Chiiiiiilllllller!

Even though the tone of the promos overreaches for camp, we couldn’t be more thrilled that local NYC station WPIX – known as the WB Network to everyone born after 1985 – has decided to resurrect the Chiller horror show on Saturday, Oct.25th, from 8-9:30. And Tarantula will be the featured flick. Along with WABC’s 4:30 movie, Chiller helped shape this youngster’s love for horror, exposing these eyes to the most obscure fright features imaginable. The early shows in the 60s were hosted by Zacherle (who is returning for the special) but it was the host-less permutation in the late 70s and early 80s that I fell in love with, with the famous five fingered claymation hand rising from a puddle of blood to place the letters at the beginning and drag them back down to hell at the film’s end.



I was probably part of the last generation to grow up with this type of show, a delicate local commodity that couldn’t withstand the twin onslaught of both cable television and home video. I wish they’d done something like this sooner, but I can’t complain about the timing.

Many thanks to DVD