time he becomes sexually aroused. It's dumb, but fun, and completely forgettable. We follow that up with a mo...