“Burnt Offerings” brings to mind another haunted mansion flick, “The Shining”. BO features a family renting a stately manor and acting as caretakers to the property and the elderly lady supposedly inhabiting an upstairs room. It isn’t long before the heebee-jeebees set in and the wife and husband get unwillingly possessed by some dark forces lingering about the place. The husband has a bad spell and nearly drowns his son in the pool but then returns to some semblance of normality while his wife starts behaving rather oddly. As you can well imagine, no good can come from any of this and you’d be right on. Karen Black and Oliver Reed star as the husband and wife playthings of the sinister house minions. Bette Davis is also on hand and quickly is smacked down with ill health by staying in the nasty house. Nice, eerie music throughout and Dan Curtis of “Dark Shadows” and “The Night Stalker” fame provides direction. One of those movies that will make you start at every home creak when you watch it at night.
Category Archives: mysterious places
NEIL PEART, R.I.P.
More sad news from the music world. Neil Peart, the hugely talented drummer for the rock band Rush, has passed. He had been battling with brain cancer for the last three years. Rush was the first rock show I went to back in the dark, remote past. They were touring their long player, “A Farewell to Kings.” Lovely experience, lovely dope, lovely playing, lovely man. I chose the music video they released for “Xanadu”, the second track on “Farewell”. We bid farewell to this drummer king, Mr. Neal Peart.
Desert Is Stunning in “Satan Bug”
“The Satan Bug” (1965) has an intriguing concept, the world could possibly end if a germ warfare agent known as the Satan Bug were to be accidentally exposed to an unknowing public. Well, in the desert, there exists a germ warfare lab and it appears that a vial of the Doomsday Drink is missing. Ah…..Espionage is afoot. This is all well and good but I must say that trying to follow all the clandestine activity and all the bodies involved in the nefarious deeds and double crosses (TODAY’S HEADLINES, ANYBODY?) was a bit migraine inducing. What I find very alarming and interesting in this spy potboiler is the scenery in which it takes place. The desert has never looked so inhospitable, arid and beautiful. I found this cool video which was assembled to show the cool Mojave Desert and Palm Springs locations.
Rusty West’s “A Collection of Strange Wilderness Stories – January 2019”
Rusty West’s You Tube videos and books talking about missing people, weird occurrences and Bigfoot have become some of my favorites. I just like his writing style and narration. I think it is very direct and entertaining. But also very spooky! Case in point, in this collection of tales, is the tale of the raided chicken coop. That one gives me the chills. Check out Rusty.
Escape Presents: The Abominable Snowman – Fun, Old Radio Adventure
I used to listen to the CBS Mystery Theater radio program late at night as a kid and, then, in later years tried to relive those happy moments by collecting old cassette recorded copies of similar radio drama programs. I stumbled upon this gem, the 1950’s era Escape show and its feature, “The Abominable Snowman”.
The story is presented in an economic style with a handful of characters, emotive music and gobs of sound effects. All the better that there are no visuals involved so that your mind’s eye can more effectively play tricks on you. The imagination can be a powerfully suggestive thing.
A search ensues in the Himalayan mountains to find evidence of an Abominable Snowman or Wildman. Some things are just better left alone. Tragedy ensues. Drama.
This is definitely a nice road trip companion to play as the miles melt away. Just be sure not to pull the car off into some darkly lit, remote location. Who knows what lurks in the shadows?
Another Five Choices For A Halloween Marathon Movie Day/Night
When you get right down to it, there are a ton of potential choices for Halloween movie viewing marathons. For the sake of brevity, I am choosing just five selections which will still take you a good day to get through so plan ahead to take the day off from your work or school grind!
- Wolfen (1981) – a cop is assigned to investigate a series of animal attacks. Is there a pack of werewolves on the loose in modern day New York? Some creepy situations and a suspenseful story should keep you entertained throughout. Albert Finney and Gregory Hines are the stars of this one.
- Attack Of The Mushroom People (1963) – OK. This one is really freaky. A group of young folk out on a boat trip have an accident and are stranded on a mysterious island. They take refuge in another landlocked but larger ship. The ship’s journal is examined and a warning is discovered: don’t eat the island’s ample mushroom supply. In order to survive, they’ve got to eat and it’s just easier to grab some of the island’s main staple. That, as you will find out, is a big mistake. Dripping with atmosphere and garish color, this is a must see shocker.
- The Thing (1951) – Science fiction film cornerstone that still maintains its freshness to this day. An alien spaceship is discovered buried in the ice by an American military team stationed in a remote arctic outpost. Although the ship is destroyed, the craft’s only surviving occupant is accidentally reawakened and is in a thoroughly pissed off frame of mind. A last stand ensues as humans battle a formidable alien foe to the death. Essential viewing!
