Let's Get The Banned Back Together - 10 HEADLESS EYES Part Two
“Entertaining, sometimes brilliantly funny…” Chortle.co.uk
Even "cornea" than Part 1, blink and you'll miss it, while not a "patch" on Episode 9…it's got worse pupils than Netflix's Adolescence… We return to 1971's ocular oddity of artistic anarchy…Headless Eyes!
Last time, we prowled through the plotting, as poor Arthur - messed-up, misunderstood and masochistic - hunted and haunted the streets of 70's New York with revenge on his mind, a scalpel in his pocket, divorce papers in his man-bag and a gallery-opening on his year planner. And blimey what a grim and grotty tale it was.
And now we're BACK! To dissect and discuss the creators and creation of this scuzzy bity of "opti-sploitation,"
Who were the team of producers who had one eye on the box-office and one hand on the kleenex when they crowbarred a load of smutty snuff into director Bateman's artsy project?
Was THIS the sort of 42nd street piece of exploitation crapola that Tarantino and Rodruiguez smugly parodied in 2007's 'Grindhouse' and why does the author unreasonably blame Zooey Daschanel for making the whole genre largely unwatchable?
And how is it possible to film a man stalking a woman in an elevator and make it even more tedious than a man NOT stalking a woman in an elevator? And why does it take so fucking long?
Discover ALL THIS and much, much more, as we dig into the history of Grindhouse and find out where - if anywhere - we'll shove the big-box Wizard Picture VHS release of a video nasty that website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, called "Pointless, pretentious, annoying, and no fun at all…" HEADLESS EYES!
Richard Asplin is an award nominated novelist, comedian, pub quiz host and has appeared on Smershpod, LBC and Radio 5 as well as writing for The Guardian and The Sunday Telegraph.
#videonasty #horror #horrormovies #headlesseyes #vhs #kentbateman #jasonbateman #justinebateman #horrorfilms #banned #bbfc #dpp
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Let's Get The Banned Back Together - 10 HEADLESS EYES Part One
“Entertaining, sometimes brilliantly funny…” Chortle.co.uk
To mark the prestigious achievement of our tenth episode, another two-parter! Join me in the Blockbuster that taste forgot as we hit Grindhouse full in the face, with this 42nd Street foray into ocular obscenity. Fresh from Straw Dogs…yes! Another sensitive academic artsy type finds himself on the wrong end of a weapon (a teaspoon, rather than a mantrap, but that’s Tory cuts for you) and spirals into violent murderous madness, prowling the 70s New York streets with both “stalks” in his diary and “stalks” in his freezer compartment!
Who is this beardy weirdy artist and what drove him to the desperate robbery that resulted in cutlery sticking out of his face..?
When will his ex-wife stop nagging him to give-up his art and get a proper job? Perhaps as a Rob Reiner lookalike..?
Why do tedious scenes of following, sneaking, creeping and pouncing feel like they’re in slow motion when they’re actually not..?
And how is it possible that, with 28 fresh eye-balls dangling in his gallery window, not a single New York Cop on the “eyeball murderer case” thinks to pop in for a chat?
Discover all this and more, as we dig into the gritty grotty grindhouse of this 1971 cheapie, written and shot by the man who would go on to horrify Hollywood even further…by being the dad of Jason Bateman…Headless Eyes!
Richard Asplin is an award nominated novelist, comedian, pub quiz host and has appeared on Smershpod, LBC and Radio 5 as well as writing for The Guardian and The Sunday Telegraph.
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Let's Get The Banned Back Together - 9 STRAW DOGS 1971 Part Two
“Entertaining, sometimes brilliantly funny…” Chortle.co.uk
“I will not have any violence against this house…” And so says Dustin Hoffman as he defends his troublesome wife Susan George and an injured David Warner against the onslaught of a local town driven to mayhem with rage and homebrew.
Oh if only the author of the book “The Siege Of Trencher’s Farm” had been quite so staunch in his defence of his novel before director Peckinpah tore it to pieces, making the writer vow never to work with Americans again...
Add a broken arm, some hired escorts, legal action, furious landowners, Grouty from Porridge and a director giving orders from a London drying-out clinic…plus a panicky BBFC chairman who hid the VHS in a drawer and hoped to retire before anyone realised…and you have the second episode of our feature length two-parter!
