Special Guest Dirk Marshall of the VH US Podcast joins us this week to explore two lower budget Die Hard-inspired movies, both of which have women in the leading roles. IRRESISTIBLE FORCE (1993) features Cynthia Rothrock as a rookie cop partnered with Stacey Keach, who becomes trapped inside a mall taken over by terrorists. Then Shannon Tweed, Robert Davi and Andrew Dice Clay star in NO CONTEST (1995) in which terrorists seize control of the “Miss Galaxy” beauty pageant. VH US Podcast: https://www.vh-us.com VH US Twitter: https://x.com/VHUS_Podcast VH US Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vhus_podcast/ VH US Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vhuspodcast.bsky.social Marshall's Haute Sauce: https://marshallshautesauce.com Meaningful Marketplace Podcast: https://meaningful-marketplace-podcast.simplecast.com Joy of Cooking Podcast: https://the-joy-of-cooking-podcast.simplecast.com
We discuss UNDER SIEGE (1992) starring Steven Seagal as a ship’s cook (and former Navy Seal) who cooks bouillabaisse and kicks ass after a group of terrorists seize a US battleship to steal its nuclear warheads.
It’s “Die Hard on a Plane” week as we take to the skies for two movies with a similar premise that could not be more different. DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER (1990) asks how the same shit can happen to the same guy twice. PASSENGER 57 (1992) stars Wesley Snipes as an airline security specialist facing off against a notorious hijacker.
Welcome to the party, pal! Grab some champagne and a machine gun because it’s time to… DIE HARD (1988) starring Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, and Alan Rickman. John McTiernan’s Christmas classic about a cop versus a building full of armed thieves created its own subgenre of “Die Hard in a Blank” movies. THE TAKING OF BEVERLY HILLS (1991) has a star football quarterback take on a gang of ex-cops who plan to rob the entire city of Beverly Hills. Will things be gratuitously thrown like a football during fire fights? You know they will! Starring Ken Wahl, Robert Davi, and Matt Frewer. Directed by Sidney J. Furie.
Get ready for one of the most audacious and controversial horror films ever made: HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982) Special Guest Carmelita Valdez McKoy returns to discuss the movie that attempted to leave Michael Myers behind and make John Carpenter’s Halloween an anthology franchise. Find Carmelita: https://letterboxd.com/carmelitasays/ https://x.com/CarmelitaSays https://bsky.app/profile/carmelitasays.bsky.social
Special Guest Carmelita Valdez McKoy joins us for more of the night He came home… HALLOWEEN II (1981) begins immediately after the first film’s ending, producing a film that is both similar to, and quite different from, Carpenter’s classic. Find Carmelita: https://letterboxd.com/carmelitasays/ https://x.com/CarmelitaSays https://bsky.app/profile/carmelitasays.bsky.social
We are joined by special guest Anthony C. Ferrante, director of all six SHARKNADO movies, to discuss his films that go beyond the classic shark movie and take the action to a whole other level.
We end our Jaws series with two films from the ‘90s that launched the animal attack genre into the 21st Century. First, Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube and Jon Voight go up the Amazon to find a giant snake in ANACONDA (1997) and then Samuel L. Jackson, Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows and LL Cool J encounter genetically enhanced super-sharks in DEEP BLUE SEA (1999).
This week has two films that take using footage from other films to a whole other level. First up is CROCODILE (1980) a Thai film about one men’s quest for revenge on the crocodile that killed their families. Directed by Sampote Sands. Then we lose our minds over CROCODILE FURY (1988) a Hong Kong film about a witch and her army of jiāngshī (also known as Chinese hopping vampires) joining forces with the master of the seas and his man-eating shape-shifting crocodiles to rule the world.
Ryan from The New World Pictures Podcast joins us for two Italian sharksploitation films that push the boundary of copyright laws. THE LAST SHARK a.k.a. GREAT WHITE (1981) starring James Franciscus and Vic Morrow and directed by Enzo G. Castellari spurred a lawsuit from Universal Pictures for its similarities to Jaws. CRUEL JAWS (1995) the infamous Bruno Mattei film that uses footage from many other shark movies, including multiple Jaws films and The Last Shark. To check out The New World Pictures Podcast: https://newworldpicturespodcast.com
Man’s best friend bites the hand that feeds him this week as we discuss two films where dogs are the threat. WHITE DOG (1982) about a disturbing attack dog, stars Kristy McNichol and Paul Winfield. Directed by Samuel Fuller with a Screenplay By Fuller and Curtis Hanson. CUJO (1983) finds a woman put to a deadly test when a rabid dog attacks her family. Dee Wallace stars in this film based on the Stephen King novel.
