danm99

Karloff's classic 60's 'Thriller' was a rare, haunting gem of some of the scariest horror stories, written by the best authors of the genre. It's 'trademark' was its logo lines that would come in and out before and after the commercial breaks.

Veteran directors such as John Brahm ("Hangover Square") employed dark, baroque german expressionism to evoke a creepy, ominous mood of paranoia. Newcomer, Jerry "Alien" Goldsmith's eerie soundtracks were unsettling and morbidly effective. (Wish it was available on CD).

Karloff's intros were congenial and sinister, and helped to set the stage for the truly suspenseful and frightening tales. He also appeared in a few episodes such as 'Premature Burial', 'Last of the Sommerviles' (with Martita Hunt from "Brides of Dracula") and 'Incredible Dr. Markeson' with Dick "Bewitched" York. The zombies and dank atmosphere of 'Markesan' seemed like a pre-cursor to "Night of the Living Dead." Ending was truly terrifying.

A pre-Kirk William Shatner appeared in two outstanding episodes; 'The Hungry Glass' with Russell "professor" Johnson and 'The Grim Reaper with Natalie "Lovey" Shaffer. Both were written by Robert "Psycho" Bloch and were genuine supernatural classics.

Robert Arthur wrote 'Prisoner in the Mirror' where researcher Lloyd Bochner ends up trapped in a mirror by evil magician Henry "The Body Snatcher" Daniell. The conclusion was unexpected and quite disturbing - something Hollywood would never have the balls to do today with all its "play it safe" and PC crap.

Feminists may find it interesting to know that THRILLER was one of the first shows that had a woman director. It was Ida Lupino, who did a marvelous job on superb episodes like 'La Strega'; that featured a pre-Bond Ursula Andress and Jeanette "The Big Heat" Nolan, who convincingly played the most horrifying witch imaginable. Had a very hard-hitting surprise ending that was not easily forgotton.

Mz. Lupino also created Hitchcockian suspense in Cornell "Rear Window" Woolrich's 'Guilotine', which has a true kicker ending. Fine performance from Robert Middleton as the sensitive romantically jilted executioner.

'Trio for Terror' was another great Lupino-entry which was a trilogy of three short horror tales; among them, "The Extra Passenger" which had the chilling atmosphere of J. Tourneau's "Curse of the Demon." Clever use of subtlety, which we no longer have today.

John "One Step Beyond" Newland directed Robert E. Howard's 'Pigeons from Hell' with Brandon De Wilde, who, with his young brother, spend a memorable night in a old run-down southern mansion. A true terrifying classic and a masterpiece of atmosphere.

There were many more exceptional episodes that need to be re-discovered due to their great, timeless classic merits.

THRILLER was a genuine one-of-a-kind show, and a soaring tribute to the horror genre. There were also many memorable crime episodes that are worth your attention as well; written by top people such as John D. MacDonald ("Cape Fear"), Lionel White ("The Killing"), Fredric Brown, Philip McDonald; etc. Some of the darkest film noir with the most downbeat of endings. Also, there were occasions where episodes would do a criss-cross of the crime and horror genres to great suspenseful effect.

Make it a top priority to check out this remarkable classic series which Stephen King also had the highest praise for.

THRILLER was (and still is) the best of its kind. Needs a revival and full DVD release. Check the thread on the 'Classic TV' message board.

Now it is my turn to roll up the sleeves. THIS SUCKED!!! A perfect example of the current trend in moviemaking: THE LOST OPPORTUNITY. What really bugged me (besides Lady Heather, the latest has been) about this pretentious mess was that it initially had a strong, promising IDEA, then gallently set out to destroy it. (Does anyone recall REIGN OF FIRE?).

Sure, the IDEA of the unseen menace can be compelling and even inevitably scary, BUT this class room assignment was in the wanna be mitts of the clueless. I won t hark on all the structural flaws, for I prefer not to bore you with common knowledge. If I was in their predicament (which was all their own stupid doing: BAD WRITING!), I might have uttered a few F words, but I would have bored myself after a number of seconds, and then would have followed that stream and pay note to the position of the sun and when & where it sets. Ever been a scout? (I would have also brained that jerk who lost the map, but that's another story). I'll even overlook the no-cell phone motif.

HOWEVER, this non-entity is so "subtle" that the most incredible thing happens: NOTHING! I do like subtlety in suspense and horror, but the tension has to keep consistently mounting in order for it to create the shocks and scares. Obviously, the makers never saw a Hitchcock film. Two true classic horror films, CURSE OF THE DEMON and THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN effectively achieved these crucial means by keeping the monsters off screen, but you could always sense their lurking presense slowly closing in and entrapping you, AND they did finally reveal something and delivered brilliant stories that really shocked and left you wondering later. Both horror gems are highly recommended.

Too bad that THE BORING WITCH didn't know how to run with the big ball. Ideas are like notes, if they are not effectively strung together, then the song will not rock. Back to FILM 101 boys and annoying girls.

Both admirers and detractors should read the short story, "The Wendigo" (and I don't mean that disappointingly insulting film "adaptation") by Algernon Blackwood, for that was actually the scary story that these clowns beautifully ruined. (Now, THAT is a true horror tale). It was about two hunters in the northern Canadian woods who are plagued by an unseen legendary forest demon. Does it really exist or are they flipping out from their isolation and fear? That was the film that should have been made, BUT NOT BY THESE DISPOSABLE JERKS!

MORAL Never get too uptight over a bundle of sticks.

I am reviewing this movie from the perspective of someone who was never a big fan of the comic. It is not that I didn't like the comic, but I never had the urge to get into it. I preferred Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Superman, and the Hulk as opposed to the slightly more intellectual and sophisticated X-men. Somehow my view of the x-men as a dull comic was just doubly reinforced by this exceedingly tiresome, pointless, and boring film. It was not funny, the plot stunk, and even the action was insipid in todays climate of ultra-special effects. Film-making, is still an art form and this movie was completely artless even in the context of making a movie based on a comic strip. The best scene was the opening scene with Night Crawler, by far the most intriguing character in the film. Wolverine was utterly predictable, lackluster and had no edge like the comic apparently had, and storm was lame as well, including her stupid storm power.

The movie took on an endless drone of a plot which no one could possibly care about. I didn't even care about the surprise in the film. Superman for instance, had funny interesting characters, such as the great Gene Hackman and Ned Beatty playing Lex Luther and his stupid sidekick, as well as Reeve who was quite humorous and enjoyable as the dorky Clark Kent. The special effects were also somewhat ground breaking at the time but really the smarmy humor, story and characters made it enjoyable. Not one actor in the x-men was worth a dime or given a chance to show any talent. Did I mention Wolverine sucked? Even the musical score was outstanding in Superman. The x-men, not groundbreaking in its special effects, lacked any semblance of humor and didn't make up for it with intensity. It had a completely forgettable score and was filmed in this modern day plastic, generic style that put me to sleep.

As I said before, the only decent thing in the film was Night Crawler. To all you die=hard adult x-men fans who give a crap about these comic book characters and their powers, etc., get a life, and don't let your loyalty drive you to spend a dime on this moron film unless you yourself are an artless moron.