Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year, they will once again be setting up a fundraiser to benefit Best Friends, which works to save the lives of cats and dogs across America, giving pets second chances and providing them with happy homes.

Today’s theme: 1990s

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Connelly is a lifelong genre film fan living in New Jersey. His Letterboxd profile is https://letterboxd.com/johnconn/

In 1990, Fangoria Entertainment launched Fangoria Films, a short-lived production company. Founded in 1979 as a spinoff of science fiction film magazine Starlog, Fangoria is a brand deeply associated with a certain kind of Gen-X horror fandom. What Famous Monsters of Filmland was a generation earlier, Fangoria became for a generation raised on slasher films and Tom Savini effects.

Fangoria Films would produce three features between 1990 and 1992. The first of these efforts, Mindwarp, is a post-apocalyptic mutant thriller starring genre heavyweights Bruce Campbell and Angus Scrimm. The third would be Severed Ties, a creature feature starring a later-career Oliver Reed. The second is the focus of this piece, 1991’s Children of Night.

Children of the Night feels in certain ways like an adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot. Or, perhaps, of John Farris or Charles L Grant, the kind of writers you might find in Paperbacks from Hell. The story begins with two teenage girls, eager to escape their small town. Together, they engage in a local tradition: symbolically washing the “dirt of this town” off of them by swimming together in a flooded church crypt. When one of the girls, Lucy, drops her crucifix, the pair accidentally awaken Czakyr, an ancient vampire with a penchant for virgin blood. Teacher Mark Gardner (played by Stargate SG-1’s Peter Deluise) and his friend, the local priest, must lead an effort to save the town from being overrun by the restless dead.

Children of the Night is directed by Tony Randel. Randel’s other credits include the only good Hellraiser sequel, Hellraiser 2 and Amityville: It’s About Time, the second-best Amityville sequel. The cast includes Karen Black — star of such horror classics as Burnt Offerings and Tobe Hooper’s remake of Invaders from Mars, but perhaps best known to this readership for Trilogy of Terror. The film also features a memorable turn by Juilliard-educated SNL alumnus Garrett Morris. Industry legends KNB Effects provided makeup effects for the movie’s bloodsuckers. There are many reasons why it is surprising this film is not a cult classic. If it were more widely available, I believe it would be. The first time I saw this film was on a bad VHS rip with Russian subtitles. The second time was on Tubi, where it is not currently available.

Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year, they will once again be setting up a fundraiser to benefit Best Friends, which works to save the lives of cats and dogs across America, giving pets second chances and providing them with happy homes.

Today’s theme: 1990s

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Adam Hursey is a pharmacist specializing in health informatics by day, but his true passion is cinema. His current favorite films are Back to the Future, Stop Making Sense, and In the Mood for Love. He has written articles for Film East and The Physical Media Advocate, primarily examining older films through the lens of contemporary perspectives. He is usually found on Letterboxd, where he mainly writes about horror and exploitation films. You can follow him on Letterboxd or Instagram at ashursey.

I typically shy away from horror comedies. Or really comedies in general. I find that films as a medium generally have a hard time maintaining enough momentum for a theatrical run time. I much prefer the length of a sitcom. Sometimes, even 22 minutes is a stretch, though. I love a good skit. Best of all, a good Vine (RIP). You got six seconds to make me laugh.

But when I do find a comedy I enjoy, it is usually in the form of a spoof. Not even a satire. Just a good old-fashioned silly spoof. Airplane is probably my favorite straight-up cinematic comedy of all time. Amazon Women on the Moon would be up there. These films just make me laugh, no matter how many times I watch them.

Mixing horror and comedy is a combination that I do not seek out. I appreciate it more if the film is funny without necessarily being a comedy. Something like Return of the Living Dead comes to mind. Again, I do like a parody. I found Alfred Sole’s Pandemonium to be a pleasant surprise. And now Arbor Day, Joseph Sikorski’s take on a slasher set on a holiday.

Honestly, I’m not totally sure I knew this film was a comedy going into it. I had absolutely no expectations. But this disc was part of my Terror Vision subscription, so I figured I should give it a try. I’m glad that I did. Starting with a send-up of Citizen Kane, the film hooked me right away. There was no hiding the purpose of the film was to try to provide a goofy good time. 

