TCM Underground Review

Overall 5.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

jmdobies
Austin, TX

Turner Classic Movies' Wild, Weird Late Night Cult Film Series

into Independent Films, Lover of quirky, unique films, a man, a cult film connoisseur, a music lover, a writer, Blogger, Movie guru

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Pros

Cult Classics!, Incredibly Strange Films!

Cons

2 a.m. Time Slot

DEC

2008

For several years, I hosted "Surreal Cinema," a Friday night double feature on a local independent televison station in Northeast Florida, specializing in horror, sci-fi, and exploitation films. Somewhere in the middle of my run, Turner Classic Movies announced that it was debuting "TCM Underground," described in the press release as "home to some of the truly visionary cult films that have been made over the past century, from stylish horror movies to offbeat black comedies."

I have long been a fan of TCM, and was excited to hear about the series, even if it was scheduled in the middle of the night (Friday nights/Saturday mornings at 2 a.m.), an hour after my four-hour block o' shock 'n' schlock ended on channel 22. More often than not, I'd fall asleep before it came on, so I didn't get to witness many of the early installments, which were hosted by musician/filmmaker/evil guy Rob Zombie..

When I moved to Austin, I started to catch more entries in the series, thanks to the time difference, and the DVR. "TCM Underground" no longer has a host, as Zombie got the pink slip (apparently a combination of his being completely non-telegenic and also his allegedly being a total pr*ck to the production staff). While this may constitute "addition by subtraction," I like the context that TCM's on-air hosts provide, and hope that the series will eventually have a new host. By the way, TCM, I'm available, and I work cheap.

Among the titles that have been featured on the show are such cult classics as Edward D. Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space (the first entry in the series, a double bill with Bride of the Monster), Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat, Kill! Kill!, George A. Romero's The Crazies, and Jack Hill's Spider Baby. Clearly not the usual Turner Classic fare, and even if Rob Zombie was a creep, not the type of pictures you'd expect Robert Osbourne to introduce.

Among the recent screenings have been the American televison premieres of the swinging '60s brit-flick Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush and Timothy Carey's The World's Greatest Sinner.

"TCM Underground" is one of my favorite series on TV, and it airs on my favorite cable network. Check it out.

Did I mention I was available to host?

Last edited on Dec 30, 2008

TCM Underground is recommended by jmdobies

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Comments about jmdobies’s Review

NIGHT FLIGHT

let me stand corrected TCM underground

dude you do know your films i also love blaxportation,kungfu,b movies, i remember the outer limits would come on when i was about 4 or 5 this was like 76 77 and creature feature that was the first time i ever saw trillogy of terror i remember the old cable boxes where you had to move it manualy i remember usa up allnight that was some cool shit,that was the first time i ever saw the terror in tiny town,attack of the killer tomatoes,and tromaville films,refer maddness,and scare films in the then i grow up to watch vangard cinema on skinamax the would also show some pretty bizzare movies like rivers edge and the blue iguna,and then mystery science theater would come on the comedy channel plus after returning from a night of rocky horror picture show and then i would grow up to see the most obscure films of today and yesterday all i can say is thank god tmc underground with all the crap thats on tv today