This Kindertrauma Possessed

The love for This House Possessed keeps rolling along, and you can check out Kindertrauma's awesome Glamour magazine inspired 10 Signs Your House Has The Hots For You quiz! I got a 7 out of 10.

How'd you do?

This Michael Possessed

I was so pleased when the Meepster himself (he who runs the incredible blog Cinema du Meep) accepted my request to write a little ditty about This House Possessed! He put together this pithy little tribute:

This House Possessed
by Michael of Cinema Du Meep
This House Possessed is kind of the best TV-Movie title ever. I mean, you get exactly what you are looking for! Who can't find a deep appreciation for that. Well, besides a good haunting story set against sunny California in a creepy mid-century house, Possessed also gives you a few more early 80's treats. For fans of TV's The Hardy Boys, it's in the shape of the former teen idol, now all man Parker Stevenson. For fans of girls with spunk, it's the wonderful Lisa Eilbacher. Before she became Axel Foley's big haired confidant in Beverly Hills Cop, Lisa snagged herself the plum role of cute as a button nurse to Parker's ailing Rock Star. There's also some very swanky music and supporting roles by Former Presidential Candidate John Dukakis (!), Slim Pickens, Joan Bennett, David Paymer, Barry Corbin and Phillip Baker Hall. Character actor heaven! Director William Wiard also directed the likewise fabulously titled Ski Lift To Death and the movie was produced by television producer god Leonard Goldberg. There's a pedigree to This House that ski lifts it over other television movies of the time, and it's a lot of fun. Watch it in the dark in a possessed house you love.

Play Me(ep) like a song!

We Interrupt This Program...

I just wanted to let everyone know this is my 400th post! Good golly Miss Molly!

Is there a better way to celebrate than with Barry Bostwick performing Jump:



TV Mayhem for all!

This Blog Possessed!

You knew it was bound to happen! I am dedicating the next week, perhaps two, to my all time favorite TV movie, This House Possessed. For this event I will be featuring several fellow bloggers/writers/all around cool people who have been kind enough to take the time to let the world know why Possessed is the best movie ever made in the history of the world... and perhaps the universe.

I wanted to actually get the ball rolling tonight, but I'm smack dab between writing papers and prepping for midterms. I should be able to get the first post up by tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. The stuff I have received is wonderful and I'm really excited to be sharing a little of the Possessed love!

For some reason Possessed has not seen a release on either vhs or DVD. That is sad since it has quite a following and truly, it has endured. It's still just as great for me to watch now as it was when I first curled up in bed with it February 6th in 1981. And I think in some respects, it's gotten better. This movie lacks any of that lame self-irony we see so much today, the earnestness of the performances and the overall creepy and uber-fabulous setting have only served to remind me how wonderful growing up in the 80s was.

I am going to write a little more at the tail end of this love fest, but for now I'd like to link you to two reviews I've written. One was for Camp Blood and the other was for a site called CC2K. I do think I could write about this movie forever, and ever and ever! And again, I'm so pleased there other crazy nutjobs like myself in the world!

Enjoy!

Warner Archive TV Movie Sale

Yes, sir. You too can now bring Phoebe Cates into your living room with an affordable DVD of Lace! And yes, I know that's the TV Guide cover for Lace II, but is that not the greatest photo ever. Ever. But I digress... Warner Archives is having a boss TVM DVD sale, which runs until October 17th!

Now go grab your Winter Kill and have a great Halloween!

Finally... A New Poll!

OK everyone, here I am, making another sporadic appearance on my beloved blog. This semester has been nothing short of insane, so I haven't really had a chance to watch any movies, much less review them.

These are trying times, indeed.

I did get a new poll up and I chose the same October scary movie theme that I tend to choose every year. Please vote for whatever you think is the scariest of the scary movies I have listed. OK, KISS Meets Phantom of the Park is scary for all the wrong reasons, but it made the list, so there! And of course, I'm sure I missed something uber-important, because that's my MO. So please feel free to let me know in the comments. I can't add anything though, but I will tally it. All voices are heard at Made for TV Mayhem. Deal with it!

Also, last year I did something that was akin to the 31 Days of TV Movie Horror or some such, and you can find the titles I chose by clicking on this link. Some other stuff got tagged in there, so... bonus, right?

And for more October scary movie goodness, here is a list I put together for Film Threat a few years ago. I link to it every year so you may have seen it...

I also have a theme coming up and I am thinking it will last around 2 weeks. Hopefully, I can cram some other stuff in there, but this theme is a co-op effort with myself and several other bloggers/writers and awesomely cool people. So keep your eyes peeled for it!

Hoy Cow! Sweet Hostage is on DVD!!!

Where have I been and what has happened to my excellent TV movie radar? Time to take it into the shop for fine tuning because I totally missed that Sweet Hostage became available through Warner Archives last week!

This is a somewhat controversial movie featuring an escaped asylum inmate (Martin Sheen looking pretty fine) kidnapping a young teen (Linda Blair looking adorable), only to have her fall in love with him. Only in the 70s guys. This movie aired on ABC on October 10th, 1975 and is based on Nathaniel Benchley's book Welcome to Xanadu (which I own but have not read).

It's great to see that Warner Archives is continuing their excellent TV movie output, and for the record, the non-TVM Killer Party also came out last week. I'm gonna have to quote KP's excellent theme song here... These are the best times of our lives.

Prom Night! Everything is Alright!

OK guys, it's here. The book Butcher Knives and Body Counts is now available through Amazon! My article on Prom Night is just one of the many featured essays which reflect on the slasher genre. You will find lots of your fave bloggers and some famous folks too! C'mon everyone, it's the right thing to do and the tasty way to do it!

The Phantom of Hollywood is on DVD!

I know I've been MIA lately (thanks college!), but wild horses couldn't prevent me from letting you all know that The Phantom of Hollywood is now available on DVD thanks to Warner Archives! It's been quite a few years since I've seen this odd but fun little TVM, but I can tell you that Peter Haskell is adorable and the bad guy is cah-reepy! Much of the film takes place on a dilapidated back lot which was actually the famous MGM Lot 2 where several classic films were shot, including The Canterbury Ghost, starring Peter Lawford. By the way, he also appears in Phantom! Coinkydink? The lot was in the process of being demolished when someone decided to shoot a horror film amongst its remaining creepy bones, which practically serve as another character. That makes the Phantom a scarily awesome artifact!

The DVD just became available today, and the print looks dandy. So please support your TVM and pick up a copy. Tell 'em Amanda By Night sent ya!

Remembering John Ritter

I remembered that it was eight years ago yesterday that we lost John Ritter. I have never been shy about my love for him, and I was truly saddened by his passing. I was flipping through an old TV Guide (the June 20 - 26, 1987 issue to be exact) and I saw a short piece on a tribute concert Ritter helped to organize for the Vietnam veterans. The event was called Welcome Home, and it aired on July 4th, 1987 on HBO. TV Guide quoted Ritter as saying, "I feel something like this on a national level can be almost a catharsis. There's something bigger than being a hawk or dove. The one thing we can all do is embrace the Vietnam veterans. This is an opportunity for real healing."

That article pretty much sums up everything I have loved about Mr. Ritter... well, except for his wonderful sense of humor (and pratfalls)! I miss him every day.

Here is John Fogerty doing a pretty kickass performance of Born on the Bayou at the Welcome Home concert:



And here's John doing what he did best, making us laugh: