I suppose this was a good program, but I wasn't old enough to watch it. But the ACRI CREATURE FEATURE commercials scared the living sh&t out of me! I was all of 8 or so, I think. When the commercial came on the screen would go black, and then a small dot in the middle would start to grow. This disembodied, creepy looking head would smile and laugh his evil cackle (HA HA HA). Watch the ACRI CREATURE FEATURE! Eventually when the commercial started I'd run to my mom, close my eyes, and cover my ears.
I have to admit that now this is a funny memory of growing up in the Mid-West. But I would like the shows creators, producers, and sponsor (who is still in business) to know that they certainly did their job well!
UNK SEZ: Toni, I wish I could have located the television spot you are speaking of, but no luck! Here's a sample of the opening of the show though, which will hopefully bring back some memories for those who were old enough to check it out. Y'all can learn more about the ACRI CREATURE FREATURE HERE
Cable TV is a mixed blessing. Â On the one hand, it allows us to see things we might never have seen on network tv. Â On the other hand, it has basically killed off many wonderful things about tv, like Saturday Morning Cartoons, and (on this topic) locally programmed late-night scary movies (LPLNSMs).
I was lucky enough to grow up in a tv market that had LPLNSMs, but not with an actual host like Mr. Acri. Â After watching the brief intro above, I'm very envious of people in Toni's community. Â In 40 seconds, he managed to state my exact feelings about scary movies.Â
The community feeling of those local shows is lost on the national level. Â Knowing some of your very neighbors were watching or that you could watch the show at the same bat-time, on the same bat-channel at any house in the county also added to the feeling that this was an "event" more than a show.
Oh well, enough rambling…Thanks Toni (and Aunt & Uncle) for reminding me of the time our local ABC station showed "Creature from the Black Lagoon" in 3D and we could get 3D glasses from any 7-11 in town.
Reading your description of the ad reminded me of Swayzak from Toonami, who might have scared some Generation Z'ers out there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFQev9Q9XBM
Personally, I loved him.