halloween

5 70s TV Horror Movies

The 70s was a interesting decade to grow up in. Ted Bundy, Jonestown, Elvis’s death, Kent State, Star Wars, The Godfather, Battle of the Sexes (Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs) etc. There was also a time when there was no cable and they ran almost anything on network TV….at least that how it seemed to me as a kid.

Those in the New York area must remember the 4;30 movie, the Sunday Night Movie, the Monday Night Movie and Chiller theater. After shaking up my memory and a few calls to my sister, I’ve sussed out a few TV horror movies I remember watching as a child. Here they are, presented in no particular order.

Duel:

If you are a horror movie fan, surely you must have heard of this one. It’s Stephen Speilberg’s first movie about a killer truck with a grudge. It stars Dennis Weaver, who will appear again on the list. Duel is a thriller/horror that follows David Mann, a traveling businessman as he takes a routine road trip for sales, or something like that. He was doing fine until he runs into a rusted eighteen wheeler who doesn’t like being passed on the highway. (At least I think that’s what happened….I’ll be honest, it’s been a bit.” What started as road rage and revenge escalates into a life-or-death game that no one can help David with.

Recently, they tried a weak remake with Wrecker. It was….well, you can read my review here.

See Duel. No, it’s not full of blood and guts, but it’s a study in horror film making.

Don’t Go to Sleep:

Okay, this is acutally from the 80s, early 80s, but I had to include it. My sister and I talk about this one every time we talk about movies. It’s such a good movie: weird and terrible with a great horror ending. It was released in 1982, but such a memory from my childhood, I included it here.

Picture this: a heart-wrenching tale that starts with a family in the deepest throes of grief. Their youngest daughter, Jennifer, tragically loses her life in a car accident. Oh noes! Of course, Now, after such a tragedy, the family goes for that fresh start. But guess what? This place comes with more than just a change of scenery. Cue the eerie, spine-tingling stuff. Mysterious happenings that’ll give you goosebumps start creeping into their lives. Yeah. Don’t look under the bed, okay?

Secrets, lies, and tensions…as well as a pizza cutter. Yes. Just watch the film. It is a surprisingly good movie being ‘made for TV’. Get groovy and watch it. Hold on, it was made in 1982 so, I guess groovy isn’t the best term. Anyway, watch it. Enjoy.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

Yes, this is the film remade by Guillermo Del Toro, but this original 70s version is just choice. Let’s take a quick look at the synopsis. A young couple inherits an old mansion (OH NO!) inhabited by small demon-like creatures who are determined to make the wife one of their own.

Well. I will tell you, the whispers and the sounds the creatures make gave me the chills. I don’t know…did I say this before? There’s something about 70s horror that gets you. Yes, some films are overacted and sort of corny, but then you get a movie like this that kinda gets under your skin. Give it a try, see if you like.

Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell

If you know 70s movies/TV, you know Richard Crenna. Best known, probably, as Colonel Trautman, from First Blood, he also portrayed a cop who was assaulted (in that way) by ex convicts in The Rape of Richard Beck. (I told you, in the 70s, EVERYTHING was on TV.)

This wonderful suburban nuclear family innocenlty adopts a German Shephard, who, if I recall correctly, is either possessed by or bred by Satan. The film stars Richard Crenna Yvette Mimieux (from Lipstick). Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann are the children. Fun fact: The two child actors previously played siblings in the Witch Mountain films from Walt Disney Productions, which I’ve also seen. Of course, the dog rolls up with their own agenda, which includes tormenting the family and trying to get them to harm themselves.

The kicker, though, is at the end, when the dog apparently evolves into its devil-form and…..wow. He looks like a back-projected low-rent Zuul with a fur collar. It’s not to be missed. Have fun with this one.

Horror at 37,000 Feet

What a great cast for this film. Paul Winfield, Buddy Ebsen, William Shatner, Chuck Connors. You horror fans know the drill: Some rich (or foolish) person takes a religious artifact from its proper place, and terrible things begin to happen. This time, it happens on a plane, where there is no escape for the innocent people. Basically, these druid demons wreak havoc on these poor passengers until they get what they want. Also, William Shatner!

