Eastern Block Sci-Fi (Stalker and More)

Life finds a way to get in the way, meaning that we had to take a little forced break, but we are back with a big name. This time on Uncut, we loop around to directors and it's a big one, Guillermo Del Toro. Rob is joined by James (Reviewing Rodders), Vincent and Ygraine (What a Scream) to look at three of his gothic delights. We have The Devil's Backbone, his most recent movie Pinocchio and we finish on GDT's most famous movie, Pan's Labyrinth. Join us as we discuss the use of fascism, monsters, guilty pleasures and GDT's ambiguity that leads each of these movies into becoming super bleak. Brilliant, but yeah, very bleak. If you like the podcast, check out our PATREON for even more written stuff and podcasts. Some stuff will be making a return in the new year, unfortunately 2024 has been a year alright. Also check out the geek show for an embarrasing of riches, including or sibling podcasts - Pop Screen, and All of Lost Are Lost. We'll be back next time with more GDT and his blocbuster phase. Until then, thanks for listening.

We are having a week off next week, as life finds a way to get in the way, but for now though we are diving into a ball pit of fun... No, sorry, no fun - the other one. Rob is joined by Jonathan and Graham to talk about Eastern Block Sci-fi, and how misunderstood it is and that it's much more than the lazy stereotypes thrown its way. To discuss this, we talk about what is an all-timer for many a person - Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker. From that we head into much less well known territory in the shape of Piotr Szulkin's O-Bi O-Ba: the End of Civilisation. And then, we end on the gift that keeps on giving - the inimitable Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea from Jindřich Polák. I love these episodes as being in the presence of Graham and Jonathan is like a historical and cinematic education. But if you like it, please support us over on patreon for loads more goodies. Follow me as UncutRobcast on Bsky - Instagram - Letterboxd - and Twitter (for now). I may need to take more than one cycle off, but time shall tell, but when we do return it'll be with a two parter on Guillermo Del Toro. Exciting.

Excuse us for the clickbait title, it's just this is our first ever Halloween special and it's got us all giddy. Rob is joined by Kat (Hollywood News), Caitlyn (Scared Sheepless), Faye (I Spit on Your Grades), and Sarah (Asian Movie Pulse) to talk about Halloween horror double bills. But these aren’t any old horror double bills, these are horror double bills that you probably haven’t seen. Now, don’t hunt me down on socials (@uncutrobcast) to shout at me, there is actually a method to our madness. We’ve all picked (and sat in as proxy for Mal who was previously on our Frightfest 2024 special but couldn’t make it on the night) movies with under 50,000 views on Letterboxd. So get ready for some recommendations, and join us in shock for just how many movies are actually under that cut off. Genuinely, it’s very shocking, I mean, Ghost Watch for one – that’s just nuts. If you like the show, consider giving it a rating, review and a share wherever you listen – you can also check out our sister podcasts, Pop Screen and All of Us Are Lost. Plus, there’s our Patreon too and all the goodies we have for you over there. It’s literally bursting at the seams and migrating over to our main site, there’s that much. Until next time with Eastern Block Sci-Fi, thanks for listening! MUSIC CREDITS: [INTRO] Funkgroove - Sofasound [OUTRO] Xander - Reading Night ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Courtesy of Riot Games

We are back. In this first episode of our fourth series, we are breaking all the rules with the actors, directors and genres rules being flung against the nearest wall and it couldn’t be a more appropriate episode to make this change. On this episode we are talking about Kyle Gallner, specifically about his debut lead performance in a movie, The Haunting of Connecticut, his cult classic breakout, Dinner in America, and one of his post-breakout films, The Passenger. Joined by Kay (@GizmoShikari) and Becci (@blsaycewrites), we talk about Kyle Gallner’s early years, his punk credentials and indie spirit and whether or not his label as a scream king is fair. All that and m many others things too, including the Terrifier 3 UK press event of all things.   We've our Summer break and it was during that break that we've decided our season's are going to be shorter, featuring two Frightfest specials in one series is a bit excessive. So instead of the usual 24 episode series, it’ll be downgraded to 15. So a vibe that is less “halcyon days of long TV series” and more the premium air of the streaming years. Does that make sense? Probably not. Now, if you liked this show, check out our two sister podcasts - All of Us Are Lost and Pop Screen. The latter of which gets a bonus episode on our patreon along with all sorts of other goodies too. Check it out and support an indie venture, there’s not too many of us left these days.  Join us next time for our Halloween Special, which promises to be anarchic.

We finish out the third series of Uncut by returning to some previously trodden land, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, only this time it's personal… I'm sure there's a joke in there, somewhere. For the final time this series, Rob is joined by Simon (LB), Mike (Twitter) and Autumn (LB) to look at the 1998 original of the Serpent's Path, his most acclaimed (by normies) movie, Tokyo Sonata and the most low-key take of Invasion of the Body Snatches to date, surely, with Before We Vanish. We will be back in about a month with an actors episode on Kyle Gallner, in the meantime though, check out our patreon for loads of reviews, podcasts and much more. Case in point, it's my turn to host our month review podcast - Last Night - at the back end of the month. Also, if you want to get in touch, you can fire us an email at [email protected]. We'll see in October for Series 4 - until then, thanks for listening! MUSIC CREDITS: [INTRO] Funkgroove / Sofasound [OUTRO] Midnight Coffee / Englewood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Courtesy of Riot Games

