Remembering Made-for-TV Terrors
Blogger Stacie Ponder's horror columns will appear every Wednesday through April.
If you'll excuse me for a moment, I'm about to get all, "You kids get off my lawn, oh my bursitis is flaring up" here. I realize that no one wants to hear about the "good old days" or how "Our old LaSalle ran great," but I'm saying it anyway, because some things cannot be denied: Made-for-TV horror movies were better way back when.
Plenty of theatrically released genre films kept me awake late into the night, plagued by thoughts like, "Could Jason Voorhees climb up the side of my house and get in my window?" (Of course, it never occurred to me to ask why Jason would travel all the way to southeastern Connecticut just to come after me in the first place.) But some of my most enduring childhood scares came courtesy of those "mild" made-for-TV horrors. In the '70s and early '80s, you had to look no further than the "Movie of the Week" to get your fill of mind-warping frights. Here are but a few that really got the blood pumping -- without showing it flowing:
Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)
Charles Durning and his good ol' boy cronies mete out some country justice on Bubba (Larry Drake), a mentally-challenged man falsely accused of murder. Soon after the cornfield showdown, a scarecrow stalks Bubba's executioners, delivering some... uh, scarecrow justice. Widely considered the mack daddy of straw dude horror flicks, Dark Night of the Scarecrow is still absolutely terrifying.
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973) Sally and Alex (Kim Darby and Jim Hutton) inherit a big, spooky house from Sally's grandmother -- complete with the obligatory locked door and bricked-up fireplace. Sally's curiosity eventually gets the better of her and she sets about unlocking and de-bricking, only to set free some seriously creepy, seriously evil pint-sized monsters in the process. Stupid, nosy Sally!
Home for the Holidays (1972)
One of my favorite made-for-TV thrillers, Home for the Holidays
is chock-a-block full of melodrama, thanks to cranky Walter Brennan and
a rain slicker-clad, pitchfork-wielding psycho killer who could rival
any big-screen slasher for scares. Featuring a young Sally Field,
Jessica Walter (soon after playing "Misty" for Clint Eastwood), and the venerable Julie Harris (The Haunting), Home for the Holidays will leave you feeling that maybe your own crazy family Christmas get-togethers aren't so bad after all.
Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973)
Ah, the old lock-the-insane-sister-away-in-the-garage chestnut. If
you can think of a better method for dealing with the mentally
unstable, I'd sure like to hear it! Bette Davis channels a bit of (Whatever Happened To) Baby Jane Watson in her role as the insane sister's bed-ridden mom.
The Night Stalker (1972) / The Night Strangler (1973) / The Norliss Tapes (1973)
Master
of the made-for-TV horror flick, Dan Curtis produced and directed this program about an
intrepid reporter who runs afoul of vampires and other assorted
monster-types. David Norliss (Roy Thinnes) and Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) are two
memorable characters who would provide the basis for a few more
supernatural-investigatin' characters, Mulder and Scully of The X-Files. Kolchak managed to land an eponymous series that ran for one season, while The Norliss Tapes is one of the few TV horror movies to see an official DVD release.
Salem's Lot (1979)
This is a prime example of what can result when all the stars align
properly: Hit-and-miss director Tobe Hooper is decidedly on the upswing
here, writer Stephen King manages to maintain a great idea all the way
to the end, David Soul busts out some turtlenecks, James Mason is so
urbane you just want to smack him, and then... there's Mr. Barlow. His bald, beady-eyed, and
blue visage was enough to send me cowering under my bedsheets. Salem's Lot
also taught me to be wary of any friend who floats outside my
bedroom window and scratches at the glass late at night.
Trilogy of Terror (1975)
The title cleverly lets us know that the movie contains three stories, but let's be honest here: All anyone really remembers is that Zuni fetish doll,
right? In the film's final segment "Amelia" (based on the short story
"Prey" by Richard Matheson), the little bastard relentlessly
chases poor Karen Black around her apartment, wielding a spear and
approximately 457,862 teeth. It's a vicious little tale that's so
genuinely frightening that the first two segments are all but
forgotten, despite the fact that they're impressive psychological
horror stories (also featuring Black at the top of her crazy game).
