Hello Spill your guts listeners! This is your host Kevin Lane wishing you a happy Friday the 13th!

The show will be returning with our season 4 premiere on October 1 but in the mean time, we thought it might be fun to celebrate this most unlucky of days by revisiting our season 1 episode with Jason Vorhees arch nemesis, Tommy Jarvis. In Friday the 13th part 6: Jason Lives, Tommy Jarvis and Jason have the ultimate showdown and though Tommy had been played by two other actors prior to Jason Lives, Thom Mathews has become synonymous with character.

Now, I’m going to go ahead and guess if you’re listening to Spill your guts that you’re a collector of physical media. Of course you are. You have to be. You’re a horror fan. For our Canadian listeners, our beloved sponsor Cinema 1 is bringing back their 3-day Friday the 13th Horror Sale from September 13th to 15th. Slash the tax and take 13% off all horror movies at any of their in-store locations in Guelph, Hamilton, and London, Ontario. Or get Free Shipping within Canada on orders over $75 using the code: JASON13 exclusively at Cinema1.ca

Thank you for listening and please enjoy this return to Crystal Lake.

We’ll be taking a couple weeks to get things ready for a very VERY big season 4. Just wait until you see what we have in store for every horror fans favourite month of year. I’m so excited I could just burst! Like that guy in “Scanners”. What are some other movies where someone just bursts? Anyway, thank you to our amazing team and our sponsors, Audio Process and Cinema 1, for another season of sitting down with horrors best and brightest and spilling guts.

Now, let’s get into it.

For any actor, playing a major character on a tv series that not only garners tons of adoring fans but also enters into the pop culture zeitgeist and becomes a phenomenon is a major achievement. Especially when their character is a particular fan favourite and ends up in video games, comic books, made into toys and more. Then you add the element of that series enduring the test of time to become inarguably classic television.

I’ll one up that now. How about doing that twice?

Our guest in this episode has a vast filmography of dynamic and versatile roles but her performance as vampire Darla on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and its spinoff series “Angel” and as “Rita”, the wife of everyones favourite serial killer on the Showtime sensation “Dexter”, have made her a true genre star.

In this episode we are joined by the radiant and brilliant Julie Benz!

Julie sat down to talk with me about getting her start working on the George Romero produced, Dario Argento directed segment of the film “Two Evil Eyes”, when she realized that Buffy was becoming an important series, the benefits of working on two shows back to back that both had stars, Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz respectively, that were also great leaders. We talk about the excitement of getting cast to work opposite a virtuosic actor like Michael C. Hall and be a part of a critical darling like Dexter but also the heartbreak and feeling of betrayal that came later when she was written off the show.

I have to say that personally I have been a longstanding fan of Julie’s being a hardcore Buffy/Angel fan and then later a “Dexter” devotee. Julie is the kind of actor and person that anyone who speaks to people about their craft as a profession dreams of having as a guest. As thoughtful as she is open and real and man, is she ever a lovely human being.

Ladies and gentleman, Julie Benz!

Getting any film finished and released is truly a minor miracle. There are so many stages of film production where projects fall apart. From financiers backing out at the last minute to a star quitting 2 days before production is set to begin. Most films take approximately 3 years from inception to completion when they do survive the Squid Games like survival test of getting a movie done.

Our guest take has just completed his 400th film. To put it plainly, he’s unstoppable.

The Godfather of B movies, the Puppet Master and a true master at reinventing himself time and time again… in this episode we welcome one of Spill your guts favourite guests, Charles Band.

Now, Charlie has created a new line of films titled Pulp Noire and with it, Charlie is setting out to show fans a whole new side to Full Moon films. Surrealistic, trippy, raw, and bleak… and nary a diminutive creature in sight. This new line shows Charlie reinventing YET again.

The first film in the series is titled “Quadrant” and is directed by Charlie himself (all the Pulp Noire films will be directed by Charlie who generally prefers to take the producing helm) . It’s a typically crazy Full Moon film that involves virtual reality, monsters and Jack the Ripper. Just see it. I can’t even begin to describe this gonzo head trip.

