It's Halloween! Which means we're all entitled to a good scare. Wayne is M.I.A, lost to the darkness of the forest, so our good friend, and official stand-in, Phil of Flixology 101 is sitting in the co-host chair alongside Liam.
And Lucky for us we have a whole host of contributors (listed below) giving us their opinions on the cultural phenomenon that is The Blair Witch project.
Cannibal Holocaust and The Mcpherson Tape both used found-footage to tell their story, but it was 1999's The Blair Witch Project that solidified the genre as a mainstay in the horror world, going on to major box office success that would breed generations of imitators.
But while our feature presentation may be a dive into The Blair Witch Project, this is a Halloween special, after all, and given that that our co-host is from the United States, we have a lot of fun divulging in our Halloween stories growing up, and the differences each country has in regards to the rituals.
Contributors include:
Author Dan Epstein (@dockfidrych, Instagram)
Author Scott West @ScottMWest, X)
Ben Vargas and Nix of Cinema Shitshow ( @bensower, @NixEclips, @CinemaShitshow, X}
Nikolai Adams (@filmizon, X)
Shane Day ( @ShaneDa60900314, X)
Marianne (@spiritedcretin, X)
Matt Rotman (@bonkersasscin, X)
Tim of Ghoulan Globin Theater (@GandgTheater, X)
We’re going all the way back in time for this episode on Michael Reeves’ Folk horror classic Witchfinder General. The final film in a promising but truncated career, it depicts the highly fictionalised exploits of the infamous Matthew Hopkins, a man of great ambition, avarice and antipathy.We discuss the time period, the plot and characters, the sound and cinematography and its eerily prescient themes. It’s a proud member the ‘Unholy Trinity’, and it’s about time we put it on trial.
Our pal Rolo Tony is back as we continue our dive into the works of Larry Fessenden, and for today's episode we're taking a look at easily Fessenden's most divisive film to date - the direct-to-Chiller, creature feature Beneath.
Taking a relative battering by the critics of the time, and an equally poor audience reception, does Beneath deserve another look at? Does it retain Fessenden themes and concerns, which made his name in Underground USA horror landscape?
Stay tuned as we dissect this film.
The Bigfoot journey continues here at In Film We Trust as we welcome back Scott West, Phil DeGlass and Matt Rotman. Last week we travelled to upstate New York in search of a Yeti, now we’re in Northern California in search of the big hairy one himself: Bigfoot. Night Of The Demon impressed very few people back in the day, so we’re here to see whether or not its worthy of reappraisal. Is it cheap, exploitative trash or a work of unsung genius? There’s only 1 way to find out. Pack up the Econoline Van and lets get rolling!
You may not know it, but here at In Film We Trust we’ve long been planning something special, something incredible, something truly extraordinary: A Bigfoot double bill with some of our previous guests! Ok it might not be earthshattering, but it’s fertile ground for some laughs, some fun analysis and a lot of behind-the-scenes factoids.So on that note we’re inviting our good friends Matt Rotman, Phil DeGlass and Scott West, who joined us last year to discuss Christmas Evil, to come back for back-to-back episodes, beginning with 1974’s Shriek Of The Mutilated. Does it feature Bigfoot? Well, sort of. Is it going to be a blast to discuss? You bet your ass it is!
We welcome underground filmmaker Charles Pinion back to the show for part 2 of our dive into his transgressive, shot on video works. In part 1 we discussed the punk-splatter of Twisted Issues, and today we are discussing Red Spirit Lake - his second feature, and arguable his most narrative driven of his early work.
In this episode we contextualise his the film within the period - his work at the counterculture skin rag Screw magazine, his friends in the Cinema of Transgression and the cross-pollination of their work, and we dive into the behind the scenes stories of Red Spirit Lake.
