Years of Fear: A History of Horror

Latest Episodes:

A Bay of Blood (Twitch of the Death Nerve) with William Hellfire Dec 15, 2020

Show notes

Time to kick off our next mini-series: SLASHERS! In this episode, we dive into the early films that begat the blood soaked Slasher boom of the 1980s, with an in-depth exploration of the man who helped define the genre: MARIO BAVA! We explore his early work in cinematography, the creation of the Giallo genre with films like BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, and his film that kick started the Slasher genre: A BAY OF BLOOD! After that, Michael sits down with indie filmmaker William Hellfire to discuss the film, the proto slashers like PSYCHO and THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED that inspired it, Bava's legacy, and how the film created many of the tropes now associated with the genre! Stick around after the discussion to hear our listener's thoughts on what defines a Slasher film!

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Tetsuo: The Iron Man with Gregg Harrington (Neon Brainiacs) Nov 24, 2020

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Our Body Horror series is going out with a bang! We're going to Japan to explore the 1989 Cyberpunk classic TETSUO: THE IRON MAN! We explore his early Kaiju passions, the influence of Akira Kurosawa, dealing with disapproving parents, and how his debut film came to be! We're then joined by Gregg Harrington of the podcast Neon Brainiacs to discuss the film, Nine Inch Nails, d-beat soundtracks, the incredible industrial score, and how this film impacted the future of horror cinema worldwide. Stick around after the interview for the reveal of our next series!

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Vintage Episode 44: From Beyond with Ben Roberts (Children of the Grave) Nov 10, 2020

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Our Body Horror series rolls on with a dive into Stuart Gordon and his slimey classic FROM BEYOND. We explore Stuart's early radical theater roots, run-ins with the law, HP Lovecraft, and Re-Animator. We are then joined by Ben Roberts of the fantastic new comic CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE to discuss From Beyond. Stick around after the interview for our first mailbag segment!

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Vintage Episode 43: The Brood with JR Hayes (Pig Destroyer) and Mike Prophet (Pageninetynine) Oct 27, 2020

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We enter episode 2 of our Body Horror series with an exploration into the mind of the man most associated with the genre: David Cronenberg! We explore his early scientific background, his arthouse origins, early films, and much more! We are then joined by JR Hayes of Grindcore legends Pig Destroyer and Mike Prophet of Screamo icons Pageninetynine to discuss Cronenberg's first truly iconic film: THE BROOD!

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Vintage Episode 42: Eraserhead with Erik Button (Dollar Signs) Oct 13, 2020

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Toxic Schlock has risen from it's pandemic induced grave and is back and better than ever. We kick off our 4-part series on Body horror with a dive into David Lynch's arthouse classic ERASERHEAD! We explore Lynch's artistic origins and influences, the creation of the film, and the contemporary reaction to it. We are then joined by Erik Button of the Charlotte punk band Dollar Signs to explore the just what makes this movie so special!

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Vintage Episode 41: Slumber Party Massacre 2 with Carolina Hidalgo (No Dogs in Space & Movie Sign with the Mads) May 27, 2020

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Bust out your drill guitars, because this week Michael is joined by Carolina Hidalgo of the fantastic music history podcast No Dogs in Space to discuss the 1987 slasher sequel classic SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE 2! Listen in as the two discuss the original film's feminist satirical origins, the brilliance of Roger Corman, MANDY, DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW, being impressionable as a kid, the complicated nature of researching the Misfits, greaser slashers, her origin story with the Mads, and much more!

Vintage Episode 40: Drag Me to Hell with Dylan Wachman (Dollar Signs) May 11, 2020

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This week on Toxic Schlock, Michael and Dylan Wachman of Dollar Signs dig into the underrated modern classic "DRAG ME TO HELL". Michael and Dylan dig into the career of director Sam Raimi, the film's dark humor and (perhaps questionable) CGI, terrible movie theater experiences, THE LIGHTHOUSE, A24 movies, video games to get through quarantine, and much more!

Vintage Episode 39: Rear Window with Josh Robbins (Late Bloomer, Alright, Self Aware Records) Apr 27, 2020

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Josh Robbins returns to Toxic Schlock to discuss the Alfred Hitchcock murder mystery classic REAR WINDOW. Michael and Josh dig into the horror vs thriller dynamic, the best and worst of found footage films, Hitchcock's iconic style, Arnold Schwarzenegger, envisioning a remake of Rear Window, and much more!

Misfits Monday #10: Monster From Green Hell Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

Recorded from their individual quarantines, Michael and Eric remotely dig into the 1950s sci fi schlock of CREATURE FROM GREEN HELL. Along with digging into the film and the Misfits song it spawned, the fiends catch up on Danzig's upcoming Elvis covers album, bootleg shirts, staying sane during Covid19, Verotika, ranking the 10 Misfits movies thus far, and much more! We did have some technical difficulties and sound level issues. We are still finding the best way to record remotely, so bare with us!

Vintage Episode 38: A 1980's Horror Film Spectacular with Neon Brainiacs Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

Bust out your VCRs, because this week on Toxic Schlock, Michael talks with Ben and Gregg of the Neon Brainiacs podcast to do a deep dive into the horror films of the 1980s. They ask the question "why was this decade so iconic for horror and what made this era different than the ones before it?", and touch on classics films like THE THING, EVIL DEAD 2, KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE, VIDEODROME, TETSUO THE IRON MAN, DEMONS, NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, and much more!