Happy Halloween 2025!

 

And that's a mummy wrap on the 2025 Countdown to Halloween!

I hope you had as much fun reading and watching as I've had blogging. To celebrate the season, we've shared our time with the Pink Panther, Fred Flintstone, Parker Stevenson, the Banana Splits, space aliens, and our beloved Vincent Price, just to name a few. I hope you've had plenty of ghoulish fun!

Thanks again to Dex of AEIOU and Sometimes Why for orgnaizing the Countdown--many good spooky vibes to you, sir! And of course, the most important person throughout all this is YOU, the reader/watcher/listener. The Countdown would be meainingless without your care and support. THANK YOU!

Please enjoy the season finale tonight, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy an entire spooky weekend! I'm sure everyone will keep festivities going straight through Sunday evening. When the sun rises Monday morning, then we'll officially close the books on Halloween 2025.

Thank you once again, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

And coming soon!

Vincent Price's Dracula: The Great Undead (1982)

 

Hello! It's the last week of the Halloween season! And this is the next-to-last post of the Countdown to Halloween. And I celebrate this week by going full circle back to the beginning of my part in the Countdown--Vincent Price.

Today I present Vincent Price's Dracula: The Great Undead, a documentary about the Dracula legend from Bram Stoker's titular Count to real-life inspirations for the same. This was first released directly to home video in 1982, then in later years shown on PBS stations.

Price presents the material as a wealthy eccentric hosting the viewer in his gothic abode, telling the legends and history of the character with Price's usual wry wit and pomp. Perfect Price!

Enjoy below or directly on YouTube here. Thanks!

See you on the 31st, when I'll wrap up the Countdown!

Spaced Invaders (1990)

 

For the last weekend before the big night, I've chosed the 1990 family comedy Spaced Invaders!

Five Martians land on Earth because they think there is an invasion of the planet by their people. However, they've really intercepted a small town's broadcast of the famous War of the Worlds play by Orson Welles on Halloween night, mistaking it for a real invasion.. Hilarity ensues.

I haven't seen this movie yet, but I remember it's release during my high school years and found the commercials for it funny. It's a forgotten movie but well received by those who have seen it as a light, fun, family-friendly film. The studio, Disney/Touchstone, must not have had much faith in the movie. Despite being Halloween-themed, it was released in theaters in April. ???

Enjoy below or directly on YouTube here. Have a great last weekend before Halloween! But with the night on a Friday this year, I'm certain the whole of next weekend will be filled with fright!

The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park (1972)

 

Today's installment of the Countdown to Halloween features the Fab Four. No, not that one--The Banana Splits!

The live action furry quartet, created by Hanna-Barbera in the early 70s, help a lost girl escape from the clutches of a wicked witch and her two daffy apprentices in Hocus Pocus Park. This one is clearly for the yougn and young at heart.

Enjoy! You can also find this special on Tubi.

Struck By Lightning TV Series Pilot, CBS, September 19, 1979

 

Welcome back to the Countdown to Halloween! There are less than two weeks left until the big night, so be sure to kick things into high gear!

Today I offer the first episode of the very short-lived TV series Struck By Lightning. In the series, high school science teacher Ted Stein, played by Jeffrey Kramer (Jaws, Jaws 2, Halloween II), inherits an old New England inn. As he arrives at the inn to check out his inheritance, he meets the staff, including a gruff, imposing caretaker played by Jack Elam. It turns out, the caretaker is none other than the Frankstein monster!

Who just so happens to look like a gruff, imposing New England caretaker.

Ted must do more than run the inn; he must also use his scientific skills to recreate a serum Dr. Frankenstein created to keep the "creature" alive for another 50 years.

Did I mention this is a comedy?

The show's conceit should make more sense when you watch the pilot below. Maybe. 

The series didn't click with audiences, and it was canceled after airing only three episodes (although 11 were produced). It's unusual to be sure, but I found it an interesting watch.

Enjoy!

The Intruder Within TV-Movie (1981)

 

We come to the conclusion of this week's portion of the Countdown to Halloween with the 1981 TV-movie The Intruder Within!

Workers at an oil rig in Antarctica discover prehistoric fossilized eggs while drilling for oil. When one of the eggs hatches and introduces a killer creature into the premises, it's up to the drillers to take it down.

If this sounds like a rip-off of Alien, it is, but that doesn't mean it's not entertaining. I remember my parents watching this movie when it first aired, and while I couldn't tell what was going on at the time, it still creeped me out.

1981 must have been a good year for made-for-TV horror movies. Last Friday, the TV-movie I featured, This House Possessed, also debuted in 1981.

Enjoy below or directly on YouTube here. Have a great spooky weekend! We're in the thick of the season now. Make the most of it!

The Flintstones Special: The Flintstones' New Neighbors (1980)

 

Today I present The Flintstones Special: The Flintstones New Neighbors, an animated special that appeared on NBC prime time September 26, 1980.

In this special, the Munsters-esque family the Frankenstones move next to Fred and Wilma, but Fred won't have any "freaks" living next door to him and is initially antagonistic towards them. However, he soon learns that looks can be deceiving and prejudice can dwell in anyone. Who'd think such an important lesson could be handled on a Flintstones special?

The Frankenstones are fine and all, but to be honest--I'll take the Gruesomes any day.

Enjoy!