Man, these guys are speaking my language. I treated the TV Guide magazine like the gospel of cool connectedness that it was. I grew up without cable TV, which was available only in more urban centres in Canada back-in-the-day. I had school friends over for these American TV network events, usually on Friday nights for some reason. I planned my week around the network TV premiers of 'The Omega Man', 'Soylent Green', 'Silent Running', 'Planet of the Apes and later Beneath Planet of the Apes' and made for TV 'The Questor Tapes', 'Gargoyles', 'Where Have All the People Gone', 'Dracula' (with Jack Palance) and 'Genesis 2'. It was a magical time to be young, before VCR's, PVR's, the internet and iphones.
Chris, I’ve been watching Svengoolie for years and “Gargoyles” shows up every couple of years, along with a lot of Other movies you guys talk about. He is kind of keeping the flame burning for old guys like me that think fondly of that past era. Naturally I love The Monsters Den. Never miss an episode.
Svengoolie is a legendary horror host in my neck of the woods. So cool that he is still going, along with Joe Bob Briggs! I never miss Joe Bob's live shows on Shudder, if I can help it.
Currently watching the classic Columbos for the umpteenth time and who's turning up in some of these but Donald Pleasence, Ray Milland, Vincent Price and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Dan Curtis directed a lot of 70's made for tv horror movies: The Night Stalker (1972) The Night Strangler (1973) The Norliss Tapes (1973) Scream Of The Wolf (1974) Dracula (1974) The Turn Of The Screw (1974) Curse Of The Black Widow (1977) He also directed Burnt Offerings (1976), House Of Dark Shadows (1970), and Night Of Dark Shadows (1971).
What a great show. A homerun but not a grand slam. Had you mentioned Dark Night of the Scarecrow it would have been perfect. I remember in the early 80's when that came on Halloween night on CBS. Total surprise at the time. Thrilling! I'm sure it will be mentioned on the next part 2. Thanks Chris and Pete!
I used to set my alarm for the middle of the night so I could watch "Humanoids From The Deep" on Prism at 2:00 in the morning. My parents hogged the TV until they went to bed.
Technically a sci-fi / horror, two part mini series but it was creepy as a kid in 1983, " V: The mini series ", it scared the shit out of me as a 9 year old. lol
I was a young adult when the first "V" aired but never saw it until about 10 years ago. I couldn't believe how something that violent got on network TV.
"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" was as creepy as you can get. It was directed by John Newland who was the host and director of the series "One Step Beyond." He also directed one of the scariest episodes of TV ever made; "Pigeons From Hell," An adaption of the Robert E. Howard story of by the same name and was done for the TV series "Thriller." Both had me sleeping with the hall light on.
Not my favorite TV horror (that would be Salem's Lot), but it's my Holy Grail of movies: 1978's The Dark Secret of Harvest Home, starring Bette Davis, David Ackroyd, Rosanna Arquette, and a bunch of others. The only official release was an edited-down VHS tape in the 1980s; everything else is crap-quality bootlegs. Just cannot believe there hasn't at least been an official DVD release. Tragic. I love the Thomas Tryon book, and the mini-series was great, too. Also, quite a lot of it was filmed in Austinburg, OH, one county over from where I live. So there's that, too. It's pretty easy to identify some of the locations even now, 40+ years later.
You guys are taking me back ! Some great made for TV movies back then. Some that come to mind:" Something Evil", one of Steven Spielberg`s first movies along with the crazy, "Duel". "Black Noon", with Roy Thinnes and Yvette Mimieux. The very creepy, "Crawlspace". The haunting, "Sole Survivor". Looking forward to part 2.
Hello Pete and Chris... looking forward to this episode. Some of my favorite classic tv horror 70s and 80s shows was Kolchak the Night Stalker, Dark Shadows and Night Gallery. ... "Television has really asked the impossible of its handful of horror programs - to terrify without really terrifying, to horrify without really horrifying, to sell audiences a lot of sizzle and no steak." - Stephen King on television horror in 1980. ... Carl Kolchak: Son, I've seen more dead bodies than you've had TV dinners. lol
That Trilogy of Terror is based on 3 short stories from Richard Matheson. The same guy who wrote I am Legend and so many great Twilight Zone episodes as well as so many movies.
Everyone talks about (and rightfully so) the anthology "Trilogy of Terror" with the doll, but most people don't talk about the other late 70's made for tv anthology called "Dead of Night" (not to be confused with the 1945 version) directed by Dan Curtis. There is a TERRIFYING last story called "Bobby" where a mother wishes her dead son back. It is scary as all hell!
Not sure if this is in your wheelhouse, but have you thought about doing the top 5 Twilight Zone episodes? Strange; number of subscribers 66.6K. Well played.
My scariest moment was watching the "Night Stalker" series episode about the headless biker. For some reason that scared the crap out of me at the time. I think it was the idea of being decapitated by a invisible cable that could be anywhere( ohhhhhh!!!). Other favorite series was Night Gallery, I still remember all the paintings to this day.
I remember I bought a small black and white tv with my paper route movie and watched Salem’s Lot on that. Literally sleep with the lights on for a while. Man I loved the 70s.
Don’t Go To Sleep freaked the s$&t of out of me and my younger brother when it aired in 1982. Damn it creeped us out. We were drawing pictures of scenes and scaring each other with references for years. Another favourite was Cruise Into Terror. Definitely high on the cheese factor. It was like a horror Love Boat episode that involved the ancient Egyptian coffin of the baby son of Satan being dredged up from the Caribbean Sea. Lots of cheese but some very creepy and scary scenes. Ray Milland, John Forsythe, Lee Merriwhether, and Dirk Benedict(!). 1978 total craziness.
TV Guide for the win. My parents had remote control for the TV (myself and my sister.) When I got older my job was to get on the roof and adjust the antenna for best reception. Mine: Salem's Lot, Duel, A Cold Night's Death, Don't Go To Sleep, Deadly Lessons.
A Cold Night's Death (1972) with Robert Culp and Eli Wallach is excellent, the whole world by now must be waiting for that TV classic to get a Blu-ray release there's not even a DVD yet. :/ If you like the icy isolation of The Thing's arctic research station setting, this is right up your sci-fi horror alley.
Yes, in the late 60's to the early 70's...I was DEFINITELY my Grandmother's "remote". Worst of all, the knob fell off (like they ALWAYS did) and I learned quite quickly at an early age to operate pliers....When my young cousin was born...he INHERITED the job...
