Won't Stay Dead

Saddle up and get ready for a night of terror and ritual sacrifice; we’re off to the abandoned village of Berzano for an audience with the Blind Dead. This episode tackles one of the most influential films of the early Spanish horror boom. But can this snail’s pace zombie classic still entertain contemporary viewers with its Gothic aesthetic and eerie location shots? Delve with us into a dark nightmare of horse-riding skeletal zombies and find out. This time, the panel gets in the mood with a bottle of blood-red Spanish vino tinto and fine fortified Portuguese wines. Barricade the doors! Don’t breathe! It’s going to be a long night.

It's time for the scariest damn night of the year! That's right; the third annual WSD festive special is upon us... This year our stockings are full of yuletide violence and controversy, as we tackle the 1984 seasonal slasher Silent Night Deadly Night. An axe-wiedling Santa Clause; the wonderous Linnea Quigley; bumbling cops; bloody violence: it's little wonder this macabre Christmas classic caused so much controversy among the censorious on its initial release. So pour yourself a large glass of Late Bottled Vintage port, get the mince pies in the oven and light up the brandy butter. It's gonna be a long night. And remember: you see Father Christmas YOU BETTER RUN BOY! YOU BETTER RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

Well, it’s that time of year again. Team WSD (well, most of us) are back to make the season of the macabre more frightening than ever, as we wander the empty corridors of the Podcast Memorial Hospital to dissect Rick Rosenthal’s infamous slasher sequel Halloween II. It’s the fourth annual WSD rinseout Halloween special! So is the second instalment in the Michael Myers story as good as the original? Did Carpenter ruin Rosenthal’s vision? What’s the deal with Ben Tramer? And where the eff is everybody? As we crack on with tipsy Iain, flu-ridden Paul and absent Dee, will we find answers to the film's most potent questions? Crack open a few cold ones and hit the therapy room, cos things are about to get real hot in here…

Do you believe in witches? Here at WSD HQ, we certainly bloody well do. In fact we’ve recorded a podcast about it. That’s right, this time we’re looking at one of the greatest horror films ever made: Dario Argento and Daria Nicolodi’s gore-tastic, expressionist, gothic nightmare Suspiria. From its proggy, creepy Goblin soundtrack to its startling use of vivid colours and unrelenting penchant for stylistic violence, this 1977 masterpiece is utterly mesmerising. This episode we find out what makes the film so special, and ask “is Argento a misogynist creep?” Bubbling away in the cauldron this month is a dry German Riesling, some gin and orange juice and a nice wee cup of strawberry tea.

This episode things are getting frightfully festive as we dust the dried blood off last year’s Santa suit, polish our kitchen knives and saddle up for an evening of yuletide retribution. Top of our wishlist this year is Lewis Jackson’s utterly insane addition to the holiday horror subgenre: Christmas Evil (AKA You Better Watch Out). Festive Robin Hood of Manhattan or crazed, Santa-obsessed psychopath? We put Brandon Maggart’s fantastic performance under close scrutiny and raise a glass (or two) to this deliciously trashy and wacky 42nd Street classic. To that end, this episode we’re drinking Brew Dog’s Santa Paws, a Sierra Nevada porter, Bateman’s Rosey Nosey, Black Sheep’s Blitzen ale, Adnam’s Winter Stout and the Wychwood Brewery’s Bah Humbug. Bah Humbug indeed! Merry Christmas everyone!

Pumpkin pie and candy abounds in our third Halloween special, as we discuss one of the most cartoonish, colourful tributes to Samhain the genre has to offer. Werewolves, slashers, demons, zombies, middle-aged swinger parties; Trick ‘r Treat has it all. Amongst the candy stuffed in our over-sized jack-o-lanterns this year is some Witch’s Brew, Spooks Ale, Brooklyn Lager and Brew Dog’s Pumpkin King. Oh, and Dee had a cup of strawberry tea. Don’t forget to check your candy!

Kayaks at the ready, fellow podcasteteers; we’re paddling our way to Devil’s Creek this episode as we look at one of the most notorious summer camp slashers of all time. That’s right: it’s time to face the legend of Cropsy in Tony Maylam’s 1981 video nasty classic The Burning. Sheared fingers, Savini makeup, scrotum-faced killers; what’s not to like? To keep us afloat aboard our poorly-constructed makeshift podcast raft, we’ve packed a few beers in our knapsacks: Hell Fire Pale Ale, Shearer English Bitter, Brooklyn Lager, Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter and some Marks & Spencer Suffolk Mosaic Pale Ale.

