Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 31

This is it folks! Happy Halloween! Let's dance.

As a treat I'm giving you one of my all-time favorite horror movies, and the inspiration for my "costume" this year. It's Carnival of Souls, the best (only?) horror movie to ever come out of Salt Lake City. Sadly, it didn't seem to make it to television this year, but it's one of those public domain flicks that can be found all over the web. There's a really clear HD version on YouTube, the only bummer being the subtitles are permanently on. But perfect for you hard-of-hearing types!



If you're still looking for some scary viewing, you might give TCM another look late tonight as they'll be airing a whole bunch of shorts directed by David Lynch, spanning his entire career. That fun starts at 11:55PM with The Grandmother. Of course there are plenty of other horrific offerings on TCM all day, including Dead of Night at 7PM. Check out the full schedule here.

I want to thank all those who visited this month! It's been a lot of fun sharing these movie picks with you. If you haven't had a chance, be sure to take a peek at some of the other blogs that have been partaking in the Countdown to Halloween this month, there are plenty of treats to be found.

And until next year, may all your days be just a little bit spooky.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 30

Goly Moses! It's one more day till Halloween! I can hardly believe it.

This has easily been one of the most frustrating weeks of my life, and it's got me feeling like a Halloween Grinch. Hopefully, once I cover my face in gothy white makeup and get some candy in my belly, my outlook will improve. Well, that, and a cocktail or two of course.

SO! Today, TCM is all horror, all day, with Dracula, Frankenstein, and Mummy movies ruling the afternoon, and Val Lewton ruling the evening.

That Lewton festival starts with Cat People at 5PM.




Again, check the full schedule here for the rest of the Lewton offerings. Basically, if you've got TCM, and no desire to leave your house, you should be all set for the day. That actually sounds pretty appealing. A whole day in bed, filing my claws. Cozy!

Le mew...le purrrr

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 29

As we get ever closer to Halloween, TCM is increasing their daily offerings of fright. You can see today's full line-up here. But my pick is Roger Corman's horror comedy A Bucket of Blood, airing at 2:30PM. It stars Dick Miller as Walter Paisley, a busboy at a beatnik coffee house who wants nothing more than to be an artist. One problem: he has no talent. Until, that is, a murder turns things around.



Dick Miller (who is still alive!) went on to play characters named Walter Paisley several more times throughout as his career, primarily in movies from director Joe Dante. But this first Walter will always be the best Walter.

Be a nose!!

A Bucket of Blood is one of those movies you can find online pretty easily, including on Amazon Prime and YouTube. So put on that beret, load it up, and get ready to snap your fingers in approval.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 28

I wouldn't list The Abominable Dr. Phibes and neglect to include the sequel, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, heavens no! So, watch it tonight at 9PM on MGMHD.

Dr. Phibes ventures to Egypt in search of the secret to life after death, in the hopes of reviving his still-dead wife (Caroline Munro). Along the way, people continue to die in highly creative ways.



You can also rent it from Amazon. Just don't try to watch it on your phone...

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 27

Have a potato!

The Old Dark House, by William Castle, is a 1963 remake of a much better 1932 movie by Frankenstein director James Whale. The original isn't on TV this week, but the remake is, tonight at 5PM and 9:15PM on KTVUDT3 channel 195.



But, the good news is you can watch the original on YouTube, should you want to do any comparing. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 26

Today's pick is on late, late, late tonight, AKA tomorrow morning. It's Eye of the Devil, and you can see it at 3:15AM on TCM. It stars Deborah Kerr, Donald Pleasence, David Hemmings, and David Niven, as a vineyard owner who will do just about anything to improve his grapes.



If you watched the above trailer, you probably noticed what is the most intriguing aspect of the movie: Sharon Tate. She co-stars as a sexy witch, and this was her first major film appearance.

The Lamb, the Witch, and Her Awesome Wardrobe

Eye of the Devil is also available via Amazon.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 25

There are a couple of movies I always have to watch in October. Halloween is, of course, one of them. Another is the original Night of the Living Dead, which you can see at 11:30PM on Ovation.

But even if you don't have whatever Ovation is, you can basically see the movie anytime you want, as it's available to watch online all over the place. Including right here!



You can also rent it on Amazon, and stream it via Hulu Plus.