Loved Salem's Lot . I remember a vampire movie called I,Desire that starred David Naughton . Dark Night of the Scarecrow is still amazing and although it's a bit silly ,The Midnight Hour was still fun and quite atmospheric .
Salem’s Lot(1979) and Outbreak(1995) were filmed in Ferndale,California. Eureka my hometown is about 12 miles away. I was a military extra in Outbreak.
Fantastic episode! And even better selections (many of which I fondly remember from both late-night and afternoon programming). When I started watching the episode, I wondered if you'd include "Gargoyles," "Salem's Lot" and both Kolchak films. That, you did! I can still hear Danny Glick's fingernails scraping against the window in "Salem's Lot," not to mention the horrifying sounds of the unseen gargoyle wings flapping outside the car. Horrifying in the '70s, horrifying now. And yes, please release all these selections on Blu-ray!
This was a super fun episode. Im too young to have gotten to experience all these movies on TV so every one is exciting and new. Was everything better in the 20th century? Is sure seems like it. Id gladly exchange social media and smart phones for such great movies, music, and a sane culture. Chris Alo is the man! The Pete and Chris episodes are my favorite. You guys make everything more interesting! Youre a wonderful team. Thanks guys! Long live the Monsters Den!!
I was watching the first Quincy movie...minding my own business when... suddenly they threw a curve ball and for 5 seconds I thought it had turned into a horror movie. If you saw it you wouldn't forget it. The accident victim looks up from the dashboard at her murderer.
I was 10 when I watched a 1969 TV film called 'Fear No Evil' about a spirit living in a mirror. Took me about 2 years to get over it. Starred Louis Jourdan, Carroll O'Connor and Bradford Dillman. Creepy as hell. I only mention it in case it was too old (and you were too young!) for this feature but I'd love to see it again as an adult to check whether it was as good/chilling as remembered.
This is my favorite episode (out of many stellar episodes!) of "The Monster's Den," because TV horror movies hold *such great memories* for me, of being a kid, and these movies being a *huge part* of my introduction to horror. Two favorites: 1981's "Dark Night of the Scarecrow," and 1985's "Chiller," directed by Wes Craven. Also, not a movie, but a short-lived horror TV series: "Darkroom," with James Coburn!
You guys are total dorks!!! And I love being one of those film/music/horror.. dorks also!!! Halloween “78” was that first film to leave me breathless, the “X-files” had an episode that scared me to the same degree!!!…. “HOME” is the goat of TV horror stories!! Absolutely awesome! And thank you Pete for remembering Kolchak!!
In Night Stalker Simon Oakland was Kolchak's editor. Ralph Meeker was his FBI friend and character actor Barry Atwater was the vampire. They tried rebooting the series in 2005 starring Stuart Townsend. It was a much more serious show and only lasted 10 episodes. Don't know if you get METV up there where you are but they show the Night Stalker series early Sunday morning (12AM).
Mother Nature added a bit of atmosphere to this week's show! LOL This was one of my favorite Monster's Den episodes, 'cause I love those old '70s made for TV horror (and sci-fi) movies! Can't wait to see your picks for next time!
A great one, Hope Lange and Paul Burke move into a rural farmhouse and weird stuff happens, hopefully one of those rarities that our TV horror helpers at Kino Lorber can get their hands on.
I was going to suggest Duel but according to IMDb it's an action/ thriller. I think of it as horror, supernatural stuff is horror or fantasy in my opinion. Also how about Dark Secret Of Harvest Home. That one gave me nightmares
The original Night Stalker series airs locally (Hudson Valley) on MeTV (channel 33) on the weekends. It's either Saturday or Sunday nights at midnight. Also, there was a remake of the Night Stalker series which aired for a single 10 episode season on ABC in 2005 - 2006. It starred Stuart Townsend as Carl Kolchak.
Wow fantastic, the first two mentioned are obvious the most memorable.... I too was scared shitless at 11 yrs old .Till this day i still have to watch them annualy. I was so intrigued
Great episode. You have been lucky to have these exclusive for TV made horror movies in the US back then. Over here in germany we didn't have many horror movies made for TV in my childhood in the 80ies. Never watched the original Don't be afraid of the Dark. Thanks for the recommendation. The remake, which is NOT directed by del Toro, is forgetable.
Another great episode. The two The Night Stalker movies were terrific. Spectre starring Robert Culp from a story by Gene Roddenberry is another fun TV movie.
I miss those days of the made for tv films especially the Horror and Sci-Fi films you had theatrical feature films that were broadcast on TV however heavily edited depending what the MPAA rating was but there was the tv films that were made specially for network tv channels like Dark Night of the Scarecrow,the Night Stalker,Salem's Lot, and many others,then when cable tv brought the low budget films that never made the theaters because of being low budget and were direct to video then cable channels like USA Network which in its early days had the best films both low budget schlock and later their own made for tv films also Horror and later SCI-FI Channel,yeah.... I miss those days but they were better than now....the Trilogy of Terror the first two tales were rather boring but the Zuni Doll was the scariest.... that reminds me of the pilot of the Night Gallery series was shown as a tv film and the first segment with Roddy McDowall,Ossie Davis and George Macready where the rich uncle dies at his nephews hands and his greedy nephew keeps seeing the picture painting on the wall of the mansion and the family cemetery the grave of the uncle opens up keeps showing the uncle slowly creeping up to the mansion until his nephew has a heart attack and dies and it turns out the butler had a painter with a series of paintings kind of animating this effect Roddy McDowall is the nephew,George Macready was the uncle and Ossie Davis was the butler the other two segments were rather bland the good old days.
The editor in chief is not Ralph Meeker Pete; but Simon Oakland whom got his start as an actor on the Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents; one of his most popular characters was one episode calling for 4 crooks who steal millions in gold in present day. One of the thief’s plans is to cryogenically put them into suspended animation for 50 years later in order for them to be able to spend their fortunes in the future not to mention having the 🐷 s off their backs. Right in the beginning a 🪨 falling onto one of the glass cases so the gas doesn’t take effect and he’s a skeletal remain as the other 3 come back to life half a century later. Oscar Beregi and Oakland both being the sole survivors and the twist ending Serling always famous for sealing their fates in only a way that he could! Thanks 🙏🏻 again Pete and the Night Stalker is on METV right now Saturday night at midnight 🕛 👌 Sincerely Yours Truly xoxo DJP
One afternoon, I was maybe ten and I was watching PBS. The Battleship Potemkin, followed by the original 1922 Nosferatu, and I was in the basement recroom; rainy, gloomy, Saturday afternoon. I watched them both and had to walk by the workshop which had a partially open accordian door. I was terrified. Shortly thereafter, I watched Bad Ronald, and that did me in...took a while to use the rec-room telly for some time. This was about 1978.
