4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.
Today’s edition of 4 Shots from 4 Films is dedicated to one of the most underrated horror directors around, Dan Curtis!
It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Dan Curtis Films
House of Dark Shadows (1970, dir by Dan Curtis, DP: Arthur Ornitz)
The Norliss Tapes (1973, dir by Dan Curtis, DP: Ben Colman)
Trilogy of Terror (1975, dir by Dan Curtis. DP: Paul Lohmann)
Burnt Offerings (1976, dir by Dan Curtis, DP: Jacques R. Marquette)
For the first time in years, I don’t have a team in the MLB post-season.
My beloved Rangers won their first World Series last year but they didn’t even make the playoffs this year. I wasn’t happy about having to support the Astros but, since they were the only Texas team left, I cheered for them until they were eliminated in the Wild Card.
With the League Championships starting later today, there are four teams left. Playing in the ALCS will be the Yankees and the Indians Guardians. Meanwhile, the Dodgers and the Mets will be competing for the National League Championship and the right to move on to the World Series.
I’ve given it a lot of thought and, out of those four, I’ll be cheering for the Guardians. I thought it was a largely performative and dumb move for Cleveland to change their team’s name but, of all four teams left, the Indians-turned-Guardians have gone the longest without a World Series win. The last time Cleveland won the World Series was in 1948! For Cleveland to finally win another World Series after a 76-year draught would be a great baseball story. Who knows? If the Guardians win, maybe it will cause all the other teams that have struggled to make it to or win the post-season to change their names too.
Good luck to all four teams in the Championship Series!
Today’s Horror on the Lens is The Norliss Tapes, a 1973 made-for-TV movie that was also a pilot for a television series that, unfortunately, was never put into production.
Reporter David Norliss (Roy Thinnes) has disappeared. His friend and publisher, Stanford Evans (Don Porter), listens to the tapes that Norliss recorded before vanishing. (Stanford Evans, it must be said, is a great name for an editor.) Each tape details yet another paranormal investigation. (Presumably, had the series been picked up, each tape would have been a different episode.) The first tape tells how Norliss investigated the mysterious death of an artist who apparently returned from the grave.
For a made-for-TV movie, The Norliss Tapes is pretty good. It’s full of atmosphere and features a genuinely menaching yellow-eyed zombie monster. The film was directed by Dan Curtis, who was responsible for several made-for-TV horror films and who also created the deathless TV show, Dark Shadows. Curtis also directed a few feature films. Burnt Offerings,for instance, will be forever beloved for its scene of annoying little Lee Montgomery getting crushed by a chimney. If you ever get a chance to listen to the director’s commentary that Dan Curtis recorded for the Burnt Offerings DVD release, you must do so. Curtis comes across as the crankiest man on the planet and it’s actually kind of fascinating to listen to. His irritation when Karen Black keeps asking him if he knows the name of the actor who played the ghostly chauffeur is truly an amazing thing to here. (For the record, the actor’s name was Anthony James, he also had important supporting roles in two best picture winners — In The Heat of the Night and Unforgiven — and yes, he was one of the best things about Burnt Offerings. Karen Black knew what she was talking about.)
But back to The Norliss Tapes!
Admittedly, this is not the first Halloween in which I’ve shared The Norliss Tapes with our readers. Back in both 2015 and 2021, The Norliss Tapes was one of our “horrors on the lens.” Unfortunately, there’s only so many good quality, public domain horror films available on YouTube so, occasionally, a movie is going to show up more than once over the years. But, as long as it’s good film, who cares?
Since the 10th of October was the 100th anniversary of the birth of director Edward D. Wood, Jr., it seems appropriate to dedicate this week’s edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse Trailers to him!
Below …. can you handle six trailers for six Ed Wood films!?
Technically, this isn’t a Halloween or a horror video, unless you live in California and you really hate the rain. But the foggy imagery and the deserted streets and the nighttime cinematography are definitely appropriate for the season.
Through the Shattered Lens 