Horrible Horror

Horrible Horror (1986)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Zacherley hosts this collection of movie trailers that shows off some of the best and worst that the horror and sci-fi genre has to offer. The extended edition also contains numerous clips from short films and especially some of the ones that Bela Lugosi appeared in during the early 30s.

If you were around during the VHS days then you'll remember countless compilation videos out there that often featured hosts adding a little fun to the trailers. These trailer compilations were a great education at the time because you could watch them and discover new movies to then seek out in video stores. HORRIBLE HORROR is a tape I remember finding in Kroger one day while my father was shopping for groceries. All these years later the film was re-done in an "extended" edition and pushing the running time to 164-minutes.

I must admit, at nearly three hours this thing gets a bit old rather quickly so it would probably be best to watch it over a period of time. With that said, if you're a fan of trailers then there are overly seventy different films highlighted here but not all of the trailers are complete. You also get clips from various interviews that stars like Lugosi gave and there are also outtakes shown from ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.

As a host Zacherley is a legend so his fans are obviously going to love seeing him. He does a nice job during his skits, although there's not too much new footage of him in the extended edition.

If you can get a hold of this one you won't be sorry. It's a terrific compilation of clips from all the schlock films you've ever loved. If you love William Castle, Chiller Theater, or Dr. Shock, you've gotta find a copy of this one.

Zacherle introduces clips from some classic cheesy horror films, as well as rare TV stuff. Watching this, my brother and I found some of the footage to be so weird that it was almost disturbing, particularly the god-awful Electro.

Two complaints: Zacherle's bits really try your patience after a while (that fast-forward button WILL come in handy); and the inclusion of Night of the Living Dead, a great film that doesn't belong alongside such side-splitting crap as Robot Monster, Bride of the Monster, et al.

This is a tremendously entertaining compilation of old b-movie trailers, clips and bloopers with wraparound skits by New York TV horror host Zacherle. The only serious drawback was that Goodtimes Home Video only released it at the inferior EP-speed so the tape required a lot of tracking control adjustment. I would have liked to have seen more stuff from the 60s/70s but this is only a minor complaint as this was meant to appeal to those with a certain nostalgia for the heyday of local TV horror hosts back in the 50s and the movies highlighted in this tape reflect what was shown on TV back then.

Zacherley...Zacherley...Zacherley. Seems his 500 year lease has run out and he has to leave his castle. This includes clearing out his collection of really BAD Horror movies. This is a great compilation video of over 50 different horror and sci-fi films, and this is almost TWO HOURS long! Bad films are fun to watch ..sometimes.. other times they are tedious and very dull (There is a reason why they are called "BAD"..). Seeing abbreviated forms of these movies is often the way to go, and if you really would like to see one all the way, you can seek it out after seeing a bit of it here. This is also the perfect Hallowe'en party tape. Plug this in and watch it as you wait for the kiddies to knock on your door. It will definitely put you in the mood for a silly Hallowe'en.