Eros + Massacre is a cinema podcast hosted by Samm Deighan. It explores cult and psychotronic films, weird arthouse cinema, East Asian movies, and overlooked corners of film history. The show offers in-depth discussion for listeners interested in lesser-known and unconventional cinema.
Episodes
Episode 33: Skinemax Edgar Allan Poe with Klon Waldrip
Earlier this year, Klon and I took a deep dive into the Roger Corman Poe series and Klon was kind enough (and possibly masochistic enough) to return for part two! In this episode, we decided to punish ourselves by exploring a series of Poe adaptations made in the late ’80s and early ’90s: Alan Birkinshaw’s The House of Usher (1989) and The Masque of the Red Death (1989), Jim Wyno
Episode 32: Lisa and the Devil with Bill Ackerman
I’m back for the first of two Halloween episodes! All of you know and love Bill Ackerman (or should) from his Supporting Characters podcast and/or his work on various blu-ray special features. He joined me for a second episode on the great Mario Bava.
This time we’re discussing Lisa and the Devil (1974) and the related abomination The House of Exorcism, which turned the surreal origina
Episode 31: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne with Jessica Shires
I am finally back from finishing my Żuławski book with an episode that is long, long overdue. Cultural historian and cinephile Jessica Shires joined me to gush over our love for Walerian Borowczyk and his radical 1981 gothic horror film, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne. This is meant to serve as something of an introduction to Borowczyk, so we spend some time talking about the dev
Episode 30: The Desolation of Kiyoshi Kurosawa (2000-2003) with Angura Research Center
For the second part of my ongoing series about Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Clara from Angura Research Center was kind enough to return to the show. You might remember her from the episode we did together on Shuji Terayama, but she’s also a huge Kurosawa fan. We had a lot to say about the horror films and thrillers he made at the beginning of the 2000s: Séance (2000), Pulse (2001), Bright Future (2002)
Episode 29: Roger Corman's Poe Cycle with Klon Waldrip
This April was the great Roger Corman’s centennial, so what better time to finally discuss his work on Eros + Massacre. Writer, artist, programmer, and friend of the show Klon Waldrip joined me for an epic conversation about Corman’s 8-film series loosely based on the stories of Edgar Allan Poe.
In this episode we discuss: House of Usher (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Pre
Episode 28: The Stray Cat Rock Series
The greatest of all time, Meiko Kaji, recently came to NYC for a retrospective of her work at Japan Society, so naturally I had to celebrate with a podcast episode in her honor. This is a solo outing, where I discuss the Stray Cat Rock series, which Kaji made for Nikkatsu. It launched her to countercultural stardom and was her last major project for the studio before departing for Toei in 1972 whe
Episode 27: The Kurt Raab Fan Club with Adrianna Gober
I haven’t yet had a chance to talk about New German Cinema on Eros + Massacre, though episodes on Rainer Werner Fassbinder and key figures from his group of collaborators have been high on my list. I could never pick a single favorite director, but Fassbinder is at least in the top five. And Kurt Raab—the actor, set designer, art director, screenwriter, and producer who was among Fassbinder&
Eros + Massacre Episode 26: The Best of 2025
I missed this podcast so much, but finishing a book while keeping on top of my commentary deadlines has been brutal. The episode title — as some of you have probably guessed — is a bit deceptive. This is all about my favorite new-to-me films of 2025 and it skews heavily towards East Asian cinema and towards crime thrillers. There are actually more contemporary films on here than I woul
Episode 25: Telephone Terror with Erica Shultz
Squeezing in one last special episode for the Halloween season, this is another subject I’ve been dying to talk about since I started Eros + Massacre. Erica Shultz was kind enough to join me to discuss about a series of ’70s and ’80s thrillers and horror movies featuring the phone as a source of terror. You probably know Erica from her podcast, Unsung Horrors, and h
Episode 24: The Hammer Dracula Spectacular with Keith Allison
It took me YEARS to make this episode happen, but I am finally triumphant, thanks to my generous and tolerant co-host, Keith Allison. You might remember him as my guest for our episode last year on beach party movies, or know him from his many years writing about cinema, including his book Cocktails and Capers: Cult Cinema, Cocktails, Crime, & Cool. Keith joined me to talk about one of my favo
Episode 23: The Desolation of Kiyoshi Kurosawa (1989-1999)
It's officially the beginning of Halloween season and the end of the Japanese celebration of the dead, Obon. Obon is celebrated at different times in different parts of the country, though it is traditionally mid-August. I'm being a little flexible with the dates here, because I want to start doing an annual Obon-themed episode that focuses on Japanese folklore, horror, and the supernatural.
