The Exorcist cast reunion on GMA - 1984

When it comes to Halloween horror shows, director William Friedkin's 1973 film The Exorcist still stands out amongst most fright flicks. Caught the reedited version a few years ago and viewing the film in a theater was a hell of a memorable experience. Below is a Halloween treat featuring a 1984 segment with Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller and William Peter Blatty reuniting for an appearance on Good Morning America.





plus 1973 audience reactions




and trailers

Voivod videos...

Based out of Quebec, Canada, Voivod always displayed musical growth with their powerful sonic creations. They began with a predominantly heavy metal vibe but quickly moved into a more thrash/crossover sound and continued with a dynamic style in other progressive and heavy directions.

From 1981 to 1991 the line up was: Snake (Denis Bélanger) - lead vocals, Piggy (Denis D'Amour) - guitars, Blacky (Jean-Yves Thériault) - bass, and Away (Michel Langevin) - drums. Drummer Michel Langevin contributed his artwork for Voivod record covers, following the Voivod creature through wars, into dimensional travel and beyond. Voivod has continued to record and tour with membership changes along the way and when guitarist Denis D'Amour lost his battle with colon cancer in 2005 they finished the Katorz (2006) record with additional music and riffs contributed from files saved on his computer. Much respect goes out for his incredible contributions to the world of music.

Discography
War and Pain (1984)
Rrröööaaarrr (1986)
Killing Technology (1987)
Dimension Hatröss (1988)
Nothingface (1989)
Angel Rat (1991)
The Outer Limits (1993)
Negatron (1995)
Phobos (1997)
Voivod (2003)
Katorz (2006)
Infini (2009)


Voivod (1984)




Ripping Headaches (1986)


Ravenous Medicine (1987)





Tribal Convictions (1988)


Psychic Vacuum (1988)


Astronomy Domine (1989)


Intro/The Unknown Knows (1989)


Clouds In My House (1991)

The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant (1971)

Bruce Dern, Casey Kasem, an altercation with a biker gang, Pat Priest aka Marilyn from the Munsters and a whole lot more early seventies atmosphere are all over this schlock-science horror feature from 1971. This movie takes an "Of Mice and Men"esque scenario on a sideways skewed trip into b-movies as the plot follows the grafting together of a criminally insane psychopath with a mentally challenged, but warm hearted fellow.

Anthony M. Lanza was the director. Aside from the The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, the only other directing credit of his I'm familiar with is the 1968 biker movie The Glory Stompers. The soundtrack of 70s groovy, light rock is another "jewel" in the crown of this film and I continue searching the soundtrack sections at local record shops for a decent copy.

the trailer




the feature

Tobe Hooper 1986 interview + more

The films of Tobe Hooper are a perfect fit with the current Halloween season. He often delivers on movie experiences dripping with chills and fear soaked atmosphere in films such as: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Eaten Alive, Salem's Lot and The Funhouse. Included below are a few interviews with Tobe Hooper, as well as trailers for some of his films.

1986 interview



Tobe Hooper's segment from Masters of Horror documentary



The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)


Eaten Alive (1977)



Salem's Lot (1979)



The Funhouse (1981)


Poltergeist (1982)


Toolbox Murders (2004)


Mortuary (2006)

Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972) Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes

Werner Herzog's 1972 film Aguirre: The Wrath of God was ranked #46 on Entertainment Weekly's "Top 50 Cult Films of All-Time" and I would include this on my list of all time favorite films.

The naturalistic savagery of the primeval tropical rain forest, searing characterizations and cinematography that effortlessly transcends into pure hallucinatory visions contribute to its brilliance. An appropriatly haunting musical score is providing by Popol Vuh. Klaus Kinski delivers a powerfully wide-eyed performance as the title character who usurps Gonzalo Pizarro and Don Pedro de Ursua's leadership while on a 1560 quest over the Andes into the mouth of the Amazon in search of golden treasures. Constantly beset by trouble, the group suffers a steady attrition due to this myriad of difficulties as the quest takes on an increasingly nihilistic tenor.

A truly incredible movie from the breath taking initial shots to the inevitable end. Below is the English dubbed trailer and the complete subtitled film.

Cro-Mags - 1986 - The Ritz - NY

This footage features the Cro-Mags opening for the mighty Motorhead at the Ritz in New York City and displaying their raging, metal flavored hardcore power.

Rod Serling Interviews from 1959 and 1970

In commemoration of the Twilight Zone's 50th anniversary, I'm highlighting the man behind the show with these two Rod Serling interviews from 1959 and 1970. CBS first aired the show on October 2, 1959 and it ran for five seasons/156 episodes with Mr. Serling writing nearly 100 of them. An insightful, creative and often righteously angry man; he created an influential legacy with the original Twilight Zone programs still drawing in fans and accolades all these years later.

Although I only viewed the original Twilight Zone episodes in syndicated re-runs, I do have very hazy memories of catching the Night Gallery during it's original run. Still enjoy both series and get excited every time a three day weekend provides a Twilight Zone marathon.

Phantasm II (1988)

The original Phantasm remains one of my all time favorite films. I posted the original horror classic in a blog last year around this time, and since we are now into October with Halloween approaching, I thought I'd post the fairly worthy sequel to Phantasm.

the feature