Wake Up Heavy
159 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★★ - 19 ratingsWake Up Heavy is a podcast about my memories of strange horror movies from the 1970s and 1980s. I'm Mark Begley, your host. Please check out my other show Cambridge & Wishon.
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Episodes
WDIHS (IDA): F13-The Final Chapter (1984)
November 05, 2019 00:00 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBFriday the 13th: The Final Chapter is MY Friday the 13th. As well as being my favorite of that franchise, it is one of my favorite slashers (I placed it at No. 3 on my Slasher Top Ten list) AND one of my favorite horror films in general. The film's similarities to Halloween, something I hadn't really thought much about prior to doing this episode, may play a big part in that. What could have been a quick cash-grab ended up being one of the more humorous, human, and effective entries in the se...
WUH: Stephen King Wrap Up
November 03, 2019 00:00 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MBAnd finally here's the wrap up episode for the Stephen King series. It's a quickie (relatively speaking) where I rank some books, rank some movies, and throw in some recs for films I didn't hit on in the previous shows. Don't be a lunkhead, give 'er a listen!
WDIHS (IDA): My Bloody Valentine (1981)
October 25, 2019 00:00 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBMy Bloody Valentine is a Canadian entry into the slasher genre (you can really hear the accents in this one) and a prime example of Holiday Horror (still waiting for a Flag Day Slasher). We’ve got all the staples of an ‘80s slasher—a masked killer, decent amounts of gore (in the uncut version), misdirection, and humor—but instead of teenage babysitters or camp counselors we’ve got 20-something coal miners, and I like that divergence from the norm. For more please visit the show notes: https...
WDIHS (IDA): Pieces (1982)
October 20, 2019 00:00 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBI was recently asked by Sam Panico to submit a Top Ten Slashers list for his site B & S About Movies, and it got me to thinking about a series I had considered awhile back called Why Do I Hate Slashers (I Don't Actually)? Some of the films from my top ten list have been discussed on the show (Black Christmas, Alice, Sweet Alice, etc.) so we'll skip those for this series. Everything else is fair game, starting with the gonzo Pieces (1982). For more info please visit the show notes: https://ww...
WUH: The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971)
October 10, 2019 00:00 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MBThe Blood on Satan's Claw was released in 1971 by Tigon Pictures, a short-lived competitor of Hammer and Amicus in the late 1960s and early '70s. It stars Peter Wymark (Repulsion) and Linda Hayden (Taste the Blood of Dracula) and was directed by Piers Haggard. In a field in 17th century England a local farmhand plows up the rotting corpse of a strange creature. Although the older towns people fear something sinister might be at play the youth seem intrigued by the discovery. Angel Blake (Hay...
WUH: Stephen King: The Bachman Books
October 07, 2019 00:00 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBBetween 1977 and 1984 Stephen King published five novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. Though many fans and critics surmised that Bachman was King, which he would deny, the truth wasn’t uncovered until Washington, DC bookstore clerk Steve Brown noticed similarities to King’s writing and did some investigating. He found copyright info for one of the Bachman books in King’s name at the Library of Congress. Brown went to King’s publishers to ask what he should do with the information and ...
WUH: Stephen King Extras
September 29, 2019 00:00 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBAs in Extra Special! Along with my own ramblings on a handful of films that didn't get the full treatment on previous episodes (Creepshow, Children of the Corn, Maximum Overdrive, Stand By Me, etc.) there is an interview with horror film journalist and filmmaker Jerry Smith regarding his Dollar Baby Deal. For more visit the show notes: https://www.wakeupheavy.com/2019/09/wuh-stephen-king-extras.html
WUH: Simon Fitzjohn on Full Circle (1977) Pt 2
September 28, 2019 05:21 - 1 hour - 68.9 MBPart two of my discussion with Simon Fitzjohn about FULL CIRCLE. For more please visit the show notes: https://www.wakeupheavy.com/2019/09/wuh-special-report-on-full-circle-1977.html This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5652747/advertisement
WUH: Simon Fitzjohn on Full Circle (1977) Pt 1
September 27, 2019 00:00 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBI love a good detective story (just think of all those Murder, She Wrote references on the show) and I love to hear behind the scenes tales about my favorite movies. When I discovered Simon Fitzjohn on Twitter I was immediately intrigued by the work he was doing to track down the rights for the film FULL CIRCLE (more commonly known in the States as THE HAUNTING OF JULIA). After watching one particularly intriguing video on his YouTube channel... [For more please visit the show notes: https://...
