For a bit of a change of pace, in episode 95 of the Classic Horrors Club Podcast, Jeff and I discuss two films where there are as many songs as there are monsters: Phantom of the Paradise (1974) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). Both did their time on the Midnight Movie circuit before the advent of home video boosted one’s reputation and tarnished the other’s. Be sure to check out the video companion on the Classic Horrors Club YouTube channel where we count down our Top 10… with a few exceptions due to copyright infringement. Tell us what you think ..read more

Repo! The Genetic OperaRelease date: November 7, 2008 Cast: Alexa PenaVega as Shilo Wallace Paul Sorvino as Rotti Largo Anthony Head as Nathan/Repo Man Sarah Brightman as Blind Mag Paris Hilton as Amber Sweet Bill Moseley as Luigi Largo Orge as Pavi Largo Terrance Zdunich as Graverobber Written by Darren Smith & Terrance Zdunich Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman Plot: It’s 2056 and after a pandemic left the world with organ failures, GenCo has risen to control the masses with organ replacements…at a very high price. If you fail to keep up the payments, the Repo Man will come to repossess t ..read more

Little Shop of HorrorsRelease date: December 19, 1986 Cast: Rick Moranis as Seymour Krelborn Ellen Greene as Audrey Vincent Gardenia as Mushnik Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello D.D.S. Levi Stubbs as Voice of Audrey II Based on the screenplay by Charles Griffith and film by Roger Corman Based on the musical by Howard Ashman Screenplay by Howard Ashman Directed by Frank Oz Plot: When an odd looking plant materializes during a mysterious and unexpected solar eclipse, poor slob Seymour takes it home. However, he soon finds that the plant is hungry for fresh, human blood and that feeding it only ma ..read more

Jeff and I belatedly celebrate the birthday of Ol’ Blood and Thunder, or Mr. Murder, Tod Slaughter in episode 94 of the Classic Horrors Club Podcast! Slaughter has been called a British Boris Karloff. Indeed he made a series of films in the 1930s as similar to each other as Karloff’s mad scientist movies were in the United States. However, with his roots in the theater, Slaughter was a unique master of Victorian melodrama, perhaps best known for playing Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, both on stage and screen. He stops short of being a moustache-twirling villain, but never ret ..read more

We conclude this special five-part salute to the legendary Tod Slaughter with a look at two more of his films and the events leading up to his death. The Crimes of Stephen Hawke (1936) starts off much the same way Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1936) did by being set in modern times. However, this film opens at the BBC Radio studios with an odd sequence featuring Flotsam and Jetsam. This duo (Bentley Collingwood Hilliam and Malcom McEachern) were a musical act involving a piano and songs filled with social commentary. What they are doing in this film remains a mystery. I’m su ..read more

Sexton Blake and the Hooded TerrorRelease date: February 1938 Cast: George Curzon as Sexton Blake Tod Slaughter as Michael Larron Greta Gynt as Mademoiselle Julie Tony Sympson as Tinker Based on the story The Mystery of Caversham Square by Pierre Quirole Screenplay by A.R. Rawlinson Directed by George King Plot: Sexton Blake and his sidekick Tinker match wits with the criminal mastermind known as The Hooded Terror. Richard’s Thoughts: This film stirs up the status quo a little with Tod Slaughter in a supporting role alongside George Curzon’s low-rent Sherlock Holmes wannabe, Sexton Blake. S ..read more

As we continue our retrospective into the career of Tod Slaughter, our next two films have very similar themes with slightly more horrific storylines. Both contain murder and deceit as well as torture and a maniacal madman. Our first film this week is It’s Never Too Late to Mend (1937). Tod Slaughter heads up the cast as Squire John Meadows. He is the justice in the village as well as the local prison administrator. While most in the village believe him to be a trustworthy and upstanding citizen, those within the prison walls know him to be cruel and sadistic. Our story begins as people are l ..read more

The Ticket of Leave ManRelease date: October 1937 Cast: Tod Slaughter as The Tiger John Warwick as Robert Brierly Marjorie Taylor as May Edwards Frank Cochran as Melter Moss Robert Adair as Hackshaw Based on the play by Tom Taylor Screenplay by A.R. Rawlinson & H.F. Maltby Directed by George King Plot: A man is falsely accused of a series of murders that were really committed by the mysterious killer known as The Tiger. Richard’s Thoughts: The key to enjoying a Tod Slaughter movie is to only watch one at a time. A marathon will only expose the secret to his success in the 30s as there w ..read more

The tale of Sweeney Todd is well-known, especially today thanks in large part to the recent stage productions and 2007 film starring Johnny Depp. However, the story is an old one that dates back to the Victorian penny dreadfuls circa 1846. In 1936, Tod Slaughter turned in what may very well be his best and most memorable performance in Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. In the original story, Sweeney Todd is a barber who kills off his victims by pulling a lever which causes the barber chair to fall backwards through a trap door into the basement, plunging the victims to their dea ..read more

Jeff and I have once again been invited back to join our friends Greg and Jenius on their podcast Nightmare Junkead as they celebrate Into the Mouth of March Madness! In episode 436, we journey back to 1984 to discuss the films that made the bracket. But, what movies will we talking about? Will it be Nightmare on Elm Street or The Toxic Avenger? The Terminator or Gremlins? Which franchise will we be talking about? Will Freddy Krueger be alive in our dreams or an afterthought the morning after? You have to tune in to fine out! As always, we want to thank Greg and Jeniu ..read more