THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1939) d. Sidney Lanfield (USA)
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1959) d. Terence Fisher (UK)

Though not the first fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes is arguably the best-known. Over 25,000 stage adaptations, films, television productions, and publications have featured the detective, and Guinness World Records lists him as the most portrayed human literary character in film and television history.

Tonight, we’ll be celebrating two film versions of Arthur Conan Doyle’s celebrated sleuth’s oft-adapted tale, The Hound of the Baskervilles. The first being the 1939 version from Twentieth Century Fox, featuring Basil Rathbone in his first of 14 film appearances as Holmes (not counting his additional radio and television appearances), as well as the 1959 Hammer Films production, starring the dynamic duo of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, their third pairing for the studio in as many years.

Join AC and his sterling panel of guests (Dave “M” Gray, Doug Long, Mike Mayo, Michael Weber) as they celebrate this double feature of the great detective going face-to-face, toe-to-paw, and nose-to-snout with the terror of the moors, The Hound of the Baskervilles!
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DAVE GRAY is just one alias for alien invasion advanced scout Yargnivad. This diabolical plan can be uncovered by decoding Raiders of the Podcast episodes (Raidersofthepodcast.blogspot.com or any podcast platform of your choice).

DOUG LONG teaches film-related classes at DePaul University and writes book reviews for film journals, including Film Quarterly and mise-en-scene.

MIKE MAYO has written several books about film and popular culture, among them VideoHound’s Horror Show and American Murder. He is also the author of the Jimmy Quinn historical suspense novels set in Prohibition-era New York.

MICHAEL WEBER is an actor, director and currently the Artistic Director of Porchlight Music Theatre. A Chicago native, his fascination with classic horror began with WGN's legendary Creature Features and The Son of Svengoolie. And avid fan of the Golden Age of Radio and he is author of the play, WAR of the WELLeS (about Orson Welles’ infamous radio broadcast.)
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INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (1994) d. Neil Jordan (USA)

Anne Rice's celebrated novel, originally published in 1976, took nearly two decades to make it to the big screen. When it finally arrived, amidst a wave of controversy over its casting of Tom Cruise in the pivotal role of Lestat, INTERVIEW fared well with critics and boosted the profiles of co-stars Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, and 11-year-old Kirsten Dunst as the eternally young and brutal killer Claudia.

Tonight, join AC and his celebrated panel of vampire aficionados (Jess Ader, Chad Hawks, Ian Simmons, Bobby Zier) as we return to the land of Louis and his cohorts to honor the 30th anniversary of this remarkable feature.
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JESS ADER is a fellow appreciator of movies and deep synth soundtracks. Former radio-TV-film student making money elsewhere but never giving up the love of all “moving” forms of media and art. He likes peanut butter.

CHAD “The CryptKicker” HAWKS is a Producer, author, and full-time fanged freak. He grew up a fanatic of monsters, the macabre, and the Halloween holiday, all of which he adores to this day.

IAN SIMMONS runs the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, where he posts movie reviews, interviews, and critics round tables. He is also a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, and feels conflicted about referring to himself in the third person. https://kickseat.com/

BOBBY ZIER has a passion for Dracula and runs a TikTok and YouTube channel called Lugosi Theatre. He recently received his second “Monster Kid of the Year” Rondo Award for his efforts in keeping classic horror alive and well.
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A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984) d. Wes Craven (USA)

Horror Hall-of Famer Wes Craven created this hugely successful fright flick, which spawned multiple sequels, launched New Line Cinema, and introduced the moniker of “Freddy Krueger” into pop culture consciousness.

Heather Langenkamp plays a teenager plagued by dreams of a horribly scarred figure wearing a distinctive red-striped sweater, battered fedora, and a glove with knives attached to the fingers. Robert Englund, in the role he would forever be identified with, creates an original and frightening villain in Freddy, an executed child-murdering psychopath who has found the means to keep up his gruesome work by entering his prospective victim’s dreams.