Many thanks to the Kino-Lorber company for continually releasing horror TV movies, and a few series, too, on Blu-ray: The Night Stalker, Night Strangler, Trilogy of Terror, and many more! On the series front, soon, from KL, every single episode of the Kolchak TV series (I still like it, hehe), with commentaries galore, on a four-disc Blu-ray set, and the first season of Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" on Blu!
There was a TV series in the U.K. from the mid to late 60s until the early 70s called Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Unfortunately most of them were lost or taped over but I remember seeing one called “The Tractate Midoth” and it scared me to death. One of the scariest things I’ve ever seen on tv. It was recently re made and it was ok but that original can never be beaten in my eyes. There were a lot of really great episodes early in that series but I think some of the later ones are but they weren’t as good. It’s a pity the early ones aren’t available on DVD.
Quite a few good UK anthology series I'd highly recommend; like Shadows of Fear (1970-73), Scorpion Tales (1978), Beasts (1976) and Dead of Night (1972). All on DVD.
Horror royalty. She was the queen of TV spookiness and Patty Duke the princess, they both made quite a few of these over the years. Back in the '40s and '50 too, Stanwyck excelled in the suspense genre; Cry Wolf and The Two Mrs. Carrolls (both 1947) are just two gems that come to mind.
The 70’s had the best tv horror movies!!! The 2 Night Stalker movies, the Kolchak series, that Bermuda Triangle movie!!! Also I used to love Devil Dog the hound of hell.
Kolchak - The Night Stalker is just a great vampire/police thriller film. One of my favourites. I recently got that on DVD. One that I really thought was good, that you never mentioned, was "The Car," about the devil coming to earth and driving a souped-up Lincoln. Kind of a corny film, but very entertaining, and memorable. For some reason I thought that Steven Spielberg's "Duel," about the serial killer truck driver, started out as a TV movie? I'm not sure on that, but if it did, it has to be one of the greatest TV movies ever made. The killer doll statue segment of Trilogy of Terror is a classic, for sure. I've written down a few of the others that you mentioned, as I think I'm going to order them on DVD. I didn't like the movie version of Salem's Lot, but I think I will give that one another try and buy it. I also enjoyed the TV movie miniseries version of "The Stand."
The made-for-TV horror movie that stuck with me was "The Spell" from 1977, except that for a couple of decades I couldn't remember the title! I did remember all the major plot points , scenes and what the actor/actresses looked liike - but the title I spaced out. About two years ago I was browsing old movies on Amazon Prime and saw one where the thumbnail pic looked like the movie I remembered. Turned out I was correct. The title was so simple & generic that I guess that why I forgot it for so long....Anyway, it was made a year after "Carrie" and followed a similar plot with a picked-on high school girl discovering that she has supernatural powers that she eventually uses against her persecutors. It adds a witchcraft element where the girl has a mentor who guides her in her newfound powers, and has a twist ending that "Carrie" didn't. The main girl's younger sister in played by Helen Hunt before she became well-known, and Lee Grant plays her Mother. Great made for TV movie of that era where almost anything was allowed on TV.
'70s UK TV horror is brilliant, made even more atmospheric (I think anyway) due to being shot on videotape. Some people don't like that because it's associated more with soaps and sitcoms, but it does work for suspense too when done right. There's that immediate 'live' feeling you don't get with the distance of film, although 16mm can work too like say The Signalman (1976) with Denholm Elliott. Children of the Stones (1977), The Secret Garden (1975) and Shadows (1975-77) are examples of VT working also for material made for kids, still very effective. And of course Brian Clemens' anthology series Thriller (1973-76), which always had US guest stars in the lead and shown in America as TV movies with added scenes to pad out the running time. US viewers will also remember many of these for sure, like Someone at the Top of the Stairs with Donna Mills or Spell of Evil reuniting Hammer stars Edward de Souza and Jennifer Daniel from Kiss of the Vampire.
Nice lists! I particularly love The Night Stalker and the Last Dinosaur. I have DVDs of both of those, including the series which you guys were a little hard on. Even the cheesy episodes (Werewolf and Headless Biker) were a lot of fun. Sure, there were a few duller ones, but I think it is pretty solid, but can see why it was a one season show. It broke my 8 year old heart when it ended in the 70s though. Not sure if you guys will mention this next time, but one I recently found on DVD and was searching for it for years was Bermuda Depths. All I remembered was the final scene with the turtle swimming away with the chalk writing on his shell. I've watched it a few times since picking it up. Not as good as the Night Stalker or Last Dinosaur, but still worth it for that sort of mystical feeling and the 70s style cheese.
Night Stalker and Night Strangler are my two favorite TV movies of all time. Another cool one is Dr Cooks Garden with Bing Crosby he’s an insane doctor killing and burying people in his garden. Super creepy.
Trilogy of Terror (loved it then and still love it) Salem’s Lot IT (loved Tim Curry’s Pennywise) Night Stalker (the movies and the series - which was only one season, but in my kid mind it seemed like it was 3 seasons) Dark Night of the Scarecrow Night Gallery (Pilot episode with “The Cemetery” with Roddy McDowell) Night Terror (aka Night Drive) with Valerie Harper Moon of the Wolf
Just watched Night Terror (1977) recently, the Kino Lorber release it's a great little effective chased-on-the-road suspenser. Deserves to be a lot more known than it is.
An idea for a future Monster's Den -True Crime stories. There are plenty of serial killers w/ gory horror stories. Ed Gein, John Wayne Gacy, Hillside Strangler, Jeffry Dahmer, and the worst of all...Ted Bundy. Of course there are many more, but true crime is far scarier than horror movies.
