The Universal Monster movies are one of my absolute favourite things so the obvious thing to do was watch a deeply cynical attempt to cash in on their unique visual aesthetic whilst spending as little money as possible. What a glorious time to be alive.
S2E4 - Enter the Asylum - Snakes on a Train (2006)
Snakes on a Plane was arguably 2006’s biggest disappointment, a film that promised so much more than it was able to deliver despite the presence of noted charisma haver Samuel L Jackson. Fortunately all was not lost as The Asylum bravely decided to tackle the idea of reptiles on public transport with Snakes on a Train. It’s got no budget but can it manage to deliver some slithery thrills regardless? Listen along to find out what opinions HJDoom has on the matter.
S2E3 - Enter The Asylum - Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill
Zombie movies. The finest art form known to humanity or only the second finest art form known to humanity? This is one of the questions that may or may not be answered as HJDoom takes on The Asylum’s first movie produced in house and a rare foray originality (insofar as a zombie movie in 2004 could be called original). It’s certainly very cheap but is it also rubbish? Listen along to find out.
S2E2 - Enter The Asylum: H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds (2005)
Episode 2 of our deep dive into The Asylum sees us tackle the company’s first and arguably most successful mockbuster, H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds from 2005 which just so happened to come out at the same time as Spielberg’s riff on the classic novel. It’s obviously incredibly cheap but it does have H Thomas Howell in it. Will that help? Listen along to find out.
S2E1 - Enter The Asylum: Scarecrow (2002)
The Asylum is perhaps the most hated movie studio in Hollywood, churning out extremely cheap movies which are usually based on an existing and more popular film. They are the undisputed masters of the mockbuster and their films are typically derided as parasitic cash ins. We’re going to find out if all that hate is deserved by watching as many Asylum movies as I can stand. We start with one of their early films from 2002, the simple tale of a bullied weirdo who turns into a murderous scarecrow for reasons that are deeply unclear.
Episode 6 - The Eye of Argon
Join HJDoom for an examination of possibly the worst (but secretly maybe the best) thing ever commited to paper, The Eye of Argon by Jim Theiss.
Episode 5 - The Coyote Gospel
This episode HJDoom looks at issue 5 of Animal Man, a DC superhero comic written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Chas Troug and Don Hazlewood with colours by Tatjana Wood and letters by John Costanza. The cover art is by Brian Bolland.
Episode 4 - The Damp Man
Join HJDoom has we explore the work of a forgotten master of the weird tale, Allison V Harding. A curious and elusive figure who wrote over a short period but left behind a fascinating body of work.
Episode 3 - Wario Land 2
Who doesn’t love a Gameboy game about a being of pure id? Wario Land 2 from 1998 is a fascinating little game which shows that it’s not always the most powerful platform that has the most memorable games. HJDoom takes you on a tour through the strange history of a large, furious man.
Episode 2 - The Collect Call of Cathulhu
HJDoom takes a look at an episode of The Real Ghostbusters cartoon from 1987, The Collect Call of Cathulhu, and gives his barely informed thoughts on this curious slice of kids entertainment inspired by the works of HP Lovecraft.
Episode 1 - I Was A Communist For the FBI
Join Hieronymous J Doom as he takes you on a tour of media produced before the turn of the millennium. In this inaugural episode we’re looking at I Was A Communist For the FBI, a classic piece of red scare paranoia from the 1950s.