It’s Arbor Day, apparently the most celebrated and highest of holy days in this film’s universe, and Elmer (Elm for short) and his parents are looking for that perfect spot to plant a sapling. However, disaster strikes when a grizzly bear decapitates Elmer’s father and…violates his mother (also killing her). Twenty years later, Elmer remains catatonic in a facility, only showing brief bursts of activity each Arbor Day. This year, Elmer escapes, returning home (as one does in a horror movie) for…revenge maybe. His motivation is not exactly clear. As fate would have it, a bunch of teenagers are using Elmer’s childhood home for their Arbor Day party. There will be blood this Arbor Day. And viscera. Lots of viscera.

Even at a relatively short running time of 80 minutes, the film almost overstays its welcome. It was a little touch-and-go. But, for me, it was able to hold it together just enough to get it over the finish line. I did laugh out loud a few times. Particularly at one scene where Elmer thinks about what could be if he and a potential victim got together, settled down, had a little sprout of their own. Nah, he says. LOL by me. 

I’d watch this one again. And that might be the biggest compliment I could give a horror comedy. I ain’t watching Repossessed again, that’s for sure. Usually once is more than enough. But I could easily make this one an Arbor Day tradition.

Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year, they will once again be setting up a fundraiser to benefit Best Friends, which works to save the lives of cats and dogs across America, giving pets second chances and providing them with happy homes.

Today’s theme: Unsung Horrors Rule (under 1000 logged views on Letterboxd)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Adam Hursey is a pharmacist specializing in health informatics by day, but his true passion is cinema. His current favorite films are Back to the Future, Stop Making Sense, and In the Mood for Love. He has written articles for Film East and The Physical Media Advocate, primarily examining older films through the lens of contemporary perspectives. He is usually found on Letterboxd, where he mainly writes about horror and exploitation films. You can follow him on Letterboxd or Instagram at ashursey.

After watching this film, I feel like I need to take a bath in Diane Lane’s open-air bathtub, but for much different reasons than her stalker did.

The year 2025 will go down for many things, some good, some bad, but as far as my Letterboxd stats go, it will be the year I discovered Karen Arthur.

The Mafu Cage, a twisted tale of two sisters starring Lee Grant and Carol Kane, completely blew my mind. Director Karen Arthur really knows how to ratchet up the claustrophobia, leading to some anxiety-inducing scenes. She also knows how to make the small feel big. The Mafu Cage was adapted from a stage play, but Arthur is able to downplay any restrictions found in a play. After watching The Mafu Cage, I had to seek out her debut film, Legacy, an adaptation of a one-woman show depicting a woman’s descent into madness. Talk about unsung, it only has 45 logged views on Letterboxd. 

After these first two films, Arthur became primarily a television director, which had a stigma about it in the 1970s and 80s. If you couldn’t cut it as a film film director, you were shuffled over to television, the perceived inferior media. If television was seen as less than, it surely did not stop her from producing the highest of quality. The Rape of Richard Beck turns the tables on the traditional rape-revenge film, with Richard Crenna earning an Emmy award along the way for his portrayal of a cop who does not play by the rules (or, actually, literally plays by his own set of rules), but finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Speaking of the Emmys, Arthur became the first female to win a Best Director award for an episode of Cagney and Lacey. While television work fills most of her resume, Arthur did have one other feature film in her, the erotic thriller Lady Beware.

Released about a month before the mother of all erotic thrillers, Fatal Attraction, Lady Beware tells the story of Katya (Lane), an ambitious young woman who does not take no for an answer, nearly demanding a place as the window dresser for a Pittsburgh department store. Katya’s displays prove to be controversial and provocative, but one person whose attention she receives is Jack, a married X-ray technician who begins an unhealthy obsession with Katya, quickly escalating from obscene phone calls to breaking and entering.

Unfortunately, the finished project did not get the approval of Arthur herself. The producers attempted to amp up the exploitative side of the film, including nude scenes of Lane that Arthur says she would not have included. She stated that she considered removing her name from the film (would that have made it a film by Alice Smithee?), but would not because the actors cannot remove their names.

Still, despite being a bit of a mess (side characters are introduced, only to be abandoned, no doubt most of their performance ending up on the cutting room floor), Lady Beware is a very interesting watch. It could have been the performance that elevated Lane from child star to adult actress. She would have to wait almost 15 years for Unfaithful to bring her the attention she deserved all along. 

Lady Beware is currently stuck on VHS, desperately needing restoration from one of these boutique physical media labels. Paging Cinematographe! I think this film would fit perfectly in that collection.

Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year, they will once again be setting up a fundraiser to benefit Best Friends, which works to save the lives of cats and dogs across America, giving pets second chances and providing them with happy homes.

Today’s theme: J &B 

From J&B In the Movies

Las ratas no duermen de noche (Rats Don’t Sleep at Night) was released in the U.S. as Crimson, the Color of Blood and The Man With the Severed Head.

