This Week in Horror History | Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Werewolf by Night & Lamb (Oct 5–11)

0:00 We're knee-deep in October now. The decorations are up, the watch list is unreasonable, and that bag of candy was definitely supposed to last until Halloween. I will not be taking questions. This week, Marvel invites us to a very unfriendly funeral. Freddy takes over the television. A camera crew gets locked inside the emergency room. and five friends make a terrible stop in Texas. Then, after the break, an Icelandic farm welcomes a baby nobody knows quite how to explain.

0:44 So keep the pumpkin lit, check the exits, and maybe ask a few more questions before accepting the invitation to dinner. Woo! Welcome back to This Week in Horror History, your weekly time machine through the creepiest anniversaries in film, TV, books, comics, and games. Tonight, we're talking about October 5th through 11th.

1:19 Coming up, Werewolf by Night crashes the Monster Hunters party. Freddy's Nightmares brings Springwood to Late Night TV. Quarantine turns a ride-along into a lockdown, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre makes roadside hospitality a very suspicious offer. Then for our deep-cut spotlight, lamb, a quiet farm, an impossible child, and a mother outside who would like to have her baby back.

1:56 October 7th, 2022, Werewolf by Night arrives at Disney +, and Marvel trades the superhero team meeting for something with considerably more teeth. After Ulysses Bloodstone dies, monster hunters gather at his estate to compete for a powerful relic. Most families settle an inheritance with paperwork, but this one, well, they brought weapons. Gael Garcia Bernal plays the surprisingly polite Jack Russell. Laura Donnelly plays Elsa Bloodstone, returning to a family tradition she would rather have escaped. Their hunt leads into a maze, but the creature being hunted may not be the real monster here at all. Director Michael Giacchino leans into old-fashioned shadows, practical monster makeup, and mostly black-and-white photography.

2:54 Man-Thing gets his moment and the special finds room for both nasty surprises and unexpected tenderness as well. A welcome reminder that a monster movie can have a heart without placing it in a jar of vermeldehyde. If you want to give this a spin for your Halloween viewing, it's available to watch on Disney Plus with your subscription. October 8th through 9th, 1988. Freddy's Nightmares begins its syndicated run.

3:30 Premiere listings split between October 8th and 9th, but either way, Freddy Krueger has his own television show. Apparently, falling asleep in front of the TV wasn't dangerous enough beforehand. Robert Englund plays host to Springwood's Bad Dreams. Most episodes tell stories two connected stories about the town residents, with Freddy supplying introductions, jokes, and occasionally the trouble himself. Toby Hooper from Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame directs the opening episode, No More Mr. Nice Guy, which revisits Freddy's release from the law, the parents' revenge, and his return in their nightmares, so it's basically a prequel. to all of the films, which is one of the reasons that Freddy's Nightmares was heavily

4:21 sought after for such a long time. Across two seasons and 44 episodes, the series delivers the scrappy pleasures of late-night horror television, with bad decisions, nasty reversals, and a host who is having a much better evening than anybody he's introducing you to. And I guess you could say I have a lot of thoughts on Freddy's Nightmares. Is it a perfect show? Not at all. Is it a great show? From an entertainment value perspective, I believe it is.

4:52 And I'm not trying to talk like I wrote the book on Freddy's Nightmares because I didn't. I co-authored it. Yeah, there's a Freddy's Nightmares book you can get on Amazon or at deathcultpress.com all about the Freddy's Nightmares series. And of course, my buddy Dave and I did a massive... massive podcast series where we covered every single one of 44 episodes of Freddy's Nightmares, and we got interviews with some of the people behind the creation of those episodes, including folks who went on to do work with Tales from the Crypt and many other horror classics. I think Freddy's Nightmares is often overlooked unfairly, hence I did an entire podcast on it, which you can find at freddysnightmares.com.

5:37 It is free with ads right now to watch. on Tubi. And I would not wait because sometimes it comes and goes so quickly. It really is hard to narrow down how you can watch it. So Freddy's Nightmares, definitely something you should watch, especially if you're a diehard Freddy Krueger fan, because then you're basically just getting more Freddy for your, for your buck, I guess. But yeah, the podcast, by the way, is called Welcome to Prime Time. The Freddy's Nightmares podcast available at freddysnightmares.com. October 10th, 2008. Quarantine opens in U.S. theaters and a routine television assignment becomes the kind of footage nobody hopes to find. Jennifer Carpenter plays Angela Vidal, a Los Angeles reporter spending the night with

6:31 a fire crew. A call sends them to an apartment building where an elderly resident attacks and things deteriorate fast. Then authorities seal the exits. The crew came to cover the emergency, but now they are the emergency. John Eric Dowdle's American remake of Wreck, spelled R-E-C, like record, traps us behind the camera as an infection spreads. Every stairwell becomes a challenge and every closed door becomes a frightening question.

