This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:13:41), Shana and j. get back into classic kaiju territory with Ishiro Honda's 1966 film War of the Gargantuas, as well as covering the iconic fourth episode of Star Trek (TOS), "The Naked Time" with a swashbuckling Sulu. In part two (1:13:42-2:40:02), we have six additional features: Georgiy Danileya's …

On The Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:58:10), we start our coverage of the films of Jackie Chan with his Brucesploitation debut, New Fist of Fury, the 1979 official sequel directed by Lo Wei, in addition to discussing "What Little Girls Are Made Of" - the seventh episode of Star Trek (TOS). In part two (1:58:11-3:14:57), we have shorter disc…

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:26:02), we discuss the operatic action epic Conan the Barbarian, directed by John Milius, as well as "Mudd's Women" - the sixth episode of Star Trek (TOS). In part two (1:26:03-2:42:44), we talk about six additional features - David Lynch's surrealist masterpiece debut Eraserhead (as well as a bit on his…

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. return to the works of Guy Maddin in part one (0:00-2:01:30), doing a detailed analysis of his 2007 film My Winnipeg, as well as talking the fifth episode of Star Trek (TOS), "The Enemy Within." In part two (2:01:30-3:07:20) we discuss six additional features - the much-derided 1987 Garbage Pail Kids Movie (dir…

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:24:58), we continue the films of Bruce Lee with the breakthrough 1972 Lo Wei feature Fist of Fury, in addition to the third episode of Star Trek (TOS), "Where No Man Has Gone Before." Next, in part two (1:24:59-2:47:35) there are six additional features - the 1978 Italian TV movie Closed Circuit, directe…

On The Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:42:08), we return to the Solid Metal Nightmares box set with the next two Shinya Tsukamoto movies, 2004's Vital and 2005's digital video short feature Haze, in addition to "Charlie X" (the third episode of Star Trek TOS). In part two (1:42:09-3:02:14) we discuss six additional pictures in shorter form - …

Kicking off year three of The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:48:14) we return to the Black Emanuelle series with a piece of strange apocrypha, discussing Christian Anders' 1981 film Divine Emanuelle (as well as its alternate director's cut Fanataco... When the Goddess Calls) in addition to beginning coverage of Star Trek (The Original Series) with its…

This week, Shana and j. celebrate completing three full years of the podcast with our annual Stacks Awards! In part one (0:00-1:30:47) we break programming a bit to finish off our coverage of the 1966 Ultra Q TV series with its final three episodes. In part two (1:30:48-3:10:09) we go in-depth on Lana Wachowski's fascinating 2021 legasequel The Mat…

On The Stacks this week, part one continues our coverage of the Yakuza Papers / Battles Without Honor and Humanity collection from Arrow with Kinji Fukasaku's 1973 film Proxy War (running to 1:10:09). In part two (1:10:10-2:22:34), we have a roundup of a broad swath of additional features - the Canadian International Pictures collection Animation N…

Regrettably, Shana was ill and unable to record this week but we will be back next week. With love from The Stacks <3By j. the curator

On The Stacks this week, in part one (0:00-1:26:03) Shana and j. go in-depth on Jean Rollin's 1973 feature Shiver of the Vampires, as well as episode 25 - "The Devil Child" - of the Ultra Q TV series. Part two (1:26:04-3:14:36) we go extra long, featuring discussion of 2003's anthology film The Animatrix, the 2014 Jonathan Liebesman reboot of Teena…

On this week's episode, Shana and j. begin with discussion of the first Bruce Lee kung fu picture, The Big Boss (1971, directed by Lo Wei), in addition to episode 24 of Ultra Q, "The Statue of Goga" in part one (running to 1:13:38). In part two, we go in depth on the extended version of the devastatingly good musical biopic satire Walk Hard: The De…

On The Stacks this week, Shana and j. continue coverage of the films of Sergio Leone with his angry and funky final western, Fistful of Dynamite (1971, aka Duck You Sucker) in addition to the 23rd episode of Ultra Q, "Fury of the South Seas" in part one (running to 1:26:54). Part two (1:26:55-2:30:42) features five additional films, mostly action-p…