After a brief hiatus, we’ve returned to our rightful place in front of the mics. Some months ago, with Liam off saying hello to Dennis Hopper on a psychedelic tour of the stratosphere. Wayne welcomed our good friend Rolo Tony on to discuss Larry Fessenden’s 1997 Vampire film Habit. That was the first episode in a miniseries that continues today with Wendigo, a film set in the snow-covered wilderness of upstate New York, where a child’s imagination causes the line between reality and fantasy to blur.We discuss the Native American Wendigo legend and its place in the story, the films’ themes, its characters, setting and the divisive ending. Along the way we discuss another one of Fessenden’s films which featured the Wendigo: The Last Winter.Let the discussin’, dissectin’ and deep divin’ begin once again.
This week Wayne is on the lam from Interpol, so Phil Deglass, CEO, COO, and whatever other acronyms he gave himself during the episode, of Flixology 101 is sitting in the co-host chair with Liam, as he brings the podcast Dario Argento's giallo Opera to discuss - a film many believe is Argento's last outright classic. But is that true? Well, stick around to find out, because we've got opinions on that, alongside the 'Macbeth curse' that befell the film and much more!
We're dipping our toes into the world of Jim Van Bebber - the controversial filmmaker of works such as My Sweet Satan and The Manson Family. But for this episode we're going back to his feature length debut Deadbeat at Dawn, a gangland tale of revenge, the occult and murder, that showed the same shoe-string ingenuity as contemporary Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead.
And for this episode we're joined by Jed Maheu, leader of punk-metallers Zig Zags, who's band has just released they're most successful album to date, Deadbeat at Dawn - yup, name after Van bebber's grindhouse classic. So expect a discussion that delves into DIY culture, life in a touring band and the madness that comes with creating art that sits in the margins.
While Liam is off on a wild psychedelic adventure, Wayne is here to kick off a mini-series on New York filmmaker Larry Fessenden with our friend and previous collaborator Rolo Tony. Fessenden’s name may not be as recognisable as the likes of Carpenter, Hitchcock, Cronenberg and others, but Tony is here to explain why he still deserves to be mentioned among these all-time greats. So we’re starting this little project with the 90s vampire horror film Habit, an allegorical take on… well, a variety of things actually. We chat about the films history, its look and feels, the soundtrack, the characters and, most importantly, the thematics. On the way we’ll make a slight diversion to discuss an earlier Fessenden film, No Telling, and what it demonstrates about the director’s ability and his career. So strap on your finest Cyrano de Bergerac nose and join us for this dark, disturbing and delightful deep dive.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is one of the most acclaimed horror films of all time, a chilling window into the mind of a twisted, voyeuristic killer with serious parental issues. Sadly, it’s huge success overshadowed a lesser known but strikingly similar film called Peeing Tom. Now hailed as a masterpiece, it dealt irreparable damage to its director Michale Powell’s career and spent years in shame and obscurity. This week, we’re digging out our finest 60s camera and most cumbersome tripod and, with the help of our good friend and Peeping Tom superfan Becca from the Do You Expect Us To Talk podcast, we’re giving the film exactly what it deserves: A thorough In Film We Trust deep dive.
IFWT is riding solo this week to dive into a almost quasi lost New Hollywood film The Hired Hand, directed by and starring Easy Rider's Peter Fonda.
The Hired Hand came about due to Universal jumping on the Easy Rider trend and giving new directors 1 millions dollars and final cut (so they say), in an attempt to capture the indie success of Easy Rider. Did it work? Did it succeed? Were all parties happy with the result?
well, u gotta stick around. Because, other than the IFWT dive and analysis, we'll definitely be getting into the backstory of this underseen film.
Alexandra Hay might not be a name that means much to you, but for todays guest, Dylan Dean Staley, it’s been the focus of his creative endeavours for the better part of a decade. So today he’s on the show to tell us all about this enigmatic figure, with special focus on one of her most highly regarded movies: Model Shop. A clear influence on Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, its freewheeling, subtle, character focused style alienated many at the time, including much of the critical elite, but its now regarded as one of the most accurate snapshots of Los Angeles at the tail end of the 60s.So jump into that overpriced sports car that you can barely afford and join us on a trip around Tinseltown to visit the Model Shop and learn all about why Alexandra Hay and her career, as it deserves more attention than it currently gets.
