Customer Reviews

Horrible Horror - Hosted by Zacherley the Cool Ghoul [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a 110-minute tape of short takes from some of the cheesiest horror movies ever made, often featuring big stars. The clips are interspersed with entertaining commentary from a narrator who was prominent about 40 years ago as a host of B horror movies on TV, Zacherley. Surprisingly, his little snippets are a welcome addition to the programming, although I am not sure I can say why, since his narration is in the form of sidebars of nonsense during what would have been commercial breaks on TV. Anyway, the video is thematically arranged by star and sub-genres, such as zombies for sub-genres and Bela Legosi for an example of a star. The best stuff does come in the first half hour, but the entire video is certainly worth watching. With the exception of one short scene, I can also recommend it for fun family viewing. Make sure to check out this video if you're a fan of B-horror flicks! You won't be disappointed!

If you are a fan of Zacherley you will probably love this tape one way or the other. But for the Classic Universal Horror films completist, this tape contains a pleasant surprise that I (for one) have never seen before; sprinkled throughout the 110 minute tape are several 'blooper' style outtakes from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein! Included are such rarities as Lou Costello cursing and cracking up Lon Jr., and Glenn Strange cracking up and stating 'I can't help it!' in full Monster Makeup as Lou Costello sits on his lap and mugs it up. It probably only comes to a few minutes worth of footage altogether, but for the serious Universal Classic Monsters fan, it is probably worth the price of purchase for this footage alone.

Growing up in NY, I've been a Zacherley fan since the age of five. With the dawn of home video in the early 80's, I searched high and low for something Zacherley had done. Along around 1989, I found the GoodTimes video production "Zacherley's Horrible Horror". I'm thankful these people preserved Zacherley at his best, especially since none of his original material exists. In speaking to John Zacherley himself at a convention, he stated that in those days, video tape was reused due to it's expense. Therefore, after each of his shows the tape was erased. For the Zacherley fan, this video is a must.

His 500 year lease has just expired, and it's time to move out of the castle. This is the premise. For anyone who has ever seen Zacherley, his presence alone justify's this video. He shows previews and cut bits of the worst or the worst. If you enjoy the trailers for old movies then you will love this film!

Wow, what a find. The coolest Ghoul of all time is cleaning out his vaults, and we get to watch! I never got to see Zacherley's late night film fests, but I got turned on to this priceless video by a fan of his from NY, and for a fan of cheesy horror like myself, Zacherley is a god! He ad-libs the entire time, and is suprisingly funny, in a terrible, cheesy joke kind of way. He shows us extremely rare film clips like the trailer from "Tales of Frankenstein", or an amazing Dracula clip, that promises membership into the Dracula fan club. Many obscure films from the sci fi, and horror genres are shown, and many of the more well known as well. Mostly from the 50's and 60's. Some even older. Zach seems to be his own biggest fan, and amuses himself with his own corny jokes. Even Mayor Ed Koch is not safe from Zach's corny jokes, and watch for the incredibly stupid trick he does with an ancient film reel. Highly recommended!

John Zacherle's "Cool Ghoul" character was originally called "Roland." He started his TV hosting career on Philly's WCAU, went to NYC's WABC in 1958 then to WOR in '59 and WPIX in 1963. At age 90 Zach is still making personal appearances!


Zacherle hosts GEEK MAGGOT BINGO, a 1983 shock schlock horrorfest. (DVD only)


GOODTIMES' HORRIBLE HORROR is a genuine collectible. The tape is recorded in LP mode with a strong linear monaural track. Video quality is good as is tracking stabiliy on my VCR. This two-hour program is not available on DVD.

We open with Lugosi from Glen or Glenda.
Zacherley is vacating the castle after a 500 year lease expired. He has Igor run various reels of sci-fi and fright film snippets, also excerpts of trailers and other rarities including humorous outtakes from Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein.

REEL ONE- The Killer Shrews, The Alligator People, Indestructible Man, Abbott & Costello, Snow Creature, The Blob, I was a Teenage Werewolf, Little Shop of Horrors, War of the Colossal Beast and Attack of the Puppet People.

