Amish Chicken

Steve's Chicken Stand
Hometown Farmers Market - Tamaqua, PA
I've written about this place before, but it's worth repeating because Steve's Chicken Stand really is the best tasting chicken that I've ever had.  It's leaps and bounds ahead of places like KFC.  The prices here have increased over the years, but they don't seem to have gone up as much as the other restaurants in our area, so it's now not only the best tasting option, but also one of the most affordable.

If you live within driving distance of the Hometown Farmers Market, this place is really worth visiting.  They have more than just chicken, but it's so damn good that I haven't wanted to try anything else... yet.

The Spring of Fruit Soda

Mountain Dew Baja Laguna Lemonade and Pepsi Peach
PepsiCo (2024)

There's a lot of new limited edition flavors in the soda aisle this spring.  Unfortunately, most of them don't seem to have a Diet or Zero Sugar version, so they're going to end up being something that I only try once, if at all.

There have been so many variations of Mountain Dew Baja Blast that I've lost count.  Every one that I've tried has been pretty good, and Baja Laguna Lemonade is no exception.  It's a little too sweet for my taste, but it has a pleasant mango lemonade flavor.  It was released along with a tropical punch Baja Blast flavor called Point Break Punch which I haven't had an opportunity to try yet.

There's also two limited edition fruit flavors of Pepsi Cola that are on store shelves this Spring.  I didn't try the Lime one yet, but the Peach flavor is one of the best colas that I've ever had.  If they made a sugar free version of Pepsi Peach, I would probably stock up on a few cases of this.

You've Got To Wrap The Message In Sexy Bacon

The Fall Guy
Universal Pictures (2024)

This movie is equal parts action adventure, romantic comedy, and a love letter to the hardest working and most underappreciated people in the credits of every film, the stunt performers.  Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are both fantastic and have excellent chemistry, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson is flawless as the cluelessly narcissistic star of the film within the film.  This is one I'd recommend to anybody.  Go see it on the big screen if you can.

Play The Hand You're Dealt

Tarot
Sony Pictures (2024)

This movie is getting destroyed by the reviews.  It's sitting at a 58% audience score and a 12% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.  I'm not going to pretend that it's a five star classic or anything, but it's not bad.  It kind of reminded me of a late 90's middle-of-the-road horror flick, like Urban Legend or I Know What You Did Last Summer.  The cast performances were good, and it told a good story that was fairly predictable but never strayed into the territory of not making sense.  It also made good use of music, especially their use of Howard Jones - Things Can Only Get Better.

I'm not really sure how realistic this film is from the perspective of someone who believes in or practices tarot readings because I am neither.  My ex-girlfriend was very into this, but it didn't rub off onto me.  I was respectful of her beliefs, or at least I tried to be.  After all, it's really no more outlandish than any other religious or spiritual beliefs out there, but I don't feel connected in any way to any kind of spirituality.  If it makes people feel good and it doesn't hurt anybody, more power to you.  Nothing in this movie jumped out at me as being deliberately disrespectful towards people who believe in tarot readings, or anybody else for that matter, but I can't say for sure.

The movie delivered a cliche that I knew it couldn't resist from the first time that I saw the trailer.  Every single movie or television show that I have ever watched that involves tarot cards in any way has some version of this scene:

• Person One reveals the Death card from the deck.
• Person Two reacts to the card with shock and/or fear.
• Person One reassures Person Two that it doesn't necessarily mean literal death, but the end of something and the start of something new.

I'll give the filmmakers credit that they at least presented it in a way that was fun, but it was still there.  I guess it's hard to pass up the low hanging fruit.  Incidentally, when I searched for an image of the death card that was used in this movie, I found that the title of this film in some overseas markets is Death Card.

If you like horror movies and you're not the overly critical type, I think there's a pretty good chance that you'll enjoy watching this, even if you forget about it entirely a month later.  If you don't like horror, or if you tend to approach movies with an especially critical perspective, it's probably one that you'll want to skip.

