WUH on Pick Up a Podcast

Had a really nice time talking with Kurt North of Pick Up a Podcast. Here's the description from the show:

This episode we are talking Horror. Mark Begley recently started a new horror podcast called Wake Up Heavy. I ask him where did the name come from? How did his daughter get involved? Why did he want to get involved in podcasting? I bring up Don't Look Now (what a film). We also talk about his recent episode with Mike White of the Projection Booth (who appeared in my debut episode, check it out by the way).

Please give this, and all the other episodes he's done, a listen.

Women in Horror Month: 2019

Preview Episode: It's Women in Horror Month and I wanted to do my part to promote films directed by women and centered around women.

The Slumber Party Massacre (1982): The first episode of the Women in Horror Month special series is The Slumber Party Massacre. Written by Rita Mae Brown as a parody of the slasher genre but filmed straight by Amy Holden Jones, what emerged was a slightly off-kilter horror flick that might just make you question what it is you like about these films.
[EPISODE CORRECTION: Brinke Stevens was in TSPM not Michelle Bauer.]

The Invitation (2015): The second episode of the Women in Horror Month special series is on Karyn Kusama's tense horror/thriller The Invitation. This movie triggers my social anxieties, contains my favorite horror sub-genre, and has a killer cast.

Mia Farrow: Mia Farrow, though not necessarily labeled a genre actress, has been in some of my favorite horror films. In Episode Three of the Women in Horror Month series I discuss four (well five) of Ms. Farrow's horror films: Rosemary's Baby (1968), Secret Ceremony (1968), See No Evil (1971), The Haunting of Julia (1977), and (ever so briefly) The Omen (2006). Please check out The Projection Booth's episode on The Haunting of Julia: www.projectionboothpodcast.com/2012/09/e…ulia.html

The devil made me do it: Women in Horror Month 2019 concludes at WUH with an episode on Jocelin Donahue and Alex Essoe and their starring roles in two of my favorite modern horror movies: The House of the Devil (2009) and Starry Eyes (2014).

Ladykillers: An A-Z of Women’s Horror Filmmaking

S1E6. They're still not sure it is a baby: Eraserhead (1977)

Well here it is, the season finale of Wake Up Heavy. David Lynch's 1977 seminal masterpiece Eraserhead is not only my favorite horror film it is unequivocally my single favorite film of all time. Lynch has called it, "A dream of dark and troubling things," and there is no more apt description than that. A wholly personal film, Eraserhead is a confusing conundrum of confluences that proves impossible to dissect (pun intended) unless you are David Lynch. The story itself is based on very simple, very human fears, yet those who see it are compelled to analyze the bizarre images and perplexing scenarios in an attempt to alleviate the disquieting unease the film elicits.

--Special guest this episode is Mike White, host of the only podcast that matters: The Projection Booth. As mentioned in the interview TPB has done episodes on a number of Lynch films: Dune, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (actually two episodes, both on this linked page, and both worth a listen), and Mullholland Dr.

This is a long one, so pace yourselves. Time stamps included for anyone who loses their place or wants to listen to certain sections only.

Part I: My history w/ Eraserhead & Lynch (00:01)
Part II: London & The Scala Cinema--Seeing Eraserhead on the big screen (19:03)
Part III: Synopsis & movie facts (28:24)
Part IV: Interview w/ Mike White (35:06)
Part V: Eraserhead 2000--the re-release on DVD (1:18:26)
Part VI: The "Weird" stuff (1:26:25)
Part VII: What influenced Eraserhead (1:32:56)
Part VIII: The missing scenes (1:39:23)
Part IX: Soundscape, motifs & favorite things (1:43:02)
Part X: Cast & crew, theories & wrap-up (2:00:24)

COMING SOON: Information on what's in store for the next season of WUH, and a new WDIRT or two. Thanks so much for tuning in to the first season of Wake Up Heavy.

Here is a very in depth and interesting article on The Making of Eraserhead.