An interesting piece of trivia regarding the Zuni fetish doll story and the original Twilight Zone series: That story is based on a short story by Richard Mathesom called "Prey" and "Amelia" was originally written about ten years earlier as a Twilight Zone episode, essentially identical to what we saw here with Karen Black. Prior to "Trilogy of Terror" it appeared in a collection of Matheson short stories called "Shockwave". However, it was considered way too hardcore for CBS at the time of the original Twilight Zone series, so they demanded a rewrite. The rewrite was considerably watered down and in my opinion not scary at all, though for some reason a lot of people really like the episode. Fans of The Twilight Zone will know it as the episode called "The Invaders", starring Agnes Morehead of "Bewitched" fame playing a middle aged lady living alone in a cabin in the woods being terrorized by what look like little windup robots (not at all scary in my opinion and a tremendous downgrade from the homicidal Zuni fetish doll). The twist of the episode is that the woman, who we assume is in the woods somewhere in Georgia or some such, is actually a giant living on another planet and the little windup robots were actually American astronauts from Earth; in my opinion almost certainly the weakest TZ twist ending ever. At least the original wasn't lost forever and found its way to TV in the form of the "Amelia" part of "Trilogy of Terror". [My only minor pet peeves with the Zuni fetish doll is that it doesn't look Zuni at all; it looks like a Papua New Guinea warrior. The Zuni were actually a North American Indian tribe. I don't think tribal primitive lends itself particularly well towards scary, though it worked spectacularly here. I think if instead it had been something looking like Lady Elaine Fairchild from Mr. Rogers it would have been the scariest thing of all time. Yes - Lady Elaine Fairchild from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood Land of Make Believe. She was creepy af. Mr. Rogers had a dark side, and it is manifest as Lady Elaine.] I totally agree with Pete and Chris regarding the first 2 stories; they're boring af. Similarly, I agree that the circa 2010 Del Toro produced reboot of "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" sucked. It could have been great. The mansion was great. The fact that there were lots more of the creatures was great, and the first scene showing the goblins doing their thing back in the 19th century was a nice creepy touch. The problem? The goblins in the reboot aren't scary looking at all. And you can squish them to death, which makes them more a pest control problem than an encounter with mysterious demonic goblins. The new ones look kind of like rodents (not scary). But I digress...
1961, a Friday night, I was ten years old. I consulted my TV guide and saw that Dracula (Lugosi) was on at 1 am. I had seen all the other Universal monsters. The whole family went to bed, and I tried, really tried to stay awake until 1, but couldn't, I fell asleep around 12:45. The next day I cried to my mother because I didn't have the stamina to stay awake for Dracula. That's what it was like when TV was all we had.
Yeah...I got you beat. It was at Christmas time..and we were at Midway Mall in Elyria, OH (this was the early 70's). I and my Dad were at the Mall and "Rudolph" and Charlie Brown was going to come on. but he didn't want to leave the mall to get home so I could see the shows. He said, "I got an idea"....he then took me to JcPenny's and went to where the TV's were . He said, "Sit your ass down and stay here and I"ll be back in about an hour or so". He then turns the one TV (which was on the shelf at my viewing level) to the channel to where Rudolph was going to come on. And so he leaves....and then OTHER parents see what's going on....and start dropping their kids off.....and leaving. By the time my Dad got back, there was 10 of us kids all sitting on the floor watching Charlie Brown. That was in the days when you could leave a kid alone...and typically nothing would happen...
Great picks , and a couple of new ones for me to check out . The Last Dinosaur and Gargoyles. The Night Strangler / Stalker films are great , as is most of the Kolchak series . I look forward to the next video . Thanks for the recommendations !!
I remember watching Salem’s Lot at my friend’s house and then having to walk home afterwards. The fastest I’ve ever moved in my life.
Man, these guys are speaking my language. I treated the TV Guide magazine like the gospel of cool connectedness that it was. I grew up without cable TV, which was available only in more urban centres in Canada back-in-the-day. I had school friends over for these American TV network events, usually on Friday nights for some reason. I planned my week around the network TV premiers of 'The Omega Man', 'Soylent Green', 'Silent Running', 'Planet of the Apes and later Beneath Planet of the Apes' and made for TV 'The Questor Tapes', 'Gargoyles', 'Where Have All the People Gone', 'Dracula' (with Jack Palance) and 'Genesis 2'. It was a magical time to be young, before VCR's, PVR's, the internet and iphones.
Me too! These were the days!!
Pete said "let's start things with a bang" and the lights flickered, I think y'all might be cursed into one of those TV movies now 😭
Chris, I’ve been watching Svengoolie for years and “Gargoyles” shows up every couple of years, along with a lot of Other movies you guys talk about. He is kind of keeping the flame burning for old guys like me that think fondly of that past era. Naturally I love The Monsters Den. Never miss an episode.
Yep, SO much fun!! And I love that he actually gives you facts about the movie you are watching, unlike so many other "hosts"!
Berwyn
Svengoolie is a legendary horror host in my neck of the woods. So cool that he is still going, along with Joe Bob Briggs! I never miss Joe Bob's live shows on Shudder, if I can help it.
Svengoolie is awesome!
There's also a 1994 animated TV series called Gargoyles, unrelated to this movie.
Carl Kochak was like Columbo he didn't stop until the case was solved.
Currently watching the classic Columbos for the umpteenth time and who's turning up in some of these but Donald Pleasence, Ray Milland, Vincent Price and Jamie Lee Curtis.
The Night Stalker for me. Great TV movie!
Thanks to Chris and Pete for another great Monster's Den.
1979..Salems Lot..my fave TV horror ever..Dark Night of the Scarecrow..1981..second fave..
Havent seen your picks yet,but Im gonna go ahead and say DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW.
Loved that movie as a kid. Charles Durning starred I think.
Dan Curtis directed a lot of 70's made for tv horror movies:
The Night Stalker (1972)
The Night Strangler (1973)
The Norliss Tapes (1973)
Scream Of The Wolf (1974)
Dracula (1974)
The Turn Of The Screw (1974)
Curse Of The Black Widow (1977)
He also directed Burnt Offerings (1976), House Of Dark Shadows (1970), and Night Of Dark Shadows (1971).
Not really a horror movie, but 1976's Helter Skelter always gave me chills growing up.
I ALMOST mentioned that one for the same reason!
Helter Skelter was made like a horror movie, Steve Railsback looked scarier than the real Charles Manson.
@@godetonter4764 Yes, GREAT point!! I saw it as a kid and it scared the crap out of me!
Pete, The Night Stalker is running every Saturday Night at midnight on MeTv, same station as Svengoolie which Chris mentioned he watches.
What a great show. A homerun but not a grand slam. Had you mentioned Dark Night of the Scarecrow it would have been perfect. I remember in the early 80's when that came on Halloween night on CBS. Total surprise at the time. Thrilling!
I'm sure it will be mentioned on the next part 2.
Thanks Chris and Pete!
That’s the one I remember! It had to be 1981 or ‘82, I was like 12 or 13, totally remember watching that one.
Not mention this app/site for a 3rd time it's on Tubi. I bought the dvd last year, great TV horror. Charles Durning was a creep in that
More entertaining than a made for TV horror movie, listening to Pete and Chris talking about said movies. Thanks guys.
Bad Ronald from 1974 on ABC was one of my favorites.
A classic for sure.
Awesome movie!!! Classic.
