Tales from the Darkside S02E05&06 (Halloween Candy - The Satanic Piano)

Dark Destinations may be end times Night's creature.

Why would a few more casually struggle.

Me because of their blood?

Will join yours a.

Radio drama anthology.

You are wrong how you figure Every mark on Mongo is hunting you.

Down, not you, your partner, he said, I didn't have a ray gun.

Full cast performances set in the haunted corners of the globe.

Darkness is coming for you. That's the fear that taunts me.

Dark Destinations by fatherm Alone at Weirdingwaymedia dot.

Com weird Way.

Welcome back to Midnight Viewing, the horror anthology podcast, where this season we're taking a look at George A. Romero's nineteen eighty series Tales from the Dark Side. Daring the Midnight view with me are the projection boost.

Mike White looks like I'm the meanest man on the block.

Also joining us, of course, the culture cast Chris Statue.

Ad Kamara got some good for you. Come on.

This is Michael McDowell right saying the same thing. This beetlejuice.

No okay, A couple weeks early, Sorry, Michael d who then he wrote the thing we're about the Oh okay, Michael.

McDonald okay, sorry, hold never mind.

Tonight we're taking a look at two episodes from season one. Those are Halloween Candy and The Satanic Piano. Halloween Candy

Kind of the Lowers?

I mean, I mean, did we see this already? It's point that, yeah, Trick or Treat. The literal first episode of this show that we talked about was this episode. In a lot of ways, literally the.

Same thing I did.

George Romero forget that he wrote that and then wrote this, and Ken, I don't understand. I don't know if it's any better. I don't know if it's any worse. It's still only twenty minutes and that's good.

But no, Michael mcdonaland Tom Savigni didn't watch the first season or all?

Is that what it is? Okay?

Right?

Right? Sorry, they were too busy doing other things.

They were like, have you guys done like a Halloween episode with the guy like a mean guy who gives up who.

Doesn't want to give out candy.

If he done that yet, wouldn't have been the first episode or anything. So it's that is strange. Outside of that, I think it's perfectly fine. I don't understand the punishment at the end seems.

A little bit much. It's a lot.

I mean, he dies and then he sees himself at one point. He sees the hallucination of himself dead at one point too, which is odd. It's an odd episode, and it's a bottle episode. It must have been the cheapest goddamn episode of the show that they shot.

No, because as they put it all into that goblin boy.

Didn't they?

How about you?

About you, Mike, I'm.

So glad that you said that the main character in this is ry Poole, because I thought for sure it was Robert's Blossom. I was like, oh, boy, this is the youngest I've ever seen Roberts blossom look. And then also I was thinking, oh, he's kind of doing his role from Home Alone a little bit early, but you know, in Home Aloney ends up being a nice guy. In this he's just a bastard, and this mister Killop is a complete bastard.

Through and through.

I really enjoyed this one. I had a great time with this episode and just the way that it builds, And yeah, it was very similar to that first episode. But at the same time, I don't know, I'm trying to remember who was our main person in that first one. It was somebody good, Barn Hughes, thank you, thank you. Oh that's right, mister Merlin himself. And this one, I was really glad to see where Poole just get tormented the whole way through because he's such a jerk. Reminds

They'd be like, my dad would.

Take a scoop and just put it right in there. So it's right up there with that Goblin candy fu.

Yeah, this is a real thing that was going on.

That's a real thing.

So yeah, I mean I'm more disturbed by that than I am anything I watched in this entire episode.

What in God's name was going on in Detroit Machine.

I don't know, I don't know. Well, it was the same brother that that pied my dad in the face, not realizing that when they do that in movies that they don't have the metal tin. Basically broke my dad's nose in that. But yeah, good times, good family, A rambunch. Oh yeah, well it was like a bunch of Catholics. What was it, four four girls, three boys, all born within like a ten year period.

There were something to recipe for disaster?

Oh yeah, kind of give it out candy on Halloween.

I think they recycled a lot of these costumes. I love that the one kid's just carrying around spray paint and I'm thinking, that's a little person in that costume. I was in almost every single one of these costumes.