I've always thought a perfect couples' Halloween costume would be Johnny and Barbara from the opening of the movie. Someone do that this year, OK?

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 24

In 1930, while Universal and director Tod Browning were filming the classic Bela Lugosi Dracula, another cast and crew were using the same sets, at night, to film a Spanish version of the same script. Since its rediscovery in the 1970s, (it was once thought to be a lost film), some have argued that it's actually the superior version of the movie.



I've always found the 1931 Dracula to be a bit of a snooze--it's based on a slow play, and the movie doesn't do much to speed things up--but it's still worth watching for Bela Lugosi's performance. So I kind of agree with one of the commentators in the above clip. Too bad Lugosi didn't get to star in director George Melford's Spanish version as well, because Carlos Villarias is no Lugosi.

Yeah...no.

You can watch it at 10PM on KOFYDT2 channel 196 in the Bay Area, or, if you REALLY want to experience both movies the way they should be, TCM is presenting them in theaters tomorrow, around the country. Tickets and showtimes can be found here.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 23

It's "Literary Horror" night on TCM, and you can watch such films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), and The Picture of Dorian Grey (1949). But my pick is the 1941 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, and Lana Turner.

Because this:



I mean, if you know of a better movie in which Lana Turner and Ingrid Bergman are whipped like horses, I want to know about it!

Bet you can't guess which one is the hooker!

You can watch it at 5PM on TCM, or rent it via Amazon.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 22

Today we have the 1972 films The Other, of which The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film (aka My Bible) says it resembles "The Waltons as a horror movie." Consider me sold!



It's on KTVUDT3 195 at 5AM. Whoops! You missed it. But no worries, it's on again this Friday at 2:50PM. I have no idea what this channel is, or what those numbers mean, but if you have Comcast in the Bay Area, it should apply to you.

Oh yay a new doll!

As for other options for watching this creepy evil child twin flick, well, good luck. But it is available to rent on disc from Netflix.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 21

"Love means never having to say you're ugly!"

Tonight at 9PM on MGMHD we have The Abominable Dr. Phibes starring, yes, Vincent Price!



Now, I don't think it will qualify as "the most terrifying motion picture you will ever see," no matter what the trailer says. But I do know it is one of the most beautiful and garish horror movies ever made; OMG, the sets! It's also just plain weird, with its mix of horror and "comedy."

Once again, Price plays a character out for revenge, this time over the death of his wife, for which he will commit nine murders influenced by the Plagues of Egypt. (Locusts! Blood! Etc!)

Also, spoiler alert! He's had a little face work done.





I don't see it streaming on Netflix or Amazon, but you can watch it on YouTube, oddly.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 20

Tonight isn't about scares, but about tradition: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is on ABC at 8PM.

No Halloween is complete without a viewing of this classic tale of a child's dangerous delusions. Seriously, Linus is nuts. He's even got the crazy eyes!

It's followed by Toy Story of Terror at 8:30PM, which has become another fun Halloween viewing tradition.



Alas, I'm not seeing either of these available for online viewing, which isn't surprising, it being a Disney-owned channel and all. You can definitely purchase them though!

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 19

This is the post I have every Halloween, where I talk about the original Halloween movie, and how it's a must-see flick this time of year, and it's on TV tonight....but you shouldn't watch it.

The thing is, it's on AMC, and they edit their movies AND don't show them in the correct aspect ratio (ASPECT RATIO NERD ALERT), even on their HD channel, so I can't in good conscience encourage anyone to to watch Halloween that way.




AMC is also showing a lot of the sequels, which are generally garbage. I remember being pretty disappointed by Halloween II when it came out in 1981, though compared to the rest of the Michael Myers-themed sequels that followed, (Halloween III is a whole other ball of wax I'll hopefully address here this month), it's a classic, and has some genuinely scary things in it, (the biggest one being Jamie Lee Curtis's wig).

Fright wig indeed.

So, Halloween is on at 9PM and Halloween II at 11PM, both on AMC. This is where I'd usually give you alternative ways to view them, but it doesn't look like Halloween is streaming anywhere. Halloween II IS available to rent via Amazon. And you can get Halloween on disc from Netflix. (Just be sure it's the original and not the god awful Rob Zombie remake.)

I'll be watching the fancy Blu-Ray version I got last year for Christmas, and haven't watched yet. Come on over. I'll make popcorn!

