My Life and Code

Synopsis '60s/'70s television mainstay hosts a Halloween show that is filled with singing, "humorous" skits, and everything else that was a staple of those gawdawful 1970s variety shows... Review ...and that's what I love about it. Where to begin, where to begin? Well, for starters, I wasn't super familiar with Paul Lynde, though I'm sure I'd caught his appearances on Bewitched  in re-runs when I was a kid (we had a local station in the area that would show sitcoms from that era in syndication). But the first I'd heard of this special was while reading something about the band KISS . They had appeared in the special. I'm a fan, and my brother-in-law is a real die-hard, one of those people who buys pretty much anything the band releases, be it music or other merchandise. After I'd learned about this special, I was over his house one day and asked if he knew about it. He replied that not only was he aware of it, he owned a copy, and asked if

Synopsis Panicky townsfolk unleash the very terror they fear, but it's okay, it just moves to another town to find yet another  son of Dr. Frankenstein. More chaos ensues. Review This was an unexpected gem. Over the past few years, during the Halloween season, I've been watching the Universal Monster movies, and they're really hit or miss. Sometimes, they're great, sometimes the ones you think  would be great aren't , and the ones that should stink are excellent . You never know. Personally, for example, I found Bride of Frankenstein  better than the original, and hated the original Mummy . The previous film in the Frankenstein series, Son of Frankenstein , was one of my least favorite, but this one  I really enjoyed. Mild Spoilers ahead! The basic plot is that the villagers from the previous film have learned that Ygor is still alive, so they go to burn down Frankenstein's castle, fearing that Ygor was/is doing them harm somehow. During the siege, they inadvert

I'm a sucker for anything retro that triggers nostalgia. Every few years General Mills releases their Monster Cereals in retro packaging for Halloween, and when they do, I can't help but pick them up. This year they have a QR code on the back of the box that takes you  here , where you'll find a Behind the Music -esque video about the Monsters recording a version of Monster Mash that I thought was funny. In addition, I found this Monster Mash Fruit Snacks  product which I thought was neat, until actually trying it -- not a fan. It tastes like fruit, but has the consistency of plastic. But still, the packaging drew me in!

Synopsis Count Dracula and the Wolf Man appeal to altruistic Dr. Edelmann to cure what ails them. Chaos ensues. Oh, and Frankenstein's monster is there too, and doesn't do much. Review Every Halloween season I watch some of the old Universal Monster movies, seeing them for the first time. I tend to enjoy the cheesier sequels more than the classic originals, so I was hoping this one would be as enjoyable as I found House of Frankenstein  (which is so far my favorite). However, these films seem to be real  hit or miss: either I really enjoy them, or couldn't care less. This one, unfortunately, fell into the latter category. I lost interest about halfway through. One of the things I like about these films is that they're all relatively short. This one clocks in at 67 minutes, so I didn't lose much of my life watching it. But a lot of it seemed familiar, to the point of me wondering if I'd ever seen it  before. Lon Cheney Jr. is excellent (as always) as the continua