Quadrant releases on nearly all platforms as well as being available from fullmoonhorror.com on August 23

Charlie sat down with me to discuss the response to the recently released David Allen masterpiece “The Primevals”, to talk about the inception of Pulp Noire and why he chose to direct all the films himself and also to share his greatest fear. Which I’m sure you'll find is so very Charles Band appropriate.

Let’s strap on our VR helmets and be weary of the ripper as Spill your guts welcomes back the one and only Charles Band!

There’s a reason we love to see our favourite monsters return time and time agin but recently its been a period of transition. Shy of the original master slasher Michael Myers, who’s reign of terror thankfully continues, many favourites have been benched or transitioned into the world of television like everyone’s favourite good guy doll.

So, the time was ripe to unleash some new ones.

Our guest today has been a part of crafting the way forward for two iconic horror heavies. In one as the writer of several of the franchises most adored entries and the other, a work of his own creation.

In doing so he has cemented his place as one of the contemporary masters of horror and in my estimation, one of its greatest filmmakers.

The two franchises I’m referring to are “Saw” and “The Collector” and the filmmaker is the masterful Marcus Dunstan.

I should note that the two “Collector” films are among my personal favourites. With taut, stylish, nail biting direction from Marcus and a pitch perfect performance by the films star, the indispensable Josh Stewart, “The Collector” films have become an audience favourite so I think I can safely say we’re all rather excited for the upcoming third film (more on that later).

Marcus has a new film titled “#AMFAD All my friends are dead” that is one of the most fun times you could have with this years crop of horror films. Equal parts terrifying, scathing and laugh out loud funny, it’s decidedly lighter brand of Marcus Dunstan film and yet also fits into his roster perfectly. Original and with a hell of an ending, well, horror fans are in for a serious ride with this one.

“#AMFAD” is in select theatres now and is available on streaming.

Marcus and I discuss the happy accident the got him his first writing gig on a Saw film (he wrote 4 of them), his commitment in creating “#AMFAD” to not sticking to the usual tropes of a film about social media obsessed characters, how “The Collector” films could be so grizzly but still have heart and oh yes, some details on the 3rd film.

Alright, let’s join the terrifying and twisted world of Jigsaw and the Collector with writer/director Marcus Dunston!

In 1978, horror legend George A. Romero created one of the most iconic films in the horror genre and a classic that defied genres altogether. His follow up to his mighty 1968 masterpiece “Night of the Living Dead”. The film, about a small band of survivors who take shelter in a shopping mall, while the outside world falls apart at the clawing hands of the living dead, was not only an audience and critical hit, it redefined the genre and its influence cannot be underestimated.

In this special episode of Spill your guts, we celebrate the 45th anniversary of George A. Romero’s seminal masterpiece, “Dawn of the Dead”.

Joining me to discuss the film is horror maestro and long time friend of Spill your guts, Chris Alexander. Chris is the former editor of Fangoria magazine, an author, filmmaker and all around genre spokesman. He’s also the perfect person for me to talk with about the film.

Both Chris and I were fortunate enough to have a friendship with George and we both had our own unique conversations with him about “Dawn” and his relationship to the film.

We discuss the films inception, the happy accidents that lead to some of the films most iconic moments, the challenges George faced with the production itself, the films incredibly multifaceted and damn near perfect script and why George Romero himself had a somewhat complicated relationship with the film. This and much, much more.

It’s difficult when discussing a film like “Dawn” not to retread when a movie has been analyzed and discussed as much as this but by taking a more holistic view of the film and because of our own relationships with the films creator, I feel even the most devout “Dawn” fans will find some ideas and insights here worth chewing on.

Okay folks, there’s no more room in hell so let’s get down to it and return to Monroeville Mall with Chris Alexander as we look back at George A. Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead”!

