56. Shaw Bros. Horror Movies, feat. Stefan Hammond, author of Sex & Zen & A Bullet in the Head

WRIGGLING WORMS, CRAWLING BUGS, SLITHERING SNAKES, WITCHCRAFT, RITUALS, AND BODILY FLUIDS OF EVERY COLOR IMAGINABLE!!

Once upon a time, three brothers named Shaw started a film studio in Hong Kong. That studio grew into a Southeast Asian  powerhouse, building its reputation on wuxia, kung fu, period dramas, comedies, and, in the mid ’70s, horror. The special Shaw brand of horror, defined by black magic rituals, wild visuals, and exploitation spectacle was, in part, spearheaded by two filmmakers – Ho Meng-Hua and Kuei Chih-Hung.

Join Gabe and special guest host Stefan Hammond, author of Sex & Zen and a Bullet in the Head (with Mike Wilkins, 1996), Hollywood East (2000), and More Sex, Better Zen, Faster Bullets (2020), as they explore the history of the studio and films of these two maverick directors. This is a particularly packed episode, covering Shaw’s horror films in general, but focusing mostly on Ho’s Black Magic (1975), Black Magic 2 (1976), and The Oily Maniac (1976), and Kuei’s Killer Snakes (1974), Hex (1980), Bewitched (1981), and The Boxer’s Omen (1983).

00:00 – Intro (a brief history of Shaw and Southeast Asian horror)

20:20 – Ho Meng-Hua, Black Magic, and Black Magic 2

53:52 – The Oily Maniac (and more Ho)

1:01:24 – Kuei Chih-Hung and The Killer Snakes

1:33:28 – Hex, Bewitched, and The Boxer’s Omen (and more Kuei)

2:06:32 – Outro

Stream or download from the Genre Grinder website

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