Friday Fright Night ...

Every weekend begins a mighty struggle between the pre-teens of the house and the parents. What movie will be enjoyed (or not) on Saturday evening. Netflix, Pathe, Disney, HBO, the choices are endless and on-demand. Mom equipped with IMDB, judging each suggestion volleyed from the viewing public, the discussions can take up to a half hour or longer.

Let’s go back 40 years to the deep dark annals of Kansas City history. Channels 4, 5, 9, 41, 50 and 62. That was it. That’s all we had. No video on demand, we watched whatever was on hand. Looked in the newspaper on the printed page if we wanted to know what would be on. Selecting your viewing was much simpler (and perhaps less rewarding, true) - just turn on the television and see what was on. But, you had to make a decision quickly, because all of the shows on all of the channels started at the same time!

On Friday night, there was no discussion whatsoever, however. Friday Fright Night called. 10:30pm, Channel 5, late night, scary stuff. Low-budget Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee or Vincent Price masterpieces awaited. Two in a row, sometimes three. Giant bees, vampires, blobs, werewolves. IMDB would have been ruthless, but thankfully did not exist at the time and did not dictate our enjoyment. Whatever was on, that was our entertainment.

2022 offers individual fare for everyone. Any nook or cranny, you can find something to fit your mood, taste, desire. But, for simplicity, the old days still shine. And, I think we enjoyed those low-budget monster movies just as much, maybe more, than the movies rated 7+ by IMDB today.