That bunny Rabbit in particular was a bit ewokie. And yeah, boy wasn't killed. But when he pulled that canna that was like the size of his own arm. I was like, this is a good episode, man, but that.

Don't you spray paint my door either, Get that paint

Here like, what the fuck is going There's some really malicious kids who just, you know, just give them the goddamn candy. I don't under I don't understand this. This is not rocket science. This is like five dollars of candy and your sanity will be restored.

What are the steaks here? Why are these the steaks?

Is all I'm asking.

I love that it's a Halloween story, and I do like the steaks because they make sense in terms of it being a Halloween story, But like, really, this is this guy dies because he doesn't give up Tandy.

I mean, fucking that's metal as fuck show. Sure, why not?

Well? And that they managed to stop time and that midnight is now forever for this piece of shit. It's like, dude, that his son is going to go to jail at the end of this episode.

One thousand percent is that?

Like they cut away at the end, they cut to that corpse, and I thought, oh, they should have overlaid the police officers saying so, so we'd like to talk to you about your father, would you China's Downtown.

Have that mannikin or that maquette that these at the end? Is is pretty ghoulish on top of everything else. It's really it's an unpleasant It's an unpleasant thing to have to freeze frame on for a while.

It's pretty convincing.

I like, I'm with y'all. I liked this episode. I just the steaks are bizarre, and you have the old man just getting it and then the sun getting it. Is the sun getting it is way worse because that's I mean, I guess he's a dick. I don't know, they're both dicks. I don't understand. Like everybody in this episode is an asshole. That's kind of especially that goblin with the glowing eyes that jumps up and down on the swing over and over again.

I mean, father alone, tell me as far as where does this fit in terms of creep Show, because the goblin reminded me a lot of the creature that lives in the box under the stairs, and then the whole thing with the bugs. I was reminded of the last chapter with E. G. Marshall.

Yeah.

Now that's interesting because Tom Savini very famously did not want to do anything with their creeping up on You segment of Creep Show. He built all those pieces, but really didn't want to be involved with the roases at all. He hates them, particularly, so when they showed up in this I was really surprised that he. I mean, he could have done anything he wanted with as far as Creepy Crawley's you know, like maggots or whatever, but went ahead with the roaches.

This is what this is three years after Creep Show.

Okay, yeah, I was hearing some echoes pretty loudly.

Oh yeah, definitely.

You know what, not only you weren't just hearing echoes, you were seeing echoes because every time they cut to an exterior, they keep showing the porch on his house, and then they'll cut to the moon, which is a beautiful shot of the moon. There are two separate shunts because they're both from Creep Show. They're both mathening Creep Show makes sense.

Yeah.

I like this whole thing too, of how the creature kind of is getting into his head and they keep doing those flash cuts of the creature and I was like, oh, that's really creepy and effective.

That was probably my favorite part of the episode, where yeah, they cut to these flashes of what basically looks like an icy version of the Goblin with white eyes and white skin, like super close up almost you know, subliminal, and I thought that was really artful. Also, when the old man finally hits the ground, like the he kind of floats to the ground, and you know, for pretty ambitious for a twenty two minute episode of this series in which that creature was also built by Savini specifically

Yeah, no, you're right. When I saw that, I was like, oh, didn't we just see that alien do that? And that incredible Chuck mcka episode, and before that, Carol Kane did it to bud Court.

So third times the arm.

Like the term amazing being used here.

Well, let's say incredible because I still can't quite believe.

Fair now the episode that this echoes the Trick or Treat the first episode of George Ramira that is way more easy comics in totally and it's like this horrible old mind torturing the townsfolk and then the spirits of Halloween coming to Dola justice on him. I'm not so sure that this man deserves what he gets here. No, he's just a bitter old man who doesn't want to participate in Halloween and his son forces him to participate.

And I am tired of getting up on that ladder and crawling into that tree and taking that toilet paper out.

Ultimately, this child kills his father because he forces him to give out candy.

Ultimately, No, I honestly think that I wasn't joking when I said this is a tale of elder neglect.

That it is. That's really really it is.

