by Basil Gogos
Artwork of the Day: The Bride
Tag Archives: Horrorthon
Horror on TV: Thriller 2.12 “The Return of Andrew Bentley” (dir by John Newland)
For tonight’s televised horror, we have another episode of the Boris Karloff-hosted anthology series, Thriller!
Like many of the Thriller episodes that we’ve shared this month, this episode deals with an inheritance and a possibly haunted house. Ellis Corbett (John Newland, who also directed) promises his uncle that, after his uncle’s death, Ellis will never leave the family mansion and that he will always check to make sure that the crypt has not been disturbed. The uncle promptly kills himself and Ellis soon discovers just why exactly he cannot leave the mansion.
This atmospheric episode features a script by Richard Matheson and a frightening performance from Reggie Nalder, who is best known for his roles in both The Man Who Knew Too Much and Salem’s Lot!
Enjoy!
Jedadiah Leland’s Horrific Adventures In The Internet Archive #16: Scapeghost (1989, Level 9)
Continuing my journey through the dark side of the Internet Archive, I played Scapeghost (1989, Level 9).
Scapeghost is a blast.
At one time, you were Alan Chase, a narcotics detective who was on the verge of a big bust. Then you and your partner, Sarah, were ambushed by the dealers. Sarah was kidnapped. You died. When you returned as a ghost, you got to attend your own funeral. That is when you found out that Sarah was still missing and that everyone blamed you for getting killed.
Why was your spirit still in the mortal plane? Was it so you could save Sarah and clear your name?
You have three days to get the job done.
Scapeghost is a text adventure, with optional graphics. Strangely, the game is written in the first person. For instance, type “go north” and the game will respond with something like, “I headed north.” At first, it’s awkward but it doesn’t take too long to get used to it. The puzzles are challenging but not impossible and there’s a lot of fun to be had in haunting people. (You get extra points every time you scare a certain character.)
The best thing about Scapeghost? Once the drug dealers figure out that you’ve come back from the dead, they bring in a priest to perform an exorcism! Don’t worry, though. Just leave your grave before he finishes the ceremony and you will still be able to save Sarah and clear your name.
One final note: Scapeghost was the last text adventure to be published by Level 7. They went out on a high note.
A Movie A Day #291: Pale Blood (1990, directed by V.V. Dachin Hsu and Michael W. Leighton)
Someone is murdering women in Los Angeles and draining them of their blood. A mysterious detective named Michael Fury (George Chakiris) arrives from London and starts to investigate. Fury is a vampire but he is a thoroughly modern vampire. He even has his own special travel coffin that he takes with him on trips. To help him with his investigation, he hires a researcher named Lori (Pamela Ludwig). Lori is convinced that the killings are being committed by a real vampire but Michael believes that they are actually the work of a human who is only pretending to be one of the undead. Michael is worried that this fake vampire will make real vampires look bad. Meanwhile, a crazy photographer (Wings Hauser) stalks Michael, determined to capture a vampire of his very own.
Pale Blood went straight-to-video and does not have the budget to match its ambitions but it is still a fairly good, if overlooked, vampire movie. George Chakiris, who is best known for his role in West Side Story, had the right look to play a brooding vampire and he and Pamela Ludwig made a good team. Not surprisingly, the best thing about Pale Blood was Wings Hauser. In this movie, Wings Hauser gave a performance that was demented even by the standards of Wings Haauser. Hauser is so crazy in this movie that Pale Blood sets the standard by which all other crazy Wing Hauser performances must be judged.
One final note: the vhs cover art, which is pictured above, features a shot of Wings Hauser that was apparently lifted from a different movie.
Horror Scenes That I Love: The Bridge Attack Scene From Two Orphan Vampires
Today’s horror scene that I love comes from the 1997 French film, Two Orphan Vampires.
I knew that I really wanted to share a scene from Two Orphan Vampires on this date. It’s my favorite Jean Rollin film. Unfortunately, most of the really good scenes have been taken off of YouTube. That said, I do like the way Rollin uses the color blue in this scene and the opening image of those two blind vampires walking across the bridge is still a strong one. When viewed out of context, the attack on the poet may be seen weak but actually it’s just another example of Rollin’s dream-like aesthetic. If the attack on the poet seems fake, that may be because it wasn’t supposed to have really happened.
Watch the film and it’ll make sense.
