Cinema Shock

Bonus: Let's Talk About the ROBOCOP Sequels

For our very first Cinema Shock Roundtable, we’re gonna tie things into our current series on Paul Verhoeven by discussing the non-Verhoeven sequels to ROBOCOP.
These Roundtable discussions are designed to be less structured than our regular episodes where we can play around with our format a bit. Got an idea for a bonus episode? Hit us up at @cinema_shock on Twitter or Instagram!
For even further ROBOCOP discussion, check out this episode from our friends at The More You Nerd where they discuss the ill-fated 90s ROBOCOP TV series.
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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
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ROBOCOP (1987) | Sex + Violence: The Films of Paul Verhoeven

After the box office failure of FLESH + BLOOD, Paul Verhoeven sought to fully immerse himself in American culture in a bid to fully understand how to make films for the American market, so he packed his bags, left his native country and moved to America.
Not long after arriving, he had an opportunity to direct a big budget American action movie for Orion Pictures. That film, ROBOCOP, would not only announce him as a major force to be reckoned with in American cinema, but it created a cultural milestone, whose presence is still felt today.
In this episode, we’ll discuss the creation of the film, from the inspiration behind the script by Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, through Verhoeven’s attachment, the film’s production, and its ongoing legacy.
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Coming Up:
TOTAL RECALL (1990)
BASIC INSTINCT (1992)
SHOWGIRLS (1995)
STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997)
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
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FLESH + BLOOD (1985) | Sex + Violence: The Films of Paul Verhoeven

For our latest series, we'll be diving into the career of Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven.
Known for his subversive and satirical work, Verhoeven has courted controversy throughout his filmmaking career — dating back to the late 1960s — mostly due to his unflinching depictions of sexuality and graphic violence.
We're starting things out with a look at his first English language film, the 1985 American co-production FLESH + BLOOD, starring Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
For the first third of this episode, we're going to give you a bit of background on Verhoeven's life and career up until this point, including brief discussions of his hard-to-find (in the US, at least) Dutch films before diving into the creation of FLESH + BLOOD.
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Coming Up:
ROBOCOP (1987)
TOTAL RECALL (1990)
BASIC INSTINCT (1992)
STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997)
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
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THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (1986) | Tobe Hooper: The Cannon Years

In our final episode on Tobe Hooper, we're discussing what would end up being the last film of his to ever receive a wide theatrical release, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2.
At the end of his time with Cannon, the studio wanted to cash in on their three-picture deal with Hooper by having him give them a sequel to his 1974 breakout film. The final product wasn't what they — or audiences — expected from a sequel to that unrelentingly bleak film.
A brightly colored dark comedy, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 featured only one returning cast member from the original film. In this episode, we'll track the film from its inception to release, discussing its reception in 1986 and impact on Hooper's career, through its latter day reassessment as a cult classic and one of the most beloved films of Hooper's career.
Stay tuned for a big announcement at the end of the episode!
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Coming Up:
FLESH + BLOOD (1985)
ROBOCOP (1987)
TOTAL RECALL (1990)
BASIC INSTINCT (1992)
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:
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INVADERS FROM MARS (1986) | Tobe Hooper: The Cannon Years

When Tobe Hooper signed on to work with Cannon Films, he signed a three-picture deal, with the agreement that the third film would be a sequel to his breakout film THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. So after the dismal failure — both critically and commercially — of LIFEFORCE, the studio continued to honor that deal, hoping to change the reputation of the studio from a b-movie house to the producer of legitimate blockbusters.
As we'll see in this series, it never quite worked out that way. Hooper's second film for Cannon was INVADERS FROM MARS, a remake of the 1953 film of the same name, and the reception was... not great.
In this episode, we'll explore the creation of the maligned film, including details on how the incredible creature design by Stan Winston was achieved!
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Coming Up:
THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE PART 2 (1986)
UP NEXT: Sex + Violence: The Misunderstood Films of Paul Verhoeven
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
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LIFEFORCE (1985) | Tobe Hooper: The Cannon Years

