Customer Reviews

Every Other Day Is Halloween

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This documentary beautifully captures the triumphs and tragedies of Washington, DC's pioneering television host, Dick Dyszel. Beginning in the 1970's, Dick was instrumental in forging thoughts of fantasy and humor in the minds of his young fans by living on-screen personas such as Captain 20, Bozo and the late-night Creature Feature host, Count Gore. Though passionate about his work, his playful and often irreverent attitude captured on-set is what still resonates. This documentary pulls from the actual archival broadcasts, letting viewers sink back into memories of a life before cell phones and the internet. I had the chance to see this documentary in Baltimore a few months ago and highly recommend it - not only to the DC/MD/NoVA latchkey kids of that prior generation but also to people who still look for little specks of childlike wonder in their daily lives.

I had the opportunity to see a preview of "Every Other Day Is Halloween" last year (2009) at the Horrorfind convention in Hunt Valley Maryland. Although, I've been a fan of Dick Dyszel forever, this documentary would appeal to just about everyone. Dick's career is an intriguing one, as is the entire horror host concept. Anyone that loves Bozo, Captain 20, Count Gore De Vol, CHEF COMBO, or horror hosts will love this documentary! Anyone who grew up in the Washington, DC area in the 70s and 80s is gonna pee themselves with excitement when they watch this!

The 70's! Pet Rocks, Foghat, and huge jungles of pubic hair...Speaking of Count Gore De Vol, let me just tell you I've seen this wonderful new documentary about to be released on DVD officially through MVD Distributors. It's called "Every Other Day is Halloween" and it's a nostalgic look back at one of the greatest regional television horror hosts of all time, Washington D.C.'s Count Gore De Vol. Gore was brought to life by the great Dick Dyszel. He developed the host after being on the air in D.C previously as Bozo The Clown, and the infamous childrens show host, Captain 20.

Dysel, was searching for an adult format where he could stretch his chops and have fun. Count Gore De Vol was a weekly program that featured notoriously bad B movies, and most horror host fans admit, that they tuned in more for the antics of Gore De Vol, then the actual movie itself. De Vol did have a stretching influence on several of the newer horror hosts that are doing well in the hosting renaissance that we all hope would just go mainstream, and move away from the internet. The film pays special attention to local musicians, and comic book persona Steve Niles, who wrote the "30 Days Of Night" series, whom Dyszel influenced greatly.

The film is beautifully directed and paced well, and really wants to make you a fan of De Vol, even if you didn't grow up with him. It's a wonderful look back at 70s culture, and as with most of us, if we love something, we never forget it. It's a sign of true fandom. Dyszel seems like he's probably the nicest guy you'll ever meet, and that says alot about the lasting power of the character he created. Not growing up in the D.C area, I am familiar with Count Gore De Vol, as in last 10 years, I discovered his shows via his website [...]. He's a engaging character actor, and is easily one of the top 10 horror hosts of all time. Every Other Day Is Halloween comes out via DVD on April 20th, 2010. Pick it up immediately. I'm gonna go watch this again, while I lay in my coffin and stare at Vampirella!

This is a must-see for anyone that spent any part of their childhood in the '70s here in the DC area. It's hard to explain the love we shared for Channel 20 and the many personas of its resident host, Dick Dyszel. But fortunately I don't have to, because this movie succeeds wonderfully in transporting us back to that strange and innocent time that so many of us remember so fondly.

As a little kid growing up in Northern Virginia in the 1970's, Channel 20 was a huge part of my life. Central to that life was Captain 20, the host of all the kids shows on the station. Dick Dyszel was my hero, both as Captain 20 and Count Gore De Vol on Creature Feature. Discovering "Every Other Day Is Halloween" was a huge shout out to my childhood and great fun to watch.

The first half of the documentary is the history of Dick Dyszel and his time on Channel 20. Truly awesome and worth every cent. Unfortunately, the second half gets into a long-winded showcase of the "new generation" of horror hosts, which gets very boring very quickly. I bought this DVD to get the history of Dyszel and Channel 20, and the documentary strays from that pretty heavily in the second half. It would have been much better to cut it to an hour and lose most of the other stuff.

That being said, still a fabulous find for the first half alone. Highly recommended if you grew up around the beltway in the 70's. Ultraman, Marine Boy, Speed Racer, The Banana Splits, Lancelot Link...Channel 20 ruled!