Thriller: 1961: "Pigeons From Hell":
Thriller ran for a couple of seasons on NBC in the early 60's. Boris Karloff served as your Rod Serling-esque master of ceremonies, albeit just presenting you with the horrific scenarios and not the morality plays and attempts at wisdom through shock Serling did masterfully with The Twilight Zone. Stephen King himself to this day regards Thriller as the best horror television has had to offer.
"Pigeons from Hell" is an episode that garnered attention years later and for good reason. It's a bizarre sketch about two young brothers taking a road trip and winding up with their car stuck and immoveable in a swamp not far from an abandoned plantation.
The old empty house is a horror trope as old as story telling. This one, however, is a little more bent than your average tale. This isn't just an abandoned house, of course, and those that dwell within it have cruel and sinister agendas, probably made more malevolent by the passage of time.
The acting is a bit overboard by Brandon DeWilde, but balanced by Crahan Denton as the local sheriff. Wonderfully shot for its time, it's a good way to spend Halloween hour, if you can find yourself a copy.
The Ray Bradbury Hour, 1985: Season 5: "Zero Hour":
The first time I heard Ray Bradbury's radio classic Zero Hour, it creeped me and my kid out. It was first aired in 1955, and you can hear it here. It was quite controversial for its time, mostly for the use of children as antagonists. (This is still a bit touchy, but far less as evidenced by the piece I wrote days back on Who Can Kill a Child).
Updated here for a 1985 audience, but set in future that appears more like today, screen veteran Sally Kirkland and a very young Katherine Isabelle (Isobel here) star. She's no stranger to horror audiences thanks to excellent turns in the Ginger Snaps trilogy, the unparalleled television Hannibal, and Christopher Nolan's Insomnia. She's about 8 years old here in this episode, and still working today regularly.
Seems children around the world have enlisted themselves in the army of Drill; an unseen character who uses the kiddos to plan an invasion. (the name and somewhat similar plot were used in the 2016 series The Whispers) Buncha crazy kids.
Until they're not.
Which I think is Bradbury's point, genius that he was. Maybe we should listen to the little ones a little more often, eh? This episode doesn't pack anywhere near the wallop that the rising terror in poor mom does in the original radio play, but any chance to see Bradbury's work put to the screen is a chance that should be taken. Sadly, the DVDs aren't of the greatest quality should you track them down, but they're inexpensive more often than not and well worth it.
Tales from the Darkside: 1984: Trick or Treat:
George Romero's long running syndicated treasure has a Halloween treat for you, in a spin on A Christmas Carol, where instead of Ebenezer Scrooge hating Christmas, you have a different asshole, who is just as much a cruel penny pincher, but he loves Halloween. It's an excuse to mentally torment children of those who owe him money.
Let's just say, the morality play is terrific here, as Barnard Hughes ("That's the problem with Santa Clara, all the damn vampires") plays the Satanic Scrooge, and with great vigor. What a show he puts on right until he, as Scrooge does, gets his just desserts. Is there a Tiny Tim to bring redemption this time? Well. We are talking about George A. Romero here.....
Veteran director Bob Balaban makes this a creepy blast that fits the season in tone, look, and content. This one should be a Halloween tradition of the highest order.
Night Gallery. (1969): "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar
Rod Serling presents a story here, where situations present themselves that may seem like ghosts, it's really just a guy, Randolph Lane, filled with regret seeing the old glories dance in front of his eyes. What a writer Serling was, of situations and dialogue, his work was so stellar, even after his seminal Twilight Zone.
Seems our hero is 25 years into his career as a plastics salesman working for long time silver and small screen legend John Randolph, and being assisted by future game show host Bert Convy. But, as Yogi Berra once said, "the future ain't what it used to be". He's a widower now, and his sales success isn't what it once was. William Windom as Lane, is absolutely devastating as he struggles with a question mark of a life. He's not a failure, but he lost his wife young, is at a downturn at his job, and has many miles to go before he sleeps.
Diane Baker is terrific as his empathic secretary, who serves as anchor, not just to the lovable but struggling Lane, but the story, as she delivers the blows that make you cheer, and positions the world to catch a person's fall. This is just a terrific piece of television. Though it may not be ghostly or horrific, the second, very brief segment of this season finale, The Last Laurel, has enough of both. It also provides chuckles to boot, to give you what you may have been looking for, but didn't receive in the first 40 minutes.
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