Svengoolie’s September Schedule Is Here to Help You Go Back to Ghoul
The season of ghosts, goblins, and CVS candy displays is almost upon us — but until then, Svengoolie is here to tide you over with a month of thrills, chills, and arachnid-fueled mayhem on MeTV‘s Svengoolie Classic Horror & Sci-Fi Movie. This month’s picks have a particular emphasis on ’50s freak-outs — but don’t worry, there’s still a night devoted to the flashy ’70s and ’80s.
Read on to find out what what fall fright-fests will be airing on the show this month, every Saturday night at 8pm ET!
Sept 6: The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
Everett Collection
Gill-man returns … again! In the third Black Lagoon film (and the first to be directed by frequent Universal-International assistant director John Sherwood, in his feature debut, rather than Jack Arnold, who helmed the first two films), a deranged doctor decides that our lagoon-loving monster should live on the land — a decision that obvious leads to horror. The only one of the Black Lagoon films not shot in 3-D, this movie is also frequently considered the final film in the original Universal Monsters series.
Sept 13: The Bad Seed (1956)
And you thought the kids on your block were badly behaved! Patty McCormack shines as Rhoda, the worst little girl in the world; Nancy Kelly stars as mom Christine, who realizes her little darling may actually be a cold-blooded killer.
The film is adapted from the hit 1954 book and play of the same name, but with one major twist: in the original tale, evil Rhoda survives, while valiant Christine dies. The Motion Picture Production Code wouldn’t stand to see a film end with the villain going unpunished (even if that villain is an eight-year-old girl with pigtails); so in the film’s story, the ending was changed so that Christine lives, and Rhoda is taken down by a bolt of lightning.
Still, to soften the blow of the film’s shocking subject matter, it concluded with a curtain call, to help viewers remember that it was all make-believe … and a very silly scene where Kelly pretends to spank McCormack as punishment for her crimes.
Sept 20: Tarantula (1955)
Everett Collection
Speaking of original Creature from the Black Lagoon director Jack Arnold — in the same year he directed Revenge of the Creature, he also helmed this sci-fi tale of scientists who create a nutrient-rich miracle food that might eventually save the human race … but right now, it’s just accidentally creating a gigantic tarantula that’s causing chaos all over a desert town.
You might have heard of this giant creature feature even if you’re not a fan of the genre, as it has two major pop culture pedigrees — it featured one of Clint Eastwood‘s very first (uncredited) film performances, as a jet fighter pilot, and it is mentioned in “Science Fiction/ Double Feature,” the very first song in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (“I knew Leo G. Carroll/ was over a barrel/ When Tarantula took to the hills”).
Sept 27: The Night Strangler (1973) & Amityville 3D (1983)
Everett Collection
Kolchak fans, assemble! In this second made-for-TV movie, following 1972’s The Night Stalker, newspaperman Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is back — now based in Seattle, he’s hot on the trail of a killer creep who is murdering exotic dancers by crushing their necks and relieving them of a few drops of blood. Kolchak’s clues lead him to an old hospital, an interview with Mark Twain, and a bizarre secret that might be centuries in the making.
Horror and sci-fi screenwriting legend Richard Matheson and Dark Shadows mastermind Dan Curtis once again teamed up for this film, as they had for the first — but this would be the end of the road for their involvement with Kolchak. When Kolchak: The Night Stalker debuted on ABC in 1974, only McGavin and Simon Oakland remained.
Then head on down to Amityville and for God’s sake, get out ….for a third time! This time around, journalist John Baxter (Tony Roberts) ain’t afraid of no ghost, and purchases the cursed Amityville property. It’s a decision that has rough ramifications for his loved ones, including daughter Susan (a young Lori Loughlin, just a few years away from playing Aunt Becky on Full House). Only you the viewer can decide which feature of this film is more notable: that it was filmed in 3D, or that it is the second-ever film role of rom-com legend Meg Ryan.
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