Yeah, I mean, even to the point what we're saying, he pushes the dad to give out the candy, and not only that, and this is the I don't think this is intended, but it ties in the candy he puts in that bowl. It's like it's all Hershey Kisses and a few Tootsi rolls, the tiny Tootsi rolls, and

Yeah, yeah, that is so not enough Halloween kid. I don't know about you guys, but for me, it's one bag for the kids, one bag for me, so it's.

Got to be a lot more.

I don't have any kids come to my door sapefully, well not thankfully. I would give them candy if they did, but my neighborhood is not great for it. But I don't think that a goblin would come and kill me if I didn't give out candy. Must not be an elderly man.

I believe that that goblin did come, though, and it actually got into your house and then it like swatted your watch off and broke it and then the left. I don't think you would shrug, well, that's over, and then just go about your evening. I'm sitting down to watch TV now, yeah, I can give you a little more shake of exactly. That guy's just so nonchalant about it. Oh goblin. What's funny is when it comes back is I don't think that's a cop?

Oh yes, what was it? Dead giveaway? What was the dead giveaway?

Here? It's glowing fucking eyes.

I would too bad he didn't have a scene where he tried to grab the mask off and I was like, this is not a mask.

Where was that scene?

I would have enjoyed that.

Actually, Nick Dwell managed to weave in another Tails from the Dark Side, not a trope necessarily, but a theme the technophobia where he knows he's trapped in a loop because he tries to call out to his son and gets the time on his road phone and it's just the same time over and over. And also, I guess this is a sign that it's nineteen eighty five that you can get on your rotary phone still and call to find out the time.

Remember doing that, Mike Chris, do you.

Have any knowledge of ever doing that in your life calling the time on your phone now, But.

I used my phone to call the movies to get the movie times, so you know, not far off. I was asking for a different kind of time, a more specific time.

One might say, who, welcome to movie phone.

You have selected Lelo and Stitch rated pg.

Thirteen.

Every every time the power would go off in your house and be like, fuck, you have to call the number and find out it's time.

It's five twelve. No, wait, five point thirteen. Now that's fucking wild.

Yet No, I didn't have to do that, sor sorry guys and weather too.

Yeah, exactly, I find out what is gonna be like tomorrow.

Jeez, Louise.

The phone book was a treasure trove of all of these things where you're like, really, that's a service that I can call.

But yeah, they might be giants. The dial along which is still going on, still going but it's only on the internet now, I think. But it's it's still a phone number, but it's an internet number. But you can hear much more of the song because they don't have the it's not the length of the tape anymore.

What did they say, Gloria, there must be giants? What that's that's the song I miscellaneous tea I skip every time as the actual recording of the people who were on dial a song.

Yeah, and we're there for the songs.

Come on man.

Yeah.

Also another thing I noticed the sun in addition to his men crimes against his dad, could you replace his doorbell please? It sounds like the emergency broadcast system. Every time it went off. It was really startling. No wonder he doesn't want trick or treaters. The son should just

Did this guy.

Already got the sign that says no trespassers? Religious fanatics? I can't remember all the things.

For service workers or something.

Yeah, religious fanatics alone, she'd tell us who this guy is and why is the sun trying to make him anything?

But maybe the son should just sit there. They know they may have some bullshit thing for him that he had to go.

But you know, all of a sudden, Harry Chapins, Cats and the Cradle plays in the background, and I just don't have time for you anymore.

Dad. She the first four cords bell.

If that's all you have to hear, it's a it's fucked up because Yeah, ultimately, the way to save the father and the story is for the son to just stick around.

Yeah, Like, I guess that's the ultimate meaning of it. Like the sun as he's leaving is your refrigerator has no food.

It's who's fucking fun? All this is that you're great.

You're leaving him like this too, dude, No, he just dropped off some candy.

And the father says at one point, like all I do is eat. I have nothing else. Get your father either into a home or get him into a group

This episode is deeply upseting.

God bless Michael mcdelsy when he's really good. He's really good.

This is it's so subtly under there because this just feels like another silly ah And now the Halloween people are coming to give teach this old man a lesson for not doing the trick or treat thing. No, really, it's about this old man who starved to death because his son.

