Running argument among the Flop House community and hosts that erupts every third episode or so.
Repeatedly since Episode 53: Hannah Montana: The Movie, host Stuart Wellington has insisted that a "ding-dong" is ripped off during the course of his oft-recommended movie Castle Freak. He cites it as a prime reason to watch the film and as an attraction comparable to the classic scene in The Invisible Maniac in which a guy gets choked with a submarine sandwich.
However, in the Listener Mail segment of Episode 92: Country Strong, a listener reported that he had recently watched Castle Freak, and observed that the titular freak/castle resident appears to be missing his ding-dong, but never actually rips it off on-screen.
Stuart blamed this on the listener's accidental viewing of an R-rated copy of the film, which the listener didn't bother to follow up on. There is a scene in which the titular freak rips off his own thumb to escape some handcuffs, or shackles, or something, and it maybe kind of looks like a ding dong, because he is all messed up.
In Episode 108: Passion Play, Dan McCoy revealed that he had watched the film and verified that there was no on-screen ding-dong ripping. He had also done additional research into the rare unrated edition of the film and found no evidence of excised ding-dong related content.
Despite this new information coming to light, Stuart continues to recommend Castle Freak based solely on its inclusion of a violent penectomy rather than focusing on its many other charms (such as Jeffrey Combs' chilling performance...or...the castle?).
Elliott appears to have no opinion either way on the matter.
Testimony[]
- Episode 92: Country Strong @42:10
- Episode 108: Passion Play
- Episode 119: The Odd Life of Timothy Green @39:05
- Episode 121: The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure @45:35
- Episode 125: Smiley @3:20
- Episode 127: Safe Haven @48:15
- Episode 137: The Purge @44:55, 46:35
- Episode 142: Getaway @57:50
- Episode 144: Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor @44:45
- Episode 161: A Talking Cat!?! @59:05
- Episode 195: The Golden Child @1:27:05
- Episode 228: Collateral Beauty @58:55
- Episode 282: Castle Freak @40:05, @52:45, @55:15, @1:00:50, @1:12:30, @1:13:40, @1:23:00
- Episode 363: Being the Ricardos @1:33:35
- Episode 376: Morbius @21:50
- Episode 406: Ghoulies @02:10
Mentioned In[]
- Episode 161: A Talking Cat!?!
- Episode 192: Chappie @1:06:40
- Bonus Episode 3 @31:35, 41:40
Films Featuring Penis Mutilation[]
- Castration Anxiety: Genital Mutilation In Film
- Stitches (2012) by Conor McMahon
Ding-Dong Ripping in Real Life[]
- Threatened fertility and gonadal function after a polytraumatic, life-threatening injury (with surgical photos)
- A 24-year-old man was working on a farm loading bails of manure into the manure spreader when a coworker started the machine for "just a second" to test the motor. The patient became entangled in the spreader mechanism, which created the injury.