May The Fourth Be With You

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
20th Century Fox (1999)
Well, it's not my favorite, but I'll take any opportunity to see a Star Wars movie on the big screen.  It's a lot better than I remember it being the first time around.

May the Fourth be with you.

Fate Up Against Your Will

Ocean Rain
Echo & The Bunnymen (1984)

The fourth studio album from a band that I am looking forward to seeing later this month was released forty years ago tomorrow.  Ocean Rain was released across Europe on May 4th, 1984 with a US release following ten days later.  I don't necessarily agree with lead singer Ian McCulloch's assertation that it's "the greatest album ever made", but it is a damn good record and one of the best of the 80's.

The song that it's best remembered for gained new life 17 years after its release when it opened the 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko.  It's one of the greatest uses of music in film that I've ever seen.

The Killing Moon
Echo & The Bunnymen (1984)

Under blue moon I saw you

So soon you'll take me

Up in your arms; too late to beg you

Or cancel it though I know it must be

The killing time

Unwillingly mine

Fate

Up against your will

Through the thick and thin

He will wait until

You give yourself to him

In starlit nights I saw you

So cruelly you kissed me

Your lips a magic world

Your sky all hung with jewels

The killing moon

Will come too soon

Fate

Up against your will

Through the thick and thin

He will wait until

You give yourself to him 

Let's Move To The Beat Like We Know That It's Over

Disintegration

The Cure (1989)
One of the greatest and most influential goth rock albums of the 80's is turning 35 years old today.  Disintegration was written and recorded during a dark time in the life of Robert Smith.  He was overwhelmed with the band's recent success on the pop charts and suffering from depression which he treated with LSD.  This resulted in an album that is both dark and beautiful from start to finish.

The Cure wasn't on my radar at all when this album was released.  I heard some of their songs on the radio, but it wasn't until 1994 and their opening cut on The Crow soundtrack that my awareness of their music grew.  The tipping point when I discovered Disintegration and became a fan of The Cure came five years when Napster hit big.  Pretty much every mix cd that I made to play in the car included at least one of their songs.

The entire album is great, but it's probably best known for Lovesong, Pictures Of You, and Lullaby.  Those three songs are each incredible, but my favorite track off of this album was its first single.  I don't remember ever hearing it on the radio after this album came out, but it froze me in my tracks the first time that I listened to it as a teenager.  It sounded like a conversation that could have taken place between a poorly matched couple who are headed out on a Friday night during the apocalypse.  

Fascination Street

The Cure (1989)

It’s opening time down on Fascination Street

So let’s cut the conversation and get out for a bit

Because I feel it all fading and paling

And I’m begging to drag you down with me

To kick the last nail in

I like you in that like I like you to scream

But if you open your mouth then I can’t be responsible

For quite what goes in or to care what comes out

So just pull on your hair

Just pull on your pout

And let’s move to the beat like we know that it’s over

If you slip going under slip over my shoulder

So just pull on your face

Just pull on your feet

And let’s hit opening time down on Fascination Street

So pull on your hair

Pull on your pout

Cut the conversation

Just open your mouth

Pull on your face

Pull on your feet

And let’s hit opening time down on Fascination Street

A Bit Of Aardvark Snark

Secret Aardvark Nacho Fries
Taco Bell (2024)
This used to be the place where you could stop and get a bag of food that would fill you up for five dollars with plenty of leftovers to munch on after you've sobered up.  Those days are long gone.  The prices have risen to being roughly equivalent to what you'd pay at a Mexican restaurant or a food truck in my area, and their food tastes a lot better than anything I've ever had at a Taco Bell.

The latest thing that I've tried from Taco Bell are these Secret Aardvark Nacho Fries.  They're not terrible, but they sure aren't worth damn near six dollars.  Even as I was eating them, I regretted not stopping at the McDonald's next door to pick up a large fries from them instead.

 

I actually really like Secret Aardvark hot sauce.  In fact, there's a bottle of it in my refrigerator right now, but for how much they cost, they should be tossing chunks of actual barbequed aardvark on these fries.

