Cinema Shock
The stories behind your favorite cult & genre films, and the people who make them.
Listen on:
Episodes
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
Tuesday Mar 08, 2022
After two successful low budget horror films that turned a nice profit, David Cronenberg found himself in a unique position: he was suddenly Canada's most bankable director.
He followed up SHIVERS and RABID with... a drama about drag racing? That movie, FAST COMPANY, is an outlier in his filmography, but was an important step towards his next film, one that's considered by many critics to be his first truly great film, 1979's THE BROOD.
In this episode, we'll discuss how THE BROOD was financed as part of short-lived era in Canada's film history known as the "tax shelter era" and how the film was inspired by a recent contentious divorce, leading some critics to label Cronenberg a misogynist.
Coming Up:
SCANNERS (1981)
VIDEODROME (1983)
THE DEAD ZONE (1983)
THE FLY (1986)
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, merchandise, and more: http://cinemashock.net
Tuesday Feb 22, 2022
Tuesday Feb 22, 2022
In the second episode of our series on David Cronenberg, we're continuing to explore the director's early year's with his second feature for Cinepix, RABID.
Released in 1977, RABID stars porn star Marilyn Chamber in what was to be a breakthrough mainstream role for her. In this episode, we'll track the film's development and discuss just how one of the most famous adult film stars in the world got involved in a low budget Canadian body horror film.
Coming Up:
THE BROOD (1979)
SCANNERS (1981)
VIDEODROME (1983)
THE DEAD ZONE (1983)
THE FLY (1986)
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, merchandise, and more: http://cinemashock.net
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
Tuesday Feb 08, 2022
It's time for a new series here on Cinema Shock! For the next several weeks, we're going to be exploring the filmography of David Cronenberg, with a focus on his early body horror films.
To kick things off, we're going back to the beginning with SHIVERS, widely considered his first film, although he'd worked on some experimental films in the underground film scene of Toronto previously. We'll get into all of that history on this episode!
BUY OUR MERCH: http://cinemashock.threadless.com
Coming Up:
RABID (1977)
THE BROOD (1979)
SCANNERS (1981)
VIDEODROME (1983)
THE DEAD ZONE (1983)
THE FLY (1986)
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
twitter.com/cinema_shock
facebook.com/cinemashocknet
instagram.com/cinema_shock
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Our randomly chosen film for our first Cinema Shock Roulette entry is none other than Kinji Fukasaku's kids-killing-kids cult classic BATTLE ROYALE!
Join us as we trace this film from its origins as a controversial novel through its creation, fights with censors, and eventually, its emergence as a full on cult phenomenon.
Coming Up:
SHIVERS (1975)
RABID (1977)
THE BROOD (1979)
SCANNERS (1981)
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, merchandise & more: http://cinemashock.net
Tuesday Jan 11, 2022
Tuesday Jan 11, 2022
As we reach the end of our series on Lana and Lilly Wachowski, we find ourselves back in the franchise that put them on the map, with the latest entry in the MATRIX series, THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS.
The road to this film was a long one, and one that The Wachowskis weren’t always traveling. During and after the production of the previous MATRIX sequels, the sisters swore that they’d never return to the world of those films, content with the story they’d told.
In the end, only one of the Wachowskis returned. When the fourth MATRIX film finally hit theaters (and HBO Max), it was under the guidance of Lana Wachowski alone.
What caused her to change her mind and return to the world? Why did her sister Lilly not join her in the franchise they’d build together? Why are Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss the only actors from the core cast of the original films to return?
We’ll answer all of these questions, and dig into where THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS falls in regards to the full series, and in the Wachowskis’ filmography as a whole in this episode, the conclusion to our series The Wachowskis & the Cinema of Fluidity.
BUY OUR MERCH: http://cinemashock.threadless.com
Coming Up:
BATTLE ROYALE (2000)
Up next: Long Live the New Flesh: The Body Horror of David Cronenberg
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
twitter.com/cinema_shock
facebook.com/cinemashocknet
instagram.com/cinema_shock
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Over the course of this series, as we've explored the filmography of Lana and Lilly Wachowski, we also decided to watch their Netflix Original Series SENSE8, since it not only fits into their oeuvre thematically, but acts as a culmination of all of their themes so far.
