Monsters

I remember being 12 or 13 years old and begging my mother to let me stay up on Saturday nights to watch this cheesy half-hour horror show. I always think of it as the 80s version of Goosebumps, though I don't think it was specifically aimed at kids. Not that scary, but fun for lovers of the horror genre! The best part of the show was the monsters, of course... different ones every week with not too shabby makeup and effects, considering that this was a low-budget show.

Truly one of the best! I remember watching this in my late teens when it originally aired and I just re-found it online. If you love the old school horror stuff, you'll love this. Younger folks who prefer multi-million dollar special effects instead of an actual story probably won't. Because this is pure Old School. A good story, solid acting and cheesy special effects and costuming. It's backed by a solid cast. Over the 3 season run, we saw TV greats like: David Spade, Meat Loaf, Adrienne Barbeau, Linda Blair, Abe Vagoda, Robert Lansing, Tori Spelling, Kent McCord, Billy Drago, Marc McClure, Barbara Billingsley, Leif Garrett, Steve Buscemi, Jerry Stiller, David Sage, Tony Shalhoub, Morton Downey Jr, Tina Louise, Pam Grier, and many others. {Let's not forget Darrin McGavin, of Night Stalker fame. He's got a Monsters episode}

I must first begin by expressing the fact that Monsters was a well done show and out did its' predecessor, Tales From the Darkside. Don't get me wrong. Tales had a great staff, a lot of world renowned writers, and a brilliant cast. But It stayed within the realms of family viewing. It was a show that even the most uptight and strict parents could let their kids watch. It was very tame. I believe policies and guidelines for TV shows may have been a factor, which is why we can really only compare Monsters to shows like Tales from the Crypt. Even though, Tales From the Crypt bares all, in terms of gore and murder and you won't find half naked women on the VHS tapes of Monsters. They are a better match because they delve deeper into horror, while being able to make you laugh and expect the unexpected. Monsters had great effects, a great score, and you can't deny the talent that went into that show.

I think that we should admire the creators of Monsters, because if it wasn't for shows like that one, there would have probably not been a place on television for great shows like, Tales from the Crypt.

The good thing about the backlash against this series, as exhibited by the sum of the negative comments here, is that it will lower the expectations of those coming to it for the first time to the point that they will actually enjoy it, thinking, "Hey, this isn't so bad!"

And indeed it wasn't. My favorite episode is the one with Barbara Billingsly, about a soul reaper haunting a particular old folks home. This episode skirted the terrain we know now from Bubba Hotep long before that film, and the book on which it is based, ever saw daylight.

But Fritz Weaver and his abomination in the jar, an episode that sort of combines Alien and Bradbury's short story The Jar, make for unforgettable viewing. And Soupy Sales starred in a wicked twist on the old farmer's daughter jokes that is also highly memorable television. There's some cool stop motion giant arachnid action in the tale of the young couple who check into a musty old hotel on their honeymoon night. And so on. Yeah, I could stand to see any episode I ever saw of it again. It was a series that, at very least, had its moments. You have to give it that.

The problem with Monsters is one shared by nearly every dramatic anthology series: how to generate a serious story you can really care about in 18 to 24 minutes (TV's "half hour", once you take away time for the commercial breaks that are the only reason TV exists). Twilight Zone rose above this territorial limitation far better than any other such series ever has and likely ever will. But even the early Alfred Hitchcock Presents suffered the limitations of the form more than one would expect: too cut and dried, an all-exposition approach that allows no building of atmosphere, major points spoken rather than seen, film over before you can get into it. You know the drill.

I have to say Monsters is no worse, and probably never quite as bad in this specific way, as Hitch's first several seasons. Monsters at least managed to infuse some Grand Guignol spirit into its 20 minutes. The shows makers seem to have decided that it was in creepy, well-built atmosphere, and not plot punchlines, that they would make their show resonate in the memory of the audience. And having decided on that route, they became very good at it.

So give it a try. I am seeing episodes on DVD for sale through various venues online for the first time in the last few months. After over a decade of spotting the same couple of VHS tapes of this series at older video rental stores, and wondering if it would ever be available in fuller form, this development delights me. It was a decent series that deserves to be remembered and mentioned in any discussion of TV horror.

I think that it's great how Chiller picked up this series and showing it for this generation. Film making has come such a long way especially with the special effects and for one to be able to watch archived shows that they never knew existed, they will certainly be able to see the progress compared to now. MONSTERS is neither lame nor spectacular but it is entertaining. It takes creativity for the types of story lines they came up with and each generation seems to have it's own horror series. This particular series was not as horrifying as the Friday The 13th, The Series, nor as adult oriented as the Freddy's Nightmares..it was something that an entire family could watch and still get a laugh and a fright at the same time. I am happy the Chiller Channel shows it in their line-up, I am just about caught up on the episodes I missed when I was growing up.