WDIRT V1: E1-E3

THEY'RE BACK! As discussed on the WUH: February 2022 episode I have decided to re-release all WDIRT episodes in their original form: as short, individual episodes. 

WDIRT episodes are quick takes on movies I passed on as a teen, have seen since, and then wondered: WHY DIDN'T I RENT THIS (or "that", depending on what my brain made me say)?

WDIRT V1E1: The Beast Within (1982)
Philipe Mora's films are quite varied, but they all share a certain bizarre quality. TBW is no exception. I remember the box art for this one so distinctly but never took the plunge. I wish I had because it's a very unique horror film from one of the busiest years for the genre. Plus, those bladder effects!

WDIRT V1E2: Messiah of Evil (1973)
From the screenwriting power duo who brought you Howard the Duck, it's the 1973 (or is it 1971? or maybe 1974?? or...) oddball Messiah of Evil (or Second Coming? or Revenge of the Screaming Dead? or Return of the Living Dead?? or the sublime Dead People???). Any way you slice it this is one kooky flick. If little 13-year-old Mark had laid his eyeballs on this one he might have grown up to be a weirdo! Oh, wait... ;)

WDIRT V1E3: Deranged (1974)
Ah, Ed Gein, that perpetual paradigm of perversion spawned myriad torrid tales of terror, including, but not limited to, Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs. His horrific happenings may have been presented in their truest and most disturbing form in this wicked number from 1974 helmed by Alan Ormsby, starring Roberts Blossom, and produced in part by Bob Clark. I think this one looked just a bit too on the nose for young Markie back in the '80s. [Check out the recent feature length episode on Deranged with Mike White and Chrsi Stachiw.]

S5E3. Deranged: Confessions of a Necrophile (1974)

Welcome to the second in a three-episode series on the early horror films of Alan Ormsby and Bob Clark. The series-long co-host is Mike White, from The Projection Booth Podcast, with Heather Drain, Chris Stachiw, and Samm Deighan joining us for one of the three episodes, respectively. Also included in each episode is a portion of an interview with Simon Fitzjohn, who wrote I'm Going to Kill You, a book on the films of Bob Clark. 

On this episode Chris Stachiw joins Mike and me to discuss Deranged: Confessions of a Necrophile, a very faithful telling of the Ed Gein story. Ormsby wrote the script and co-directed the film with Jeff Gillen (an Ormsby/Clark regular), with Bob Clark acting as (an uncredited) producer. As with CSPWDT and Deathdream Ormsby also supplied much of the special make-up effects, with help from a young up-and-comer named Tom Savini.

Roberts Blossom plays Ezra Cobb, a middle-aged mid-westerner who has been sheltered and coddled by his domineering religious zealot of a mother. When she dies, Ezra is left to his own warped devices and starts to lose what little he had left of his sanity. This leads to grave-robbing, morbid arts and crafts, and, ultimately, murder. With Clark regulars Leslie Carlson, as an intrepid news correspondent, and Marian Waldman, as a potential love-interest for Ezra.

Why yes, I have talked about Deranged before. Might be interesting to see what I said back on this early WDIRT episode.

Where to watch • IMDb listing • Wikipedia page