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 18

As if circuses weren't creepy enough, vampires were once running them? And the tigers were actually weretigers? Or something?

Not entirely sure, and the trailer to the 1972 Hammer movie Vampire Circus doesn't really shed much light on the matter.



I suppose the only way to clear up this mystery is to watch it at 9PM on MGMHD, which also seems to be the only way to do it, as it isn't available on Amazon or Netflix, or On Demand.

Clearly, he's annoyed by the lack of viewing options.

Oh, don't give up, disgusted circus vampire! I'm sure if you Google it hard enough, some online option will present itself.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 17

Here's a new one. Well, new to me. It's 1957's The Vampire, a black and white thriller about a doctor who starts to take pills made from vampire bats' blood, mistakenly thinking they're his migraine pills. I hate when that happens! Of course, messing around with vampire bats' blood is never a good thing.

First symptom of vampirism: Out of control eyebrows

It's airing at 9PM on MGMHD, but if you're really intrigued, you can watch the entire movie right here, right now!

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 16

Tonight is creepy children night on TCM, with such classics as The Bad Seed and Children of the Damned, (you can see the complete line-up here.)

But my favorite of the bunch is The Curse of the Cat People, which airs just after midnight at 12:15AM. More in title than in actual plot, it's a sequel to the classic 1942 Cat People featuring most of the same cast, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. It's not so much a horror movie as it is a creepy fairy tale about the sometimes scary loneliness of childhood.

It must have confused the hell out of people when it first came out.

I

I think I cried the first time I saw it; it's that touching. And I think it actually makes a better Christmas movie than it does a horror movie, so maybe save it and watch it in December. Speaking of which, can someone get me this cape Simone Simon is wearing for Christmas? Thanks.

I curse you and your amazing cape!

You can rent Curse of the Cat People from Amazon, and it's available on disc (along with Cat People) from Netflix.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 15

The Psychopath, written by Robert Bloch (he had a thing about psychos) and directed by Hammer Film's Freddie Francis is, as one would guess, about a psycho killer. But this one has a little quirk. Well, a quirk aside from that of being a serial killer: he leaves doll versions of his victims at the scene.

The cutest murders ever.

You can watch it at 1PM on a channel called KTVU 195, or on YouTube, though it doesn't seem to be a widescreen version or the movie. Alas.

Finally, here's a disturbingly-titled clip from the movie.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 14

Tonight brings us two Jack the Ripper tales. Well, two highly fictionalized tales of Jack the Ripper.

First, at 11:30PM on TCM we have Time After Time, a movie I've loved since I first saw it as a kid in 1979. It posits that H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) made a real time machine, and Jack to Ripper (David Warner) used it to venture to 1970's San Francisco. Wells follows him to S.F., and falls in love with a bank teller (Mary Steenburgen).



Yeah, it's silly. But it's also fun, and filled with great late 70's San Francisco locations (even though, as usual, they get the geography all wrong).

H.G. Wells? Or modern day bartender?

Following Time After Time at 1:30AM is Hands of the Ripper, about Jack the Ripper's supposed daughter, and how she may be following in her father's footsteps.



If you want to see this one, you're gonna have to have TCM, because it doesn't seem to be available to rent online, and this is what you get if you search for it on Netflix. Ha!

Time After Time is available to rent via Amazon, and YouTube.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 13

Tonight we have a movie I've never heard of, 1971's Tower of Evil, which you can watch at 9PM on MGMHD.  It was also called Horror on Snape Island, and ten years after it first came out, it was re-released as Beyond the Fog, to try and trick people into thinking it was a sequel to John Carpenter's The Fog.

There is some creepy looking fog in the trailer though.



The story, such as it is, follows a group of archaeologists in search of a treasure, who find MURDER instead. "Archaeologists" huh?

Typical archaeologists

It's also available for rent from Amazon.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 12

If you ain't got dreams, you got nightmares

 
Director Wes Craven died in August, and that's a loss the horror movie genre is going to feel for a long time. Sure, he made some crappy movies. But the good movies he made were really good, and I'm going to miss seeing what he could have brought us in the future. Also, he seemed like a genuinely nice and funny guy, as anyone who followed him on Twitter can attest.