- The Lost Continent (1968) – More whacked out material as a group aboard a doomed ocean freighter become stranded in the Sargasso Sea, a place of strange clogging and rampant seaweed and some cool matte painting shots of a ship graveyard. Yes. There have been others who have also unfortunately succumbed to the deadly area. Attempting to find a way out of the morass, the ship’s inhabitants have a run in with a population of lost in time Spanish conquistadors who rule the region by force. Also thrown into the mix are some oversized creepy crawlies who see anything on two legs as there next meal. This is all great fun.
- Lifeforce (1985) – A huge alien ship is investigated by a team of astronauts from Earth and three seemingly human survivors from the other worldly ship are brought onboard the astronaut’s space shuttle. One by one the human crew succumb to some bizarre malady with only a sole survivor who incinerates the shuttle and takes an escape pod back to Earth. A rescue mission recovers the three aliens from the wrecked shuttle to the detriment of the human population as they come out of a dormant state and seek out our life sustaining energy or lifeforce. A plague ensues on Earth as these energy vampires plunder our planet. Epic destruction and carnage result. Pretty entertaining!
So there are another five fine films that I would personally take a day/night to sit through consecutively for a perfect Halloween viewing experience!
TOP 5 MOVIES FOR MY HALLOWEEN VIEWING
I have given a minute or two of thought to what I would enjoy most viewing on Halloween. I would most definitely need to take the day off of work because this lineup would probably consume a good 10 hours. Sacrifices must be made! Granted this is the first of what may be a series of some of my most adored movies piled together in one marathon viewing. These movies are what came off the top of my head at the time and can definitely be mixed and matched and replaced with other selections. I think that makes sense.
- 5 Million Years To Earth – 1967 – A Hammer Films science fiction entry that postulates that some long ago Martians visited our remote ancestors and planted the seeds of intelligence in our shaggy, far removed, ancient ape-like relatives. Is the recently uncovered spaceship located in the London underground still harboring a Martian presence?
- The Mummy – 1959 – This is a great one to curl up with your favorite snack and beverage and soak up the suspense. Very entertaining and satisfying mummy on the loose tale. Christopher Lee is mainly silent and heavily bandaged as the title character. Peter Cushing is out to stop The Mummy’s diabolical rampage.
- The Fearless Vampire Killers – 1967 – Roman Polanski directed and co-starred in this hugely atmospheric comedy/horror piece about a couple of bumbling monster hunters who try to rescue a damsel who is fortified in a castle full of undead vampires. Great sets!
- Horror Express – 1972 – Another Cushing/Lee vehicle set aboard a trans-Siberian train that transports an ages old ape man found frozen in ice. The recently unearthed specimen seems to not be fully dead and can swap human hosts! A true hoot.
- Invasion – 1966 – A hospital is literally held hostage as an alien presence temporarily makes a stop on Earth and has to recover its lost property before it can again go back to outer space. It’s bad enough being in a hospital, as it is!
Like I said, I will make another list of five more films that it would be Heaven to just spend Halloween day watching back to back. Maybe I’ll defer it until Thanksgiving or Christmas. I’ve got time off then. Check some of these films out and enjoy!
Vincent Price’s Dracula (1982) – Good Halloween Fare
A documentary detailing the history of the vampire character Dracula, assembled using various movie clips and the narration of horror icon, Vincent Price. You’ll see clips from the silent “Nosferatu” and other cinematic appearances featuring the ancient blood sucker such as Lugosi in “Mark of the Vampire”, and the 1950’s alternative vampire film, “The Vampire” . “VPD” is a good flick to curl up by the fire to watch as we come upon the Autumn season and move closer to Halloween. Heavy on the garlic fries. Hehe.
THEM – (1954) – Regular Ants Are Bad Enough!
A real creepy premise in this flick: giant, mutated ants are on the loose and stalking victims in isolated areas of the God forsaken desert!
I bring you this cinematic, sci-fi gem because of a recent summer time invasion of the small variety of ants in our house in pursuit of the cat’s food. These little beasts are annoying enough in their present miniature state as they scamper in all directions as you try to eradicate their presence inside your home. In addition to the trouble of getting them picked up and removed, you get the sinister feeling that the insects are crawling all over you! Imagine how you’d feel if the ants in question were 10 or more feet in length?
This is a classic science fiction film from the 1950’s that postulates that exposure to radiation could mutate a small ant into a formidable, potentially man destroying monster. And what if there were a nest of these giants?
You get the idea. Arm your self with a flame thrower and an automatic weapon and you may stand a chance of survival against these denizens from some unnamed Hell! Give it a look and drink up the lovely desert studio set ups! Some definitely scary set pieces crop up in this engaging science fiction thriller.
