MST3K - The Amazing Colossal Man (1957)

Here's another movie I loved watching on TV as a kid in the 60's and 70's, though we didn't have MST3K (or cable).

The Amazing Colossal Man stars Glenn Langan as Lt. Col. Glenn Manning, who is inadvertently exposed to a plutonium bomb blast at Camp Desert Rock. Though burned over 90% of his body, he survives, and begins to grow in size. As he grows, his heart and circulatory system fail to keep pace with his growth, and he is gradually losing his mind as a result of reduced blood supply to his brain. He reaches 50 feet tall before his growth is stopped. By this time he has become insane, and escapes to wreak havoc upon Las Vegas.

Full movie, from a playlist:

Sharp Teeth

Sharp Teeth, by Toby Barlow, is a story of werewolves told in verse that is hard to put down once you've started reading.

From Publishers Weekly (starred review):

"Barlow's gut-wrenching, sexy debut, a horror thriller in verse, follows three packs of feral dogs in East L.A. These creatures are in fact werewolves, men and women who can change into canine form at will (Dog or wolf? More like one than the other/ but neither exactly). Lark, the top dog in one of the packs who's a lawyer in human form, has a master plan that may involve taking over the city from the regular humans. Anthony Silvo, a dogcatcher and normally a loner, finds himself falling in love with a beautiful and mysterious woman (Standing on four legs in her fur,/ she is her own brand of beast). A strange small man and his giant partner play tournament bridge and are deep into the drug trade. A detective, Peabody, investigates several puzzling dog-related murders. The irregular verse form with its narrative economies proves an excellent vehicle to support all these disparate threads and then tie them together in the bittersweet conclusion."

Public Service Announcement: Is Your Dog a Werewolf?

This Week in Horror: Dec 28 - Jan 3

December 28
1888 – F.W. Murnau (director of Nosferatu) born (d. 1931)

December 29
1993 – Ghost in the Machine released theatrically

December 30
1942 – Fred Ward (actor in Tremors and Tremors 2: Aftershocks) born
1980 – Eliza Dushku (actress in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Soul Survivors, Wrong Turn, and Open Graves) born

December 31
1931 – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) released theatrically
1941 – Sean S. Cunningham (creator of the Friday the 13th series of films) born
1957 – The Strange World of Planet X released theatrically
1999 – Zombie Revenge released on Sega Dreamcast and arcade

January 1
1940 – Frank Langella (actor in Dracula (1979) and The Ninth Gate born

January 2
2004 – Tremors 4: The Legend Begins released on DVD

January 3




Source: wikipedia Portal:Horror/This day in horror archive

Please leave a comment with any additions/corrections. Thanks.

Friday Night Frights: The Food of the Gods (1976)

Welcome to tonight's episode of Friday Night Frights.

Tonight's feature is The Food of the Gods, written and directed by Bert I. Gordon and based on the novel by H.G. Wells (which is available to read in an online web edition).

Morgan and his friends are on a hunting trip on a remote Canadian island when they are attacked by a swarm of giant wasps. Looking for help, Morgan stumbles across a barn inhabited by an enormous killer chicken. After doing some exploring, they discover the entire island is crawling with animals that have somehow grown to giant size. The most dangerous of all of these, however, are the rats, who are mobilizing to do battle with the human intruders.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Martians kidnap Santa because there is nobody on Mars to give their children presents.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians shows up frequently on lists of all-time bad movies, which naturally makes it prime fodder for MST3K. That version is included here as well. Happy Holidays!




Original version




MST3K presentation

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas (commonly known as A Christmas Carol) is what Charles Dickens described as his "little Christmas Book" and was first published on December 19, 1843 with illustrations by John Leech.

The first of the author's five "Christmas books", the story was instantly successful, selling over six thousand copies in one week. Although originally written under financial duress to help Dickens to pay off a debt, the tale has become one of the most popular and enduring Christmas stories of all time.

You can read the entire text online, as presented by Project Gutenberg, by clicking here.

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

You've made it through Halloween, now try and survive Christmas

Here's a heartwarming, or chilling, clip from Silent Night, Deadly Night.

FEARnet's Top 10 Scariest Santas

Here's a list from FEARnet of their Top 10 Scariest Santas Ever, complete with accompanying video clips!

This Week in Horror: December 21 - 27

December 21
1921 – Maila Nurmi (aka Vampira) born
1966 – Kiefer Sutherland (actor in The Lost Boys and Flatliners) born

December 22
1917 – Freddie Francis (director and cinematographer of many horror films) born
1932 – The Mummy released theatrically
1933 – The Son of Kong released theatrically
1944 – The Mummy's Curse released theatrically
1989 – Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan

December 23
1971 – Corey Haim (actor in Silver Bullet and The Lost Boys) born

December 24
1966 – Diedrich Bader (actor in Dead & Breakfast) born

December 25 MERRY CHRISTMAS!
1946 – The Beast with Five Fingers released theatrically
1961 – The Innocents released theatrically in France
1997 – An American Werewolf in Paris released theatrically
1998 – The Faculty released theatrically
1999 – Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness released on the Nintendo 64 in Japan
2005 – Wolf Creek released theatrically

December 26
1973 – The Exorcist released theatrically

December 27
1940 – The Invisible Woman released theatrically



Source: wikipedia Portal:Horror/This day in horror archive

Please leave a comment with any additions/corrections. Thanks.

DirecTV Horror Heroes Christmas Commercial

Here's a nice Christmas commercial from the good folks at DirecTV.

Friday Night Frights: Gremlins (1984)

Welcome to tonight's episode of Friday Night Frights.

Tonight's feature is Gremlins, directed by Joe Dante. The cast includes Hoyt Axton, Corey Feldman, Harry Carey, Jr., and Phoebe Cates.

A boy inadvertantly breaks 3 important rules concerning his new Christmas pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.

Tales from the Crypt - And All Through the House (1989)

And All Through the House, written by Fred Dekker and directed by Robert Zemeckis, originally aired on June 10, 1989. It was Episode 2 of Season 1 of "Tales from the Crypt".

A greedy woman makes the mistake of murdering her husband while an escaped mental patient dressed in a Santa Claus outfit is on the loose.

Check out the host, Crypt Keeper, dressed as Santa during the introduction!

Watch Part 1

Watch Part 2

The Twilight Zone - The Night of the Meek (1960)

The Night of the Meek, written by Rod Serling, originally aired on December 23, 1960. It was Episode 11 of Season 2 of "The Twilight Zone".

Christmas in the Twilight Zone! Art Carney (Ed Norton of "The Honeymooners") is a forlorn department store Santa who takes to drinking - only to find himself experiencing the nicest Christmas ever!

The Stupidest Angel

This is an excellent book by Christopher Moore to read during the holiday season. A Christmas story with zombies!

'Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through the tiny community of Pine Cove, California, people are busy buying, wrapping, packing, and generally getting into the holiday spirit.

But not everybody is feeling the joy. Little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a holiday miracle. No, he's not on his deathbed; no, his dog hasn't run away from home. But Josh is sure that he saw Santa take a shovel to the head, and now the seven-year-old has only one prayer: Please, Santa, come back from the dead.

But hold on! There's an angel waiting in the wings. (Wings, get it?) It's none other than the Archangel Raziel come to Earth seeking a small child with a wish that needs granting. Unfortunately, our angel's not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch, and before you can say "Kris Kringle," he's botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen.

Move over, Charles Dickens -- it's Christopher Moore time.

This Week in Horror: December 14 - 20

December 14
1955 – Tarantula released theatrically
1965 – Ted Raimi (actor in numerous horror films) born
2002 – Cabin Fever released theatrically
2005 – King Kong (2005) released theatrically

December 15
1974 – Young Frankenstein released theatrically
1981 – Ghost Story released theatrically

December 16
1970 – Night Gallery premieres on television
1983 – The Keep released theatrically

December 17
1976 – King Kong (1976) released theatrically

December 18


December 19
1949 – Nancy Kyes (usually credited as Nancy Loomis, actress in Halloween and The Fog) born
1956 – The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956) released theatrically
1986 – Little Shop of Horrors (1986) released theatrically

December 20
1996 – Scream released theatrically



Source: wikipedia Portal:Horror/This day in horror archive

Please leave a comment with any additions/corrections. Thanks.

Friday Night Frights: Crawlspace (1986)

Welcome to tonight's episode of Friday Night Frights.

Tonight's feature is Crawlspace, written and directed by David Schmoeller and starring Klaus Kinski.

A man who runs an apartment house for women is the demented son of a Nazi surgeon, and has the house equipped with secret passageways, hidden rooms, and torture and murder devices.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas, written by Dr. Seuss and animated by Chuck Jones, is appropriate for this blog for two reasons:

First of all - The narrator and voice of the Grinch is Boris Karloff.

Second of all - The Grinch! A vile, foul monster! Remember?

You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch / You have termites in your smile / You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile / Mr. Grinch / Given the choice between the two of you, I'd take the... seasick crocodile.

You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch / You're a nasty, wasty skunk / Your mind is filled with unwashed socks, your soul is full of gunk / Mr. Grinch / The words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote: Stink, stank, stunk!

You're a monster, Mr. Grinch / Your heart's an empty hole / Your brain is full of spiders, you have garlic in your soul / Mr. Grinch / I wouldn't touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.

Your soul is an apalling dung-heap, overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable, mangled up in tangled up knots.

The famous Grinch song was sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, perhaps better known as the voice of Tony the Tiger in the TV commercials. He received no screen credit for his singing, an oversight Dr. Seuss attempted to rectify by sending letters to every major columnist in America identifying Ravenscroft as the singer on "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch". He is also part of the chorus on the other two songs.

This Week in Horror: December 7 - 13

December 7
1945 – House of Dracula released theatrically

December 8
2004 – Blade: Trinity released theatrically

December 9


December 10
1992 – Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe

December 11
1874 – Paul Wegener (director of The Golem: How He Came Into the World) born (d. 1913)

December 12
1941 – The Wolf Man released theatrically
1943 – Phantom of the Opera (1943) released theatrically
1997 – Scream 2 released theatrically

December 13
1950 – Wendie Malick (actress in the Tales from the Crypt episode "In the Groove") born




Source: wikipedia Portal:Horror/This day in horror archive

Please leave a comment with any additions/corrections. Thanks.

Friday Night Frights: Pumpkinhead (1988)

Welcome to tonight's episode of Friday Night Frights.

Tonight's feature is Pumpkinhead, directed by Stan Winston and starring Lance Henrickson.

As a young boy, Ed Harley (Lance Henrickson) saw an evil demon kill a man. Many years later, Harley and his young son are running a grocery stand in Nevada that is visited by 6 city youths on their way to a cabin. While Harley is away on an errand, one of the boys accidentally kills Harley's son with a motorcycle. Remembering what he had seen that night years ago, and what he had heard, Harley pays a visit to a reclusive witch who helps him invoke that demon - known as Pumpkinhead - to avenge his son's death. As he sees the youths being killed, one at a time, through the eyes of the demon, Harley discovers that a horrific price must be paid...