Rising to the height of its popularity in the 80’s with franchises like “Friday the 13th”, “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, “Halloween” and many others, the slasher genre has proven itself to be one of the most enduring sub-genres of horror.

Its popularity has of course ebbed and flowed with a resurgence in the 90’s thanks to the success of films like “Scream” and “I know what you did last summer” but the slasher genre has also seen more than its share of duds with filmmakers mistakingly believing that all that an audience expects from a slasher film is a killer in a mask and nubile flesh for him to dispatch.

It is the successful deconstruction of the slasher sub-genre in films like “Scream” and the less seen but equally clever “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon” that have allowed the slasher film to evolve past the tropes that had begun to hold it back.

One new film that embraces, innovates and captures the true spirit of the slasher film is “Deer Camp 86’” and in this episode we are joined by three of the films stars, Jay J. Bidwell, Brian Michael Raetz and Josh Dominguez.

“Deer Camp 86’” is available now on blu-ray and streaming but I recommend you grab the blu-ray from our friends over at Cinema 1 and listen for a discount promo code during the episode.

We sat down to talk about what makes Deer Camp 86’ stand out from the slasher crowd and how the film begins and feels like one kind of film but ends up becoming something else altogether. Why steps forward in inclusiveness are vital to the future of horror. The challenges of shooting on location and building a rapport in an ensemble cast and why the director chose to use a pseudonym for his billing on the film.

So, pack your mosquito repellent and throw on your camo and let’s visit “Deer Camp 86”!

We’re back! And we sure missed you. We took some time to retool the show and are bigger and better than ever. We are now working on all our editing and post sound with powerhouse studio, Audio Process. We’ve put a fresh coat of paint on the show with a new logo and more diverse kinds of content that will be coming soon. It’s sure good to be with you all again so strap in for a upgraded Spill your guts.

Our guest today is someone very special to me. A friend, an endless source of information on all things horror, endlessly funny and quirky and an inspiration. Sadly, in May, he tragically passed away at the age of 44. He and I recorded this interview around a year ago and because of different scheduling reasons, the episode had yet to drop.

My guest today is beloved genre historian, celebrated writer, creator of unique and probing special features for physical media releases and all around genre advocate as well as tremendous lover of animals.

Today I am joined by the incomparable Lee Gambin.

I'd also like to welcome another sponsor of the show, Cinema 1. Cinema 1 is my go to store for many years for all my physical media (of which I have too many and not enough). They have some of the most hard to find titles and are lovers of the genre as well as collectors themselves. Be sure to visit www.cinema1.ca to pick up the films Lee and I discuss in this episode. Create your account and use promo code "spillyourguts" to get 10% off your order.

Once again, welcome back to Kevin Lane's Spill your guts!

Our guest today is a virtuoso of the genre having worked as either the producer, star, production manager, second unit director, or assistant director (sometimes a combination of a few of these roles) on a panoply of iconic films including several movies with the “Godfather of Gore” Herschell Gordon Lewis, “American Nightmare”, “Terror Train”, “My Bloody Valentine”, “Humongous” and the cult classic sequels to “Prom Night” that turned Mary Lou into a horror anti-hero. These and many, MANY more.

We are joined by the “Wizard of Gore” himself, Ray Sager.

Ray is a master storyteller on the making of independent films. His early career began working with Herschel Gordon Lewis, who became his mentor. He also starred as Montag the Magnificent in the classic Lewis film “The Wizard of Gore”. Many projects later, Ray established himself as a producer during one of the most prolific eras in Canadian filmmaking. The mid 70’s to early 80’s saw an unprecedented amount of films being made due to hefty tax deductions for film investors and Ray produced a slew of them. Sometimes as many as 3 three features a year. Ray knows every trick of the trade.

He’s one of the most dedicated producers to work in horror and generous instructor for how to avoid the many pitfalls of independent filmmaking. This episode is a must listen for our indie filmmaker listeners.

Let’s pull back the curtain and learn about the magic of horror filmmaking with celebrated producer Ray Sager!