When strange accidents happen at the factory where Mr. Monroe works, and vegetables are drained of their juices, the neighbors as well as Harold the dog and Chester the cat suspect that the new-found family bunny is really a vampire.
Bunnicula is a children's book series written by Deborah Howe and James Howe, featuring a vampire rabbit named Bunnicula who sucks the juice out of vegetables. Deborah Howe died in 1978, months before the book first saw print. The series consists of seven books, with the latest published in 2006.
So warm up the apple cider pop the kettle corn sit back relax and enjoy this Halloween-themed edition of the ABC Weekend Special as aired over WLS Channel 7, of "Bunnicula, the Vampire Rabbit" which originally aired on January 9th, 1982.
13 Ghosts
1960 | R | Horror | 1 Hr. 25 Min. | Castle Productions
Director:
William Castle Writer:
Robb White Stars:
Charles Herbert
Jo Morrow
Martin Milner
Reclusive Dr. Zorba has died and left his eerie mansion to his penniless nephew Cyrus Zorba and his family. Along with the house, the Zorba family has also inherited the occultist's collection of 12 ghosts, who can only be seen through Zorba's special goggles. The family members, their lives at risk upon the discovery that Dr. Zorba's fortune lies hidden somewhere in the house, receive aid from unexpected quarters as the threat to their lives is revealed.
I can not think of a better way to usher in Halloween weekend than with a William Castle Classic. I could watch this movie over and over again.
Also be sure to catch Sven Monday night with executive producer Jim Roche they will be doing an on-air shift on WGN radio (720 AM) from 11 pm to 1 am- with some special guests! Then on Halloween- Sven is back at WGN to visit Bill and Wendy at 11:35 am. Plus- Sven will be appearing all day on MeTV-FM ( 87.7) – and on Sirius XM’s “70s on 7” channel! Don’t forget that Sven has been asked to help host the Chicago Bulls game at the United Center on Halloween night.
Also Sven is now on Instagram- @ RealSvengoolie
Start your Halloween early with a visit from”13 Ghosts” tonight at 8PM | 7C, Saturday, October 27, on MeTV.
Plan 9
2015 | Color | 1 Hr 43 Min | Horror | R | Darkstone Entertainment
Director:
John Johnson
Writers:
John Johnson
Edward D. Wood Jr.
Stars:
Brian Krause
Sara Eshleman
Mister Lobo
Synopsis
Plan 9 is the story of Nilbog, a small town with a big story. The beginning of an invasion! These aliens have a different plan for the inhabitants of Earth. To resurrect their dead as their own army set with but one goal: to wipe out all mankind! This night will decide the fates of all who walk the planet and thought they were the top of the food chain.
Life does not get any better than John Johnson love letter to the Ed Wood Jr. Classic Plan 9 From Outer Space. And Johnson is pretty amazing himself behind the camera as well as in front our it. With a low budget and a few friends get together they sure can make a fun movie and Plan 9 is such a fun movie!
The cast is a who's who of internet entertainers like Mister Lobo, James Rolfe, and Addy Miller who shot up in fame as the little girl zombie at the gas station in The Walking Dead. The best camo tho has to be Conrad Brooks was also in the 1959 movie "Plan 9 From Outer Space".
The cheesy special effects are on point for this low budget gem. And with its own twist, there is enough meat to Plan 9 that you will smile ear to ear for the entire hour and forty minutes. I was also shocked at the nudity in this flick again not something you see in a no to low budget movie like this but we see plenty of bear ass to go along with other body parts. The movie is also littered with great easter egg's pointing to other great horror movies.
If you are looking for something fun and simple this Halloween give Plan 9 a chance! You can catch it on many free streaming sites like Vudu and YouTube. There is no doubt in my mind I will revisit Plan 9 from time to time.
Monkey Shines
1988 | TV-14 | Drama | 1 Hr 53 Min. | Orion
Director:
George A. Romero Writers:
Michael Stewart
George A. Romero Stars:
Jason Beghe
John Pankow
Kate McNeil
Synopsis:
When Allan becomes a quadriplegic he loses all hope for living until he meets Ella - a monkey trained to fetch and carry for him around the house, obeying him in all things. But Ella is part of another experiment, and when she starts responding to Allan's underlying rage and frustration she has the ability to carry out her master's darkest wishes.
If this is your first trip to the Cave welcome and thanks for joining me during the 2nd Annual Disability in Film Blogathon hosted by Pop Culture Reverie and In The Good Old Days Of Classic Hollywood. Sit back relax poke around a little I have something for everyone here.
Yes within the first few minutes we get Jason Beghe in the flesh!
Before we get into reviewing this thriller a little about me, I have been volunteering for the Muscular Dystrophy Association for over 40 years and when I was 16 I started going to MDA Summer camp. Last year when this blogathon hit I missed out on joining in but did enjoy the post's so to see it again this year I could not wait to hop on board. People from all walks of life with physical and emotional disabilities should be accepted by everyone every day and it starts with us. If you hang around the Cave long enough you will see post's about or from my buddy Steve who has been a huge part of my life and suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy and has beat the odds for 20 years now. So to watch a movie with an Actor in a wheelchair I will be critiquing his every move. Ok with that said on with the show...