HARLAN ELLISON – R.I.P.
Legendary science fiction and fantasy writer Harlan Ellison has passed away. Call him an iconoclast, outspoken, a larger than life character who didn’t suffer fools, especially those he felt tampered with the integrity of his work. He reached a settlement with CBS 40 years after his script for “Star Trek”-TOS, “City on the Edge of Forever” had been delivered to reclaim his share of the profits generated from his work. He had more impressions on the television industry collected in his series “The Glass Teat”. Acidic observations to say the least.
I count Ellison as an early influence in my life. He was outrageous, profane, and definitely embodied a punk sensibility. He didn’t take shit from anybody and let the world know it. When I was maybe a teen or 12 years old, the years recede rapidly, I found out that Ellison would be in town at a book store reading from his latest work. I got my dad to bring me down there and crowded in to the small store to be in the Man’s presence. He read from his book and the profanity flowed. It felt a little awkward with my dad there but he understood the content much better than I could hope to! A good memory.
I highly recommend the novella “I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream”. I reread it recently and it retains its nightmarish hold. The idea has been a source of inspiration through the years. Call it “Skynet” before it was known as such. You’ll see what I mean.
Harlan Ellison was a great and influential writer. Go find his stuff and enjoy!
Theodore Roosevelt’s book “The Wilderness Hunter” Contains Scary Bigfoot Story – 1880’s
I have come across this story a couple of times and see it as a truly chilling account of hunters turning into prey. Hunters off in a very remote wilderness “trespass” across an unknown creature’s domain. Things go very downhill from there. This story is given an air of credibility when it is discovered that this tale was relayed to Theodore Roosevelt by an old Mountain Man and included in Roosevelt’s book, “The Wilderness Hunter”.
After reading it several times over the years, it has yet to loose its fearsome, chilling effect. Probably my favorite old time Bigfoot report. Of course, come to find out that there are so many more stories of a related nature waiting to be told both modern and antique. A little frightening when you think about it.
Well, pull up a blanket and prepare to have your flesh crawl as you listen to this vocal recital of Bauman’s story as presented by You Tuber Bob Gymlan. My hat’s off to you, Sir. A nice choice of material and a well done reading.
Art Bell – R.I.P.
Art Bell just passed away. Bell was a very interesting fellow who started the Coast To Coast AM radio program. Bell was a pretty good interviewer and would let his guests discuss their topics at length. Bell followed his interests and featured a lot of paranormal topics and brought on guests who discussed UFO’s, Bigfoot, ghosts, and other strange phenomena. I spent many a night listening to his program and getting scared out of my wits and avoiding sleep. I have great memories of Bell, his beliefs and his sense of humor.
The clip I linked to is an example of the creepy subject matter so often featured on his show. A true original who will be missed.
“A Dream Come True” – (1963)
Twisted Russian fantasy film depicting a manned trip to Mars. Propagandistic in tone in that Russian technology is capable of any space voyage/adventure in these films (see “Planeta Burg”) but the reality is that there was a long record of Russian space mission failures. It seems that the plot formula in a lot of these films is that the homeland’s advanced technology delivers men to the Moon, Mars, and The Stars, but once there, things become unraveled and life or death situations materialize. A drama is thus born. There are no shortage of beautiful and eerie landscapes rendered in shockingly vivid color of the mysterious planet’s surface and a collection of weird, atmospheric synthesizer soundscapes of chirps and bleeps to accompany the strange sights.
The visuals, at times, remind me of Mario Bava’s “Planet of the Vampires”. Not too shabby, in my book!
Break out the vodka and make it the main feature at your next movie night!
THE MIST (2007) – PHANTASMAGORICAL BUMMER
Watching “The Mist” again recently got me to thinking about the original source material, Stephen King’s novella, and the faint memories I had of reading it. I watched the movie and then reread the story. The movie is very faithful to the story. But then there is that ending of the movie….
Once of the single most downer conclusions in popular culture storytelling, I would have to say. Granted, the scenario is imagined in the story but not actually executed. That grim prospect is dutifully carried out in the movie. Oh, it is an awful choice to go down that path. I suppose there is some solace for the rest of the town’s or country’s inhabitants by concluding it this way but there is also a great devastation for a few characters.
Anyway, the story concerns an unexplainable fog or mist descending on a Maine town and the unseen, monstrous “things” which hide in the white cover and attack the unwary. A definite sense of dread hangs over this story and the hard choices which have to be made in order to survive the shadowy beasts and the crumbling humanity which results from the dire circumstances the characters find themselves in. There truly is no easy way out of the situation. Or answers.
I advise you to take the time to read King’s story and to also watch the movie. Decide for yourself if one is preferable over the other. I choose King’s written work. Because the movie just kicks me in the balls.