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[TV Terrors] The Henry Rollins-Hosted “Night Visions” Was a Damn Good Horror Anthology Series

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Horror and science fiction have always been a part of the television canvas, and constant attempts have been made over the years to produce classic entertainment. Some have fallen by the wayside, while others became mainstream phenomena. With “TV Terrors,” we take a look back at the many genre efforts from the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s, exploring some shows that became cult classics, and others that sank in to obscurity.

Today we remember… “Night Visions.

  • Aired in 2001
  • Aired on the FOX Network and the Syfy Channel

After being considered something of a dead format for a long time (especially after the end of HBO’s “Tales from the Crypt”), the last fifteen years has thankfully been a renaissance for the horror anthology. Especially now with the rise of indie filmmaking, the sub-genre has become a great way for directors to combine their talents for titles like “10/31,” and “The Invoking 2.” Thankfully television has followed suit with creative minds like Guillermo Del Toro now developing a series with Netflix. “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” and “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” are also getting highly anticipated revivals.

One of my all time favorite contemporary television anthology series is “Night Visions,” a hideously underrated attempt at the sub-genre that featured truly creative tales of horror. Originally airing on FOX, it served as Friday night filler during the summer so there was a guarantee almost no one would be home to watch it. It was not surprisingly taken off the air without much of a resolution for the small audience that tuned in every week. As a genuine TV junkie, I made a note of watching every episode, and in the middle of summer when all my favorite shows were on break, it was fun to see a classic anthology series airing on primetime again.

Although it wasn’t as grandiose or gory as “Tales from the Crypt,” it more than compensated with clever episodes that packed in a ton of surprising plot twists, and genuine atmosphere. “Night Visions” was hosted by the legendary Henry Rollins who would introduce two half hour stories, both of which made up an hour long episode per week. Allegedly forced on the creators of the series as the host, Rollins successfully added a stark sense of tension to every episode, but never did much on the show. All of his intros and outros were obviously filmed beforehand with Rollins standing stationary in front of a green screen. Thankfully the episodes are strong enough to where they don’t need much explanation or preamble.

“Night Visions” dabbled in science fiction every now and then, but most of the time it reveled in its horror formula, with tales concerning classic themes about morality, comeuppance, and the dark side of humanity. To its credit, despite its smaller budget, “Night Visions” packed in a pretty good pedigree of directors and actors. This included the late great Tobe Hooper, Ernest Dickerson, and “Gremlins” director Joe Dante, respectively. The episodes also garnered impressive stars like Brian Dennehy, Bridget Fonda, JoBeth Williams, Cary Elwes, and Bill Pullman, many of whom would also direct a few episodes here and there.

Among some of my favorites, there was “Dead Air,” a genuinely scary story of a late night shock jock (Lou Diamond Phillips) who receives a weird call by a young girl who thinks she’s being stalked by a killer, and realizes he’s also being terrorized. This is the first episode I ever saw of the series, and it gave me the willies. There’s also “Darkness,” starring Michael Rappaport, who plays a young man who inherits a mansion from his uncle, unaware that with the wealth he’s also inherited a horrible curse. I’m also a big fan of the episode “Quiet Please,” a darkly comical tale starring Cary Elwes as a man seeking peace and quiet during a wilderness getaway; he can’t quite shake the presence of another camper that insists on following him everywhere with his loud dog.

Bridget Fonda is very good in “The Occupant,” playing a divorcee who lives alone, slowly realizing that things in her house are being moved around, or are missing. Before long she begins to suspect she may not be the only resident there. Lastly, there’s “Neighborhood Watch,” a pitch black tale of a cul de sac housing a group of tightly knit families. When they receive notice that a sex offender has moved in to the neighborhood, they become increasingly paranoid for their children’s safety and decide to do something about it. There’s such a great selection of horror stories in its thirteen episode run that it’s sad to think of what could have been if FOX gave “Night Visions” another season.

Even in the early aughts, FOX was never very kind to genre fare. “Night Visions” came along during a time where FOX was changing formats, so the series was mishandled big time. That’s a damn shame, considering that at its best, “Night Visions” matched the quality and sharp writing of series like “Tales from the Crypt,” and “The Outer Limits.” The show was shortly picked up by the Syfy Channel, where the final two unaired episodes were reformatted and re-edited into a made for TV anthology horror movie named “Shadow Realm.”

It’s a fairly good horror film that allowed for a truer vision of what the creators wanted for “Night Visions,” with Henry Rollins cut out as narrator. Tobe Hooper thankfully returned with folks like Thora Birch, Timothy Olyphant, and Malcolm McDowell starring. If you’ve yet to see “Night Visions,” I highly recommend giving it a shot, as it might surprise you. With anthology horror making a slow but steady comeback on television, I hope audiences will re-discover “Night Visions” once again.

Is It On DVD/Blu-Ray? Sadly, there’s yet to be an official release on DVD or Blu-Ray, and “Shadow Realm” is incredibly rare, only airing once or twice on cable. The series does still occasionally show up in syndication on cable television (most recently the now defunct “Chiller”), and episodes can be found on YouTube in full length.

Felix is a horror, pop culture, and comic book fanatic based in The Bronx. Along with being a self published author, he also operates his blog Cinema Crazed and loves 90's nostalgia. His number one bucket list item is to visit Ireland on Halloween. Or to marry Victoria Justice. Currently undecided.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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