After a jewel heist, Jack Surnett (Paul Naschy) is shot in the head. His gang is smart enough to know that there’s a scientist named Professor Teets (Ricardo Palmerola) who can do some pretty wild surgeries, like a brain transplant. However, they use the brain of a serial killer named The Sadist (Roberto Mauri), going out in the middle of the evening to just chop off his head. And by this amazing procedure, Jack becomes even more violent than he was before.

Directed by Juan Fortuny, who co-wrote the script with Marius Lesoeur and H.L. Rostaine, this film features Naschy in what must have been a dream role, as every time he sees a woman, he has to make love to her. Well, not love. Violent killing maniac love. This has plenty of Eurocult goddesses in it, like Evelyne Scott (AKA Evelyne Deher, she’s also in Shining Sex), Silvia Solar (Devil’s Kiss) and Gilda Arancio (Kiss Me Killer).

More of a crime movie than a horror film, this doesn’t have much Nashy, but it does feature random dance scenes, and when he finally does show up, he’s all wrapped up. But I kind of like that it’s a gangster movie. Head transplants were a big thing in 70s!

You can watch this on Tubi.

Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year, they will once again be setting up a fundraiser to benefit Best Friends, which works to save the lives of cats and dogs across America, giving pets second chances and providing them with happy homes.

Today’s theme: J&B

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Adam Hursey is a pharmacist specializing in health informatics by day, but his true passion is cinema. His current favorite films are Back to the Future, Stop Making Sense, and In the Mood for Love. He has written articles for Film East and The Physical Media Advocate, primarily examining older films through the lens of contemporary perspectives. He is usually found on Letterboxd, where he mainly writes about horror and exploitation films. You can follow him on Letterboxd or Instagram at ashursey.

Stop the press!

I originally had a different film in this slot—Night Angel, which I ended up moving to a different category. The J&B element was not very strong in Night Angel. Just a scene where you can see a bottle on a shelf behind a bar. I realized that, somehow, I did not have a single Italian film on my list this year. When I reviewed a Letterboxd list that so kindly compiled films that feature the iconic Scotch whiskey, I discovered a film I somehow missed when I dove into Alberto De Martino’s filmography last year. Carnal Circuit, a film most definitely worthy of inclusion in any forgotten giallo set.

Alberto De Martino is probably my favorite Italian director not named Fulci. It is a hill I’m willing to die upon. He is probably best known for rip-offs of more successful films. The Antichrist is a rip-off of The Exorcist. Holocaust 2000 is a rip-off of The Omen. I guess you could say Pumaman is a Superman rip-off. Maybe his reputation for knock-offs lessens his cache among cinephiles. If so, it’s their loss. If they take it, toss it, and leave it, as Sir Mix-a-Lot so wisely said, I’ll pull up quick to retrieve it.

Carnal Circuit is an early example of the giallo. No black glove clad killer to be found here. But we do get the trope of a “common” man (not affiliated with the police) entering his sleuthing era, trying to get to the bottom of a murder mystery. In this film, Paolo (Robert Hoffman) is a newspaper reporter who gets caught up in the mystery thanks to a friend from his past, Giulio (Roger Fritz). Thugs are out for Giulio, the current face of an advertising campaign for the International Chemical corporation. But why would anyone want to rough up such a beautiful mug? Turns out that Giulio has made some enemies on his way to the top, as one does. But now Giulio has turned up dead, killed in a vehicle accident. Or was it an accident? Seems as if everyone on the International Chemical board had a reason for revenge against Giulio. But enough to kill? Perhaps his diaries give an answer, and it is up to Paolo to find them on his quest for the truth.

I do have a soft spot in my heart for these giallo films that were made before Dario Argento put his stamp on the subgenre, forever changing the way they are perceived. Carnal Circuit is similar to Fulci’s Perversion Story (or One on Top of the Other). Both films bring their story to California, although Fulci is more interested in framing his tale through the lens of Vertigo. De Martino’s film spends a good deal of its running time slowly revealing the change in Giulio (and seeing how much female flesh he can expose along the way—really putting the carnal in Carnal Circuit).

Unfortunately, the J&B component in this film was no different from Night Angel. Simply a scene where the former spokesperson for International Chemical makes a drunken display at a company party. He stands in front of a bottle of J&B before plummeting to his death out of a window (a missed opportunity for a dummy drop). 

At any rate, this film has been one of my favorite watches of the month, and another piece of ammunition in my battle to champion Alberto De Martino.