Tag Archives: review

Horror on the Lens: The Night Stalker (dir by John Llewelyn Moxey)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For today’s horror on the lens, we have a real treat!  (We’ll get to the tricks later…)

Long before he achieved holiday immortality by playing the father in A Christmas Story, Darren McGavin played journalist Carl Kolchak in the 1972 made-for-TV movie, The Night Stalker.  Kolchak is investigating a series of murders in Las Vegas, all of which involve victims being drained of their blood.  Kolchak thinks that the murderer might be a vampire.  Everyone else thinks that he’s crazy.

When this movie first aired, it was the highest rated made-for-TV movie of all time.  Eventually, it led to a weekly TV series in which Kolchak investigated various paranormal happenings.  Though the TV series did not last long, it’s still regularly cited as one of the most influential shows ever made.

The Night Stalker is an effective little vampire movie and Darren McGavin gives a great performance as Carl Kolchak.

Enjoy!

Horror Song of the Day: Mater Tenebrarum by Keith Emerson

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Inferno (1980, dir by Dario Argento, DP: Romana Albano)

Today’s horror song of the day comes from Keith Emerson’s soundtrack of Dario Argento’s Inferno.  I have to admit that, when I first saw Inferno, I thought that Emerson’s music was maybe a little bit too overdramatic for the film but, on subsequent viewings, it’s really grown on me.

Emerson did not have an enviable task, having to follow up Goblin’s soundtrack for Suspiria.  But Emerson pulled it off, crafting a score that compliments Goblin’s earlier work while maintaining an identity of its own.

“Okay Google”, Dir. Levi Morgan, Short Film Review by Case Wright

Posted on by casewright

His title card was terrible so I’m using the New York Yankees. Why not? We have a haunted house theme in this story where Google speaker is involved. Alexa’s evil twin. The main character is at his house, which I believe is probably Levi’s residence because his films always take place there. He ask google speaker to help him, but she has turned…..EVIL!!!
The main character asks to google to turn the light back on upstairs and he sees…… a shape. This is kinda scary. Google speaker puts on license free music on for mood; so, evil or not- she is protecting Levi’s shoestring budget. I give him credit for editing in music.

The character unplugs the device and it still talks. It’s a good trope. I don’t hate on that. There is a guy in his house who has a cloak on, which is definitely bad. The shape approaches him. He begs google to turn on the light, but instead she goes rogue and turns off the lights.

I meant to watch a horror comedy, but oops – it’s just horror. I actually might put this in the thriller category because there’s an artificial intelligence working in collusion with the evil shape- is that like a google prime option? I mean I’m not saying that we should pay for google to do evil, but I mean….a little evil? Nothing permanent- mild evil like crappy salsa that never satisfies.

I do admit that I feel bad for Levi Morgan because he hasn’t done anything since 2023 and he’s doing some normal job now. His films are good enough. Levi’s not Hitchcock, but he’s better than Alex Magana and that’s important. I hope he makes it a vibrant hobby. Levi is just not great at writing. His scene angle setups and cinematography is not bad. Levi can make a scene suspenseful and I think he would be a good director of photography. He does need a writer. God doesn’t give with both hands and I would encourage him to pursue a career as a Director of Photography and Directing. I’m not gonna crap on him. He’s has talent and should focus on cinematography.

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 2.17 “The Matchmakers”

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 Mondays, I will be reviewing CHiPs, which ran on NBC from 1977 to 1983.  The entire show is currently streaming on Freevee!

This week, Jon and Ponch play matchmaker!

Episode 2.17 “The Matchmakers”

(Dir by Harvey S. Landman, originally aired on January 27th, 1979)

Cora (Jenny O’Hara) is an eccentric woman who lives in an old farmhouse with a bunch of animals.  Her landlord is evicting her and the county is planning to not only bulldoze her home but also take and possibly destroy all of her animals unless she can find a new place for them.  Twice, she tries to commit suicide by driving her truck recklessly.  Both times, she is saved by Ponch and Baker.

Dirk Hutchins (Gregory Walcott) is a crotchety old man who has served with the Highway Patrol for 30 years and is now on the verge of forced retirement.  He doesn’t know what he’s going to do with himself once he’s no longer on the job.  Hutchins spends his last work week taking outrageous risks, leading Ponch and Baker to worry that he’s trying to go out in a blaze of suicidal glory.

What solution do Ponch and Baker come up with for Cora and Dirk?  They decide to play matchmaker!  Cora ends up moving onto Dirk’s property (and brings along all of her animals) and maybe Dirk will end up falling in love with Cora.  And then, they’ll both have a reason to live!

Listen, this episode’s heart is in the right place.  I’m certainly not going to fault the intentions of any episode that features Ponch and Baker trying to help two suicidal people.  But, seriously, Cora was such an annoying character!  The show portrayed her as being so unhinged and so emotionally unstable that you couldn’t help but wonder if having her move in with grumpy old Dirk was really the best way to go about things.  Cora really did seem like she needed professional help, the type that went way beyond having a place to keep her animals.

