Just watched IT CRAWLED OUT OF THE WOODWORK. I first saw this in the 70's, and it was one of those that just scared the hell out of me!
"What IS that thing???"
This was the first time in awhile that they had a pre-credit sequence that led into the story, instead of a "preview". There wasn't really much mystery here... just mounting suspense. With the current economy, can you imagine people worrying that their next job might be something like the one the scientist took in this story? Where one of his fellow workers just cold-bloodedly stands by and watches him get KILLED?
Watching this as a rerun many years later, the whole story really picked up for me when Edward Asner arrived on the scene, playing a character much more likable and admirable than "Lou Grant". After seeing several people die of fright or get disintegrated by the monster, the tension just builds and builds when he visits the NORDCO center. And when he walks into the corridor... I swear, for years after this story, anytime I found myself walking down a long, skinny hallway, I'd think of this and start to worry.
During the "big reveal" when Kent Smith (I'd seen him in a bit part in the movie THE NIGHT STALKER) talks about the thing, I realized I was looking at PURE EVIL. To think he DELIBERATELY caused the deaths of all his fellow workers, so he could control them, just so he could control IT... AAUUGH! I found myself yelling at the screen, "KILL the son of a bitch!! KILL him!!!" Even getting shot didn't do it... his pet monster did it for him.
The finale of the story felt a bit odd, as the "villain" of the story had effectively been disposed of, but you still had the monster to deal with. It's kind of a surprise that it winds up getting contained, without too much more damage being done, but then you're left with the horror that it CAN'T be destroyed, only controlled-- and it MUST be kept under control, or else (as Vic Perrin states so effectively). I didn't even realize 'til I checked online that Joe Stefano wrote this one... I somehow missed the credits at the beginning, but with the terror over-riding everything, it figures.
I looked up some of the actors in this... Michael Parks, the scientist brother, played "Apollo" in STAR TREK's "Who Mourns For Adonais" (my friend Jim's least-favorite ST ep.), while gorgeous and sexy Barbara Luna played Marlena Moreau in "Mirror Mirror". The younger brother (who looked a LOT older than 20, if you ask me), Scott Marlowe, came back as the villain in the season finale, "The Forms of Things Unknown". According to the IMDb, it looks like Michael Parks focused on a career as a voice artist, dubbing Japanese cartoons, from the 70's up to this day!
Strangely... right after the Vic Perrin's summation, SOMEONE ELSE's voice is heard reading the standard "We now return control of your television set to you" bit. WHAT th'...???
"What IS that thing???"
This was the first time in awhile that they had a pre-credit sequence that led into the story, instead of a "preview". There wasn't really much mystery here... just mounting suspense. With the current economy, can you imagine people worrying that their next job might be something like the one the scientist took in this story? Where one of his fellow workers just cold-bloodedly stands by and watches him get KILLED?
Watching this as a rerun many years later, the whole story really picked up for me when Edward Asner arrived on the scene, playing a character much more likable and admirable than "Lou Grant". After seeing several people die of fright or get disintegrated by the monster, the tension just builds and builds when he visits the NORDCO center. And when he walks into the corridor... I swear, for years after this story, anytime I found myself walking down a long, skinny hallway, I'd think of this and start to worry.
During the "big reveal" when Kent Smith (I'd seen him in a bit part in the movie THE NIGHT STALKER) talks about the thing, I realized I was looking at PURE EVIL. To think he DELIBERATELY caused the deaths of all his fellow workers, so he could control them, just so he could control IT... AAUUGH! I found myself yelling at the screen, "KILL the son of a bitch!! KILL him!!!" Even getting shot didn't do it... his pet monster did it for him.
The finale of the story felt a bit odd, as the "villain" of the story had effectively been disposed of, but you still had the monster to deal with. It's kind of a surprise that it winds up getting contained, without too much more damage being done, but then you're left with the horror that it CAN'T be destroyed, only controlled-- and it MUST be kept under control, or else (as Vic Perrin states so effectively). I didn't even realize 'til I checked online that Joe Stefano wrote this one... I somehow missed the credits at the beginning, but with the terror over-riding everything, it figures.
I looked up some of the actors in this... Michael Parks, the scientist brother, played "Apollo" in STAR TREK's "Who Mourns For Adonais" (my friend Jim's least-favorite ST ep.), while gorgeous and sexy Barbara Luna played Marlena Moreau in "Mirror Mirror". The younger brother (who looked a LOT older than 20, if you ask me), Scott Marlowe, came back as the villain in the season finale, "The Forms of Things Unknown". According to the IMDb, it looks like Michael Parks focused on a career as a voice artist, dubbing Japanese cartoons, from the 70's up to this day!
Strangely... right after the Vic Perrin's summation, SOMEONE ELSE's voice is heard reading the standard "We now return control of your television set to you" bit. WHAT th'...???