Romero's wonderful wife at the time Christine Forrest
The Godfather of Gore steps away from the blood and guts to bring us his first major studio movie a Drama, Thriller Monkey Shines for struggling Orion pictures. Orion looking for a big hit from its big-name director instead received a box office failure. First, the studio forced Romero to add a happy ending to the picture, a plot device which the director had long avoided in favor of more ambiguous endings. Second, after poor previews, the studio recut the film without Romero's knowledge to add a "shock" ending. Another issue was the film's overall length, and I can back that up with an almost two hours run time Monkey Shines is a very slow burn! In fact, the slow pace did not pick up until the last 10 minutes or so. The movie would have benefitted from losing a few of those subplots that are peppered throughout the first hour. Instead, Romero loses momentum in the closing passages because he has too many loose ends to keep track of. Roger Ebert said it best "Somewhere within this movie’s two hours or so is hidden an absolutely spellbinding 90-minute thriller." I could not agree more.
Chicago P.D.'s tough as nails Hank Voight played by Jason Beghe (Allen) is our star and the man in the chair. His subplot works well as he has a perfect life a gorgeous girlfriend and is physically fit when his world gets turned upside down. When Allen goes out for a jog and gets hit by a truck the "wheels" are set in motion. Beghe does an amazing job convincing us he is in a wheelchair. He really took the time to learn the ins and outs of using the controller properly. And when things happen to him that he can not control your body will tense up giving you a feeling of helplessness as well, and this tension on the screen is great! Beghe can act as well from nice guy to rage in seconds he can really pile it on. It was also pretty cool to see other medical devices being used like a Hoyer lift and a special needs phone that he can use.
But of course the movie is about a man in a wheelchair being helped by a service animal and in this case, it's a crazed monkey named Ella. Ella is amazing and the practical effects blend in very well and its hard to tell when its a monkey on the screen or a puppet. I truly enjoyed how Romero makes you feel empathy for the monkey and its new owner to hatred and rage as Ella tries to protect her loved one. I also like the P.O.V. camera work when we switch to Ella's rage giving us that 80's indy film look.
I feel like the opening of my review was too negative for a movie that I actually liked. The story has promise even if it just runs a tad long. The Cinematography is great with the framing never taking you on a wild ride it is all clean and cut smooth lending itself to the tension of the scene. The soundtrack is wonderful with a nice opening orchestra movement to set a lovely upbeat tone as well as the smooth voice of Peggy Lee to fill in the others. This is also one of the very few films depicting a quadriplegic having sex. Ask anyone in a wheelchair one of the questions they get the most often is "Can you have sex?" and let me tell you it's annoying if you do not know the answer then just ask your self-are you human? If so then can you have sex? Anyway, the scene is very well done and I applaud Romero for putting it in his film.
They say your pet looks like you over time.
One other fun fact is the young cast and how well they work together from its stars to others like Kate McNeil, Joyce Van Patten, Christine Forrest and of course in his first role Stephen Root, then a stage actor and of course the star of Office Space (IMO). According to Root, he had been instructed by his agent not to let the casting directors know that he was inexperienced with film as an actor. Root's official debut was Crocodile Dundee II, which had been released in theaters a month before this film, despite being shot a month after it.
Ella played by Boo
Romero's Thriller might play long at times crawling to its exciting conclusion Monkey Shines should be talked about more than it does. From its strong cast and well-written storyline, this is a movie that disevres to be seen. I mean come on we all know that with animals we are going to get jump scares and yet this one successfully made me jump once and I consider myself pretty hardcore. If your looking for a movie to watch on a raining day this is one of those movies.
Ella, I give you...
3 Bloody Brains out of 5
Maybe this short video of Steve and I spot something strange in the woods would be a better flick?
Super Monsters Save Halloween
2018 | Color | 24 Minutes | G | Family | Netflix
Stars:
Elyse Maloway
Erin Matthews
Vincent Tong
Synopsis:
The Super Monsters use their powers to get their neighbors in the Halloween spirit, then help a nervous friend see there's nothing to be afraid of.
Everybody's favorite holiday might be Halloween, but when you’ve got young children, that’s not usually the case. Sure, kindergarteners love treats, but not all of them love tricks ⏤ and they certainly don’t love masks covered in blood or zombies emerging from the grave. I remember when my girls were growing up it was all about Wonder Pet's, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Elmo when it came to a safe Halloween special to watch with them (and we still watch today). And we loved every one of them so would Netflix Super Monsters Save Halloween fill the same bill?
The premise is relatively simple: all of the small children are ware-monsters of a kind; they look human during the day and become “super monsters!” at night. The idea of the kids becoming monsters at night is a nice touch breaking the ice that it is still safe in the dark. The Super Monsters are cute and their effort to save Haloween from obscurity is even cuter, even if it is a little odd. And, in terms of brand-new cartoons appropriate for kids who haven’t hit grade school, Super Monsters allows them to enjoy a Halloween special without being freaked out.
What I did not know was this is based on a toy line of the same name by Playskool but I did know it was also a stand-alone episode to a Netflix series enjoying its second year. Super Monsters are very compassionate, with helping a little boy overcome his fears, and their efforts may just comfort a hefty number of young viewers, too. Everything is done right for the children it is bright and colorful with some simple music to balance out a story that even my 10-year-old and I liked.
The 1960s hit "Monster Mash" is introduced to kids, as well. The "song-and-dance" number is adorable. Super Monsters Save Halloween is definitely intended specifically for little kids so if you have the grandkids this weekend fire up Netflix and enjoy because someday soon they will be asking to watch Stanger Things instead.
