Horrible Horror

Former TV horror host John Zacherle (who also put in appearances in several Frank Henenlotter films) hosts this collection of movie clips from a dusty, cluttered dungeon set and interrupts the proceedings far too often. Most of the titles covered in this long tape (110 minute) are from the 1930s through the 60s.

Included are trailers (THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE, I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF, ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE), fun rare bloopers from ABBOTT AND COSTELLO horror comedies, TV serials like THE UNDERSEA KINGDOM, SUPERMAN and CAPTAIN VIDEO, some hilarious William Castle gimmicks like the 3-D 13 GHOSTS and "death by fright" insurance policies for MACABRE and THE SCREAMING SKULL, a special section for Bela Lugosi movies (DRACULA, GLEN OR GLENDA?, BRIDE OF THE MONSTER and more), plus some rare and fun Lugosi interviews and great scenes from KING OF THE ZOMBIES with the hilarious Mantan Moreland.

My favorite trailer was for THE KILLER SHREWS, where a serious-sounding on-screen narrator informs us, "There have been recent sightings of giant killer shrews in Alaska!" Toward the end things are divided up by genre such as zombies (CARNIVAL OF SOULS, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD) and vampires (THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN, THE VAMPIRE BAT). Also with SHE-DEMONS, THE BRAINIAC, WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST, THE BLOB (in color), HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, SPIDER BABY and many others. As you can tell, many of the titles covered do not fall into the category of "horrible horror."

I got my copy for $1.99 at Wal-Mart, so keep your eyes peeled for it!

This tape is perhaps one of the funnest, greatest compilations of old movie clips ever assembled. Hosted by legendary television host Zacherley, it's a veritable army of clips, trailers and bits of old b-movies, many of which are the worst of the worst.

Zacherley, some 20-30 years after his heyday, is in fine form here, as he introduces segments devoted to different themes. The clips are of the so-bad-they're-great variety, including trailers for ROBOT MONSTER and THE KILLER SHREWS (a great promo piece that's not in the actual film). There's a fantastic section on Bela Lugosi, with pieces of interviews and television appearances. I was introduced to films I'd never heard of, like the Mexican z-classic THE BRAINIAC.

All in all, a great party film.

Ten stars for the clips, minus two for lame hosting. If you like to revel in the wonderful awfulness of 40's-60's sci-fi and monster movies, this abbreviated collection may be for you. Most clips are enough to elicit good-natured chuckles, though a few run a bit long. Includes some great Bela Lugosi interviews from the 30's as well. Not being familiar with host Zacherley, who shows up at intervals, this was the first time I'd seen him. I'll take it on trust that he was popular some years ago, but here he's mostly just annoying---you may long for the voiceover riffs of Mystery Science Theater/Rifftrax. Still, this is a great compilation of clips from flicks that actually frightened audiences back in a time before today's explicit levels of gore, violence and occultism. Makes you think about how hardened we've become.....

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.

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.