If you want to find out where these films are streaming, if they are even streaming, drop “Movie Name streaming” into the search box and it’ll tell you all you need to know. I hesitate to delineate any specific streaming services, because those things change so quickly. Best bet? Get on eBay or a used DVD place and get the physical copy.

Happy Watching!

Horror Movie Review – Wrecker

Title: Wrecker
Genre: Horror
Director: Michael Bafaro
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4227282/

This movie almost WRECKED my marriage. (See what I did there?) My husband had the day off and I suggested we watch a movie.

“Hey, we’ll watch this movie. It’s terrible, but it’ll be fun! We’ll have a few laughs!”

Famous last words.

I’ve seen some horror dreck in my lifetime. I’ve watched the Friday the 13th movies and stuff that I can’t even recall I’ve seen because it’s been so terrible. But I’ve been able to laugh and point and giggle about the director and/or writer being awful. Or awful acting. Sometimes, the movie is bad, but you can see the actors are having fun, so it makes up for it.

This was not the case with this movie. This movie was just bad with no redeeming qualities. None. Wait. I did love the red Mustang and some of the shots were gorgeous. I can say that. But I don’t watch a horror for its gorgeous shots. Really, I don’t.

Let me give you a little overview. Being a woman of a certain age, I have seen a ton of movies. I know most of the tricks, the cliches and the character tropes. And I deal with them, because, let’s be honest, there is nothing new under the sun. And that’s okay.

You know what’s not okay? This movie.

So it starts out, some cross country trip. Blonde girl is nice, brunette is nasty. She’s

drinking, pretending to smoke (As an ex smoker, I can tell a true inhale. You gotta savor that smoke to get that nicotine hit), flashing her boobs, etc. Meanwhile the driver, the good girl blonde is telling her to calm down. Okay, look, blondie, you knew your girl was out of control before she got in the car, so why all the peeved admonishments?

Side note: The poster? Where it says ‘you stop, you die’. They stopped plenty of times and no matter how much I wished……well. Movie poster is a liar.

Anyway, they somehow anger some random tow truck driver and he starts messing with them. I would go on, but even thinking about the movie makes me tired. Suffice it to say many stupid things happen and then it’s over.

Another side note: This second poster? Talking about ‘a wrong turn’? This is also a lie. They took a shortcut ON PURPOSE.

I’ve seen Duel. I’ve seen Joyride. Both were way better and Duel was made in the EARLY seventies. In Wrecker, the acting is terrible. The choices the characters make are ridiculous and make no sense. And…the whole movie had my face screwed up.

My husband was not pleased. What a waste of 70 odd minutes.

Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.

Grade: F
Watch or not to watch?: Don’t bother. It’s not even bad enough to have fun with.

Five More Halloween Movie Favorites – Seventies Version

The seventies. A whole decade devoted to scaring the mess out of kids. If you were a child in the seventies, there was a lot of unsupervised bike riding, going over to other kids’ houses, the 4:30 movie on ABC and those channel 5 movies AND CHILLER Theatre on channel 9. How did we even sleep at night? Oh yeah, with a cigarette and a Michelob.

Can you say “scarred for life”? Well, not really scarred, but whew, did those movies stay with you or what? To add the icing on the cake, many of these were made for TV movies, not theatrical releases. So you could pop in from bike riding, grab a soda, and be scared to death right in your living room.

5. Audrey Rose

A stranger attempts to convince a happily married couple that their daughter is actually his daughter reincarnated.

Director: Robert Wise
Writer: Frank De Felitta (screenplay)
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Marsha Mason, John Beck

Not exactly a horror/scary movie, but it contains supernatural elements. One of Sir Anthony Hopkins’s early films.

4. Burnt Offerings

Haunted house chiller from Dan Curtis has Oliver Reed and Karen Black as summer caretakers moving into gothic house with their young son. The catch? The house rejuvenates a part of itself with each death that occurs on its premises.