WUH: Simon Fitzjohn on Full Circle (1977)
September 27, 2019 00:00 - 2 hours - 120 MBI love a good detective story (just think of all those Murder, She Wrote references on the show) and I love to hear behind the scenes tales about my favorite movies. When I discovered Simon Fitzjohn on Twitter I was immediately intrigued by the work he was doing to track down the rights for the film Full Circle (more commonly known in the States as The Haunting of Julia). After watching one particularly intriguing video on his YouTube channel (which mentioned Prince Charles of all people) I d...
WUH: Stephen King 1984-87
September 16, 2019 00:00 - 59 minutes - 54.2 MBWere there signs of King slowing down over the next four years? Heck no! Remember what I said about 1980-83 being over saturated? Well that may have been premature. Between 1984 and 1987 King published six novels, one novella, one collection of short stories, and the Bachman book Thinner. The previous four Bachman books were also re-released as an omnibus, which we will get to in time. Eight movies were released during this time with many of them being adaptations of short stories, or novell...
WUH: Stephen King 1980-83
September 11, 2019 14:51 - 58 minutes - 53.7 MBThe years 1980 through 1983 might possibly be the most over-saturated in terms of Stephen King output. During this time five novels were published and five movies were released, and if you didn't know who King was you must have been living under a (Castle) rock. Ha ha. And lest we forget we also got the collection Different Seasons, as well as two novels published as Richard Bachman: Roadwork and The Running Man. That's EIGHT books in three years people!! To one extent or another all of the ...
WUH: Stephen King 1974-79
September 01, 2019 00:00 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBStephen King shot out of the gate with the publication of Carrie in 1974. Though the hardcover didn't sell all that well the paperback rights were acquired for a whopping $400,000.00, of which King received half plus royalties. The paperback went on to sell one million copies in its first year. Over the next five years King followed up with 'Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Stand, and The Dead Zone in quick succession. That's six novels in six years, plus the short story collection Night Shift ...
WDIRT V3E3: Alone in the Dark (1982)
August 25, 2019 00:00 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBThe last WDIRT in Volume 3 is on Jack Sholder's quirky slasher-home-invasion hybrid Alone in the Dark. It's got Martin Landau as a pyromaniac ex-preacher, Jack Palance as a paranoid POW, Erlind van Lidth as a hulking child-molester, and the mysterious hockey-mask-wearing killer known as The Bleeder. Donald Pleasence rounds out the cast as the equally nutty psychiatrist Dr. Leo Bain.
WUH: Stephen King Intro
August 17, 2019 00:00 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MBStephen King is one of America's most prolific writers whose books have sold roughly 350 million copies worldwide. The Master of Horror, as he's been known for quite some time now, knows how to scare people and sell books, and naturally Hollywood has mined his voluminous output in the hopes of putting butts in the seats and dollars in the bank. From his earliest novel, Carrie, which was put to film two years after publication, hardly a year has gone by without a King adaptation being released...
WUHne Year Anniversary
August 04, 2019 00:00 - 34 minutes - 32 MBIt's been a year (give or take a day or two) since I put out the first couple of episodes of Wake Up Heavy. 40 or so episodes, a handful of guests, a lot of learning and dozens of movies later, here we are. In this episode I once again get helped out by my daughter who asks me some questions about this first full year of WUH and my plans for the next. Thank you to everyone who has listened to Wake Up Heavy, even if it was just one episode! Ultimately that's the point of all this, right? Ot...
