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Posted on 10.31.13 by Widge @ 8:25 pm
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own.  Bill Hinzman, the first modern zombie (1936-2012) It's that Night of Nights. Six years in a row, we've given you the original (and only real) Night of the Living Dead. This year is no exception. It's the thing that started the entire zombie subgenre as we know it today. Watch the film. Love it. Give it a nice hug. Without it, you get no Shaun, no Walking Dead, no 28 Days Later. And low budget horror would look completely different. Would somebody else have come up with the transition from Haitian voodoo zombies to flesh-eating ghoul zombies? Oh sure. Would it have gone down the same way? Nowhere close. First, let's go to August, where the 45th anniversary of the film brought Johnny and Barbra back to the cemetery where it all started. The video quality is crap, but hey, it's sort of awesome this happened. (The crowd looks really, really thin, doesn't it? Weird. Almost as weird as the fact the vid won't let me center it. Oh well.) Categorized as: 32 Days of Halloween
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Posted on 10.30.13 by Widge @ 11:00 pm
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own.  'Do you MIND?' Yes, we'll interrupt Mr. Lugosi more in just a moment. But first, a pair of audio bits to pass the time on this penultimate night of 32 Days of Halloween: Year 7. The first is The Day the Earth Stood Still, but in a way you've probably never experienced it before: Michael Rennie recreates his role for the radio. This happened often and there's some great performances for posterity snagged this way--in this case, it's for Lux Radio Theater. And yes, "Lux" means light and that sounds like a great name...but you will quickly ascertain that it's named for the soap flake brand. Oh well. But hey, Michael Rennie! Also, a short piece of fiction read by Vincent Price from A Hornbook for Witches. It's the John Collier short story Thus I Refute Beezly. Excellent stuff. Categorized as: 32 Days of Halloween
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Posted on 10.29.13 by Widge @ 11:30 pm
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own.  First, we go to the oddly titled radio program from 1944-45, The Strange Dr. Weird. This particular episode, "The House Where Death Lives," first aired on November 7, 1944. If you're short on time, at least listen to the first two minutes so you can hear the non sequitur style of throwing sponsorship messages in wherever you can. It's brilliant. Categorized as: 32 Days of Halloween
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Posted on 10.28.13 by Widge @ 11:30 pm
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own.  Killer rocks are the main course this evening. But first, anytime Saturday Night Live manages to be sublimely funny is a rare occasion that must be celebrated. And yes, you're going to see this everywhere. But there's a reason. It's brilliant. And Edward Norton proves yet again what a masterful actor he is. Seriously. Categorized as: 32 Days of Halloween
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Posted on 10.27.13 by Widge @ 11:30 pm
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own.  We join Peter Cushing for some lycanthropic fun and games momentarily. But first, let's start with something I'm dying to see one of these days: when Disney parks take their Haunted Mansion(s) and mash them up with The Nightmare Before Christmas. Here's a walk-through of this year's iteration... Categorized as: 32 Days of Halloween
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Posted on 10.26.13 by Widge @ 11:30 pm
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own.  Tonight we go back to 1945. But first, we need to stop off in 2007 for Fear on Four, a BBC Radio 4 show consisting of the usual format: narrator/host (in this case, The Man in Black) introducing you to a spooky story. The story in question is "The Beast With Five Fingers." Categorized as: 32 Days of Halloween
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Posted on 10.25.13 by Widge @ 11:30 pm
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own.  Tonight, sci-fi that would make Irwin Allen weep. Probably with laughter. But first, we go to Uncle Ray Bradbury. Here's one of my favorite stories of his, "The Veldt." And if that wasn't enough, it's read live by Stephen Colbert. Nice. Categorized as: 32 Days of Halloween
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Posted on 10.24.13 by Widge @ 11:42 pm
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own.  In a short while, we'll be heading for 1957 and sci-fi comedy mayhem. But first, let's head back a bit to see Richard Donner directing a superbly cast Don Rickles and Bobcat Goldthwait as ventriloquists. The younger one wants guidance from his older hero, but, well, it's Tales From the Crypt, so things are going to go south in a hurry. Written by Frank Darabont. Categorized as: 32 Days of Halloween
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Posted on 10.23.13 by Widge @ 11:30 pm
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own.  It's silent movie night at 32 Days of Halloween HQ. Since we've featured him a couple of times before, we go back to the granddaddy of silent horror, Georges Méliès. We kick off with what could be considered a tremendously silly proto-Amityville Horror. This is "The Bewitched Inn" from 1897. That's right. A short horror film that's 116 years old. How freaking cool is that? Categorized as: 32 Days of Halloween
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Posted on 10.22.13 by Widge @ 11:00 pm
Comments on this: none yet. Add your own.  Day 23 has been about those evil little rascals. More on that in a moment. But first, we hit a pair of radio wonders. The first is television, yes, but it's from 1946--Lights Out began as a radio series in 1934. Eventually four specials were aired on television. Here's one of the stories: "Cat's Cradle." If you think your "host" is a bit over the top, then you haven't seen anything yet. Stand by. Categorized as: 32 Days of Halloween
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