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The Horror Double Bill

The Horror Double Bill

Written by: Craig Johnson
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Welcome to The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we pair two movies to create something far greater than the sum of their parts.


Expect discussions on shared themes, directors. writers and atmosphere, as we explore what the films say about the time they were made and our fears in the present; including social history, folklore, censorship, and a love of horror in all its forms.


New episodes every Sunday.


📸 @thehorrordoublebill

📧 thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com


© 2026 The Horror Double Bill
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Episodes
  • Episode 38: The Spiral Staircase (1946) & Blood & Black Lace (1964)
    Feb 22 2026

    Welcome to episode 38 of The Horror Double Bill, the podcast where each week we pair two movies to create something greater than the sum of their parts

    This week we are returning to the world of the 1940s horror noir and the Italian giallo, with two highly influential movies that would shape some of the tropes that we now see as standard in many films

    First up, we have The Spiral Staircase from 1946 directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Dorothy Maguire, Ethel Barrymore, George Brent, and Kent Smith

    Then we follow this with Six Women for the Killer, also known as Blood and Black Lace from 1964 and director Mario Bava. This stars Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Ariana Gorini and Thomas Reiner.

    Recommendations

    The Killers: https://youtu.be/qN8CKO-_th8?si=bSjwl02I927bTgmG

    The Girl Who Knew Too Much: https://youtu.be/kHolwKaXHHw?si=uiiNHwREjIZaWhIn

    The Whip & The Body (1963)

    Black Sabbath (1963)

    References

    The File on Robert Siodmak by Joseph Greco

    American Gothic Six Decades of Classic Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby

    https://metrograph.com/the-strange-affair-of-robert-siodmak

    https://offscreen.com/view/siodmak-spiral-staircase

    https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/dec/21/christmas-holiday-my-favourite-christmas-film-gene-kelly-robert-siodmak

    https://www.dasmagazin.de/magazin-historie/

    https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/siodmak

    https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd11861472X.html#ndbcontent

    https://abergavennylocalhistorysociety.org.uk/gallery/Ethel%20Lina%20White.pdf

    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/obituaries/ethel-lina-white-overlooked.html

    The Haunted World of Mario Bava by Troy Howarth

    So Deadly So Perverse by Troy Howarth

    Blood and black Lace by Roberto Cuti (Devils Advocates Series).

    Special features and interviews on the blu ray release of the film from Arrow Video

    https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-mario-bava

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Bava

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spiral_Staircase_(1946_film)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Siodmak

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_and_Black_Lace

    Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

    email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

    youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

    artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

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    1 hr and 40 mins
  • Episode 37: The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974) & When Evil Lurks (2023)
    Feb 15 2026

    Welcome to episode 37 of the Horror Double Bill the podcast where each week we pair two movies to create something greater than the sum of their parts

    First up we have The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue from 1974 and director Jorge Grau, starring Ray Lovelock, Cristina Galbo and Arthur Kennedy

    We follow this with When Evil Lurks from 2023 and director Demian Rugna, starring Ezequiel Rodriguez, Demian Salomon, Silvina Sabater, and Luis Ziembrowski.

    Recommendations:

    Tombs of the Blind Dead (Armondo de Ossario 1972)

    Blood Ceremony (1973 Jorge Grau):

    https://youtu.be/E7rgJcNuPaU?si=uUKywANJNYT-oNip

    Queens of Evil (1970) - available on TUBI

    Tienen Miedo (2002, Demian Rugna):

    https://youtu.be/IVqG_zGL5sM?si=lRuOlGnWLriIGjLU

    Terrified (2017 Demian Rugna)

    References & Sources

    “Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema” by Jamie Russell

    "Nightmare Movies" by Kim Newman

    "Spanish Horror Film" by Antonio Lazzaro Reboll

    "Jorge Grau: Catalonia’s Cult Film King" from the Synapse blu ray special edition

    https://youtu.be/SRgHIPT0_Y4?si=VCvOf5X6KAf78BqQ

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Lovelock_(actor)demianrugna.com

    When Evil Lurks Second Sight 4K special edition

    https://letterboxd.com/horrorville/story/satanic-hispanics-director-demian-rugna-on/

    https://thehollywoodnews.com/2025/07/28/demian-rugna-discusses-when-evil-lurks/

    https://www.polygon.com/23935228/when-evil-lurks-director-interview-demian-rugna-meaning/

    https://www.goreinthestore.uk/interviews/demian-rugna#:~:text=DEMI%C3%81N%20RUGNA%20%2D%20The%20pesticide%20scandal,the%20pesticide%20was%20the%20demon.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentalism

    https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/agrochemicals-and-industrial-waste-threaten-argentinas-gran-chaco/

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2000/jul/13/uknews#:~:text=The%20issue%20of%20lead%20in,to%20abolish%20lead%20in%20petrol.

    https://filmhounds.co.uk/2025/07/when-evil-lurks-demian-rugna-second-sight-interview/

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giannetto_De_Rossi

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Evil_Lurks

    https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27373134

    Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

    email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

    youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

    artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

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    1 hr and 39 mins
  • Episode 36: Eyes Without a Face (1960) & Blood From The Mummy's Tomb (1971)
    Feb 8 2026

    Welcome to episode 36 of The Horror Double Bill the podcast where each week we pair two movies to create something greater than the sum of their parts

    First up we have Eyes Without a Face (1960) directed by George Franju, starring Pierre Brasseur, Edith Scob & Alida Valli.

    Then we jump forward to Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971) directed by Seth Holt, starring Valerie Leon, Andrew Keir and James Villers

    Recommendations

    Tales From the Darkside – The Movie (1990)

    Gritos en la Noche (aka The Awful Dr Orloff) (1962)

    Lot No 249 (BBC TV 2023)

    The Lair of the White Worm (1988)

    A Trip to The Moon: https://youtu.be/ZNAHcMMOHE8?si=2JAs0RNZGDFN3sJK

    The Impossible Voyage: https://youtu.be/4ZVgCTQFKXo?si=FTwbh7xCDBL4exRg

    Valerie Leon Hai Karate advert:

    https://youtu.be/B2qQlsFN9ck?si=ABhD1I0wIAMvVzMI

    Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb

    The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker (the complete version published by Seven Treasures Publications)

    Little Shoppe of Horrors Magazine issue 24

    Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb Featurette from the Studio Canal bluray release

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_Stoker

    https://www.gold.ac.uk/calendar/?id=13400#:~:text=Bram%20Stoker%2C%20born%20in%20Dublin,of%20%E2%80%9Can%20immense%20dog%E2%80%9D.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Wilde

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jewel_of_Seven_Stars

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_from_the_Mummy%27s_Tomb

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fiction_about_mummies

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeology_of_ancient_Egypt

    https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/74/article/445326

    http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/572065/index.html

    https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3673210/blood-mummys-tomb-one-hammers-last-great-monster-movies-hammer-factory/

    Eyes Without a Face

    https://www.cinematheque.fr/article/1777.html

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Franju

    https://online.ucpress.edu/fq/article-abstract/35/2/31/39712/Mystery-and-Melodrama-A-Conversation-with-Georges?redirectedFrom=fulltext

    https://www.deepfocusreview.com/definitives/eyes-without-a-face/#:~:text=But%20producer%20Jules%20Borkon%20saw,many%20comparisons%20to%20Alfred%20Hitchcock.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_M%C3%A9li%C3%A8s


    Instagram: @thehorrordoublebill

    email: thehorrordoublebill@gmail.com

    youtube: @thehorrordoublebill

    artwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)

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    1 hr and 44 mins
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