VAULTCAST! Conversations in the Dark: Miguel Rodriguez Returns!

Once you get two dyed-in-the-wool Godzillaphiles together, it seems you just can't keep them apart. And so, we come to the third installment of the crossover podcast series Monster Island Resort's Miguel Rodriguez and I have been recording--all about our mutual passion, Big G. This time out, we turn our attention away from the classic Showa series of the 1950s-1970s, and move on to the second series of Godzilla films.

Produced from the mid 1980s through the late 1990s, the Heisei series represented something of a rebirth for the giant lizard. There certainly was a lot of ground to cover, and many films to discuss; but Mr. Rodriguez and I were certainly up to the task. Listen in and join us, won't you?

As always, you have a couple of options. You can listen on the embedded player below, or proceed to the Vaultcast page and download it!



Part 1 of the series!
Part 2 of the series!

Poe's "LIGEIA" - My Reading, Courtesy of Monster Island Resort

One thing I discovered about myself in the past year (among many) is that I really enjoy live readings. Perhaps it can be chalked up to the whole "being in love with the sound of my own voice" thing, or the fact that I was trained in rhetoric in high school (which, with the addition of $2.25, will currently get me on the subway), but I do get a kick out of public reading, particularly of great works of literature.

Another individual who enjoys this, and is also exceptionally good at it, is my West Coast brother Miguel Rodriguez. Not long ago, Miguel started a series on his acclaimed Monster Island Resort podcast, entitled "MIR Storytime". Using his impressive powers of enunciation, Miguel had been recording himself reading some legendary pieces of horror literature. Needless to say, I became intrigued. And once Miguel gave me permission to contribute to the series, I set about recording my version of "Ligeia"--a prototypical vampire/zombie tale which is one of, if not my very favorite, Edgar Allan Poe short story.

I'm honored that Mr. Rodriguez gave me an opportunity to do this, and was so thrilled to see it posted on his Monster Island Resort podcast homepage, that I asked his permission to repost it right here in The Vault of Horror. And so, dear Vault dwellers, I invite you to proceed directly to the following link, where you may tune in or download it for your macabre listening pleasure:

B-SOL READS EDGAR ALLAN POE'S "LIGEIA"

* The Vault would also like to wish a hearty congrats and attagirl to our very own sister blogger, BJ-C of Day of the Woman, who will be contributing to Yahoo! Movies in the very near future. Nice job, kid. That's how we do it on Team Vault.

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Stacie Ponder

And CitD returns after a month-long hiatus! What better way, I ask, to bring the series back than with the one and only Stacie Ponder, author of a little blog some of you folks may know, by the name of Final Girl? Hmm...anyone?

Anyway, Stacie was kind enough to enter the Vault this week to touch on a ridiculous variety of topics, ranging from the nature of great horror, to why '70s music rocks, to the joys of blog trolls, to why the youth of America is lame, and so much more! So listen in on two crazed individuals going on and on about whatever happens to pop into their heads. It's nothing if not entertaining.

Check it out on the player embedded below, or head over to the Vaultcast page to download it...

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Captain Cruella

The spot: A clandestine, undisclosed location on the New York/Connecticut border. The guest: Captain Cruella, Zombie Queen of the Carnivorous Cadavers. The cuisine: Confidential.

We're here to discuss a fascinating phenomenon in our popular culture: The rise of the zombie. Face it, our undead friends are everywhere, and the movies are just the beginning. They have infiltrated our world, metaphorically speaking. And on Saturday in Saugerties, New York, they will do so literally (well, heh, almost) thanks to Cruella's Village Invasion zombie crawl, which we also touch on (including The Vault of Horror's involvement in the event).

Listen in on all the ghoulish shenanigans on the embedded player below, or head over to the Vaultcast page and download it!



The Village Invasion website
The Captain on Twitter
Press release

VAULTCAST: Talking with Meir Zarchi, Steven Monroe & Sarah Butler of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE!

One of the privileges I've been afforded since launching The Vault of Horror is being able to interact with those individuals directly involved with the films that have affected me over the years. I had just such an experience earlier this week when, after catching the remake of I Spit on Your Grave at a screening in Manhattan, I was afforded the opportunity to speak about it with the film's director, Steven Monroe; the star, Sarah Butler, who plays Jennifer Hill; and of course, the one and only Meir Zarchi himself--both producer of the remake and director of the still-controversial 1978 original.

It's my distinct pleasure to be able to share this with you, and I'm grateful to all participants for pulling no punches and expecting nothing less in return, especially Mr. Zarchi in our discussion of the much-debated issues of misogyny. Also, thanks to Alexis Hoyt and the rest of the fine people at Falco Ink for reaching out and making these interviews possible. You can listen in on the embedded player below, or proceed to the official Vaultcast page for download...