This new three-part series will act as a sequel to our previous series The Tragedy of Tobe Hooper. For these episodes, we'll be discussing Hooper's career immediately following his controversial directing gig on POLTERGEIST, a time during which he worked for the infamous 80s b-movie house Cannon Films.
For the first of three films that he directed for Cannon, Hooper tackled a little-known sci-fi novel called The Space Vampires, which would come to life as a film in 1985 under the title LIFEFORCE, with a screenplay written by Dan O'Bannon and Don Jakoby (BLUE THUNDER).
In this episode, we'll explore the creation of that film and how its release and reception helped to shape the rest of Hooper's filmmaking career.
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Coming Up:
LIFEFORCE (1985)
INVADERS FROM MARS (1986)
THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE PART 2 (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:
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RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) | The Unsung Legacy of Dan O’Bannon

The epic conclusion to our series on the life and career of Dan O'Bannon, one of Hollywood's most under-celebrated creators.
After having an early success early on with ALIEN, Dan O'Bannon still struggled to find any true success in the film industry, partially due to forces working against him, and partially due to his abrasive personality.
But in 1985, a project fell in his lap that would allow him to finally have full creative control on a project: RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, a film he was hired to write that, through a series of circumstances, would end up being his directorial debut, and would go on to become a beloved piece of zombie film history.
This week on the podcast, we'll explore the story behind RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, with special guest Dan Wipert of the Film Trace podcast.
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Coming Up:
LIFEFORCE (1985)
INVADERS FROM MARS (1986)
THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE PART 2 (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:
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BLUE THUNDER (1983) | The Unsung Legacy of Dan O’Bannon

Next up in our exploration of the career of Dan O'Bannon, we'll be discussing the 1983 action flick BLUE THUNDER.
Though mostly forgotten today, BLUE THUNDER was a major hit upon release, spawning a short-lived TV series and video game. But the film that was seen by audiences at the time was a far cry from what O'Bannon had intended when he wrote the script.
In this episode, we'll track the film's genesis as an idea that formed in O'Bannon's head not long after the release of ALIEN, through its changes throughout pre-production and the eventual filming and release of the film under the guidance of director John Badham (SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, WARGAMES).
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Coming Up:
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)
Up next: Tobe Hooper: The Cannon Years
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:
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HEAVY METAL (1981) | The Unsung Legacy of Dan O’Bannon

When we say that Dan O'Bannon had his hands in a ton of iconic properties, we aren't kidding. In addition to his most well-known films like ALIEN and RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, he also had his hands in everything from Jodorowsky's un-produced DUNE and even in STAR WARS!
He even made a significant contribution to the genre of animation by writing two segments for 1981's HEAVY METAL.
Based on the magazine of the same name, HEAVY METAL is an anthology film, with many of its segments based on comics found within its pages.
The film had a bizarre journey to the big screen (and a lengthy journey to home video). In this episode, we'll trace its creation from idea to release, discussing not only Dan O'Bannon's contributions, but the film as a whole, and where its legacy has led.
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Coming Up:
BLUE THUNDER (1983)
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)
Up next: Tobe Hooper: The Cannon Years
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:
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DEAD & BURIED (1981) | The Unsung Legacy of Dan O’Bannon

After the success of ALIEN, you'd think that Dan O'Bannon's screenwriting career would have really taken off, but due to a very public battle over the screen credits on that film, that unfortunately wasn't the case.
The good news is that O'Bannon's ALIEN co-writer Ronald Shusett had a project that he'd been working on prior to ALIEN about a small New England town that was overtaken by the undead, and he invited O'Bannon to help him out with the screenplay.
The resulting film was DEAD & BURIED, directed by Gary Sherman, although O'Bannon's contributions to the script are disputed (mostly by O'Bannon himself). In this episode, we'll discuss the extent of O'Bannon's involvement, plus the filming of the cult film itself, which featured early credits from genre stalwarts such as Robert England and Stan Winston.
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Coming Up:
HEAVY METAL (1981)
BLUE THUNDER (1983)
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)
Up next: Tobe Hooper: The Cannon Years
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
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