For 14 years, from January 1971 through September 1984, CREATURE FEATURES ranked in the Nielsen ratings as one of the most popular TV shows in San Francisco Bay Area television history. Broadcasted from KTVU Channel 2 in Oakland, California, the Saturday night series was hosted by former TV advertising writer Bob Wilkins for eight years, followed by San Francisco Chronicle entertainment writer John Stanley who kept the series alive for another six.
Reviews
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
I did not grow up in the Bay Area in the 1970's but I always loved local horror hosts (I grew up in the DC area so I watched Sir Graves Ghastly and Count Gore DeVol - great kitschy stuff). I have a book about local horror hosts throughout America and I remembering reading about Bob Wilkins and his show. But this low budget documentary is wonderful - you can tell the people behind it truly loved Bob and Creature Features. Some of the promo clips and the interviews are priceless. Bob interviewing Christopher Lee, Robert Bloch, and even Boris Karloff himself!! I loved how Bob and John Stanley (who took over for him) were just guys sitting in chairs talking about the films - they didn't try and dress up like vampires or gravediggers - they just did this weird little wraparound shop for low budget horror films and it was a blast to watch.
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