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Christine Hadden

I'm thrilled about this week's edition of Conversations in the Dark, because Italian horror is one of my favorite topics to discuss. And if there's anyone whose name is synonymous with Italian horror, it would be Dario Argento. Suspiria is one of my all-time favorite horror films, and Argento's signature style in other movies like Deep Red and Tenebrae have long fascinated me.

So of course, I had to bring in one of my favorite Argento fanatics, Ms. Christine Hadden of Fascination with Fear. Christine is more well-versed in Argento than myself--and so, seeking, as always, to make myself look good by surrounding myself with talented individuals, I invited Christine to join me this week. By listening in on the embedded player below, you can hear us wistfully sing the praises of Italy's ambassador of terror, as well as veer into Hitchcock, Deodato and all points in between.

You can also proceed directly to the official Vaultcast page and download the audio!



Fascination with Fear: http://fascinationwithfear.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/slewfan77
Blood Sprayer: http://www.bloodsprayer.com/author/christine/

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Miguel Rodriguez

Have you recently found yourself overcome with the unrelenting need to hear two 30-something year-old men talk for nearly an hour about Japanese monster movies? If so, then boy, have you come to the right place.

This week on the Vaultcast, it is my distinct honor to have as my guest Mr. Miguel Rodriguez, a fellow Godzilla-phile who also happens to run his own podcast, Monster Island Resort. As you can probably tell from the name of his show, Miguel is a huge fan of the big green lizard and his many far-out cohorts and foes. And given my own unconditional love of all things kaiju--see my three-part history of the original Godzilla series--I figured it might be a very good idea if we put our heads together and engaged in some mutual worship of rubber monster suits.

I warn you ahead of time: The geekery involved this week reaches alarming proportions. Your mileage may vary. If you dare to take a listen to our discussion of singing fairies, cockroach people and little boys in tiny shorts, then check out the embedded player below--or proceed directly to the official Vaultcast page to download.



Monster Island Resort podcast: http://www.monsterislandresort.org/
For more on Horrible Imaginings: The Horror Film Festival of San Diego
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MnstrIsleResort

*Special thanks to Captain Cruella of Village Invasion - Crawl of the Dead for forging the unholy Solomon/Rodriguez alliance!

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Kristy Jett

For the first time ever, this time around in Conversations in the Dark we spend our allotted minutes focusing on one film and one film only...more or less. It's an exceptional kind of show this week, but one makes exceptions when one is joined by an online horror dynamo the likes of Ms. Kristy Jett, the omnipresent force whose work can be found on sites like The Blood Sprayer, Fangoria.com and Dread Central, and who is one of the guiding lights behind Fright Rags, online horror T-shirt merchant extraordinaire.

See, Kristy happens to be obsessed with the 1991 slasher/William Castle tribute Popcorn, and since she asked so nicely, we spent a solid half hour-plus waxing rhapsodic about that particular motion picture, amongst a few other random things that will pop up whenever you get two consummate blabbermouths together. So listen in as Kristy and I discuss the film itself, as well as Ms. Jett's ambitions to put together a special-edition, 20th anniversary DVD release worthy of it. Listen below, or head to the Vaultcast page and download!



The Blood Sprayer: http://bloodsprayer.com
Fright Rags: http://www.fright-rags.com

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Bryan White

Brace yourselves, Vault dwellers, because it's about to get very geeky up in here. This week we're talking comics--horror comics, to be more specific. And 1970s Marvel horror comics, to be even more specific. Blade, Man-Thing, Werewolf By Night, Ghost Rider, Tomb of Dracula, the whole nine yards.

Joining me is fellow pop-culture obsessed Gen-Xer Bryan White of Cinema Suicide. He and I had begun conversing recently on Twitter about our shared enthusiasm for one of comics' most underrated movements and eras, and now, it's turned into all this. For those of you horror fiends who are also comics nerds, you're in for a treat. If you beat up guys like us in high school, kindly come back next week. We promise to have our lunch money for you then.

Take a listen to the embedded link below--or proceed directly to the Vaultcast page and download it.

Cinema Suicide: http://www.cinema-suicide.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/CinemaSuicide

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Britt Hayes

Make yourself comfortable tonight, ladies and gentlemen. Because this time around, we have a very special, double-length edition of Conversations in the Dark. As part of the ongoing Lucky 13 series in which both the Vault and Brutal as Hell are currently embroiled, I was originally going to be joined by BAH's Britt Hayes for back-to-back weeks, discussing both the recent zombie edition and upcoming sci-fi edition of The Lucky 13. But plans changed, and so instead we combined both into one mondo, 90-minute Vaultcast.

Fortunately for you, we happen to be two individuals with very radio-friendly voices, so it won't be too unpleasant to listen in as we ramble on ecstatically about both the living dead and the horrors of science fiction, along the way leaping madly into random non-sequiturs involving everything from the merits of Nic Cage's career and the hotness of Cillian Murphy, to the glories of the Anthony Weiner tirade and why the Friedberg/Seltzer spoof movies may be signaling the apocalypse.