Where to watch • IMDb listing • Wikipedia page

2018 WUHrap Up

It's a last minute pseudo-year-end wrap up. Keeping things confusing by offering this up before the season finale episode 'cuz that's how I roll. Plus, it's stuff I was going to include in that EP anyway, but thought it better to pull it out to knock down the run time and get this stuff out there before year's end.

Included herein are thank yous, podcast suggestions, ratings & reviews*, Patreon possibilities (and other $$$ talk), those damn stickers, the goal of WUH, a quick episode recap, and a preview of the season finale. Kind of. 😉

Below are the websites of the podcasts mentioned in the episode. All are also available thru iTunes and other platforms.

• The Faculty of Horror
• No Such Thing as a Bad Movie
• Kim and Ket Stay Alive... Maybe
• The Cheap Chills Show
• '80s All Over
• Pick Up a Podcast
• The Projection Booth Podcast  (and the Ego Fest that I "co-hosted" haha).

*If you've left a review you'll get a shout out from moi. And if that ain't incentive enough to leave a review in the future then you're dead inside. Thanks to yinz who've left one, to anyone who's given a rating, and to every single person and bot who has pricked up their ears to listen to me gab about weird movies. You rock!

S1E5. FE2-0880: Black Christmas (1974)

It's that time of year! You know the time, when we watch Bob Clark's Holiday Classic for 24 hours. No, not THAT Holiday Classic, THIS classic! That's right, Clark's Black Christmas, the proto-slasher that, according to many, inspired John Carpenter's Halloween, and laid the bloody groundwork for one of the most popular horror sub-genres. I explore the similarities and differences between the two films, and offer up some potentially controversial theories

This is overall a shorter episode, with some talk toward the end about listeners, corrections, and other fun stuff. Next month will bring the season finale on Eraserhead, with WUH's first real, live guest, which should make it the longest episode to date. 

LANGUAGE WARNING: Please note, the obscene phone calls from the film are exactly that. Only one of the clips contains this language, and it plays between 15:17-15:40

Where to watch • IMDb listing • Wikipedia page • Halloween Connections • Ad Campaign

[EPISODE CORRECTION: The murder that the urban legend of The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs is supposedly based on actually took place in 1950 in Missouri.]

WUH Hot Take: Mandy

Hot take on a current movie I really dug, cuz why not? Trying to dig up the article about watching movies alone I mentioned in the episode, will post when/if I find it. CHEDDAR GOBLIN RULES!! And so do The Carpenters.

Where to watch

S1E4. Welcome to Potter's Bluff: Dead & Buried (1981)

If I ever start a band (which, to be honest, will never happen) I already have a name for it: The Regular Rentals. Back in the '80s my sister and I would watch the same movies again and again and rarely tire of them. If we liked something we really liked something. One of the movies that made it into heavy rotation was Dead & Buried, which remains a favorite of mine to this day. Atmospheric yet violent, confusing as all get-out, with an amazing cast including Grandpa Joe, Dale Arden, a future Horror Icon, and possibly more people that have appeared on Murder, She Wrote than any other movie.* Listen and witness the moment my brain implodes with questions. Oh so many questions.

Where to watch • IMDb listing • Wikipedia page

*This is most likely not true.--MB

S1E3. A joke on the children: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

October is always a special time for Horror Enthusiasts and it is no different for this guy. I watch horror movies all year long, but once October hits the juices really start flowing. Something about the change in weather--the shorter, colder, drearier days--makes warming up to a good spooky flick all the more enjoyable. I had planned to talk about Dead & Buried for October, but left it up to listeners and Halloween III won out hands down. I had fun doing this one because heck, it's a fun movie and there's a lot to talk about. Listen to find out where I rank this among the Halloween franchise, what I think about Tom Atkins as a leading man, and some thoughts on filmmaker Tommy Lee Wallace. And if you count how many times I say "clunky" or one of its derivatives you can win some stickers! Post the number on any platform for your chance to win. Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to Wake Up Heavy! (I made an error when I called Jamie Lloyd Laurie Strode's niece, she's her daughter, and therefore Michael Myers' niece.--MB)

Where to watch • IMDb listing • Wikipedia page • Best Halloween film?

