The Bear Cave of Terror

This week in the Bear Cave of Terror, Jay Yospa graces us with his presence and brings with him one of his and Steve's favorite horror movies, 1977's Suspiria, directed by Dario Argento. An expressionist, explosive, and twisted tale of a young American dancer who begins attending a dance academy in Munich, Germany, and discovers a host of deadly secrets involving witchcraft, violent murders, and rooms filled with...razor wire? Considered one of Argento's best films, with gorgeous cinematography, settings, and a blistering score by his band Goblin, the Giallo-adjacent first of the Three Mothers trilogy is arguably the best entry. So turn down the lights, turn up the volume (but not too loud!), and listen to the latest episode of the Bear Cave of Terror!Additional Resources for this episode:"Movie Locations: Suspiria" - movie-locations.com"In the Know" Suspiria Trivia by David Kalat 8/20/08 TCM.com"Dario Argento's Three Mothers Trilogy: An Introduction" by PekoeBlaze, 2/23/23 pekoeblaze.wordpress.com

Werewolves are loose in the Bear Cave yet again, with guest host Craig Lantz bringing the other big werewolf film of 1981, Joe Dante's The Howling, to chat about. Often playing second-favorite to An American Werewolf in London, The Howling nevertheless was released first, and contains some gruesome (and plentiful) werewolf creature transformations, and is filled with references, homages, and even actor cameos from legacy horror and monster movies, while playing with - and redefining - rules for werewolves and shapeshifters for the modern era. Some creature designs and transformations may be more successful than others, but the story of a TV reporter (played by Dee Wallace) suffering from PTSD due to a botched sting operation to catch a serial killer, sent to recover in a country village called "The Colony", only to find herself surrounded by pointy-eared and murderous shapeshifters, is a pretty gripping one. Supported by a couple of other journalists discovering that the serial killer may have been more than human, the nest of werewolves reveal themselves before a fiery final confrontation. The dual nature of mankind, wild practical effects and gore, and some grisly attacks make The Howling a wild ride. Even a goofy WereYorkie can't bring this move down!Additional Resources:In Search of Darkness: AJourney into Iconic 80s Horror (2019), directed by David A. Weiner, produced by CreativeVC"Channel Your Inner Werewolf..." by Maggie Boccella, 1/29/26 Fangoria.com"The Howling" by Bob Martin and Jim Wynorski, Fangoria 9, Nov 1980, pp 9-13

In this week's episode of the Bear Cave of Terror, Ben "Little Dead Aliens" Raifsnider joins us again to talk about one of his favorites, the great 2009 cult horror-comedy, Jennifer's Body, directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Diablo Cody. Underappreciated and maligned at the time it was originally released, this witty, gory, and immensely-quotable flick found its fans over the past 15+ years since its release to become one of the great horror films of the 2000s. From a great pairing of Amanda Seyfried and Megan Fox on screen, to quippy, memorable dialogue, and some messy kills, the story of a cheerleader becoming possessed by a demon and her best friend trying to figure a way to stop her eating the boys at school is a wild ride with some great visuals and a creative team that clearly loves how to play with horror. Poorly marketed to the wrongs audiences by a clueless PR team with insulting test screenings, running afoul of early Twitter and misogynistic blog culture, and blowback against the successes of Megan Fox and Diablo Cody really hurt the film's chances at the box office, and it would have faded away if hadn't been discovered by the real intended audience that have championed it over the years. With snarky humor, gory kills, and a great pair of leads, hopefully this becomes one of your favorites, listener, if it isn't already!(Robot voice warning: Steve's mic decided to go periodically "Dalek" during the recording)Additional resources for the film:"Fox Searchlight Lawyers Defend Jennifer's Body from Snarky Bloggers" by Kate, 2/11/08, Mediabistro.com"Megan Fox, Diablo Cody Interview: Jennifer's Body" by Sheila Roberts, 9/5/09 moviesonline.ca"How Jennifer's Body became a true cult classic" by BJ Colangelo 11/7/22 SlashFilm.com"Jennifer's Body Reunion" - ET Live 9/19/19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2JLRtWlq0o

This week, the Bear Cave of Terror looks back over 80 years to discuss one of guest host Rob Staeger's noir horror favorites, Cat People, directed by Jacques Tourneur and released from RKO's horror unit headed by the legendary Val Lewton. We look at this subtle, but inspirational "frugally-budgeted" classic from an era dominated by Universal's Horror line that nevertheless hold its own with a tense atmosphere, clever writing, and some techniques that became horror film staples decades later. We touch on the symbolism, the money-saving tricks that still gave audiences the suspense and thrill of big-budget horror, and even how there could be a queer reading between the "cat person" Irena and the romantic rival, Alice! (Steve also mentions multiple times how much of a slimy jerk that Dr Judd is!) So get your fare ready for a ride on the Lewton Bus, hide any canaries, and have a listen to us talk about original Cat People!Additional Resources for this episode:"Cat People Movie Review" by Variety Staff, 12/31/1941, Variety"The Prince of Poverty Row" by Barry Gifford, 4/6/2006, The Guardian"How an Iconic Scene in Cat People Created the Cinematic Jump Scare" by Meagan Navarro, 11/18/20, Slashfilm.comCat People: Criterion Collection release, Audio Commentary by Gregory Mank, 2005