On The Stacks this week, Shana is introduced to the work of Guy Maddin with his 2016 tribute to lost and unfinished films in collaboration with the NFB, The Forbidden Room, paired with episode 22 of Ultra Q, "Metamorphosis" in part one (running to 1:36:54), while in part two (1:36:55-2:48:03) we talk about four additional films: the iconic 1968 sci…

Apologies for some initial audio issues (these clear up around 15-20 minutes in, was not aware of the problem during the recording). This week, Shana and j. discuss the classic queer counter-culture film If.... (1968, directed by Lindsay Anderson) in addition to Ultra Q episode 21 ("Space Directive M774") in part one (running to 1:30:06). Then in p…

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. finally return to the OG Godzilla franchise with the second entry, 1955's Godzilla Raids Again, directed by Motoyoshi Oda, in addition to the next two episodes in our coverage of Ultra Q (episodes 19 and 20, "Challenge From the Year 2020" and "The Primordial Amphibian Ragon"). Regrettably, there was an issue wi…

This week on The Stacks, in part 1 (0:00-1:30:23) we discuss the landmark 1962 revisionist western Ride the High Country, directed by Sam Peckinpah, in addition to the 18th episode of Ultra Q, "The Rainbow's Egg." In part 2 (1:30-24:2:33:00), after some brief general talk on Millennium Actress, we discuss Satoshi Kon's next film, 2003's Christmas-t…

This week in The Stacks, Shana and j. are talking about six movies - in part one (0:00-1:14:13) we talk about the second entry in Jose Mojica Marins' legendary Coffin Joe series, 1967's This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse, in addition to the 17th episode of Ultra Q, "The 1/8th Project" (directed by Hajime Tsuburaya). In part two (1:14:14-2:52:48), …

On The Stacks this week, Shana and j. return to the Sartana series in part one (0:00-1:19:27) with the excellent third entry in the series, Sartana Is Here, Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin (1970), directed by Giuliano Carnimeo, as well as the 16th episode of Ultra Q, "Garamon Strikes Back!" directed by Samaji Nonagase. Next, in part two (1:19:28-2:2…

On The Stacks this week, part one (0:00-1:17:14) features the next entry in the original Gamera series, Noriaki Yuasa's 1970 film Gamera vs Jiger, while in Ultra Q episode 15, "Kanegon's Cocoon" we encounter a yokai rather than a kaiju. In an extended part two (1:17:15-2:52:56), we discuss four additional features, going deep on Steve Barron's 1990…

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:21:52) we conclude the original Michael Caine Harry Palmer trilogy with Ken Russell's 1967 spy parody Billion Dollar Brain, in addition to the 14th episode of Ultra Q, "Tokyo Ice Age." In part two (1:21:53-2:32:57), we have four additional films - Bruno Mattei's 1983 Claudio Fragasso-penned entry in the …

This week on The Stacks, after an unplanned week off due to illness, Shana and j. are back with a full-bore exploitation week, continuing coverage of the Stray Cat Rock series in part one (0:00-1:34:33) with both Toshiya Fujita's Wild Jumbo and Yasuharu Hasebe's Sex Hunter (both released in 1970) in addition to the 13th episode of Ultra Q, "Garadam…

Breaking slightly with tradition for the titling this week, due to us covering six films this week (plus one TV episode). In part 1 (0:00-1:39:33), we discuss the next two entries in the All the Haunts Be Ours folk horror box set - the 1958 Norwegian film Lake of the Dead, directed by Kåre Bergstrøm, and the 1987 Icelandic TV movie Tilbury, directe…

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. discuss Michael J. Murphy's 1995 direct-to-video folk horror The Rite of Spring and episode 11 of Ultra Q, "Balloonga" in part one (0:00-1:33:48), while part two (1:33:49-2:50:05) features three 70s film picks - Pedro Olea's 1973 Spanish exploitation drama It's Not Good for a Man to Be Alone, a 1978 entry in th…

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. return to the films of Al Adamson, with part one (0:00-1:15:56) discussing his 1960 directorial and acting debut, Half Way to Hell, as well as his 1969 psychotronic western Five Bloody Graves. In part two (1:15:57-2:42:47) we talk about three additional features - the 2000 Coen Brothers megahit O Brother Where …