This
Kenji Misumi's Sword Trilogy with Curtis Tsui
This is an extra special episode near and dear to my heart, since Kenji Misumi has become one of my favorite directors, largely because of the Sword trilogy. Though his name may be unfamiliar to many of you, you have likely seen a few of his films: he directed most of the Lone Wolf and Cub series and many Zatoichi films. Longtime Criterion producer Curtis Tsui -- who worked on both of those sets -
Episode 21: Jess Franco’s Red Lips with John Dickson
Chicago film programmer John Dickson, from the Oscarbate podcast and film collective, joined me for another wild discussion of Jess Franco's spy/detective films. This time we're talking about most of the movies in his Red Lips series, focusing on two female friends (and later, lovers), who are imaginative young strippers and/or cabaret performers who moonlight as private detectives, spies, vigilan
Episode 20: Hamburger The Motion Picture with Shawn Porter
Since we're on the verge of summer, it seemed like the perfect time for my first episode on American sex comedies. After years of asking, I finally listened to reason and sat down with gentleman pervert Shawn Porter, who has been proselytizing to me about the joys of Hamburger: The Motion Picture (1986) for far too long. You might remember Shawn from the Jamie Gillis episode of Twitch of the Death
Episode 19: Shuji Terayama’s Pastoral with Angura Research Center
Clara from Angura Research Center was kind enough to join me for this episode on one of cinema's greatest surrealists, Shuji Terayama. Poet, writer, master of underground theater (known as angura in Japanese) and experimental cinema, and so much more, Terayama had an incredibly rich, prolific career in many art forms, which blend together influences from classical Japanese theater, pop culture, fo
Episode 18: Teen Delinquent Hell with Byron Lueders
Ditch class, rev your engines, sharpen your switchblades, and roll up some reefer! Extremely patient friend of the show Byron Lueders joined me for this episode that we recorded four score and seven years ago (or at least that's how long it feels), all about American teenage girl gang films in the 1950s and '60s. In the episode, we focus primarily on Girl Gang (1954), Teenage Crime Wave (1955), On
Episode 17: Jess Franco’s Horny Detective with John Dickson
It's officially spring, which seems like a fitting time to release the first -- but certainly not last -- Jess Franco episode of the show. Thanks to Patreon supporter Pat Radke for requesting a series of Jess episodes! Chicago film programmer John Dickson, from the Oscarbate podcast and film collective, joined me for a particularly wild discussion of Jess Franco's best films featuring his recurrin
Episode 16: Japanese V-Cinema with Tom Mes
It's spring equinox and Eros + Massacre is emerging from hibernation! This first episode of 2025 is a discussion with cinema historian Tom Mes. He's an international treasure and many of you were likely introduced to some incredible Japanese films due to his exhaustive writing and research and his site Midnight Eye. He just released a new book, Japanese Film and the Challenge of Video, and works w
Episode 15: Ghost Stories for Christmas with Will Dodson, Part 2
We are still in the no man's land between Christmas and New Year's Day, so hopefully this second part of my two-part episode on the BBC's original Ghost Stories for Christmas series with Will Dodson will get you through. As a reminder, in part one we discussed six M.R. James adaptations, mostly from the original series. Part two takes us through the final three episodes, The Signalman (1976), Stig
Episode 14: Ghost Stories for Christmas with Will Dodson, Part 1
My sweet Yuletide angels, here is the other two-part episode I'm shoehorning into this December. I'll have the second part up later this week (though it will be on my Patreon earlier) so you all have something to listen to when you're driving to and fro family holiday events this week. I have been absolutely dying to do an episode on the BBC's original Ghost Stories for Christmas series. I'm grate
Episode 13: Teruo Ishii’s Joys of Torture with Chris Haskell, part 2
Here is part two of this journey through Teruo Ishii's Joys of Torture with Chris Haskell (from the They Live By Film and Punk Vacation podcasts). Part one covered Tokugawa: Women's Genealogy (1968), Shogun's Joy of Torture (1968), and Orgies of Edo (1969), and in this episode we packed in Shameless: Abnormal and Abusive Love (1969), Inferno of Torture (1969), Yakuza Law (1969), Love and Crime (19
Episode 12: Teruo Ishii’s Joys of Torture with Chris Haskell, part 1
After a much needed break, I'm back! I have been DYING to do a few podcast episodes on underrated Japanese master Teruo Ishii and Chris Haskell (from the They Live By Film and Punk Vacation podcasts) was kind enough to agree to my insane demand that we cover all the films in Ishii's Joys of Torture series. Ishii directed seven films in 1968 and 1969 for Toei that explore torture, sexual obsession,
Episode 11: The Labyrinth of Robbe-Grillet with Christopher Norris
For the latest Eros + Massacre episode, designer, writer, musician, and jack of all trades Christopher Norris joined me to talk about one of our mutual favorites, Alain Robbe-Grillet, a giant of modern French literature, a genius filmmaker, and an unabashed pervert. We focused on three of his classic films, each from a different decade: Trans-Europ-Express (1966), Le jeu avec le feu (Playing with
