Month: March 2023

Anyone for Hornimans?

March 26, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Brain Cigar review

Rating –

Brain Cigar logo

Many moons ago, when this blog was all fresh faced and smelling of SMA (other milk formula is available), I had this podcast recommended to me by someone (I thought it was my brother, but apparently not). Since then it has laid cold and lonely in my podcast list, waiting for its turn to get played. This week, I realised I had 200 unplayed episodes of various podcasts saved on my phone, so this has been picked at long last.

So what’s it about?

Brain Cigar is a comedy podcast by Peter Bayhnam and Jeremy Simmonds. There are surreal stories, interviews with weird characters and strange sponsor adverts that all coalesce into some strange alternate reality.

Pete Bayhnam has worked as a writer on many satirical comedy shows for decades. His film credits include the films of Sacha Baron Cohen, and the animated films Arthur Christmas and Hotel Transylvania. To some he will be the face of the 90s Pot Noodle adverts, but to me though he will always be the grubby, friendless basement dweller who got picked on by Richard Herring on Fist Of Fun.

I seem to recognise Simmonds’ voice, but I can’t place him. Likewise, an internet search produces many people by that name, but no exact results. I’m aware that I will no doubt be proved wrong by this statement, but I’d like to know what else he’s done apart from the NMTB writing etc.

The entire series is only six episodes and a “Christmas special”. I managed to get the whole lot finished easily in a few hours. When you look at the running time, it could obviously be done quicker than that. I had to keep rewinding certain parts though, because they were so funny.

The parts in question are the readings of John “Throat” Church’s autobiography The Architecture Of Bacon. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so loudly at a comedy show anywhere (probably series one of A Scottish Podcast). I suspect that “Throat” is voiced by Simmonds, but I’m not sure. It’s such a brilliant character that you really can’t tell. 

Is it any good?

Put it this way, it’s my joint favourite comedy podcast. I almost wish I could forget all about it so I could rediscover it all over again. Seriously, I reckon I’ll be listening to this every year for a long time. I don’t think it will ever stop being funny.

The humour here is generally quite dark, as you’d expect from someone with Baynham’s writing pedigree. It never plumbs depths as deep as Chris Morris’ show Brass Eye for example.

Julia Davis, who you’ll no doubt recognise from many well loved comedy shows gives a great performance in episode one as the completely awful founder of loneliness charity LAUK (pronounced “lowk” apparently). In fact she plays a whole range of awful characters as the series goes on. The highlight of which must surely be the New York Times reporter who reviews a Welsh funeral.

Final thoughts

If you’re a fan of anything on TV by Armando Ianucci, Chris Morris, Sacha Baron Cohen or Steve Coogan then you’ll love this. This is one of those series that I almost wish I had an extra point to score with. I really can’t recommend this highly enough. Also, contrary to the thoughts of “Doug in Colorado”, I loved The Architecture Of Bacon readings and would quite happily own that audiobook. 

Earlier I said that I would listen to this once a year, but I can’t help myself, I’ve just downloaded the whole thing again. I’ll just have to ignore the weird looks I get on the train as I burst out laughing.

As you well know by now. This is where I give a link to the website and say “you can get Brain Cigar here” etc. Unfortunately, there is no Brain Cigar website. I suspect it was lost in the same tragic server crash that lost the first six episodes of this show, and the the first 38 instalments of “H from Steps’ Guide to Affordable Laptops”. You can find it easily enough though. So find it, and listen to it.

*** EDIT***

It seems I was wrong about the website thing. I should have known there’d be some sneaky business involved. I had even seen the website in the search results, and discarded it because of the Spanish language used. So to return to a more traditional ending (because we all like familiarity don’t we, even if it does breed contempt). You can get Brain Cigar here:

https://www.braincigar.com/

or wherever you get your podcasts

(insert theremin music here)

March 19, 2023 / / 0 Comments

How Haunted? review

Rating –

How Haunted? logo

I stumbled across this podcast quite by accident recently on twitter. Somebody had complained that despite the early episodes being interesting, they were now too horrible and gratuitously gory. What more reason to subscribe did I need? Much like being young and trawling the Radio Times for horror movies to watch, I quickly realised that the ones that got two and three stars out of five were the best ones. Was I wrong in my assumption though? Read on and I’ll tell you.

