This Week in Horror History for April 27–May 3 dives into a packed week of horror movie history, horror release date anniversaries, cult horror films, monster movies, vampire cinema, Stephen King adaptations, teen witch horror, found-footage horror, fake true crime, and killer-plant sci-fi horror — from Godzilla, King of the Monsters!(1956), The Hunger (1983), Creepshow 2 (1987), and The Craft (1996) to this week’s Deep-Cut Spotlight, The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007). If you love classic horror movies, ’80s horror, ’90s horror, gothic vampire films, anthology horror, cult classics, scary movie anniversaries, horror trivia, and hidden horror gems worth revisiting, this episode is built for you.
Inside this episode:
April 27, 1956 — Godzilla, King of the Monsters!: the American cut that helped turn Japan’s atomic monster into a worldwide horror icon, reshaping Gojira for U.S. audiences and introducing countless viewers to Godzilla’s radioactive roar, city-smashing spectacle, and nuclear-age creature-feature terror.
Where to watch (U.S., this week): Criterion Channel and Cinemax channels; rentable on Apple TV.
April 29, 1983 — The Hunger: Tony Scott’s stylish vampire cult film, starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon in a cold, glamorous nightmare about immortality, obsession, desire, aging, and the terrible fine print of living forever.
Where to watch (U.S., this week): Tubi and Hoopla; rentable on Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.
May 1, 1987 — Creepshow 2: Stephen King and George Romero return to EC Comics-style anthology horror with “Old Chief Wood’nhead,” “The Raft,” and “The Hitchhiker,” delivering revenge horror, lake terror, roadside dread, comic-book punishment, and one of the nastiest killer-blob sequences of the decade.
Where to watch (U.S., this week): Prime Video, Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel, Roku Channel, Pluto TV, and Prime Video Free with Ads; rentable on Amazon, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.
May 3, 1996 — The Craft: the definitive ’90s teen witch horror classic, starring Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, and Rachel True, turning pain, power, outsider identity, high school revenge, black-lipstick rebellion, and occult coming-of-age horror into one of the most enduring cult favorites of the decade.
Where to watch (U.S., this week): rentable on Amazon Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and Plex.
Deep-Cut Spotlight — April 27, 2007: The Poughkeepsie Tapes: a fake true-crime found-footage nightmare that premiered at Tribeca, vanished into distribution limbo, leaked into horror fandom, and built its reputation like a cursed tape passed hand to hand. If you’re fascinated by disturbing horror movies, mockumentary horror, serial-killer fiction, faux-documentary dread, and movies that feel like evidence you were never supposed to see, this one still has a nasty little legend around it.
Where to watch (U.S., this week): Prime Video; free with ads on Tubi and the Roku Channel.
Birthday Roll: Lisa Wilcox, Carolyn Jones, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Kirsten Dunst.
Weekly Recommendation — The Day of the Triffids (1963): a pulpy sci-fi horror killer-plant apocalypse where spring turns predatory, a meteor shower blinds much of humanity, and the natural world starts moving in for the kill. It’s perfect for fans of classic creature features, British apocalypse horror, killer plants, survival sci-fi, and vintage horror oddities.
Where to watch (U.S., this week): Tubi, Roku Channel, and Plex.
From Godzilla’s radioactive monster-movie legacy and The Hunger’s gothic vampire glamour to Creepshow 2’s Stephen King anthology horror, The Craft’s teen witch cult status, The Poughkeepsie Tapes’ found-footage true-crime dread, and The Day of the Triffids’ killer-plant apocalypse, this episode tracks how one week between April and May delivered a wildly varied run of horror history. Follow the Weekly Spooky feed for more horror podcasts, scary stories, horror movie discussion, cult horror recommendations, spooky deep dives, release date anniversaries, horror trivia, and genre history every week.
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