So God on a very special episode on Tales from

Got I like there, it's that whole cosmic fate thing, you know, just like punishing this guy punishing it. I mean, really they do punish the father as well, since he is going to go to jail. But I like that. It's, oh, you aren't obeying the rules of Halloween, so that the cosmos is going to bit you and just set the whole record straight, murder you and through your son.

And if this person has relatives, I think they're having a bad night too, Mike.

I think far reaching the dark side is yeah, yeah.

This is no.

This is a good episode of the show, for sure.

I agree.

All right, let's move on to that next episode, which is The Satanic Piano. This is season two, episode number six. It aired originally on November third, nineteen eighty five. This was written by John Harrison from a story by Carl Jacoby, directed by John Harrison and starring Michael Warren, Lisa Bonett, and Falise or Landy. This is the tale of a songwriter struggling with writer's block who's given another worldly instrument that can turn his thoughts into music.

What do you think about this one, Mike?

He again, pardon me, really enjoyed this one as well. I don't know what's going on this week. But I just really found this one to be compelling. I like the creepy record producer and they find that he's got the past and he's been trying all this time to basically make a pack with Satan and open up the gates to Hell or whatever is in order to do his thing, and that I think it would have been

On high fidelity?

No God, no?

Angel Angel Heart?

Yeah, I hate high fidelity.

Sorry, I'm with you, whatever, whatever.

Guy Angel Heart. Yes, very reminded me of Angel Heart. And yeah, she just looks kind of trashy in this, but yeah, I thought she she was.

She does.

She looks a little trashy to me, That's all.

What that was.

And where did that come from?

I disagree with that sentiment, all right.

But yeah, I enjoyed how this one goes. Then it fills up the twenty two minutes.

Pretty darn well, there's a lot going on in this episode. Absolutely, yeah, Chris, what'd you think?

I thought it was interesting.

I mean, again, this is kind of part and parcel for some of the things we've had before, where it's the magic and mystery of technology paired with the mystical and the magical, and I think it was an interesting idea.

I don't think.

I don't think Michael Warren's given enough to do. I mean, Lisa Bone is in this, and like you mentioned, Mike, I mean she's very young, and she's also not given.

Much to do.

But I think the idea is interesting that there's this guy who sells her an instrument and then he kidnaps or he sells her father an instrument, and that he kidnaps her because she's the one who can be his angel of music. I guess to use a phantom of an opera parlance, so I think it's I think it's fine. I guess for me, it wasn't personally that compelling compared to the last episode, because again, I mean, fausty and bargains are a time a dozen. Father Malone lifts up

The performances left me wanting more, as it.

Was the first thing I wrote in my notes was that I keep saying this because it's true. Deals with the Devil episodes never get old, never they have the least variety in plot, but they can always be made to be the most interesting. And I found that to be this one as well. I loved the continuation of the technophobia going on through the series here, but made through music. And I love the design of that fucking piano.

Man.

They've taken the flat part of the piano, the harp shaped part of the piano. They've stood it upright and turned it into a circuit board, and a circuit board with a little window basically into another dimension I guess, like some sort of swirling vortex.

I loved that. I don't know, I love the design.

It doesn't hurt that John Harrison is himself a composer and composed the music in here. Have you heard anything I've said, Chris, there's a whole lot of Day of the Dead influence here. The score for You the Dead, like so much of it. And there are two separate scores going on here because they're dealing with the father who's trying to write his and then the daughter writing hers. But they both sound like they came from They the Dead, like straight out of Day of the Dead.

Well, I liked this song. His song could feels so cheese and just that like real synth, and I'm like, oh man, this feels so out of step with the time.

Her song is very beautiful.

But then I kept thinking, what if they're two songs matched up? Like I kept thinking, what if the two songs get played at the same time, and that's going to be like the solution, like both of us together, we make the music together, my lovely daughter. But unfortunately that wasn't the case.

You know, it would have been good if that was the revelation. But then the further revelation is that sound open some portal to a horrible dimension.

Oh nice, Yeah.

It kind of had to upbeat of an ending that was kind of I don't know, like all of a sudden,

Okay, he learned his lesson. We get it fine. I don't know.

