The Bloody Pit

David Annandale and I walk back down Poverty Row just after the attack on Pearl Harbor to watch one of the most confusing and strange attempts at wartime propaganda a low budget studio could produce. BLACK DRAGONS (1942) has Bela Lugosi as a mysterious, menacing man who seems to be on a mission of revenge. But what does he have to do with the corpses that keep popping up on the steps of the Japanese embassy in Washington? Will FBI agent Clayton Moore be able to figure things out or will he spend his time chasing Joan Barclay around her uncle/father’s house until all the characters are dead? And how does David find a way to link Christopher Nolan and Bela Lugosi? Listen and learn! BLACK DRAGONS is probably the oddest of the nine films Lugosi made for Poverty Row film producers and certainly the one with the most unintentionally funny dialog. Just as it was about to go into production the decision was made to shoehorn in topical plot elements ripped from the headlines. This means that the original reason behind events in the script has been lost leaving bits of their probable supernatural nature flapping around in the film. This is the only explanation I can imagine for the never addressed ability of Lugosi’s Monsieur Colomb to seemingly teleport in and out of moving taxicabs! But David has an interesting take on the film as a bizarre treatise on the subject of ‘acting’ both onscreen and within the structure of the story. His idea is a bold way to look at the picture as a whole and certainly makes it more entertaining as you try to figure out what the hell is happening at any point in the film’s hourlong running time. Rarely has such a barely planned collection of quirks and gaffs been so mesmerizing! If you have any comments about this movie or any other film we’ve covered on the show [email protected] is the place to send them. Thank you for listening and we’ll be back soon.

The best laid plans of mice and me are often undermined by circumstance. In this case I was unable to arrange events to record a new episode of the show for February so I had to come up with a backup plan. I have stitched together a few of my Patreon audio pieces from the past two years for a brief bit of movie discussion to tide you over. I start with an obscure British monster film with one of the most ridiculous explanations for the murderous creature in the history of horror. I move on to ramble about the TV version of NEEDFUL THINGS (1993) and how I cannot be satisfied! Then I wrap up things with an extended evisceration of the Children of the Corn film series that poses the question ‘Are any of these any good at all’? I hope you enjoy these bits from my Patreon and if you want access to more than a hundred more such babble fests you can hand over $3 and check it out HERE. Thank you for listening and we’ll be back with fresh movie talk in March.

SPACE MONSTER WANGMAGWI (1967) has been hidden from view for decades. Locked away in a South Korean film vault since its original release and unseen by giant monster fans outside of rare Seoul screenings, it qualifies as a newly recovered cinematic experience. But is it a movie that stands honorably next to the other giant monster movies of the 1960’s? Does it even compare well with 1967’s other Korean rampaging monster film, YONGARY, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP? Mark Maddox and I have thoughts. Exasperated thoughts.  We discuss the film is painful detail and spoil it from head to toenail. We both suspect that one of the many reasons the movie wasn’t distributed outside its home country is that, unlike YONGARY, it was shot in black & white. Of course, the fact that the film looks like it had a $50 budget would have also mitigated against anyone wanting to give it a chance. Or spend the money for an English dub! The tone of the film is a strange combination of pre-marital anxiety and childish comedy sequences that play like poor improv bits. I argue that one of the few positive elements is the usually irritating punk kid character simply because he actually factors into the fight against the mildly destructive giant monster. His climb inside the ear canal of the creature is a unique sequence in these kinds of movies and is the best reason to see this below average example of the genre. Our advice is to not expect a forgotten classic and go with the flow. Luckily (?) it is available on YouTube so you can witness the madness.  If you have any comments about this movie or any other film we have covered on the show [email protected] is the place to send them. Thank you for listening. 

We start 2026 with a new kind of episode – a look back at our favorite first views of 2025. Several requests for an annual wrap-up of this type came in, so I recruited John Hudson and Troy Guinn to provide a personal top five list for last year. The idea was to speak a bit about movies that we caught for the first time in the year regardless of when they were released. This allows us to talk about a number of mostly newer movies but some unexpected classics also show up as part of the discussion.  For the most part Troy and John stuck to the assignment as stated with only a couple of honorable mentions added to their list of five. But I came with a list that stretched toward twenty and I feel no shame! I saw a lot of movies last year and, although there were a number of clunkers, I was pretty pleased with 2025. Let the debating begin!  If you want to add your two cents or top five [email protected] is the place to send them. We have a number of interesting movies up for episodes this year and we hope you enjoy the cinema paths we plan to tread. Thanks for listening! 

December brings our new Holiday Horror episode with John Hudson and Troy Guinn dropping in to hang the mistletoe. This year we examine the Christmas time tale WHOEVER SLEW AUNTIE ROO (1971) starring Shelly Winters and a host of British character actors. It turns out I am the only member of our trio who had watched this film before 2025 opening up a number of questions about why Troy chose it! Privileges may need to be rescinded.  A major part of our discussion revolves around director Curtis Harrington’s memories of the movie and its cast. After years of holding my tongue, I finally air my complaints about his rather plodding directorial style and point to a scene that I feel needed a different sensibility behind the camera. Actors Micheal Gothard, Lionel Jefferies, Hugh Griffith and Ralph Richardson are dutifully admired with each adding unique flavors to this very odd holiday dinner. The stand out child actors are given their due with a prominent face from the 1970 version of SCROOGE making all of us fantasize about ending Tiny Tim’s life. We also marvel that unlike what is usually expected from the ‘hag horror’ genre Winters’ character isn’t a mean-spirited villain but instead a grief crippled mother too susceptible to conmen in her life. And then we debate the relative evil of the two main child characters with me leaning toward innocence more than malice. This is something best left to each viewer to decide on their own, methinks!  If you have any comments about this year’s Holiday Horror or possible choices for the next [email protected] is the place to send them. We hope everyone has a great end of year celebration and we will be back soon with a short episode about our favorite films of 2025.