It’s time for a spot of gut-munching, foetus-eating Italian splattersploitation action this episode, courtesy of Joe d’Amato and George Eastman’s collaborative cannibalistic video nasty Anthropophagous. We’re island-hopping on the vacation of a lifetime, trying not to be hideously murdered by a seven foot tall psychopath with breadcrumbs glued to his face. Luckily, we’ve got some barrels of beer in our creepy cellar to hide in: namely Peroni, Brooklyn Lager and Beavertown’s Neck Oil. Let’s hope the Tarot cards are stacked in our favour.

We’re climbing the holy mountain of cinematic deliriousness this episode, as we tackle one of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s most challenging works. Corruption, police brutality, religious greed, consumerism, amphibious colonialism; this film has it all. But one question remains: is the Holy Mountain mere theatrical excrement, or does Jodorowsky manage to turn chaos into gold? Joining us on our search for podcast enlightenment this time are Brew Dog’s Hop Fiction, Hobgoblin Gold and some crisp lager from the Italian Alps. Zoom back camera, inebriation awaits!

Iain speaks to author Saurav Dutt about his book Cannibal Metropolis; a gory, violent and intelligent work of horror literature that pays homage to the Italian cannibal genre of the 1970s.

We’re sipping Pimms and donning our best monocles in this episode as we contemplate Society; Brian Yuzna’s nightmarish orgy of social satire and anti-capitalist thought. Beginning like an ‘80s soap opera and ending in a Cronenberg-esque body-horror splatter-fest, Yuzna’s directorial debut is certainly one of the strangest tackled by Won’t Stay Dead so far. Raise a glass with us as we drink to Society, courtesy of Mikkeller American Dream, Sierra Nevada, Beavertown Gamma Ray, Boundary American Pale Ale, Blackthorn Gold, Black Sheep, a couple of Blacks of Kinsale selections and, to top it off, some deliciously middle-class cranberry and Amaretto. It’s showtime!

What you mother and I must know is...ARE you going to listen to the official WSD Christmas Special? This episode we crawl out from our hiding hole in a sorority house attic to heap praise and criticism alike on what is probably one of the best films ever made, and arguably the first true slasher flick. Obscenity, drunkenness, FElatio, conspicuous Canadianisms: our cinematic stockings are full to the brim with a plethora of talking points and highlights to discuss. While Dee sticks to drinking cups of tea, Paul and Iain get busy pulling half bottles of sherry and port from the toilet cistern. Well, it is Christmas after all. From the whole WSD team, merry Christmas to all, and to all a good fright (chortle)!

As the old adage goes: ‘there ain’t no party like a WSD party, ‘cos a WSD party don’t stop’. Well, that’s not necessarily true of this episode, in which we tackle the rather mediocre Deadly Blessing, a film that transitioned director Wes Craven’s early grindhouse video nasties to his more accessible mainstream work. As the panel finds out, this makes for a rather confused and confuddled (is that a word?) movie, and an even more confused and confuddled episode, as we struggle to concentrate on the task at hand amid discussions about Harrison Ford movies and the threat of ISIS. Is it a slasher movie? Is it a dissection of religious oppression? Do we care? Have a listen and find out. Filling up the chalice in the Church of Podcast this episode are Grolsch, Sierra Nevada and Dee’s can of Coke. It really was one of those episodes.

We’re off to Hull House to party in an abandoned funeral home with a six-pack of Coors and some buns pilfered from a local Seven Eleven. It’s the official WSD Halloween Special! In this episode we pay tribute to one of the trashiest films of the ‘80s, pulling it apart and revealing its strengths and weaknesses in true WSD style. It’s sour balls aplenty as we discuss the ever –magnificent Linnea Quigley, links to Lamberto Bava, Sam Raimi and a host of other influences, nods and rip-offs that make Night Of The Demons the film it is. In our massively American beer coolers this episode we’ve packed Peroni, Budweiser, Sierra Nevada, Biere d’Or, Admiral’s Ale, Oranjeboom, Thatcher’s cider and a Marks & Spencer Czech pilsner. Happy Halloween, assholes!

