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The Horror Double Bill

The Horror Double Bill

By: Craig Johnson
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Welcome to The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we pair two movies to create something far greater than the sum of their parts.


Expect discussions on shared themes, directors. writers and atmosphere, as we explore what the films say about the time they were made and our fears in the present; including social history, folklore, censorship, and a love of horror in all its forms.


New episodes every Sunday.


📸 @thehorrordoublebill

📧 thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com


© 2026 The Horror Double Bill
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Episodes
  • Episode 51: X - The Unknown (1956) & The Blob (1988)
    May 30 2026

    Welcome to episode 51 of The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we pair two movies to create something greater than the sum of their parts.

    This week we are exploring the amorphous world of the science fiction horror hybrid, with two movies that pit man against gelatinous monstrosities from inner and outer space.

    First up, we have X the Unknown from 1956, an early entry into the horror market from British studio Hammer, This was directed by Leslie Norman and stars Dean Jagger, Leo McKern and Edward Chapman.

    Then we jump forward to 1988 for the enjoyably goofy The Blob, from director Chuck Russell and co-writer Frank Darabont, and stars Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch, Jeffrey DeMunn and Candy Clark.

    Along the way, we will be discussing the careers of writer-directors Jimmy Sangster and Chuck Russell, unlikely parallels with Spielberg’s Jaws, shapeless monstrosities in the horror movie, the inspiration for and the production story of the 1958 version of the Blob, and much, much more.

    References

    The House that Hammer Built Volume 2, 1950 – 1954 & Volume 3: 1955–1958 by Wayne Kinsey

    Hammer and Beyond: The British Horror Film by Peter Hutchings,

    Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography by Tom Johnson and Deborah Del Vecchio

    Father of the Blob: The Making of a Monster Smash and Other Hollywood Tales by Jack H Harris

    https://strasbourgfestival.com/en/interview-jimmy-sangster/

    https://www.hammer-graveyard.org.uk/jimmy-sangster/

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Sangster

    https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/aug/21/jimmy-sangster-obituary

    The Blob (1988) - Scream factory blu ray interviews, commentaries and extras

    https://ia801403.us.archive.org/4/items/Fear_04_1989-01-02_no_ads/Fear_04_1989-01-02_no_ads.pdf

    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0762727/

    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0751080/

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blob_(1988_film)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blob

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_the_Unknown

    Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

    email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

    youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

    artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

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    1 hr and 35 mins
  • Episode 50: Cannibal Man (1972) & A Bay of Blood (1971)
    May 23 2026

    Welcome to episode 50 of The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we pair two movies to create something greater than the sum of their parts.

    Cannibal Man/The Week of the Killer/The Apartment on the 13th Floor (1972) dir. Eloy de la Iglesia, w. Vicente Parra, Emma Cohen, Eusebio Poncela, Vicky Lagos and Charly Bravo.

    Ecologia del delitto/A Bay of Blood/Twitch of the Death Nerve/Carnage/Blood Bath (1971) dir. Mario Bava w. Luigi Pistilli, Claudine Auger, Claudio Camaso, Laura Betti and Anna Maria Rosati.

    Recommendations

    The Glass Ceiling (1971)

    No-one Heard the Scream (1973)

    Kill Baby Kill (1966)

    Danger Diabolik! (1968)

    Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970)

    References

    Spanish Horror Film by Antonio Lázaro-Reboll

    Cannibal Man blu-ray edition (Severin Films)

    Subversive Effects of Perversion: Sexuality and Social Construction in The Cannibal Man by Carlos Gómez

    https://www.terrorweekend.com/2021/11/la-semana-del-asesino-review.html?m=1h

    ttps://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial.com/famosos/2021-03-06/vicente-parra-galan-homosexual-amigo-sara-montiel_2977668

    https://www.elconfidencial.com/cultura/2006-03-24/muere-el-realizador-de-cine-eloy-de-la-iglesia_741304

    https://www.cageyfilms.com/2021/10/the-films-of-eloy-de-la-iglesia/

    https://elpais.com/cultura/2006/03/23/actualidad/1143068408_850215.html

    So Deadly, So Perverse Volume One by Troy Howarth,

    The Haunted World of Mario Bava by Troy Howarth

    Italian Horror Cinema, edited by Stefano Baschiera and Russ Hunter

    A Bay of Blood blu-ray special edition (Severin Films)

    https://www.davinotti.com/articoli/intervista-allo-sceneggiatore-dardano-sacchetti/55

    https://www.sdangher.com/2022/04/06/speciale-reazione-a-catena-mario-bava-e-lecologia-della-critica-italiana/

    https://cinepugno.home.blog/2020/10/10/interview-with-mario-bava-1970-1971/

    Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

    email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

    youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

    artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

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    1 hr and 26 mins
  • Episode 49: Paperhouse (1988) & Candyman (1992)
    May 16 2026

    Welcome to episode 49 of The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we pair two movies to create something greater than the sum of their parts.

    Paperhouse (1988) Dir. Bernard Rose w. Charlotte Burke, Glenne Headly, Elliott Spiers, Gemma Jones

    Candyman (1992) Dir. Bernard Rose w. Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen, Kasi Lemmons, Xander Berkeley, Vanessa Williams.

    Recommendations

    Shockheaded Peter by Heinrich Hoffmann

    Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr

    The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey

    Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

    The Books of Blood by Clive Barker

    The Great & Secret Show by Clive Barker

    Coldheart Canyon by Clive Barker

    Night of the Living Dead (1990)

    IvansXTC (2000)

    References

    https://filmfreakcentral.net/2022/08/bernard-rose-interview/

    https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/interviews/mystic-nic-praise-nicolas-roeg

    https://www.theotherfolk.blog/dissections/paperhouse

    https://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/its-that-weird-thing-that-happens-when-things-arent-concrete-bernard-rose-remembers-paperhouse/

    https://www.mikesouthon.biz/portfolio/paperhouse-highlights

    Candyman by John Towson (Devil’s Advocates)

    Candyman Special Edition 4k (Arrow Video)

    https://www.clivebarkerarchive.com/blog/tag/The+Forbidden

    https://www.clivebarker.info/salomeforbidden.html

    https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jun/25/how-we-made-candyman-virginia-madsen-tony-todd-bee-sting

    https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/nov/09/tony-todd-star-of-candyman-dies-aged-69

    https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/oct/01/tony-todd-candyman-sequel-black-lives-matter-platoon

    https://horrornewsnetwork.net/twenty-year-retrospective-of-candyman-with-virginia-madsen/

    https://people.com/virginia-madsen-reveals-plan-candyman-prequel-mourns-tony-todd-8744052

    https://www.movingpictureshow.com/?p=9402

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Rose_(director)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candyman_(1992_film)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paperhouse_(film)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Barker

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_of_Blood

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Todd

    https://flexiblehead.blog/2016/02/10/tony-todd/

    Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

    email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

    youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

    artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 40 mins
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