I used to set my alarm for the middle of the night so I could watch "Humanoids From The Deep" on Prism at 2:00 in the morning. My parents hogged the TV until they went to bed.
Technically a sci-fi / horror, two part mini series but it was creepy as a kid in 1983, " V: The mini series ", it scared the shit out of me as a 9 year old. lol
I was a young adult when the first "V" aired but never saw it until about 10 years ago. I couldn't believe how something that violent got on network TV.
Yeah I remember when the woman leader ate the canary. Wow!
@@sarah2.017 I know, it was pretty creepy, it was probably not for 9 year old eyes. lol
@@russellgentile4719 Yes and a live mouse or rat, freaked me out back then. lol
I love all these monsters' dens episodes, especially with Chris Alo. (And an extra bonus when Rich is there). Thank you so much.
My favorite movie/ mini series made for Tv
1. Storm of the Century
2. intruders (1992)
3. Salem's Lot
4. Dead of Night
5. Don't be afraid of the dark
Salem's Lot, Night Stalker, Night Strangler, Trilogy of Terror, It, Hilarious House of Frightenstein, Trapped and Legend of Lizzie Borden.
Trilogy of Terror scary as hell, even in the middle of the day when I was a kid.
"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" was as creepy as you can get. It was directed by John Newland who was the host and director of the series "One Step Beyond." He also directed one of the scariest episodes of TV ever made; "Pigeons From Hell," An adaption of the Robert E. Howard story of by the same name and was done for the TV series "Thriller." Both had me sleeping with the hall light on.
Not my favorite TV horror (that would be Salem's Lot), but it's my Holy Grail of movies: 1978's The Dark Secret of Harvest Home, starring Bette Davis, David Ackroyd, Rosanna Arquette, and a bunch of others. The only official release was an edited-down VHS tape in the 1980s; everything else is crap-quality bootlegs. Just cannot believe there hasn't at least been an official DVD release. Tragic. I love the Thomas Tryon book, and the mini-series was great, too. Also, quite a lot of it was filmed in Austinburg, OH, one county over from where I live. So there's that, too. It's pretty easy to identify some of the locations even now, 40+ years later.
I feel like I inspired this episode, since I mentioned Don't Be Afraid Of the Dark and Trilogy of Terror to you bros a month or so ago...
You guys are taking me back ! Some great made for TV movies back then. Some that come to mind:" Something Evil", one of Steven Spielberg`s first movies along with the crazy, "Duel". "Black Noon", with Roy Thinnes and Yvette Mimieux. The very creepy, "Crawlspace". The haunting, "Sole Survivor". Looking forward to part 2.
Hello Pete and Chris... looking forward to this episode. Some of my favorite classic tv horror 70s and 80s shows was Kolchak the Night Stalker, Dark Shadows and Night Gallery. ... "Television has really asked the impossible of its handful of horror programs - to terrify without really terrifying, to horrify without really horrifying, to sell audiences a lot of sizzle and no steak." - Stephen King on television horror in 1980. ... Carl Kolchak: Son, I've seen more dead bodies than you've had TV dinners. lol
Boris Karloff's Thriller series and Rod Serling's Night Gallery series is worth mentioning as well.
"Trilogy of Terror" immediately jumps to mind. Loved to be terrorized by "The Night Stalker". Miniseries "Salem's Lot" was great too.
That Trilogy of Terror is based on 3 short stories from Richard Matheson. The same guy who wrote I am Legend and so many great Twilight Zone episodes as well as so many movies.
Everyone talks about (and rightfully so) the anthology "Trilogy of Terror" with the doll, but most people don't talk about the other late 70's made for tv anthology called "Dead of Night" (not to be confused with the 1945 version) directed by Dan Curtis. There is a TERRIFYING last story called "Bobby" where a mother wishes her dead son back. It is scary as all hell!
Not sure if this is in your wheelhouse, but have you thought about doing the top 5 Twilight Zone episodes? Strange; number of subscribers 66.6K. Well played.
I'd love this too! TZ some of the best TV ever!
Yep amazing series, love Rod Sterling the orginal series rules.
My scariest moment was watching the "Night Stalker" series episode about the headless biker. For some reason that scared the crap out of me at the time. I think it was the idea of being decapitated by a invisible cable that could be anywhere( ohhhhhh!!!).
Other favorite series was Night Gallery, I still remember all the paintings to this day.
Salem's lot has scared me for decades. Still does. Always loved dark night of the scarecrow as well
The Woman in Black (1989).
The Possessed (1977).
Salem's Lot (1979).
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1980).
Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981).
I remember I bought a small black and white tv with my paper route movie and watched Salem’s Lot on that. Literally sleep with the lights on for a while. Man I loved the 70s.
Don’t Go To Sleep freaked the s$&t of out of me and my younger brother when it aired in 1982. Damn it creeped us out. We were drawing pictures of scenes and scaring each other with references for years.
Another favourite was Cruise Into Terror. Definitely high on the cheese factor. It was like a horror Love Boat episode that involved the ancient Egyptian coffin of the baby son of Satan being dredged up from the Caribbean Sea. Lots of cheese but some very creepy and scary scenes. Ray Milland, John Forsythe, Lee Merriwhether, and Dirk Benedict(!). 1978 total craziness.
A very creepy thriller made for tv film from 1974, Bad Ronald.
TV Guide for the win. My parents had remote control for the TV (myself and my sister.) When I got older my job was to get on the roof and adjust the antenna for best reception. Mine:
Salem's Lot, Duel, A Cold Night's Death, Don't Go To Sleep, Deadly Lessons.
A Cold Night's Death (1972) with Robert Culp and Eli Wallach is excellent, the whole world by now must be waiting for that TV classic to get a Blu-ray release there's not even a DVD yet. :/ If you like the icy isolation of The Thing's arctic research station setting, this is right up your sci-fi horror alley.
Yes, in the late 60's to the early 70's...I was DEFINITELY my Grandmother's "remote". Worst of all, the knob fell off (like they ALWAYS did) and I learned quite quickly at an early age to operate pliers....When my young cousin was born...he INHERITED the job...
Loved Salem's Lot . I remember a vampire movie called I,Desire that starred David Naughton . Dark Night of the Scarecrow is still amazing and although it's a bit silly ,The Midnight Hour was still fun and quite atmospheric .
Salem’s Lot(1979) and Outbreak(1995) were filmed in Ferndale,California. Eureka my hometown is about 12 miles away. I was a military extra in Outbreak.
Dan Curtis Dracula with Jack Palance was a standout for me
And their Jekyll and Hyde was pretty good, too!
