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 #36 - A WEREWOLF IN THE AMAZON (2005)

With this film Paul Naschy added H. G. Wells' classic character Dr. Moreau to his list of onscreen portrayals and he does a fine job. The movie is from 2005 and was made in Brazil so both Spanish and Portuguese languages are spoken which only adds confusion for someone just trying to read the subtitles! I'm not going to lie- A WEREWOLF IN THE AMAZON is an odd one folks- even for us. Among other strange things this film sports a pretty good werewolf; multiple gory corpses; naked lesbians; naked Amazons; age inappropriate sexual encounters; broad humor; confusing back stories; contradictory character motivations; a bizarre musical number; death by sex; ridiculous sets and a mercifully short running time. Sadly, only those with access to the 'Special Antenna'  will be able to check out this late career entry in Naschy's resume but the curious will always seek these things out.

Troy and I want to thank our Man In the Field for help with this episode as well as Mistress Elena of the fine podcast Horror Rises From Spain for her invaluable help in answering several questions we posed in our show on THE SNIPER. Sometimes the things you learn about Spanish culture can really open your eyes! And a big shout out to Jeff Nelson for his amazing artwork for this episode as well. He really out did himself this time. Wow!

Your humble hosts prattle on about comic books, music and a host of other topics as well as the film we're supposed to be discussing. You have been warned! We get off topic early and often. Please drop us a line at naschycast@gmail.com or come see us over on the NaschyCast Facebook page. And if you get the show through iTunes (and I know you do) please consider leaving us a written review over there. That would help us out a lot.

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NaschyCast #35 - THE SNIPER (1978)

Once again we venture into the area of 1970s crime movies but this time out we find a very different kind of tale. Somber, melancholy and restrained THE SNIPER is the story of a man driven to do a terrible thing because he feels he has nothing to live for. Naschy plays the central role and puts his all into making Lucas the watchmaker sympathetic and sad. Does his loss make sense in a senseless world? Can he bring some balance to things by violent action?  Is he so hurt by life that he can never care about other people again? THE SNIPER asks a lot of questions about life, loss and grief but its up to the individual viewer to decide if the ultimate message is positive or negative. Needless to say we both thought the film was well worth seeing.

Changing things up a bit this time we thought it would be a good idea to not spoil the last act of this one so we end our discussion before events spiral out of control. This film is very difficult to find so we want to encourage Naschy fans to seek it out and NOT know the ending from us! We may do more of this in the future depending on what our loyal listeners think so be sure to let us know which way of conducting the show you prefer. We get into some odd areas as we go through things and since we didn't have any feedback for this episode we even talk about comic books for a few minutes- and then we get back on track! Forgive us fanboys our geeky digressions, please.

Drop us an email or send us an MP3 with your thoughts to naschycast@gmail.com to get in on the discussion and make us aware you're out there. We love hearing from you! Grab the show at the link below or pull it down from iTunes. Thanks for listening.

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NaschyCast #34 - SCHOOL KILLER (2001)

The new NaschyCast is a little late but well worth the wait! We once again venture into the 21st century to check out a film in which Paul was merely an actor for hire in a Spanish movie. By this time in his career he was the Grand Old Man of Spanish horror but that didn't always garner him much respect in his home country. At least the producers of SCHOOL KILLER realized there was great potential in having an iconic horror star play the movie's boogeyman role. Whether that potential was tapped is a matter for much discussion. As usual the podcast veers all over the place as Troy and I run through this funhouse tale of mirrors. We look for Scooby Snacks, attempt to diagram timelines, admire a few interesting ideas and ask pertinent questions that the film may or may not have any desire to answer. Check it out to see what we get up to!

The mailbag section of this episode is very exciting because we have a voicemail from author Stephen Sullivan. He took it upon himself to record his comments as an MP3 and send it off to us. This allows us to almost engage in a dialog with him on NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF and the Daninsky films as well as a few other topics. As a fiction writer he has more than a few good insights into what can make these beloved pieces of Euro-horror work or not work. Good stuff! If anyone else wants to join the show in this way please feel free to send your MP3s to naschycast@gmail.com and we will gladly respond to your thoughts. You can also reach us over on the NaschyCast Facebook page where fans of the show occasionally post some fun Spanish Horror related things. The show can be downloaded from the link below or is available in iTunes. Enjoy and have a Happy New Year! 

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NaschyCast #33 - THE CRIMES OF PETIOT (1973)

For episode 33 we venture once again into the realms of Euro-Crime to see how the criminal side of life lives. In this case we have a mad killer haunted by Germany's Nazi past running around Berlin shooting people. His modus operandi is a strange one as it involves always attacking couples and centers on a particular hatred of the female each time. Bizarre!