WUH: More with Sam Panico
July 26, 2019 00:00 - 38 minutes - 35.7 MBAnd here is the bonus episode with more discussion from Sam and me. Subjects discussed: Pittsburgh filming locations, "Murder, She Wrote," Marc Lawrence, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Italian horror, EXORCIST rip-offs, AMITYVILLE sequels, Linda Blair, Tom Atkins, Eli Roth (again), CHILD'S PLAY, "Cinema Sins," Claudio Fragasso, and Amicus.
WUH: UTSL ∑ß∆Ω∫
July 24, 2019 00:00 - 8 minutes - 8.08 MBBefore the OTHER bonus episode with Sam here's a super short extra-extra-bonus special episode of me reading my initial viewing notes on UTSL. This one's a little spoilery so be careful.
WUH: Under the Silver Lake (2018)
July 21, 2019 00:00 - 1 hour - 60.2 MBOn this episode I am joined by Sam Panico to discuss David Robert Mitchell's ambitious (yet messy) sunscorched-Neo-Noir-comedy-thriller Under the Silver Lake. Andrew Garfield plays Sam our hapless protagonist who is pulled into a labyrinthine mystery after a brief encounter with his neighbor Sarah (Riley Keough) and her sudden disappearance. Sam is bombarded by cryptic codes, conspiracy theories, secret societies, subliminal messages, underground zines, backward masking, LA hipsters, and an i...
WDIRT V3E2: Xtro (1982)
July 08, 2019 00:00 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBWUH comes back from hiatus with a new WDIRT episode on Harry Bromley Davenport's nutso early-80s Alien rip-off that's actually so much more than that. Filled with too many WTF moments to count, and some of the most inspired and gloopy SFX from the era, XTRO would have damaged my brain as a kid. Now that I'm older I can soak in this odd-ball treasure with wild abandon.
WUH: Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
May 26, 2019 00:00 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MB"It must have been the magpies." Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio is an eerie love letter to Italian horror films like Suspiria (see previous entry) and psychological thrillers like The Tenant. Toby Jones plays Gilderoy, a sound mixer who travels to Italy to work on "The Equestrian Vortex," a graphically violent movie involving witches at a horse-riding school. Nearly everyone at the recording studio is dismissive of, or openly rude to him. This, along with the violent nature of the...
S2E2. Magic is everywhere: Suspiria (1977)
May 24, 2019 00:00 - 1 hour - 59.4 MBLike many people my age, Dario Argento's Suspiria was my introduction to Italian horror films. The imagery was phantasmagoric, the music was bombastic, and the violence was horrific. Unlike anything I'd seen before, SUSPIRIA opened up a whole new world of horror cinema, though one that was ultimately elusive and frustrating. Ronald Dzerigian is back to join me in discussing this seminal film--arguably Argento's best--the other entries in the Three Mothers trilogy, and the 2018 remake by Luca...
WUH: Ronald Dzerigian on The Howling (1981)
May 21, 2019 00:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBWUH's first Special Guest is a fellow I've known for 25 years, give or take, and is the "movie buddy" I've referred to in a number of episodes. In this episode we talk about one of his Recollections of Horror: Joe Dante's 1981 self-referential werewolf flick The Howling. The Howling is not a movie I watched a lot back in the Eighties but have grown to appreciate much more of late. Listen as we compare and contrast our first viewings of the film and kvetch like two old-timers about modern CG...
Special Guest: Ronald Dzerigian
May 21, 2019 00:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBWUH's first Special Guest is a fellow I've known for 25 years, give or take, and is the "movie buddy" I've referred to in a number of episodes. In this episode we talk about one of his Recollections of Horror: Joe Dante's 1981 self-referential werewolf flick THE HOWLING. THE HOWLING is not a movie I watched a lot back in the Eighties but have grown to appreciate much more of late. Listen as we compare and contrast our first viewings of the film and kvetch like two old-timers about modern CG...
