Today I'm kicking off #31DaysofTeleterror, and will showcase 31 made for TV genre films as we count down to Halloween! I'll post everything in a thread for easy (and maybe scary) browsing! Hope it inspires you to check out some great TV horror this month!

Day 1 of #31DaysofTeleTerror: On this day in 1974, Barbara Eden starred in the classic supernatural TVM The Stranger Within. It was written by Richard Matheson, based on his own short story, Trespass. In some ways it's a subtle (or maybe not so subtle) look at pregnancy anxiety.

Day 2 of #31DaysofTeleterror is dedicated to the 1981 thriller No Place to Hide. While not a slasher, it does capitalize on the craze, riffing on Prom Night and featuring a terrific Final Girl played by Kathleen Beller. (more in the tweet below)

The Final Girl transformation is captured beautifully in the TV Guide ad promoting the premiere of No Place to Hide on March 4, 1981, and for once, there's truth in advertising! See No Place to Hide on YT. Someone uploaded the original broadcast:

Day 3 of the #31DaysofTeleterror brings the 1981 Is-she-or-isn't-she-bonkers chiller Midnight Lace. It's a remake of the 1960 Doris Day flick, and it's glamorous and gothic and lots and lots of fun. (1 or 2)

Midnight Lace is totally making good use of Mary Crosby's notoriety as the woman who shot J.R. This TV Guide ad tagline is excellent!

Midnight Lace is on YT. Grab a bowl of popcorn and sit back, this one does all the driving for you! (2 of 2)

Day 4 of the #31DaysofTeleterror is all about The Face of Fear, a 1990 adaptation of Dean Koontz's novel. The plot: A female cop (Pam Dawber) and her psychic mountaineer husband (Lee Horsley) are trapped in a high rise with a sadistic killer. Not. Kidding. And it's amazing (1/2)

Face of Fear is a lot of fun, and the underrated Dawber is really great in it. I love the bonkers premise, and wish there was a more substantial psychic mountaineer subgenre I could dive into.

Face of Fear is on YT:

Day 5 of the #31DaysofTeleterror is a personal fave. 1972's Crawlspace stars Arthur Kennedy & Teresa Graves as an elderly & childless couple who wake up to find a stranger has moved into their crawlspace. All he wants is a family, and he'll stop at nothing to get one. (1/2)

Crawlspace is uniquely odd, and incredibly moving. It's full of dark humor, but there's a disturbing air of sadness that haunts the film. It's a metaphor for the changing face of family in the 1970s, and while suspenseful, it's also thoughtful. It's on YT:

Day 6 of the #31DaysofTeleterror celebrates another personal fave, Night Terror (1977). This terrifying story about a psycho chasing a housewife across the desert is so simple, but also so excellently executed (so to speak) by director E.W. Swackhamer. The cast is fab too. (1/2)

Richard Romanus as "The Killer" remains one of the all time great small screen villains. What makes Night Terror so great tho is how it responds to 2nd wave feminism, and Valerie Harper's transformation from hapless to badass is delightful. It's on YT:

Couldn't let Day 7 of the #31DaysofTeleterror go by without celebrating Vampire, which premiered on ABC on this day in 1979! 41 looks awfully good on this great urban gothic flick, which boasts an incredible performance by Richard Lynch as the sexy & dangerous bloodsucker (1/2)

His nemesis is Jason Miller, & the 2 share quite the bromance, which is juxtaposed against Miller's father/son relationship w/ E.G. Marshall. The 3 are in top form, & the subversive "love affair" between Lynch & Miller is kind of awesome. Vampire is on YT:

Day 8 of the #31DaysofTeleterror belongs to Where Have All the People Gone, which debuted OTD in 1974 (NBC)! Directed by JL Moxey, this is an eerie disaster flick about a family who survives a bizarre solar blast, while the rest of the world appears to not be so lucky. (1/2)

Where Have All the People Gone was written by Sandor Stern (Amityville Horror), and is an exercise in atmosphere. It is also a wonderfully bare-bones effort, relying heavily on the great cast and the art of suggestion. It's streaming on Amazon Prime! https://www.amazon.com/Where-Have-All-People-Gone/dp/B07JHQN34H/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=where+have+all+the+people+gone&qid=1602192134&s=instant-video&sr=1-1

Day 9 of #31DaysofTeleterror is another anniversary! Locusts aired as an ABC MOW OTD in 1974. Admittedly, more drama than horror, this underrated bug amok flick is as moving as it is harrowing. The cast is incredible: @RealRonHoward , Katherine Helmond, Ben Johnson, etc. (1/2)

The WWII setting & even the locusts themselves stand in as metaphors for Vietnam & changing ideologies. Really powerful drama mixes in w/ about 500,000 REAL bugs, making this TVM uniquely terrifying. I seriously can't recommend Locusts enough. It's on YT:

Day 10 of the #31DaysofTeleterror celebrates one of the classics (clas-sicks?), which premiered as an ABC Movie of the Week OTD in 1973. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark needs no introduction. Let's just say it's super scary and deserves every accolade it gets. (1/2)

Director John Newland's less-is-more approach (probably partially brought on by the short production schedule) resulted in one of the telefilms great exercises in sustained terror. Those monsters are small but remain creepy and are a great example of what the TV genre could do!

Going old school classic for Day 11 of the #31DaysofTeleterror. The Devil's Daughter premiered as an ABC Movie of the Week on January 9th, 1973. Like so many of the great horror TVMs, this one is loaded with atmosphere and a charmingly offbeat and dark sense of humor. (1/2)

Shelley Winters puts in another larger than life performance, adding so much zest to Colin Higgins' wonderful teleplay. Btw, Higgins wrote & directed 9 to 5 and Foul Play among others! Also, there's gratuitous Abe Vigoda to be had! Must See TV!