We'd originally planned on just briefly discussing the series during our upcoming episode on THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS, but after completing it, we all came to the conclusion that there's no way that you can squeeze a discussion about this series into a few sentences. It's an integral part of the sisters' filmography and one that deserves a full discussion.
And so, you get a bonus episode!
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
twitter.com/cinema_shock
facebook.com/cinemashocknet
instagram.com/cinema_shock
Thursday Dec 16, 2021
Thursday Dec 16, 2021
In the penultimate episode of our series covering the filmography of The Wachowskis, we discuss their last theatrical feature (to date).
In JUPITER ASCENDING, Warner Bros. had hoped to see The Wachowskis create a new franchise to rival THE MATRIX series.
What they got instead was the weirdest film of the filmmakers' careers and their biggest box office failure yet.
But is JUPITER ASCENDING's reputation as a flop deserved? In this episode, we'll trace the film's creation and dive into a discussion on what we think of the Wachowskis' most ambitious film yet, one that would lead them away from feature filming for the following six years.
BUY OUR MERCH: http://cinemashock.threadless.com
Coming Up:
THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS (2021)
Up next: Long Live the New Flesh: The Body Horror of David Cronenberg
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
twitter.com/cinema_shock
facebook.com/cinemashocknet
instagram.com/cinema_shock
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
If we've learned one thing while working our way through the filmography of Lana and Lilly Wachowski, it's that their work — with the obvious exception of THE MATRIX — proves to be divisive.
And this week, we cover a film that is arguably their most divisive at all, a film that's been lauded as a masterpiece by some, and as one of the worst films of 2012 by others.
The film is CLOUD ATLAS, a labor of love that the Wachowskis managed to get financed almost by sheer force of will. As a follow-up to SPEED RACER, it couldn't be more different on the surface. But thematically, it aligns with the rest of the Wachowskis work in profound ways.
On this episode, we'll trace the film's origins as a novel through the years-long process of getting the film before cameras, and its legacy and reception.
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
twitter.com/cinema_shock
facebook.com/cinemashocknet
instagram.com/cinema_shock
Thursday Nov 18, 2021
Thursday Nov 18, 2021
After the completion of the MATRIX trilogy, the Wachowskis took a short break from directing to write and produce V FOR VENDETTA for James McTeigue, but it wouldn't be long before they were back directing again, for their much-anticipated follow-up to their groundbreaking franchise.
Their choice for a follow-up was a surprising one. In 2008, the Lana and Lilly Wachowskis released SPEED RACER, a kid-friendly live action adaptation of a 1960s Japanese cartoon.
The results were divisive and the film received poor reviews and was a financial failure at the box office. But in the years since its release, SPEED RACER has garnered a significant cult following and is often called the Wachowskis most underrated and misunderstood film.
In this episode, we'll track the long journey that the property took to the big screen, how the Wachowskis got involved, and how they created the film's unique visual look.
BUY OUR MERCH: http://cinemashock.threadless.com
Coming Up:
CLOUD ATLAS (2012)
JUPITER ASCENDING (2015)
THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS (2021)
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
twitter.com/cinema_shock
facebook.com/cinemashocknet
instagram.com/cinema_shock
Thursday Nov 04, 2021
Thursday Nov 04, 2021
Our journey through the career of Lana and Lilly Wachowski takes a bit of a detour this week as we discuss V FOR VENDETTA, a film that the sisters wrote and produced, but handed off directing reins to their long-time assistant director James McTiegue.
In this episode, we'll trace the film's origins as a graphic novel by legendary comic book writer Alan Moore and David Lloyd, through its lengthy road to the big screen.
BUY OUR MERCH: http://cinemashock.threadless.com
Coming Up:
V FOR VENDETTA (2006)
SPEED RACER (2008)
CLOUD ATLAS (2012)
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.
Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net
Follow us:
twitter.com/cinema_shock
facebook.com/cinemashocknet
instagram.com/cinema_shock