TERROR TEE-VEE: Countdown to Halloween (Day 2)

The Basil Gogos painting of the night.

TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE

“Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality.

But…there is, unseen by most, an underworld, a place that is just as real,

but not as brighty lit … a dark side.”

Spinning out of the success of George Romero’s CREEPSHOW, those involved looked to weekly television as an outlet for more.  A syndicated show, this anthology series had a very limited budget, so the frights came cheap.  However, the writing was sometimes notable, with talents like Harlan Ellison, Clive Barker, Robert Bloch, Frederik Pohl and Stephen King behind some of the dark tales in question.  Perhaps that’s why it was able to last for four seasons, running from 1984 through 1988.

Once the show ended, a movie was released in 1990 with contributions from Stephen King, Deborah Harry, Christian Slater, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore and William Hickey.  Tom Savini is said to have called this movie “The real CREEPSHOW 3”.

Horror writer Joe Hill (Stephen King’s son) was guiding the series to a return in 2014-16, but it seems to have fallen into limbo at the CW as of today.

Picking just a few episodes of this series was tough, but we here at The Goods bit the bullet and got ruthless, pulled out the long knives and began hacking down the list to a manageable three episodes...

“Inside the Closet” is written by Michael McDowell and directed by Tom Savini and features a college student who rents a room from a professor.  In the room, which used to be his daughters, she notices a small door and inquires as to it’s purpose.  It used to be a closet, but is off limits now—she learns.  Youtube happens to have this episode available for your viewing pleasure right now:

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Based on a story by Robert Bloch and adapted by James Houghton, “A Case of the Stubborns” is one of the more comedic episodes of the series.  It tells the tale of an old man, played brilliantly by Eddie Bracken, who dies, but refuses to let a little thing like that get in the way of his way of life. In notable roles, this episode, are Christian Slater and Brent Spiner.  Here it is right now, via Youtube-O-Vision:

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“Seasons of Belief” by Michael McDowell and based on a story by Michael Bishop, is about two children who no longer believe in Santa at home on Christmas Eve who are told about a creature called the Grither (think Krampus) by their parents (E.G. Marshall & Margaret Klenck). A fine monster story told on a dark winter evening or a cool autumn night in early October on Youtube:

“The dark side is always there, waiting for us to enter—waiting to enter us.

Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight.”