On the marquee this week – “Attack of the Mushroom People”
COLOR / 1963
Zelda, Bird, and Theo serve up this unique Japanese horror film ( also known as “Mantango”) directed by Ishirō Honda. The film is partially based on William Hope Hodgson’s short story “The Voice in the Night” about a group of castaways on an island who are unwittingly altered by a local species of mutagenic mushrooms. Upon the film’s release in Japan, it was nearly banned due to scenes that depicted characters resembling victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This one will definitely “shock” you!
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following the double feature with “Svengoolie!”
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“Svengoolie” begins offering double features starting October 5th at 8pm with “Son of Frankenstein” followed at 10:30pm with “The Monster That Changed the World”
Off Beat Cinema moves to 1am for “Shocktober”
The past two years have been full of tricks and treats during Svengoolie’s Halloween BOO-nanza, including ghoulishly good classic TV, fan-favorite films, and a king-sized serving of double the Svengoolie with month-long double features.
This year will be no different as we celebrate the 45th anniversary of Svengoolie haunting the airwaves with the return of Svengoolie Double Features, the best of classic TV Halloween episodes, and late-night blocks of spooky programming to keep the party going into the witching hour. However, this year, look for an additional treat in your candy bag! This year, MeTV introduces the House of Svengoolie, The Sven Squad’s takeover of Svengoolie’s dungeon in celebration of two brand new movie titles joining the Svengoolie library – the much-requested Jim Henson masterpieces Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.
The Sven Squad crew includes Sarah Palmer as the gorgeous ghoul Gwengoolie, Scott Gryder as the devilishly ingratiating IMP (Ignatius Malvolio Prankerstein) and Bill Leff as the 800-year-old vampire Nostalgiaferatoo.
The Squad also makes a special Saturday morning appearance for the House of Svengoolie Cartoon BOO-Nanza, a one-hour special featuring their favorite spooky-themed Looney Tunes cartoons.
“I am just as amazed as everyone else that Sven has survived for 45 years- which is really a tribute to our many fans who have supported us all this time,” said Rich Koz, aka Svengoolie. “Our third annual BOO-Nanza will be notable for such things as our long-awaited presentation of the 1953 Invaders from Mars, and for our Sven Squad appearing on their own. They will be bringing us two amazing creations from the mind of Jim Henson. We’ll make every Saturday night Halloween!”
Here’s just a sampling of some of the frightful delights on offer:
Saturday, October 5:
7A | House of Svengoolie Cartoon BOO-Nanza: Svengoolie’s very own Sven Squad – Gwengoolie, Nostalgiaferatoo and IMP – take over Saturday Morning Cartoons to present a collection of their favorite spooky-themed Looney Tunes cartoons including “Hair-raising Hare,” “Transylvania 6-5000″ and “Hyde and Hare.”
10A | MeTV Halloween Westerns: Catch a full day of specially selected spooky Western episodes!
8P | Svengoolie: “Son of Frankenstein” — Returning to the ancestral castle long after the death of the monster, the son of Dr. Frankenstein meets a mad shepherd who is hiding the comatose creature. To clear the family name, he revives the creature and tries to rehabilitate him.
10:30P | Svengoolie: “Monster that Challenged the World” —A horde of prehistoric mollusk monsters enter the canal system of California’s Imperial Valley and terrorize the populace.
1A | Off Beat Cinema – “Brain Eaters”
Saturday, October 12:
8P | Svengoolie: “Ghost and Mr. Chicken” — A timid typesetter hasn’t a ghost of a chance of becoming a reporter – until he decides to solve a murder mystery and ends up spending a fright-filled night in a haunted house.
10:30P | Svengoolie: “Fiend Without a Face” — A scientist’s thoughts materialize as an army of invisible brain-shaped monsters (complete with spinal-cord tails) who terrorize an American military base in this nightmarish chiller.