OTD in 1971, The ABC Movie of the Week premiered A Taste of Evil, & it's today's pick for the #31DaysofTeleterror. The is-she-or-isn't-she-insane premise is not uncommon for the 70s, but this chiller starts off really dark and delves into childhood traumas and repressed memories.

It also features Barbara Stanwyck packing some serious heat. If that's not a sell...

Directed elegantly by the great John Llewellyn Moxey, Aaron Spelling's fine TVM A Taste of Evil is in strong hands all the way. A lot of fun. And it's on YT:

Day 13 of the #31DaysofTeleterror is dedicated to the underrated Andy Griffith pilot mystery/thriller TVM Winter Kill (1974). The simple story about a sheriff on the hunt for a serial kill is brought to life with wonderful twists and turns, and unexpectedly creepy killer. (1/2)

Griffith made a lot of classic telefilms, but this one has sadly slipped through the cracks. If you love character actors, your eyes will soak up SO many amazing faces, like Sheree North, Joyce Van Patten and Eugene Roche. Winter Kill is available through Warner Archives!

Day 14 of the #31DaysofTeleterror celebrates Night Cries (1978), featuring Susan St. James as a woman who's told her baby died. After a series of disturbing dreams she begins to believe her daughter is still alive. On the surface, it feels like a female hysteria flick... (1/2)

But Night Cries is actually a great little thriller that legitimizes female intuition, and also boasts a female lead that challenges the male authority figures who refuse to take her seriously. Eerie, and empowering, and on YT (in chapters):

We're at the halfway point of the #31DaysofTeleterror, so let's just make it a classic pick on Day 15. I can't add much to the convo, so let me just say that Trilogy of Terror is streaming on Amazon. Go watch it! https://tinyurl.com/y2l944fh 

Day 16 of the #31DaysofTeleterror is all about Hotline, which premiered on CBS on this day in 1982! Lynda Carter plays a helpline volunteer who beings to receive calls from a crazed killer. There's no Final Girl transformation here. Carter starts strong. Stays strong. (1/2)

Hotline is more cat & mouse than slasher, but fits nicely into its era, & there are genuine tense moments. Mostly tho it's about the actors. Carter is aided by Granville Van Dusen, Monte Markham & Steve Forrest. So, lots of cute guys too. It's on YT:

Day 17 of the #31DaysofTeleterror is an oddball entry in the late night series ABC: Wide World Mystery. Alien Lover (1975) is about a teenage orphan (Kate Mulgrew) who moves in with relatives, only to discover a little man living inside a homemade TV set (!!!). It's weird! (1/2)

Directed by Lela Swift (Dark Shadows), this truly strange WWM entry works really well as both a surreal fever dream flick and a metaphor for grief and first time love. Oh, and that ending! It's on YT:

Day 18 of the #31DaysofTeleterror is going to basic cable, and also going bonkers, cuz I'm recommending the absolutely insane USA Original TVM High Desert Kill. Tough to describe, so let's say it's Cthulhu meets Marc Singer, Chuck Connors & Anthony Geary on a hunting trip. (1/2)

I've never seen anything quite like High Desert Kill. It's surreal, but anchored by the leads, terrific scenery & a weird campfire scene featuring Chuck Connors & Marc Singer making out with the same woman at the same time! I mean, see for yourself on YT:

Day 19 of the #31DaysofTeleterror is one of my personal faves, The Norliss Tapes (1973). It's a serious minded take on Kolchak, so it lacks the humor, but boy is it creepy. NT benefits from Dan Curtis strong direction, beautiful locations, and the monsters are super cool. (1/2)

Anyway, who doesn't enjoy watching gorgeous, rich people get terrorized by creepy demons? (the gorgeous rich people being Roy Thinnes and Angie Dickinson). Like I said, the amazing locations and Curtis' great sense of atmosphere make this must see TV! It's on DVD.

Day 20 of the #31DaysofTeleterror celebrates the underrated Alien ripoff The Intruder Within (1981). Instead of a spaceship, we've got a motley crew on an oil rigger running afoul of some "prehistoric eggs." Yeah, you know the score. This is on YT:

There are different incarnations of the creature in the Intruder Within, and its gorgeous. You read about the creation of the beast here: https://0themastercylinder0.com/2018/03/04/the-intruder-within-1981-retrospective/

An old fave of mine is today's pick for the #31DaysofTeleterror. 1975's ABC: Wide World Mystery entry The Werewolf of Woodstock is basically about an old dude who hates rock music. Luckily, he's a werewolf too & can go around terrorizing bands. I mean... it's a thing. (1/2)

Guys, have you ever seen a werewolf driving a dune buggy? If not, you should maybe this this one. Also, it's a Dick Clark Production! So. Good.

Day 22 of the #31DaysofTeleterror is going moody with the creepy demonic head trip TVM The Possessed from 1977. It's about an all girls school dealing with a satanic force of some sort. A sexily turtlenecked James Farentino is the ex-priest who battles it. (1/2)

The Possessed is great, and it has a terrific cast of then-unknowns that include Diana Scarwid, Ann Dusenberry, and PJ Soles. But the biggie is Harrison Ford who plays the super sexy professor. Good casting! The Possessed in on DVD via @WarnerArchive!

Today is a special day, cuz the #31DaysofTeleterror is celebrating the anniversary of Bad Ronald, which premiered as an ABC Movie of the Week OTD in 1974. It's a great little slow burn telefilm that still manages to shock, and elicit sympathy. Sorry, I Ronald Wilby. (1/2)

Scott Jacoby is excellent as the teen who accidentally kills a kid, and moves into a hidden room in his house, only to lose his (tenuous) grip on reality. If you haven't seen it, @WarnerArchive did a bang up restoration. Can't recommend this one enough.