Category Archives: scary tv

action, comic books, end of the world, entertainment, fantastic television, FAntasy films, Horror, mysterious places, outer space, scary tv, science fiction, science fiction films, star trek

HARLAN ELLISON – R.I.P.

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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!

mysterious places, scary tv, suspense, unexplained phenomena

Kinda Creepy

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OK.  Maybe the visual equivalent of paint drying at times but a genuinely creepy situation of some unknown creature baying in the woods.  The second half, with the rocks being thrown, features some sort of grunting primate perhaps?  I think I am glad that I didn’t get to see what was making all the racket.  Sanity is a terrible thing to waste.  Hehe.

horror movie, horror tv, monster movie, scary tv

Moon Of The Wolf – 1972

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A made for TV fright film that touts a modern day werewolf on the loose in Louisiana.  Although this movie gets a little talky in spots, I like the atmosphere present from the Louisiana setting and the modest amount of frights served up:  Some nice POV shots of the monster descending on his soon to be victims.  Also, some creepy moments as a country estate is stalked at night by the howling, marauding  wolf man and a hospital is plagued by the unwelcome presence of the destructive monster.  Certainly not the best monster make up you will see but thankfully we are not shown the beast too often until the conclusion of the film. The cast has two dependable talents in the form of David Jansen (The Fugitive) and Bradford Dillman (Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Bug, The Enforcer, The Mephisto Waltz). This is a good choice to play on Halloween night or on scary movie night.  When the dialogue heavy scenes are wearing on, that is a good time to grab a cold one or a slice of pizza.

horror tv, monster movie, mysterious places, paranormal, scary tv

DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK – TRAILER – 1973

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1970’s TV movies offered up a plethora of weird subject matter the net result being that it left deep psychological wounds on young, impressionable viewers which I am sure, myself included, they carry with them to this day.  I remember the exhilaration of braving some of this creepy TV material and then spending sleepless nights terrified by the experience.  This unpleasant little story included these hideous, shriveled up, doll sized demons you see here.  You see, there is a lady, actress Kim Darby, who spends quite a lot of time in a dark house filled with these beasts.  They only want her to join their infernal ranks.  Let the drama begin!

fantastic television, mysterious places, outer space, scary tv

ALIENS EXIST ON THE MOON – UFO DOCUMENTARY – 2015

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Some ideas never seem to go away.  Over 40 years ago, there was a book documenting strange anomalies seen in NASA photographs of the Moon’s surface.  Some of the images originated from orbital surveyors, others were taken during Apollo missions to the Moon’s surface.  I have to say that some of the things supposedly seen by acute observers of unusual structures and objects on the Moon stretch credibility and take a good bit of imagination to visualize.  And then there are other images, still and motion, which are hard to figure out what the heck they are.  Anyway, here is a documentary which pours over some of these ’60’s era artifacts along with more recent visuals delivered from the surface of Mars by our rovers, Google Moon images, more NASA footage of UFOs in Outer Space, etc.  Seeing is believing or at least wondering if there could be something to these claims of aliens in our midst all these years.

 

entertainment, fantastic television, paranormal, scary tv, Uncategorized

STRANGE AND UNUSUAL CREATURES – WTF?

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With all the recording devices out there capable of capturing video and digital pictures, it may be but a short time before some substantial evidence of something truly weird will be available.  Have evidence of Bigfoot, aliens, sea monsters and the like already been obtained?  Check out this creepy little compilation of freaky, pixelated pixies of all stripes.  So many monsters, so little time.

documentaries, fantastic television, ghost story, haunted places, scary tv

IN SEARCH OF….(TAKE YOUR PICK!)

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“In Search Of” was a documentary series hosted by actor Leonard Nimoy.  The show ran in the 1970’s and it’s subject matter covered the mysterious, the supernatural, the uncanny and the just plain weird.  Here is a sample episode that pursued the topic of Bigfoot.  I remember watching this program religiously on Sunday evenings and enjoying it immensely.  A precursor to the vast amount of supernatural/docudrama series which populate the cable TV landscape today.  Worth seeking out.

fantastic television, horror tv, scary tv

KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER – “THE WEREWOLF”

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WEREWOLF KOLCHAK

This may be my favorite episode of Kolchak – The Night Stalker TV series.  Kolchak ends up on an ocean cruise to do a fluff piece on the singles scene.  It ends up being anything but a pleasure cruise for the intrepid reporter.  A series of brutal attacks on the paying customers ensue and Kolchak theorizes that a werewolf may be responsible.  It turns out one of the guests is harboring a dreadful secret that has a nasty habit of getting completely out of control when the full moon rises.  This is a very suspenseful show full of dark shadows, memorable acting and plenty of spooky scenes.  Eric Braeden (see “Colossus: The Forbin Project”) turns in a powerful performance as the tortured soul who suffers the curse of the werewolf.  Well worth seeking out!

 

 

 

 

 

fantastic television, scary tv

KOLCHAK – THE NIGHT STALKER – “THEY HAVE BEEN, THEY ARE, THEY WILL BE…”

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This was an episode from Kolchak – The Night Stalker TV series.  This series was spun off after the popularity of the Kolchak TV movies, “The Night Stalker” and “The Night Strangler”.  Unfortunately, the series was only to last one season.  Series star Darren McGavin was involved with the production of the show and after about 5 years of association with the Carl Kolchak role, I think he had had enough and “buried” the burden of Kolchak.  Check out the excellent DVD release of all the TV episodes bundled together.

“They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be…” deals with our friends (?), the aliens.  Kolchak investigates the strange deaths of zoo animals and a mysterious black ooze that is left behind after the forceful attacks.  The ooze also crops up on residential home lawns.  There are also thefts and scary occurrences where the culprit responsible cannot be seen.  How do all these elements relate to each other and who is behind it all?  Nice, atmospheric scenes inside a planetarium and Kolchak’s repeatedly interrupted attempts to attend/ listen to a Chicago Cubs baseball playoff game are among the episode’s many charms.