Terror in the Sky: Horror at 37,000 Feet

The 1970s was a prolific period for made for television movies, and a large number of the films produced during the era placed their feet squarely in the horror genre. Movies like The Night Stalker, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Gargoyles, and Trilogy of Terror were all made during that faraway decade. One of the most entertaining of these vintage television fright films is The Horror at 37,000 Feet, originally broadcast by CBS in 1973. The story concerns a group of passengers on a Boeing 747 traveling from London to New York who are threatened by otherworldly forces. Architect Alan O'Neill and his wife Sheila have brought an ancient Druid altar on board, and apparently the ancient spirits within that artifact aren't too thrilled to be flying economy class in the cargo hold. This flight just might be a one-way ticket to supernatural terror and death!

The passengers discuss The Horror at 37,000 Feet

Weird things happen after the flight takes off. The plane doesn't seem to be making any progress. The jet appears to be just flying in circles, despite the best efforts of the pilot. There's wind, cold air (and an eerie sort of green mud) inside the aircraft, as well as strange voices and other odd occurrences, like Sheila passing out and speaking Latin. It becomes apparent that there is some sort of demonic presence onboard, and it's centered on the ancient artifact in the cargo hold. Can an alcoholic former priest who's lost his faith help the passengers and crew defeat the terrifying and evil forces plaguing them?

The cast of The Horror at 37,000 Feet features a virtual who's who of 1960s and 1970s TV stars, including Roy Thinnes, Chuck Connors, Buddy Ebsen, Russell Johnson, Tammy Grimes, Lynn Loring and Paul Winfield, who sports a British accent playing a doctor. There are also appearances by other familiar faces, including Jane Merrow, H.M. Wynant, France Nuyen, Darleen Carr and TV Western star Will Hutchins, playing (what else?) a Western star! But the one who really gets to act up a storm in the film is none other than William Shatner, who portrays Paul Kovalik, the former priest having a crisis of faith. It's up to him to lead the battle against the dark forces that threaten them all, if he can just pull himself together. Shatner dials things up to 11 on the over the top scale. His acerbic, cynical character interacts well with the rest of the cast, all of whom are effective in their roles, though it's tough to beat Shatner at his most...Shatner-ian! Tammy Grimes does give Shatner a run for his money as a woman who feels that the Thinnes character has doomed them all by bringing the altar on board.

The movie is sort of a cross between all-star disaster films like Airport and supernatural thrillers like The Exorcist. No one's going to place The Horror at 37,000 Feet on the list of the best made for TV chillers of all time, but it's certainly one of the most enjoyable. It's a fun ride, and at 73 minutes in length, it doesn't drag on too long. The movie was directed by David Lowell Rich, who helmed a lot of feature films and television episodes from the 1950s right on through to the 1980s. In 1973, the same year he directed The Horror at 37,000 Feet, he was also behind the camera for the classic TV terror tale Satan's School For Girls, which co-starred Roy Thinnes and Kate Jackson. He also returned to "panic in the sky" mode for the made for TV movie SST: Death Flight (1977) and on the big-screen for The Concorde: Airport '79. The Horror at 37,000 Feet is available on DVD, and if you do some looking around on YouTube, you might find it there as well. Watch out for evil Druid spirits and those 1970s fashions!

Bosch: The Best Show You Haven't Seen

When people ask me for suggestions regarding a TV series to watch in these days of multiple viewing choices and numerous streaming options, there are certain shows I consider my "go to" recommendations. Series like Ozark, Better Call Saul, Penny Dreadful and Sense8 are personal favorites, but some of those selections may not be everyone's cup of tea. One show I can recommend to everyone without hesitation is Bosch, the Amazon-produced series based on the novels of bestselling author Michael Connelly. If you're not watching this show, you're missing out on one of the best series currently running on any platform. Bosch is a crime drama which tells the story of veteran Los Angeles detective Harry Bosch, whose deep sense of justice and relentless pursuit of murderers is fueled by his personal demons and his tragic past.

Titus Welliver as Bosch

Bosch's mother was killed when he was a child, and her killer was never found. He's obsessed with finding out the true circumstances behind her murder, and that search plays out as background to the first few seasons of the show. The writers incorporate multiple storylines from Connelly's novels into each season of the series. If you haven't read the books, you can watch and enjoy the series on its own terms. However, if you have read the novels, you'll have an even deeper appreciation for the rich tapestry the writers have cleverly laid out across each ten episode arc of the show. The major storylines are usually resolved by the end of a season, but there are ongoing plot points that run throughout the series. The stories are superbly crafted tales of murder, police corruption, and fractured relationships, which often travel in surprising, but dramatically satisfying, directions.

The cast is terrific, and it's criminal (no pun intended) that they haven't been recognized by the Emmys or SAG Awards for their sterling work on the series. Bosch is portrayed by the indispensable Titus Welliver, who you may remember from his roles on the TV series Sons of Anarchy and Lost, and in films such as The Town and Argo. Welliver's multi-layered, richly textured portrayal of Bosch is the glue that holds the show together. He's aided and abetted by a talented ensemble that includes Jamie Hector as his partner Jerry Edgar, Amy Aquino as their boss, Lieutenant Grace Billets, and Madison Lintz as Bosch's daughter Maddie. Other top-notch actors featured throughout the series are Sarah Clarke, Steven Culp and Mimi Rogers. Lance Reddick (of Lost and Fringe) is perfect as Police Chief Irving. No one heaves a sigh quite as effectively as Reddick. Top notch supporting players Gregory Scott Cummins and Troy Evans, are wonderful as Detectives Crate and Barrel, and they absolutely deserve a spinoff series!