THE CRIMES OF PETIOT was Paul Naschy's second collaboration with director Jose Luis Madrid. Their two films together were both of the crime story type and centered on deranged killers making eager over thinkers like your humble podcasters wonder about the shared themes that drive some men's art. Could the sublimated desire to act upon dark urges to both reflect the harsh actions of the recent past and repudiate the hideous history of the Second World War simultaneously have caused the growing trend of overly violent movies? Could the creeping misogyny of films that focus on duplicitous women have something to do with the emergent women's rights movement of the 1970s? Or could it just be that killing pretty girls and splashing blood around the screen was a surefire way to get an exploitation film into theaters? I think we all know the answer, huh?

Join us as we march our way scene by scene through this very hard to find film. Have we discovered another little known masterpiece or something further down the scale? For those that want to avoid spoilers we start ruining the reveal at about the 1:33 (one hour and thirty-three minute) mark and finish that kind of talk by the 1:50 (one hour and fifty minute) mark. Make your listening choices accordingly. And please drop us a line at naschycast@gmail.com to let us know your thoughts on the show, Naschy, Spanish Cinema or any other subject that comes to mind. And I'm trying out a new download service for those of you that grab the MP3 directly instead of from iTunes or streaming through Stitcher. The link below will (hopefully) take you to DropBox but if it doesn't work please let me know. 

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NaschyCast #32 - THE NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF (1981)

With much joy and some sadness we finally talk at length about THE NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF. We have been holding off discussing this one for many reasons- its the last of Naschy's werewolf films for us to cover; it's a standout entry in the series; its the only Waldemar Daninsky film available on Blu-Ray; etc. The good news is that it is such a solid effort that repeated viewings only make it more impressive. Many key players return, both in front of and behind the camera making this a fun time for longtime fans but the lycanthropic action is plentiful enough to also make it a good bet for neophytes. This is a big, bold, colorful, violent and atmospheric slice of Gothic Horror and it is a worthy addition to not just Spanish Horror cinema but to the genre as a whole. With Naschy writing the script, directing the film and starring in the title role how could it be anything else but an earnest splash of monster fun?

Naschy really lets his film-fan side show in this one with many nods to older classic horror moments from THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, DRACULA- PRINCE OF DARKNESS, THE MASK OF SATAN (a.k.a. BLACK SUNDAY) and several others. We hope you'll enjoy our conversation on this wonderful film. As we had little feedback in the mailbag we conclude the show with a brief look at the amazing MUCHAS GRACIAS SENOR LOBO book that showcases an extensive collection of Naschy movie memorabilia. Please let us know what you think by dropping us a note at naschycast@gmail.com or joining us over at the NaschyCast Facebook page. Oh- and Happy Halloween! 

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Naschycast #31.5 - LORNA, THE EXORCIST (1974)

For the first time in many moons we bring you a .5 episode. We have always used these non-Naschy shows to highlight Spanish horror films of note and often there is a connection to the films of Paul Naschy. In this case there isn’t a direct association but we decided to cover LORNA THE EXORCIST for different reasons - not because of its Spanish born director Jess Franco but because of its lovely star- Lina Romay. When Miss Romay passed away earlier this year Troy and I were stunned, as were most of her fans. We had no idea she was in ill health and her most recent public appearances with longtime companion Franco had shown us the typical smiling, supportive lady we’ve come to know and love. As fans of her beauty and her screen talent we felt we had to do something to mark her passing and with this film we feel we’ve found a very good piece of work to discuss. Little seen for decades LORNA sports a brave, nuanced performance from Lina and, barring a sub-plot we found questionable, it is an excellent example of Franco’s 1970s Franco low-budget transgressive esthetic. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to sing her praises and we hope everyone will get some enjoyment out of our conversation.

We had a lot of fun talking about the film's Faustian plot, interesting sea imagery, strange locations and copious nudity. Did I mention the nudity? Oh- and I manage to create a new descriptive phrase I expect will sweep the nation in the coming weeks- 'Obliquely Clear!' Start using it now and avoid the rush.  I think we covered most aspects of the movie pretty well but if you have something to add (and we hope you do!) please write us at naschycast@gamil.com and let us know how you would rate this intriguing effort. The mailbag section is petty amazing this time out with me going off on a rant about the Universal Horror Blu-Rays and - in a real surprise- Troy rants about Gamera DVDs.  Will wonders never cease? You can find us over on the NaschyCast Facebook page or at the email address above. The show can be downloaded from the link below, found in the iTunes Store or streamed through Stitcher Radio.

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