Join AC and his razor-sharp panel of guests (Dino Clark, Kate Hansen, Mackenzie Parker, Adam Rockoff) as they celebrate 40 years of Freddy!
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DINO CLARK has been a horror fan since I was wee lad, after my parents bought our first VCR in the mid-80s. Born and raised in Chicago, love attending horror cons & chatting about my fave horror films with fellow fans! Human Resources for most of my career, which can be a mini-horror movie at times.

KATE HANSEN is a music teacher with a penchant for horror. She has been published in magazines like Ultra Violent and Horrorhound. She likes dogs, enjoys the smell of campfires, collects VHS, is afraid of heights, and has only ever received two speeding tickets.

MACKENZIE PARKER is a filmmaker living in Los Angeles. He studied at Northern Illinois University and the Moscow Art Theater. He has worked on TV shows such as Sons of Anarchy and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and is currently working as a staff editor for Digital Alliance.

ADAM ROCKOFF is the screenwriter of Wicked Lake, a film so depraved it caused Ron Jeremy to storm out of the theater in anger. However, his 2010 adaptation of the classic exploitation film, I Spit on Your Grave, received nearly unanimous praise from horror critics. His first book, Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978-1986, a critical examination of the slasher genre, was made into a documentary which premiered on STARZ, and his follow-up, The Horror of It All traces the highs and lows of the genre through the lens of his own obsessive fandom. When not getting his hands bloody, Adam runs the television production company, FlashRock Films.
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A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959) d. Roger Corman (1959)
THE WASP WOMAN (1959) d. Roger Corman (1959)

The year before he became the American rival to Hammer Studios in the Gothic Horror department with The Fall of the House of Usher (1960), Roger Corman was the reigning "King of the B's" at the drive-ins across the USA, delivering thrills and chills to teenagers young and old.

Tonight, we celebrate two prime slices of black-and-white low-budget fare that still manage to deliver the goods: A Bucket of Blood (starring "That Guy" Dick Miller) and The Wasp Woman (with Susan Cabot), both from 1959! Join AC and his dazzling guest panelists (Lin Morris, Nile Arena) as they celebrate these two cult classics on their 65th anniversaries!
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NILE ARENA has created cinema collectives, worked the film festival circuit, and lent his voice to podcasts dedicated to the silver screen. His literary/weird fiction journal, Success Stories, is available now at some of the places books are sold.

LIN MORRIS is a writer who makes his living doing something else entirely. The first movie he recalls seeing is Two on a Guillotine at the Super 99 Drive-In at much too young an age, and he’s been a horror fan ever since. Despite the strenuous efforts of his parents, he remains stubbornly left handed.
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LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE (aka THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE) (1974)d. Jorge Grau (Spain/Italy)

A hidden gem overshadowed by the myriad flesh-eating flicks that followed in its wake, director Jorge Grau took his given assignment of creating a spiritual sequel to George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead and conjured a minor classic all its own. Blending social commentary (environmentalism) with shocking moments of jaw-dropping gore, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (or whatever title you happen to discover it under) remains a worthy entry in the undead canon.

Join AC and his incredible panel of horror enthusiasts (Dodd Alley, Matthew Amador, Christianne Benedict, Darren Callahan) as they celebrate a half-century of Spanish gut-munching!
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DODD ALLEY is an author (Gamers and Gorehounds: The Influence of Video Games on the Contemporary American Horror Film) and has a Masters in Film Studies from Ohio University, where he taught courses on Cult Cinema and Hollywood Reflexive films.

