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Victim of The Night
There are two other things I am doing this month while watching Horror movies and making this thread (oh, and having a full-time job and having house-guests who aren't interested in watching Horror movies for 12 days):

1. I am watching old Scooby-Doo episodes late at night when it's too late for a movie but too early to go to bed.
Watched this one Saturday night:



2. I am re-reading 'Salem's Lot. As I do every few years during October. Dunno why but of all the Horror novels I've ever read it's the one that gives me the real Halloween vibes. Maybe cuz vampires.


This was incredibly big when I was a kid, my mom read it several times, and then the TV movie came out which had everybody freakin' out and all the parents talking on the wall-phone to each other about it. Good times.
And though the Mr. Barlow from the movie is not much like the one from the book... he's still pretty awesome.




I haven't read Salem's Lot in probably 20 years, but it might be my favorite King that I've read. (I've only read 3 or 4)

And one of my tradtional October watches is the gargoyle episode of Jonny Quest.




Victim of The Night
I haven't read Salem's Lot in probably 20 years, but it might be my favorite King that I've read. (I've only read 3 or 4)

And one of my tradtional October watches is the gargoyle episode of Jonny Quest.

Oh, I don't think I know this one. I'll add it for the next night I'm... in the right state of mind.



Victim of The Night
Here's a curio I did not know about until now:

The Infernal Cauldron (1903)

From The Public Domain Review:

Short film by Georges Méličs, released through his Star Film Company, featuring demons, flames, spectres, and a brilliant array of the film-maker's usual arsenal of tricks. As Wikipdia sums up: "In a Renaissance chamber decorated with devilish faces and a warped coat of arms, a gleeful Satan throws three human victims into a cauldron, which spews out flames. The victims rise from the cauldron as nebulous ghosts, and then turn into fireballs. The fireballs multiply and pursue Satan around the chamber. Finally Satan himself leaps into the infernal cauldron, which gives off a final burst of flame."



Victim of The Night
This is as good a place as any to share this. What a good pal.

Honestly, the genuine happiness he seems to have in his face.

(And thanks for sharing. Anything you choose to share is welcome here.)



I noticed the Melies stuff on criterion a month or two back. I think they've left since then. I did manage to get in The Witch from that collection. IIRC, a man grifts a witch and then she chases him around. Didn't really stick in my memory, but that might have been more of a me-issue.



Victim of The Night
I noticed the Melies stuff on criterion a month or two back. I think they've left since then. I did manage to get in The Witch from that collection. IIRC, a man grifts a witch and then she chases him around. Didn't really stick in my memory, but that might have been more of a me-issue.
They're on HBOMax now, which I have, so I'm watching The Old Hag later tonight.



Victim of The Night

And here's another silly trifle for the books.
I have a certain affection for The Bowery Boys that I developed back when I used to have cable and just left the TV on TCM all the time. They're basically a comedy franchise of street-wise young men going through adventures and antics. The East Side Kids, featured here, eventually became The Bowery Boys as they got older, mostly the same cast as the same characters.
Anyway, The East Side Kids are rounded up for some tomfoolery and sent off to a "camp" for rehabilitation. Along the way their bus stops in a small town where the radio proclaims that a mass-murderer know as The Monster is on the loose and probably in the area. Cue Bela Lugosi. He rolls into town to take possession of the creepy old mansion up on the hill where, eventually everyone ends up. After one of the Kids is shot by the local constabulary. Yes, shot. It was a different time for comedies. Anyway, the Kids are trapped in the mansion with Bela Lugosi and Angelo Rossitti (of Freaks and Beyond Thunderdome fame) and hijinks ensue. Sort of. I mean, there really aren't that many jinks and they aren't that hi. I've seen a lot of Bowery Boys movies and this film had about 70% of the actual content of those. There wasn't too much spooking going on to be honest.
The Kids are game though and try to do their best to keep things funny even when they don't have much to do. And, of course, the producers trot out Lugosi so they can put his name on the poster and the marquee.


But, like most of his post-Dracula films, they really didn't give him all that much to do. Frankly, the whole movie doesn't give anybody all that much to do, unfortunately. There's a good bit of run-time padding and it puts a too much weight on the actors to try to make things funny or exciting when they're really not.
Not sad I watched it, it's always nice to see The Bowery Boys, er, East Side Kids, and it's always nice to see Lugosi. Though it is also sometimes sad. At least it was nice to see him smile for a change.



I have a certain affection for The Bowery Boys that I developed back when I used to have cable and just left the TV on TCM all the time.
I haven't seen a BB film since the pre-cable era (Ch 26). I bet it would hit me like a nostalgia bomb.



The Melies film reminded me of this book I purchased a few years ago:



(Yes, that's THE Brian May. Turns out he's one of the world's foremost authorities on these things.)

The Wikipedia description of Diableries:
Les Diableries is the title of a series of stereoscopic photographs published in Paris during the 1860s. The photographs, commonly known as stereoviews, portray sculpted clay vignettes which depict scenes of daily life in Hell.

So, antique Viewmasters, in effect. Anyhow, they're incredible. Enjoy.










This is a recommendation to tuck away, but I'd suggest The Dismembered (1962). It's an odd little, black and white b-movie, that has some weird throwback charm. Legally speaking, I doubt it's available streaming and you'd have to get ahold of a copy of the blu-ray. But if you ever do, I'd be curious to see it get reviewed in this thread one of these years.



Victim of The Night
The Melies film reminded me of this book I purchased a few years ago:



(Yes, that's THE Brian May. Turns out he's one of the world's foremost authorities on these things.)

This is so awesome.



God bless the great Brian May. My wife took this picture of him at a concert a couple of years ago:



Great pic.

Here's a story about the time Queen threw a Halloween party in New Orleans to celebrate the release of the Jazz album.
My aunt went to the concert earlier in the day, but of course doesn't remember any of it.

(some images NSFW)




A system of cells interlinked
This was incredibly big when I was a kid, my mom read it several times, and then the TV movie came out which had everybody freakin' out and all the parents talking on the wall-phone to each other about it. Good times.
And though the Mr. Barlow from the movie is not much like the one from the book... he's still pretty awesome.

Scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. Ditto for the vampire kid at the window.

__________________
“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



Victim of The Night
God bless the great Brian May. My wife took this picture of him at a concert a couple of years ago:
Holy ****, he really wore that after 1975?!!!



Victim of The Night
Great pic.

Here's a story about the time Queen threw a Halloween party in New Orleans to celebrate the release of the Jazz album.
My aunt went to the concert earlier in the day, but of course doesn't remember any of it.

(some images NSFW)

The fact that all of this and this side of Freddie was sidestepped or completely excised from the extraordinarily mediocre film they made is a significant part of why the film is so extremely mediocre.



Victim of The Night
Scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. Ditto for the vampire kid at the window.

This was the part that really set people off. A lot of "proper" parents were incensed. My mom thought it was the scariest thing she ever saw.
However, if you read the book, that is downright tame compared to some of the stuff that happens.