In this squishy, slimy episode of BCoT, Steve is joined by filmmaker, writer, and actor Joshua R Pangborn in the cave to talk about one of his favorite horror films: 1989's Society, directed by Brian Yuzna. Infamous for the climactic "shunting" scene with creature effects by Screaming Mad George, the film is a late 80s study of how the rich and powerful elites of society figuratively...and literally...feed off the lesser classes. Even though it may have been unintentional, there's also a queer adolescent subtext with the main character seemingly having it all, yet feeling like a stranger in his own family and social circles. For several years, the film was hard to see after its initial festival premiere, and for a while only available on VHS until brought to DVD and streaming in the mid-2010s. It's worth the hunt for horror fans, or fans of ooey-gooey social commentary! Crazy characters, weird performances, and of course, that climax...even the creepy theme song that will haunt your nightmares makes this movie a must-see scare.Additional Resources for the film:"Society Bring Body Image Issues to Another Level" by Joshua Robbins, 6/11/19 Queen City News"Society: Film Review" by Variety Staff, 12/31/88, Variety"Brian Yuzna' Developing Society Sequel" by Owen Willians, 11/1/13, Empireonline.com"Movie Review: Shocker Satire 'Society'..." by Michael Wilmington, 2/28/92 Los Angeles Times"Society: How the Movie's Ending was Different..." by Maisy Flowers, 1/23/21 Screenrant.comDarkside of Society (2023) directed by Larry Wade Carrell, produced by Darkside Doc SL

In this Part 2 episode of the Bear Cave of Terror, continuing the discussion of the Alien prequels by Ridley Scott, Vince Tinebra and Steve Mowry look at the follow-up to 2012's Prometheus, Alien: Covenant, released to theaters in 2017. Although the prequels were originally conceived as leading to up to the timeline established in the first Alien film from 1979, it's clear that after the criticism of Prometheus that Ridley Scott and his creative team changed course in a few different ways. Scott here decided to focus on a new direction for the plot - becoming less of a prequel to the Alien series, and more of a parallel story. In the center, the philosophy of creation and synthetics, faith vs science, and around that, an attempt to give audiences more of what they thought was lacking in Prometheus...more xenomorph carnage! Unfortunately, that opened up a new raft of criticism and left the potential for a 3rd film (or the 5-film arc that Scott envisioned) shelved indefinitely. Sure, there are a lot of issues, stemming from some of the crew actions and decisions, the unanswered questions around Planet 4 and and who really left all those eggs on LV-426, but for our guest, he hopes that the viewer can still find as much to enjoy about this bloody scifi horror film as he does. I think we can also all agree Michael Fassbinder's David as the true, irredeemably sadistic villain of the prequels, is pretty dang fantastic! So, try to look past the characters' illogical decisions and not wearing spacesuits on an unknown planet, ignore the Ripley timeline, and don't think too hard about why a med bay has such slippery floors, and enjoy our talk about Alien: Covenant!Additional Resources for the episode:"Alien Covenant and Prometheus, Making Sense of their Plots" by Ryan Lambie, 11/4/16 Denofgeek.com"Prometheus 2: In Space No One Can Hear Ridley SCott..." by Brad Miske, 3/27/13 bloody-disgusting.com"Alien:Covenant Crash Landing..." by Tom Breuggermann, 6/6/17 indiewire.com"8 Years Later, Ridley Scott's $240Million Sci-Fi Epic..." by Adam Blevins, 8/4/25 collider.com

The Bear Cave of Terror welcomes back Mike Lovins to talk about one of his favorite - and funny enough, more family-friendly - horror movies from childhood, 1986's Critters, directed by Stephen Herek! This mash-up of sci-fi tropes, small-town monster invasion, and maybe a sprinkle of Spielberg is a dose of nostalgia for 80s kids everywhere! Starring a young Scott Grimes and perennial mother-in-alien/monster-peril Dee Wallace, and featuring Billy Zane with a rat tail, this movie featuring vicious, little, and furry monsters that eat everything in their path, who torture a family after landing on their farm, all while being hunted by incompetant shape-shifting intergalactic bounty hunters, is funny, lightly gory, and a hoot for all ages. Plus, who can forget the banger theme song, "Power of the Night" by Johnny Steele? Grab your sling-shots and M80s, as Mike and Steve talk about the Chiodo Brothers' scary and adorable creature designs, the similarities to several other 80s creature-and-scifi movies, and whether Dee Wallace was being typecast here!Additional Resources for this episode:"Shoemaker Report: Critters" - Dick Shoemaker, April 1986, Entertainment Tonight"On the Farm with Critters" by Marc Shapiro, Fangoria 51, Jan 1986, pp 49-51,65."Critters: Blood Brothers" by Marc Shapiro, Fangoria 54, June 1986, pp 26-29"Critters: Movie Revew and Summary" by Roger Ebert, 4/11/86 (He gave it 3 out of 4 stars)

