Author: unkle lancifer

 

DEAD OF NIGHT is an obscure little TV horror anthology directed by DAN CURTIS ("DARK SHADOWS") and written by RICHARD MATHESON in 1977. I can't remember exactly how old I was (probably around 10 or so) but one Saturday afternoon, a local station played this trilogy of horror stories. I'll be damned if I can remember the first two segments but the final 30 minute tale made quite an impression on me. Holy crow, it completely terrified the living shit out of me! In the story, a woman uses a magic ritual to resurrect her son Bobby who drowned accidentally. Bobby comes back but it ain't exactly a joyful reunion. I will never forget how much I jumped when Bobby reveals his true nature to his mother while slowly creeping down that darkened stairway. For years, the memory of that moment would pop into my head and I would get chills. I found the final 40 seconds at YOUTUBE. Sure, it looks silly now but the creepy atmosphere and the sense of dread that builds throughout the segment are undeniable. Hopefully, DEAD OF NIGHT will finally make its way to DVD and I can see this excellent short horror tale in its entirety.  

Unkle Lancifer: Thanks Richard, and congratulations on celebrating DOOMED MOVIETHON's third year of public service to horror aficionados. I'm sorry to say I've missed this particular nugget thus far but really, how can you go wrong with the A-team of DAN CURTIS (BURNT OFFERINGS) and RICHARD MATHESON (DUEL), the duo responsible for the trauma legend TRILOGY OF TERROR? I gotta get something off my sunken chest though, DEAD OF NIGHT sure is an often enough used title isn't it? Besides this 1977 television movie, you have the classic 1945 anthology film that gave ventriloquist dummies a bad name, the 1974 BOB CLARK night of the living war vet flick AND the criminally under appreciated 2000 SIMON HUNTER chiller (known outside the U.S. as LIGHTHOUSE) all sharing the same title. No wonder this bad boy slipped through my claw like fingers. If that YouTube clip is any indication, regardless of title, I've been missing something definitely worth tracking down!

In the 1970's it was all about KAREN BLACK scary movies. One KAREN BLACK movie in particular comes to mind when I think of movies that terrorized me as a child, BURNT OFFERINGS. Well, TRILOGY OF TERROR too but I am just going to focus on BURNT OFFERINGS. I think I was about 7 when I first saw it on T.V. The scenes that kept me awake at night involved that creepy chauffeur. You know, the one OLIVER REED keeps remembering from his childhood. Anyway, that tall, skinny, pale, bespectacled man probably caused plenty of kids' nightmares. I went back recently and watched the movie again. I must say it has a few boring parts, but the chauffeur still gives me the willies big time.

Unkle Lancifer SEZ: Mickey, I agree with you completely, BURNT OFFERINGS' (1976) chauffeur (Anthony James) is one of the creepiest cats ever. In the film OLIVER REED's character remembers his smiling off-putting presence from his mother's funeral when he was a lad and he becomes an almost grim reaper like harbinger of doom. In the novel the film was based on by ROBERT MARASCO his origin is slightly different but he's equally menacing if not more so. I'm not sure if he was a direct influence on these other grinning, lanky louts of cinema but he certainly shares a similar diet and disposition…

 

One movie that really scared the crap out of me when I was very young was CARRIE. This one I remember the most. I was about six and watched it with my sister. The part that freaked me out was the scene where she has pigs blood dumped on her during her moment of bliss. The insane look on her blood covered face before and during wiping out the entire school. The ruthless way she used her psychic powers to off everyone. That part was pretty intense for a six year old.

Thanks Dogboy, you're certainly not alone. You've brought up one of the most enduring images in all of modern horror. You also got me thinking: isn't it especially horrific because it's pigs blood? Well, I guess there is really no kind of blood you would want dumped on your head at your prom, but pigs blood just seems especially disgusting. In fact, pigs have snorted their way into some of the creepiest scenes ever. Don't believe me? Take a look…. 

Like almost all children of the '80s, I lived for Saturday morning cartoons. Those four or five hours of the week belonged to children everywhere. So why did they show commercials for TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE side during kiddie cartoons!I'll never forget how terrifying the previews for one show was for me. The episode was titled "Inside the Closet." The brief glimpse of the show alone left me with numerous sleepless nights and fear of the dreaded closet-thing.I saw the whole episode years later, and I found it laughable–not so when I was eight years old listening to that eerie narrator's voice asking "What's in the closet? Is it under the bed?" And the brief clip of some huge-eyed horror shadowed in the closet. I was scared by so many trailers when I was a kid, but this one was THE WORST.