So what’s it about?

How Haunted? is a paranormal podcast by Rob Kirkup, a ghost hunter based in Newcastle. That’s Newcastle, England, and not one of the other namesakes scattered across the former colonies. I wouldn’t normally bother with such clarification, but according to Google analytics, the majority of my meager readership is based in the US.

Each week he examines a different location from across the British isles, although owing to his location, there is a higher proportion in the north of England and Scotland. There is a lot of research involved in every episode. Even with well known locations, there is plenty of new information (for me at least) that adds much more depth to the locations rather than just repeating all the well known tales.

Is it any good?

Well, yes and no. I’m a big fan of paranormal podcasts, particularly ones that avoid needless hyperbole. Haunted Road springs immediately to mind as a good comparison to this show. Maybe get in touch with Amy Bruni in the future to swap stories?

Having said that, there are some parts of the stories discussed that really set my Sceptic-o-meter® buzzing. I do believe in ghosts, and I’ve had many strange experiences, but some stuff here has me asking questions about the validity of some claims. Unfortunately some events get glossed over with not much in the way of efforts to debunk, and some of the reports had me thinking, “yeah, but did that really happen?” To be honest, this doesn’t happen with Rob’s stories, but in the interviews with other people.

There are also some episodes that verge on being history lessons, with some ghost information tacked on at the end. In fact, the episode on the Colosseum in Rome doesn’t actually have any ghost story attached if I recall correctly. That’s not to say that it isn’t interesting, it absolutely is, but to say that a building is one of the most haunted in the world and then not offering up any actual paranormal information seems like a bit of a bait and switch.

Final thoughts

I really like this show, and because I usually listen to four or five different podcasts a day, I’m not as far through this one as I’d like to be. I really am looking forward to hearing how this develops as it goes on though.

When I was younger, I found a video called Billy Roberts Investigates The Paranormal. It was a low budget affair with Billy traveling to various haunted locations and seeing what was there. The investigations were interspersed with interviews, and despite being very low budget, and not what I was expecting, it was rather interesting. This podcast reminds me a lot of that. Don’t take that the wrong way Rob!

I think that nowadays, there is a real push for paranormal shows, and by extension ghost walks and suchlike to offer some “bang for your buck”. That way lies the path to “creating” a haunted experience. Every paranormal investigator I’ve heard says that a lot of the time absolutely nothing happens. I love that. Especially when they visit somewhere where the walls are supposed to drip blood and your hair will turn white with fear.  The contrary part of me loves for the final report to be “absolutely nothing happened”.

If you are into paranormal podcasts though, this is definitely one you should check out very soon, particularly if, like me, you grew up on the Usbourne ghost book and the multitude of similar tomes that filled the libraries of the 70s and 80s.

You can get How Haunted? here:

https://how-haunted.com/

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

The evil that men do

March 12, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Root Of Evil review

Production company – TNT/Cadence 13

Rating –

Root Of Evil logo

Originally, I subscribed to this series because it shed new light on the “Black Dahlia” murder. Surely one of the great murder mysteries of the 20th century. What I got instead was so much more. And so much that I wish I didn’t know. I feel I should warn you from the outset though. Although I won’t go into any great detail about the events in this series, if you do want to listen then there is plenty that people will find very upsetting indeed.

So what’s it about?

On January 15th 1947, the body of Elizabeth Short was discovered on a patch of waste ground in Leimert Park in Los Angeles. She had been brutally murdered and mutilated. The horrific nature of the killing sparked national interest in the murder and she quickly became dubbed The Black Dahlia. Despite the highly publicized nature of the murder, no suspects were ever arrested.

Root Of Evil is a podcast presented by Rasha Pecoraro and Yvette Gentile. They are the great-granddaughters of a man called George Hodel. He was a well known doctor, and friend to the bohemian artists that congregated in Los Angeles in the 1930s and 40s, including the legendary surrealist Man Ray and director John Huston.