Dracula's Tiger

Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
Tiger Electronics (1998)

The Playstation version of Symphony Of The Night is one of my favorite video games that I ever played, but I never knew that they made a handheld LCD version of it until it was mentioned on the Castlevania Games Konami Forgot video.  I doubt that I'll ever get a chance to play it unless someone has an old one for sale at a flea market.  The lowest price for one on eBay right now costs more than my first car.

Confection Inception

Reese's Big Cup with Reese's Puffs
Hershey (2024)

This is a specialty version of a confection made with pieces from a cereal that was created when another company licensed the rights to make a breakfast food based on the original version of the confection.  That's some Inception-level craziness.  I wonder how many kids tried to convince their parents that they can eat them for breakfast.  Hey ma.. it's just like eating a bowl of cereal, see!

I didn't expect these to be too much different from a regular Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but it really does change the flavor.  The Reese's Puffs cereal pieces mixed in with the peanut butter have a taste and texture that reminds me of eating a Nutter Butter.  They're pretty damn good!

Hold Onto Your Hats

You never know what you're going to hear when Kruk is in the booth.

Hielten Sich Für Captain Kirk

99 Luftballons
Nena (1984)

The first international release by German new wave band Nena turns 40 years old this month.  This was a compilation album that was made up of songs from the two albums that the band had previously released in Germany with several songs translated into English.  The title track appears on the album in both English and its original German.  The English version went over like a lead balloon, but the original went on to become a smash hit around the world and is one of the most recognized song to come out of the 1980's.

99 Luftballons
Nena (1984)

Hast du etwas Zeit für mich?

Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich

Von 99 Luftballons

Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont

Denkst du vielleicht grad an mich?

Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich

Von 99 Luftballons

Und, dass sowas von sowas kommt

99 Luftballons

Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont

Hielt man für Ufos aus dem All

Darum schickte ein General

'ne Fliegerstaffel hinterher

Alarm zu geben, wenn's so wär

Dabei war'n dort am Horizont

Nur 99 Luftballons

99 Düsenflieger

Jeder war ein großer Krieger

Hielten sich für Captain Kirk

Es gab ein großes Feuerwerk

Die Nachbarn haben nichts gerafft

Und fühlten sich gleich angemacht

Dabei schoss man am Horizont

Auf 99 Luftballons

99 Kriegsminister

Streichholz und Benzinkanister

Hielten sich für schlaue Leute

Witterten schon fette Beute

Riefen: „Krieg!“, und wollten Macht

Mann, wer hätte das gedacht?

Dass es einmal so weit kommt

Wegen 99 Luftballons

99 Jahre Krieg

Ließen keinen Platz für Sieger

Kriegsminister gibt's nicht mehr

Und auch keine Düsenflieger

Heute zieh' ich meine Runden

Seh' die Welt in Trümmern liegen

Hab' 'n Luftballon gefunden

Denk' an dich und lass' ihn fliegen

When All There's Left To Do Is Reflect On What's Been Done

Throwing Copper
Live (1994)
The third studio album from the York, PA band Live is turning thirty years old today.

The album cover is a oil panting that was completed in 1989 by British artist Peter Howson.  Mr. Howson explained this work in a response to a letter that was published in a newspaper published in Glasgow, Scotland called The Herald:

This painting was done at a time when I was walking on the road to self-destruction, so when I saw it reproduced in The Herald it brought back some poignant memories.  The man in the painting is blind, and he is troubled because there is no-one to guide him. He is clutching a red Bible, trying to find sanctuary in the cliff-edge church, but that is now derelict.  Finally, he will be led over the edge and fall to his doom. The girls do not care and it is all a bit of fun for them.  Obviously this is not my most optimistic creation, but I am glad when something moves people to question our existence.

Reading this made it pretty clear to me why Live selected this work for the cover of their album.  I wouldn't call this a Christian rock album.  I don't think it has a message that comes from any religion in particular, but the songs make repeated references to god and to religion.  I wouldn't go so far as to call it the theme of the record.  It's referenced in the lyrics in much the same way that Kurt Cobain referenced medical themes in his music... in ways that are weird and too numerous to be a coincidence.  This album also reminds me a bit of Nirvana in that I have an idea of what might have inspired the songwriter, but I have absolutely no idea what the hell they're trying to say.

