The worst thing about most Christmas films, particularly those made for US television, is that they tend to pile of the saccharine to an almost unbearable degree. Perhaps that’s why “Killer Santa” and other festive horrors appeal so much, as a corrective to the anodyne homilies and simple-minded moralising we usually get from our Christmas … Continue reading
This early offering from Steven Spielberg (he only had a handful of shorts, the amateur feature Firelight (1964) and some television episodes under his belt at this stage) was originally made for American television but was deemed so good that producers Universal decided to stump up the budget for some new scenes to be shot … Continue reading
In a commentary track accompanying a release of The Horror of Frankenstein (1970), screenwriter Jimmy Sangster claimed that he recycled the plot of the first of his psychological thrillers for Hammer Film Productions, the excellent Taste of Fear (1961). And to a degree he has a point. The title certainly owes a debt to Seth … Continue reading
In 1973, David Lowell Rich directed the fondly remembered television film The Horror at 37,000 Feet, in which Chuck Connors, William Shatner and a host of familiar TV faces were menaced by an invisible demon aboard an airliner in flight. Four years later, on 25 February 1977, he was back in the air, overseeing SST: … Continue reading
There’s a standard, site-wide spoiler warning in operation here at The EOFFTV Review but in the case of Paul Wendkos’ small screen fantasy it probably needs something a bit more specific – there’s a twist in the evocatively titled Haunts of the Very Rich that is revealed about two thirds of the way through, a twist … Continue reading
Today, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark has a fearsome reputation as the scariest made-for-TV movie of all time. Which is pushing it a bit (it’s not a patch on Screen One: GhostWatch (1992)) but it’s still a very effective chiller that doesn’t quite live up to its hype but which is still rather fascinating. At … Continue reading
For a whole generation of horror fans, the curiously titled Frankenstein: The True Story (1973) was likely their first introduction to Mary Shelley’s famous creations. It was something of an event at the time, heavily hyped and clearly displaying the benefits of a sizeable budget. At a time when most made-for-TV productions, particularly the genre … Continue reading