George Hodel is also a suspect in the murder of Elizabeth Short. His involvement in the murder is the result of an extensive investigation by his own son, homicide detective Steve Hodel. He originally investigated the murder to exonerate his father’s involvement. But as evidence mounted, the odds looked stacked in favour of him being the killer.

As Rasha and Yvette delve into their family history, they uncover stories that have affected generations of the family to unimaginable degrees. When you hear the tales of growing up as a part of the Hodel family, it becomes almost too much to hear.

Is it any good?

If you’re interested in this sort of thing, then yes. If you get upset or triggered at stories of murder, abuse and other such unsavory practices, then stay well away. Seriously.

The podcast really is two stories in one. You have the direct effects of George Hodel on his family, and how they have tried to overcome the very long shadow of his crimes against them. The other side is the work that Steve Hodel has done in researching the murder of Elizabeth Short, and how that connects to his father.

Both sides are very well researched, and no punches are pulled. Soon a picture is painted of a deeply disturbed man that started generational waves of misery down the family line. The all too familiar (nowadays at least) methods used by influential to escape scrutiny and justice is also revealed

Final thoughts

This was a grueling listen in a similar vein to Hunting Warhead. The fact that one man’s evil deeds can impact so many generations of his family is unbelievable, it should be unbelievable anyway. Unfortunately it isn’t.

The final episode was both heartwarming and heartbreaking, as the grandchildren met up for the first time in decades to discuss how they have tried to rebuild their lives in the face of terrible life experiences.

In the interest of fairness, I do need to point out that while there is no doubt that George Hodel was a disgusting individual, he was never charged with the murder of Elizabeth Short. Not only that, but there is a very long list of suspects indeed. The evidence that Steve Hodel has uncovered is certainly compelling though…

You can get Root Of Evil wherever you get your podcasts. No link this week I’m afraid, there doesn’t seem to be any link available direct from the Cadence 13 website. Instead, I will include a link to Steve Hodel’s website about his research into Elizabeth Short’s murder:

https://stevehodel.com/

Three strikes and I’m out

March 5, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Fear review

Production company – Realm

Rating –

fear logos

A bit of a different post this week. Something of an epic undertaking that hopefully will work. I don’t think I’ve ever reviewed three podcasts at once, there is however a reason for this. I listened to Roanoke Falls when it was first released, and never got round to reviewing it. Rather than following on with something similar, Series two was called Black Friday and departed from the original style altogether. Series three, called Beatrix Greene, was another curveball. My thoughts on all series were similar, so I figured I’d tear all three plasters off at once. So buckle up, this may be a long ride.

So what are they about?

Series one, entitled Roanoke Falls, is a fictional retelling of the events at the eponymous American settlement in the 17th century. In real life, nobody knows what happened there other than the entire population “disappeared”. I put that last bit in inverted commas because obviously back then there was a huge delay in communication and travel. Needless to say, time has turned these events into a rich source for folk horror and conspiracy. 

The story takes place in the second Roanoke settlement, the villagers are desperately clinging to their faith in the face of disappearances, allegations of witchcraft and murder. It follows the downfall of Agnes, the wife of village priest Thomas. She finds a diary of one of the women from the original settlement of Roanoke, an outcast during a plague, who apparently placed a curse on the village. These events seem to eerily mirror what is happening to the villagers in the new settlement. Sightings of a tall man with a skull face are causing tensions within the community. Agnes faces accusations of being a witch, even from her own husband. The body count rises, and the truth is exposed.

Series two, entitled Black Friday is a “comedy” horror podcast. I got to about 2 minutes in and realised I was not going to like this series at all. In the interest of fairness though, I gritted my teeth and ploughed on.

This follows an eccentric group of shop staff, who are stuck in work during Thanksgiving. A group of demons get summoned by a ritual for a job promotion gone wrong, the hapless employees struggle to fend off the gruesome demonic foes.

Series three, follows fraud medium Beatrix Greene. She takes a challenge to investigate a notoriously haunted house. As is the trope for stories such as these, she soon realises that she has bitten off way more than she can chew, and the party of brave investigators is in grave danger indeed (pun slightly intended).

