This song, which Ozzy has said is actually about a serial killer, was the title track from Osbourne’s 6th solo album. The video was directed by Ralph Ziman, who also did videos for Vanessa Williams, Toni Braxton, Alice Cooper, L.A. Gun, and Faith No More.
The little girl at the end of the video is played by Ozzy Osbourne’s daughter, Kelly.
Enjoy!
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!
This week, a future Oscar winner shows up in Springwood.
Episode 1.14 “Black Tickets”
(Dir by George Kaczender, originally aired on February 5th, 1989)
Brad Pitt appears in this week’s episode, playing Rick. Rick is a rebellious teenager who elopes with his girlfriend, Miranda (Kerry Wall). Even on a low-budget show like this, Pitt’s screen presence was undeniable. From the minute he shows up onscreen, it’s impossible to look away from him. He had that movie star charisma from the start. It’s a shame that the episode itself isn’t that good.
It’s a typical Freddy’s Nightmares scenario. The first 20 minutes feature Rick having an extended dream sequence after he gets hit by a car. Rick apparently dreams about staying at a creepy hotel with Miranda and then being forced to kill two cops that show up and attempt to arrest him. But, at the end of the story, he sees himself lying in the middle of the road and realizes that everything that has happened since he got hit by the car has only been happening in his head.
The second 20 minutes features Miranda married to Rick. Rick has no settled down but Miranda is worried that she might be pregnant. While she waits for the results of her pregnancy test, she sees herself trapped in the house as a mother while Rick goes from being a rebel to being a police officer. Finally, Miranda snaps out of her dream and discovers that she’s not pregnant. She jumps for joy on her bed but then she slips, hits her head, and ends up with the mind of a child.
This was a pretty bland episode, even with Brad Pitt in the cast. The main problem was that it was all so predictable. The dreams were obviously dreams so there wasn’t really any suspense or tension while they were playing out. Freddy’s Nightmares used the “Its all just a dream” format so often that, by this point in the first season, it had gotten fairly boring. That was certainly the case here.
For tonight’s horror on television, we have 1973’s The Night Strangler.
This is the sequel to The Night Stalker and it features journalist Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) in Seattle. (After all the stuff that happened during the previous movie, Kolchak was kicked out of Las Vegas.) When Kolchak investigates yet another series of murders, he discovers that paranormal murders don’t just occur in Las Vegas and aren’t just committed by vampires.
I actually prefer this movie to The Night Stalker. The Night Strangler features a truly creepy villain, as well as a trip down to an “underground city.” It’s full of ominous atmosphere and, as always, Darren McGavin is a lot of fun to watch in the role in Kolchak.
Enjoy!
In Toy Story of Terror!, Bonnie (voice of Emily Hahn) is going on a Halloween road trip to visit her grandmother. When the car gets a flat, Bonnie and her mother have to spend the night in a creepy hotel. Bonnie has brought aome of her toys with her –Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Trixie (Kristen Schaal), and Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton). Mr. Pricklepants says that the motel feels like the setting of a horror story and he’s right! Mr. Potato Head vanishes, leaving behind only his arm. While the toys search for him, they are captured one-by-one by an iguana. The owner of hotel (Stephen Tobolowsky) is stealing his guests’ toys and selling them online.
Toy Story of Terror! introduces some other toys, all of whom have been captured and imprisoned in a glass case. Combat Carl (Carl Weathers) was my favorite but I also have a soft spot for Old Timer (Christian Romano), the alarm clock who spoke like an old man. I like the iguana too. He didn’t know he was being bad.
What makes Toy Story of Terror! so special is that Jessie has to conquer her fear of being in a box to rescue Woody and the other toys. Everyone is scared of something, even brave and confident Jessie. Like Jessie, I get claustrophobic. I’m embarrassed to admit it but I do like to a keep a nightlight on when I’m sleeping. I don’t like the idea of waking up and not being able to see what’s in front of me. Toy Story of Terror! isn’t just about toys. It’s also about how it’s okay to scared because, deep down, we all have the strength to conquer our fears. Jessie proves it when she hides in a box so she can save Woody. Maybe I’ll even turn off the nightlight tonight. Nah, I don’t think so.
