stivers-lynn

There has yet to be a movie without its share of lovers and haters, and everything in between. I won't waste anyone's time debating the merits or lack thereof in this feature. I've seen far better and far worse, but the one thing that kept me from purchasing the DVD and waiting to catch this free on television is the way the actor portraying Hickok wore his hair, or I should say the lack thereof. That glaring mistake eclipsed the entire effort, and as a lover of history and that period, ruined it for me. Some of the acting was pretty good, some not so much, and Luke Hemsworth did well with what he had to work with. But even the presence of Trace Adkins and Kris Kristofferson couldn't redeem the final impression, as this visual of Wild Bill left me feeling like I'd just seen Santa Clause depart his sleigh with no beard, and wearing a Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts, and flip-flops. How hard would it have been to invest in a wig, or better yet, give the fellow in the starring role a chance to grow his locks?

The obvious celluloid comparison on this particular theme for me is "Wild Bill", released in 1995, with Jeff Bridges in the title role. While that, too, was highly fanciful, chock full of embellishment and fantasy, at least they managed to hit a home run with the look of the legendary icon of the western frontier.

I've been an avid horror fan since my earliest recollection, when my dad would sit me on his knee and we'd watch "Twilight Zone", "The Outer Limits", "Alfred Hitchcock", and whatever horror or scifi features we might happen to catch. This was back before cable TV or VHS or DVD's or Roku... we had to watch what was being broadcast in real time, and the channels were often limited to three or four, so it was indeed a special treat. In 1957 Screen Gems began releasing old movie packages to television stations with titles such as "Shock" or "Creature Features", featuring selections of classic horror/scifi genre films. I was born in 1959, so I was fortunate to have been around during the early years of television horror shows. Independent stations tended to run these movies on Saturday night during prime time, often with a campy set and host to make them more entertaining, while stations with network affiliations had to wait until after the late evening news when they could fill extra time slots and get more advertising dollars. This started a trend, and what was popularly called the "spook show" was born.

Vampira led the pack and others soon followed, as weekend "spook shows" became a staple of American culture. All across the USA, colourful horror hosts filled the airwaves with unique sets and goofy antics. The films were often low budget, and less realistic special effects combined with strict broadcast standards kept the movies from being too terribly frightening, so it all became something of a family tradition, and one I've cherished throughout my life.

These programs hit their peak in the seventies, then sadly for many of us, as networks decided to expand their late night programming beyond prime time, the "spook shows" were steadily replaced with things like "Saturday Night Live" and music concerts. The eighties did see some resurgence in the tradition with icons like Elvira and Joe Bob Briggs offering syndicated episodes, but they were limited compared to the original wave of hosted horror. As fate would have it, cable TV became more available through the years, even in small towns, and the advent of the internet and devices such as Roku opened an entirely new frontier in TV entertainment options.

Our family had never stopped setting Saturday night aside for horror and scifi, especially when VCR's and later DVD players became widely available, but it wasn't the same without a good character to host it all. Luckily, we weren't the only ones who missed our "spook shows", and soon new hosts began to appear with their own shows, while the originals from the early days were elevated to almost legendary status within horror fandom. The Svengoolie character, created by Jerry Bishop, who had originated in the seventies and had never completely gone away, found a place on MeTV with Rich Koz succeeding Mr. Bishop in the role after a stint as the Son of Svengoolie. Other retro networks and alternative channels started picking up new hosted formats, and the horror hosts managed to rise once again.

We had been regular viewers of one of these shows on Retro TV back when Svengoolie was on MeTV at ten. After Sven was off, we'd switch over to Retro and catch their show, which more often than not ran an old horror or scifi feature. Then one fateful Saturday night when I habitually flipped to Retro, instead of the normal show Horror Hotel came on. The opening animation and catchy theme was one thing that immediately brought back the enthusiasm of my childhood anticipation, but when Lamia appeared on the screen she stole my heart. With all due respect to all the pioneers and personalities of this great tradition, she was, in my mind, the ultimate. Enchantingly beautiful, yet refreshingly cute, her perky manner and humourous demeanor renewed my faith that TV horror had not peaked in the seventies after all, but had experienced an outright resurrection... and, unlike any of the hosts before her, she actually had fangs. Her often irritating sidekick Li'l Zombie (irritating for Lamia that is, not the viewers) is always creating some sort of distraction for our lovely host, and the hotel is filled with all sorts of characters like Lupo the werewolf, Big Zombie, Lamia's co-host Lilith, and more recently Vlad, who serves as hotel chef.

The show is the creation of Lamia and Executive Producer Ray Szuch, who has enjoyed a stellar career in the film and martial arts industries, and whose wise guidance and ongoing additions to the show's format have elevated the "spook show" to an entirely new level. Not only do the viewers get a wide selection of films, from popular classics to often forgotten gems which Lamia re-introduces to a whole new generation, but her prologues provide a brief and informative insight into every feature, the stars and directors, and other interesting tidbits. Lamia also fills each show with horror related trivia, data about the year the films were released, and vintage commercials. Occasionally she'll showcase new short and independent films, and offers holiday specials at Halloween and Christmas, as well as other specials to spice up the yearly episodes.

So if you're like me and still long for those Saturday nights filled with fun and frights, Horror Hotel is the perfect combination of campy humour, a traditional atmosphere laced with new technology, and a fresh take on some more obscure movies you may never see anywhere else. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

See for yourself this Saturday, and in the meantime as Lamia says... stay bloody!