Favorite of the Gizmoplex Vault Picks: Round 8 - October 2022 (Halloween Horror)

Round 1 - March 2022 (Good Vs. Evil)
Round 2 - April 2022 (Dystopian Futures)
Round 3 - May 2022 (Pesky Critters)
Round 4 - June 2022 (Supernatural Summer)
Round 5 - July 2022 (Mega Monster Month)
Round 6 - August 2022 (Not-So-Superhero Month)
Round 7 - September 2022 (Espionage & Intrigue Month)

Spills! Chills! Thrills! Other rhyming words! That’s what’s in store for you as October summons the arrival of Halloween Horror at the Gizmoplex!

This alarming roundup of Vault Picks will haunt you to your core (or not) and tickle your funny bone along the way! We’ve got a medical student who tries to summon the courage to steal a cadaver’s ring, a mad scientist who goes to ghastly lengths to find the secret to eternal youth, an unhinged doctor who strives to create an army of atomic supermen, a brain surgeon who keeps his fiancée’s severed head alive as he searches for a replacement body, a scientist who seeks to solve a murder by speaking with the dead (or at least putting a razor blade in a glass), and a psychic researcher who sends a woman on a time-traveling collision with witches and Satan.

These morbid movies feature plenty of tricks and treats, but only one episode can scare up the votes to conquer the competition. How will you decide which frightening film finishes first? Which picture show will petrify the pretenders to the theatrical throne? Whose Halloween cuisine will reign supreme?!

Favorite of the Gizmoplex Vault Picks: Round 8 - October 2022 (Halloween Horror)
  • Ring of Terror
  • The Unearthly
  • Bride of the Monster
  • The Brain That Wouldn’t Die
  • The Dead Talk Back
  • The Undead

0 voters

9 Likes

All of these are eminently watchable, but I’ve got to give the crown to The Dead Talk Back. It’s got that great summer-stock-theater feel to it. By-the-numbers story and cheap production, but all the performers are enthusiastic. Prime riffing materials and Our Heroes rise to the occasion, but thankfully not from the grave. I even love the artsy-craftsy ending.

Who’s for Budweiser™ ice cream AND a day-long guitar solo?! :beer: :peace_symbol:

7 Likes

For me, this isn’t even close. The Undead is so fantastically hilarious.

  • The streetwalker saying “as through a glass darkly, yeah” in a Brooklyn accent. And “don’t you have any Proust?”… really every moment that takes place in the terrible therapist’s office is brilliant
  • Digger Smolken (all parts and references)
  • Servo stealing the Observers’ spoons

However, I skip over the final segment with the sandwich. It is TOO creepy.

9 Likes

Yeah. I can’t handle the ending, either. Very Big Ear Family. I kept looking at my watch. Aside from that, though… really fun.

4 Likes

There are some real treats in this bunch, and the choice would be hard if Bride of the Monster wasn’t there. It’s one of my favorite episodes and I can’t not choose it.

8 Likes

Too late!

Yup. I’m gonna be screwed later.

8 Likes

First: Another great set!

Decided to give my vote to The Dead Talk Back! Strange “homebrew” movie, strong riffing, hilarious host segments (Crow as Jerry Garcia!) and, of course, Dr. Krasker!

Oh, it’s true!

6 Likes

I haven’t watched most of these for ages so I can’t vote yet, but Undead would be in the early lead thanks to Digger Smolkin, and the may-o-NAISE!

5 Likes

Brain that Wouldn’t Die harkens back to the time when the only way for me to see Comedy Central-era MST3K was on Rhino VHS. It was always a favorite. There’s actually a neat little message buried underneath the movie about how creepy it is to be a guy who’s only into women for their bodies, but I’m not sure if it was intentional or serendipitous.

10 Likes

Does anyone else think we’re suffering from an embarrassment of riches at the moment? Every month a new episode, a tribute episode, and six classic episodes with shiny new content. There’s so much to get through that I rarely get time to rewatch the new episodes now.

I love it!

Cartoon Yes GIF by SpongeBob SquarePants

11 Likes

I’m the (or one of) the weirdos who voted for Ring of Terror, yeah the humor is rather one note, but they hit that note to perfection, and the sketches are ace.

But aside from The Unearthly, they’re all top-drawer experiments, I could just as easily have voted for Brides, Brains, The Undead or those Dead, who don’t actually talk back

5 Likes

The Dead Talk Back has some of the most simple yet funny host segments I’ve seen. Crow’s Jerry Garcia (the extended version) made me LOL for the first time in quite a while.

6 Likes

This month’s ranking…

  1. The Dead Talk Back (7/10). A great episode with very solid riffing all the way through. The only real drawback is the over-long guitar gag … which I understand you sort of have to do it that way for the gag to work but ugh does it get old quickly. Aside from that, its got the great Selling Wizard short for all you filthy perverts and the unforgettable Triple-Narrated main feature itself. Dr. Krasker carries a lot of freight in this stinker, but the Joe Friday wannabe, the forehead leading track runner, and a whole lot of D-list nobodies giving it their all just works on so many levels. In this list its not even close. DTB FTW.

  2. The Undead (6.5/10). This is NOT a bad movie. Its actually not too bad all things considered, but of course its a bit overwrought and the ham factor is thick. But good riffs help a lot and the inherent ‘almost watchable’ nature of the movie always helps.

  3. The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (6/10). First Mike outing and what flick to start on. The riffing is the only thing that gets this episode above the average level. There’s so much not to like what with the major Creep Factor in the doctor and his body shopping, the interminable and over-dramatic conversations between Jan In The Pan and Igor One-Arm, and the inconclusive ending where everyone dies. Great riffs. Icky movie.

Now we get to the dregs…

4/5/6: Bride of the Monster, The Unearthly, and Ring of Terror (5/10). These three are really all about the same in my head. They’re dull, plodding movies with so much padding that they become mush. The riffs in all of them are fine, but the movies are just so empty of anything that they are all equally kind of a slog. Ring of Terror is the only one that sticks out just because its so incredibly stupid and the Pyuma scene is so SO unbelievable in how bad it is. All three of these duds are equidistant last-place movies in this month’s list.

3 Likes

Is that Penn Jillette at the very end saying this has been a presentation from Alternaversal like the old Comedy Central days

5 Likes

Penn’s voice always reminds me of MST’s good old Comedy Central days

6 Likes

Some pretty good ones, but The Dead Talk Back sticks out for me, and I love the Jerry Garcia bit. I guess I know way too many Deadheads.

5 Likes

Yeah it’s absolutely Penn. It’s a nice touch, and even if it wasn’t Penn doing the voice I think that having SOMEONE do that callout at the end of the episodes is a good addition. It kind of bookends the episode and gives the brain a sense of finality.

What’s necessary now … I believe … is the same sort of mnemonic device for the OPENING. When you click on a vault pick now the episode jumps right onto Cynthia and I think it would be better if there was a bookend lead letting you know you were starting such as the brilliant, “Turn down the lights … where applicable.” It was a small thing that really eased the brain into viewing mode like you were sinking into a warm bath.

So yeah - Penn closing is a great addition. Now let’s put the other bookend on the front end and sandwich these great picks properly.

5 Likes

Like the warmest hug, isn’t it? :smiling_face:

4 Likes

absolutely a warm hug :slight_smile: and yes to the opening idea… or even the “control room” guy saying “MST3K episode Number ### reel 1”

4 Likes

Joel seems really good about creating these nice little Pavlovian feel-good traditions. Consider the power of “We’ve got movie sign!” and “Push the button, Frank.” And now we’ve got “Movie in the hole!” which also works really well.

6 Likes