Lisa and I have watched Toy Story of Terror! every year since it first aired in 2013. Every time I see it, it makes me smile and it makes me feel like there’s nothing that I can’t do. I don’t know if they’re going to broadcast the special on TV this year. There really haven’t been any special Halloween shows yet, though there’s still another week to go. If they don’t air, it’ll be a shame. It is on Disney+, though. And It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is on Apple TV! Don’t forget to watch them this October!
The sixteenth season of Doctor Who featured the usual six serials but, for once, they were all a part of a much bigger story. Season 16 would open with the Doctor being assigned to find the six segments of the Key of Time and it would end with an appearance from Lalla Ward, who would not only play one of the Doctor’s companion but who would (albeit briefly) become a companion to Tom Baker himself.
The Ribos Operation (1978, directed by George Spenton-Foster)
The Ribos Operation begins with the White Guardian (Cyril Luckham) materializing in the TARDIS. He has come to give the Doctor (Tom Baker) and K-9 (voiced by John Leeson) a mission. The balance of the universe is maintained by the White Guardian and the Black Guardian. The balance is at risk of collapsing unless the Doctor can track down the six segments of the Key of Time. Each segment has been hidden on a different planet, disguised as something native to that world. The White Guardian gives the Doctor a locater to help him find each planet. He also gives the Doctor a new assistant, a Time Lady named Romanadvoratrelundar (Mary Tamm). The Doctor calls her Romana.
And so stars the Key of Time saga. As played by Mary Tamm, Romana was a new type of assistant for the Doctor. As a fellow Time Lord (though referred to as being a “Time Lady” because this serial was filmed in 1978), Romana has just as much knowledge as the Doctor and she does not view him with the awe that other companions viewed him. The sophisticated and almost haughty Romana is not with the Doctor for adventure. She is there to complete their assignment.
Their first mission takes them to the icy planet Ribos and finds them getting involved with a scheme by a human named Garron (Ian Cuthbertson) to sell the largely worthless planet to an exiled tyrant named Graff Vynda-K (Paul Seed). (In this case, “operation” means swindle.) When Graff discovers that he’s been cheated, he comes after both Garron and the Doctor.
The Ribos Operation is an enjoyable story. Graff is a great megalomaniacal villain and I liked the idea of trying to trick him into buying a worthless planet. It was the future equivalent of selling swampland. Mary Tamm also makes a strong impression as Romana. The Key to Time saga got off to a good start.
As for the first segment of the Key to Time, it was a piece of the fake crown jewels of Ribos.
The Pirate Planet (1978, directed by Pennant Roberts)
The Doctor and Romana are next directed to a planet called Calufrax that is known for being cold and boring. When they land, they find themselves in an apparent paradise. It turns out that they are actually on a hollowed-out planet called Zanak that materializes around other planets and, in the style of Galactus, plunder their resources. Zanak is apparently controlled by the one-eyed Captain (Bruce Purchase) but the Doctor and Romana discover that it is actually the Captain’s nurse (Rosalind Lloyd) who is calling the shots.
The Pirate Planet is famous for being one of the serials written by Douglas Adams. The loud but stupid Captain and his long-suffering assistant, Mr. Fibuli (Andrew Robertson), certainly do seem like they would be at home in one of Adams’s novels and the story overall has more humor than even the typical Tom Baker episode. It’s a clever script, though and both Purchase and Robertson give good performances as the two pirates.
The entire planet of Calufrax turns out to be a segment of the Key to Time. When I first saw this episode as a kid, that struck me as being very weird. It still seems weird but that’s Doctor Who.
