The Elvira Show!
Our own Brew Berry reminded me that today is Elvira’s birthday! (Well, yesterday was, depending on when you read this.)
He suggested that I run this in celebration. Here’s the unaired pilot of The Elvira Show, from 1993. HOW have I never seen this?
Description, from YouTube: “CBS filmed a pilot for The Elvira Show hot off the heels of the movie, ‘Elvira, Mistress of the Dark’ — though the show’s plot has nothing to do with the movie. I was lucky enough to actually be at the taping of this pilot. The show starred Cassandra Peterson as Elvira and Katherine Helmond as Aunt Minerva. The writing is witty, and full of innuendoes and one-liners that are so bad they are great! Too bad it was never picked up.”
Wait, so it’s Elvira AND MONA?! Count me in. Happy birthday, Cass!
Disney’s Haunted Halloween!
Boy, I almost hate to “waste” this video on a Monday night when fewer people are around, but I can’t help myself. It’s too good:
Here’s Disney’s Haunted Halloween, an educational short from 1983. It’s dynamite.
Description, courtesy of the uploader: “Disney’s Haunted Halloween is a 1983 Disney educational animated short. It;s a montage piece telling children about the history of Halloween, hosted by Goofy and the pumpkin from Disney’s Halloween Treat. Intermixed throughout are numerous clips from many different Disney cartoons, plus footage of the Disney attraction The Haunted Mansion.”
I live for deep cuts like this! (No surprise there, given that today’s main page article was about Halloween decorations from 1994 that three people remember!)
The Ghoul Log!
Time for the GHOUL LOG, friends.
End your weekend with 90 minutes’ worth of spooky music and haunted noises, set against shots of fiery jack-o’-lanterns.
I love “background noise” videos like this. I’m usually on a desktop computer, and what I’ll do is drag the video into a new window, shrink it down as much as possible, and just let it hang on the upper-left corner of the screen while I go about my online business.
The video is cheesy as hell, but I think it’s a great way to slow things down on a Sunday night. (When you probably want time to move as slowly as possible, anyway.)
Invitation to Hell!
You know what? It’s Saturday, it’s the middle of September — let’s run something with a little more meat on the bone:
Here’s another great pick from Daviel McKaye. Get set for Invitation to Hell, a made-for-TV movie that ran on ABC in 1984.
Daviel has much to say on the subject:
“This is one of Wes Craven’s earlier and lesser known works. Robert Urich and Joanna Cassidy star as the parents moving their kids (Barret Oliver and Soleil Moon Frye) to a new town after Matt (Urich) accepts a new job with a new company that represents a major step up.
“The change seems ideal at first as the family settles into their new community, which is composed mostly of other employees of the same company. But as Matt starts noticing troubling changes in his family’s personalities, he suspects that the nefarious Steaming Springs Country Club run by the devilish Jessica Jones (played by Susan Lucci) — which counts most of the company’s employees as members — may be more than it seems.
“This is one of the most ‘80s movies I’ve ever seen. You’ll know by the end of the first minute if this is your kind of movie. The climax of the film is a special effects-laden spectacle featuring Matt infiltrating the country club in disguise during a conveniently- timed Halloween party to initiate a final showdown with Jessica Jones. But somehow the most memorable scene for me is Punky Brewster disemboweling a stuffed rabbit with a crowbar.”
Okay, so possibly barring that promised Punky/rabbit scene, this seems way up my alley. I’m also tickled that the quality of the YouTube video is so good.
Watch if you have time, but this is also a Generalized Halloween Party Thread (working title), so talk about whatever else, too!
Side note: I am absolutely loving Dino Drac After Dark this season. The threads have been so much fun!