The timing of Throwing Copper's release could not have been better.  Alternative Rock peaked in popularity in 1994, and this record rode that wave to massive success.  It was certified 8x platinum and produced five singles that played in heavy rotation on MTV and on rock and pop radio stations: Selling The Drama, I Alone, All Over You, White Discussion, and their biggest hit, Lightning Crashes.

While I dig all of these songs, my favorite track on the album was not released as a single and didn't get played on the radio to the best of my knowledge.  The Dam At Otter Creek is the first song on Throwing Copper.  Now, I know that Live is from Pennsylvania, and I've read that Otter Creek is a tributary that branches off of the Susquehanna River.  Aside from that, I have absolutely no idea what the hell this song is about.  It's trippy and sounds kind of like something that would play at the end of a horror movie, which is probably why I like it.

The Dam At Otter Creek

Live (1994)

When all there's left to do

Is reflect on what's been done

This is where sadness breathes

The sadness of everyone

Just like when the guys

Built the dam at Otter Creek and all the water backed up

Deep enough to dive

We took the dead man in sheets to the river flanked by love

Deep enough to dive

Be here now

Just like when the guys built the dam at Otter Creek

And water backed up, backed up, backed up deep enough to dive

We took him three and three

In a stretcher made from trees that had passed in the storm

Leave the hearse behind to leave a curse behind

Be here now

We took the dead man in sheets to the river flanked by love

We took the dead man in sheets to the river flanked in glory

Be here now

We took the dead man in sheets to the river

Flanked by the river, by love

Flanked by love

Flanked by glory

Frosty Puffs Presents The Culling

Boy Kills World
Lionsgate (2024)
This week's Mystery Movie Monday more than made up for last week.

The movie that was shown is called Boy Kills World.  I recommend it if you enjoy action comedies and you're not scared off by a ridiculous amount of blood and gore, but just know that this is not a movie that you're meant to take seriously... at all.  The movie starts off with a bit of background about a dystopian future society in which the leader has an annual "culling" of her enemies, which might tempt you into thinking that you're about to watch something that holds a mirror up to society, but... nope.  This is a straight up live action cartoon.  Watching it feels like you're playing a video game that was programmed by crackheads.  It's funny as hell, and it seems destined to go down as a cult classic.

I'm Pickin' Up Whatever's Mine

Full Moon Fever
Tom Petty (1989) 

The first solo album from the great Tom Petty was released 35 years ago today.  It's an album that MCA Records didn't want to release, but after a change in management, it was sent out into the world where it went 5x platinum and produced five hit singles.  The song that got the heaviest play when I was a kid was Free Fallin'.  I must have seen that music video with Devon Jenkin skateboarding on a half pipe about a thousand times on MTV.  Fun fact: she would go on to play the girl who gets murdered with a power drill at the start of Slumber Party Massacre III.

I like all of the songs on this album including Free Fallin', but my favorite song on the record is the last track of Side A.  The opening guitar riff hits my brain in just the right way... like if you set it as an alarm clock to wake me up, I'd pop out of bed instantly, grab my keys to hit the road and get done whatever needs getting done.

Runnin' Down A Dream

Tom Petty (1989) 

It was a beautiful day

The sun beat down

I had the radio on

I was drivin'

Trees went by

Me and Del were singin'

Little Runaway

I was flyin'

Yeah, runnin' down a dream

That never would come to me

Workin' on a mystery

Goin' wherever it leads

Runnin' down a dream

I felt so good

Like anything was possible

Hit cruise control

Rubbed my eyes

The last three days

The rain was unstoppable

It was always cold

No sunshine

Yeah, runnin' down a dream

That never would come to me

Workin' on a mystery

Goin' wherever it leads

Runnin' down a dream

I rolled on

The sky grew dark

I put the pedal down

To make some time

There's something good

Waitin' down this road

I'm pickin' up

Whatever's mine

I'm runnin' down a dream

That never would've come to me

Workin' on a mystery

Goin' wherever it leads

Runnin' down a dream

Owner, Leader, Master Projectionist

Jeffrey D. Mattox
1958 - 2024
Thank you, sir.

