Episodes
Thursday Sep 01, 2022
Episode 61 - The Ritual (2017)
Thursday Sep 01, 2022
Thursday Sep 01, 2022
Viewed through the lens of the Lovecraft Mythos that was expanded on after his death, The Ritual is a very well written, acted, and directed neo-Lovecraftian inspired film, its jötunn serving as the Cthulhu of the Scandinavian woods. This 2017 adaptation of the Adam Nevill also serves as an inadvertent entryway into the interconnected world of early 20th century weird fiction, with the titular novel having won an award named after August Derleth, who was a correspondent of Lovecraft, who was a correspondent of Robert E. Howard, who was accused of ripping off Derleth.
Also, was Robert E. Howard racist? According to this Hugo Award Finalist, yes, he was.
Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
Episode 60 - X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes (1963)
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
Is it accurate to describe X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes as "Cyclops but addicted to drugs?" Not entirely, but it's a more accurate description than calling the pre-Haunted Castle Roger Corman flick "Lovecraftian." Featuring Ray Milland as a man of science who gets more than he bargained for when he experiments on his own eyes, this low-budget, unofficial Invisible Man adaptation could greatly benefit from a contemporary update.
Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.
Wednesday Aug 10, 2022
Episode 59 - Hellraiser (1987)
Wednesday Aug 10, 2022
Wednesday Aug 10, 2022
The podcast. You downloaded it. We came.
On this episode, we discuss Clive Barker's feature film directorial debut that rubbed all sorts of Reaganites the wrong way with not only its depictions of chains, leather, and torture, but also with its ideas that the lines between pain and pleasure are blurred in the eye of the beholder. While the franchise would eventually devolve into an incoherent and inconsistent quagmire of mythology and philosophy -- the seeds of which can certainly be found here in the initial installment -- Hellraiser is a remarkably insightful film, raising questions about morality and certainty brought about on a Lovecraftian quest into forbidden knowledge and experiences.
Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.
Wednesday Jul 20, 2022
Episode 58 - Witch House (2021)
Wednesday Jul 20, 2022
Wednesday Jul 20, 2022
Battleship Pretension's David Bax returns almost two years after his first appearance to talk about yet another adaptation of "Dreams in the Witch House" (and also his latest podcast, The One Where I Met Your Mother and also his thoughts on NHL free agency).
Basically everything from the production quality to narrative logic in Bobby Easley's H.P. Lovecraft's Witch House (based on the novel Push by Sapphire) is severely lacking, but gosh darnit, at least it feels like they're trying. Sure, the ending muddles the entire journey and the story plays up too much Judeo-Christian mythology and the math literally adds up to nothing, but at least they're trying something beyond straight titillation.
Follow David on Twitter @daveypretension
Listen to The One Where I Met Your Mother
Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.
Tuesday Jun 28, 2022
Episode 57 - Castle Freak (2020)
Tuesday Jun 28, 2022
Tuesday Jun 28, 2022
There are some real life horrors manifesting in the world today - horrors that mean many women are not sleeping soundly at night out of fear for themselves and future generations. The Cast of Cthulhu finds the recent SCOUTS ruling on Roe v. Wade to be as terrifying as any eldritch creature that Lovecraft imagined and we dedicate the opening of the show to discussing both it and why we won't be bringing back the episode on Richard Stanley's The Color Out of Space anytime soon.
At 16:20 the discussion begins on 2020's Castle Freak, the film that dares to ask the question, "What if Stuart Gordon's Castle Freak was both hornier AND dumber?" Probing this topic is returning guest Stephen Foxworthy of Disenfranchised Pod, who suffered the cyclopean task of sitting through an adaptation that was intended to launch a new Lovecraft cinematic universe despite being too unfaithful for established fans and too brainless for new ones.
Listen to Disenfranchised anywhere podcasts are available and follow Stephen on Twitter @ChewyWalrus and @DisenfranchPod
If the recent SCOTUS ruling on Roe v. Wade has enraged you as well, you can support the National Network of Abortion Funds and the Center for Reproductive Rights. In addition, here are 10 regional abortion funds around the country that you can support with donations.
Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.
Wednesday Jun 22, 2022
Episode 56 - Castle Freak (1995)
Wednesday Jun 22, 2022
Wednesday Jun 22, 2022
Not really sure what one should expect from a movie whose genesis began with the premise "there's a castle and there's a freak", but prepare yourself for a pretty emotionally mature exploration of loss, grief, and inescapable fate handed down through a cursed family's bloodline propped up by admirable performances from Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton. But since it's a low-budget Stuart Gordon film produced by Charles Band, also prepare yourself for ham-fisted exploitation that undercuts a lot of the film's emotional maturity and an adaptation of Lovecraft's "The Outsider" that is tenuous at best.
And click here if you want to listen to the Post-Mortem with Mick Garris episode in which he interviews Charles Band.
Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.
Wednesday Jun 08, 2022
Episode 55 - Spring (2014)
Wednesday Jun 08, 2022
Wednesday Jun 08, 2022
Spring has sprung, so what better time to cover Benson & Moorehead's Spring than right now? There is no better time, obviously. Silly question. How foolish of you to ask. Anyway, Corinne Corrosive returns after The Shunting to discuss arguably the most emotionally mature film from the directing duo and to join the boys as they wade into a discussion about the horror of immortality and ultimately reveal that all 3 of them dislike the ending for entirely different reasons.
Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.
Thursday May 19, 2022
Episode 54 - John Dies at the End (2012)
Thursday May 19, 2022
Thursday May 19, 2022
Just like the titular John, we didn't die at the end! We return from an entirely unplanned lengthy hiatus to (hopefully) get back to regularly scheduled programming with the cult horror/comedy John Dies at the End, which currently stands as the last feature directed by Phantasm creator Don Coscarelli.
The 2012 adaptation of Jason Pargin's webserial turned novel is schizophrenic, unfocused, difficult to describe, a testament to 20-something slacker culture of the early aughts, and also...kind of perfectly emulates the framework of an H.P. Lovecraft short story? Cheap looking at times and often losing something in its adaptation from print, John Dies at the End nevertheless still captures -- in its own peculiar way -- what it feels like to first experience that existential numbing that results from accepting that you have no control over your life.
Skip to 24:23 if you want to avoid brief discussions on Moon Knight, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the movie games Jim has been playing on a daily basis: Framed, Moviedle, Actorle, and the Box Office Game.
Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Episode 53 - Monsters (2010)
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Is Gareth Edwards' directorial debut Lovecraftian? Not in the slightest! Did the 6-person crew have a shooting script? Absolutely not! Do the effects, direction, and performances still hold up after 12 years? You betcha!
Entirely improvised and largely featuring locals and non-professional actors, Monsters may leave Lovecraft fans yearning for more nihilism or existential madness, but the love story with monsters as window dressing is a testament to a filmmaker whose big budget studio offerings haven't served him as well.
Jump to 15:18 to avoid a discussion on why The Book of Boba Fett is bad and to 29:18 if you have no interest in hearing about AEW Revolution.
And be sure to listen to James' appearance on Disenfranchised Pod talking about Flash Gordon.
Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
Episode 52 - Interview with Abyssal Albion creator Thomas Campbell
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
Friend of the show, Thomas Campbell, returns to The Cast of Cthulhu to discuss his latest creative endeavor spawned from the pandemic, the indie Lovecraftian comic, Abyssal Albion. Half Lovecraftian horror and half The Road, Abyssal Albion is currently crowdfunding for its third issue, which you can support on Kickstarter. Want to get caught up on the horrors confronting the siblings navigating their way through a post-apocalyptic wasteland? The first two issues are also currently available to purchase as well.
Follow Tom on Twitter @Party_Lard and keep up with the comic @AbyssalAlbion.
Check out The Cast of Cthulhu on Facebook or Twitter and email any questions or comments to moviesofmadness@gmail.com.