So, how's about you watch the original A Nightmare on Elm Street tonight. Technically, it's on at 8PM on IFC, but it's terrible to watch a movie on IFC because they interrupt the film about every 5 minutes to show commercials. Seriously annoying. Stream it on Amazon instead.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 11

After The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but before Poltergeist, director Tobe Hooper made a slasher movie called The Funhouse, about four "teenagers," (like a lot of movie teens, they actually look to be in their twenties), who spend the night in a carnival dark ride, and are hunted by a deformed killer.



Now, it's not a great movie, but for some reason I ended up watching it a lot as a youngster, perhaps because it was on cable, so it kind of made an impression on me. And it's worth watching because of two actresses: Elizabeth Berridge, who would later go on to co-star in Amadeus, as Mozart's nubile wife, and screen legend Sylvia Miles, who plays a fortune teller/hooker. And if that's not scary, I don't know what is.

I see a disappointing sexual encounter in your future!

Now, technically this is on TV tonight, but it's on Telemundo channel 8PM on KSTS, so it will be dubbed in Spanish. But it IS available to rent from Amazon Instant or on disc from Netflix.

Also, someone made a blog that analyzes the entire movie, scene by scene, complete with a ton of images and other Funhouse related memorabilia. Sometimes I just love the Internet.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 10

Tonight we have the second Roger Corman/Edgar Allan Poe/Vincent Price flick, The Pit and the Pendulum, which you can see at 9PM, on MGMHD. This one also has Barbara Steele, who is always a plus.

Steeley eyed, in more ways than one.

Steele plays Prices "deceased" wife--spoiler alert?--whose death drives him crazy, convincing him he's a Spanish inquisitor. (You weren't expecting that, were you?) Also starring John Kerr "in a challenging role." OK trailer, whatever you say!




You can also rent it via Amazon video, or on disc from Netflix.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 9

Tonight at 10PM, Turner Classic Movies brings us what is, unarguably, the best horror movie to ever star a severed head sitting in a lab tray full of magic science liquid.

I speak, of course, of The Brain That Wouldn't Die.

This movie has everything: Pin-Up Girls; Mangled Hands; Monster in a Closet Only to Be Released in Case of Emergency. Flishkeys. (It's that thing of when a monster starts to give you a hickey but ends up biting a chunk of your neck off instead.)

A scarf will cover up that flishkey, no prob.

You can also watch The Brain That Wouldn't Die on Amazon Prime, or for even more fun, watch "Mystery Science Theater 3000"'s version right here!

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 8

Trick or treat!

There's not much to recommend on the TV tonight, so I've decided on days like this, I'll talk about some more recent horror movies that I've seen, liked, and are available to stream via at least one provider.

Today's is You're Next.



Now, on the surface, You're Next might look like a standard home invasion horror movie. And, in some ways, it is. But this one is low-budget, made by some mumblecore veterans, and features one of the most kick-ass final girls in the history of slasher cinema.

In a lot of slasher movies, you've got the girl being pursued, getting away, but doing something dumb in the process. This can be fun, because it gets the audience to yell at the screen with things like "WHAT ARE DOING? DON'T DROP THE KNIFE AND WALK AWAY!!!" But with You're Next, you may yell, "STAB THAT GUY AGAIN!...Oh, good....OK....whoa....WHOA. OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU'VE STABBED HIM ENOUGH!"

Basically, the final girl in You're Next does everything you'd want her to do, and then some. In addition, the movie has some genuine surprises, and is also very funny. I've watched it about five times, and will probably watch it again this month.

Watch it free via Amazon Prime, or rent it for a fee.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 7

OK fine, this has basically becoming Musty Vincent Price, because tonight we have another Roger Corman/Edgar Allan Poe/Vincent Price flick, The Tomb of the Ligeia, which is on MGMHD at 9PM.



This was Corman's last Poe adaptation, and the screenplay was written by Robert Towne, who would go on to write a little screenplay called Chinatown ten years later.

Puttin' on my top hat...

It's also available to rent via Amazon Instant.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 6

We've already established that Vincent Price is the best everything, and that everything is in full force in Roger Corman's The Masque of the Red Death, airing tonight at 9PM on MGMHD.

When Vince blushes, he really blushes.

Like many a Corman movie, it can be slow at times. But it's also wonderfully colorful, beautiful, and at times, a little hypnotic. And, again, Vincent Price. What more do you need?



It's available for rent on Amazon Instant, and via disc from Netflix.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 5

Andy just hasn't been himself since the war.

Director Bob Clark is best known for his perennial classic A Christmas Story, but before he told the tale of Ralphie and his never-ending quest to shoot his own eye out, he was the director of several exploitation films, including the horror movie Deathdream, a retelling of the classic Monkey's Paw story set in the days of the Vietnam War. (It was also known as Dead of Night, as seen in this trailer.)




It's not every horror movie that can boast the presence of two Oscar winners...and actually this one can't either, as John Marley and Lynn Carlin were merely nominated, not awarded. Nice try, trailer!

You can watch Deathdream at 12pm today and 9PM Friday, PT, on Robert Rodriguez's El Rey network. It's also available to rent on Amazon Instant  and on disc from Netflix.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 4

This past month or so I went to see the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom of the Opera. Twice. Now, it was work related, so I didn't pay to see it both times, but I will admit to enjoying the hell out of it. Well, at least the first act, which includes the cheesy theme song that I can't help but love. Luckily, this new touring version keeps the ultra 80's sound of the song, complete with synthesizers and electric guitars. It sounds like something Giorgio Moroder could have written, and that's a good thing in my book. Here's the original cast recording.



Tonight at 9:25PM, PT TCM will be airing the 1925 silent version starring Lon Chaney, and while it doesn't have power ballad guitar chords and synthesizers, it's still pretty good.

The Phantom limbos!

 If you don't have Turner Classic movies, you can basically watch it anywhere, as it's available on all the streaming services, including YouTube.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 3

Roger Corman directs Vincent Price in a movie with a title from an Edgar Allan Poe poem, and a plot from an H. P. Lovecraft novella (The Case of Charles Dexter Ward). It's The Haunted Palace and you can watch it on MGMHD at 9PM, PT.



I think that trailer tells you just about all you need to know about it. It's got Vincent Price. In a lacy shirt. Being burned alive.

Hope that velvet's flame retardant!

To quote comedian Dana Gould, I love Vincent Price so much!

It doesn't look like The Haunted Palace is available to stream, but if you've got Comcast/Xfinity cable, you might be able to watch it via On Demand.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 2

As usual, TCM is devoting its Friday night programming to lots and lots of classic horror movies. Of course, the term "classic" is used loosely for a lot of the offerings. Tonight, we have one certified classic, and one that's never been featured on Musty TV before.

First, the classic: It's The Haunting (8:30PM, PT), one of the only movies to ever make my heart pound with fright, which is pretty amazing since horror movies rarely scare me, and those that do don't tend to be old black and white horror movies. All I can say is, if you've never seen it, you just must.

Oh man. I just watched this scene, and now I'm spooked.



Now for the less-than-classic. It's Two On a Guillotine starring Connie Francis. It's another haunted house movie, but with crazy magicians and guillotines. And Connie Francis.

Shovels! Skeletons! Go signs! TERROR!

That's it. Sold! It's on at 5PM.

You can also watch it and The Haunting via Amazon Video rental.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 1

Hellooooo and Happy Halloween Month! Yes, month. Christmas seems to get about two months with the ever increasing Christmas creep, so Halloween deserves at least an entire 31 days, right? Right.

So, let's begin.

AMC is having a Stephen King movie marathon tonight, although when it comes to Stephen King and movies, there are way, way, WAY more misses than hits. And tonight's offerings fall into the later.

Sure, Pet Sematary (6:30PM, PT) has its fans, but I watched it again about a year ago, and maintain it's a bad movie, but a really weirdly bad one. The acting is just...off. Although, you can't really beat that scene where Gage wields a straight razor scalpel and you can clearly tell the director told the young actor to "Make a GRRRR face!"

Grrrr!

Another killer-child-Stephen-King-movie is Firestarter (4pm, PT), starring Drew Barrymore. It, too, is terrible, especially because George C. Scott plays an evil, one-eyed, Native American (!). Badly. The scenes where Barrymore does her fire-starting basically involve her standing still, sweating and panting, while a fan blows her hair around, Beyonce style.

Terrifying!

Finally, there's Thinner, which I never bothered seeing, since I didn't much care for the book. But you can watch it at 8:30PM, PT.

Pet Sematary is currently available to stream on Netflix, or can be streamed for a rental fee, along with  Firestarter and Thinner, via Amazon Video.