7:06 And of course, the night vision setting is not there to improve anybody's sense of safety at the box office it did about 31.7 million dollars domestically and 41.9 million worldwide against a reported budget of 12 million dollars so not a terrible performance and i like the film i think quarantine turned out pretty well but i do think it's hard to challenge wreck the original spanish horror film because it is really good But both of them are absolutely worth your time, so if you want to check out Quarantine, it's spooky season. You need all the horror you can get. You can rent it or purchase it through Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at home. So yeah, just mind the night vision. You might not like what

7:55 you see in the dark. October 11th, 1974. Texas Chainsaw Massacre's United States release begins with an early rollout that varied by city, but the effect on horror it had was considerably less subtle. Five friends travel through rural Texas, investigate reports of disturbed graves, and head toward an old family property. They pick up a hitchhiker who is bad news, but the neighbors are a whole lot worse. Tobey Hooper and writer Kim Henkel make heat and machinery and slamming metal doors feel unbearable. Gunnar Hansen portraying Leatherface belongs to a terrifying family. Not a supernatural mythology, though. They're real and human, and that makes them so much worse. While Marilyn Burns gives the nightmare its desperate human center. Human

8:59 center sounds like something they look forward to in a Tootsie pop. It feels, man, that's a good cannibalism joke, thank you. It feels more graphic than it actually shows, though. There's actually very little blood in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It was almost a PG-rated movie. Of course, this predated the PG-13 rating, so that has something to do with it, too.

9:21 Your imagination really does the job of handling any and all unpaid effects work. in Texas Chainsaw. And despite that true story framing, it is fiction. It is very loosely based on the Ed Gein or Ed Gein events that happened in Wisconsin. And that's kind of where they got the concept for Leatherface. But the Texas family and the events that specifically happened in the film, completely and utterly invented.

9:50 And the numbers are pretty... I mean, they pretty much speak for themselves. $ 26. 6 million domestically on a reported $ 140 budget. Its historical worldwide gross is pretty much unknown. It is easily one of the most successful independent films of all time, only competed with by Night of the Living Dead. So if you haven't seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre, that's bizarre. That is such an important element of your horror education. And if you haven't seen it in a while, why not take a quick trip back to the summer? As fall gets into full swing, it's available to watch free with ads on Tubi and Pluto TV. There's a gorgeous 4K UHD edition out there that you can purchase. And, of course, you can rent or buy it at Amazon Video, Prime Video,

10:39 Fandango at Home, or Apple TV. Tomorrow on Weekly Spooky. Some people celebrate Halloween with candy. Priscilla Mirren celebrates by making other people scream. She and her friends tear through Strickfield, smashing decorations, setting fires, and turning truth or dare into a game nobody is allowed to refuse. They think they're the worst things walking the streets tonight, but then the doors to Mollenhoff Hall slam shut, the lights turn red, and Hellweaver arrives. You see, Priscilla made a bargain with this demonic goddess, but now payment is overdue and her friends have been dragged along into the collection. There will be one more game of truth or dare. Choose truth and a single lie costs you your life and your soul.

11:46 Choose dare and failure means an eternity lost in the darkest reaches of perdition. Anything goes, old grudges become weapons, and the woman who believes she cannot die is about to discover why that that may not save her. It's Hardcore Halloween by Rob Fields, premiering tomorrow on Weekly Spooky. And make sure you're subscribed on your favorite podcast app, because there are going to be bonus scary stories all about Halloween dropping all October long. Oh yeah, this Halloween...

12:23 Death may be the easiest way out. All right, spookies, time for a quick breather. But when we come back, October 8th, 2021, and the polarizing and bizarre film Lamb, two sheep farmers bring an extraordinary newborn into their home. Somebody outside has a very different idea of who that baby belongs to. And we're back. So let's head somewhere quiet.

13:08 Suspiciously quiet. For our deep-cut spotlight this week, we head to October 8th, 2021, when Lamb opens in U.S. theaters and an isolated Icelandic farm becomes the setting for a very strange family portrait. Noomi Rapace and Hilmar Snaugarsson I know I said that wrong, but what are you going to do? Play Maria and Ingvar, sheep farmers living with a grief that they don't discuss much at all. Then an ewe gives birth to Ada, who is not an ordinary lamb. The couple brings her inside. They dress her, give her a crib, and begin treating her as their child.

13:56 Everyone adjusts to this arrangement surprisingly quickly. Well... Everyone except the sheep outside, calling for her baby. That's where the film gets under your skin. We understand why Maria wants this happiness. We also see what she has taken to get it. When Ingvar's brother Peter arrives, his disbelief briefly gives us somebody asking questions that we've all been sitting on.