As for Dirk, I was happy to see that he was played by Gregory Walcott.  As many of you already know, Walcott’s greatest claim to fame was starring in Ed Wood’s Plan Nine From Outer Space.  Walcott survived Plan Nine and went on to become a durable character actor, appearing in westerns and war films.  Walcott gives a believably ruggedly performance as Dirk, even if the character himself is not exactly someone you would want to get stuck on an elevator with.

There is a subplot involving a private investigator (Danny Wells) who had been hired to kidnap a kid and bring him back to his no-good father.  And there’s a fairly well-done scene where Dirk and Getraer work to keep a truck from turning over on top of a car.  There is a little action but still, this episode didn’t quite work.

Horror on TV: One Step Beyond 3.6 “Moment of Hate” (dir by John Newland)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

On tonight’s episode of One Step Beyond, fashion designer Karen Wadsworth (Joanne Linville) believes that she has the power to cause people to die just by wishing death upon them.  Her psychiatrist tells her that this simply isn’t possible and then dares her to try one little test of her supposed powers.

This episode features a good performance by Joanne Linville and, if nothing else, it perhaps makes the case that we should be a little bit less quick to wish the worst upon other people.  Just imagine all of the damage that Karen could have caused if she had ever set up a twitter account.

This episode originally aired on October 25th, 1960.

Bonus Horror Song of the Day: Zombie Stomp by The Del-Aires

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

If you watched Horror of Party Beach earlier today, you’ll definitely remember this song, which was performed by a Patterson, New Jersey band called The Del-Aires!

Everybody’s doing the zombie stomp!

Horror On The Lens: Horror of Party Beach (dir by Del Tenney)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Everybody’s doing the zombie stomp….

For today’s horror on the lens, take a trip tot eh beach and dance to the sounds of the Del-Aires!  And definitely, be weary of the hot dog monsters!

Enjoy 1964’s The Horror of Party Beach!

Horror Song of the Day: Theme From Jaws by John Williams

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’m in a beach-y kind of mood today and today’s song of the day reflects that!  From 1975’s Jaws, here’s a piece of music that everyone should instantly recognize, whether they’ve seen the film or not.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi Junior High 3.13 “Making Whopee”

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 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, it’s an Arthur episode! …. really?

Episode 3.13 “Making Whopee”

(Dir by Eleanore Lindo, originally aired on February 27th, 1989)

With all of the season three drama surrounding Wheels, Shane, Spike, Joey, and Caitlin, it can be easy to forget that Degrassi Junior High started out as a show about a nerdy but well-meaning kid named Arthur trying to navigate his way through a brand new world.  Indeed, almost the entire first season revolved around Arthur and his friend, Yick.  By the time the third season rolled around, neither character was particularly prominent in the show’s ensemble.  I think one reason why Arthur and Yick went from being the main characters just being in the background is because their storylines never presented as much potential for excitement as the stuff going on with everyone else.  While Spike dealt with being a mother at 14 and Caitlin dealt with epilepsy and Wheels struggled with depression, Arthur and Yick were just average kids with average kid problems.

That’s why its a little bit jarring — after all of last week’s drama — to suddenly be presented with an Arthur episode.  In this episode, Arthur struggles to accept the fact that his dad has a girlfriend and that he would rather hang out with her than watch Space Cadets with his son.  When Arthur wakes up one morning to discover that his father’s new girlfriend has slept over, Arthur is stunned.  Later, when Arthur’s Dad comes to the Degrassi open house with his girlfriend, Arthur loses it and says that he’s sick of her coming between him and his father.  The end result is that Arthur’s father ends up single and depressed.  Arthur begs his Dad to watch television with him.  Arthur’s Dad sobs on the couch.

Damn, what a sad ending!  Of course, sad endings are a bit of a Degrassi trademark.  I’ve lost track of how many episodes of this show ended with someone in tears.

As for the B-plots, Luke continues to feel guilty over giving Shane that hit of LSD and the fact that everyone in school blames him for Shane’s accident certainly doesn’t help matters.  (Shane, for his part, is still in a coma.)  Meanwhile, Melanie finds herself competing for Snake’s attention with a snooty ninth-grader named Allison (Sara Holmes).  Melanie has nothing to worry about.  Allison may be older but Melanie is still the one who Snake asks to the graduation dance.  In fact, not only does Melanie get a date but she also gets her best friend back.  Kathleen forgives Melanie for reading her diary and also announces that she is now in therapy for her eating disorder!

Yay!  A happy ending for some….

And a totally tragic ending for others!

That’s Degrassi for you.

As for this episode, I’m a child of divorce so I could relate to a certain extent to what Arthur was going through.  I always hated it whenever my Mom dated anyone new and I will admit that I could be a bit of a brat about it.  That said, I never reduced her to crying on the couch.  I mean …. seriously, Arthur, what the Hell?  I preferred Melanie’s story because it had a happy ending and it was another storyline to which I could relate.  Talking to your crush and not realizing you have lipstick on your teeth?  Hey, we’ve all been there!