The home video market and the advent of cable television helped bring about the end of the network made-for-TV movie, as channels began purchasing films to broadcast rather than producing them. Why should FearNet or Chiller fund original films when they can simply pull in viewers by showing I Know What You Did Last Summer?
Regardless, with stricter ratings guidelines in place nowadays, it's doubtful that something like Home for the Holidays would be featured on prime time network television -- and you just know that little Zuni dude would have been computer-created if Trilogy of Terror were made today. I suppose we'll find out how far the networks are willing to go when Fear Itself debuts this summer. Even so, a TV series is different than a "Movie of the Week," but hey -- I'll take original horror content where I can get it.
See? Once in a while old people are right: Made-for-TV horror movies were better way back when. Now get off my lawn!
A fan of horror movies and scary stuff, Stacie Ponder started her blog Final Girl so she'd have a platform from which she could tell everyone that, say, Friday the 13th, Part 2 rules. She leads a glamorous life, walking on the razor's edge of danger and intrigue.
Salem's Lot is probably the scariest made for tv horror flick. Everyone in that film scared me, especially the little vamp kid hovering at the window. Then they built it all up to meeting Mr. Barlow & that was it for me. I couldn't sleeps for days after that.
Trilogy of Terror is one of my all time faves. Of course the Zuni fetish doll is most memorable, but the first story about crazy teacher Julie & her suitor/student Chad & the second story about psychootic "twin" sisters Millicente & Therese are fantastic & mesmerizing. Plus, you just can't beat Karen Black starring as 4 different characters in one film. Oh the voluptuous horror of Karen Black!
Thanks to you Stacie, I have been reunited with "Dark Night of the Scarecrow". I hated Charles Durning so much as a kid because of that movie.
And the Zuni doll... holy crap. I accidentally saw that when I was 3 years old. I just rembered the relentless "ROBBLE-ROBBLE-ROBBLE!" scream of the doll. It haunted my entire childhood.
I always think that those TV movies were good because I was young and impressionable, but looking back on them now, they still pack a punch.
You are like a walking encyclopedia of terror. I don't know who could ever forget Salem's Lot, but I had totally forgotten about that Zuni fetish doll. You described it so well that I had like a flashback to it.
I'm one of those people who is curiously immune to being scared by evil dolls, but I remember finding that really disturbing when I saw it.
Say! You left out the spooky episode of the Brady Bunch where they go to Hawaii (or wherever) and have a run-in with an evil Tiki god (or something.) Remember that? With the spider?
"...wielding a spear and approximately 457,862 teeth." lmao Who could forget the Zuni doll? That little bastard was so scary because of the brilliant design of his mask. My bestfriends mom recommended that movie to me when I was like 10 so I rented it with my bestfriend on vhs.
Salem's Lot though... man, that was some scary isht. What was scariest to me was how scarcely lit the scenes were after Mr. Barlow came to town, it was like a metaphor for the darkness that came with him. So, when the vamps start popping up, they were symbolic of the evil emerging from the darkness. Yikes.
"You are like a walking encyclopedia of terror."
I think perhaps the more concise term might be "nerd".
But really, I just love love love most of these made-for-TV flicks. I'm sure there's a bit of nostalgia in there, but man, these movies were GOOD! If it still freaks you out 25 years later, it HAD to be good.
I just wish more of them would get a DVD release. Man, I'd scoop up a "Movie of the Week" box set so fast!
I hope the execs at ABC are reading this...
"Bad Ronald", anyone?
there were alot of great movies made for t.v. then especially the horror movies. Dark night of the scarecrow and trilogy of terror were awesome but the best one up there is salemn's lot hands down lol it was really good!!!!
