For today’s horror on the Lens we have a made-for-TV movie that was produced and directed by Dan Curtis.
Trilogy of Terror, which aired in 1975, is an anthology film, featuring three segments that were each based on a short story from Richard Matheson. What makes this particular film special is that each segment features Karen Black playing a radically different character from the previous segment. The film really is a showcase for this underrated actress, though Black herself later said that the film ruined her career because it typecast her as a horror actress.
The third segment is the one that gets all the attention. That’s the one with the killer doll. I like all of the segments, though. The first one is often considered to be the weakest but anyone who has ever been through a similar situation will appreciate it as tale of revenge. The second segment has a playful vibe that I liked. And yes, the third segment is genuinely frightening.
Today’s song of the day is Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Barry Adamson.
This instrumental work appeared on the soundtrack for David Lynch’s 1997 film, Lost Highway, and its one of my favorite pieces of music. It’s amongst the songs that I tend to play whenever I’m dealing with writer’s block or if I just need an extra boost of energy to finish up a project. This song also seems like the perfect way to kick off the second half of October and our annual horrorthon!
I also have to say that the video below, which was put together by Jessie Essex, is amazingly cool.
This video definitely has a decadent Halloween sort of feel to it. One gets the feeling that it’s actually about an ancient pagan priestess come back to life, to the appreciation of her adoring fans.
A sincere and heartfelt faith-based film that works largely due to a sensitive and likable performance from Joey Lawrence?
Well, stranger things have happened.
2022’s Pardoned By Grace tells the story of Scott Highberger (portrayed by Joey Lawrence). Scott is a screw-up. From the first time we see him until roughly until about an hour into this film, Scott is always doing something wrong. He starts out the film as a small town drug addict and dealer and, throughout the course of Pardoned By Grace, he is consistently tempted to retuning to that lifestyle. He’s someone who has spent his entire life being told that he’s never going to amount to anything and that he’s destined to be a failure so it kind of makes sense that he wouldn’t be worried too much about following the laws of conventional society.
The film follows Scott as he goes in and out of prison. The warden, the guards, and even the other prisoners all know that Scott is capable of being more than just a convict but Scott himself cannot find the faith to keep from getting into trouble. Whenever he’s released, he messes up and he’s sent back to jail. At one point, he even gets a good job and he starts making a lot of money and that’s all it takes for him to start using cocaine again.
Finally, after having alienated every member of his family and committed one too many crimes, Scott finds himself in a church, where he listens to a sermon from Pastor Dave (Michael W. Smith). Dave instinctively hires Scott to handle odd jobs at the church. While Scott cleans up the place and stacks chair and tries to live an honest life, Dave makes plans for his prison ministry. Scott is excited when he’s invited to take part in the ministry but then he learns that he won’t be allowed to enter any prisons to preach because he still has a years-old warrant out for his arrest. Scott heads to Florida, where he turns himself into the police, even though he knows that, as a repeat offender, he is looking at a potential life sentence as a result.
Pardoned by Grace works surprisingly well. Joey Lawrence is not exactly the first person who comes to mind when you think of an actor with tremendous dramatic range but he is still likable and earnest as Scott, a man who is determined to atone for his past mistakes and to take responsibility for his actions, even if it means losing his freedom. If anything, Lawrence’s limited range actually makes him a good pick for Scott, who is initially portrayed as being someone who does whatever he feels has to be done in the moment with very little consideration given to what his actions could mean in the future. As well, one doesn’t have to be religious to appreciate the film’s portrait of a justice system that is so obsessed with punishment that it’s forgotten that one of the purposes of prison is rehabilitation. Scott is not someone who wants to be a criminal but it’s not prison that helps him to move on from his old ways. Instead, it’s the faith of someone who is willing to give him a second chance.
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Sunday, I will be reviewing the Canadian series, Degrassi Junior High, which aired on CBC and PBS from 1987 to 1989! The series can be streamed on YouTube!
This week, Degrassi goes there again!
