TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: SILVER SHAMROCK'S GLOW-IN-THE-DARK HALLOWEEN 3

 

R.I.P. MIKE FOREST

You conquered both the big and small screen, presenting a body-built paragon that women adored and men respected. 

For Trekkies, your titular role in "Who Mourns Adonais?" reigns supreme.

For Twilight Zone fans (Zoneheads), it's your enigmatic swagger in "Black Leather Jackets" that matters.  

For One Step Beyond connoisseurs, "Encounter" is creme de la creme; and for Outer Limits aficionados, "It Crawled Out of the Woodwork" stands without equal. 

Then there are your guest spots on Bonanza; Gunsmoke; Cheyenne; Yancy Derringer; Death Valley Days; Tombstone Territory; The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok; Lawman; Laramie; Bat Masterson; Have Gun - Will Travel; Wagon Train; The Rifleman; The Virginian; Rawhide; Maverick; The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin; Disney's Zorro; The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart; Gilligan's Island; Perry Mason; Ironside; Cold Case; The Dick Van Dyke Show; 87th Precinct; Combat!; and Gomer Pyle USMC. 

On the sprawling, silver screen, you struck gold with Atlas; Beast from Haunted Cave; Ski Troop Attack; King Kong Lives; 100 Rifles; The Mad 7 of Texas; Cast Away; A House is Not a Home; Body of Evidence; Deathwatch; The Great Stampede; Flying Brigade; Forbidden Tales ... of No Clothes; Helen, Yes, But ... From Troy; Controlled Skidding; Border Shootout; The Big Racket; The Pimps; The Message; The Dirt Gang; The Glory Guys; The Killer's Ransom; The Assassination of Trotsky; The Sweet Ride; The Shark Hunter (aka Guardians of the Deep); Catnapped! and Unbelievable!!!!!; plus an unparalleled mountain of anime-voice work, which includes the 2001 Pioneer dub of the morphing masterpiece, Akira. 

Many grew up with you, Mr. Forest, considered you a part of their families, an integral presence in their lives. Your passing hurts, in that regard, but despite your physical absence (and like the staggering characters you portrayed), your persona will remain towering, staggering ... beyond any and all debate, god-like!

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: SIMIAN SEMBLANCES

 

SALLY THE ZOMBIE CHEERLEADER'S GHOUL'S GUIDE TO HORROR: NIGHT OF THE DEMONS 3

Sally the Zombie Cheerleader returns with a new Ghoul's Guide to Horror. This time she tackles a sequel to a sequel: Night of the Demons 3 (III). 

The 1997 entry was directed by Jimmy (Stargate SG-1/The Outer Limits) Kaufman and written by Kevin S. Tenney, who penned the previous chapters. This one features more giddy teens (with police involved for investigative flavor) hunted by the possessive, Hull House resident, Angela Franklin, portrayed by the series' avid Amelia Kincaid.  

As with the prior Night of the Demons, the events occur during Halloween, which makes it ideal for an autumnal, Sally salute. As such, Sally does a terror-ific job essaying the tale's content. That includes a thorough rundown of its cast, a reveal of its three edits and behind-the-scenes foibles. Indeed, her student fleshies will come away more than prepared for any rewatch dissection. 

Despite its evident contradictions (the result of having not been completed as planned), Night of the Demons 3 is still a fun diversion. Sally's tutorial is a fitting way to swing it back into the sequel limelight, where it belongs. 

Take notes (preferably in vintage, '90s blood) and enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygveSaG2chE

PIN-UP TIME: YVONNE DE CARLO

 

I SAW CRYSTAL LAKE

Peacock/A24's Crystal Lake, envisioned by showrunners Bryan (Hannibal) Fuller and Brad Caleb (Welcome to Derry) Kane, has premiered. 

The 1970s-based, Friday the 13th prequel deals, of course, with Pamela Voorhees (aka Pamela Wittering), played by Linda (Scooby-Doo 2002/The Curse of La Llorna) Cardellini (and prior to such, by Betsy Palmer and Paula Shaw), who cares for her timid, malformed son, Jason, played as a child by Callum (Chucky)Vinson and as a young adult by Jonathan Tison and Zachary Branch.

As in the movie franchise, Jason's "drowning" wracks Pamela's brain, but we now learn that the lad was a Bellflower Chemical Corporation, nuclear-survival experiment, overseen by Jeffrey Beam's mellifluous Dr. Valentine. 

Pamela has made a point of sticking close to her softspoken, seizure-prone son, working the kitchen at New Jersey's idyllic Camp Crystal Lake, where he takes time to bond with Gwendolyn Sundstrom's empathetic Grace. When Jason disappears, Pamela blames the camp's counselors and seeks her misplaced revenge on anyone who might reflect the same neglect. 

Police Chief Levon Brooks (William Catlett) and his Star Ledger-journalist sister, Briana (Devon Kessler), investigate the camp's mounting deaths, which some attribute to bears. This prompts the legendary Crazy Ralph (Nick Cordileone, assuming the role from Walt Gorney) to commence his prophet-of-doom deal, though now with a survivalist/war-veteran thread. Pamela, meanwhile, roams the camp's outskirts, with a penchant to slay, and if her dear, sequestered Jason should help, well... Jason's estranged dad, Elias (Hamish Linklater), of Bellflower's mutant-making Project Argonaut, does some roaming, too. The curious connection to his wife and child is treacherous, to say the least. 

Of additional legacy note, Cameron Scoggins plays Officer Dorf, a character played by Ron Millkie in the Sean Cunningham/Victor Miller classic. Dan Thompson portrays a younger version of Steve Christy, the lead counselor who was played by Peter Brower. Victims Barry and Claudette, who were played by William Adams and Debra S. Hayes, are reenacted by Phoenix Parnevik and Danielle Koch. Bernadette Quigley plays waitress/hostess Trudy, who was played by Dorothy Kobs. (Alas, Adrianne King, who played the intrepid Alice Hardy in Friday the 13th 1 & 2, as well as the fan film, Jason Rising, was scheduled for a recurring role, but for whatever reason, such was scraped.😞) 

I found the series' dark poignancy fulfilling. It's easy to identify with poor Pamela, to feel her lingering pain and savor her spurts of empowerment, as when she goes through regression therapy with Nathan Darrow's arrogant Wilhelm. However, Crystal Lake never makes its beleaguered aggressor an avenging heroine. Regardless of the circumstances, Pamela has no right to kill. (Luigi Mangione's clueless ghouls should take note!) 

It was great (if not essential) that the episodes adhered to the franchise's founding ground, even inserting Harry Manfredini's iconic music, in addition to using episode titles that referenced the movies'. The combination shined even more when it served its Rosemary's Baby/It's Alive allusions, interwoven, as they were, in the casual manner of Fuller's Hannibal and Kane's Derry, but also Carlton Cuse/Kerry Ehrin's Bates Motel. 

I consider this coinciding platform a good cause for expansion. (The series' ending does imply more.) I trust that Peacock/A24 furthers the exploration, but if it doesn't, Crystal Lake could work as a springboard for another Jason-helmed/hockey-masked movie, which many would agree is long overdue.🪓