Naschycast #72 - Jon Kitley Visits!

This episode we are joined by Jon Kitley to talk about his love of and history with Paul Naschy! Readers of Horror Hound magazine are aware of his regular column ‘They Came from the Krypt’ but he has also published the book ‘Discover The Horror’ which is part genre exploration and part autobiography. Both Troy and I recommend it. As you might expect from such a conversation, the three of us range all over the place touching on more topics than we could comfortably list.

Suffice to say that we discuss horror conventions (where we all met), non-fiction horror genre books (which we all collect) and our shared fascination with movies and monstrous stories. Of course, we do finally get around to talking about Naschy with Jon falling squarely on my side of the critical Mummy divide! It is about time I had someone to stand with me on that hill! HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB was our guest’s introduction to the great man’s work and it becomes a big part of our chat. As a bonus, the legendary Spanish character actor Victor Israel gets more than a few minutes of glowing examination too. We had a great time talking Naschy and we hope you’ll enjoy listening. 

If you have any comments or question naschycast@gmail.com is the place to send your emails. Thank you for checking out the show and we’ll be back soon.

Naschycast #68 - Bob Sargent Interview!

The NaschyCast returns with a long episode to reward your patience.

Bob Sargent was the man behind the excellent 1990’s cult movie fanzine Videooze. His issue devoted to Paul Naschy was a major contributor to my early knowledge of the man’s filmography and allowed for fans to have a roadmap for his career. Mr. Sargent is a huge fan of Naschy and reached out recently to gab about our shared fascination with the great Spanish Horror icon. Of course, Troy and I couldn’t wait to get him in front of a Zoom mic and pick his brain about Euro-Horror in general and Naschy in specific. He was even kind enough to put together a list of his personal Top Ten favorite films by Senor Molina! This a is a lively conversation and it ranges over the decades and across a dozen different topics. You might even learn a little about how Videooze came about and who Mr. Sargent credits with pushing him into self-publishing.

If you have any comments or questions naschycast@gmail.com is still the address to send things to. We’ll be back soon with a short episode focused on answering a few emails. 

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NaschyCast #64 - Samm Deighan Visits!

As 2020 rolls on we continue to bring new voices onto the show! This time Troy and I sit down with the amazing Samm Deighan to talk about the joys of Spanish horror. Miss Deighan is an associate editor of Diabolique Magazine and co-host of the Daughters of Darkness Podcast. She is also the editor of Lost Girls: The Phantasmagorical Cinema of Jean Rollin and her book on Fritz Lang’s M (1931) is a must read for those interested in movie serial killers. We are very lucky to have her on the show!

While the main subject of this episode is the brilliant and underseen A BELL FROM HELL (1973) there is no way to be a guest on the Naschycast without talking a (long) while about the hirsute icon of the genre – Paul Naschy! That means that at some point chest hair is brought up and hairpieces are discussed. It cannot be avoided.

Samm comes with a list of her favorite Naschy films and manages to gives us a fresh perspective on a couple of them. The repressed Spanish society is a major topic with the country’s rigid genre roles playing into the ways that these stories are told. A BELL FORM HELL is especially interesting when examining the skewed power dynamics of the story with the wheelchair bound aunt exerting her control over the only male in the family. Also, we dig into the often bizarre 1970’s film attitude toward rape as a plot point or harmless joke with the women sometimes seeming to long for the act or even encourage it. Repressive cultures shape psyches into twisted forms! The genre’s common scenes of animal cruelty get into the mix with Samm’s take on modern sensibilities bringing some unexpected laughs to Troy and I. 

But nothing can prepare you for the out-of-left-field discussion of Yeti nipples! You’ll just have to listen to understand. Plus, Troy and Samm briefly talk about their mutual love for the severely neglected folk horror film EYES OF FIRE (1983) and their wonder that it has yet to appear on any form of digital media. What is up with that?

If you have any comments or questions the show can be reached at naschycast@gmail.com or over on the podcast’s FaceBook page. Thank you for listening!

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Mini-Episode Interview with Mike Tutino!

