October 3rd - DEAD OF NIGHT (1977)

First off, before I begin, I just want to say...GO GIANTS!

There, now that we got that out of the way, lets go on for the 3rd film for this month. This is the 1977 made for television anthology film Dead of Night. From the people who brought us Trilogy of Terror comes another made for TV horror anthology film but this one falls way short. In fact, I found this dull and pointless.

The first story is so forgettable, I forgot what the title of that story is. Ed Begley Jr stars as a college grad who fixes up an old car and gets sucked back in time to change some history around. It's very brief and feels like a bad Twilight Zone episode. Whimsical nonsense.

The second story, There is No Such Thing as Vampires is ok but also very brief. This is a period piece about a family that is being stalked by an unseen vampire...or is it. I actually enjoyed the twist to this but the story is so short, it couldn't build any tension or make me care about any of the characters.

The third story, Bobby, is the story I have heard for years that scared the living shit out of everyone who saw it at the time. A woman performs a satanic ritual in her home to bring back her dead son. Minutes later he appears but is not what he seems. Like the other stories, not much tension or character is built due to such a short time length. I was also annoyed by the child's constant teasing of his mother. I don't see how this was scary or disturbing. I found it annoying.

Dan Curtis who I normally love (Trilogy of Terror, Night Stalker) directed the film and Richard Matheson (writer of several Twilight Zone episodes and author of the scariest book I have ever read, Hell House) wrote the stories. I expected much better. This seemed like it was thrown together quickly, maybe to cash in on Trilogy of Terror. Either way, Dead of Night didn't do much for me.

Giants.

October 2nd - THEM! (1954)

I have always wanted to see this movie, being a huge fan of giant monster films from the 50's and 60's. And finally I got a chance to see Them and again, I was not disappointed.

The best part of the movie is the creepy and mysterious opening. In New Mexico, police find a little girl wandering the desert in completely shock. They find her home destroyed and her family dead but the weird thing is that her home is destroyed from the inside out. Something in her home got out...and it was pretty big. Some great suspense, very well done cinematography and well acted, the film is playing up nicely. However, when we find out that giant ants are what is causing this due to nuclear atomic tests, we loose that suspense and mystery and it turns into a big bug monster film. Which isn't a bad thing I guess since it is a fun film but the opening was so much better than the rest of the film. I just can't help to think what it could have been.

The acting is good with Edmund Gwenn (Santa in Miracle on 34th Street) as the doctor who knows everything and James Whitmore (Brooks from The Shawshank Redemption) as the police sgt. who is out to stop the ants. Even Leonard Nimoy has a bit part.

According to imdb.com the film was suppose to be shot in color and in 3-D but the budget got cut at the last minute. The opening title card is still in color. The film was a huge hit and Them is now considered one of the best big bug monster films from that time. Not sure if it is my favorite but it certainly is worth a look.

Another good film! I am on a roll so far!