Happy Earth Day

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
BBC 2 (1981)

Sweeps Week At Citizens Bank Park

Sunday, April 21, 2024

Chicago White Sox @ Philadelphia Phillies

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Pitching: Nick Nastrini vs Aaron Nola

Results: Phillies defeated White Sox, 8-2

There were a few different things that went into my decision to pick today's game against the White Sox as our first for the 2024 season.  It's a Sunday afternoon game, so I wouldn't have to use up any PTO at work, and it's being played before the drive-in opens for the 2024 season.  However, at the top of the list is the fact that I hadn't seen the White Sox play in person before.  It's become a personal goal to see every MLB team at least once.  Checking them off of my list leaves just five teams that I have yet to see: the Baltimore Orioles, the Detroit Tigers, the Texas Rangers, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Colorado Rockies.

The fact that there was a reasonably good chance that I would get to see a Phillies victory was not a major factor in my picking this game, but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't think about it when I clicked the purchase button.  The Chicago White Sox looked to be a pretty terrible team on paper in the winter when I bought these tickets, but there's no way I would have guessed that they'd be this awful.  They went into today's game with a record of 3-17.  Three wins.  That's the worst record in baseball by a comfortable margin.  Just to put this in perspective, the Oakland Athletics, whose owner has gone full Rachel Phelps in his attempts to sabotage the team to make it easier to move to a different city, entered today with a record of 8-13.

There's no such thing as a sure thing in baseball, and the 2023 NLCS reminded us that the Phillies are a team with a talent of snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory, but I felt pretty good about this one.  Before I get into any further details, I've got to touch on the food and the pregame show.

Our first stop at the ballpark was to the concession stands at Coca-Cola Corner to try the Schwarburger 2.0.  This is a bacon cheeseburger that's topped with a fried egg, crispy onions, and a mildly spicy orange sauce.  It's on the expensive side even for ballpark food, but a portion of the sales of this burger go towards Schwarber's Neighborhood Heroes, which is a non-profit organization that supports first responders and their families.  It's also a pretty damn tasty burger!

 

Today was also the annual celebration of the Phillie Phanatic's birthday, and they went all out for this one.  They introduced over two dozen mascots from across college and pro sports before the game to celebrate and play softball with the Phanatic that was filled with funny skits and gags.

The complete list of mascots in attendance for the pregame festivities were, to the best of my recollection:

Mascot	Team
Iggy the Land Iguana	Philadelphia Phillies (Galapagos Gang)
Bessie the Blue-Footed Booby	Philadelphia Phillies (Galapagos Gang)
Sid the Sea Lion	Philadelphia Phillies (Galapagos Gang)
Calvin the Giant Tortoise	Philadelphia Phillies (Galapagos Gang)
Phoebe Phanatic	Philadelphia Phillies (the Phillie Phanatic's mom)
Screwball	Reading Fightin' Phils
Gritty	Philadelphia Flyers
Swoop	Philadelphia Eagles
Franklin the Dog	Philadelphia 76ers
Phang	Philadelphia Union
Wingston	Philadelphia Wings
Hawk	St. Joseph's University
Drexel Dragon	Drexel University
Will D. Cat	Villanova University
Hooter The Owl	Temple University
The 17th Century Explorer	La Salle University
The Quaker	University of Pennsylvania
Southpaw	Chicago White Sox
The Swinging Friar	San Diego Padres
Paws	Detroit Tigers
The Oriole Bird	Baltimore Orioles
Bernie Brewer	Milwaukee Brewers
Raymond	Tampa Bay Rays
Wally the Green Monster	Boston Red Sox

The group of them had a fun pregame show.  One of the more memorable moments was when a guy in a black t-shirt and a Yankees cap took the field to represent their team... you know, because they don't have a mascot.  He played the heel on the field for a little while until he was eaten by Iggy the Land Iguana.  Iggy is the round, yellow Pac-Man looking creature on the right hand side of the group photo.  That costume is built in such a way that a second person can crawl into its mouth as if he's being consumed by the creature, and then the "victim" and the person playing the mascot walk together in the suit until they're off of the field.