WUH: More Modern Horror
May 10, 2019 00:00 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MBIt's been awhile... Since I did a listy-list episode that is. So here ya go, more modern horror flicks I like which proves I'm not just a nostalgia baby stuck in horror's heyday. Heck, right now might just be horror's heyday so jump on the bandwagon and check out these frightening films! What's on the list, you so impertinently ask? Listen to the dang episode says me. And then listen to this one too: https://soundcloud.com/wakeupheavy/minisode-2-favorite-modern-horror Thanks to Kim and Ket f...
WDIRT V3E1: Eyes of Fire (1983)
April 28, 2019 00:00 - 32 minutes - 30 MBHere's another instance of my stupidity: I saw the very intriguing video box image for Eyes of Fire probably 50 million times back in my teens and never took a chance on renting it. Dumb, Mark, just plain dumb! This is one fascinating oddity that has never really gotten its chance to shine. The film didn't get very positive reviews when it came out, died at the box office, and wasn't given a VHS release until 1987. At that point it gained a cult following, but once again got buried in obscuri...
WDIRT V2: E1-E3
April 23, 2019 00:00 - 1 hour - 109 MBWDIRT V2E1: ALICE, SWEET ALICE (1976) This slightly sleazy, giallo-esque proto-slasher gained notoriety for starring Little Brooke Shields. But it was the anti-Catholic sentiment and shocking violence that got it condemned. Director Alfred Sole borrows from Hitchcock, throws in some DON'T LOOK NOW and tops it all off with a creepy masked killer. Enjoy! [Stars at 00:01] [EPISODE CORRECTION: Jason Patric and Joshua John Miller are half-brothers, not step-brothers.] WDIRT V2E1: LET'S SCARE JES...
WUH: Lemora vs. Valerie
April 20, 2019 00:00 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MBLemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural (1974), directed by Richard Blackburn and starring Cheryl Smith and Leslie Gilb. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970), directed by Jaromil Jires and starring Jaroslava Schallerová. Quite by happenstance I watched both of these films recently and was struck by their similarities. Two young girls, Lila Lee in the American South and Valerie in Czechoslovakia, are each experiencing the perilous journey into womanhood. Both are pursued by lecherous cl...
WUH: Barton Fink & After Hours
April 17, 2019 00:00 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBBack when I first tried my hand at a Patreon subscription the goal was to offer "exclusive content." It lasted for four episodes. Then I closed the account (which I eventually brought back in a different form). Here are the first two of those episodes. --Barton Fink (1991) Wherein I talk about MY favorite Coen Bros. movie in a roundabout way. More stream-of-conscious musing than film talk, this episode is heavy on recollections. Get it!? --After Hours (1985) Got Scorsese on the brain after ...
WUH: Images & Psychotronic
April 16, 2019 00:00 - 59 minutes - 54.9 MBBack when I first tried my hand at a Patreon subscription the goal was to offer "exclusive content." It lasted for four episodes. Then I closed the account (which I eventually brought back in a different form). Here are the first two of those episodes. --Images (1972) This was a new discovery for me last year, and I immediately fell in love with it. Robert Altman's entry into the "hysterical woman" sub-genre stars Susannah York as Cathryn who is haunted by a dead ex-lover and her own doppleg...
S2E1. I'm God's lonely man: Taxi Driver (1976)
March 31, 2019 00:00 - 1 hour - 70.9 MBAlmost three months after the end of Season One Wake Up Heavy is back with our Season Two opener on Martin Scorsese's gritty-seventies-existential-nihilistic masterpiece Taxi Driver. WUH welcomes back Mike White from The Projection Booth podcast for another stimulating discussion. http://www.projectionboothpodcast.com/ Powerful in its cinematic style and controversial in its depiction of violence, Paul Schrader's script and Scorsese's frenetic direction imbue the film with a mounting tension...
WUH: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
March 27, 2019 00:58 - 27 minutes - 24.8 MBWhat's in the cellar, Rynn? Where is your father? What does Frank Hallett want? What's the big deal about those jelly jars? Have a listen and get answers to (some of) these questions! Another quick episode to lead into the season two premiere on Taxi Driver, TLGWLDTL was one of five movies starring Jodie Foster that was made or released in 1976. I caught this one on TV as a young'n and it struck a chord and stuck with me for years. Martin Sheen's never been creepier and Foster once again pla...