It’s not often we get the opportunity to meet some of the friends we’ve made over the course of making the Naschycast. When we do (and I have enough lead-time) I try to record these fellow fans’ thoughts on our favorite Spanish Horror star. Such is the case with this mini-episode interview with longtime fan of the show and major fan of Paul Naschy – Mike Tutino! Mike has been a generous contributor to the podcast over the years with several letters of comment and observation as we’ve gone along. It was a joy to finally meet him at this summer’s Monster Bash in Pittsburgh and he is more than willing to give us a list of his favorite Naschy movies. There are a few surprises in our discussion with some affection lavished on films that Troy and I have possibly given less attention than we should. Food for further thought……..

Also, we mention the details of the upcoming releases of the new Naschy Blu-Rays coming out this year but – when talking about the exciting release of THE MUMMY’S REVENGE on Blu-Ray we neglected to tell listeners to go to the Ronin Flix website to purchase that disc. That is the only place you’ll be able to buy the film before it starts turning up on secondary sites for outrageous inflated prices. Don’t miss out!

If you have any comments or suggestions or if you want to let us know what your favorite lesser talked about Naschy film might be the email address is naschycast@gmail.com where we’ll be thrilled to hear from you. We’ll be back next month with a new, regular episode covering a really rare Naschy film from 1975. Thanks for listening!

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Naschycast Mini-Episode - Troy Howarth Interview

Sorry for the break! We're back with a Mini-Episode - we'll not call it a .5 episode, I guess. This time out we bring a new voice to the show. Author Troy Howarth has just published a new book about Jacinto Molina entitled Human Beasts: The Films of Paul Naschy. He debuted this look at the career of our favorite Hombre Lobo at this year's Monster Bash in Pittsburgh, PA. I took the opportunity to sit down and ask Mr. Howarth about the book, his first encounter with these films and even his three favorite Naschy movies. We even make time to badmouth cover artist Mark Maddox just because we can!

So check out this brief conversation focused on a few aspects of Naschy's career and then pick up a copy of Troy's book and let us know what you think. With a little luck this will be the start of a wave of books published on the subject to match the flood of Blu-Rays we've been seeing lately. I could do with an entire shelf in my house dedicated to just this field of study! There are links to the book below.

We'll be back very soon with the next Beyond Naschy episode. If you have any comments the email address is naschycast@gmail.com - we'd love to hear from you.

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Beyond Naschy Special - Video Watchdog and Jess Franco!

This month we bring you a special episode of the show. If you've listened to many of our shows you will have heard us mention the magazine Video Watchdog in reference to something or some movie. Both Troy and I have been readers of the 'Perfectionist's Guide to Fantastic Video' for decades now and each issue brings new delights. The depth and breadth of the coverage in the pages of this digest sized joy is incredible. Several years ago we met duo behind the magazine and became great friends  resulting in many fun evenings of movie (and music) discussion that often saw the sun rise before we called things to a halt. Call them publishers, editors, writers, film historians or just great folks Tim and Donna Lucas are two of the nicest people in the world and we're proud to bring you a chance to sit in on a conversation with each of them. First up, Donna takes the opportunity to explain the details of Video Watchdog's move to the digital world. Luckily this does not mean the end of the print version of VW (Thank the stars!) but the bells and whistles added to the online versions of each issue are astonishing. And proving just how nice a lady she is, Donna let's you in on an amazing deal - By using coupon code PODCAST at the Video Watchdog online store checkout you receive 50% off the Digital Archive (176 issues) until December 31, 2016. That's right! For the rest of this year you can grab the VW Digital Archive for half off the (already low) digital price! And did I mention that each new issue is online to read free for the first two months after it's published for FREE! Amazing. So go check out the latest issue inline and see what's going on! The current issue has tons of reviews and a huge article on Carmilla and the various screen adaptations of that classic female vampire tale.

