Editorials
Monsters HD’s “Monsterama” Celebrated Horror Fandom With the Help of Elvira [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 fondly remember Monsters HD and its original series, “Monsterama.”
- Aired from 2004 – 2006
- Aired on Monsters HD
Monsters HD was truly one of the last great gasps of niche cable television before it all fizzled out. Before “cutting the cord” became the norm, and channels were broadened and dumbed down, one of the last hold outs was Monsters HD: an all horror channel that touted itself as the “First, and Only Uncut and Commercial-free, all-Monster-Movie channel in High-Definition.” For the years it was active it held a pretty excellent library of horror films, and also introduced original programming.
One of the best of the bunch was “Monsterama.”
Premiering in 2004, “Monsterama” was a wonderful half hour series that touched upon various popular hallmarks of horror fandom. From movies, to television, to rare collecting, horror monsters, make up, magazines and comics; hell, it even spawned a Playboy Special!
“Monsterama” was hosted by the incomparable Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Elvira would enthusiastically introduce the subjects of the episodes, while also narrating every episode. Elvira remains pretty much the go-to when it comes to ushering in horror television of any kind, and here she was her usual witty persona, grabbing attention even when perched on a couch. Thankfully the content behind “Monsterama” was not at all hollow, as the content creators managed to squeeze in some interesting facts and wonderful glimpses into their subjects within the thirty minute window.
The producers often dug up rare and detailed shots of memorabilia and movie stills, always ensuring a rich experience with a steady pacing that added a sense of addictiveness. It also helped that there wasn’t really a set schedule to “Monsterama,” as Monsters HD mostly used the series (and other specials) to fill time slots between their movies; it felt more like a TV magazine than a series, when all was said and done. It was an often welcome treat, especially if you were in the mood for non-stop horror mayhem.
The series lasted nearly twenty episodes and the producers managed to cover a massive amount of ground involving horror fandom and pop culture, which was a big chunk of the appeal. Among some of the many topics covered, there were looks at rare and obscure Planet of the Apes collectibles, exploration into the world of Aliens movie collectibles, the beginning and end of Aurora Plastics Model Kits, the art of the immortal Basil Gogos, the history of KNB Effects, The History of Don Post Studios and Don Post Calendar Masks, and a spotlight on Uncle Forry and his massive horror collection.
Likely for paid promotional purposes, there were also spotlights on the creation of the amazing Sideshow Collectibles line, and a look at the origin of Todd McFarlane’s Spawn. Granted the latter pair of topics hold big relevance to genre fans, but compared to the slate of episodes that focused more on vintage and retro horror, they stood out from the pack.
One of my favorite episodes of the entire run was a look at the (then) rare and hard to find Creature from the Black Lagoon collectibles market which includes figures, squirt guns, and art with prices ranging in the thousands. There was also a “Tribute to Horror Hosts” co-hosted by Dr. Shocker and his sidekick Igor (Daniel Roebuck and Chuck Williams), where they focused on a few of the most famous of the classic horror hosts including Zacherle, and the one and only Vampira. Maila Nurmi even appeared to tell her story and revel in her love for horror. There was an episode about my all time favorite make up artist Rick Baker, who discussed his love for monsters, his groundbreaking work in animatronics, his unparalleled werewolf transformation in An American Werewolf in London, and his work creating amazing apes in film.
“Monsterama” managed to garner an acclaimed run with even Tim Lucas, editor of Video Watchdog, noting that “This show was clearly put together by people who know this stuff, and it is always a treat to watch.” It wasn’t just that “Monsterama” celebrated horror with immense substance, but it tapped into the collecting part of the fandom that would explode only a few years later.
Though it didn’t get a second season, the series did have a special that carried the same spirit with “Ghouls Gone Wild: Playboy’s Halloween Spooktacular” (or “Playboy Presents Hef’s Halloween Spooktacular”), a rare extended look at Halloween inside the Playboy Mansion as hosted and narrated by Elvira. The special is just okay, and fairly superficial, spending an enormous amount of time on Hef and his Bunnies preparing for Halloween festivities, and reacting to a lot of the large scale attractions added to the Playboy Mansion for the season.
As for Monsters HD, the whole network sadly folded in 2009.
Is It On DVD/Blu-ray/Streaming? Various episodes of “Monsterama” can be found on YouTube completely uncut, as it is still remembered and circulated by horror fans years later. Hopefully a streaming service like Shudder or Hulu can someday give the series a new home.
The penultimate season of Tales from the Crypt (1989–1996) aired its first three episodes on October 31, so it’s understandable that at least one of those three stories is set on Halloween.
Sandwiched between “Let the Punishment Fit the Crime” (Russell Mulcahy, Ron Finley) and “Whirlpool” (Mick Garris, A. L. Katz & Gilbert Adler) is the most severe episode of the bunch. Maybe the entire series? William Malone and Dick Beebe’s “Only Skin Deep” traded the show’s typical sense of fun for startling amounts of bleakness and kink.
“Only Skin Deep” is, apart from the Crypt Keeper’s intro and outro, noticeably unfunny. There are no considerable attempts at making the viewer laugh. Come to think of it, if those bookends had been replaced, and there was more of a sci-fi element in the story, HBO could have easily squeezed this tale into that successor anthology, Perversions of Science (1997). In Crypt, though, “Only Skin Deep” is much too grim for an audience that had become accustomed to campiness and levity.
