Tag Archives: Horrorthon

Music Video of the Day: Possum Kingdom by The Toadies (1994, dir by Thomas Mignone)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Originally, I thought this song was about possums.  Possums are wonderful creatures by the way, even if they do kind of smell bad.  They don’t get rabies, they eat tics and roaches, and they’re basically very shy and timid.  And they’re severely myopic!

Unfortunately, this song is not about Possums.  Instead, the song was named after Possum Kingdom Lake, which is a real lake down here in Texas.

For a while, I thought it was about a vampire.  Then I had my best friend Evelyn listen to it and she thought it was about a serial killer.  We were both wrong.  According to the lead singer of the Toadies, the song was actually about a ghost who was inviting someone to join him in the netherworld.

This video was shot in Dallas.  Woo hoo!  Overall, it’s a good song, though the “so help me, Jesus” stuff feels a bit forced.  And it’s a good video, full of atmosphere and menace.  It’s a perfect video for the second Friday the 13th of 2026!

Enjoy!

Scenes That I Love: Peter Fonda Takes The Trip

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today would have been Peter Fonda’s 86th birthday.

This scene is from Roger Corman’s 1967 film, The Trip. Corman dropped acid himself before filming Peter Fonda doing the same thing in this film. Regardless of how one views Corman’s cinematic recreation of Fonda’s experience with acid, The Trip is considered to be one of the first nuanced drug films. While it doesn’t endorse drug use, it also doesn’t descend into the hysterics of a film like Reefer Madness. Interestingly enough, the script was written by Jack Nicholson.

Here is Peter Fonda, exploring the city on LSD, in The Trip:

Scenes That I Love: The Pendulum Starts To Swing From The Pit and The Pendulum

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s scene that I love is from the 1961 Roger Corman-directed Edgar Allan Poe adaptation, The Pit and The Pendulum!

Not only is that pendulum nightmarish as Hell but check out that set design!  One can see that Corman definitely took some inspiration from the work being done in the UK by Hammer.  Watching this scene, it is easy to see why Corman devoted so much of the early 60s to directing Vincent Price in various Edgar Allan Poe adaptations.

Enjoy!

Scenes That I Love: John Nada Sees The Truth in They Live

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The brilliance of this scene is that it pretty much speaks for itself.  It doesn’t need to be overanalyzed.  It doesn’t need to be carefully explained.  It works because it captures what almost everyone has always suspected, even if they didn’t necessarily have the courage to say so aloud.

From John Carpenter’s 1988 film They Live:

Another Halloween Has Come and Gone

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Another Halloween has come and gone and another Horrorthon has come to a close.  We hope you have had a wonderful October and that the Thanksgiving month brings you much to be grateful for!

And remember, just because you didn’t see the Great Pumpkin this year, doesn’t mean that he won’t be there for you next October.  As always, Linus puts it best:

To all of our readers and from all of your friends at the Shattered Lens, thank you.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Freddy’s Nightmares 1.15 “School Daze”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing Freddy’s Nightmares, a horror anthology show which ran in syndication from 1988 to 1990. The entire series can be found on Tubi!

Earlier today, Robert Englund received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!  Let’s get this episode of Freddy’s Nightmares out of the way so that we can celebrate!

Episode 1.15 “School Daze”

(Dir by Michael Klein, originally aired on February 12th, 1989)

Stupid episode this week.

Two high school friends worry about their future.  One of them hallucinates all of the adult authority figures in his life trying to brainwash him.  The other keeps having visions of how much his life is going to suck if he doesn’t get a good score on his SATs.  The premise really isn’t that bad but, as so often with Freddy’s Nightmares, it appears that the writers didn’t really dig into it.  Instead, they just wrote a very shallow episode in which both stories relied on the same overused twist that seems to show up in every episode.  Hey, it was all just a dream!  The biggest compliment that I can give this episode is that the second story did manage to capture some of the anxiety that comes along with college testing.  Some teachers really do overboard with that whole “This will determine the rest of your life” spiel.  Seriously, blow off the tests, go to a party school, and make friends with someone has money.  That’s really all you have to do.

Instead of fixating on a bad episode of Freddy’s Nightmares, let’s watch Robert Englund get his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  This happened earlier today and, by most accounts, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.  Robert Englund is living proof that you don’t have to a bad guy to play a monster.  Congratulations, Mr. Englund!

A Blast From The Past: Vincent Price Reads The Raven

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Halloween’s coming to an end.  Actually, here in America, it’s come to an end everywhere except on the west coast.  What better way to bring our annual Horrorthon to a close than spending a few minutes with Vincent Price and the Raven?

Unfortunately, I don’t know exactly when this was filmed.  But no matter!  It’s Vincent Price reading Edgar Allen Poe!

Enjoy!

Horror On TV: Highway to Heaven 2.5 “The Devil and Jonathan Smith” (dir by Michael Landon)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

On this, the final day of our annual Horrorthon, we offer you a final Horror on TV entry.

In this episode of Highway to Heaven, angel Jonathan Smith (Michael Landon) tries to defeat the devil for the soul of his friend Mark (Victor French).  This episode, a true Halloween episode, originally aired on October 30th, 1985, and it features guest turns from Anthony Zerbe and the great Michael Berryman.

We hope you have had a happy Halloween!

A Scene That I Love For Halloween: The Rules of Trick-Or-Treating From Curb Your Enthusiasm

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

We did not get many trick-or-treaters tonight but the ones that did show up were all wearing costumes and were all age-appropriate.  When it comes to giving out candy, I follow the rules set out by Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Remember: no costumes = no candy!

Here is Dracula, presented by Orson Welles and The Mercury Theater!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Did you know that in 1938, the same year that they horrified America with their production of The War Of The Worlds, Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater did a radio version of Dracula?

Check out this amazing cast list:

Orson Welles – Dracula/Dr. Arthur Seward
George Coulouris- Jonathan Harker
Ray Collins – Russian Captain
Karl Swenson – The Mate
Elizabeth Fuller – Lucy Westenra
Martin Gabel – Professor Van Helsing
Agnes Moorehead – Mina Harker

Coulouris, Collins, and Moorehead would, of course, all go one to appear with Orson Welles in Citizen Kane.

And now, we are proud to present, for your listening pleasure …. DRACULA!