Chadwick H. Saxelid's Blog: Ghoulies, Ghosties, and Long-Leggedy Beasties, page 40

A Journey to the Beginning of Time [Cesta do Pravyeku] (1955) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - February 21, 1970
Somebody decided to dust off this Americanized version of a 1955 Czech film for a trio of weekend matinee screenings. Judging by the date, my guess is the Saturday-Sunday-Monday matinee screening schedule was meant to coincide with either the (now defunct) Washington's Birthday or Lincoln's Birthday holiday weekend. I remember being really salty about losing two back-to-back three day weekends when the two were combined and became just President's Day.

The movie concerns four boys riding a raft down an otherworldly river and observing various stages of prehistoric life, until they reach the beginning of time. Seeing that Cesta do Pravyeku was a Soviet Era film, I am reasonably certain the "beginning of time" might have been altered to reflect a more theologically founded worldview for American audiences. Or maybe not, I have yet to see either version of the film.

But I would watch it, because... dinosaurs! And anything with dinosaurs will never be NOT awesome.

Killer Known from Outer Space - A 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle from Toynk

This one was a blast to assemble. Bought it at Son of Monsterpalooza.

Alien (1979) - Trading Card #21

This card features a production design illustration by science fiction artist Chris Foss. It is a rejected design for the proposed exterior of the ore refinery that the Nostromo is towing through space.

While an excellent piece, it is nonetheless an odd choice. As there was no "asteroid colony" ever mentioned or even shown in the film. Still cool, though.

The Monster - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - February 20, 1932
The 20th of February fell upon a Saturday in 1932. A day that saw the final performance of a revival of Crane Wilbur's popular "old dark house" play The Monster.

The production opened on Sunday, February 7th and ran for two successful weeks. Lloyd S. Thompson, in a glowing review that appeared in the Examiner on Monday, February 8th, described The Monster as "a good old standard shriek-opera." One that called for "dimmed lights, mysterious sounds, eerie smells, trapdoors and clutching claws." 

Thompson also shared how the Sunday matinee "audience howled with alternate glee and fright" and that "a squad of uniformed nurses flitted hither and yon looking for fainting ladies upon whom to demonstrate their nostrums."

Sounds like it was one hell of a fun show to attend.

Beetlejuice (1988) - Soundtrack

As big as a hit as this horror adjacent fantasy-comedy was, I just could not muster the interest or energy to go and see it on the big screen. I had not seen Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985), either. So I was unaware of Tim Burton's rather unique blending of gothic and whimsy.

At time of release there were two things about Beetlejuice that got me interested enough to give it a watch on home video. First was that author Michael McDowell was credited as a screenwriter. I had devoured McDowell's novels The Amulet, Cold Moon Over Babylon, Gilded Needles, and The Elementals, back in the day. That alone was enough to get me interested in giving Beetlejuice a watch.
But then there was the fact that Danny Elfman had done the film's music score. Not only was I an Oingo Boingo fan, I also had Elfman's electronic score for Wisdom (1986) in my collection. What would he be doing here?
Crafting what many consider to be his signature orchestral sound, it seems. Elfman's music for Beetlejuice is a jaunty and jarring carnival ride of a score for a cartoonish nightmare of a film. One that's is impossible not to bounce along to whenever giving it a listen.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #23

Mike Relaxed
"The last time I saw him he was excited," offered Mike's brother Tom Williams in a filmed interview. "He really didn't know too much about (the Blair Witch legend); that's what they were going to find out. But it was something he loved doing, doing the sound equipment stuff..." 

The Boogens (1981) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - February 19, 1982
On Friday, February 19, 1982, The Boogens finally opened at a theater or drive-in near me and I could not wait to see it. Lucky for me, as you can see in the center right of the listing, the movie had been booked at Alameda's Southshore Cinema. Even better, it was on a double-bill with John Carpenter's The Fog.

The Boogens is one of a number of films that I "spoiled" for myself by reading the novelization prior to seeing the film. The others include Alien (1979), Dead & Buried (1981), Final Exam (1981), The Funhouse (1981), The Thing (1982), and Poltergeist (1982).

It would also be the second time I would be confounded by the creative liberties I assumed were taken by the novelization's author. Because, at that time, I did not know that the shooting script for The Boogens was not the same script that had been given to Robert Weverka to novelize.

As caught off guard and confused by the differences between what I had read and what I was seeing, that paled in comparison to the running commentary being made by two chatterboxes seated directly behind me. This was the second time they had sat throgh the movie, so they kept talking about what was coming up. It got so bad that I moved to another seat, so I could finish the movie in peace.

Alien (1979) - Trading Card #20

 

Hannibal (2001) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - February 18, 2001
I have yet to see Hannibal for the same reason I have yet to watch Doctor Sleep - reading the source material was an unpleasant enough experience for me, thank you very much, and I have zero desire on my part to see a live action version of certain events played out before me.
This might change, but it might not. No idea.

The Beast Within (1982) - Soundtrack

The liner notes for this Intrada release describe Les Baxter's score for The Beast Within as being "doom-laden" and awash with "darkly percussive effects, lurching orchestral movements and buzzing electronic atmospheres..."

What I did not know, at time of purchase, was that Baxter's rousing main and end title music had been discarded and replaced with a section that underplayed the film's iconic transformation scene. It seems the studio did not think Baxter's grand and tragic approach was unnerving enough.

Same thing that happened to Jerry Goldsmith and his original main and end title music for Alien (1979).

Douglass Fake, Intrada founder and album producer, who passed in 2024, noted that Baxter's unused titles were "the most tonal and harmonically accessible cues" of a score that was "scary, angry, [and] intense." All true.

This is almost a full hour of dark, intense, and bone rattling music that only Les Baxter could compose. It is a cherished part of my soundtrack collection.