This story has so many references I can’t count them all. Way more than season two, and more subtly done as well. There were points where I wondered if I’d heard it before. It’s like ghost story bingo, but not in a bad way.

STEEEERRRRIKE ONE!

roanoke falls logo

Roanoke Falls is a good attempt at folk horror, particularly films like The Witch, but it never quite hits the mark. I’m not sure exactly what it is. Possibly the strange way that the story is told. It’s not wholly a drama production, and not a narration either. It’s somewhere in between. For me it doesn’t work.

The acting isn’t great by any means, despite their best efforts. The blacksmith in particular seems to be incapable of portraying anything approaching real emotion.

The story itself is not so bad, it’s a nice concept, despite the weird way it’s told. As the story winds up, there is a nice “circularity” that seems to tie things up, only to veer off in a remarkable twist that reminds me instantly of the film “The Boy”.

By god do they like their adverts. Each 20 minute episode has 4 advert breaks, including one right before the end credits. I knew there was something that really irked me about this series, but it wasn’t until I re-listened before writing this that I remembered.

STEEEERRRRIKE TWO!

black friday logo

Black Friday casts a wide net. Taking diverse inspiration from modern slasher films, particularly Hellraiser, and comedy series like The Office, this is like a pick ‘n’ mix of references, with too many winks to camera at how they jammed all the horror references in.

Again, the acting isn’t great, although I suspect that in this case it isn’t supposed to be. It has more chewed scenery than Crufts, and the characters follow every cliche so beloved of modern horror. There’s the stoner slacker, the over eager yet overlooked management wannabe and the sarcastic cynical knowitall who only puts up with everyone else because she ultimately has nowhere else to work.

Calling this series a “comedy horror” is something of a con. It is neither funny nor horrific. Apparently the writer was inspired to write this story after working one too many thanksgiving shifts at a store. Whereas some people can pull this off (Kevin Smith, for example), this is just a grab bag of tired clichés and predictable characters.

Definitely my least favourite of the three.

STEEEERRRRIKE THREE!

beatrix greene logo

More tropes on the way in this series. The plucky tomboyish Beatrix Greene has made something of a name for herself as a fraudulent medium. It does an ok job of setting the scene, but it’s more “Houdini and Doyle” than “Carnacki”. They even slipped a “Do you see?” in there, but I’m not sure if that was intentional or not.

This, like season one, has a strange way of narrating the story that I’m not too keen on. Like Roanoke Falls, it is 50% narrated, 50% acted. The problem is, is that the narration switches from Beatrix narrating, to sceptic James Walker (her nemesis at the beginning of the story). This gets rather confusing, especially where there is some overlap in the plot. I wonder whether this is done for any reason other than trying to be deliberately clever.

This is one moustache twiddle away from silliness. It does it’s best to cling on to the coat-tails of Shirley Jackson and William Hope-Hodgson, and to be honest, this was my favourite season so far. I say favourite, what I mean is that I didn’t lose interest before the halfway mark and feel like I was slogging through it just to write a review. The story is the most derivative of the three, even more so than the first season. 

Maybe it’s the 1920s setting I like, but despite this, it’s still not enough to rescue the low rating here.

Final thoughts

Maybe I’m getting old and grumpy (I know I’m getting old and grumpy), but I can honestly say that every few episodes, I was wondering whether this was worth it. Should I stick with this podcast just for the sake of writing what I knew deep down would be a rather scathing review. As season two got underway this feeling got stronger. I’d already started writing this though, and I was rather pleased at the thought of a triple header. Also, I tend to review podcasts I like, so I felt I needed to take one for the team so to speak and suffer through.

Mitch Hedberg had a joke that went “The other day, I walked into Target and missed. I think the entrance to Target should have people splattered all around.”

Unfortunately the entrance to “the good podcast list” has Realm podcasts splattered all around.

As I finish this rather long winded stream of consciousness, they are currently three episodes into season four. Honestly, I can’t bring myself to start it.

You can get the Fear series here if you really want to:

https://www.realm.fm/

Or wherever you get your podcasts 

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