In this episode, we welcome to the cave for the first time: Mr Chris Cummins! Chris is a fan of the more low-budget, cult, and exploitative sub-genre of horror, and he's brought with him Frank Henenlotter's first major film (and MoMA-celebrated), 1982's Basket Case! A snapshot of New York City in the late 70s/early 80s, at the height of its urban decay, featuring a Times Square with peep shows, XXX cinemas, drugs, and crime, it's also a deeply layered movie about acceptance, found family, trauma, and the search for love and connection...and bloody revenge! We look at the story of conjoined twins, dehumanized and separated by doctors, as they seek out the people who tore them apart, all the while exploring the wild and unique flophouses and cabarets of this singular time and place. Torsos ripped in half, faces torn apart, and a picnic lunch enjoyed at the Statue of Liberty, there's a lot to love in this tale of a boy and his malformed brother-in-a-basket. We talk about Henenlotter's inspirations, the reception from critics and audiences at the time and today, and more!Additional Resources for the episode:"The Museum of Modern Art is Preserving and Restoring Basket Case" by Josh Squires, 3/18/17, Bloody-Disgusting.com"Interview: Keven van Hentenryck, Star of Basket Case" by Jon Towlson, 10/12/12, StarburstMagazine.com"The Basket Case Returns? Interview with Frank Henenlotter" by Matthew Sorrento, 12/22/08, FilmThreat.com"The Latest Midnight Horror" by John Stark, 7/2/82. pg 49, San Francisco Examiner"Basket Case Review" by Variety Staff, 12/31/81, Variety"It Came From the 80s: Belial is a Total Basket Case" by Megan Navarro, 2/11/18, Bloody-Disgusting.com

On this packed episode of the Bear Cave of Terror, we have another tag-team of guest hosts - returning favorite Bill Zanowitz of the Comic Book Bears, and first-time guest host, Vince Tinebra - to tackle the seminal scifi-horror classic and first chapter in the 45-year franchise, Alien, directed by Ridley Scott and released in 1979! The bears discuss several aspects of what makes this film a favorite - such as the lived-in realism of the full-detailed world of the Nostromo's crew and the practical effects, Sigourney Weaver's groundbreaking and riveting character of Ripley that mixes the "final girl" trope with a badass action hero, the uncomfortable and stunning art/design of HR Giger (you could say it was very "Gigersexual"), and more! Plus, keep an eye out on the Comic Book Bears YouTube channel for another merch-centric Bear Cave of Terror mini-episode, looking at the tie-in toys and games released in '79 to sell this terrifying horror movie to...kids? (And adult collectors, of course!)Additional sources for this episode:"Interview with Bolaji Badejo, 1979" by Frederick S. Clarke and Alan Jones, Cinefantastique vol 9, no. 1, Autumn, 1979The Beats Within: The Making of Alien (2003) directed by Charles de Lauzirika, produced by 20th Century Fox Home EntertainmentMemory: The Origins of Alien (2019) directed by Alexandre O. Phillipe, produced by Exhibit A Pictures, et al"The Hidden Language of ALIEN: Semiotics" by Creative Briefs and Alien Verses / @AlienVerses Sep 30, 2025 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzSLV2wrjrI

In this week's episode of the BCoT, Steve is joined by Stephen King superfan Ken Creamer to talk about the underrated 90s vampire-adjacent film, Sleepwalkers, directed by Mick Garris. Often overlooked when it comes to the King filmography, he wrote the script to this 1992 horror about incestuous mother and son feline shapeshifters who sustain themselves on the lifeforce of young virgin girls! The son sets his sights on a new victim, but neighborhood kitties, a curious sheriff's department, and super cop cat Clovis won't stand for it. This film was made by a horror fan, and it comes through with cameos from famous directors and King himself, with an eclectic cast, tongue-in-cheek dialogue, and what was then cutting-edge special effects, making it a moderate success on initial release. Terrible movie critic reviews and unfortunate timing close to another King-"inspired" flop, it's only now starting to build a cult fanbase who appreciate the quirky uniqueness of this little 90s horror time capsule.Additional Resources for this episode:In Search of Darkness 1990-94: A Journey into Iconic 90s Horror (2025), directed by David A. Weiner, produced by CreatorVCPost-Morten with Mick Garris (podcast) ep 82 "Ask Mick Anything", 4/1/2020, distributed by the Dread Podcast Network"Sleepwalkers" by Variety Staff, Variety 12/31/91"Stephen King's Sleepwalkers" by Lawrence French, Cinefantastique April 1992, vol 22 no. 5, pp 20-22