Director:              Dan Curtis
Writers:               Robert Marasco (novel), William F. Nolan (screenplay), 1 more credit »
Stars:                     Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Burgess Meredith

Creepy, scary with Karen Black, who does creepy the best. This house is really haunted.

To add insult to injury, when I was older, I read the book, thinking “oh, it wasn’t that scary”. Well, I was wrong. The book is an example of creeping, heavy dread and nothing can stop it.

PLUS, the Penguin was it in? wh

3. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

A young couple inherits an old mansion inhabited by small demon-like creatures who are determined to make the wife one of their own.

Director: John Newland
Writer: Nigel McKeand
Stars: Kim Darby, Jim Hutton, Barbara Anderson

I think I’m still rather scarred by this movie, at least by the memory of it. The creepy whispers and the eyes…and the ending is just ….I have no words.

2. Don’t Go to Sleep

A young girl begins seeing the ghost of her sister who died in an accident a year earlier.

Director:   Richard Lang
Writer:   Ned Wynn
Stars:   Dennis Weaver, Valerie Harper, Robin Ignico

It’s actually a movie that holds up across the time warp. Dennis Weaver (Gunsmoke) is a good actor and we all know Valerie Harper. If you are able to ignore the cheesy 70s clothes and a little overwrought drama, it’s an interesting and scary movie.

1. Trilogy of Terror

Three bizarre horror stories all of which star Karen Black in four different roles playing tormented women.

Director: Dan Curtis
Writers: William F. Nolan (teleplay), Richard Matheson (story), 4 more credits »
Stars: Karen Black, Robert Burton, John Karlen

Just a great movie. The last story, with the little scary doll is the best one. Richard Matheson (I Am Legend) is simply brilliant in his storytelling and William Nolan does his stories justice. This one holds up over time, that doll is SCARY.

Mind you, don’t go into watching these movies with the expectation of gore and slashing and Saw type storylines. Though the movies didn’t have a lot of gore to throw around, it’s the good writing and the psychological aspect that was scary. These movies sneak up on you.

Pleasant dreams, muahahahahah!!

Need more of my crazy Halloween movies? Click here. Or here.

Three Halloween Books for Scary Reading

Yes, we like the movies, but there’s nothing like a scary book to curl up with on a dark, blustery night. When I lived alone, I used to scare myself to death with the sounds that I thought I heard when I was reading an especially scary book. And the dog didn’t help when she jump up and ran out of the room for no apparent reason. (Sometimes I think dogs do that on purpose to scare the mess out of us. Then they go drink out of the toilet and laugh at us.)

Anyhoo, here’s my top five books to read around Halloween, or any time. These are presented in no particular order.

Pet Sematary – Stephen King: I can’t tell you how much this book frightened me. I discuss this in more detail over at my blog, if you care to take a look. Suffice to say, while the movie is pretty scary, it could not come close to the frightening visions that I had conjured in my head when I’d read the book..

I Am Legend – Richard Matheson: Forget Will Smith. Forget the movies. Read the story. Get inside of the head of the last human on earth, who is plagued every night by some kind of creatures who bid him to “come out, come out…” This novel inspired George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. Excellent reading.

Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury: Jim Nightshade and William Halloway encounter a carnival that is not exactly what it seems. To me, some of the themes that run through this novel mirror Stephen King’s Needful Things. If you haven’t read either, read Something Wicked first.

The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson: I saw the movie, yes, it was scary. However, as I wrote before, there’s nothing that can scare you worse than yourself. Shirley Jackson taps right into that terror and carries you along with her.

Rosemary’s Baby – Ira Levin: First of all, stay away from the “sequel”, Son of Rosemary’s Baby. That book made me so angry that I threw the hardcover across the room. Literally. (I am very glad that I hadn’t been reading it on an e-reader because the urge to throw it would have still been very strong.). The original Rosemary’s Baby is another case of the ordinary turning so hideously extraordinary that you can’t believe it’s happening. Certainly, it may be somewhat dated, but still, transport yourself back to the era before the Internet and immerse yourself in the horror.