Zach plays with gag props then:
REEL TWO- Robot Monster, 1952 Skippy Award nominee "Electro the Robot," Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, The Hideous Sun Demon, Captain Midnight (TV) and Flash Gordon (TV).

Our host flips through Dracula's ledger and presents Drac's home movies:
REEL THREE- A reporter becomes terrified by Lugosi during an interview, Bela on "You Asked For It," Dracula (Lugosi) bites Betty Boop (Mae Questal), plus scenes from Plan 9 From Outer Space, Spooks Run Wild, Abbott & Costello, and more.

The Cool Ghoul probes two brains, then:
REEL FOUR- Zombie flicks King of the Zombies, Carnival of Souls and Night of the Living Dead.

Zach sautees a brain and presents vampire clips in:
REEL FIVE- The Devil Bat, The Vampire's Coffin, Robot Monster vs. Aztec Mummy, Zach on 50s TV show, Abbott & Costello, Spooks Run Wild and a strange "Vampire Society" oath.

Our ghoulish host slices open a giant green jellylike amoeba then shows special effects on:
REEL SIX- She Demons, Hercules vs. Moon Men, Superman (serial), The Phantom Empire (Gene Autry), Spooks Run Wild, 13 Ghosts, Invisible Invaders, Captain Video (serial) and The Undersea Kingdom (serial).

Zach's last host spot precedes:
REEL SEVEN- Tales of Frankenstein, Abbott & Costello, Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome, Lugosi plays chess with Karloff, House on Haunted Hill, The Screaming Skull, Macabre and Glen or Glenda.

Zach leaves us all with a jolly, "Bye-bye, whatever you are!" and a silent fright film plays behind the closing credits.

At the bottom of the box for Horrible Horror, the tagline reads "The Ultimate Party Tape!" For once, product self-promotion is an understatement. Not only is this the ultimate party tape, it is also fantastic for downtime viewing with some herbal tea as well.

Basically, Horrible Horror is a compilation of excerpts from black & white horror and sci-fi films and trailers from the 1930s-1950s interspersed with hilariously funny (and bizarre) improvised interludes featuring Zacherly. This guy, the "Cool Ghoul," is the original horror show host who has been around since at least the time of Pat Boone, as you'll see in the video. The plot, such as it is, is that Zacherly's lease has expired and he has to leave his castle. So as he cleans out the film vaults in his dungeon, he entertains us with clips from his favorite golden moldies. If you have the right kind of mind and proclivities, this film is a gem.

Many classic lines from bad movies show up in the excerpted films, and the beauty of Horrible Horror is that you don't have to suffer through entire films to hear them. Zacherly's rambling discourses are equally funny, and if you are like me, you'll find yourself incessantly repeating many of the things he says while cleaning out his dungeon. It's that ridiculous.

(J thinks it drags in spots and should be rated 4 stars, but those average out to 4.5, and so we round up to 5, and she is wrong anyway because it does not drag. Ever. It simply rocks.)

If you just want to have something going in the background, this tape is perfect. This tape is also perfect if you want to just watch TV to laugh, snack, and chill out (i.e., you don't want to expend the energy for a real plot or or character development). Very few movies make me comfie just doing that, so for me Horrible Horror is worth its weight in gold.

(If anyone from Goodtimes media should happen to read this, please re-release this video as a DVD. Our VHS copies won't last forever...)

Apparently, none of the original Horrible Horror has survived; a fact I was unaware of when I bought this tape. It is in fact Zacherley much later making a special about cleaning out his castle and playing some of his favorite clips of movies and previews. He's still hilarious, but the clips have almost no commentary from Zacherley himself.
I was a little disappointed by that as my father had told me how great Zacherley was on his original show and I was hoping to see some of that. Still a great buy, but not exactly what I was looking for.

Still remember sneaking to peak at the t.v. when Mom was watching him at midnite. Laughed a little too loud, but it was worth it. He was kind and simple and silly. That's why we loved him! Thanks John!