I was a little disappointed that to your point, Father Malone, that there wasn't some like at the end in the day New Maw there was like and they did it and made it worse and the villain, you know, achieved his goal.

I don't know.

This is a short form anthology show.

I honestly prefer the bad guys to get a get one over on the heroes from time to time, and this show does do that. So it was a little surprising to give this episode a happy ending as well as it were.

Do you know what this felt like to me? Bill and Ted Face? The music clearly.

Interesting, okay, sure.

Where this guy's greatest creative contribution is his daughter, who's actually got the touch. She's actually got the talent to make music sort of effortlessly. Everything he's struggling to do she can do perfectly. But she wouldn't be around without him. So that's, you know, because that's the lesson learned at the end of this right with his by the way, saw this when it aired and hit the state of

Yesh.

Yeah, it was a good effect.

Anytime anyone sticks their hand into something gloppy and gloopy and then pulls it out and it's just destroyed, it's oh yeah. And then again the instrument of it all. Yeah, I guess it is like Bill Ye, I've almost forgot that movie existed. Frankly, It's one of those movies that just kind of came out and I forgot it existed. But it does have that kind of that I guess the framing device to it of my rateus achievement.

Is my child.

The other film it reminds me of was Rock and Rule, because in that the villain is looking for the perfect voice to open up a portal to some other you know, cut through like dimensions. So well, this obviously the contemporary of that movie and predates The Villain Dead. Yeah, the Debbie Harry and the Debbie Harry one. What was I gonna say?

I was saying that it reminds me of The Devil and Daniel Mouse. I don't know if you remember that nel the animation one, Yeah, I do, which was used wonderfully by Bauhaus in one of their songs. It's just they're so, you know, dark and brooding and stuff, and then they go ahead and you lose almost the entire animation inside of one of their songs.

You mentioned the music for the Dad being really cheesy, that's because that's it's a synth version of a marimba sort of doing a kind of a Caribbean beat there. Harrison did most of his work on a Prophet five synthesizer. He did the entirety of the Creep Show score on the on on the Prophet five. And if anyone knows, and I'm and I'm if I'm speaking incorrectly, I'm almost positive the same is true with this score and the Day of the Dead score. So so that's one of

Zombies they're happy, they're walking.

Oh yeah, no, he does quote thek in Day of the Day at one point. Yeah, but with yeah, it's that No, I love that part. The idea, by the way, that just there's so much going on. This episode is really packed because just the concept of somebody trying to put the soul of a pure musician into this satanic instrument as a weapon of power or something like that. That's pretty heavy stuff like that, Not to mention the dynamic between the father and the daughter here and like that.

He says, true, right, that's true. That's sure in a nice apartment. He's doing well.

Right, So, for all intents and purposes, this is a story about him and having a bit of like writer's block, like where the record company doesn't like the latest tracks he's given them.

But you know what, he sold a million units last year. Fuck those guys.

This member's only jacket buttoned down guy when jeans in a fucking pinky ring comes in. This is his representation. He's like, well, we're just gonna take whatever they can give us. Now, can I have a sandwich? I'm like, fire this man immediately, let me represent you like this.

Yeah, it's life lessons being learned on these episod so details from the dark side. Don't abuse your parents, and make sure if you're being represented there they have your best interest in mind.

Yeah, he's the kind of agent that would have been funneling all this money into another account and be like, I don't know what's going on.

He seemed like, oh no, we're just tied up for funds right now, we just don't want to.

Do yeah, exactly. I don't know that. I did not understand that part of it. If he had been like a struggling guy, then it would make a little bit more sense.

But you know, the little offendi action probably would have worked a little better here. That Wasn't he like a struggling comedian. Isn't that the whole thing?

Yeah?

But no, I don't think he needed that.

I think that the sort of washed up guy is fine, but that unfortunately they set up their own timeline to be like you said, I sold a million units last year, if he had sold a million units ten years ago, right, if this was a little closer to like what we get in Tails from the Dark Side, the movie that James remar Lever's vow story where he's like, you know, yeah, he was a big splash, I don't know how many years ago, but he ain't been paying the bills with

I mean, knock me over with a feather. When I watch these I was.