WDIRT V2E3: The Gate (1987)
March 27, 2019 00:00 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MBWhy didn't I rent this? Apparently I'm a dingus. "It's The Evil Dead for kids!"--Mark Begley. 'Nuff said.
WUH: Handgun (1984)
March 17, 2019 00:00 - 18 minutes - 16.8 MBTaking a break from horror to talk about this little movie from 1984 that I'd never heard of until a few months ago. I wanted to discuss this film as a lead-up to the season two premiere on Taxi Driver since both feature protagonists that seek vengeance to regain power under wholly different circumstances. Karen Young plays Kathleen Sullivan, a teacher from Boston working at a high school in Texas. She meets Larry, a charming lawyer, man's-man, and gun nut, who aggressively pursues her affec...
WUH: The Reflecting Skin (1990)
March 11, 2019 00:00 - 26 minutes - 23.9 MBPhilip Ridley's "prairie gothic" The Reflecting Skin was released in 1990 to much acclaim and derision, and then quietly disappeared. Young Seth Dove traverses the nightmare of childhood among the wheat fields of 1950s Idaho, mostly left to his own devices by his chronically sad father and hysterical mother. He and his friends terrorize a widow they are convinced is a vampire, run afoul of delinquents that cruise the dirt roads in a big black Cadillac, and discover the wonders and horrors o...
WDIRT V2E2: Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
March 04, 2019 00:00 - 34 minutes - 31.1 MBAfter a stay in a mental institution, Jessica, along with her husband and their friend, moves from Manhattan to Connecticut in hopes that her fragile mental state will improve. They encounter a mysterious stranger squatting in their new home, strange, hostile men covered in bandages, and a mute girl, all of whom may be the victims of a century old vampire. Will Jessica escape alive and with her sanity in tact? p.s. There's outtakes at the end of this one! :P
WIHM: The devil made me do it
February 24, 2019 00:00 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBWomen in Horror Month 2019 concludes at WUH with an episode on Jocelin Donahue and Alex Essoe and their starring roles in two of my favorite modern horror movies: The House of the Devil (2009) and Starry Eyes (2014).
WIHM: Mia Farrow
February 17, 2019 00:00 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MBMia Farrow, though not necessarily labeled a genre actress, has been in some of my favorite horror films. In Episode Three of the #WomenInHorrorMonth series I discuss four (well five) of Ms. Farrow's horror films: Rosemary's Baby (1968), Secret Ceremony (1968), See No Evil (1971), The Haunting of Julia (1977), and (ever so briefly) The Omen (2006). Please check out The Projection Booth's episode on The Haunting of Julia.
WIHM: The Invitation (2015)
February 11, 2019 00:00 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MBThe second episode of the Women in Horror Month special series is on Karyn Kusama's tense horror/thriller The Invitation. This movie triggers my social anxieties, contains my favorite horror sub-genre, and has a killer cast.
WIHM: The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
February 04, 2019 00:00 - 19 minutes - 17.6 MBThe first episode of the Women in Horror Month special series is The Slumber Party Massacre. Written by Rita Mae Brown as a parody of the slasher genre but filmed straight by Amy Holden Jones, what emerged was a slightly off-kilter horror flick that might just make you question what it is you like about these films. [EPISODE CORRECTION: Brinke Stevens was in TSPM not Michelle Bauer.]
WIHM: Preview
February 01, 2019 00:00 - 17 minutes - 15.8 MBIt's Women in Horror Month and I wanted to do my part to promote films directed by women and centered around women. This is the preview episode, and my plan is to put out a short episode every week in February, with the goal of compiling them all at the end.
WDIRT V2E1: Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
January 22, 2019 00:00 - 18 minutes - 17.1 MBThis slightly sleazy, giallo-esque proto-slasher gained notoriety for starring Little Brooke Shields. But it was the anti-Catholic sentiment and shocking violence that got it condemned. Director Alfred Sole borrows from Hitchcock, throws in some Don't Look Now and tops it all off with a creepy masked killer. Enjoy! [EPISODE CORRECTION: Jason Patric and Joshua John Miller are half-brothers, not step-brothers.]
