Cinema Shock

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS: Frank Oz’s Cult Musical Misfit | Cinema Shock Roulette

For this entry in our Cinema Shock Roulette series, we’re digging into one of the weirdest cult musicals to ever sprout up in mainstream Hollywood: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS.
We’ll explore the origins of the story — from its roots as a Roger Corman B-movie, to the off-Broadway musical adaptation, and finally to Frank Oz’s lavish 1986 film version. Along the way, we’ll examine how this bizarre tale of a man-eating plant got greenlit by a major studio, how the jaw-dropping puppetry brought Audrey II to life, and how the film’s original ending proved to be way too dark for test audiences.
It’s a tale of practical effects wizardry, showstopping songs, and one of the biggest compromises in cult film history.
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

Cinema Shock Roundtable #4: Announcing the next Cinema Shock Roulette entry

In this bonus episode, the guys discuss their thoughts going into the LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Cinema Shock Roulette episode, as well as discuss things they've been reading and watching lately!

THE FLY: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid. | David Cronenberg: The New Flesh

With 1986’s THE FLY, David Cronenberg achieved something rare: a brutal, grotesque body horror film that was also a deeply emotional, tragic love story.
A remake in name only of the 1958 sci-fi classic, THE FLY stars Jeff Goldblum as eccentric scientist Seth Brundle, whose teleportation experiments go horribly wrong. What follows is a horrifying — and oddly beautiful — descent into mutation, madness, and mortality.
In this episode, we explore how Cronenberg came to the project, the groundbreaking effects that brought Brundlefly to life, and how this film became both a commercial hit and an enduring genre classic. Plus: Geena Davis, maggot birth nightmares, and the Oscar-winning makeup that still holds up today.
 
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

THE DEAD ZONE: Cronenberg Meets King | David Cronenberg: The New Flesh

After the hallucinatory violence of VIDEODROME, David Cronenberg took a sharp turn into more restrained territory with THE DEAD ZONE, a 1983 adaptation of Stephen King’s best-selling novel.
Starring Christopher Walken as Johnny Smith — a schoolteacher who awakens from a coma with psychic abilities — THE DEAD ZONE trades visceral body horror for emotional devastation, political paranoia, and questions of fate, morality, and personal sacrifice.
In this episode, we dive into how Cronenberg came to direct the project, the film’s stellar cast and evocative tone, and how it stands apart in both Cronenberg’s and King’s cinematic canons. Plus: how THE DEAD ZONE quietly helped shape the prestige horror boom we see today.

VIDEODROME: Long Live the New Flesh | David Cronenberg: The New Flesh

With VIDEODROME, David Cronenberg pushed his signature blend of body horror and cerebral sci-fi to new heights. Released in 1983, the film stars James Woods as Max Renn, a sleazy cable-TV exec who stumbles onto a pirated broadcast called “Videodrome” — and promptly begins to lose his grip on reality.
A nightmarish meditation on technology, surveillance, sex, and media addiction, VIDEODROME was dismissed by many critics upon release, but has since been re-evaluated as one of Cronenberg’s most prophetic and iconic films.
In this episode, we explore the film’s wild production history, the groundbreaking special effects work by Rick Baker, and the evolving legacy of a movie that predicted the age of screen obsession, viral content, and reality distortion.
Up Next:
THE DEAD ZONE (1983)
THE FLY (1986)
Coming Soon: The films of James Cameron
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
 
 

SCANNERS: The Head Explosion Heard ’Round the World | David Cronenberg: The New Flesh

After the deeply personal horror of THE BROOD, David Cronenberg returned with a more commercial effort — and a bigger budget — in what would become his breakout film: SCANNERS.
Released in 1981, SCANNERS blends science fiction, espionage, and psychic body horror into a film that’s perhaps best remembered for one legendary moment of practical effects: the infamous exploding head. But there’s more to this movie than just gore.
In this episode, we’ll trace the film’s chaotic production, how Cronenberg had to begin shooting without a finished script, and how SCANNERS helped elevate his status as an international cult filmmaker.
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
 

An Interview with Spencer Garrett

In this bonus episode, our own Mr. Todd A. Davis sits down with legendary character actor Spencer Garrett.
Throughout the interview, they discuss Garrett's entire career, working on everything from STAR TREK to STAR WARS, and with directors like Quentin Tarantino, Michael Bay and, most recently, Adam McKay on the new HBO series WINNING TIME: THE RISE OF THE LAKERS DYNASTY.
Enjoy this bonus episode and be sure to subscribe to Todd's STAR TREK podcast, Computer, Resume Podcast, available everywhere!

THE BROOD: Birth of Rage | David Cronenberg: The New Flesh

After two successful low-budget horror films, David Cronenberg was suddenly one of Canada’s most bankable directors. But rather than immediately dive into another body horror spectacle, he took a detour with FAST COMPANY, a drag racing drama that would ultimately serve as a stepping stone to one of his most acclaimed early films: THE BROOD.
Released in 1979, THE BROOD is widely considered to be Cronenberg’s first masterpiece — and his most personal film. Written during and inspired by his contentious divorce and custody battle, the film is a raw, angry piece of psychodrama dressed up in monster movie clothing.
In this episode, we’ll explore how THE BROOD was financed during Canada’s short-lived “tax shelter era,” why critics accused Cronenberg of misogyny, and how the film’s nightmarish depiction of rage and repression helped cement his reputation as a provocateur of psychological horror.
 
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

RABID: Marilyn Chambers in Cronenberg’s Contagious Classic | David Cronenberg: The New Flesh

 
In the second episode of our series David Cronenberg: The New Flesh, we continue exploring the director’s early years with 1977’s RABID—a film that pushed the boundaries of body horror even further than its predecessor.
Starring adult film icon Marilyn Chambers in her first major mainstream role, RABID tells the story of a woman who undergoes radical surgery after a motorcycle accident… and wakes up with a strange, phallic stinger under her arm that turns her into a literal carrier of disease and death.
In this episode, we’ll dive into how Cronenberg followed up the controversy of SHIVERS, why Chambers was cast, and how RABID reflected his growing fascination with transformation, contagion, and the politics of the body.
We’ll also explore the film’s production and release through the lens of Canada’s tax shelter era, and how RABID cemented Cronenberg’s place as a rising provocateur in horror cinema.
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

SHIVERS: The Birth of the New Flesh | David Cronenberg: The New Flesh

Our latest Cinema Shock series, David Cronenberg: The New Flesh, takes a deep dive into the early films of the Canadian auteur that helped define the genre of body horror.
 
We begin with 1975’s SHIVERS, Cronenberg’s first commercial feature and a landmark in Canadian cinema. A film about a parasitic STD that turns a luxury high-rise into a sex-crazed nightmare, SHIVERS shocked audiences and critics alike—earning both condemnation in Parliament and instant cult status.
 
In this episode, we trace Cronenberg’s origins in the Toronto underground film scene, the controversial government funding that helped launch his career, and how SHIVERS established the obsessions—flesh, disease, transformation—that would define his work for decades to come.
We also explore the film’s production history, its reception, and the legacy it left in its wake—both for Cronenberg and for Canadian genre cinema as a whole.
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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
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