I was wondering does anybody have any of the old amc monsterfests on tape from a few years ago?? im talking about ones from monsterfest 2000 where the classics come alive and monsterfest 2001? God i would love to see those again bring back good memories please if any of you have em please get back to me! thanks
When I was in high school a LONG time ago, I got to see the Zuni doll from Trilogy Of Terror on our otherwise stupefyingly boring senior trip to Universal Studios. It was in a glass case, and obviously all of my friends were totally stoked to see it.
The movies that made the most impression on me were 70's movies like The Devil's Triangle, Gargoyles, The Horror at 37,000 Feet and especially Black Noon. I still remember the final shot of that movie, with the town's name in a car mirror. I don't know if these were actual good movies, but they sure scared the crap out of me as a kid.
I would definitely buy a DVD of these movies, though I wonder what kind of shape the source materials would be like by now?
I watch Sally Field's "Sybil" over and over again, waiting for the decapitated-cat scenes to stop being scary. Never gonna happen.
Of all the dvd's I own, this is probably the most dubious, and yet I love it so.
OMG...somebody else knows "Gargoyles"?? Jennifer Salt from "Soap" and the doctor from "Dark Shadows"? Schlock, schlock, schlock!!
I watched Gargoyles several times as a kid. I had totally forgot about until about 10 years ago on Halloween when I was DJing at a club & we were playing a homemade video tape of horror movie clips & Gargoyles was all over the tape. It brought back memories of my cousin & I watching it on tv as kids in my grandma's living room with blue & green shag carpeting. Not that Gragoyles has anything to do with carpet, but somehow I equate the two now.
wow! You nailed the trifecta of the three great TV horrors. Kolchak / The Night Stalker -- Part of the sub genre that included Count Yorga, Dracula A.D. 1972, and Blacula. You know, plunk your vampire into modern times and see what happens. Then Trilogy of Terror -- 30 seconds of story set up and then, POW! and it never let go. It was kind of like when I first saw "Night of the Living Dead". You just go so completely with what you are seeing emotionally that you never doubt the reality of the Zuni doll or those folks out there on the lawn outside the farm house. Then Salem's Lot -- Tobe Hooper's other great film along with TCM. The mood is so dark and he sustains it throughout. Still scares me. Shows what the Tober can do when Mr. Spielberg isn't sprinkling fairy dust on the proceedings a la Poltergeist.
Obviously, I'm a bit partial to the Zuni doll myself, but I can't argue with the rest of your list and everybody else's additions. I would add a few personal favorites myself: Don't Go To Sleep (Crazy 12 year old girl with a pizza cutter!), Midnight Offerings (Mary Ingalls and Erin Walton... as cat-fighting witches!), The Initiation of Sarah (The original, I haven't seen the Family Channel remake.), and inexplicably This House Possessed (I just like it, okay.).
As a child, I clamored for horror movies and books, much to the distress of my parents. They thought it would give me nightmares. On the contrary, to this day, I'm one of the best sleepers in the family. HA! Fooled them.
I don't remember if this was a TV movie, but does anyone recall "Burnt Offerings"? It was about Oliver Reed and (yet again) Karen Black moving into an old house in the country with their young son. It was a Dan Curtis production, so that's what makes me think it was made-for-TV. I'm not sure Dan had any big screen successes.
Yeah, I remember Burnt Offerings. I loved Bette Davis in the film. Those old Oliver Reed horror films were bad, but fun to watch. Ever see Venom?
No, I have not seen "Venom", but it sounds interesting.
And strangely enough, these were all running right after "Little House on the Prairie" on the TBS morning movie by the early 90s (although I remember seeing them earlier on "Night Flicks" or "Night Tracks," whatever TBS called its freaky Friday night movie in those days).
And don't forget about Crowhaven Farm! The one where Hope Lange thinks she may be a descendent of some witches. And they're back to avenge her centuries old betrayal. That little girl Jennifer had a look that still gives me chills.
And Burnt Offerings was a theatrical film.