Episode 3.12 “Taking Off: Part Two”
(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on February 20th, 1989)
When last we checked in with the students at Degrassi Junior High, Shane was missing and Wheels, having been sexually assaulted by a man who picked him up while he was hitchhiking, was walking towards Port Hope in search of his biological father.
Shane is discovered underneath a bridge. As the police tell his friend Luke, it appears that Shane either jumped or he fell. Shane is alive, but he’s in a coma and there’s no guarantee that he’s going to survive. When asked whether or not Shane had done any drugs at the Gourmet Scum concert, Luke finally admits that Shane did drop acid right before the show began.
As for Wheels, he manages to make it to Port Hope and he even finds the cheap hotel where his father, Mike (Dave James), is playing with his band. Wheels imagines knocking on the hotel room door and his father happily greeting him and inviting him to join the band. Instead, when Wheels knocks on the door, Mike is shocked and not particularly happy to see him. Though Mike forces Wheels to call his grandmother and let her know that he’s okay, Mike does agree to let Wheels spend the day at the hotel. Mike then promptly abandons Wheels.
When Mike eventually returns, a few things become obvious.
First off, Mike didn’t even know that Wheels’s adoptive parents had died.
Secondly, Mike doesn’t want anything to do with his biological son.
Third, Mike’s new girlfriend is pregnant and, as she explains it, they can’t afford to have Wheels around.
I mean, goddamn! Poor Wheels! First, he gets sexually assaulted while hitchhiking. Then, his father rejects him. Wheels, after yelling at his father for abandoning him, is prepared to run away again but suddenly, his grandmother shows up. She was finally able to convince Joey to tell her where Wheels had run of to and she shows up to take him home. Wheels is adamant that he’s going to run away again but when his grandmother starts to cry and calls him out for being a “selfish, selfish boy,” Wheels reconsiders.
At the end of the episode, Shane is still in his coma and it’s still up in the air whether he accidentally fell or if he was trying to commit suicide when he plunged from that bridge. Wheels, however, returns to school and is greeted by Joey and Snake. Joey apologizes for telling Wheels’s grandmother about Port Hope but Wheels says it’s okay. He’s ready to give school another try. Everyone smiles as the end credits roll on a well-acted and classic episode of Degrassi Junior High.
YAY! It’s a happy ending, as long as you haven’t seen Degrassi: The Next Generation. If you have seen The Next Generation, you know that Wheels has alcoholism and prison in his future. And, for that matter, Shane is going to end up spending the rest of his life in an institution. So, it’s not really that happy of an ending.
If tonight’s episode of One Step Beyond seems familiar, that’s because it’s a remake of a story that was originally filmed as an episode of The Veil.
This time, instead of witnessing a murder occurring in another apartment, it’s a suicide that is witnessed by artist Anthony March (Michael Higgins). Of course, when he investigates, he discovers that the apartment in empty. Is Anthony hallucinating or has he gone one step beyond and is he seeing the future? Watch to find out!
By the way, that’s future Oscar winner Louise Fletcher playing Anthony’s model.
Creator: AnimeAMVnightcore (As always, if you enjoyed this video, we encourage you to subscribe to the creator’s channel and give them lots of likes and nice comments)
A man is living every writer’s dream. He has quit his day job and is now working on his book that he thinks will prove the existence of the paranormal. However, while doing research, the man summons an actual ghost that appears to be determined to make his life a living Hell.
Ghostbox, which I watched on Pluto earlier today, was obviously made for a very low-budget and it’s cast is full of unknowns. The story unfolds slowly and those looking for sudden shocks and expensive horror effects will want to look elsewhere. Ghostbox attempts to be more of a mood piece than a typical scream-out-loud horror movie. When taken on its own terms, though, Ghostbox isn’t bad. It does a good job of setting the mood and the film’s plot actually does pay off at the end. It’s a simple ghost story that is barely over an hour long. Though it takes some getting used to, I liked the DIY feel of the film and even the slow pace felt appropriate for the story that the movie was telling. Your mileage may vary.