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. return to the films of Werner Herzog in part 1 (0:00-1:30:45) with 1977's Klaus Kinski character study Woyzeck, in addition to our ongoing coverage of Ultra Q with the tenth episode, "The Underground Super Express Goes West." In part 2 (1:30:46-3:08:03), we talk about three additional features - John McTiernan'…

On The Stacks this week, Shana and j. bookend our February gore month with another Herschell Gordon Lewis feature, 1970's surrealist horror The Wizard of Gore, in addition to episode 9 of Ultra Q, "Baron Spider" to conclude part one (0:00-1:24:23). In part two (1:24:24-3:10:23), we cover three additional films - John McTiernan's peak action blockbu…

On The Stacks this week, Shana and j. conclude our bloody February with four films and one television episode. In part 1 (0:00-1:36:49), we cover Jess Franco's notorious lo-fi 1981 video nasty Oasis of the Zombies as well as "Terror of the Sweet Honey" - the 8th episode of Ultra Q. In part 2 (1:36:50-2:49:59), we discuss three additional films - Pa…

This week in The Stacks, our impromptu February gore month continues! In part one (0:00-1:09:42), we discuss David Cronenberg's 1983 body horror / media satire Videodrome, while part three (1:09:43-2:25:36) features three additional bloody films: Douglas Grossman's late-80s teen slasher Hell High, the Indonesian black magic / comedy sequel Santet 2…

Our bloody February continues this week - in part 1 (0:00-1:22:47) we discuss the sixth(ish) entry in the Black Emanuelle series, Joe D'Amato's 1977 sexploitation gore feature Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals, as well as the 7th episode in the Ultra Q series, "S.O.S. Mount Fuji." In part 2 (1:22:48-2:59:59) we have three additional features: Pasqua…

This week, we begin a bloody February in The Stacks, beginning with Herschell Gordon Lewis' 1963 landmark gore feature Blood Feast, joined in part 1 (0:00-1:24:35) with the weird, off-model sixth episode of Ultra Q, "Grow Up! Little Turtle!" In part 2 (1:24:36-2:32:53), we have two additional gory features - the first in José Mojica Marins' classic…

This week on The Stacks, in part 1 (0:00-1:46:22) Shana and j. continue to dig into the work of legendary actor Lee Marvin with the 1984 French black comedy / crime satire Dog Day (aka Canicule, directed by Yves Boisset), as well as continuing to go through the classic 1966 Ultra Q TV series with its fifth episode, "Peguila Is Here!" In part 2 (1:4…

This week on The Stacks, in part one (0:00-1:38:13) Shana and j. continue exploring the films of Lee Marvin with John Boorman's 1967 neo-noir masterpiece Point Blank as well as continuing our ongoing coverage of the Ultra Q TV series, with episode 4, "The Mammoth Flower." Then in part two (1:38:14-2:56:31), we have two additional features, the 1990…

This week on The Stacks, in part 1 (0:00-1:12:46) we discuss John Carpenter's debut, the USC student film expanded to feature length of Dark Star (1974), an absurdist sci-fi satire about blue collar workers blowing up planets, in addition to continuing coverage of the Ultra Q TV series with its third episode ("The Gift From Space"). In part 2 (1:12…

This week, continuing our New Years Resolutions month, we kick off in part one (0:00-1:47:56) with Alain Resnais' labyrinthine 1961 art film Last Year at Marienbad, followed in part two (1:47:57-3:06:08) by two 70s crime features - Michael Ritchie's 1972 New Hollywood meat and sex trafficking picture Prime Cut, and Enzo G. Castellari's 1976 ultra-v…

For the first entry in The Stacks recorded in 2024, we continue our ongoing coverage of Andy Sidaris' Malibu Bay Films with 1989's Savage Beach, as well as episode 2 of Ultra Q ("Goro and Goro" from 1966, directed by Hajime Tsuburaya) in part 1 (0:00-1:27:31), while in part 2 (1:27:32-3:02:58) we talk about the odd Amando de Ossorio Spaghetti North…

This week on The Stacks, we close out 2023 with four features - in part 1 (0:00-1:07:35) we're discussing the second Harry Palmer film, Guy Hamilton's 1966 entry Funeral in Berlin, which remains satirical but hews closer to existing spy cinema, and in part 2 (1:07:35-2:37:05) we have a triple feature, discussing Richard Franklin's surprisingly good…