It's that time of the year again, August bank holiday has just gone, so it can only mean one thing - Frightfest. Rob is joined by Kat (Hollywood News), Mike (Autistic Guide to Horror), Mal (Twitter) and Sarah (Twitter) to discuss their highlights of the, now 25 year old, Horror Film Festival. Among others, they discussed the festival's darling, Strange Darling, The Dead Thing, Generation Terror, Shelby Oaks and Much More. We also measure up whether this was a good year for the event, as well as any advice for anyone who has never been to a horror festival before - like, say a certain podcast host who lives in the remote badlands of North Yorkshire. Wonder who that could be? Next time it's back to service as usual as we finish off Series 3 with another look at Kiyoshi Kurosawa, albeit from the non-horror end of his huge back-catalogue. MUSIC CREDITS: [INTRO] Funkgroove / Sofasound [MID-ROLL] Reading Night / Xander [OUTRO] Midnight Coffee / Englewood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Courtesy of Riot Games

This week on the Uncut Network we have another Actors Episode on our hands, another legend too with Lauren Bacall. To discuss this star actor and legend, Rob is joined by Graham (Pop Screen), Vincent (Invasion of the Poddy People) and Jimmy (Filmmaker) to discuss a triple bill in the shape of Key Largo, Written on the Wind, and Jonathan Glazer's Birth. That last one is a funny old title when you frame it like that. Along the way we discuss classic Melodrama's, Jazz, New Hollywood, and the deep themes and emotions that lie ready to be experienced in this very varied triple bill. There's also a pretty great anecdote or two. If you like the podcast, consider supporting us on PATREON for all manner of extra goodies, from article series to podcasts and more. Our spin off show, Uncut from the Video Aisle is on a development sabbatical but stay tuned on our socials for more news - @Uncutrobcast. And Until next time, thanks for listening! MUSIC CREDITS: [INTRO] Funkgroove / Sofasound [MID-ROLL] Reading Night / Xander [OUTRO] Midnight Coffee / Englewood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Courtesy of Riot Games

This time on Uncut we are heading to Classic Era Hollywood with one of the great movie stars, Gregory Peck. Rob is joined by Graham (Pop Screen), Clotilde (Twitter), and Aidan (LB) to talk about Gregory Peck through three different eras of his illustrious career. We start off in the 1940s and Alfred Hitchcock, with 1945’s Spellbound, co-starring Ingrid Bergman. Then we head off to the 1960s for his most famous movie, the 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. And then we finished it off in the 1970s, with his other famous turn in 1976’s legendary horror classic, The Omen from Richard Donner. We also find room to talk about Salvadore Dali, Depictions of Racism, Bad Dogs, and much, much more, including some other Peck movies you should check out. If you liked this episode, consider supporting us over on Patreon. Where you can get all manner of articles about Doctor Who, X-Files and Red Dwarf, as well as movies from Asia - this month it was my turn and I talked about Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Sweet Home. There’s also podcasts, including a bonus episode of our sister podcast, Pop Screen, and the monthly catch-up episode, Last Night. In which, cleverly, it’s released on the last day of the month and we talk about what we’ve been watching. Uncut from the Video Aisle, this podcast's spin-off, is currently on a development sabbatical. Check things out over there for developments, as soon as they drop. Until next time, thanks for listening! MUSIC CREDITS: [INTRO] Funkgroove / Sofasound [MID-ROLL] Reading Night / Xander [OUTRO] Midnight Coffee / Englewood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Courtesy of Riot Games

If you ever do anything when ill, make sure you have three thoughtful and intelligent people with you to back you up. That’s what happened on this week’s episode, with Amber, Andrew & Mike doing some incredible heavy lifting. Together we look at the filmography of the other Kurosawa to many, but to horror fans there is only One Kiyoshi Kurosawa. We talked about his landmark classic, Cure from 1997. Then we moved onto the excellent but much less well known Retribution or Sakebi from 2006, and Creepy from 2016 before wrapping up with 2024’s Creepy. Yes, we don’t normally cover four movies but that last one is technically a short. Along the way we talk about his copious themes, the surprising humour found in his work, how his horror is both super minimal and horrifying in equal measure, his regular collaborator Koji Yakusho - I say we, I was trying to fight off the arrival of a stomach bug. That’s right kids, don’t be ill and podcast at the same time - it is not recommended! What is recommended is our Patreon. If you liked this podcast, check out our very affordable Patreon for loads of written articles about sci-fi TV, Asian movies, and a whole boatload of podcasts including yours truly featuring on Pop Screen Plus, talking about Isaac Hayes, Blaxploitation and Truck Turner. https://linktr.ee/hornbloodfire https://whitlockandpope.com/ https://x.com/autistic_horror MUSIC CREDITS: [INTRO] Funkgroove / Sofasound [MID-ROLL] Reading Night / Xander [OUTRO] Midnight Coffee / Englewood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Section Links from the OST to Kairo ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Courtesy of Riot Games

We return to the Directors cycle with a director responsible for a legendary run of movies from the 1980s to mid 90s, Rob Reiner. Joined by a debuting Charlotte (Twitter) & Graham (Pop Screen), we discuss a holy trinity of classics, starting with 1984's This is Spinal Tap, 1987's the Princess Bride and 1990's Misery. We also find room to talk about improv, killer casts and romantic comedies when Rob wasn't being battered by a temperamental internet connection. If you like the show, check us on patreon and consider supporting us. For your money you'll get access to an array of Dr Who, X-Files, and Red Dwarf articles plus a series dedicated to asian cinema. There's podcasts too, with our monthly review show, Last Night, a bonus episode of our sister pod - Pop Screen - and Uncut from the Video Aisle (which is currently on a redevelopment sabbatical). Until next time, we've been the Uncut Network. MUSIC CREDITS: [INTRO] Funkgroove / Sofasound [MID-ROLL] Reading Night / Xander [OUTRO] Midnight Coffee / Englewood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Courtesy of Riot Games