Episode Seven: Village of the Damned (1960) & Who Can Kill a Child (1976). There's something very wrong with the children....

Welcome to The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where we combine two films, and fall down several rabbit holes, to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

First up is Village of the Damned, from 1960 starring George Sanders and Barbara Shelley, in which group of mysterious children take control of a small English village. Then we are heading to another village, only this time in Spain, for Who Can Kill a Child from 1976, which even in its very title, poses the question of how far would you go to protect yourself… when the danger comes from those that society has sworn to protect?

Join us every Sunday for a new pairing and a new discussion

Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

#horrorpodcast #horrorcinema #spanishhorror #britishhorror #1970shorror #1960shorror #cultcinema #horrormovies


Sources:

Evil Seeds The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children edited by Vanessa Morgan

Historical background and context:

https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/cloning/clonezone/
https://www.history.com/news/juvenile-delinquency-1950s-culture
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/surviving-the-female-psychopath/202308/the-genesis-of-william-marchs-the-bad-seed
https://william-golding.co.uk/lord-of-the-flies-and-the-second-world-war
https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/bixby_jerome
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bixby
https://www.history.com/news/cold-war-paranoia-in-pop-culture
https://retroreport.org/video/population-bomb-the-overpopulation-theory-that-fell-flat/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb#
https://www.britannica.com/event/baby-boom
https://tangentonline.com/interviews-columnsmenu-166/interviews-columnsmenu-166-interviews-columnsmenu-166/classic-ray-bradbury-interview/#:~:text=TANGENT%3A%20Ray%2C%20you%20have%20a,and%20just%20about%20everything%20since.

Village of the Damned:

English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897 – 2015 by Jonathan Rigby
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jun/10/johnwyndham#:~:text=Critical%20verdict
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/dec/05/2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Midwich_Cuckoos
https://reactormag.com/village-of-the-damned-killer-kiddos-from-outer-space/#:~:text=Upon%20its%20move%20to%20the,that%20unfortunate%20driver%20smashes%20into
https://culturevulture.net/film/village-of-the-damned/#:~:text=The%20Midwich%20Cuckoos%20alludes%20not,a%20heresy%20to%20Catholic%20dogma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Sanders
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Conway
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001694/
https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2010/jul/14/george-sanders-centenary

Who Can Kill A Child:

“Who Can Kill a Child?” Mondo Macabro Blue Ray release special features: Interview with Narcisso Ibanez Sarrador, Interview with Kim Newman
Spanish Horror Film by Antonio Lazzaro-Reboll
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Can_Kill_a_Child%3F

Episode Six: Night of the Eagle (1962) & The Devil Rides Out (1968). Must be the season of the witch......

Welcome to The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where we combine two films, and fall down several rabbit holes, to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

First up is Night of the Eagle, from 1962, released in the US as Burn Witch Burn, in which professional rivalries on a college campus spill over into something far more primal and far more ancient. We follow that with my favourite hammer movie, The Devil Rides Out from 1968, which was released in the US as The Devil’s Bride, in which Christopher Lee, rather unusually representing the forces of good, battles for the soul of a young friend against the power of darkness.

Along the way we will be discussing the rise of interest in the occult in the 1960s, changing attitudes in British censorship, the career and work of Richard Matheson, the life of notorious occultist and the ‘wickedest man in the world’ Alistair Crowley, and more.

Sources:

Background:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/25/richard-matheson
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/richard-matheson-dead/2013/06/24/7c1bc0f6-dd38-11e2-9844-8979d66cdd71_story.html
https://variety.com/2013/film/news/richard-matheson-dies-at-87-1200505071/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Matheson
https://www.mopop.org/science-fiction-fantasy-hall-of-fame/inductees/richard-matheson/
English gothic classic horror cinema 1897 to 2015 by Jonathan Rigby

Night of the Eagle:

Audio commentary and special features on the special edition Blu-ray release of Night of the Eagle from Imprint films
https://www.bostonmovienews.com/burn-witch-burn-revival
https://www.blackgate.com/2014/02/15/lust-women-and-the-devil-seven-decades-of-conjure-wife
PeterWyngard.uk

The Devil Rides Out:

Various features from the Criterion Blu Ray release of The Devil Rides Out, including cast commentaries and the documentary “Black Magic The Making of the Devil Rides Out’ Devil is a Gentleman: The Life and Times of Dennis Wheatley by Phil Baker
Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company by Howard Maxford
The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes
Hammer And Beyond: The British Horror Film by Peter HutchingsA History of Magic – Richard Cavendish
Aleister Crowley: The Biography – Tobias Churton
“The Neverendingly Occulted Aleister Crowley” – Marco Pasi, Numen
https://www.bl.uk/people/aleister-crowley
https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/aleister-crowley/zvjvscw

Episode 5: The House with Laughing Windows (1976) and Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) : Rural Giallo, Postwar Italy, and the Haunted Landscape

In this episode of The Horror Double Bill, we journey deep into the unsettling beauty of the Italian countryside to explore The House with Laughing Windows (1976) and Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972). These two standout examples of rural gialli capture a nation in flux—reflecting the tension, suspicion, and isolation brought about by post-war migration from the south to the north of Italy.

We unpack the social, cultural, and historical upheaval that followed World War II, as Italy’s rural communities were transformed by internal migration, superstition, and deepening class divides.

Expect thematic analysis, behind-the-scenes details, historical research, and a deep dive into how horror can expose the fractures in national identity.

References & Sources used for this episode:

Books

So Deadly, So Perverse by Troy Howarth
La Dolce Morte : Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo by Mikel J Koven
Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1970–1979 by Roberto Curti
Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci by Stephen Thrower
Milking the Moon by Eugene Walter
The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Gothic edited by Clive Bloom

articles

https://brightlightsfilm.com/brutal-nobility-painting-death-house-laughing-windows-pupi-avati-1976/

Blu Rays

Don't Torture a Duckling Arrow video special edition blu ray - interviews and commentary
The House with Laughing Windows Shamless films special edition DVD - interview with Pupi Avati

#cultcinema #giallo #horrorpodcast #1970shorror #cinephile #classichorror #darioargento #eurohorror #luciofulci #pupiavati #eurohorror #europeanhorror #1970shorror

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