What makes “Only Skin Deep” feel dark, among other things, is its protagonist. Showing up to a Halloween party where he’s not welcome, and where his former girlfriend (Diane DiLasco) is attending, Carl Schlag (Peter Onorati) first comes across as your standard bitter ex. You soon realize it’s much worse than that, once Carl threatens Linda (“You know, silly me, thinking I gave you what you deserved. If I’d have done that, I’d have killed you”). Now, I haven’t forgotten that Tales from the Crypt was teeming with vile men who did women harm. Yet Carl’s brand of misogynistic menace hits differently—it borders on being too realistic for this kind of series.
Mike Vosburg’s EC-style comic cover for “Only Skin Deep”, as seen in the Tales from the Crypt episode.
Despite donning a party mask for much of the episode, Carl can’t ever mask his true nature. The invitation did say “come as you are”, after all. That inability to change and be better, however, is why Carl ends up in such a karmic predicament. His outburst of anger at the party attracts the attention of one loner partygoer named Molly (Sherrie Rose, who was also in Season Four’s “On a Deadman’s Chest”). Her bone-white, featureless “mask” and body-bag costume don’t initially register as too strange, especially on a night like this. But at a party chock-full of colorful, cartoonish, and lighthearted ensembles, it does look out of place.
Darkness attracts darkness as Carl ditches the party and accompanies the mysterious Molly to her place. Which, by the way, should have been an immediate red flag. But perhaps she’s so hot, he doesn’t seem to mind the serial killer aesthetic. Resembling a warehouse that has been converted into living spaces, but never then decorated to remove the cold, industrial look, Molly’s home (or lair) is as gloomy as this whole episode feels. It’s like the set of a grungy music video, albeit a tad cleaner. The environments in a typical Crypt episode tend to be small, overfilled, and broken-in. Warm, regardless of any weird goings-on. All that empty space in Molly’s hovel, on the other hand, elicits a creepy feeling that Carl was unwise to ignore.
Tales from the Crypt featured more sex than it didn’t, but hands down, “Only Skin Deep” boasts the steamiest scene in the show’s history. Pushing it over the line, in addition to Onorati showing bare buns and the camera never turning down one of his pelvic thrusts, is the twisted dirty talk. Carl stays in the moment, whereas Molly unleashes charged lines like “the hurt, the anger, give it to me” and “take it out on my flesh like you want to”. It’s all quite kinky, as well as tied into the story’s theme of pain.
How else “Only Skin Deep” differs from other episodes is its twists. Or rather, its lack thereof. Nothing comes as a great surprise here, particularly because the deuteragonist’s ulterior motives are so obvious. By no means is Molly a wolf in sheep’s clothing; her face is a fright mask, she practically reeks of death, and she lives in what can best be described as a serial killer’s hideout. That last-act revelation of Molly’s mask really being her face is also nothing shocking. Cleverness is certainly not this episode’s strength.
A page from “…Only Skin Deep!”, as seen in EC Comics’ Tales from the Crypt.
While “Only Skin Deep” isn’t the most universally loved episode of Tales from the Crypt, it’s an interesting preview of William Malone’s future as a director. Most notably, he went on to helm House on Haunted Hill (1999) and FeardotCom (2002), the former of which was co-written by Dick Beebe, this episode’s writer. Dark Castle Entertainment, that genre house founded by Crypt producers Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, and Gilbert Adler, was instrumental in bringing out Malone’s gruesome, over-the-top vision in House on Haunted Hill. However, FeardotCom and Malone’s Masters of Horror episode, “Fair-Haired Child”, are the most stylistically compatible with “Only Skin Deep”.
As one might guess, this episode is nothing like its source material. The “…Only Skin Deep!” found in the pages of EC Comics is set during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and save for its last couple of pages, is pretty sweet in nature. There, a man named Herbert is enamored with a woman he met five years prior to the present-day story. Every year, he has come down to Mardi Gras to see Suzanne, who’s always dressed as a hag-faced witch. Well, this time, Herbert plans on popping the question and marrying someone who is, for the most part, a total stranger. Suzanne accepts his proposal, but with one condition: they stay in costume until they’re officially hitched. You can probably see where this is going…
Once they are married, Suzanne remains incognito, even when she and Herbert have consummated their vows. A semi-predictive nightmare then rattles Herbert; he dreamt that Suzanne’s real face was as wizened as her mask. Finally, in his haste to find out the truth, Herbert winds up killing his new wife. Faceless and well on her way to bleeding out, the dying Suzanne manages to say she never wore a mask.
For more traditional EC-style ghastliness, your best bet is reading the comic. It’s wickedly sad. For something less conventional, as far as Tales from the Crypt goes, the role-reversing adaptation is worth watching. It’s not the best this show had to offer, although Malone’s visual style, plus the sexual abandon, does set the episode apart. If nothing else, “Only Skin Deep” leaves an impression that, even years later, shows no signs of fading.
Season Six of Tales from the Crypt can be streamed on Shudder, starting on June 5.
Tales from Tales from the Crypt celebrates the show’s Shudder premiere by singling out one episode from each season. So don’t even think about changing that dial, boys and ghouls. More spot-“frights” are to come.
Carl discovers Molly’s collection of human ‘masks’ in the Tales from the Crypt episode, “Only Skin Deep”.
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