Virginia Creepers: The Horror Host Tradition of the Old Dominion (or simply Virginia Creepers) is a 2009 documentary film about horror hosts from Virginia directed by Sean Kotz and Christopher Valluzzo.[1]
| Virginia Creepers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Sean Kotz Christopher Valluzzo |
| Written by | Sean Kotz |
| Produced by | Sean Kotz |
| Starring | Mr. Lobo Bowman Body Count Gore De Vol Doctor Madblood Dr. Gruesome & Skeeter Dr. Sarcofiguy Ghoulda Hazel Witch Jebediah Buzzard Karlos Borloff Ronald |
Release date |
|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Kotz and Valluzzo would later release a documentary focusing on horror host Bill Bowman, Hi There Horror Movie Fans: The Bowman Body Documentary, in 2011.
Synopsis
editThe documentary focuses on horror show hosts from Virginia and Washington D.C.. Hosts featured in the documentary include the Bowman Body, Mr. Lobo, Count Gore De Vol, Doctor Madblood, and Dr. Gruesome & Skeeter.
Kotz has stated that the documentary gave them the ability to " not only show the progression of hosts but the progression of television history."[2]
Cast
edit- Erik Lobo as himself/narrator (Mr. Lobo)
- Bill Bowman as himself/The Bowman Body
- Dick Dyszel as himself/Count Gore De Vol
- Jerry Harrell as himself/Doctor Madblood
- Mark Bartholomew & Matthew Pak as themselves/Dr. Gruesome & Skeeter
- John Dimes as himself/Dr. Sarcofiguy
- Geri Roberts (nee Chronowit) as herself/Ghoulda
- Anna Inge Jump as herself/Hazel Witch
- Shane Boyde Steddum as himself/Jebediah Buzzard
- Jerry Moore as himself/Karlos Borloff
- Jerry Sandford as himself/Ronald
Reception
editPaul Carupe of Rue Morgue reviewed Virginia Creepers saying "The doc ably captures the ramshackle charm of these local productions, the dedicated people that made them and how they became neighborhood stars in the process."[3]
Home media
editOn October 30, 2009, Horse Archer Productions released the film on DVD. The DVD cover is a visual reference to the 1945 film House of Dracula.[4]
Bowman Body
editKotz and Valluzo began work on a documentary focusing on the horror host Bowman Body, Bill Bowman, after the release of Virginia Creepers. They stated that they were approached several times by fans who wanted to "see more of Bowman and they especially wanted more clips from his shows." Researching for the documentary was a challenge as Bowman's show, Shock Theatre, aired before the advent of taping on VCR. Little footage existed as "the station didn’t want to tie up expensive tape with clips from Shock Theatre.” Only thirteen minutes existed of the original footage.[5][2][6]
Kotz researched air times for Shock Theatre via copies of the Richmond Times Dispatch in order to compile a filmography of the show during its time on WXEX. He also researched Bowman's shows in other areas of Virginia, Cobweb Theatre (Charlottesville, WVIR) and Monsterpiece Theater (Fairfax, WNVC), noting that WNVC likely only showed public domain films as it was a public broadcasting station.[5] At the height of its popularity Shock Theatre surpassed The Tonight Show in ratings for Central Virginia.[7]
Hi There Horror Movie Fans: The Bowman Body Documentary was released in 2011 and premiered at the Byrd Theatre in Richmond, Virginia.[8] It has been credited by its director, Eric Miller, as assisting in the creation of the PBS show Midnight Frights. Miller, and the show's host Armistead Spottswoode, were both featured in Hi There Horror Movie Fans and its predecessor Virginia Creepers. The pair were recognized by the Richmond PBS programming director due to their appearances and were offered a chance to create a new series.[6]
In 2015 Bowman began hosting new episodes, which were filmed at the Ashland Theater. Films featured in the episodes included House on Haunted Hill.[9]
Further reading
edit- "Long Strange Trip: The Making of Virginia Creepers - Mystic Skull Magazine". Mystic Skull. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- Watson, Elena M. (May 3, 2013). Television Horror Movie Hosts: 68 Vampires, Mad Scientists and Other Denizens of the Late-Night Airwaves Examined and Interviewed. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-1160-0.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Jeepers Creepers! New Documentary Recalls Local TV "Horror Hosts"". The Roanoke Star. September 17, 2009.
- ^ a b "Interview with Sean Kotz (Hi There Horror Movie Fans)". Horror News | HNN. March 2, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ Carupe, Paul (March 2010), Rue Morgue
- ^ Kotz, Sean. "Virginia Creepers: The Horror Host Tradition of the Old Dominion". Archived from the original on December 17, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
- ^ a b "The Return of The Bowman Body". VPM.org. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ a b "Midnight Frights Is A Lying Bag Of B Movies, Don't Trust Anything They Say - RVA Mag". rvamag.com. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ "Community shows financial support for 'Shock Theater' star Bowman Body's sick wife". 8News. August 19, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ "SUNDAY: Documentary Pays Tribute To Horror Host At The Byrd Theatre". RVA Mag. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ Foster, Richard. "Bowman's Return". Style Weekly. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
External links
edit- Virginia Creepers at IMDb
- Shock Theatre at IMDb
- Official site. Archived at the Wayback Mahine here.
- Hi There Horror Movie Fans official site
- Moria review