Wheel of Film!

Idle Hands

Alright, today we’re spinning the wheel and landing on one of the weirdest, horniest, most stoner-coded horror comedies of the late ‘90s… Idle Hands. Devon Sawa plays Anton, a burnout teen whose right hand gets possessed by a demonic force and starts murdering people—casually, efficiently, and with zero regard for Anton’s general laziness. After accidentally killing his own friends (who come back as very chill zombies), Anton has to stop his evil hand before it goes on a full killing spree… all while trying to smoke weed, watch TV, and maybe hook up with the girl next door. Music brought to you by Dixon Hill Beats [https://www.dixonhillbeats.com/]

Showgirls

Welcome back to Wheel of Film, the podcast where we spin the wheel, hit play, and ask the important questions—like: how did a movie this insane get made by this many talented people? Today we’re talking about Showgirls, the most expensive NC-17 movie ever made, a film that was marketed like prestige trash, received like a cultural crime scene, and then somehow circled all the way back around to becoming a camp classic. Here’s your 30-second plot summary: Nomi Malone is a drifter with a mystery past, a switchblade attitude, and absolutely zero chill, who blows into Las Vegas determined to dance her way to the top. She starts out grinding at a strip club, claws her way into the chorus line of a big casino show, and then goes full social assassin trying to take the crown from the reigning goddess of the Vegas stage. It’s ambition, betrayal, sex, rhinestones, and pool thrashing—all turned up to a level the human body was not designed to sustain. Music brought to you by Dixon Hill Beats [https://www.dixonhillbeats.com/]

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

This week on Wheel of Film, we’re stepping into one of the most influential martial arts films of all time… Released in 1978 and directed by Lau Kar-leung, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin follows the journey of a young man named Liu Yude—played by Gordon Liu—who escapes the ظلم of the Manchu government after his village is destroyed. Seeking revenge and justice, he enters the legendary Shaolin Temple, where he endures grueling training across 35 chambers, each designed to test and refine a different aspect of martial arts mastery. But this isn’t just about revenge—it’s about transformation. Through discipline, failure, and perseverance, Liu evolves into San Te, a Shaolin monk who ultimately creates the revolutionary 36th chamber—a place where martial arts can be taught to the common people Music brought to you by Dixon Hill Beats [https://www.dixonhillbeats.com/]

The Barbarians

Today on Wheel of Film, we’re diving into The Barbarians, the 1987 sword-and-sorcery cult oddity directed by Ruggero Deodato and starring bodybuilding twins Peter and David Paul—better known as the Barbarian Brothers. The movie follows twin brothers Kutchek and Gore, who go from enslaved performers to revenge-fueled warriors after a ruthless tyrant destroys their family and terrorizes their world. It’s loud, ridiculous, extremely Cannon Films, and exactly the kind of movie that feels like it was forged in the leftover fire of the Conan craze. The film runs a tight 87 minutes, was shot in Rome and the Abruzzo Mountains, and only made about $800,000 at the box office—but over time it’s become a real cult watch for fans of campy fantasy, overbuilt heroes, and gloriously unhinged ‘80s genre filmmaking. Peter and David Paul were even nominated for a Razzie for Worst New Star, which honestly feels pretty on-brand for the whole experience. Music brought to you by Dixon Hill Beats [https://www.dixonhillbeats.com/]

Robocop

This week the wheel takes us to 1987’s RoboCop — Paul Verhoeven’s ultra-violent, darkly satirical sci-fi action classic that somehow manages to be both a brutal action movie and a razor-sharp critique of corporate America. Set in a dystopian near-future Detroit where crime is out of control, the powerful mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract to privatize the police force. After idealistic officer Alex Murphy is brutally murdered by a gang of criminals, OCP resurrects him as RoboCop — a heavily armed, cybernetic law-enforcement machine programmed to serve the public trust, protect the innocent, and uphold the law. But fragments of Murphy’s humanity begin to surface, and as RoboCop tracks down the gang that killed him, he also uncovers a massive corporate conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of OCP. Music brought to you by Dixon Hill Beats [https://www.dixonhillbeats.com/]