Longtime listeners will know that back in 2011 I got Tim Lucas to sit down for a couple of chats about Naschy's films resulting in some great discussion. I still think his defense of several aspects of BEAST AND THE MAGIC SWORD are eye opening and it is just such differing, knowledgeable opinions that I want when talking about genre film. Of course, Tim is one of the top genre film writers working today and his recent awards for his Mario Bava commentary tracks show that his skills translate from page to audio very well. Here we spend some time discussing several Jess Franco films and a few of their variations. Movies we touch on include THE OBSCENE MIRROR and it's non-porn Spanish language version THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR, FURY IN THE TROPICS, THE DIABOLICAL DOCTOR Z, THE EROTIC RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN and Franco's two Fu Manchu films. I think that in my excitement I may have babbled too much but just listen in for the pearls of insight and wisdom Tim brings to the table and it will all even out! I hope!

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Here are the links to take advantage of the Video Watchdog Digital Archive Sale and look over the newest issue for free!

Use coupon code PODCAST at checkout to receive 50% off the Digital Archive (176 issues) until December 31, 2016.

Digital Editions: http://www.videowatchdog.com/home/digital/library.html

Free Issue:  http://videowatchdog.com/vw

Free Keeper Issue: http://videowatchdog.com/home/digital/keeper

Digital 'Dog Blog:  http://vwdigitaldog.blogspot.com/

Link to the Naschy Cast page in VW 175: http://content.yudu.com/A2idht/current/resources/94.htm

Video Watchdog Website: www.videowatchdog.com

NaschyCast #37 - THE MAN WHO SAW FRANKENSTEIN CRY (2010)

This episode brings us to our first documentary review for the show- and what a doc to start with! THE MAN WHO SAW FRANKENSTEIN CRY is a wonderful film and worth seeking out through whatever means available. More than just the story of Paul Naschy's life and career it is also a frank and loving tribute to the man with a string of celebrities talking about his work. I expected some of the folks that they talk to in the film to discuss the man's various collaborations but the effusive praise is stunning to hear from such a wide variety of people. My eyes filled with tears on more than one occasion and both of us highly recommend seeing this fantastic gift to the memory of the greatest of Spanish Horror icons. It is nearly perfect! 

After having little reader response last month we are overwhelmed with emails this time out! Feast or famine I guess. Thanks to everyone that wrote in and if you would like to let us know what you think please write us at naschycast@gmail.com or come see us on the Facebook page. We love hearing from you even when you pose us tricky questions.

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NaschyCast 36.5 - Year Three Review!

Oh, my goodness! Has it really been three years? Well, yes! It has been that long and so its time for another Year End Wrap Up episode. This group of twelve Naschy movies had a few highs and several lows, as you might expect, but I think we certainly plumbed the depths in a couple of cases.Com along and join Troy and I as we look back over the last 12 months of podcasts and reexamine and, in some cases, reevaluate the Spanish cinema we have previously dissected. There are a few surprises along the way.

As you might expect there are a few digressions as we run through our lists but not too many. In the mailbag we have a fun email from regular correspondent Mark and as a bonus we have short interview with Nashville convention producer Marc Ballard giving us the lowdown on the upcoming show that your humble NaschyCasters will be attending in May. I must say that I'm excited by the chance to meet several of the professionals that will be there including the amazing comic book writer/artist Jim Starlin! I've been a fan of his work for decades. Wow.

If you have questions for us you can write at naschycast@gmail.com or join us over at the NaschyCast Facebook page.  If you subscribe through iTunes please rate and/or review us over in the Store. It would really help us out. Thanks for listening! 

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NaschyCast #23.5 - The Return of Tim Lucas!

Once again we have the pleasure of bringing you a conversation with Tim Lucas. This time both Troy and I are able to sit down and delve deeply into three specific Paul Naschy movies. Tim is always gracious with his time, energy and thoughts often seeing elements your humble podcasters miss or simply barrel past. Of course, good critical insight is what you might anticipate when you realize that he has been writing about film and the horror genre for nearly four decades. While we aimed to stay focused on certain films, as you might expect, the talk turned to various subjects and none of us are above the occasional salacious joke or silly statement. Luckily Tim doesn’t mind when we Tennessee fellows go off on bizarre tangents or disagree with his assessment. We’ll have to name Mr. Lucas a sadly displaced Southern Gentleman as well as a fine Naschy scholar.