If you think animals only attack in the country, you’re dead wrong. Erin Dawn (Manic Movie Monday Podcast ) follows us into the city sewer for ALLIGATOR (1980) starring Robert Forster and Robin Riker in this film about a mutant man-eater. Alligator was directed by Lewis Teague and written by John Sayles. Manic Movie Monday Podcast Instagram - Manic Movie Monday Podcast
This week we look at two animal attack movies that try to incorporate Native American culture into the story: Corporate greed creates a mutated bear with a taste for blood in PROPHECY (1979) starring Robert Foxworth, Talia Shire & Armand Assante and directed by John Frankenheimer. Then it’s time to wake up and smell the ammonia as we face vampire bats in NIGHTWING (1979) starring Nick Mancuso, David Warner & Kathryn Harrold and directed by Arthur Hiller.
It’s time for terror to go small with genetically altered PIRANHA (1978) directed by Joe Dante, screenplay by John Sayles, and executive produced by Roger Corman. Jen Howell of the Every Rom Com podcast joins us to discuss the horror comedy classic. https://www.everyromcom.com/ https://www.instagram.com/everyromcom/ https://bsky.app/profile/everyromcom.bsky.social
We leave the sea and head for the hills as animal danger evolves to attack on land. It’s a William Girdler double feature as we discuss GRIZZLY (1976) starring Andrew Prine, Richard Jaekal, and Christopher George as a park ranger battling a murderous bear. We then tackle ozone problems in THE DAY OF THE ANIMALS (1977) when every animal over 5,000 feet elevation goes on a violent rampage, starring Leslie Nielsen as an ad exec who proves that the most dangerous animal of all is man himself.
We are joined by Carmelita Valdez McKoy to discuss the “happy for deep people” that is ORCA (1977). Richard Harris and Charlotte Rampling star in the film about a killer whale hell bent on revenge for the death of its mate and unborn calf. Find Carmelita: https://letterboxd.com/carmelitasays/ https://bsky.app/profile/carmelitasays.bsky.social https://x.com/CarmelitaSays
Hello and bonjour to you fair podcast listeners! it’s time to grab a Narragansett Beer and climb into your anti-shark cage as we explore the films that followed in Jaws’s considerable wake. This week we kick things off with Steven Spielberg’s classic that started it all: JAWS (1975) starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw. Written by Carl Gottlieb, based on the novel by Peter Benchley. Then we really get in the swing of things with TINTORERA (1977) starring Susan George, Hugo Stiglitz, and Andrés García in a tale of shark hunters finding love in a throuple.
Yakmalaaaa! Join us for GYMKATA (1985), a martial arts movie about a gymnast who plays a deadly game to secure a “Star Wars” earth station for the U.S.A. It stars Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas, and is directed by Robert Clouse (Enter the Dragon) from a screenplay by Charles Robert Carner (Blind Fury).
Put down the peace pipe and make a video run with us to the teenage end of the Fatal Attraction series as we discuss: FEAR (1996) starring Reese Witherspoon as a teen girl who rebels against her family by dating the baddest of boys, played by Mark Wahlberg. SWIMFAN (2002) starring Jesse Bradford as the guy who gets mixed up with Erika Christensen’s absolute supervillain, Madison Bell (the titular Swimfan). This episode is a must listen if you ever wanted to hear Chris say, “I was expecting Hoobastank.”
Jen Howell of the Every Rom Com podcast joins to help us answer the quesion: What if the dangerous stranger who is going to wreck your life…is a kid? Go grab Mr. Highway and strap in for THE GOOD SON (1993) starring Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood, written by Ian McEwan and directed by Joseph Ruben. https://www.everyromcom.com/ https://www.instagram.com/everyromcom/ https://bsky.app/profile/everyromcom.bsky.social