"Harvest Home" with Bette Davis......enough said.
Bad Ronald
THE GREATEST TV MOVIE EVER!!
So glad to see this subject. The Night Stalker and Gargoyles are among my favorite TV films ever!
Fantastic episode! And even better selections (many of which I fondly remember from both late-night and afternoon programming). When I started watching the episode, I wondered if you'd include "Gargoyles," "Salem's Lot" and both Kolchak films. That, you did! I can still hear Danny Glick's fingernails scraping against the window in "Salem's Lot," not to mention the horrifying sounds of the unseen gargoyle wings flapping outside the car. Horrifying in the '70s, horrifying now. And yes, please release all these selections on Blu-ray!
Love the THING t-shirt!! Thank you Chris for your passion!!
This was a super fun episode. Im too young to have gotten to experience all these movies on TV so every one is exciting and new. Was everything better in the 20th century? Is sure seems like it. Id gladly exchange social media and smart phones for such great movies, music, and a sane culture.
Chris Alo is the man! The Pete and Chris episodes are my favorite. You guys make everything more interesting! Youre a wonderful team.
Thanks guys! Long live the Monsters Den!!
Check out "Bad Ronald" a TV movie from ABC. 1974 or so.
I was watching the first Quincy movie...minding my own business when... suddenly they threw a curve ball and for 5 seconds I thought it had turned into a horror movie. If you saw it you wouldn't forget it. The accident victim looks up from the dashboard at her murderer.
I was 10 when I watched a 1969 TV film called 'Fear No Evil' about a spirit living in a mirror. Took me about 2 years to get over it. Starred Louis Jourdan, Carroll O'Connor and Bradford Dillman. Creepy as hell. I only mention it in case it was too old (and you were too young!) for this feature but I'd love to see it again as an adult to check whether it was as good/chilling as remembered.
It's good, it's out from Kino Lorber on a double feature Blu-ray with its sequel Ritual of Evil (1970) also starring Jordan reprising his role.
Great fun I'm 60 living in B.C. Canada,I used to love those movies.Some of them scared the sh# t !! out of me. Good old t.v. guide.. good old days..
I shat my pants the first time i saw danny glick floating at the window, and of course the venerable thespian james mason saying LOOK AT THE MASTER !
This is my favorite episode (out of many stellar episodes!) of "The Monster's Den," because TV horror movies hold *such great memories* for me, of being a kid, and these movies being a *huge part* of my introduction to horror. Two favorites: 1981's "Dark Night of the Scarecrow," and 1985's "Chiller," directed by Wes Craven. Also, not a movie, but a short-lived horror TV series: "Darkroom," with James Coburn!
I remember an episode of "Darkroom" with little green army men!
@@chrisalo2989 Yes! I saw that! I think I saw every episode, but I definitely remember that one! :-)
You guys are total dorks!!! And I love being one of those film/music/horror.. dorks also!!! Halloween “78” was that first film to leave me breathless, the “X-files” had an episode that scared me to the same degree!!!…. “HOME” is the goat of TV horror stories!! Absolutely awesome! And thank you Pete for remembering Kolchak!!
Bad Ronald for Life!
In Night Stalker Simon Oakland was Kolchak's editor. Ralph Meeker was his FBI friend and character actor Barry Atwater was the vampire.
They tried rebooting the series in 2005 starring Stuart Townsend. It was a much more serious show and only lasted 10 episodes.
Don't know if you get METV up there where you are but they show the Night Stalker series early Sunday morning (12AM).
Mother Nature added a bit of atmosphere to this week's show! LOL This was one of my favorite Monster's Den episodes, 'cause I love those old '70s made for TV horror (and sci-fi) movies! Can't wait to see your picks for next time!
“Crowhaven Farm”, a creepy 70s TV movie about a witches coven, I watched this when I was a kid and found it very sinister and unsettling.
A great one, Hope Lange and Paul Burke move into a rural farmhouse and weird stuff happens, hopefully one of those rarities that our TV horror helpers at Kino Lorber can get their hands on.
I was going to suggest Duel but according to IMDb it's an action/ thriller. I think of it as horror, supernatural stuff is horror or fantasy in my opinion. Also how about Dark Secret Of Harvest Home. That one gave me nightmares
The original Night Stalker series airs locally (Hudson Valley) on MeTV (channel 33) on the weekends. It's either Saturday or Sunday nights at midnight. Also, there was a remake of the Night Stalker series which aired for a single 10 episode season on ABC in 2005 - 2006. It starred Stuart Townsend as Carl Kolchak.
I could barely walk past a dark room (let alone go in one) for months after seeing Don't Be Afraid of the Dark as a kid.
Wow fantastic, the first two mentioned are obvious the most memorable.... I too was scared shitless at 11 yrs old .Till this day i still have to watch them annualy. I was so intrigued
I'm shocked noone picked Salem's Lot. That movie scared me & David Soul from Starsky & Hutch did a fine job acting.
They did mention it.
Great episode. You have been lucky to have these exclusive for TV made horror movies in the US back then. Over here in germany we didn't have many horror movies made for TV in my childhood in the 80ies. Never watched the original Don't be afraid of the Dark. Thanks for the recommendation. The remake, which is NOT directed by del Toro, is forgetable.
Thank you Pete and Chris! Hope Rich can join in soon! Great choices - I remember that I called the Night Stalker Kojack too!!
Another great episode. The two The Night Stalker movies were terrific. Spectre starring Robert Culp from a story by Gene Roddenberry is another fun TV movie.
I miss those days of the made for tv films especially the Horror and Sci-Fi films
you had theatrical feature films that were broadcast on TV however heavily edited
depending what the MPAA rating was but there was the tv films that were made specially
for network tv channels like Dark Night of the Scarecrow,the Night Stalker,Salem's Lot,
and many others,then when cable tv brought the low budget films that never made the
theaters because of being low budget and were direct to video then cable channels like
USA Network which in its early days had the best films both low budget schlock and
later their own made for tv films also Horror and later SCI-FI Channel,yeah....
I miss those days but they were better than now....the Trilogy of Terror the first two
tales were rather boring but the Zuni Doll was the scariest....
that reminds me of the pilot of the Night Gallery series was shown as a tv film
and the first segment with Roddy McDowall,Ossie Davis and George Macready
where the rich uncle dies at his nephews hands and his greedy nephew keeps
seeing the picture painting on the wall of the mansion and the family cemetery
the grave of the uncle opens up keeps showing the uncle slowly creeping up
to the mansion until his nephew has a heart attack and dies and it turns out
the butler had a painter with a series of paintings kind of animating this effect
Roddy McDowall is the nephew,George Macready was the uncle and Ossie Davis
was the butler the other two segments were rather bland the good old days.