14:26 Director Vladimir Johansson lets the impossible become part of the daily chores. He doesn't rush us toward an explanation and the landscape never stops feeling bigger and older than the people trying to make it cooperate. The filmmaking has its own unusual family tree. Johansson told Filmhounds that Ada was created using real children, real lambs, puppets, and computer effects to create the baby with a lamb's head. Ten children and four lambs. contributed to the work rapace even delivered lambs on her first shooting day after watching a farmer do it the day before that hands-on farm work helps ground a story that could easily have become a single bizarre visual joke instead lamb keeps asking an uncomfortable question

15:20 when does loving something become deciding that it belongs to you Expect a slow, unsettling family drama with a bit of a folk horror bite, not some barnyard monster rampage. The Quiet does most of the work. At the box office, it did about $ 2. 7 million domestically and $ 4. 1 million worldwide. So, possibly a hit, but there's no real way to confirm the budget because they're keeping it about as secret as crossing lambs with humans. I liked the film. It didn't strike me as a film I was going to watch a million times, but it was definitely bizarre, kept me asking questions, and when the ending hit, I was like, oh, well, all right then. So if you want to check out Lamb, it's available on Prime Video or free with ads on

16:11 Tubi in the United States, and of course you can rent it digitally on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at home. This week for our horror birthdays, we have some heavy hitters. Starting on October 5th, 1952, when Clive Barker was born. The writer and filmmaker behind Books of Blood, Hellraiser, and Nightbreed, among so many others whose fiction also gave us Candyman. Never let this man decorate your spare bedroom. Trust me on that one. Happy birthday, Clive Barker. On October 8th, 1949, Sigourney Weaver is born.

16:58 Ripley an alien and Dana Barrett in Ghostbusters. She's somebody you definitely want nearby when the situation stops making sense and starts making bloodshed. Of course, that's if there is Dana and not only Zool. Happy birthday, Sigourney Weaver. Born on October 9th, 1964, is Guillermo del Toro. From Kronos and The Devil's Backbone to Pan's Labyrinth and Crimson Peak, he's a filmmaker who knows the monster may deserve more sympathy than its neighbors, but it'll also give you a stylish way of seeing all the mayhem that will unwind.

17:39 A very happy birthday, Guillermo del Toro. And finally, born on October 11th, 1969, is Stephen Moyer. Known for portraying Bill Compton in True Blood with more genre work in The Caller and The Gifted, Southern Vampire Hospitality he's got down pat, charming as all get out right up until the invitation gets... complicated, let's say. A very happy birthday to Stephen Moyer and all of our horror birthdays. For our Then and Now this week... In 1974, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre makes somebody else's family the nightmare. In 2021, Lamb finds the danger inside the family you desperately want to build. Then Werewolf by Night asks whether the creature everyone fears might be the kindest one in the room.

18:42 Different decades, same useful warning, don't decide who the monster is just by looking at their teeth. And finally, for our weekly recommendation, I have one that is quintessential Halloween viewing. For a full-strength dose of Halloween atmosphere, this week's pick is, well, Michael Dougherty turning one October night into a neighborhood of overlapping nightmares where somebody in the background might just be the star of the next disaster. October 6th, 2009 is when the North American DVD and Blu-ray release of Trick or Treat went down. A film that has a little bit of everything, at least in the spooky season spirit.

19:33 A school principal has secrets, children investigate a school bus massacre, and a Paquin's lorry searches for the perfect guy to be her first. And Brian Cox's Halloween-hating Mr. Krieg gets a visit from Sam. the little fellow in the orange pajamas and a burlap sack. Sam takes the holiday very seriously.

19:58 Hand out candy, keep that pumpkin lit, think of him as Halloween's Homeowners Association except less scary, and the fines are considerably worse. This is a film that when I first saw it, I immediately fell in love. It is a love letter to Halloween, to horror films, to folklore, to legends, to being a kid who likes to be scared, and a little nod to Ohio, too. It's set in Ohio, and some claim it's loosely based on Fairborn, Ohio, and the Foy family, but you didn't hear that from me because it's not official. Put this one on when the decorations are really glowing. Afterwards, you may find yourself treating the jack-o'-lantern like it's a lifeline you never knew you needed.

20:48 I put this on almost every Halloween night. If not this, then Murder Party. It's a great film, and it's available to watch via rental or purchase through digital services like Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at home. Well, my spookies, that's your trip through October 5th to October 11th in horror history. Tomorrow, don't miss Hardcore Halloween by Rob Fields.

21:16 Right here on Weekly Spooky, a brand new Halloween horror story that I know you won't want to miss. And we have something scary for you sometimes twice a day throughout October to make sure that that Halloween feeling disappears. never dies out. Because this time of year is for us. It's for the spookies to let our freak flags fly and to eat a lot of candy without anyone judging us.

21:42 I stand by that. And if you want to judge me, well, take it up with Sam, won't you? And of course, I'll be back here next Tuesday with even more horror history for you to sink your fangs into. So until next time, remember, our days are numbered. because that's how we tell them apart. See you next week.