S1E2. You're so pretty: Tourist Trap (1979)

It's time for a new, full episode of Wake Up Heavy. This time I tackle David Schmoeller's classic freakfest Tourist Trap. Starring pre-The Beastmaster Tanya Roberts and post-The Rifleman Chuck Connors. Do mannequins creep you out? Then you're in for a bumpy ride with this one!

Pseudo-slasher? A wax museum? Telekinesis? Nominal aphasia? An episode in under an hour? What exactly is going on here? One thing I know for sure, there is no nude scene in this movie.

Where to watch • IMDb listing • Wikipedia page • Slasher Films 

MIniSode #2: Favorite Modern Horror

In which Mark, your Horror Host, rattles off another list of movies that are good and that you should watch. If your mom will let you! This time though it's the newer stuff, and it's the shortest episode yet. 😀

There's also some techie talk, pleas for donations, suggestions, ratings, and comments, and a coughing attack. What more could you ask for in a Horror Movie Podcast?! Nothing, that's what!

Also: A story about a comic book I read over 35 years ago. And coming soon, another full episode by the middle of September on Tourist Trap. Holy poop, the year is three-fourths over already!

Stickers are here! Hit the link to get yours now and help fund WUH.

(Garage Cast™ by Mark Begley)

Something Different: The Pull of Nostalgia, Ghosts (1976)

If you have come looking for the entry on my search for an old comic book, I have moved it to its own page. You can read it here: Something Different: The Pull of Nostalgia, Ghosts (1976).

MiniSode #1: Favorite Horror Sub-Genres

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I like lists! In this mini-sode I list my favorite horror sub-genres, and I list examples of each. It's List-o-mania! I mention the book House of Psychotic Women: An Autobiographical Topography of Female Neurosis in Horror and Exploitation Films by Kier-La Janisse. The description from Amazon relates to my self-created sub-genre, "Hysterical Women."

Cinema is full of neurotic personalities, but few things are more transfixing than a woman losing her mind onscreen. Horror as a genre provides the most welcoming platform for these histrionics: crippling paranoia, desperate loneliness, masochistic death-wishes, dangerous obsessiveness, apocalyptic hysteria. Unlike her male counterpart - 'the eccentric' - the female neurotic lives a shamed existence, making these films those rare places where her destructive emotions get to play...

I think I should read this book! And credit where credit is due, thanks to the Faculty of Horror for mentioning the book in one of their early episodes.

A couple other movies that were left out that I would like to mention here are Alice, Sweet Alice for the, "Killer Kids," sub-genre, and The Nesting for, "Hysterical Women." I'm sure I will have to do another list at some point to catch all the ones I will think of later!

S1E1. Warning shots are bullshit: Phantasm (1979)

Welcome to the first official episode of Wake Up Heavy! This is Mark, your Horror Host, with one of my all-time favorite movies, Don Coscarelli's Phantasm. Give a listen and find out what it is that makes this gem from 1979 so darn special and why it has stuck with me for over 35 years!

Happy listening! --Mark

(Please see the About Spoilers page for general spoiler info.)

Where to watch • IMDb listing • Wikipedia page

Do horror movies still scare you??

Hello and welcome to Wake Up Heavy: Recollections of Horror. My name is Mark and I will be your Horror Host! Please join me as I muse about treasured memories of watching strangely curious horror films from my past that I still love to this day.

In this introductory episode my daughter helps me tackle some questions about the podcast and offer some insight into why horror movies intrigued me when I was young and why I still love them now.

Please scroll down for important links mentioned in the podcast. Thanks! --Mark

And enjoy this creepfest, one of the scariest things a 9-year-old could possibly see!

Chris Reid/The Sirago17 • Brian Taylor aka Candykiller • Faculty of Horror