Upon reflection, there’s a clue about the nature of The Babysitter (1980) in its opening moments. Young Tara Benedict (Quinn Cummings), whom we’re told is 12-years old, watches Scotty (David Wysocki), whose age we’re not told, but who is noticeably older, on the water in his sailboat. She says, “He doesn’t even know I’m alive.”…

If there was ever an example of perfect casting, it must be Jeff Goldblum as Ichabod Crane. Tall, awkward, goofy, the actor is the living embodiment of the character. Unfortunately, while he looks the part in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1980), he doesn’t quite act it. Even more unfortunate, he fares better than the…

When one of your favorite movies ever, one of the few you’ve rated a perfect 10 out of 10, gets not only a sequel, but a TV-movie sequel, your hopes for it can’t be very high. Therefore, because my low expectations were marginally exceeded, I’m probably being generous with Revenge of the Stepford Wives (1980.)…

The Henderson Monster (1980) is the “talkiest” TV-movie, if not movie-movie, I think I’ve ever seen. About a third of the way into it, I had to ask myself if it was based on a play (it’s not.) In and of itself, this isn’t a problem. However, if you’re going to spend an hour and…

Technically, the title’s not bait-and-switch; however, if you’re expecting a typical mummy movie, The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb (1980) is not it. That’s not to say it’s an atypical mummy movie. It’s just not really a mummy movie at all. Instead, it’s all about the politics of discovering the tomb of King Tutankhamen and…

Two years before V hit the big time as an NBC miniseries, the network tested the waters with a similar concept: The Aliens Are Coming (1980.) I was originally going to write that I was surprised V got made considering the tepid result of The Aliens Are Coming. However, now I’m more inclined to believe…

With She’s Dressed to Kill (1979), we’ve technically reached the end of this series about “1970s TV Movies.” However, as we’ve discussed, there isn’t an impenetrable line between decades that cleanly separates their content. However, this is the last film in the book that has been my bible since the series began almost three years…

Warning: this review contains spoilers. The highlight of Salem’s Lot part one (the vampire boys floating outside and rap-tap tapping on windows) overshadows a scene in part two that I had forgotten was just as terrifying. Mike Ryerson (Geoffrey Lewis) is throwing dirt on the grave of Danny Glick when the wind swirls around him…

Warning: this review contains spoilers. In Salem’s Lot (1979) Mark Petrie (Lance Kerwin) reminds me of myself as a monster kid. His room is full of all sorts of cool posters, models, and masks. After showing his friends, Danny and Ralphie Glick (Brad Savage and Ronnie Scribner) his ghoul mask (and explaining the horrific nature…

With last week’s movie, The Death of Ocean View Park, and now Disaster on the Coastliner, it seems like the television networks were trying to cram as many disaster movies as they could into the decade before it ended. That’s funny because the subgenre had about run its course earlier in 1979 with The Concorde……