Editorials
USA Network Kept Us “Up All Night” at a Time When Cable Television Was So Much More Fun [TV Terrors]
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 into obscurity.
This month we head back to the ’90s and spend some time staying “Up All Night.”
- Aired from 1989 – 1998
- Aired on USA Network
Before it became the “Law & Order” channel, the USA Network was once a place where you could find some of the most unique entertainment programming on cable television. Whether it was low-budget drama, series adaptations of eighties sex comedies, or cult animation, USA Network defied viewer expectations. “Up All Night” was a colorful, and raunchy, show that hosted some of the most obscure and trashy genre films of all time, all the while the hosts generally visited odd attractions around Hollywood, and fell in to odd scenarios for the audience.
Whether or not you liked the hosts was up to you, but “Up all Night” reveled in being a late night novelty that appealed to anyone that appreciated a good laugh or two with their films. The weekly series garnered a shockingly eclectic library of movies that were video store fodder back in their day. Taken out of the context of its time, “Up All Night” showed films that, to this day, have never been on DVD or Blu-ray. It aired so many really good and unusual movies that ranged from horror, science fiction and schlocky monster pictures to comedies and trashy exploitation.
Among the vast library, there was stuff like Fright Night II, Shocker, and Chopper Chicks in Zombietown, all of which would play well into the break of dawn. Other “classics” from the “Up All Night” library included Dr. Alien, Evil Toons, Hamburger: The Motion Picture, Galaxina, the Bikini Carwash Company trilogy and countless out of the ordinary but fun titles. One of my best memories of USA “Up All Night” was the airing of Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama that I fondly recall watching in all of its edited glory, all the while co-host Rhonda Shear flirtatiously interviewed the film’s star Linnea Quigley.
Hosting duties went to the very funny MC’s Rhonda Shear and Gilbert Gottfried. Both comics often alternated hosting duties, providing bumpers and segments that aired before commercial breaks. Sometimes they’d even host a double bill of movies together. Often times, the remotes and visits to various restaurants and fortune tellers had absolutely nothing to do with the movie. As a matter of fact, there was a surefire bet the hosts likely never even knew what movie they were going to air while filming said segments. At any rate, it was the colorful way that they interacted with the audience and conducted their comedy that made the show such a memorable experience.
Whether it was Gottfried’s one liners and offbeat segments or Shear’s raunchy and risqué comedy skits, you were assured a very good time each night. Shear occasionally had guests that would help introduce the movie, including Linnea Quigley, Raquel Welch, and Ringo Starr. She would also go out on location to places like a mortuary and even went around looking for someone to marry in a Las Vegas casino in one episode. Meanwhile Gottfried’s skits were more self-contained and on sets, occasionally spreading out to remotes. In a Howling double feature, he gradually transformed into a werewolf on camera, while a Christmas special had him hanging out at a toy store wreaking havoc with Vinny the Terror Elf.
USA “Up All Night” lasted until 1998, airing almost 900 episodes total. When management changed in the USA Network in 1998, the fun ended and the format was gradually updated for a more upscale and politically correct audience, sans the hosting segments and bumpers. Gottfried and Shear were released from hosting duties, and the show was slowly phased out from the network as they ditched their library in favor of more mainstream, broader fare. “Up All Night” is still a very well remembered relic of late night cable when every Friday and Saturday night it felt like anything could happen. It was even mentioned with great favor in an episode of “The Goldbergs.”
Today it’s still a rather hotly debated show among movie fans, generally. Some fans criticize the show for featuring hosts that had no knowledge of the movies they were hosting, while others appreciate it more as a show that introduced them to new and unusual genre fare that you’d normally have to scour video stores to find. I can definitely see the merit in both sides of the debate, but I admit to having a real soft spot the show. The list of films USA aired during its long run was fantastic, despite the inherent lack of insight and knowledge that was provided from “Joe Bob’s Drive-In,” and subsequently TNT’s “Monstervision.” For many fans the series continues to live on as a fond bit of nostalgia during a time where cable television was so much more fun and weekends were reserved for the movie lovers.
Is It On DVD/Blu-ray? Like “Commander USA” and “Monstervision,” there has never been an official release, but you can catch various segments from both hosts on YouTube, where there’s a very extensive uncut gallery by a slew of fans and Rhonda Shear herself. As an added bonus, on Letterboxd some fans have compiled a near complete list of the films that aired.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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