I tend to really enjoy the performance art of a sports mascot.  When it's done well, it's kind of a combination of Three Stooges slapstick and prat falls, mixed together with prop comedy and Sunday Funny Pages humor, with a smidgen of pro wrestling mixed in for the way that they use body language to get a spot over to a large audience.  It's one of those things that can bring a smile to just about anyone's face, regardless of their age or background.

 

The Phillies wore red and blue Phanatic caps for the game in honor of their fuzzy green mascot.  Although the cap is probably the best part of the team's god awful City Connect jerseys, I'd still take these Phanatic caps over those any day of the week.

After having swept the Rockies and taking the first two games of the series against the White Sox, the Phillies entered this game on a five game winning streak.  Aaron Nola took the mound for the Phillies against rookie Nick Nastrini in his second career start in the big leagues.  I don't know much about him other than his name reminds me of the jobbers that would work on a Saturday morning WWF Wrestling show in the early 90's.

 

Spencer Turnbull opened up the first game of the series carrying a no-hitter into the 7th inning, and Zack Wheeler followed it up last night by keeping a no-hitter into the 8th inning, but the White Sox lineup wasted little time in taking that possibility off the table.  After retiring the leadoff batter, Aaron Nola gave up a single to Robbie Grossman which was immediately followed by a two run homer off the bat of Eloy Jimenez to give Chicago an early 2-0 lead.  It was the first time in the series that the White Sox had a lead over the Phillies, and it didn't last long.

Nick Nastrini walked both Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to lead off the bottom of the first.  With runners on first and second, Bryce Harper hit an RBI single to score Schwarber and advance Turner to 3rd.  This set up a situation that shows why Harper is so loved in this city.

Bryce Harper had been taking long leads and generally messing with the Nastrini throughout JT Realmuto's at bat.  He ran on what ended up being strike three to Realmuto, but he wasn't even close to second base.  This should have been the first clue to the White Sox that they were being set up.

Martín Maldonado threw to second base to seemingly get Harper caught in a rundown, but Bryce backpedaled to distract second baseman Lenyn Sosa long enough to allow Trea Turner to score from third base to tie the game.  Trea caught Sosa off guard causing his throw to home plate flew past the catcher, so Harper was able to take second base on the play and then come around to score on a Brandon Marsh RBI single to give the Phillies the lead before the inning was over.  It was a lead that they wouldn't lose throughout the rest of the ballgame.

Aaron Nola was dominant for the rest of the game.  He went 8 innings and threw 81 pitches with 8 strikeouts.  Only three batters reached first base for the Sox after the first inning; a Kevin Pillar walk in the 2nd inning, a Gavin Sheets double in the 4th, and a Nicky Lopez single in the 5th.

The Phillies offense exploded in the bottom of the 4th.  Johan Rojas led off with a single.  He stole second, and Kyle Schwarber walked to put runners on first and second with no outs.  Trea Turner hit an RBI single to bring the score to 4-2 and knock Nastrini out of the game.  He was replaced by Tanner Banks, who gave up a sac fly to Harper that scored Schwarber from third base, and an RBI double to Alec Bohm that includes the Phillies lead to 6-2.  Kyle Schwarber led off the bottom of the 6th with a bomb to deep right field (his sixth home run of the season).  Schwarber tacked on the Phillies final run of the game in the bottom of the 7th with a sac fly that scored Bryson Stott from third.

Yunior Marte came in to pitch the bottom of the 9th.  He walked Gavin Sheets, but retired Eloy Jiménez, Andrew Benintendi and Kevin Pillar to end the game and finish off the Phillies second consecutive sweep and their 14th win of the season.

 

Overall, things are looking pretty good for the Phils in 2024.  The starting rotation has been the best in baseball through the first three weeks of the season.  There are a few bats in the lineup that haven't hit their stride yet, but they've been picked up by hot streaks from Turner and Marsh.  There's a lot of baseball left to play, but this might be our year.

