Halloween TV Havoc!: GHOST STORY “Elegy for a Vampire” (1972)

Posted on October 22, 2016 by gary loggins

NBC-TV tried to bring a horror anthology series back to prime time during the 1972-73 season with GHOST STORY, executive produced by the one-and-only William Castle . Sebastian Cabot played Winston Essex, introducing the tales from haunted Mansfield House hotel. GHOST STORY had great writers, including Richard Matheson (who helped develop the concept), Robert Bloch, Harlan Ellison, Henry Slesar, and Hammer vet Jimmy Sangster, some good directors (Richard Doner, John Llewelyn Moxey, Robert Day), and a plethora of Hollywood talent: Karen Black, Kim Darby, Angie Dickinson, Melvyn Douglas, Patty Duke, Jodie Foster, Helen Hayes, Tab Hunter, John Ireland, Janet Leigh, Patricia Neal, Jason Robards, Gena Rowlands, Martin Sheen, and William Windom.

Despite all this, the show got clobbered in the ratings by the CBS FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE and ABC’s comedy duo of ROOM 222 and THE ODD COUPLE. A mid-season title change to CIRCLE OF FEAR (dropping the Cabot segments in the process) didn’t help, and…

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Horror on TV: Thriller 1.1 “The Twisted Image”

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s excursion into televised horror is the very first episode of Boris Karloff’s Thriller!

Thriller was an anthology series that lasted from 1960 to 1962. Each episode presented a new story of horror and/or suspense. What makes this series especially memorable is that each episode was introduced by none other than Boris Karloff! I’ve seen a few episodes of Thriller (the entire series is on YouTube) and, to be honest, it’s kind of a hit-or-miss show. But Karloff and that mischievous twinkle in his eye makes it all worth it!

This episode originally aired on September 13th, 1960. It’s called The Twisted Image and stars Leslie Neilsen as a man being stalked by two mentally disturbed individuals. This episode was well-directed by Arthur Hiller and, if it’s more of a suspense story than a horror story, it still has its creepy moments.

Enjoy!

Horror on TV: Tales From The Crypt 5.10 “Came The Dawn” (dir by Uli Edel)

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s excursion into televised horror is the 10th episode of the 5th season of Tales From The Crypt!

Came The Dawn tells the twisted story of what happens when a mysterious hitchhiker (Brooke Shields) is picked up by a rich man (Perry King). This one is full of twists and turns as director Uli Edel pays homage to Hitchcock.

It originally aired on November 17th, 1993!

Enjoy!

Horror on TV: Tales From The Crypt 5.9 “Creep Course” (dir by Jeffrey Boam)

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For tonight’s excursion into televised horror, how about a little mummy-related terror!?

That’s what you get this episode of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt! From season 5, here is the ninth episode — Creep Course! What happens when you mix the principal from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and the brain from the Breakfast Club with a mummy? Mayhem!

This episode originally aired on November 10th, 1993.

Horror on TV: Tales From the Crypt 5.8 “Well-Cooked Hams” (dir by Elliot Silverstein)

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s excursion into televised horror is the 8th episode of the 5th season of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt!

In Well Cooked Hams, Billy Zane is a magician who murders an older magician (Martin Sheen) and steals that magician’s prized prop! Zane quickly learns that it’s called a Box of Death for a reason. Zane has a lot of fun being sleazy and Sheen’s over the top Russian accent simply has to be heard!

Thus episode originally aired on November 3rd, 1993!

Horror On TV: Tales From The Crypt 5.7 “House of Horror” (dir by Bob Gale)

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s excursion into televised horror is the 7th episode of the 5th season of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt!

House of Horrors has everything that you could possibly want from a Tales From The Crypt episode! A dumbass idiot frat boy (played by Kevin Dillon) forces three pledges to enter a supposedly haunted house. Mayhem ensues. This episode is full of atmosphere, dark humor, plot twists, and unexpected turns and it features two wonderfully over-the-top performances, one from Dillon and one from Meredith Salenger as a Southern-accented sorority president who may have a secret of her own.

This episode originally aired on October 27th, 1993.

Enjoy!

Horror On TV: Darkroom Season 1 Episode 1&2 “Closed Circuit/Stay Tuned, We’ll Be Right Back” (dir by Rick Rosenthal and Paul Lynch)

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

While I was looking through YouTube for TV shows to use for this year’s horrorthon, I came across something called Darkroom. Apparently, Darkroom was a horror anthology series that aired for a few months in 1981.

So, I figured, why not share!

(Apparently, each episode of Darkroom was made up of two thirty-minute stories. For syndication purposes, it appears that the each 30 minute segment was considered to be a separate episode.)

Below is the first episode of Darkroom! It originally aired on Nov. 27th, 1981. In Closed Circuit, an aging anchorman discovers that he’s about to be replaced by a computer. In Stay Turned, We’ll Be Right Back, a man discovers that his radio can be used to contact the past and must decide whether or not to change history. The show is introduced and hosted by James Coburn.

Closed Circuit was directed by Rick Rosenthal, who directed Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween II. Stay Tuned is directed by Paul Lynch, who directed Jamie Lee Curtis in Prom Night.

Enjoy!

Horror On TV: Night Visions 1.1 “The Passenger List” (dir by Yves Simoneau) and “The Bokor” (dir by Keith Gordon)

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Do y’all remember an old show called Night Visions?

Night Visions was a horror anthology show that ran for a season in 2001. It got some good reviews as a summer replacement series but it struggled to find an audience. After the 9-11 attacks, the show was preempted for three weeks straight and, when it finally did come back, I imagine that viewers weren’t really in the mood for a horror anthology, not when they had real-life horror to deal with on a daily basis.

And so, Night Visions was canceled but apparently, it still has a strong cult following.

Below is the very first episode of Night Visions. It originally aired on July 12th, 2001 and it tells two stories. In the Passenger List, a man investigating a plane crash starts to doubt his own sanity. In the Bokor, a group of medical students make the mistake of cutting into the cadaver of a powerful voodoo priest. Mayhem follows.

From what I’ve seen on YouTube, it looks like Night Visions was actually pretty good so enjoy this episode!

(And yes, each episode was hosted by Henry Rollins.)

Horror on TV: One Step Beyond 2.27 “The Clown” (dir by John Newland)

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For tonight’s excursion into televised horror, I want to change things up. Tales From The Crypt will return on Monday but, for the next three days, I want to take a look at some different show.

Like One Step Beyond, for example!

Now, I have to admit that I don’t know much about One Step Beyond. I came across several episodes on YouTube while I was searching for any Twilight Zone episodes. Apparently, One Step Beyond was an anthology series that aired from 1957 to 1960. (It actually predated the Twilight Zone.) One Step Beyond often claimed that its stories were meant to be dramatizations of actual events.

The episode below is from the 2nd season. It originally aired on March 22nd, 1960. The title of this episode?

The Clown.

Scared yet?

You should be. Clowns are creepy!

Watch the episode below and find out just how creepy!

Enjoy!

Horror on TV: Tales From The Crypt 4.13 “Werewolf Concerto” (dir by Steve Perry)

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For tonight’s excursion into televised horror, we present to you the 13th episode of the 4th season of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt!

Werewolf Concerto originally aired on September 9th, 1992. It deals with what happens when a group of hotel guests believe that there might be a werewolf in the area. Fortunately, Timothy Dalton is also in the area and he claims to be a professional werewolf hunter!

Or is he….?

You’ll have to watch to find out!

Enjoy!