You can listen on the embedded player below, or over at the official Vaultcast page. Download it right here--proud to declare, by the way, that the Vaultcast has grown so popular that I had to upgrade to a pro account on PodOmatic in order to accommodate all the bandwidth. Keep listening! My wallet doesn't thank you, but I do!


Brutal as Hell: http://www.brutalashell.com
Chud.com: http://chud.com/articles/authors/276/Britt-Hayes
Twitter: http://twitter.com/_iheartzombies

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/BC

It's a thrill this week to be joined by the one and only BC of Horror-Movie-a-Day and Bloody-Disgusting, one of my true blogging inspirations. He had an opportunity to attend Comic Con last weekend, and now that the geek explosion has come and gone, I figured I'd have him on to talk about all the stuff that went down in San Diego. While I had his attention, we also went off on random tangents about M. Night Shyamalan's downward spiral, and our cautious expectations for Matt Reeves' Let Me In.

So take a listen to the embedded player below if you dare, or head on over to the new Vaultcast home page, where you can download this installment directly...


Horror-Movie-a-Day: http://horrormovieaday.com
Bloody Disgusting: http://bloody-disgusting.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BrianWCollins

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Maweanne

I bet you've been laying up nights, just wondering when Conversations in the Dark would return... Well the answer is, right now! That's right, the Vaultcast returns just in time for the San Diego Comic-Con. As my guest this week I have someone who will actually be going to the event (unlike me)--and that's Maweanne (a.k.a. Maryanne Schultz) of The Spooky Brew.

Tonight we chat up this week's epic West Coast geekfest, as well as Maryanne's experiences as an honest-to-goodness horror movie makeup artist. Listen in on the embedded player below, or pay a visit to the new Vaultcast homepage, where you can also download it...


The Spooky Brew: http://spookybrew.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/maweanne

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Doug Plomitallo

Remakes are indeed such a ripe subject for endless pontification, that this week in CitD, I return to the well for more! This time around, I'm joined by Doug Plomitallo, creator of the horror anthology web series Scared Stiff. We tackle some of the many problems with remakes, and why those within the horror film industry seem to be so obsessed with them. We also get off on a few long-winded tangents I found too entertaining to edit out, so enjoy!

Listen in on the embedded player below, or proceed directly to the Vaultcast page, where you can download it.

Conversations in the Dark: Doug Plomitallo

The Vaultcast!

Scared Stiff: http://www.scaredstiff.tv
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ScaredStiffTV
Twitter: http://twitter.com/scaredstiffshow

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Marc Patterson

In keeping with last weekend's kick-off of The Lucky 13 in tandem with Brutal as Hell, this time around I invited Brutal as Hell's managing editor and founder Marc Patterson to join me on Conversations in the Dark. And since our first Lucky 13 installment featured discussions of our favorite horror films in the sub-genre of grindhouse/exploitation, we took this opportunity to really get in-depth and talk about exactly what defines grindhouse and exploitation in the first place.

Join us as we get into which grindhouse and exploitation flicks we love, which ones we don't love, and why, from the seedy days of Last House on the Left and I Spit on Your Grave, through the present-day era of homages like Death Proof and Hostel. And hang tight for the second installment of The Lucky 13 coming up next, with the spotlight on monsters movies and creature features!

Listen to the embedded player below, proceed to the Vaultcast homepage, or download it directly here.

Conversations in the Dark: Marc Patterson

The Vaultcast!

Brutal as Hell: http://www.brutalashell.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BAHHorror

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Andre Dumas

Remakes! There, doesn't that just make your stomach get all tight and your palms cold and sweaty? Horror fans tend to get a bit up in arms at the very notion of remakes, but take a listen as The Horror Digest's Andre Dumas and myself wax philosophic about exactly why remakes are not always a bad thing, and how they can actually serve an important purpose!

So if you want to find out exactly what we mean, or if you want to listen to us pick the movies we'd most like to see remade, and the ones we wish never were, listen in on the embedded player below, jump to the Vaultcast page, or download it right here.

Conversations in the Dark: Andre Dumas

The Vaultcast!

The Horror Digest: http://horrordigest.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/thehorrordigest

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Nate Yapp

Ever since I started doing CitD, I've been looking forward to having a chat about classic horror, and who better to have it with than the guy who runs Classic-Horror.com? Nate Yapp, author of that Rondo-nominated site (as well as of Cinema Geek, home of my 52 Perfect Movies series), was kind enough to join me this time out for an interesting discussion of all things old school.

Listen in below as we pontificate about everything from Universal stuff, to Val Lewton, to Hammer, in an effort to discover exactly what "classic horror" is, anyway. And we also get into what has changed in horror between then and now, which is always a subject of spirited debate. And then there's the whole Karloff vs. Lugosi controversy...