MATTHEW AMADOR is an actor and owner of Matador Behavioral Health, where he utilizes narrative fiction as a means to process trauma and anxiety through psychotherapy. www.MatadorChicago.com

CHRISTIANNE BENEDICT is a cartoonist, film writer, malcontent, and Bloginatrix at https://krelllabs.blogspot.com

DARREN CALLAHAN is an award-winning writer, director, and composer who has written drama, fiction, and non-fiction for many major outlets, mostly focused on the horror genre. He has also released nearly 100 records, from pop to noise to ambient to film soundtracks. His website is darrencallahan.com and his IMDB is http://www.imdb.me/darrencallahan.
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HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959) d. William Castle (USA)
THE TINGLER (1959) d. William Castle (USA)

Words like "Emergo" and "Percepto" may not be common knowledge for younger horror aficionados, but for classic horror fans, they instantly bring a smile to our faces as we remember the first time we heard the names of producer/director William Castle and actor Vincent Price. Both approached their work with a boundless sense of gusto and enthusiasm, and the results were astonishing and have endured for over six decades.

Join AC and his amazing panel of guests (Robin Graves, Dan Kiggins, Grant Kuchan, Anna Maurya, and Larry Sternshein) as we honor this amazing and historic double feature that brought the Crown Prince of Horror and the Baron of Ballyhoo together for a brief shining moment that changed the face of horror history forever.
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ROBIN GRAVES (har har) is the puppeteer behind Lucy Ba’al, a demonic puppet who recommends lesser-seen horror and cult films through his TikTok show The Laaaaaaast Video Store on Earth.

DAN KIGGINS has worked on a number of independent features, shorts, TV shows, and innumerable commercials over the past 15 years as a Jack of all trades. A self-proclaimed cinephile, he has a vast collection of film ephemera including over 3000 movies.

GRANT KUCHAN is a writer of pulp, wellness coach, and a real swell guy. He plays in any Jug Bands that let him. One day he’ll finish another novel, which will probably be available on Amazon, as well as at most Darktower Comics locations across the greater Chicagoland Area. The horror movie that still gives him nightmares is Matango. He saw it when he was six, and still doesn’t eat mushrooms.

ANNA MAURYA is a film fan stuck in Ohio. They have been a guest on Raiders of the Podcast, a contributor to Hidden Horror, and they generally dislike writing about themselves in the third person.

LARRY STERNSHEIN is a lifelong movie fan in Colorado and host of the movie memories podcast "Reel Early." Not only does he love talking about horror and action cinema, but is also a big pro wrestling fan.
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PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (2007/09) d. Oren Peli (USA)
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 (2010) d. Tod Williams (USA)
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 (2011) d. Henry Joost/Ariel Schulman (USA)
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 (2012) d. Henry Joost/Ariel Schulman (USA)
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE MARKED ONES (2014) d. Christopher Landon (USA)
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION (2015) d. Gregory Plotkin (USA)

Paramount’s plucking of this microbudget feature from obscurity and its nimble (some might say omnipresent) word-of-mouth marketing scheme will undoubtedly go down as one of the biggest Cinderella stories in horror history. Shot for a paltry $11,000, writer/editor/producer/director Oren Peli’s first-person account of a young couple plagued by inexplicable happenings in their new suburban home works surprisingly well under its own limitations, or perhaps because of them.

Like its stylistic and spiritual companion piece, 1999’s The Blair Witch Project (itself another stunning, out-of-nowhere indie success story), PA's strengths lie in its ability to tap into primal, everyday fears: a new building’s unexplained creaks and groans, a partner’s emotional swings, etc. Other recent features have utilized the now-familiar camcorder POV “found footage” convention, some of them admirably, but what sets Peli’s feature apart is its simplicity and courage to allow mundane objects/events, like Blair Witch’s stone piles and stickmen, to take on heightened significance.

It’s a deceptively simple high-wire act that works better than it has any right to, and while not a perfect (or even a “great”) film, it contains more genuinely creepy and unsettling onscreen moments than all of Hollywood’s big budget remakes of the last three decades put together.

Join AC and his amazing panel of guests (Amy Pearson, Frank Merle, Brett Neveu, Anna Maurya, Chelsea David) as we celebrate the one that truly, for better or worse, kicked off the found footage barrage of the 21st Century, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY!
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CHELSEA DAVID is an actor, budding mental health professional, and spicy food eater, deeply obsessed with all things horror. A Louisiana native and former Chicagoan of a decade, she can be found bouncing around the country at any given moment. You’ll hear her laugh before you see her.

