Compose yourself, please.
I had the audacity to complain that the horror scheduling was slight for the first two weeks of October, but as usual TCM has made me look completely foolish as the last two weeks of October are absolutely jammed with spooky movies.
In all of its gaudy glory, here is what you can find on TCM from October 17th onward! First we'll take a look at the 17th to the 27th.
There are some very interesting blocks in here. There's a double feature of Tod Browning movies, Mark of the Vampire and The Devil Doll on October 17th and then a French horror double feature, which includes The Hypnotic Eye and Eyes Without a Face on the 18th. The 18th rounds out with yet another must-see double feature of Universal's Frankenstein followed by Hammer's remake The Curse of Frankenstein.
Early in the morning on the 19th (set your PVR!) there's screenings of Val Lewton's The Curse of the Cat People and Isle of the Dead, followed by the documentary Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows. The night of the 19th rounds out with a Hitchcock combo of Vertigo and The Birds.
I lamented the lack of Hammer in the schedule in the last post, but they are represented quite well this month. Starting at 6 AM ET on the 20th is a Hammer block that runs for 12+ hours, beginning with the 1959 remake of The Mummy and culminating with 1961's Scream of Fear. All of these movies are standouts, but if you want to see what I think is the most batshit crazy of the Hammer filmography, check out The Devil's Bride at 2:45 PM ET. I'm not sure why they listed it under that title, but it's also know as The Devil Rides Out, a Christopher Lee versus Satan flick that doesn't disappoint.
On the 21st there's a great Karloff/Lugosi block kicking off with The Black Cat (the best to feature the two actors, IMO) at 8:00 PM ET and closing off with The Invisible Ray at 12:30 AM ET on the 22nd.
That's not all for the 22nd, where we're treated to a giant monster block beginning at 7:30 AM ET with a Toho triple feature, including Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, The War of the Gargantuas, and Destroy All Monsters! and culminating later in the afternoon with Gojira at 4:45 PM ET.
The next few days feature a spread of horror thrillers, mostly from the 60s. Standouts include, Rosemary's Baby, Dead Ringer, and Psycho. I'd be remiss not to bring up Scanners and Carnival of Souls are in there, as well.
We're in the endgame now...
Kicking off the morning of October 28th is a Lon Chaney block, comprised of his two most famous performances, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera. Sandwiched in between the two silent films is a documentary about the man himself, Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces.
For the rest of the 28th and 30th (I guess they decided to take the 29th off?) there's a smattering of films that don't really appear to have any theme, like Bedlam, The Swarm, Two on a Guillotine, etc.
There's a Dracula/Frankenstein Hammer double feature on the 30th starting at 1 PM ET, which is followed by an RKO Jacques Tourneur block featuring The Leopard Man, I Walked with a Zombie, Cat People, and Curse of the Demon. Inexplicably, Nightmare is sandwiched in the middle of it.
And that brings us to the big day itself, Halloween!
Things start off in the earliest of hours with a small pre-code horror block that includes Mystery of the Wax Museum and Frederic March in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (the creepiest version, if you ask me). This is followed by a Vincent Price double feature, House of Wax and The Bat.
Throughout the afternoon and into the evening it's the Universal monsters who have the spotlight, starting with The Invisible Man at 1 PM ET and running right up until primetime with Bride of Frankenstein.
I think it's kinda weird, but right in the primetime slot on Halloween, TCM is playing two neo-noir thrillers, In Cold Blood and Who Killed Teddy Bear. I think it's a buzzkill, honestly. If they closed off their horror films for the year with Bride of Frankenstein, I think I could understand, but right after Who Killed Teddy Bear they continue with some more horror heavy-hitters.
For the late night crowd (Halloween is on a Friday this year, after all) there's a cult classic block, starting with Night of the Living Dead at 12:30 AM ET and ending with Vampyr at 7 AM ET.
And there you have it! That's Turner Classic's Halloween/horror programming for the rest of the month. I think it's a nice mix this year. As expected, Hammer and Universal are majorly represented, but I think there are lots of interesting films thrown into the mix, as well. I for one am looking forward to the Toho kaiju movies, that Jacque Tourneur block, and I think falling asleep to Night of the Living Dead on Halloween night might just be the perfect way to round out the season.
Let me know if you'll be catching any of TCM's horror flicks this year! Do you still have cable or a PVR? Or do you think broadcast TV is totally dead and I should just shut up? I'm interested to hear your thoughts.
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