Caliber 9 From Outer Space

This week, we're all about seminal indie horror movies - that grindhouse crackle and pop - ah, there's nothing like it. Justin Kerswell is in the house to check out a couple of lo-fi horror gems. We start off with the recently rediscovered indie experimental mind-melter Effects (1979), directed by Dusty Nelson, a film which features a whole bunch of George A. Romero's Pittsburgh indie-horror collective. It's a film that makes you think, and so we follow it up with a film for which thinking is entirely optional: proto-shocker I Drink Your Blood (1971), directed by David Durston.

We don't think you can really spoil I Drink Your Blood, which is just about being as gory and exploitative as it can, but we will call out Spoiler Territory for Effects. If you want to skip ahead from that point, you can rejoin the conversation at the 1:16:38 mark to avoid spoilers.

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on caliber9fromouterspace@gmail.com

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

"Destroyed by Hippie Powers" by Car Seat Headrest

When Mr Tech is in town, it's time to dust off some computer game adaptations. Unfortunately, we are fast running out of game adaptations that we're all collectively willing to watch, so this week we're instead exploring a couple of films in which characters are transported into a game. We start off with the film that pioneered this sort of cinema concept, Tron (1982), directed by Steve Lisberger, and follow that up with Mamoru Oshii's non-anime, Eastern European crossover, Avalon (2001).

We don't call out a Spoiler Territory for Tron because it just didn't seem necessary but we do include one for Avalon. If you want to skip ahead from that point, you can rejoin the conversation at the 2:38:12 mark to avoid spoilers.

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on caliber9fromouterspace@gmail.com

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

"Veridis Quo" by Daft Punk

Nothing compares to the horror of a lycanthropic female family member. The 80's knew that and so do this week's guests, Ted Bennett and Heather Drain, who are both back to talk about some more of that decade's pop film culture detritus. Under-appreciated gems or trash best forgotten? We've never been more polarised!

First up, rather odd teen comedy, My Mom's a Werewolf (1989), directed by Michael Fischa and then, is it a sequel? Is it even a werewolf movie? Philippe Mora's Howling II... Your Sister is a Werewolf (1985) provokes some passionate reactions, both positive and negative.

Let's just say, plot is not really the reason to watch either of these films, so we won't be announcing a Spoiler Territory section for either of them.

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on caliber9fromouterspace@gmail.com

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

"Dracula" by Snips

It's a high speed episode this week, whether that's horses and stagecoaches sprinting across Apache territory or Fiats and vans driving dangerously around the narrow streets of Milan. Actor and film maker Greg Furman joins us to discuss a couple of classics from two different worlds of cinema. We start off with the seminal Hollywood western blockbuster, Stagecoach (1939), directed by John Ford and follow that up with Fernando Di Leo's The Italian Connection (1972) - during which we pay tribute to German-Italian legend, Mario Adorf, who we lost in April this year.

The statute of limitations on spoilers has probably expired for Stagecoach, but we do call out Spoiler Territory for The Italian Connection. If you want to skip ahead from that point, you can rejoin the conversation at the 2:32:43 mark to avoid spoilers.

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on caliber9fromouterspace@gmail.com

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

"The John Wayne" by Little Green Cars

Trains of DOOM! Horror artist extraordinaire, Graham Humphreys, is in the house to talk about a couple of railbound cult horror classics. First up: Eugenio Martin's classic Hammer-adjacent gem, Horror Express (1972) - an absolute delight of the sci-fi-horror subgenre. Our B movie is famed act of cinematic weirdness, Night Train to Terror (1985), ostensibly directed by Jay Schlossberg-Cohen but incorporating film material from a whole bunch of film-makers.

We don't think it's really possible to spoil something as fundamentally incoherent as Night Train to Terror, so no Spoiler Territory for that one. We do, however, call out Spoiler Territory for Horror Express. If you want to skip ahead from that point, you can rejoin the conversation at the 1:07:35 mark to avoid spoilers.

Want to get in touch? You can reach us on caliber9fromouterspace@gmail.com

Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

Chris Collier's new documentary about the work of Graham Humphreys, Captured Souls, can be ordered on blu-ray from 24footsquare.com

"This Train Will be Taking No Passengers" by Augie March