WDIRT V3: E1-E3

And finally the third volume of WDIRT episodes is now available as separate episodes. Again.

WDIRT V3E1: Eyes of Fire (1983)
Here's another instance of my stupidity: I saw the very intriguing video box image for Eyes of Fire probably 50 million times back in my teens and never took a chance on renting it. Dumb, Mark, just plain dumb! This is one fascinating oddity that has never really gotten its chance to shine. The film didn't get very positive reviews when it came out, died at the box office, and wasn't given a VHS release until 1987. At that point it gained a cult following, but once again got buried in obscurity. If you like The Witch you should definitely check this one out!

 

WDIRT V3E2: Xtro (1982)
WUH came back from hiatus with a new WDIRT episode on Harry Bromley Davenport's nutso early-80s Alien rip-off that's actually so much more than that. Filled with too many WTF moments to count, and some of the most inspired and gloopy SFX from the era, Xtro would have damaged my brain as a kid. Now that I'm older I can soak in this odd-ball treasure with wild abandon.

 

WDIRT V3E3: Alone in the Dark (1982)
The last WDIRT in Volume 3 is on Jack Sholder's quirky slasher-home-invasion hybrid Alone in the Dark. It's got Martin Landau as a pyromaniac ex-preacher, Jack Palance as a paranoid POW, Erlind van Lidth as a hulking child-molester, and the mysterious hockey-mask-wearing killer known as The Bleeder. Donald Pleasence rounds out the cast as the equally nutty psychiatrist Dr. Leo Bain.

WDIRT V2: E1-E3

The second volume of WDIRT episodes is now available as separate episodes. Again. 

WDIRT V2E1: Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
This slightly sleazy, giallo-esque proto-slasher gained notoriety for starring Little Brooke Shields. But it was the anti-Catholic sentiment and shocking violence that got it condemned. Director Alfred Sole borrows from Hitchcock, throws in some Don't Look Now and tops it all off with a creepy masked killer. Enjoy!
[EPISODE CORRECTION: Jason Patric and Joshua John Miller are half-brothers, not step-brothers.]

WDIRT V2E2: Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
After a stay in a mental institution, Jessica, along with her husband and their friend, moves from Manhattan to Connecticut in hopes that her fragile mental state will improve. They encounter a mysterious stranger squatting in their new home, strange, hostile men covered in bandages, and a mute girl, all of whom may be the victims of a century old vampire. Will Jessica escape alive and with her sanity in tact? p.s. There's outtakes at the end of this one! :P

WDIRT V2E3: The Gate (1987)
Why didn't I rent this? Apparently I'm a dingus. "It's The Evil Dead, for kids!"--Mark Begley. 'Nuff said.

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

WDIRT V4E3: Macabro (1980)

Macabro (1980) (aka Macabre, aka Frozen Terror) is a New Orleans set horror film from director Lamberto Bava, the son of famed Italian director Mario Bava. Although Lamberto helped his father direct Shock (1977), Macabro was his first official solo job as director. The film stars Bernice Stegers (XTRO) as Jane Baker, a woman who's adultery leads to tragic consequences, and Stanko Molnar (A Blade in the Dark) as the blind land-lord of the building where she resides. Veronica Zinny, in her only role, is perfectly cast as Jane's troubled and troublesome daughter. 

This one goes to some very dark places and I don't know what Young Mark would have thought about it back in the VHS glory days. Old Mark things it's pretty fascinating.

Where to watch • IMDb listing • Wikipedia page

WDIRT V4E2: The Sender (1982)

The Sender (1982) is a horror film directed by Roger Christian and starring Zeljko Ivanek as The Sender, Kathryn Harrold as Dr. Gail Farmer, and Shirley Knight as Jerolyn. Two years before Freddy terrorized the kids on Elm Street, John Doe 83 would project the power of his dreams onto the patients and staff of a mental hospital in the town of Corinth.

John Doe 83 aka The Sender tries to commit suicide by walking into a lake with rocks in his pockets. He ends up in a mental hospital where Dr. Gail Farmer instantly sympathizes with him. John Doe’s mother, Jerolyn, has convinced her son that his was a virgin birth and keeps him locked up at home in fear he will leave her. The Sender can telepathically transmit his dreams into others, which causes the receiver to hallucinate.

Most of the WDIRT episodes have been about movies I passed on in the VHS days, or like last time with Visiting Hours, didn’t remember seeing. In this case, though, I thought I had seen it, but nothing hit my memory banks when I finally got to watch it. 

Where to watch • IMDb listing • Wikipedia page