In addition to the embedded player, you can also proceed directly to the Vaultcast page, or download Conversations in the Dark right here.

Conversations in the Dark: Nate Yapp

The Vaultcast!

VAULTCAST: My Dad, the Monster Kid

For any of you wondering exactly where my horror obsession comes from, wonder no more. On Easter Sunday, I had the opportunity to sit down with my very own dad (for blog nickname purposes, we'll call him "The Bob") for a heartfelt discussion on the genre we both love.

See, my dad is a Monster Kid--a fact that I proudly informed him of for the very first time during this very interview. Growing up during the birth of modern genre fandom, he got to see a lot of stuff I can only dream of. He bought EC Comics off the newsstand. He watched Zacherly's Chiller Theatre. He saw Night of the Living Dead in a movie theater when it first came out (on a date with my mom, no less).

So naturally, I've wanted to pick his brain on this stuff for a long time. After all, I followed in his footsteps, as he set me along on the path to fascination with all things scary. I hope you enjoy this little interview with Dad, my Obi-Wan Kenobi of horror...

My Dad, the Monster Kid

The Vaultcast!

You can also listen in at the official Vaultcast page, or download it right here.

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/The Divemistress

Delve down into horror's murky underwater depths with me this week, as I'm joined by the Divemistress, of the blog Zombots! and The Avod podcast. DM is probably the best horror blogging oceanographer around, and she's also Canadian--which is why we've devoted the Vaultcast this week to talking about Canuck horror.

Listen in as we discuss the inevitable greatness of Cronenberg and try to figure out why Fido never gets the attention Shaun of the Dead does--plus, get a handy crash course in Canadian economic history! You may even hear about some horror movies you love that you never even knew were Canadian. And best of all, we get through an entire half hour without once saying "The Great White North", so give us some credit for that.

As always, check it out on the embedded player below, the actual Vaultcast page, or download it right here!

Conversations in the Dark: The Divemistress

The Vaultcast!

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On the Manic Monday front, for those still curious about the movie, I encourage you to check yesterday's post and take note of the first letter of each paragraph ;-) My apologies to the clever readers who felt compelled to let the world know they had figured it out. Sorry about deleting or ignoring your comments--nothing gets past you folks, that's for sure! But I had to commit myself fully to the effort. Kayfabe! (It's a wrestling thing, Google it.)

VAULTCAST: Conversations in the Dark... w/Brad McHargue

Seems like everyone loves to point out which horror films are "overrated". Hell, I just made my own list of them last month. It's one thing to point out certain movies that a lot of people can agree get more credit than they deserve, but what about those films that everyone just seems to love but you? Brad McHargue, writer for HorrorSquad and author of the blog I Love Horror, is used to this problem, as his opinions are often far from the majority. Good thing he's not afraid to piss people off.

Which is also why he makes a great guest. This week on Conversations in the Dark, he joins me to talk about movies like Drag Me to Hell and Grace, which many people adored, but Brad thought were dogcrap. Plus, I get into my own continued disdain for the beloved Blair Witch Project, and we both scratch our heads at those who call Paranormal Activity overrated.

It's a whole lot of angst and perplexedness this week in the Vaultcast, so listen in below! Or proceed to the Vaultcast home page and download the sucker...

Conversations in the Dark: Brad McHargue

The Vaultcast!

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In other news, when you have a chance, release your inner Kraken by heading over to Bloody-Disgusting.com to check out my latest list: The 21 Most Kick-Ass Giant Monsters in Movie History, in honor of the impending Clash of the Titans remake...

VAULTCAST: Exclusive Interview with Horror Rockers CALABRESE!

Judging by my other blog, you might be under the impression that ol' B-Sol really doesn't go in for any music recorded after 1960... Allow me to shatter your expectation! Yes, it may be true that I've leaned quite heavily toward the grandpa music in recent years--but that doesn't mean I've no love for anything electric. I may have given up on much of the rock scene at some point in the second Clinton administration, but that doesn't mean I still don't go in for rock n' roll--especially when, ya know, the band is actually really good.

And Calabrese is one of those really good bands. Actually, scratch that--they're a damn fine rock band, and best of all, their music is all about something I/we really love: Horror! Brothers Davey, Bobby and Jimmy joined me earlier this week to talk about their amazing throwback horror punk, as well as the new album, Calabrese III: They Call Us Death--which "drops" as the kids say, on March 20.

Listen below, or proceed to the Vaultcast page, where you can download the interview in its entirety!

Interview with Horror Punk Rockers Calabrese!

The Vaultcast!

• Find out more album info and tour dates at Calabreserock.com!
• Follow the boys on Twitter!
• Bask in their horrifying YouTube page!
• And hey, remember MySpace? Yeah, you can check them out there too!