Jedadiah Leland’s Horrific Adventures In The Internet Archive #15: Ghostbusters — Basic Training (1987, Activision)
Who wouldn’t want to be a member of the Ghostbusters? (No, not the new version. I’m talking about the version with Venkman and Ray and Egon.) I got a chance to try when, while exploring the dark side of the Internet Archive, I played Ghostbusters — Basic Training (1987, Activision, Inc.).
Unfortunately, it turns out that catching ghosts is far more difficult than I originally assumed.
This is what the game starts with. A night in a haunted house? No problem, I can do that standing on my head. I pressed return.
There’s the familiar logo! I pressed return again.
Good. I’m in front of the house. Let’s get started with the training. From my own experience playing text adventures, I know that the first thing I should do is check my inventory.
A text adventure that does not understand one of the most basic commands in interactive fiction? That seems strange but I’ll adjust. Since the description of my location disappeared when I typed in inventory, I’ll take another look around.
“Look,” I type.
An adventure game that doesn’t know the look command? I search my memory and try to remember the directions that were previously listed. The house was to the northwest.
“NW” I type.
“Northwest”
What? Maybe I got the directions wrong.
“North”
“South.”
“East.”
“West.”
“Go house.”
“Go porch.”
“Annoyed.”
“Rage”
You get the idea. Because the game and I are speaking different languages, I have yet to actually enter the house and get trained. I haven’t even managed to step on the porch yet.
I’m never going to be a Ghostbuster.
4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Jacques Tourneur Edition!
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.
This October, I am going to be using our 4 Shots From 4 Films feature to pay tribute to some of my favorite horror directors, in alphabetical order! That’s right, we’re going from Argento to Zombie in one month!
Today’s director: Jacques Tourneur!
4 Shots From 4 Films
Cat People (1942, dir by Jacques Tourneur)
I Walked With A Zombie (1943, dir by Jacques Tourneur)
The Leopard Man (1943, dir by Jacques Tourneur)
Night of the Demon (1957, dir by Jacques Tourneur)
Jedadiah Leland’s Horrific Adventures In The Internet Archive #14: Terror in Christmas Town (1995)
For my latest journey through the dark side of the Internet Archive, I played Terror In Christmas Town (1995).
In Terror in Christmas Town, you are on a mission. A magic elf has been kidnapped by an evil demon and is being held prisoner in a castle. You must rescue the elf. It’s a typical first person shooter.
Does this look familiar? Is anyone else getting a Wolfenstein/Doom feel yet?
Using the arrow keys, I start to explore the game. This sure is reminding me of Wolfenstein 3D. Remember how exciting it was the first time that you managed to kill Hitler in that game? That was so cool and … oh hey, who is that ahead of me? Maybe this friendly polar bear will show me how to break into the castle.
Excuse me, Mr. Polar Bear?
Bad idea.
Just as Wolfenstein has Nazis and Doom has demons, Terror in Christmas Town has mutant polar bears and they are definitely not your friend. I do not know if that snowman in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen was meant to literally be me but I do know that, every time I got hit by the polar bear, the snowman melted a little. Once Frosty has been reduced to a puddle and a hat, the game ended.
As with all games, there is a learning curve here. The curve is even steeper when you’re playing the instructionless version that has been uploaded to the internet archive. Once you figure out how to actually draw and fire your gun, the game gets a lot easier. I like the holiday theme but the game mostly just made me want to play Wolfenstein again.
Horror on the Lens: Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter (dir by William Beaudine)
This 1966 western/horror hybrid is just about as stupid as you think it is but it’s also a lot of fun if you’re in the right mood. Notorious outlaw Jesse James (John Lupton) attempts to hold up a stagecoach but, in the process, his hulking partner Hank (Cal Bolder) is serious wounded. Some helpful peasants direct Jesse and Hank to the mysterious German doctor who happens to live in a nearby dark and scary house. That doctor is Maria Frankenstein (Narda Onyx) and she’s been conducting experiments to bring dead Mexicans back to life. Imagine her joy when the nearly dead Hank shows up at her laboratory. Anyway, Maria performs a brain transplant on Hank and once Hank comes back to life, she informs him that his new name is “Igor.” Yes, she does. That plot description pretty much tells you everything you need to know about the movie but I vaguely enjoyed vaguely paying attention to it. Maria’s German accent is hilariously overdone, the Frankenstein laboratory is full of pointless electrical things, and a character dies halfway through the film just to later show up again with no explanation. It’s that type of movie.
And it’s also the type of movie that you can watch below!
Enjoy!
5 Days Til Halloween
by JK Potter
“There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand.”
― Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein
Through the Shattered Lens 