WDIRT V1: E1-E3
January 15, 2019 00:00 - 54 minutes - 75.9 MBWDIRT V1E1: THE BEAST WITHIN (1982) Philipe Mora's films are quite varied, but they all share a certain bizarre quality. TBW is no exception. I remember the box art for this one so distinctly but never took the plunge. I wish I had because it's a very unique horror film from one of the busiest years for the genre. Plus, those bladder effects! [Starts at 00:01] WDIRT V1E2: MESSIAH OF EVIL (1973) From the screenwriting power duo who brought you HOWARD THE DUCK, it's the 1973 (or is it 1971? ...
S1E6. They're still not sure it is a baby: Eraserhead (1977)
January 11, 2019 00:00 - 2 hours - 128 MBWell here it is, the season finale of Wake Up Heavy. David Lynch's 1977 seminal masterpiece Eraserhead is not only my favorite horror film it is unequivocally my single favorite film of all time. Lynch has called it, "A dream of dark and troubling things," and there is no more apt description than that. A wholly personal film, Eraserhead is a confusing conundrum of confluences that proves impossible to dissect (pun intended) unless you are David Lynch. The story itself is based on very simple...
2018 WUHrap Up
December 25, 2018 00:00 - 26 minutes - 24.1 MBIt's a last minute pseudo-year-end wrap up. Keeping things confusing by offering this up before the season finale episode 'cuz that's how I roll. Plus, it's stuff I was going to include in that EP anyway, but thought it better to pull it out to knock down the run time and get this stuff out there before year's end. Included herein are thank yous, podcast suggestions, ratings & reviews*, Patreon possibilities (and other $$$ talk), those damn stickers, the goal of WUH, a quick episode recap, a...
S1E5. FE2-0880: Black Christmas (1974)
December 09, 2018 00:00 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MBIt's that time of year! You know the time, when we watch Bob Clark's Holiday Classic for 24 hours. No, not THAT Holiday Classic, THIS classic! That's right, Clark's Black Christmas, the proto-slasher that, according to many, inspired John Carpenter's Halloween, and laid the bloody groundwork for one of the most popular horror sub-genres. I explore the similarities and differences between the two films, and offer up some potentially controversial theories. [EPISODE CORRECTION: The murder that...
WUH Hot Take: Mandy
December 02, 2018 00:00 - 16 minutes - 14.9 MBHot take on a current movie I really dug. Trying to dig up the article about watching movies alone, will post when/if I find it. CHEDDAR GOBLIN RULES!! And so do The Carpenters. This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5652747/advertisement
WUH HT: Mandy (2018)
December 02, 2018 00:00 - 17 minutes - 15.8 MBHot take on a current movie I really dug. Trying to dig up the article about watching movies alone, will post when/if I find it. CHEDDAR GOBLIN RULES!! And so do The Carpenters.
WDIRT V1E3: Deranged (1974)
November 22, 2018 00:00 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MBAh, Ed Gein, that perpetual paradigm of perversion spawned myriad torrid tales of terror, including, but not limited to, Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs. His horrific happenings may have been presented in their truest and most disturbing form in this wicked number from 1974 helmed by Alan Ormsby, starring Roberts Blossom, and produced in part by Bob Clark. I think this one looked just a bit too on the nose for young Markie back in the '80s. Please check out the...
WDIRT V1E2: Messiah of Evil (1973)
November 12, 2018 00:00 - 21 minutes - 19.9 MBFrom the screenwriting power duo who brought you Howard the Duck, it's the 1973 (or is it 1971? or maybe 1974?? or...) oddball Messiah of Evil (or Second Coming? or Revenge of the Screaming Dead? or Return of the Living Dead?? or the sublime Dead People???). Any way you slice it this is one kooky flick. If little 13-year-old Mark had laid his eyeballs on this one he might have grown up to be a weirdo! Oh, wait...