The editor in chief is not Ralph Meeker Pete; but Simon Oakland whom got his start as an actor on the Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents; one of his most popular characters was one episode calling for 4 crooks who steal millions in gold in present day. One of the thief’s plans is to cryogenically put them into suspended animation for 50 years later in order for them to be able to spend their fortunes in the future not to mention having the 🐷 s off their backs. Right in the beginning a 🪨 falling onto one of the glass cases so the gas doesn’t take effect and he’s a skeletal remain as the other 3 come back to life half a century later. Oscar Beregi and Oakland both being the sole survivors and the twist ending Serling always famous for sealing their fates in only a way that he could! Thanks 🙏🏻 again Pete and the Night Stalker is on METV right now Saturday night at midnight 🕛 👌 Sincerely Yours Truly xoxo DJP
One afternoon, I was maybe ten and I was watching PBS. The Battleship Potemkin, followed by the original 1922 Nosferatu, and I was in the basement recroom; rainy, gloomy, Saturday afternoon. I watched them both and had to walk by the workshop which had a partially open accordian door. I was terrified.
Shortly thereafter, I watched Bad Ronald, and that did me in...took a while to use the rec-room telly for some time. This was about 1978.
Many thanks to the Kino-Lorber company for continually releasing horror TV movies, and a few series, too, on Blu-ray: The Night Stalker, Night Strangler, Trilogy of Terror, and many more! On the series front, soon, from KL, every single episode of the Kolchak TV series (I still like it, hehe), with commentaries galore, on a four-disc Blu-ray set, and the first season of Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" on Blu!
Look out for the cult classics The Victim (1972) and The Screaming Woman (1972), finally coming shortly from Kino Lorber.
@@LarryFleetwood8675 Thanks for the heads-up! I will definitely be looking for those.
We had an old tomcat that scratched at the window in the middle of the night..like Salems lot.Spooked me as a kid.
You are indeed right Mr Alo….We saw Salem’s Lot in the cinema as a feature film in Australia. Great pick….💀💀
It's worth mentioning that both NIGHT STALKER teleplays were written by Richard Matheson.
There was a TV series in the U.K. from the mid to late 60s until the early 70s called Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Unfortunately most of them were lost or taped over but I remember seeing one called “The Tractate Midoth” and it scared me to death. One of the scariest things I’ve ever seen on tv. It was recently re made and it was ok but that original can never be beaten in my eyes. There were a lot of really great episodes early in that series but I think some of the later ones are but they weren’t as good. It’s a pity the early ones aren’t available on DVD.
Quite a few good UK anthology series I'd highly recommend; like Shadows of Fear (1970-73), Scorpion Tales (1978), Beasts (1976) and Dead of Night (1972). All on DVD.
"Killdozer" and "Duel"....each a classic.
Excellent topic guys!
This outta be fun! 👹☠️👻
Salem’s Lot and Satan’s Triangle were two of the best made for TV horror movies. I couldn’t sleep after watching either one. 😳
I remember Barbara Stanwyck starring in a couple of creepy films in the early 70s.
Horror royalty. She was the queen of TV spookiness and Patty Duke the princess, they both made quite a few of these over the years. Back in the '40s and '50 too, Stanwyck excelled in the suspense genre; Cry Wolf and The Two Mrs. Carrolls (both 1947) are just two gems that come to mind.
@@LarryFleetwood8675 She was a true class act.
The 70’s had the best tv horror movies!!! The 2 Night Stalker movies, the Kolchak series, that Bermuda Triangle movie!!! Also I used to love Devil Dog the hound of hell.
Kolchak - The Night Stalker is just a great vampire/police thriller film. One of my favourites. I recently got that on DVD. One that I really thought was good, that you never mentioned, was "The Car," about the devil coming to earth and driving a souped-up Lincoln. Kind of a corny film, but very entertaining, and memorable. For some reason I thought that Steven Spielberg's "Duel," about the serial killer truck driver, started out as a TV movie? I'm not sure on that, but if it did, it has to be one of the greatest TV movies ever made. The killer doll statue segment of Trilogy of Terror is a classic, for sure. I've written down a few of the others that you mentioned, as I think I'm going to order them on DVD. I didn't like the movie version of Salem's Lot, but I think I will give that one another try and buy it. I also enjoyed the TV movie miniseries version of "The Stand."
The made-for-TV horror movie that stuck with me was "The Spell" from 1977, except that for a couple of decades I couldn't remember the title! I did remember all the major plot points , scenes and what the actor/actresses looked liike - but the title I spaced out. About two years ago I was browsing old movies on Amazon Prime and saw one where the thumbnail pic looked like the movie I remembered. Turned out I was correct. The title was so simple & generic that I guess that why I forgot it for so long....Anyway, it was made a year after "Carrie" and followed a similar plot with a picked-on high school girl discovering that she has supernatural powers that she eventually uses against her persecutors. It adds a witchcraft element where the girl has a mentor who guides her in her newfound powers, and has a twist ending that "Carrie" didn't. The main girl's younger sister in played by Helen Hunt before she became well-known, and Lee Grant plays her Mother. Great made for TV movie of that era where almost anything was allowed on TV.
I’m a huge Kolchak fan. The Night Stalker is my all time favorite made for TV movie. Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark is probably my #2.
That Zuni fetish doll was a pain in the ass.
I'd rather have the Zumi for our president than Biden....frankly. At least the Zumi knew what he was doing. Just saying....
Another great show!
I think The Night Stalker is a great movie, TV or not, thanks for mentioning it! How about Duel? Always remembered that one!
A couple from the UK. The Stone Tapes and Penda's Fen.
'70s UK TV horror is brilliant, made even more atmospheric (I think anyway) due to being shot on videotape. Some people don't like that because it's associated more with soaps and sitcoms, but it does work for suspense too when done right. There's that immediate 'live' feeling you don't get with the distance of film, although 16mm can work too like say The Signalman (1976) with Denholm Elliott. Children of the Stones (1977), The Secret Garden (1975) and Shadows (1975-77) are examples of VT working also for material made for kids, still very effective. And of course Brian Clemens' anthology series Thriller (1973-76), which always had US guest stars in the lead and shown in America as TV movies with added scenes to pad out the running time. US viewers will also remember many of these for sure, like Someone at the Top of the Stairs with Donna Mills or Spell of Evil reuniting Hammer stars Edward de Souza and Jennifer Daniel from Kiss of the Vampire.