Follow the misadventures of a very troublesome picture indeed and how it went from the creator of Get Smart to the desk of Harold Pinter to a walk-out at the first screening…
Richard Asplin is an award nominated novelist, comedian, pub quiz host and has appeared on Smershpod, LBC and Radio 5 as well as writing for The Guardian and The Sunday Telegraph.
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Let's Get The Banned Back Together - 9 STRAW DOGS 1971 Part One
“And just like that”, as the never popular Carrie Bradshaw has somehow made a living saying…it all gets very, VERY serious.
For episode 9 – a feature length two-parter – we step away from the creepies and the cheapies and take our first bold move into the 70s and a very, very troublesome picture indeed.
The movie of which Nick Schager of Slant Magazine said "Sitting through Peckinpah's controversial classic is not unlike watching a lit fuse make its slow, inexorable way toward its combustible destination — the taut build-up is as shocking and vicious as its fiery conclusion is inevitable.”
This episode introduces the cast and crew and sets the scene for the decade and we go step by step, blow by blow through the troublesome tale of David (Dustin Hoffman) and Amy (Susan George) – two young liberals who find out what happens when you disrupt and endanger secluded countryfolk…
For people who want their fair-minded sexual political representation from the man who made The Wild Bunch…ladies and gents and everyone inbetween, I present 1970’s exercise in home invasion mayhem, BBFC controversy and Chekovs mantrap – Sam Peckinpahs masterpiece – STRAW DOGS. You’re not going to want to miss this one. Seriously.
Richard Asplin is an award nominated novelist, comedian, pub quiz host and has appeared on Smershpod, LBC and Radio 5 as well as writing for The Guardian and The Sunday Telegraph.
“Entertaining, sometimes brilliantly funny…” Chortle.co.uk
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Let's Get The Banned Back Together - 8 MARK OF THE DEVIL 1970
“Entertaining, sometimes brilliantly funny…” Chortle.co.uk
QUIZ! In February of 1970, what was “…Guaranteed to upset your stomach!” What warned “no-one admitted without a vomit bag…” And had reviewers saying “some of the most disturbing things I’ve ever seen.” Was it...
A. The Berni Inn, Prestatyn?
B. Scotland’s World Cup First 11?
or C. Michael Armstrong’s ‘Mark Of The Devil’?
Welcome to episode 8 of your new favourite Video nasty review-pod – a special bonus length super edition as we arrive screaming at the 1970’s - and ohhh and what nasty fun doth await the punter and his/her popcorn (hopefully not confused with the bag of vomit halfway through the third reel – bag supplied at every cinema from the Sick ‘n’ Mix counter.
Shot on genuine Witch-Trial locations in castles and courts of the 1700s and with horrifically rusty torture equipment being plucked from museums and waved about the place, you’ll come for the glorious performances by Udo Keir and Herbert Lom…but you’ll stay for tricorn hats and tongue removal… Rated V for violence (a certificate they just made up…) yes, it’s our most lavish and lecherous VHS yet!
Richard Asplin is an award nominated novelist, comedian, pub quiz host and has appeared on Smershpod, LBC and Radio 5 as well as writing for The Guardian and The Sunday Telegraph.
Why did 72 of the goriest, most gruesome and grotesque horror movies suddenly…disappear? How did cult thrillers, shockers, slashers and horrors go from “available now!” to renters and owners winding up in UK prisons? And what happened in the early 80s that got priests, parents and politicians on the march to “Ban This Filth!” But more importantly…where can I get these movies?!
A hilarious deep dive into the forgotten world of banned VHS horror movies from the 60s, 70s and 80s that fell foul of the British censors during the ”Video Nasty” moral panic. Comedian, novelist and pub-quiz host Richard Asplin takes you through spoilerific plot details, kill by kill, looking at the often comedic carnage that lurks between the credits in some of the most infamous banned horrors of the era.
Novelist, broadcaster and comedian Richard Asplin has appeared on Radio 5 Live & LBC, guested on ’Smershpod’ as well as writing for The Guardian and The Sunday Telegraph.
UK