Machetes, denim hotpants and colourful macs abound as we head off to camp, celebrating our 13th episode in style with Sean S. Cunningham’s cult slasher classic. Coming along for the ride and whacking the bluegrass on the truck stereo this time are special guests Dom and Conor, who have more than a few good (and bad) things to say about the first instalment in arguably the biggest horror franchise of all time. Savini’s FX, Manfredini’s music, Steve Christie’s alarming similarities with the son of God: no lakeside stone is left unturned as we dissect and discuss the film that brought Jason Voorheese to the big screen. Along with a selection of ‘70s panties, checked shirts and a US Monopoly board, in our rolled-up sleeping bags this episode we manage to smuggle Cobra lager, Tiger beer, Old Thumper, Hobgoblin, Brooklyn lager, Biere D’Or, Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch Belgian IPA, Mountain Livin’ Pale Ale and of course, Crazy Ralph’s favourite: Doom Bar. Now we just need to see whether Marcie left any of that grass… *WSD official footnote – in the episode, Iain erroneously claims Friday the 13th was never on a DPP Section 3 list in the UK, when in fact both it and its sequel were. What a dick.

Team WSD are back with a big bang, making our first foray into the eclectic back catalogue of Italian macabre maestro Mario Bava as we dissect his 1965 effort Planet Of The Vampires. With Captain Mark Markary by our side, we attempt to fend off the bodiless consciousness of cinematic preconceptions and get to the heart of one of the godfather of Italian horror’s least appreciated works. It may have inspired Alien, it may have inspired Event Horizon, heck, it may even have inspired John Carpenter’s The Thing, but one single burning question remains: is it any good? As we navigate the cinematic cosmos, our salubrious stowaways this episode include Super Bock, Union Black cider, Peroni, Astra, Sierra Nevada, Alhambra’s Mezquita and a wee Italian lager from Marksie’s. Of course, this means no room on the bridge for that all-important meteor rejecter, but hopefully one of us remembered to pack a spare…

We're off to sunny Spain (well, Portugal actually) for the podcast's first attempt at tackling the perversive, subversive batshit-craziness that is the cinema of Iberian horror meister Jess Franco. The Curse Of Frankenstein/Erotic Rites Of Frankenstein is one of the director's earlier and more accessible works, featuring the screen debut of Lina Romay (ESMERALDA!) , as well as appearances by Franco stalwarts Howard Vernon and Britt Nichols. Our cervezas this episode include the classic Estrella Damm, Forst Italian lager, some dry French cider, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (as per fucking usual), Iceland's Borg Ga Run, Leffe, Revisionist Pale Ale, Revisionist Steam Beer, Bitter and Twisted, Neck Oil and Beaverton IPA ¡Ay dios mio!

*WSD Official Disclaimer* The following episode was recorded in early December, amid good faith from all panellists concerned that it would be uploaded and ready to go in a week's time, in order to make room to cover Bob Clark's Black Christmas before the festive season began. Christmas being what it is, we switched off for a month or so and never got round to uploading the bloody thing. Needless to say, 2015 is here and we intend to get our arses in gear from this point on. For better or worse, here is our review of Hammer's Curse Of Frankenstein, in all its gory glory... Perhaps we'd better start from the beginning... Given the long and arduous process of planning, recording and professionally patching together each episode of Won't Stay Dead, perhaps it was only a matter of time before we covered one of the greatest examples of biological mix-and-match terror via Hammer Horror's The Curse Of Frankenstein. Bubbling away in a foaming test tube this week are Galway Hooker, Samuel Adams and Barcelona's Estrella Damm, along with Iain's booze-free Dr Pepper and Orange Fanta. Some Twiglets make a tenuous appearance too. Guess that's what happens when you record on a Sunday... Bloody religion.

Forgive us, listeners, for we have sinned. It has been over four weeks since our last podcast. But never fear, for we are back with the proverbial bang, crossing ourselves as we bear witness to Ken Russell’s gloriously blasphemous masterpiece The Devils. Dousing the flames as we burn at the stake are Adnam’s Mosaic Pale Ale, Kinnegar’s Devils Backbone, Bishops Finger, Lucifer, Steenbrugge and Profanity Stout. May God have mercy on our souls.

Halloween is coming and the WSD team are getting hammered. This episode we battle the ancient ghosts of Samhain via John Carpenter's seminal 1978 slasher rinse out Halloween. “If that's the trick, then what are the treats?” I hear you ask. Well, I'll tell you. This week the panel gets through Budweiser, Jupiler, Trouble Brewing's Dark Arts Porter and Pumpkin Brew, Raging Bitch Belgian Style IPA, Brew Dog's Dead Pony Ale, Samuel Adams Octoberfest and Sierra Nevada's Kellerweis. Phew! And if you think that's a shitload of booze, you're probably right; black porters and goblets on Halloween night... Trick or treat!