Like, what wait, No, this This is really good.

This is why I signed up for the show. This is finally happening.

Felix Tails from the Dark Side has been good for the most part, though, right I.

Would say that their batting average definitely seems to be higher than what we've talked about.

In the past.

I mean seventy Yeah, no offense, mister Serling, but yeah, I'm finding mister Romero handles this a little bit better.

I agreed.

The bad Ones have not felt offensive. I haven't been mad at any episode. I've just been like, Eh, that was okay. They could have done something better there, whereas frequently with Night Callery I was like, fuck you what, why did you just waste my time with that?

I keep thinking of those people up in the tree and who was it, David Karenine or whoever that.

Was that was groovy with jar that one put them up in the trees and these pads, it'd be groovy. Oh boy, there's the villain in this episode. He has a line inspiration is such a fickle vamp. I've never heard a character want to say bitch more on syndicated television ever.

Vamp. They're just like, oh, can we put in here? Ample do I guess.

Damp that's a good word.

Anything else about this one?

Jen?

Oh, I do have one more thing. I love a musical lock, but it's probably not a good idea to put the notes on the fucking lock, letting everyone know that it's your musical lock.

Yeah. I did like how our main character had him memorized after just singing it once and it's like, oh, Lisa Bonet, it's this all right?

Cool?

Oh.

I have a Lisa Bonet story in nineteen ninety two when I was a projectionist in Santa Monica. It was early we had a matinee of something and I had come downstairs and a girl came out and asked I would help her find her glasses, and did not recognize it as Lisa Bonnet. All I saw was who is this fucking gorgeous human being? And then went in with her and looked look. Then I found her glass and like amateur, and we went back into the lobby, went into the sort of full daylight.

I was like, oh my god, it's Lisa Bonet. She was luminous.

I mean you see it on the TV or in movies and stuff like that, but it's one of those people who they've got the that in factor. They just fucking light up the room. The other person I met who had that was Rose McGowan at the same thing, or met her one day. It was just like Jesus Christ, like what that like gods walk amongst us? So anyway, Lisa Bone big fan.

I don't like her with short hair.

I don't think hers like a young child with short hair is just kind of doesn't look like Lisa Bone.

But I like her a lot.

And apparently the movie that I'm the only one out of the three of us who likes, and you guys had a physical reaction to but both of you filmically vomited, just upsetiphidelity rat.

You guys like John Cusack, What the fuck?

I love John Cusack. I do not like people that make lists.

That's fair. But you're gonna say you like sell instead.

I'd rather watch the movie Torque again for Lisa Bone than watch Hypeidella Day.

That's fair, all right.

On the next episode of Midnight Viewing, we'll be taking a look at two new episodes from season two. Those are The Devil's Advocate and Distance Signals. Midnight Viewing the Horror Anthology podcast is a proud member of Weirdingway Media group and our theme song was composed by HP with an assist by Donald Rubinstein. Until next time? What are you working on? Where can people find it? Mike White, You're never gonna believe.

This, but the same network that this show is on, weirding Way Media, get a show on there too. You can hear the head over there. There's a couple of shows where you can hear my voice. So if you're interested, come on over to our Weirdingwaymedia dot com. How about you, Chris, Weirdingwaymedia dot com. You heard it here first, then you heard it here again. Now you're hearing at me say the third time.

So there you go. Yeah, weirding Way Media.

That's where all the audio diversions that I work on can be found. Other than the show that Mike and I do. That Father Malone is going to be joining us on very soon called Rank and On Bond, which can be found on our patreons patroon dot com, slash culturecost and pagroon dot com slash Projection booth at a ten dollars level. So that's where you can find that if you're into it.

That should actually be out when this is coming out. So yeah, I go over there and check that out. It's it's me talking about Bond with these guys and Rich HadAM. It's a lot of fun. It's my one of my favorite Bond movies. As for me, you know what they said Weirdingwaymedia dot Com the Midnight Viewing. I'm also a co host with hp over on the Night Mister Walters a taxi podcast. Check everything out over there, and thank you all for joining us here at midnight Viewing.

Daylight range as

To