Wherein Rob Reviews Everything He’s Ever Seen, Read, Heard, Experienced or Thought
I’m doing a review of every TV show my Watched media list says I’ve seen.
I don’t know for a fact that I watched all 26 episodes of 100 Years of Horror. But that is what it says on my Watched list, and we are taught to trust spreadsheets, are we not? Either way, I have a pretty strong feeling I watched a healthy chunk of it.
In an attempt to jump-start my addled brain, I searched YouTube and found the first four episodes sitting there waiting for me. I clicked on episode one, “Dracula and His Disciples,” and within two minutes, I realized I need to watch this entire series again—which I definitely will.
The bad computer-graphics of the ridiculously over-long intro made me smile. It looks like it was rendered on a Commodore 64. But the moment Sir Christopher Lee utters his first couple of words, I was hooked all over again. There is nothing better, it turns out, than hearing Christopher Lee say the word Drac-oo-la. The man delivers every single syllable like he’s presiding over a Victorian execution.
The show systematically breaks down iconic sub-genres—Scream Queens, Mutants, Giants, and beyond—loading up on vintage clips from Universal Classics and Hammer Horror. It mixes in talking-head commentary from genre royalty like John Carpenter, Roger Corman, and Bela Lugosi Jr., all bathed in that distinct, cozy 1990s basic-cable lighting. But Lee is the glue. His smooth, velvety gravitas elevates bargain-bin monster footage into prestige television.
My Rating: 3 out of 5 Vampire Capes.
Absolute recommendation for anyone who considers themselves a horror fan—especially those who think the first Saw movie counts as “old school.”
