Posted by The BONE JANGLER
on April 4, 2009, 7:10 pm
Seeing as "The Horror Host Underground Presents The Giant Gila Monster" is being broadcast via the internet, in more than one place, this weekend, I thought that it would be nice if Horror Host fans saw this...
This review, of sorts, of the recent Horror Host Underground compilations comes from David Colton. Mr. Colton is Page 1 editor of USA Today. I thought that I'd reprint it here for those who have yet to read it. It was originally posted at Count Gore De Vol's Fans Of Horror Hosts Yahoo! group.
"If I'm coming in late on this, forgive me, host and hostess fans, but the Bone Jangler sent me DVD copies of his two latest HHU productions (Giant Gila Monster and Ladies of the Horror Host Underground), and I was struck by how fresh and strong a concept these monster 'jams' really are.
These are terrific fun, using dozens of hosts -- instead of just one -- to introduce, interrupt, interfere and voice over films like Giant Gila Monster and Lady Frankenstein. If American Idol had on greasepaint and netting, it wouldn't move any faster or be as eerily compelling as the battle of the ghost hosts here.
I especially liked the HHU Giant Gila Monster show, excuse me, Giant Hila Monster show. The use of ghostly hosts and hostesses from cable access and off-the-dial UHF across the nation is an extremely cool concept, shaking up the genre by flexing the new wave of hosts in a way that will delight most casual viewers and totally satisfy longtime fans. In a fundamental way, it's probably the proudest thing that has ever been done in horror host history.
All the hosts, however varied their talents or makeup, seem completely at ease, in that way found only in a local studio. With some doing long takeouts, others only quick cameos or voiceovers, the whole thing has a 'what will happen next' feel. You can't ask for more than that!
The effects are slick and cheezy, the quips low-brow and heady, the movie couldn't be more corny, and where else can you find Penny Dreadful singing along with Luna 13 on the piano, Karlos Borloff interviewing Don Sullivan, or Sinister Minister on his flaming set from hell all on the same screen? HHU: Giant Gila Monster is a home run and you should be really proud of it.
As an observer who usually turns to the more gentile side of horror hosting -- the sardonic Zacherley, playful Count Gore de Vol or very funny Dr. Gangrene -- some of the brasher and more hard core HHU hosts, for lack of a better term, too often seem angry or harsh or overly competitive. Well this time it's the underground's heart showing through. Really liked it a lot.
Just my two cents...
david"
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