profile pic ian.jpg

Welcome to Kicking the Seat!

Ian Simmons launched Kicking the Seat in 2009, one week after seeing Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia. His wife proposed blogging as a healthier outlet for his anger than red-faced, twenty-minute tirades (Ian is no longer allowed to drive home from the movies).

The Kicking the Seat Podcast followed three years later and, despite its “undiscovered gem” status, Ian thoroughly enjoys hosting film critic discussions, creating themed shows, and interviewing such luminaries as Gaspar Noé, Rachel Brosnahan, Amy Seimetz, and Richard Dreyfuss.

Ian is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. He also has a family, a day job, and conflicted feelings about referring to himself in the third person.

Ep658: Hammerland: DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966)

Ep658: Hammerland: DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966)

Ian Simmons

What do you get when you cross a vampire movie with a slasher film? In the case of Terence Fisher's 1966 Dracula: Prince of Darkness, the result is a uniquely entertaining mash-up of both genres' best qualities!

Ten years after the events of Horror of Dracula, four British tourists journey into a forbidden part of the German countryside. Their arrival sets the stage for Dracula's return, and a series of stalk-and-slash encounters that may have you thinking more about Friday the 13th than Fright Night.

Ian and Aaron talk about the film's possible influences; the magnificence of Andrew Keir as a substitute for Peter Cushing; and the film's absolutely bonkers take on vampire lore!

"Hammerland" is our monthly look at the 1950s-1970s Hammer Studios horror films featuring Dracula and Frankenstein.

Show Links:

Ep659: A Rainy Day at The Oscars

Ep659: A Rainy Day at The Oscars
Ep657: Late Screening: DEFENDING YOUR LIFE

Ep657: Late Screening: DEFENDING YOUR LIFE