TRICK OR TREAT - "The Ultimate Comeback" (1986)

Time sure is flying by and this year's Countdown To Halloween is already half over, so let's kick it into high gear with some Wednesday Weirdness, and another 80's rockin' nightmare!

This one is called "Trick Or Treat" and it escaped from the mental institution in 1986!

Tony Fields is a Heavy Metal singer named Sammi Curr! Sammi has died before he got a chance to play one final gig at his high school alma mater, and his latest record is possessed by the Devil!

 

 Other than that, this is just another family oriented Halloween movie!

 NOT!!

 For all you headbangers, probably the best thing about this movie is the fairly short appearances of Gene Simmons, and...........

 ...........Ozzy Osbourne!

 The basic premise is that the demon soul of Sammi Curr is embedded in this record, and when played, literally all Hell breaks loose. The same thing happens if taped recordings of the disc are played!

 Not nearly as demonic but equally disturbing is this "Do It Like A Dog" album!

Stand-Up comedian and comedy show Producer Marc Price is the misfit kid who has to try and save the world! Marc was Skippy on the TV show "Family Ties" for 51 episodes!

 This girl is raped by the demon monster when she grooves out on her Walkman to a copy of the insidious vicious record!

 The kid destroys his stereo and the record, but then he remembers there's a tape!

 I like how nothing has to make sense! This cranky old lady gets yanked out of the TV and turned into toast, a power I believe we all deserve to have!

This is not the way to get the best out of your band members, but it's a cool shot!

 This is the definative 1980's Rock n' Roll shot!

Although he has the swagger of a rock star, Tony Fields was actually a dancer who was in many music videos, and was one of the "Solid Gold" dancers on TV for five years. Tony died from AIDS related cancer in 1995 at the age of only 36!

Once completely resurrected, he has the power to zap audience members with electric rays from a guitar! 

There are no rules, and anything goes in this 98 minute time limit grudge match with no referee and no holds barred!

 Oops!! Party's over!! Outta time!

This is a pretty cool publicity still featuring Tony, Ozzy, and Gene!

A HAUNTING WE WILL GO / A Walter Lantz Color Cartoon with 'Lil' Eightball' - 1939

It seems like we're into cartoons this here Halloween Countdown, so, here's Walter Lantz's introduction of his new character, Lil' Eightball. In the story, we find the little guy going to bed in a small cabin, then being visited by a baby ghost. He tells the little ghost that he's not afraid of anything, so, he's transported to the old haunted mill, where the adult ghosts hang out. They run Lil' Eightball through all the standard ghost tests, and, while he's shaken, he still won't admit to being scared.

Mel Blanc does the voice of Lil' Eightball, Billy Bletcher does the voices of the Ghosts, Candy Candido does the voice of Papa Ghost and Bernice Hansen does the voice of the Baby Ghost. What a lineup!

Ahhh, the old haunted mill, looks like a place I'd like to live. It's called... Atmosphere!

Well, Baby Ghost is out testing it's transforming abilities, like, rubbery man! The owl is not impressed until Ghostie changes back to a baby and sez... BOO!! Then it skedaddles away.

Baby Ghost finds someone sleeping in their bad and calls them out... Well, it's Lil' Eightball, and he informs the intruder that he ain't afraid of no ghosts! Actually, our little pal is a well spoken and very informed cat.

So, Baby G grabs Little E and they fly away to the old haunted mill...

Where, Lil' Eightball meets Papa Ghost and his pals. He tells them he's still not afraid and they start pulling some pranks on him...

Then, in a weird, surreal scene, he's attacked by sinister car headlights that come at him from every direction. After he deems them harmless, he taken for a freakin' insane ride in a souped-up invisible hot rod!

Our little trooper decides to hide in a room, but, the ghosts shrink it down with him inside!

This ghost pops out of a coo-coo clock, shocking Lil' E a bit...

He thinks he's safe in this room, but when he steps on the window lighting on the floor, well, he falls through where the ghosts are waiting for him. They try every trick in the book to get to the little guy.

He ends up on a carpet of ghosts roller coaster ride accompanied by lightning strikes!!

Lil' Eightball has had enough and he high tails it the Hell out of there! And, the ghosts get the last laugh! So, like, join us again on Wednesday where we'll have another creepy Halloween Countdown Surprise for whoever shows up!..

I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE - "She's Alive... Yet Dead" (1943)

This Saturday Night Halloween Countdown Special is an honest to dog true classic!

"I Walked With A Zombie" came out in 1943, and the world hasn't been safe from zombies ever since, thanx to Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur!

The quite lovely Frances (The Night Of June 13, If I Had A Million) Dee is a nurse in Canada named Betsy Connell. She has just got an offer to be a private nurse for some rich fellah's wife in the West Indies!

So why the Hell not, she takes the job, and off she goes! What a brave woman!

On the ship, Betsy meets a somber and negative man called Paul Holland, the husband of the woman she is to care for. Tom Conway is Paul Holland! Tom was "The Falcon" in at least ten movies, and he was also in Dungeon classics like "Atomic Submarine," and "Voodoo Woman."

The Holland home on the plantation is quite splendid, and the shutters everywhere create some wild lighting effects like this. "I Walked With A Zombie" was shot entirely in Hollywood, but you never really think about it while watching it!

"I Walked With A Zombie" has a strong female cast led by Frances Dee! On the poster her name is sandwiched in between the two male stars James Ellison and Tom Conway, but she is the star of the show without a doubt!

The role of Paul Holland's zombie wife goes to Christine Gordon as Jessica Holland in her first of only six credits. It's a strong female role in a completely different department!

Despite the extremely disturbing circumstances, Betsy Connell remains strong and dedicated to her job!

Christine Gordon remains in a hypnotic state for the whole film, because she is after all, a zombie!

Paul Holland's half brother is James (The Undying Monster, The Ghost Goes Wild) Ellison as Wesley Rand! He has a bit of a drinking problem!
In the background, the local troubadour as played by calypso singer Sir Lancelot creeps into the scene!

His God given name was Lancelot Victor Edward Pinard, so Sir Lancelot wasn't that far of a stretch!
He must have been doing something right because Sir Lancelot lived to the age of 98.

Here's a short classical musical moment of Sir Lancelot's performance courtesy of YouTube!

Another strong female role in this film is Theresa Harris as Alma the maid. It could have been a lowly role, but she brings it beauty and charm! Theresa had over 100 credits, which was a lot for a woman of this era, and almost incomprehensible for a black woman, and look at her, she's gorgeous!

 Another solid female part in this film is Edith Barrett as Mrs. Rand.
Here's what I learned while writing this, Edith Barrett was the wife of Vincent Price for ten years and the Mother of Vincent Barret Price. Sadly, booze and drugs destroyed her life!

So off they go to find out why Jessica is a such a messica!

From Alma's directions, Betsy leads Jessica to the Voodoo camp.

This is a killer lobby card from when they bump into the zombie guard!
Darby (White Cargo, Black Magic) Jones is probably the strongest, and most iconic of all the male characters in the film!

No happy ending here folks!
Even the zombie is saddened by the whole damned affair!

"I Walked With A Zombie" is only 69 minutes long, so there is absolutely no reason why every person alive or dead shouldn't see it at least once, especially this time of the year!


And then of course, this classic film inspired this classic song!
Hit It!