ANNA MAURYA is a film fan stuck in Ohio. They have been a guest on Raiders of the Podcast, a contributor to Hidden Horror, and they generally dislike writing about themselves in the third person.

FRANK MERLE is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker originally from Chicago, IL. He has written and directed several award-winning and critically-acclaimed films, including The Employer (2013), starring Malcolm McDowell and Billy Zane, and From Jennifer (2017), starring Derek Mears and Tony Todd. Next up is Namaka, a dark fantasy starring Jamie Kennedy and David Howard Thornton.

BRETT NEVEU is a professor at Northwestern University where he teaches writing for the screen and stage. His film/TV screenplays include Eric LaRue (dir. Michael Shannon) and Night’s End (dir. Jennifer Reeder) with Shudder/AMC. Past theatre productions include Revolution with A Red Orchid Theatre, Verböten with House Theatre and Red Bud with The Royal Court Theatre. Brett is also a recipient of a Steinberg/ATCA New Play Citation, The Marquee Award from Chicago Dramatists, The Ofner Prize for New Work and the Emerging Artist Award from The League of Chicago Theatres.

AMY PEARSON is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Durham University. In addition to being a whopping great horror enthusiast, she's also a power lifter, photographic model, and aerialist.
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AUDITION (1999) d. Takashi Miike (Japan/S. Korea)

After seven years of mourning and encouraged by his teenage son to find a new wife, widower Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) seeks the advice of a colleague within the film company for which they both work. Together, they hit upon the perfect plan: Staging an audition for actresses, ostensibly for a new feature project, but in reality hoping to find the new ideal woman to share Aoyama’s life. While interviewing a series of candidates, the lonely widower becomes enchanted by Asami (Eihi Shiina), a quiet, young woman, who is immediately responsive to his charms. The two seem to instantly fall for each other, but things take a very dark and twisted turn (or three) as we discover Asami isn't all she seems to be....

One of the titles that launched the international J-horror wave of the early 21st century, Audition exploded onto the festival circuit to a chorus of awards and praise, catapulting director Takashi Miike into the consciousness of cinephiles around the world and paving the way for future off-kilter offerings as Ichi the Killer, Visitor Q, and The Happiness of the Katakuris.

Playing with temporal constructs and toying with audience genre expectations (it’s a slow burn… but, hey, what’s that bag doing there?) and concluding with one of the most agonizing climaxes in recent memory. (The phrase “Kiri kiri kiri kiri” will haunt your nightmares for weeks.)

Join AC and his awesome panel of guests (John Reskusich, Michelle Kisner, Raul Benitez, Cati Glidewell aka The Blonde in Front, Dominic Conti) as they discuss Miike's exploration of pain, trauma, relationships, and how the film predicted the rise of Tinder!
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RAUL BENITEZ is a film programmer in Chicago for over 15 years. Raul currently is the Senior Programmer at the Midwest Film Festival, and the After Dark programmer at the Chicago International Film Festival. Raul also programs at Comfort Station Logan Square, Full Spectrum Features, and the Nightingale Cinema.

DOMINIC CONTI is a Chicago-based writer and actor. His first novel, Your Book Club, is now available. (Orders can be placed at dcontimail@gmail.com, or you can just say hi.)

CATI GLIDEWELL (aka The Blonde in Front) is a Chicago-based film critic, lifelong cinephile, film festival jury member, and a member of Chicago Indie Critics since 2020. You can find her on all social media platforms, as well as Post mortem radio and Radio of horror on YouTube.

MICHELLE KISNER is a film critic, freelance writer, and physical media advocate. She has contributed to several websites to include The Cultural Gutter and The Movie Sleuth and is also a member of the Michigan Movie Critics Guild.

JOHN RESKUSICH, a lifelong lover of movies and comic books, dwells in St. Louis, Missouri.
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