Mr. Wriggles Goes Prime Time

Late Night With The Devil
IFC Films (2024)

This is a movie that I really wanted to see in theaters.  Unfortunately, it wasn't playing anywhere in my area, but it was made available on Shudder last night and I was finally able to see it.

While I usually think that a theater or drive-in is the best place to see a movie, Late Night With The Devil might be an exception to the rule.  It's set in the late 70's and presented as if it were a late night talk show that you could have watched on television.  If you really want an immersive experience and you have the equipment to do so, the best way to watch this might be to steam it through a Roku box that's hooked up to an old CRT television... unless they release it on VHS.

The movie begins with an eight minute mini-documentary about a 1970's late night talk show host named Jack Delroy.  His program, Night Owls, competes head-to-head with Johnny Carson, but it isn't going too well.  Even on their highest rated show which featured Jack's wife weeks before she died of lung cancer, Carson remained ahead in the ratings.  In 1977, Jack and his producer are hoping to hit a home run with their Halloween night broadcast.

The mini-documentary set up the rest of the movie which is shown as a found footage recording of the master tape from their 1977 Halloween show that was broadcast live on television.  The movie switches to black and white during what would have been the commercial breaks of this program, but it's shot in a way that makes the footage appear to be coming from the studio cameras at all times.

Jack Delroy's guests for this episode include a psychic named Christou, a hypnotist and magician named Carmichael Haig who has turned into a skeptic who works to expose psychics and the paranormal as a fraud, a doctor named June Ross-Mitchell, and a 14 year old girl named Lilly D'Abo who has been possessed by a demon that she refers to as "Mr. Wriggles".

Lilly was rescued from a Satanic cult when she was very young and has since been adopted by Dr. Ross-Mitchell.  The doctor clearly loves Lilly and is conflicted about agreeing to bring her onto the program, but she's also guilty of exploiting the girl for her own gains, as she has published a book called Conversations With The Devil that covers her communications with the demon that lives inside of Lilly.  The show is also exploiting the young girl, as they hope to be the first show to broadcast an actual demonic possession live on television.

This movie is extremely well done!  It's one of the most suspenseful horror movies that I've seen in a long time.  It starts off normal and ordinary, but you know that all hell is going to break loose at any moment, so it keeps you on the edge of your seat looking at every detail for a hint of what might be coming.  The visuals put you in the time and place perfectly, and the performances are convincing to the point where I found myself forgetting for a moment that this isn't actually a tape of a late night talk show.  Ingrid Torelli is absolutely brilliant for her unsettling performance as Lilly.  Even in the moments when it's not clear that she is possessed, her odd speech and facial expressions make you wonder how much of what you're seeing is her and how much is the demon.

 

Last, and most certainly least, there is a small controversy from a vocal minority about some of the images that were used in this movie.  According to directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes, the still images featuring the owl and the skeleton were created using AI software, then given to the artists on the production design team to touch up for use as still images that were on screen to transition the Night Owls show to and from its commercial breaks.

This has resulted in a boycott and review bombing of the film that is so asinine that it makes movie protests from Christian organizations seem almost sane in comparison.  These arguments annoyed me at first, but the more of them I read, the more amusing they became.  Some of what I've read through came from older men and women who quite frankly should know better.  However, the complaints from millennials and younger generations were downright hysterical.  They have no idea that they're experiencing their first Old Man Yells At Cloud moment.  Buckle up junior, because you've got a lot more of these moments coming in your future.

As for myself, I couldn't care less about the fact that they used artificial intelligence, particularly when it's used in a low budget film by an independent filmmaker.  AI is a time saving tool.  It was used to create roughly 10 seconds of footage that was spread out across a 93 minute long movie.  I don't think the movie would have been any better if these images were hand crafted by somebody on Photoshop.  If you want to whine about it and refuse to see an excellent horror flick because of it, knock yourself out, but you're only cheating yourself out of an incredible experience.