The behind the scenes talent is strong as well. Directors like Ernest Dickerson and Tim Hunter have helmed episodes of the show, and the talented writers for the series include Tom Bernardo and Katie Pyne. There's never been a better time to get into this excellent show. The stories are more intimate and emotionally driven than most police dramas, and while they travel down some dark roads, there is always a sense of light and redemption as well. The sharply drawn performances and well-crafted stories give you a real sense of empathy for, and understanding of, these full fleshed out characters. There are currently six seasons of Bosch available for streaming on Amazon Prime. It was recently announced that the series will return for a seventh and final go-round next year. This is the best show you (probably) haven't seen, and it should definitely be on your must watch list. Give Bosch a chance; you wont be disappointed. Here's a link to the trailer for the first season of this awesome series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-HUa10kVpQ.

Retro Post-Apocalypse: The Omega Man

Charlton Heston is The Omega Man

The Omega Man (1971) is the second film adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic post-apocalyptic novel, I Am Legend. The book tells the story of Robert Morgan, who survives a plague that has killed much of the world’s population, and turned the rest into vampire-like creatures. The story follows Morgan’s efforts to survive while battling the vampires, as he seeks to discover what caused the plague in the first place. The book was first filmed in 1964 as The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price. The Omega Man is a different take on the novel’s premise. Charlton Heston stars as Robert Neville, here reimagined as an army scientist who has survived a plague caused by the use of biological weapons in a war between China and Russia. The disease resulting from this deadly conflict has decimated most of the world’s population. Neville survives by injecting himself with an experimental serum. Living in a fortified apartment in Los Angeles, Neville regularly battles a group called The Family, humans who survived the plague, and have been transformed into albino mutants. The Family is led by a former TV newsman named Matthias, who feels science and technology was the downfall of mankind and wants to return the world to a simpler, pre-industrial time.

Neville drives around the deserted city and hunts down the mutants, attempting to eliminate them all. While scrounging for supplies one day, he runs into a woman in a department store. She runs away when he spots her. He later learns that her name is Lisa, and she's part of a small group of human survivors that include her brother Richie, a former medical student named Dutch, and several young children. Richie is suffering from the early stages of the disease, and Neville uses his own blood to cure him via a transfusion, which in effect makes Richie immune to the virus as well. Neville and the group prepare to leave the city and live in peace in the country. But Matthias and The Family have other plans for our heroes. Can this small group of humans survive against the cult-like zeal of Matthias and The Family?  Will Neville and Lisa’s burgeoning romance have a happy ending? How many of the mutants will the gun-toting Neville mow down with his automatic weapons before the movie is over? You’ll have to watch to find out!

The Omega Man has very little to do with Richard Matheson’s book. I’m a big fan of the novel, and Matheson’s work in general, but I've always enjoyed the movie. The Omega Man used to turn up regularly on TV when I was a kid, and I watched it many times. You’ve got Charlton Heston in another sci-fi film, portraying the same kind of world-weary, cynical character he played in Planet of the Apes, Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green. What's not to like? Heston is quite good in the early part of the film, having (one-sided) conversations with a bust of Caesar in his apartment, and driving around the deserted city in some effectively eerie sequences. And you haven't lived until you've seen Heston sit in a movie theater and run the film Woodstock, while talking along with the film’s dialogue! He also gets to utter some prototypical action hero one-liners throughout the movie. The Omega Man moves along at a brisk pace, thanks to director Boris Sagal, and it's well lensed by noted cinematographer Russell Metty. The screenplay for the movie was written by the husband and wife team of John William and Joyce H. Carrington, who also wrote Battle for the Planet of the Apes. The moody score is by Ron Grainer, who also composed the theme music for the Patrick McGoohan television series The Prisoner, as well as Dr. Who.

The supporting cast is excellent. Rosalind Cash plays Lisa, and she's very cool as a pre-cursor to the tough African American heroines of the mid 1970s that were played by the likes of Pam Grier and Tamara Dobson. She even gets an inter-racial love scene with Heston. The film also features Paul Koslo and Eric Lanueville, who will no doubt be familiar to fans of 1970s movies and television series. But the actor who walks away with the movie is veteran character actor Anthony Zerbe, who plays Matthias. His menacing vocal delivery and commanding presence dominate every scene he's in, and he's a perfect foil for Heston's laconic hero. Heston and Zerbe previously appeared together in the western Will Penny. Matheson’s novel was later adapted as the big-budget Will Smith film I Am Legend and a low budget copycat movie called I Am Omega, but neither of those films are as much fun as The Omega Man, which is a big favorite of director Tim Burton and comedian Dana Gould, among others. If you're in the right frame of mind, The Omega Man is a perfect choice to feature as part of your "end of the world" movie marathon. Follow this link to take a look at the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUkU18MrBzU.