1A | Svengoolie Uncrypted: A one-hour primetime special celebrating Svengoolie – America’s long-running, beloved and award-winning horror host. The master horror host escapes his dungeon to journey far and wide, discovering a world of friends and new adventures. The special also shines a spotlight on Svengoolie’s world for 43+ years as he has entertained horror fans with Saturday night showcases of campy and obscure titles, offering insightful horror movie facts, trivia, and jokes. Fans across the country will want to tune-in for all this plus the crypt shaking special reveal.
2A | Off Beat Cinema – “Celebration of Ed Wood”
Saturday, October 19:
8P | 7C: Svengoolie: “House of Wax” — An associate burns down a wax museum with the owner inside, but he survives only to become vengeful and murderous.
10:30P | 9:30C: Svengoolie presents: House of Svengoolie: “Labyrinth” — Sixteen-year-old Sarrah must solve a labyrinth to rescue her baby brother when he is taken by the Goblin King. Hosted by the Sven Squad!
1A – Off Beat Cinema – “Attack of the Mushroom People”
Saturday, October 26:
8P | Svengoolie: “Invaders from Mars” — A young boy learns that space aliens are taking over the minds of Earthlings.
10:30P | Svengoolie presents: House of Svengoolie: “The Dark Crystal” — On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfing embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal, and to restore order to his world. Hosted by the Sven Squad!
1A |- Off Beat Cinema – “Night of the Living Dead”
And that’s just the beginning! All month long we’ll be showing special Halloween episodes of your favorite classic shows and other hauntingly good surprises!
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Here are some frequently asked questions about “Svengoolie!”
Opening up the dungeon door on Svengoolie: Frequently Asked Questions
Svengoolie has been the premier horror show icon of Chicago, since multiple Emmy award winner Rich Koz became the hand-picked successor to the original Svengoolie back in the late ’70s. He has appeared on a national basis on MeTV since April 2011 – and generations of viewers have become fans of the monstrous mirth and movies that this video vampire dispenses every week over the airwaves.
Svengoolie brings you the classic Universal horror films and more, many of which have not been seen on broadcast television in years. Svengoolie has been voted “Favorite Horror Host” multiple times in the national Rondo horror awards – and been acknowledged by even the most famous horror hosts as a peer. Svengoolie reigns as the king of horror hilarity on MeTV!
We get a lot of the same questions repeatedly asked by our loyal Sven fans, new and old – through no fault of their own – and, though many of the answers can be found in the Jerry G. Bishop and Rich Koz chapters of the fine book “Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows – from Shock Theatre to Svengoolie:” – available from Southern Illinois Press but – since it has been a while since the book was published – we thought we’d add some answers to the frequently asked questions – so, here we go…
Q:
Were you “Son of Svengoolie?”
A:
Yes – running on Chicago’s WFLD from 1979 to 1986.
Q:
Who was the original Svengoolie?
A:
Jerry G. Bishop – on WFLD – from 1970 to 1973. He was the one who decided that I should be “Son of Svengoolie” and, when I came to Chicago’s WCIU in 1995, decided that I should just be “Svengoolie.”
Q:
What was his theme song?
A:
His original theme song (and mine for my first year) was “Rumble” by Link Wray – sweetened with a sound effects track of a woman screaming!
Q:
What is your current theme song?
A:
It’s an original tune by Doug Graves, titled “Son’s Theme” – the title derived from my days as Son of Svengoolie.
Q:
What’s the deal with “BERWYN?!”
A:
When Jerry G. was starting his show, “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” and Johnny Carson were making small town jokes about “beautiful downtown Burbank.” Also, famous Cleveland horror host Ghoulardi, who was on TV opposite Jerry when he was there in the early ’60s, made fun of local suburb Parma.
Jerry discovered the little town that had a parade in honor of mushrooms every year, and decided it would be a good target for his jokes. I continue this tradition, and it’s all in fun – Berwyn and its people have always been very kind and supportive!
Q:
Do you now – or did you ever – live in Berwyn?
A:
Nope – never. Nor was I a teacher there, did not go to high school there, etc, etc. There have always been multiple rumors about my connection to Berwyn. Most are not true.
Q:
