I can’t help it: I love movies that don’t have a prayer of being true. I love monster movies. I get a kick out of a good ghost story. And somehow these movies always seem at their best in the fall.
Here are four of my favorite films along these lines, all of them available somewhere on the Internet. Try Youtube first, then amazon. These are sure to brighten any October weekend.
*Night Tide, starring a brand-new Dennis Hopper. How often do you get to see a scary movie about a mermaid? Despite American International’s trademark cheesy special effects, this movie does contain moments of real eeriness and beguiling fantasy. You’ll be surprised by how un-awful it is.
*The Crawling Eye. A monster movie set in the Swiss Alps–how cool is that? I once nagged my wife to watching it with me–in truth, she hates monster movies–and she had to admit it wasn’t bad. (As you can see, I have set the bar a little low. But “not that bad” is a real achievement for most of these films.) Hey, the crawling eye creeping out of the icy fog–ooooh! That’s scary, boys and girls!
*Zacherley’s Horrible Horror–here we leave “not that bad” behind and plunge into the world of “oh, good grief!” Zacherley, who was surely the greatest horror movie host ever, has assembled a dazzling array of trailers for hopelessly bad films, interrupted by his own weird humor. You don’t want to miss The Alligator People!
*The Uninvited–I’ll throw in a genuinely good one, just to show you my heart’s in the right place–not in a jar on Robert Bloch’s desk. Starring Ray Milland, The Uninvited is one of the all-time best ghost movies, and seasoned with enough humor to keep you from hiding under the sheets. It’s got everything–and all without a second of gore, profanity, or fornication.
Well, there you have it–four October movie treats. Let me know how you like ’em.