The Stones of Blood (1978, directed by Darrol Blake)
The Doctor, Romana, and K-9 are brought to modern-day Cornwall, where Prof. Emilia Rumford (Beatrix Lehmann) and her friend Vivien Fay (Susan Engel) are studying a stone circle. For the first two episodes of this serial, it appears that the main villains are going to be a group of modern-day druids but it turns out that the stones are actually aliens who feed on blood, and Vivien Fay is a galactic war criminal named Cessair and that she has stolen the Great Seal of Diplos, which also happens to be the third segment of the Key of Time.
This serial sees the Doctor returning to Earth for the first time since Image of Fendahl. The first two episodes have an almost gothic horror feel to them before the serial heads in a different, more intergalactic direction during its second half. In a clever twist, it turns out that the “stones of blood” were actually just red herrings. After spending four episodes convincing the viewers that the key would be one of the stones, it instead turned out to be the Great Seal of a planet that no one had ever heard of. This was another enjoyable serial, featuring a memorable villainess and a clever story.
The Androids of Tara (1978, directed by Michael Hayes)
Romana finds the next segment within minutes of landing on the planet Tara but the Doctor wants to take a break and do some fishing. While he is doing that, Romana is attacked by a bear and rescued by Count Grendel (Peter Jeffrey). Grendel takes Romana back to his castle, where he soon reveals that he’s not as kind as he seems.
The Androids of Tara is an adventure story that takes place on a planet where a feudal society is matched with androids and electronic weapons. This episode gives Mary Tamm quite a lot to do as she plays not only Romana but also the Taran Princess Strella and the android versions of Strella and Romana. Grendel hopes to marry Romana-as-Strella and become the ruler of Grendel. The Doctor, along with Price Reynart (Neville Jason) and the swordsmen Zadek (Simon Lack) and Farrah (Paul Lavers), works to rescue Romana. The Doctor even fights a duel with Grendel.
The Androids of Tara is a bit silly but it’s all in good fun. Tom Baker seems to enjoy playing the swashbuckler and Peter Jeffrey, a familiar character actor, is an appropriately melodramatic villain. This serial allows Mary Tamm her chance in the spotlight and she makes the most of it, reminding us that Romana could be just as strong as the Doctor.
The Power of Kroll (1978-1979, directed by Norman Stewart)
The TARDIS travels to a swamp planet where a crew of humans are running a methane refinery and the planet’s inhabitants (called Swampies, by the humans) worship a giant squid named Kroll. Kroll is giant because it ate a segment of the Key of Time. Kroll attacks both humans and Swampies until the Doctor manages to extract the Key of Time. Kroll explodes and, since Kroll was also the main source of methane on the planet, the refinery closes.
This serial made the mistake of focusing on Kroll. Like so many Doctor Who giant monsters, Kroll is not at all convincing. That and some poor acting from the guest cast and a largely humorless script all combine to make this the most forgettable part of the Key to Time saga.
The Armageddon Factor (1979, directed by Michael Hayes)
The search for the final segment leads the TARDIS to the warring plants of Atrios and Zeos. Atrios and Zeos have both been scarred by nuclear weapons. Princess Astra (Lalla Ward) of Atrios wants end the war but the fanatical Marshal (John Woodvine) is determined to continue the war. A mysterious figure known as The Shadow (William Squire) steals the TARDIS and abducts Princess Astra, who is revealed to also be the sixth segment of the Key of Time. The Shadow is working for the Black Guardian (Valentine Dyall). In pursuing The Shadow, the Doctor meets yet another renegade Time Lord and classmate, Drax (Barry Jackson).
The Armageddon Factor is about two episodes too long and is often needlessly complicated but there were a few clever moments, like the discovery that Zeos was no longer inhabited by humans and that the missiles were being launched by a super computer. (K-9 was able to communicate with it and broker a peace.) For viewers of the series, The Armageddon Factor is best-remembered for introducing Lalla Ward. Dissatisfied with the way Romana was developing, Mary Tamm announced that she was leaving at the end of the season. When Romana regenerated in the following season, she ended up looking a lot like Princess Astra of Atrios.