We're taking a trip to Belle Epoque-era France for an erotic, bloodsucking horror film with first-time guest host, Sam Lenz, one half of the team from the Screams from the Basement Podcast! We take a look at French auteur, Jean Rollin and his 1980 classic film, Fascination, about a criminal on the run taking refuge in a not-so-abandoned chateau where two strange and sinister chambermaids are waiting for the arrival of their mistress and her followers for a mysterious midnight ritual, all while a gang waits outside the walls to take back what the criminal stole from them. It's bizarre, it's sensual, it's poetic, it's...French! Made by a filmmaker who was sadly under-appreciated during his lifetime and is now starting to see the recognition that eluded him, this atmospheric and tense thriller plays with the viewers expectations, presenting haunting, grisly, or erotic imagery, while teasing the final reveal of the mysterious midnight gathering and the promised bloody end. French comics, shady distribution companies, loud foley work, and more are topics covered in this week's episode!Additional Resources for this episode:"Flesh and Blood: The Cinema of Jean Rollin" by Budd Wilkins 1/28/12, Slantmagazine.comImmoral Tales by Cathal Tohill & Pete Tombs, 1995, published by St. Martin's Griffin, pp 135-176Eurotika (1999) - episode 1: Vampires and Virgins, directed by Andrew Stark and Pete Tombs, produced by Boum Productions (UK) for Channel 4Sam can be found at the Screams From the Basement podcast - https://www.screamsfromthebasement.com/

On this week's episode of the Bear Cave of Terror, I invite Rob Staeger back to talk about one of his favorite films, the supernatural noir horror, 1987's Angel Heart, directed by Alan Parker. In contrast to the director's previous films like Birdie, or Fame, this time he tackles his adaptation of the detective thriller Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg, where Mickey Rourke's Harry Angel hunts down a mysterious crooner for Robert DeNiro's Louis Cypher through the streets of New York City and New Orleans - including him encountering 80s sitcom darling, Lisa Bonet, in an impactful role - while the missing singer's associates wind up gruesomely murdered along the way. Marred by controversy that almost prevented its original wide release in US cinemas, it has since become a bit of an underground cult hit, and hopefully, dear listener, you may be intrigued to give it a watch after Rob and Steve chat about the stunning performances of the leads, staging of mid-1950s New York and New Orleans, bizarre symbolism, and more! (Beware there are major spoilers in the last 15 minutes of the episode...)Additional Resources for this episode:"Actress Lisa Bonet transcends the 'Angel Heart' controversy" by Victor Valle, Reading Eagle, 3/2/1987"'Angel Heart'video to be uncut" by Entertainment News Source, Sun Sentinel, 6/26/87Interview with Mickey Rourke on Angel Heart, KCRA-NBC 3, 1/27/87Interview with Alan Parker & Mickey Rourke for Angel Heart (1987) by John C. Tibbets (re-release 11/5/21)In Conversation with Director Alan Parker on Angel Heart/BEI - 4/26/18YouTube channel highly recommended for deep dives into this movie:Youtube.com/@CineG - Angel Heart analysis and reflections - playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKh25aJ1QU8J5I2hdRuDp4GOvyuBPSgIL

Joining us for the first time in the Bear Cave of Terror, we have another host of the Comic Book Bears, Caleb Alexander-Mckinzie! A fan of horror-comedies, he brings with him the 2011 laughs-and-splatter cult hit, Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil! Directed by Eli Craig and starring Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine in the titular roles, this film has been consistently making audiences laugh AND cover their eyes by flipping upside-down the usual trope of co-eds vs psycho hillibillies in similar backwoods slashers, by making the "hillbillies" here just a couple of nice guys and the college kids' very bloody deaths all the result of accidents and misunderstandings. We look at the dynamic created by decades of stereotyping and prejudice, and how it plays out when the slasher roles are reversed, the cast and crew's attention to detail to keep this from descending into spoof, and of course how big, misunderstood Bubba Bear Dale finally gets the girl he deserves, a victory for bearish sidekicks everywhere! We also mention shock-and-gore moments in this film that still elicit reactions in people watching for the first time (check out the hundreds of reaction videos on YouTube for example!), and of course, those great one-liners.Additional Resources for this episode:""Tucker and Dale vs Evil: How to make a Hillbilly Howler" by Michael Gingold - Fangoria.com, orig. 11/25/11, updated 3/16/24Tucker and Dale vs. Evil Excluse: Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk, interview by MovieWeb, 10/8/11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw73bfyiWTA