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. talk Sonny Chiba, with the 1972 Ryuichi Takamori exploitation film Yakuza Wolf (0:00-54:01), followed by an extended part two (54:01-2:53:25) featuring a roundup of the last six pictures in the Indicator collection From Hollywood to Heaven: The Lost and Saved Films of the Ormond Family, concluding our discussio…

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. discuss Terry Gilliam's 1985 dystopian Christmas classic Brazil (0:00-1:54:30), followed in part two (1:54:30-2:56:49) by Makoto Naito's deranged 1975 yakuza exploitation film The 13 Steps of Maki as well as Luca Balser's 2023 New York anthology picture What Doesn't Float. Then we conclude as usual with discuss…

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. finally return to the Outlaw Gangster VIP series with its second entry, from 1968, directed by Keiichi Ozawa, featuring the continuing adventures of emotional swordsman Goro, quiet-quitting his yakuza position (0:00-1:09:18), followed by discussion of both Rene Cardona Jr.'s wild exploitation potboiler La casa …

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. talk about a classic Toho Ishiro Honda kaiju picture, 1956's Rodan, as well as the first episode of influential kaiju TV series Ultra Q ("Defeat Gomess!" from 1966) in part one (0:00-1:00:42), followed in our second part (1:00:43-2:21:08) with discussion of Piotr Szulkin's 1986 dystopian sci-fi black comedy Ga-…

This week, Shana and j. finally return to our regular Stacks after our accidental hiatus and Halloween celebration. First up, we conclude our coverage of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy with the 1966 all-time classic Italian western The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (0:00-1:19:26), followed with discussion of two deranged 80s action exploitation flicks…

This week, we move back toward our regularly scheduled programming after Halloween. First up is the 1991 Christopher Walken peak action war on drugs film McBain (directed by James Glickenhaus, running to 1:10:43), then we head over to Eastern Europe for a double bill of Piotr Szulkin's dystopian sci-fi O-Bi O-Ba: The End of Civilization (1985) and …

This week, Shana and j. conclude our bonus week of rigorous exploration of The Spooky Stacks, concluding with another quadruple bill. First up is PG: Psycho Goreman, a 2020 Canadian horror-comedy directed by Stephen Kostanski, with the second part (1:02:37-2:31:03) comprising discussion of George Romero's shelved 1975 elder abuse PSA The Amusement …

This week, Shana and j. close out this year's spooky season with three all-time classics of the horror genre - Alfred Hitchcock's landmark 1960 crime drama / OG slasher Psycho (0:00-1:13:01), followed by the first two Universal Horror pictures, Tod Browning's Dracula and James Whale's Frankenstein (both from 1931, discussion continuing 1:13:01-2:26…

This week, Shana and j. continue celebration of the spooky season with discussion of 2001's Takashi Miike yakuza splatter epic Ichi the Killer (0:00-1:26:16) as well as William Friedkin's monolith of Satanic horror, 1973's The Exorcist (continuing to 2:35:21), followed as always by additional discussion of all the other movies we've watched in the …

The Spooky Stacks continue with our October horror crawl in a quadruple bill! In part one (0:00-2:08:43) we discuss both Friday the 13th 3D (1982, directed by Steve Miner) and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984, directed by Joseph Zito) and in part two, we talk about Mandy (2018, directed by Panos Cosmatos, continuing to 2:55:10) and Final De…

After an unexpectedly long absence, Shana and j. are back to open The Spooky Stacks for this October. This week, we cover key slasher canon with Friday the 13th Pt II (directed by Steve Miner, 1981, discussion running 0:00-1:31:30), followed by some arthouse surrealism with Abbas Kiarostami's Certified Copy (2010, running 1:31:30-3:04:34, also feat…

Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are in the midst of a two week break, once Shana's internet access is properly back up and running, so too will we be <3 -j.By j. the curator

This week on The Stacks, Shana and j. are talking some religion and politics (and aliens!), starting with Luis Buñuel's 1969 surrealist treatise on heresies and anathema, The Milky Way (running 0:00-1:25:35), followed by Piotr Szulkin's 1981 political satire War of the Worlds: The Next Century (1:25:36-2:27:50) and a little bit on John Coats' eerie…