Nice lists! I particularly love The Night Stalker and the Last Dinosaur. I have DVDs of both of those, including the series which you guys were a little hard on. Even the cheesy episodes (Werewolf and Headless Biker) were a lot of fun. Sure, there were a few duller ones, but I think it is pretty solid, but can see why it was a one season show. It broke my 8 year old heart when it ended in the 70s though. Not sure if you guys will mention this next time, but one I recently found on DVD and was searching for it for years was Bermuda Depths. All I remembered was the final scene with the turtle swimming away with the chalk writing on his shell. I've watched it a few times since picking it up. Not as good as the Night Stalker or Last Dinosaur, but still worth it for that sort of mystical feeling and the 70s style cheese.
In October I hope you bring back the dark and candle atmosphere!
Classic horror month is almost here!!
Yes Pretty and this would have been a perfect night to do so!
Bring back the candlelight!
The candle is here on my desk, so stay tuned!
Alice Cooper said Salem’s Lot was his favorite horror film.
Yeah I saw that "Favorite 5 Horror Films" he did (or something to that matter). Good video.
Don't Go to Sleep is on UA-cam.
One TV film scared the shit out of me was the UFO incident with James Earl Jones.
Night Stalker and Night Strangler are my two favorite TV movies of all time. Another cool one is Dr Cooks Garden with Bing Crosby he’s an insane doctor killing and burying people in his garden. Super creepy.
Trilogy of Terror (loved it then and still love it)
Salem’s Lot
IT (loved Tim Curry’s Pennywise)
Night Stalker (the movies and the series - which was only one season, but in my kid mind it seemed like it was 3 seasons)
Dark Night of the Scarecrow
Night Gallery (Pilot episode with “The Cemetery” with Roddy McDowell)
Night Terror (aka Night Drive) with Valerie Harper
Moon of the Wolf
Just watched Night Terror (1977) recently, the Kino Lorber release it's a great little effective chased-on-the-road suspenser. Deserves to be a lot more known than it is.
I remember the Cloris Leachman movie Dying Room Only being an eerie one...
Yes that's a nice little movie.
Good cast I seem to remember. Ned Beatty, Dana Elcar
5. Night Strangler
4. The Norliss Tapes
3. It (miniseries)
2. Salem's Lot (miniseries)
1. Night Stalker
11:14 is when the actual ghosts show up...
An idea for a future Monster's Den -True Crime stories. There are plenty of serial killers w/ gory horror stories. Ed Gein, John Wayne Gacy, Hillside Strangler, Jeffry Dahmer, and the worst of all...Ted Bundy. Of course there are many more, but true crime is far scarier than horror movies.
An interesting piece of trivia regarding the Zuni fetish doll story and the original Twilight Zone series:
That story is based on a short story by Richard Mathesom called "Prey" and "Amelia" was originally written about ten years earlier as a Twilight Zone episode, essentially identical to what we saw here with Karen Black. Prior to "Trilogy of Terror" it appeared in a collection of Matheson short stories called "Shockwave".
However, it was considered way too hardcore for CBS at the time of the original Twilight Zone series, so they demanded a rewrite.
The rewrite was considerably watered down and in my opinion not scary at all, though for some reason a lot of people really like the episode.
Fans of The Twilight Zone will know it as the episode called "The Invaders", starring Agnes Morehead of "Bewitched" fame playing a middle aged lady living alone in a cabin in the woods being terrorized by what look like little windup robots (not at all scary in my opinion and a tremendous downgrade from the homicidal Zuni fetish doll).
The twist of the episode is that the woman, who we assume is in the woods somewhere in Georgia or some such, is actually a giant living on another planet and the little windup robots were actually American astronauts from Earth; in my opinion almost certainly the weakest TZ twist ending ever.
At least the original wasn't lost forever and found its way to TV in the form of the "Amelia" part of "Trilogy of Terror".
[My only minor pet peeves with the Zuni fetish doll is that it doesn't look Zuni at all; it looks like a Papua New Guinea warrior. The Zuni were actually a North American Indian tribe.
I don't think tribal primitive lends itself particularly well towards scary, though it worked spectacularly here. I think if instead it had been something looking like Lady Elaine Fairchild from Mr. Rogers it would have been the scariest thing of all time. Yes - Lady Elaine Fairchild from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood Land of Make Believe. She was creepy af. Mr. Rogers had a dark side, and it is manifest as Lady Elaine.]
I totally agree with Pete and Chris regarding the first 2 stories; they're boring af.
Similarly, I agree that the circa 2010 Del Toro produced reboot of "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" sucked.
It could have been great. The mansion was great. The fact that there were lots more of the creatures was great, and the first scene showing the goblins doing their thing back in the 19th century was a nice creepy touch.
The problem?
The goblins in the reboot aren't scary looking at all. And you can squish them to death, which makes them more a pest control problem than an encounter with mysterious demonic goblins. The new ones look kind of like rodents (not scary).
But I digress...
Another made for TV movie worth looking into is Crowhaven Farm, aired in 1970 on ABC. Creepy and atmospheric.
Pete,a few of us have noticed 66.6 subscribers,it would make a great Monster's Den,slogan for a t shirt.Robp
1961, a Friday night, I was ten years old. I consulted my TV guide and saw that Dracula (Lugosi) was on at 1 am. I had seen all the other Universal monsters. The whole family went to bed, and I tried, really tried to stay awake until 1, but couldn't, I fell asleep around 12:45. The next day I cried to my mother because I didn't have the stamina to stay awake for Dracula. That's what it was like when TV was all we had.
Yeah...I got you beat. It was at Christmas time..and we were at Midway Mall in Elyria, OH (this was the early 70's). I and my Dad were at the Mall and "Rudolph" and Charlie Brown was going to come on. but he didn't want to leave the mall to get home so I could see the shows. He said, "I got an idea"....he then took me to JcPenny's and went to where the TV's were . He said, "Sit your ass down and stay here and I"ll be back in about an hour or so". He then turns the one TV (which was on the shelf at my viewing level) to the channel to where Rudolph was going to come on. And so he leaves....and then OTHER parents see what's going on....and start dropping their kids off.....and leaving. By the time my Dad got back, there was 10 of us kids all sitting on the floor watching Charlie Brown. That was in the days when you could leave a kid alone...and typically nothing would happen...
Great picks , and a couple of new ones for me to check out . The Last Dinosaur and Gargoyles. The Night Strangler / Stalker films are great , as is most of the Kolchak series . I look forward to the next video . Thanks for the recommendations !!