We welcome punk filmmaker Charles Pinion onto the show for the first part of a mini-series diving into the shot-on-video works of Charles.
Pinion made his mark on the shot-on-video scene of the 1980s with his debut feature Twisted Issues in 1988 - an experimental psychotronic story of a bullied skater who is killed and resurrected, attached to his skateboard(!!!), to enact bloody revenge on his perpetrators.
But it wouldn't be right to just dive into Twisted Issues. We wanna know his story! his formative years, his influences, how he came to make Twisted Issues, and the Cinema of Transgression scene he soon found himself a part of.
The Vanishing stands as one of the most highly regarded European films ever made films, and on this episode we’re inviting on a guest who, quite literally, wrote the book on it. Writer and film critic Christina Brennan, author of The Vanishing (Spoorloos), is going to guide us through the production history, behind the scenes dramas and all the fascinating ins and outs that revolve around what some regarded as one of the scariest and most unsettling films ever made. But what makes it so disturbing? Join us as we discuss, dissect and deep dive the characters, story structure, symbolism and legendary ending, all of which have put this movie on the highest and most deserving of pedestals.
We welcome back to the show, author, filmmaker and musician Nikolas Schreck, who has dropped by to discuss the 2024 revised and updated edition of his 2001 book The Satanic Screen: An Illustrated Guide To The Devil In Cinema.
Nikolas has a first hand vantage of the material, as in a former life, he was a practicing black magician, steeped in the occult and was associated with The Church of Satan. It's with this knowledge that he details the cinematic history of the Devil on screen, and even dating the Devil's image back to the proto-cinema of the magic lantern.
We touch upon many eras, films and depictions in this episode, but of course, for a a more expansive look into this topic, make sure to pick up his book at publisher Headpress.com, and also available wherever you buy books.
For his daily musings and art, make sure to check out his instagram: @nikolas_schreck_official
It’s time for us to travel forward in time to the futuristic world of … 2000!? Death Race 2000 is one of the most famous films to come from the world of B-movie legend Roger Corman, and with an illustrious cast including David Carradine, Mary Woronov and a pre-super stardom Sylvester Stallone, it’s also one of the most well-regarded. There’s lots for us to pick apart here, including the dystopian world, the political landscape, the racers, the cars, the moral implications of violent spectacle and whether or not the ending means a happier world for its citizens, or simply the same old misery in a different costume. Start your engines folks, cos we’re going full speed ahead on this one!
Wayne is off gallivanting round Poland, so Liam, has recruited good friend of the podcast, Phil, of Flixology 101, to fill the co-host seat, and Liam introduces Phil to Scottish filmmaker Donald Cammell's completely bonkers movie White of the Eye.
Starring a returning Cathy Moriarty, who after suffering a horrific car crash, was out of movies for 5 years, and also starring a magnetic David Keith .
Is it a giallo? Is it a slasher? I mean, it could be all these things, or none, but by God, we're here to make a argument for the merits of this hypnotic masterpiece(??)
The French Connection was a departure for director William Friedkin. After the BO failure of The Boys in the Band, he pivoted, and put his learned skills to the emerging zeitgeist grabbing action and car chase film.
But this film, is more than its infamous chase scene, it's a terrifically gritty tale of urban decay, set amongst the backdrop of the NYPD and the drug underworld. And lucky for us, we're joined by writer Jason Allison, a retired NYPD narcotics, and homicide detective with over 20 years in the field, so you know he's gonna bring the goods!
We're joined by friend of the show Carmelita McKoy, who brings us John Huston's 1964 adaptation of Tennessee Williams's play The Night of the Iguana, and we here at IFWT are spoiled, as Carmelita is a wealth of Tennessee Williams knowledge, so it's only fitting she join us for the dive into a film that bridges that old and new Hollywood.