Stage Fright (1987, dir by Michele Soavi)
Today’s horror scene that I love is the opening production number of Michele Soavi’s 1987 masterpiece, Stagefright.
Not only does the opening scene wonderfully satirize both a certain type of stage production and a certain type of exploitation film, it also lets the audience know that they’re about to something that is more than just another Italian slasher film. With this opening sequence, Soavi announced his arrival as a major filmmaker.
Personally, I can’t help but laugh when the saxophone makes an appearance. Anyone who has ever been involved in a community theater will relate to the moment.
Like Ed Kemper, the 2023’s The Company We Keep is based on the crimes of Edmund Kemper.
The Company We Keep does take a few liberties with the true story. For one thing, it’s set in the present instead of the 70s. As well, Carter Holcomb (Cary Mark), who is this film’s version of Kemper, works not for the Highway Department but instead at a grocery store. His boss is Pete Matthews (Eric Roberts). Pete is a terrible manager but he’s played by Eric Roberts so you can’t help but like him.
Otherwise, The Company We Keep sticks closer to the facts of the case than some of the other films that I’ve seen about Kemper. Carter Holcomb has just been released from prison. His juvenile record has been expunged. He’s living with his harsh mother (Sharon Jordan). And he’s murdering hithchhikers, keeping their remains in his closet, and imagining having conversations with them.
It’s a creepy movie, largely because Ed Kemper is a very creepy killer. It’s also rather oddly paced and it doesn’t really have much a plot, beyond Carter getting annoyed with his mother and killing people. Like the real Kemper, Carter is friends with the cops who are investigating the murders and that certainly adds an interesting wrinkle. There’s a clever scene where Carter gets arrested just to discover that it’s his friends playing a trick on him.
Though the film has some pretty serious pacing issues, It’s still a well-acted film. Cary Mark is appropriately awkward as Carter Holcomb and Sharon Jordan wisely doesn’t play his mother as being an over-the-top tyrant but instead as someone who has suddenly found herself living with a son who she really doesn’t know. And, of course, the film features Eric Roberts, giving an amusing performance as the incompetent boss from Hell. As I’ve always said, any film is improved by the casting of Eric Roberts.
Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:
Today’s horror song of the day is perhaps not as well-known as some of the other songs that I’ve shared. It appeared in Lucio Fulci’s controversial (to put it mildly) giallo, The New York Ripper. That film is so infamous for its violence, nihilism, and killer who quacks like a duck that it is something overlooked that it features a great score from Francesco De Masi.
This is the main theme from The New York Ripper and it captures the movie’s mix of horror and police procedural. It’s the 70s cop show theme from Hell.
This October, I’m going to be doing something a little bit different with my contribution to 4 Shots From 4 Films. I’m going to be taking a little chronological tour of the history of horror cinema, moving from decade to decade.
Today, we start the 90s!
4 Shots From 4 Films
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990, dir by John McNaughton)
Candyman (1992, dir by Bernard Rose)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992, dir by Fran Rubel Kuzui)
Cronos (1993, dir by Guillermo del Toro)
For today’s horror on the lens, we have a 1973 made-for-TV movie called Satan’s School For Girls.
After her sister turns up dead, Elizabeth (Pamela Franklin) refuses to accept that official conclusion that it was a suicide. Instead, Elizabeth is convinced that it was murder and that it has something to do with the exclusive school that her sister attended, the Salem Academy for Women.
Well, honestly, the Salem part is a dead giveaway. I think we can all agree on that.
Anyway, this movie features a Satanic cult, an old school clique, and plenty of early of 70s fashion choices. It may be silly but it’s also definitely entertaining.
Through the Shattered Lens 