Night Of The Living Dead – 40 Years Later

IMHO, still the scariest movie of all time.

Dracula’s Greatest Hits

The coolest Monster Mash-inspired record of the 1960’s was this groovy 1964 concoction by comic Gene Moss and Billy Riley, a swinging round of parody songs that have a wonderfully hip Halloween vibe. With songs like “I Want To Bite Your Neck” and “King Kong Stomp” you know this one is a gasser! Especially with the awesome back and cover art by the late great Jack Davis. My brother had this record which I coveted like a ghoul. There was no better soundtrack to reading Famous Monsters Of Filmland. And there are copies of this scratchy LP out there somewhere in Transylvania…

Main Title Theater: Halloween (1978)

The day wouldn’t be complete without the opening salvo of John Carpenter’s 1978 seasonal horror masterpiece.

Monster Mash

Here’s a fun version of  Bobby Pickett’s “Monster Mash” — the greatest Halloween song of all time — performed by The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. This is from a 1968 British TV series called “Do Not Adjust Your Sets” and you can spot Eric Idle in there and some other soon-to-be Pythons mixing it up with the monsters.

Pregnant Pause

Does it feel like the whole country, nay the very world, is holding its breath, waiting to exhale?

It feels much like this gorgeous REM song…

Joe The Plumber Is Full Of Shit.

Even on FOX. Shepherd Smith tries to get McPalin’s newest American Idol to explain why he agrees that a “vote for Obama is a vote for the death of Israel.” Joe is unable to answer any of his questions. It’s rather sad and pathetic. Hopefully America is listening to these ignorant bigots — and ignoring them on November 4. If an anchor from FOX is scared, maybe there’s hope…

October In The Railroad Earth

One of my favorite writers, Jack Kerouac, passed on October 21, 1969. He was a child of the autumnal mindscape; he understood Fall’s rapturous melancholia of falling leaves and whistling winds. His incredible spontaneous essay, “October In The Railroad Earth” perfectly describes the beat vibe of a workaday San Francisco circa 1957, puncuated with Kerouac’s sympathetic observations of city living. Just listen.

Dawn of the Duran: Happy Birthday Simon

To celebrate the birth of Duran Duran poet and singer, Simon Le Bon, nothing is more fitting for this Secret Oktober than the rare video for “Night Boat,” one of their most atmospheric songs from their 1981 self-titled debut album. Directed by Russell Mulcahy in 1982, this is the only music video of the band’s career to feature a voodoo zombie storyline definitely influenced by Lucio Fulci’s ZOMBIE. And I do love the little intro with Simon reciting verse from Shakespeare: “She is the fairie’s midwife…”

Damon Weaver: Fifth Grade Reporter

Speaking of Carl Kolchak, this is adorable and shows how a roving young mind covers Joe Biden. Get this kid on the air NOW. I also love how Biden says “man” at the end of his sentences.

“Senator Biden is now my homeboy.” Boo yah!

Retro-View: The Night Stalker (1972)

I distinctly recall watching the ABC Sunday Night Movie on January 11, 1972. “Tonight, on ABC…” intoned legendary voice actor Ernie Anderson (also known as famed horror host Ghoulardi and father to P.T. Anderson) and then we were off to the made-for-television premiere of THE NIGHT STALKER, based on the novel by Jeff Rice, teleplay by the great Richard Matheson, directed in 18 days by John Llewellyn Moxey and starring Darren McGavin. Even to my young eager monster-kid eyes, I knew this was a very special vampire film. I was drawn not only to the modern take on a Las Vegas bloodsucker run amuck among the other casino bloodsuckers, but to the political paranoia encountered by nosey reporter Carl Kolchak as he tries to suss out who — or what — is responsible for the string of murders. Once the cyncial, determined Kolchak comes to the conclusion that “it looks like we have a real live vampire on our hands,” he must fight city hall and eventually the vampire himself, Janos Skorzeny. With very 1970’s results.

