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"Goin'
to The Ghoul a Go- Go!" Gather 'round fellow Morlocks, tubeheads, and lovers of all-things horror ! Your ol' pal the crazyman has just unearthed an ultra-juicy chunk of neuveau-retro hosting; a horror hosted show that will at once transport your nostalgic heart back to those gleefully misspent childhood years wiled away in front of a 500 pound "portable" tv, and show us all that the future of the genre is frequently found through remembering the past. This is the show that will soon be topping every host-heads "must see" list. A lot of wonderful perks have come along with the Horror Host Underground networking idea. One of the coolest is that sometimes folks will just hand you a tape and say, "Here, watch THIS". This happened at Horrorfind 2002 when a fellow I'd met there the year before came by the HHU table and handed us a copy of a show we'd heard great things about but never seen, GHOUL A GO-GO. Produced in The Hamptons area of New York State, Ghoul a Go-Go is part horror host, part dance party, with a heapin' helpin' of good old 60's kiddie show. Presented in black & white, and complete with a passle of kiddies decked out in poodle-skirts and penny-loafers, the Go-Go is truly a show for young and old alike. Our hosts, Vlad, Creighton, and The Invisible Man spin the big "Wheel of Death"--er, DANCE--periodicly throughout the show, prompting the young 'uns to "Twist", do "The Jerk", and of course, "The Mashed Potatoes". The two episodes I was treated to featured a live band as well, a surf- punk band known as Jonny Chan and the New Dynasty 6, who performed some very hip -- and very short -- original numbers which the dancers really seemed to dig. Leavening the Transylvanian Bandstand schtick are classicly campy tv and drive-in movie bumpers, and every week the mute Creighton presents a film short of sorts. Hesitating to open the miniature curtains to reveal the miniature movie screen on episode # one, Creighton is admonished by Vlad ( in his finest Lugosi voice ) to "Pull the string!!!". Creighton's choice of fare includes such 60's informational/safety film as "Paper and You", inwhich a young boy named Willy is obsessed with a brown paper lunch sack, and the traffic safety short "Dick Wakes Up". Though the title alone is an invitation for heckling that most hosts could not resist, the Go-Go gang simply runs the film in it's original uncut form and lets the laughs fall where they may -- and the laughs are plentiful ! Ghoul a Go-Go is warm, bouncy, irreverant and just plain fun for all. From the opening sequence of the studio kids romping through a graveyard, to the closing credits which features the catchy Go-Go theme song laid over some incredible original claymation of a fez- clad band of skeletons rocking out in a ghoulish dance club, the gang leave you wanting more. Some of my personal favorite moments were when one of the young dancers starts to cry during a segment, and is summarily spirited off the set by Creighton to meet Vlad (who is awaiting him offstage with a large ripsaw !), and Vlad's closing remark on episode one that they would, " Stay longer, but being around kids gives me the hives". Fantasticlly tongue-in-cheek stuff--or IS it? This reminded me in a way of The Groovie Ghoulies cartoon show, in that there is a dim flicker of menace lurking just below the surface of the irreverance -- just like children themselves. It srikes a nerve with kids of all ages. We are hoping to soon spread the Go-Go to the masses via the Horror Host Underground network, but until then you can find the friendly fiends lurking on the "Hosts" section of the HHU site at www.tvhorrorhosts.com . Check 'em out, and don't forget to bring your dancing shoes--and your necklace of garlic ! 'Til next we meet, stay loose and don't forget to swing ! Your ol' pal,...
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