Tag Archives: John Kassir

Horror on TV: Tales From The Crypt 4.4 “Seance”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s excursion into televised horror is the 4th episode of the 4th season of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt.

In Seance, two con artists (Cathy Moriarty and Ben Cross) make the mistake of trying to cheat a wealthy man played by John Vernon.  Things don’t go as planned and, as so often happens when things get complicated, it all leads to a fake séance that turns out to be not quite as fake as was originally believed.

Seance is a lot of fun.  Despite being in color, it’s shot in the style of an old school film noir and nobody played heartless with quite as much panache as John Vernon.

Seance was directed by Gary Fleder and originally aired on July 4th, 1992.

Enjoy!

Horror On TV: Tales From The Crypt 3.10 “Mournin’ Mess” (dir by Manny Coto)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s excursion into the world of televised horror is the 10th episode of the 3rd season of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt!

Steven Weber plays an alcoholic reporter who thinks that he has found the story of his career!  Someone is preying on the homeless and our reporter is determined to find out who and why.  (Not because he actually cares about the homeless, of course.  He just needs a big story to save his career.)  However, the reporter quickly discovers that 1) all charities are not charitable and 2) you should always be careful about biting off more than you can chew…

This well-acted episode was directed and written by Manny Coto and it originally aired on July 31st, 1991.

Enjoy!

 

Horror On TV: Tales From The Crypt 3.8 “Easel Kill” (dir by John Harrison)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For tonight’s excursion into televised horror, we have the 8th episode of the 3rd season of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt!

Easel Kill feels a bit like a remake of Color Me Blood Red.  Tim Roth plays a painter who appears to have lost his talent.  Apparently, he has recently stopped drinking and he’s just not that inspired when he’s sober.  (However, he’s just as angry as he’s always been.  He’s the type of neighbor who will push someone off of a fire escape if they’re playing their music too loud.)  Fortunately, once he starts painting with blood, people are suddenly interested in his paintings.

The only problem is getting the blood…

This episode originally aired on July 17th, 1991.

Enjoy!

Horror on TV: Tales From The Crypt 3.7 “The Reluctant Vampire” (dir by Stephen Hopkins)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since I’ve been reviewing so many Dracula films as of late, it seems only appropriate that tonight’s excursion into televised horror should be about a vampire as well!

The Reluctant Vampire was the 7th episode of the 3rd season of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt!  It stars Malcolm McDowell as a vampire who is a little bit too nice for his own good.  Seriously, you can’t go wrong with Malcolm McDowell as a vampire.

The Reluctant Vampire originally aired on July 10th, 1991.

Enjoy!

Horror on TV: Tales From the Crypt 3.2 “Carrion Death” (dir by Steven E. de Souza)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s excursion into televised horror is a pretty good one.  Carrion Death, which originally aired on June 15th, 1991, was the second episode of the third season of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt.

Kyle MacLachlan plays a serial killer named Earl Raymond Digs.  After Earl escapes from custody, he finds himself stuck in the middle of the desert, handcuffed to a corpse.  As Earl walks through the desert, dragging a corpse alongside him, he discovers that he’s being watched…

Carrion Death is a gory, little story that has an enjoyably nasty little ending.  Kyle MacLachlan does a surprisingly good job as the dangerous but none too bright Earl.  And, of course, there’s the bird.  That bird does a great job…

Enjoy!

Horror on TV: Tales From The Crypt 2.16 “Television Terror” (dir by Charlie Picerni)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s excursion into televised horror is the 16th episode of the 2nd season of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt!

Television Terror, which originally aired on July 17th, 1990, tells the story of Horton Rivers (Morton Downey, Jr.)  Horton has his own television show, one where he hunts for ghosts and seeks proof of the supernatural.  Needless to say, Horton’s a big fake, a nonbeliever who loathes his audience.  It’s kind of like Ghost Hunters, except for the fact that — over the course of this episode — Horton actually finds something.  Or perhaps we should say that something find Horton…

Needless to say, things do not end well.

Television Terror has a lot of atmosphere and, with its theme of venal television hosts and gullible audiences, it’s probably even more relevant today than when it was first broadcast.

Enjoy!

Horror On TV: Tales From The Crypt 2.13 “Korman’s Kalamity”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Believe it or not, I was planning on sharing more than just episodes from Tales From The Crypt this October but seriously, these old shows are just so much fun!

For instance, consider tonight’s episode!  In Korman’s Kalamity, Jim Korman (Harry Anderson) is an artist who works on the popular and famous comic book … Tales From The Crypt!  (Needless to say, his name should also make you think of Roger Corman, as well.)  After his wife (Colleen Camp) orders him to take an experimental fertility pill, his drawings suddenly start to come to life!

Since Korman specializes in drawing monsters, you see how this could be a problem…

Korman’s Kalamity is a self-referential delight.  Needless to say, it’s all played for laughs and sentiment so be sure to sit back and enjoy!

This episode was directed by Rowdy Herrington (who also directed that cable mainstay, Road House) and originally aired on June 26th, 1990.

 

Horror On TV: Tales From The Crypt 2.6 “The Thing From The Grave”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to tonight’s excursion into televised horror!

These old episodes of Tales From The Crypt are pretty fun, aren’t they?  Originally, I was planning on only showing Tales From The Crypt on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday but I’ve been enjoying the show so much that I’ve decided to add a Tuesday showing as well.

Tonight’s episode is called The Thing From The Grave and it originally aired on May 8th, 1990.  It stars Teri Hatcher as a model who falls in love with a photographer played by Kyle Secor (yes, the same Kyle Secor who went so brilliant over the top in The Purge: Election Year).  Hatcher’s boyfriend, an abusive asshole played by Miguel Ferrer, gets revenge but, since this is Tales From The Crypt, things don’t go quite the way that Ferrer intended.  Nothing can kill love, which is something that I’ve always believed!

This episode was directed by Fred Dekker, who also directed a brilliant film called Night of the Creeps, which I really should review someday.

Enjoy!

Horror On TV: Tales From the Crypt 2.2 “The Switch”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s excursion in televised horror comes the second season of HBO’s Tale From The Crypt.  Originally broadcast on April 21st, 1990, The Switch tells the story of an elderly millionaire (William Hickey) who is desperately in love with a younger woman (Kelly Preston).  When she tells him that she’s looking for a younger man, he goes to extreme lengths to become that younger man.

The episode was directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger and features good work from both William Hickey and Kelly Preston.  And, of course, the whole story ends with a sardonic twist that, once again, reminds the viewers that the universe is just as random and meaningless as Werner Herzog says it is.

Enjoy!

Horror On TV: Tales From The Crypt 2.1 “Dead Right” (dir by Howard Deutch)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For tonight’s excursion into televised horror, we present the first episode of the 2nd season of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt!

In Dead Right, Demi Moore plays a secretary named Cathy who is told two things by a psychic.  First, she’ll lose her job.  Next, she’ll marry a man who will inherit a fortune and then violently die shortly afterward.  After losing her job, Cathy meets the grotesque Charlie (Jeffrey Tambor) and she marries him when she finds out that he comes from a wealthy family.

Of course, since this is Tales From The Crypt, there’s a twist.  The medium’s prediction turns out to be true but not quite in the way that Cathy was expecting…

Dead Right is pretty good.  Demi Moore is almost too plausible as a golddigger and Jeffrey Tambor turns Charlie into a truly memorable character, one who is both pathetic and intimidating.  And the story’s twist ending carries a properly nasty punch, as well.

Dead Right originally aired on April 21st, 1990.

Enjoy!