THE NIGHT STALKER turned out to be the most watched made-for-TV of all time, imprinting a generation with the fearless exploits of Carl Kolchak, leading to a sequel, THE NIGHT STRANGLER (1974) and the short-lived series that couldn’t overcome the strained premise that every week, Kolchak must defeat yet another supernatural threat (Chris Carter was a fan which led to THE X-FILES years later). I watched the TV show religiously, primarily because I had a boy-crush on Darren McGavin, still one of my favorite character actors. My parents bought me a tiny miniature camera, and to solidify my beat, I wore a straw hat and snuck around home and hood snappping photos of what I hoped was yet another supernatural threat. Other kids on my block wanted to be Evel Knieval or Joe Namath; I wanted to be Christian Kolchak.

What separates THE NIGHT STALKER from other vampire films was not only the creepy ambiance of the attacks on blood banks and cocktail waitresses, but characters who were vivid and wonderfully played by stalwarts such as Elisha Cook Jr., Ralph Meeker and Claude Akins. Barry Atwater remains one of the genre’s most memorable vampires, along with his brazen bloodthirstiness. But the highlights of the film are the verbal duels between Kolchak and Vincenzo, his gruff editor, ripely played by Simon Oakland. Matheson wrote some terrific dialogue, particularly in my favorite exchange when Kolchak is arguing that the public must be made aware of the vampire threat and Vincenzo accuses, “All this means to you is a byline!” Kolchak’s answer is simple yet truthful: “Who cares what the hell it means to me?” In other words, he isn’t some noble night of the press, but his motivations are to get back to a big-city paper with a big story. It’s also a nice moment when Vincenzo finally tells Kolchak what he really thinks of him at the end. Of course, Darren McGavin owns the role of Carl Kolchak, embodying all the old-school qualities of a Ben Hecht-style reporter; it’s a tremendous genre performance.

What chilled me the most about THE NIGHT STALKER is the ending, with not only the vampire destroyed, but Kolchak’s career, as he is railroaded out of Las Vegas after saving it. The final scenes are unrelenting in showing how the city controls the flow of information, and all that’s left to Kolchak is his tape-recorded account of the events. “Try to tell yourself, it couldn’t happen here,” spools his voice from his recorder in a cheap hotel room, the last visual a perfect prophecy of the Watergate Era.

Give ’em Hell, Joe

When he’s not gaffing up, Joe Biden knows exactly how to take on this combative WFTV reporter, Barbara West, who admirably runs down the complete list of Right Wing Talking Points replete with pointed accusations. Biden handles her beautifully, especially with his sincere, “Are you joking?”

Townhell.com

Speak of the…Anyway. After it turns out the awful story of the McCain phone bank worker being robbed, beaten and a backwards “B” carved in her cheek has been proven to be false, Rick Sanchez of CNN calls out one of the AM chattering elite who breathlessly pimped this sad tale: Hugh “Hyperbole” Hewitt.

Alien Action Figure – 1979

The most perverse toy in the history of American marketing must be Kenner’s 16 inch Alien plastic action figure released just in time for Christmas after the film’s huge theatrical success. I was lucky enough to get one for my birthday (thanks Mom!) along with the Kenner ALIEN Movie Viewer.

I always thought it cool, bizarro and hilarious that the shelves of Toys R’ Us were stocked with a biomechanic H.R. Giger toy replete with phallic skull and jutting jaws during Xmas. The outcry was quick and the Alien figure was pulled from shelves, launching the toy into the realm of the uber-collectable. I still have mine in the box, albeit still slimed with KY Jelly to duplicate the Alien’s exterior goo. Those were the days.

Evil Children at The Cinefamily

Living in Los Angeles during October is an embarassment of cinematic Halloween riches. The Cinefamily at The Silent Movie Theater continues its incredible non-stop month of horror programming on Saturday night with THE CHILDREN (1980), a fun, crazed look at little tykes turned into death machines. And there’s only one way to stop a horde of killer kids with flesh-burning hands…

Opie-bama

This is a pretty fun and effective ad from Ron Howard and Special Guest Stars.