I hope you enjoy these hand-picked scary selections of mine. Be sure to lock the doors and the windows and leave the bathroom light on. You don’t want to fumble into someone in the middle of the night.

Pleasant dreams!

3 Scary Anthologies for Spooky Season

“Read, read, read. Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.”
–William Faulkner

I’ve recommended books in the past, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever recommended anthologies. Why not, I asked myself…..Gee, Dahlia, I don’t know, I said back. So, I decided to make a change to be a better blogger and recommend some great spooky anthologies for your autumn spooky season reading.

Why anthologies? Well, why not? Anthologies are a buffet for horror lovers, serving up an array of scary stories, each one a delectable small bite of terror. You’ll feast on everything from spooky ghost tales to those spine-tingling dates with the supernatural. And because each story is by a different author, you get a taste of a variety of writing styles.

So, here we are. I’m going to talk about three anthologies that I think you will enjoy. Yes, I have stories in all three of these anthologies, one under my horror name. However, the authors I’m surrounded with are so top-tier that I just had to share them with you.

The Savage Bs

Like B-movies? In the world of horror, even the worst B-movie can be a treat to watch. But there are no bad stories here. Go with the authors on a blood-soaked journey with 13 talented authors as they guide you through a horrifying nostalgic stroll down Memory Lane in our B-Horror-inspired anthology.

Relive the thrill of browsing the shelves at your neighborhood video store, where hidden gems and cult classics awaited. Inside this most excellent anthology, you’ll meet menacing dolls, killer sludge, murderous firemen, and deadly amphibious creatures. It’s a collection so delightfully over-the-top, it deserves the southern-twang narration of Joe Bob Briggs himself, but unfortunately, they didn’t have the budget for that. Get your copy now; this is a book you’ll want to hit rewind on, savoring its gruesome delights time and time again! Click the picture to purchase.

Forever Vacancy

Ooooo! Step into the realm of Colors in Darkness, an online platform dedicated to showcasing the voices of dark fiction from diverse authors. Forever Vacancy is their first anthology.

Here’s the set up: Amid the tumultuous backdrop of the 1960s, a mysterious beacon of malevolence emerged in the heart of a poverty-stricken and forsaken corner of Atlanta. Known as the Kretcher Motel, this mysterious establishment has maintained its sinister purpose throughout the years, beckoning lost souls, the troubled, and even the malevolent. Brace yourself as you check in, for what lies within these pages are thirteen harrowing tales, each dripping with the essence of horror, betrayal, fear, and wickedness.

In the world of the Kretcher, you’ll witness journeys through the uncharted territories of terror contain within its walls. In the Kretcher Motel, the boundaries between reality and the supernatural blur. From the eerie corridors to the foreboding rooms, every facet of this ominous locale serves as a backdrop for tales that will leave you mesmerized and changed forever. Or at least the excellent authors in this awesome anthology hope so. Click the picture to purchase.

Black Girl Magic Lit Mag – The Horror Issue

If you’re like me, you’re tired of that old trope where the Black character dies first in a horror movie. Of course you are. So, get ready for a change with the Black Girl Magic Lit Mag Horror Issue.

In a world where horror narratives have often sidelined or stereotyped Black characters, the Black Girl Magic Lit Mag Horror Issue takes a bold and empowering stance. These stories challege the status quo, break free from clichés, and give the readers a fresh perspective on horror storytelling. The pages are filled with thrilling, chilling, and spine-tingling tales that celebrate the strength, resilience, and unique experiences of Black characters in the horror genre. You won’t find them relegated to secondary roles or serving as mere plot devices or the best friend here.

Instead, these stories showcase the brilliance, courage, and complexity of Black protagonists as they confront (or perpetrate) the darkest of nightmares. Prepare to be captivated, frightened, and inspired by this great Black Girl Magic Lit Mag Horror Issue, where they kick out those tired stereotypes to embrace a new era of horror storytelling. Click the picture to purchase.