Episode 10: The Battle of Algiers with Andrew Nette
Andrew Nette, my co-editor on Revolution in 35mm, joined me for this rather intense episode about Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers (1966). We talk a lot about the film's powerful impact, the Algerian struggle for independence from French colonial occupation, the cost and effectiveness of violence, Pontecorvo's time in the Italian resistance during WWII, his career more broadly, and the use
Episode 9: Giallo Fever with Clyde Folley
Starting this September, the Criterion Channel is running a series on giallo films. It includes thirteen films from The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963) through Tenebrae (1982), covering a lot of the greatest hits of the genre with a few added bonus in the mix as well. Criterion video editor, Channel programmer, and all around lovely person Clyde Folley was kind enough to join me to talk about this s
Episode 8: Donald Sutherland is Tapping Your Phone with Robert Skvarla
It broke my heart that the absolutely wonderful Donald Sutherland died this summer, even though he lived a long, extremely full life, so I knew I needed to do an episode on some aspect of his sprawling career. Robert Skvarla was kind enough to join me to talk about some of Sutherland's thriller films from the 1970s and '80s. We focused primarily on Alan Pakula's Klute (1971), but also discussed Bo
Episode 7: An Interview With Maestro Fabio Frizzi
Over the years I've talked a lot about how Fulci's City of the Living Dead (1980) changed my life as a young teenager and so it goes without saying that Fabio Frizzi's music has also had a huge impact on me. This September, he's taking a Zombie live score on an American tour and he was kind enough to speak with me ahead of that. We talk about his process composing, how he approaches films, and wha
Episode 6: Beach Party Bonanza with Keith Allison
I have been wanting to do an episode on American International Pictures' beach party series with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello FOR YEARS. I absolutely love these films and I'm so grateful to my pal Keith Allison, a film and pop culture writer, for going on this long and very sandy journey with me. We talk about what I consider the main films in the series -- Beach Party (1963), Muscle Beach
Episode 5: A Mario Bava Birthday Special with Bill Ackerman
Happy belated birthday to Mario Bava, who was born on July 31 (much like me). This is a loaded episode: guest host Bill Ackerman, from Supporting Characters podcast and a number of commentaries and other blu-ray special features, shares my love of Bava and his final feature film, Shock (1977). We talk about: Shock and its relationship to Ovidio Assonitis's Beyond the Door (1974), to which it is an
Preview: July Movie Diary Bonus Episode
Learn more about what wild and obscure movies I'm watching by following me on Patreon to unlock this full episode and access the entire back catalogue of bonus episodes, video essays, written essays, and podcast series! This episode covers everything from Hong Kong action and horror to Stephen Chow movies, classical Japanese melodrama, Yaphet Kotto, and much more.
Episode 4: Third Window Films with Adam Torel
For this episode, I was joined by Adam Torel, the owner of Third Window Films, a blu-ray label focusing specifically on more unusual Japanese cinema. We talked about the ins and outs of running a blu-ray label, working in Japan, the complexities of releasing more obscure Japanese films, and so much more. Even if you aren't a huge fan of Japanese films, there's so much detail in here about some of
Episode 3: American Hero, Sexual Anarchist with Klon Waldrip
This Fourth of July, I wanted to celebrate a real American hero and who better than one of the greatest Americans to ever do it -- Rudy Ray Moore. My friend Klon Waldrip joined me to talk about everything from Rudy's entrepreneurial spirit (he printed and sold his own records... in the '70s), his important role as a sexual anarchist, and his underground cinema, focusing mostly on his classics like
Eros + Massacre Episode 2: Funeral Parade of Roses with Celeste de la Cabra
Episode two is all about one of my favorite experimental Japanese New Wave films and I'm so grateful to my guest, film analyst Celeste de la Cabra, for agreeing to discuss this one with me. The film's director, Toshio Matsumoto, has become one of my favorites in recent years and is criminally underrated, so we also spend a little time getting into his other work. Funeral Parade of Roses (1969), hi
Eros + Massacre Episode 1: The Last Italian Surrealist with Chris Haskell
It's heeeere! I'm Samm Deighan and I'm beyond excited to launch the first episode of my new podcast, Eros + Massacre. Chris Haskell from They Live on Film podcast kindly joined me for the first episode, where we talk all about one of our mutual favorite underrated directors, Michele Soavi, and focus on his four key horror films from the late '80s and '90s: Stage Fright, The Church, The Sect, and C
Eros + Massacre Coming Soon!
Check out this short preview of Samm Deighan's new podcast EROS + MASSACRE! Thanks!
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