We hope you enjoy this romp through the Naschy-verse with Tim. Besides the three films under direct discussion the inevitable talk about Jess Franco is present as well as THE LEGEND OF BLOOD CASTLE; QUATERMASS AND THE PIT; the directorial style of David Cronenberg and its relation to Naschy; the talent of various Spanish actresses; as well as cannibal films and animal cruelty in art. Its always fun to talk with Tim about anything but these periodic Naschy dialogs are a great way to shake up the way we see these films and offer a fantastic challenge to our preconceived notions. I have to say that he's got me thinking hard about my impressions of BEAST AND THE MAGIC SWORD.

Remember you can drop us a message at naschycast@gmail.com or join us over on the Facebook page to put in your two cents worth. We're thrilled by the great feedback from listeners and it makes for a much more lively show. Let us know what your favorite Naschy film is and give us suggestions on other Spanish Horror films you'd like us to cover. Have a great Holiday week and we'll see you again in 2012!

NaschyCast #23 LINK

NaschyCast #18.5 - Tim Lucas Interview!

One of the best things about doing a podcast of this type is the chance to discuss in detail the more obscure movies we love. From the start Troy and I felt that it would be great to get others to join us in digging into Paul Naschy’s films to add to the overwhelming wall of our babble. We’ve been trying to get more folks in the mix in various ways including reading and responding to emails as part of the show but the opportunity to sit down and talk directly with other fans of Naschy is always preferred. With episode 18.5 we present what we hope will be just the first in a series of interviews with notable fans speaking about their encounters with Naschy’s movies, Spanish Horror in general and whatever other films that get brought to mind.

Tim Lucas is the man we generally refer to as the Video Watchdog if, for no other reason, he is the prime mover (along with his charming wife Donna) of the 20 year old magazine of that name. He is the man I can most blame for my repeated dips into the Jess Franco pool of sinema because without his strong defense of the man’s work I’d have written him off long before I encountered many of the films I’ve grown to love. Although Tim’s contributions to genre film criticism can’t be underestimated the work he’ll no doubt be remembered for is his massive book about the life and films of Mario Bava. Entitled ‘Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark’ it was truly a labor of love. This gorgeous tome was the result of decades of research and interviews but it is brilliantly boiled down to a thousand (!) pages of fascinating reading. It really is a must for any fan of the maestro’s films. The book has so much information about so many movies that at times it seems to be almost too much. I like that!

Luckily Tim also loves Naschy and his work although, as you’ll hear, he often has a very different take on certain movies than your humble podcasters. So join us for about ninety minutes of geeky horror talk about Waldemar Daninksy, Spanish Horror and whatever else seems remotely connected. Let us know your thoughts at naschycast@gmail.com or in the comments below. Enjoy!

NaschyCast #18.5

NaschyCast #17.5 - Caroline Munro Interview!

This is a very special episode. Since most of Paul Naschy’s collaborators are European natives our chances of getting the opportunity to sit down and talk to one of his co-stars about their experiences are slim. We’ve got a lot of questions about what it was like working with our favorite werewolf but our trips to Spain, France, England and Italy are few and far between. Luckily the lovely Caroline Munro makes a few convention appearances on this side of the Atlantic each year. After realizing that she would be in Louisville, KY in May we quickly made the decision to try to get her on the record about her time filming HOWL OF THE DEVIL. We expected a long, difficult experience ending in bitter disappointment and harsh recriminations that might well destroy the harmonious thing that is the NaschyCast. Surely it would be supremely hard to get an interview with one of my favorite cult actresses. Surely scores of PR people would line up to prevent easy access to the lady I’ve been in love with since my first viewing of THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD. How wrong we were! Miss Munro was more than willing to talk about her time working with Naschy and I was even able to ask a few questions about her little seen second collaboration with STARCRASH director Luigi Cozzi THE BLACK CAT (1989).


We can’t thank Caroline enough for letting us bug her about these often overlooked gems. She could not have been nicer, more accommodating or more giving with her time. It’s always amazing to meet one of your idols and its even better when they turn out to be genuinely wonderful people. Remember to drop us a line at naschycast@gmail.com and let us know what you think.

NaschyCast #17.5