Allen Coulter
Cast
Nile Lanning - Jennifer
Eric Jason - Buddy Warren
Bonnie Gallup - Beth Warren
For my 147th review, I have to narrow things down to a specific episode of a TV series. Specifically, it's a horror anthology TV series.
I'm including an episode of the television show "Tales from the Darkside" really for nostalgic sake.
The episode "Hush" aired in July 1988 during the final season of "Tales from the Darkside."
I've written about this series before in my review of "Tales from the Darkside: The Movie" back in February.
The show, created by horror legend George Romero, ran for four seasons between 1983 and 1988, with 94 episodes. Four episodes went unaired.
I never watched this series growing up. And as of now, I've only seen just a handful of these episodes. However, sometime back in '88, I happened to catch a particular episode without realizing what program I was watching. Whatever I saw was about an evil vacuum cleaner that went around a house killing anything and anyone that made noise.
I've written about this series before in my review of "Tales from the Darkside: The Movie" back in February.
The show, created by horror legend George Romero, ran for four seasons between 1983 and 1988, with 94 episodes. Four episodes went unaired.
I never watched this series growing up. And as of now, I've only seen just a handful of these episodes. However, sometime back in '88, I happened to catch a particular episode without realizing what program I was watching. Whatever I saw was about an evil vacuum cleaner that went around a house killing anything and anyone that made noise.
I caught the last 12 or so minutes this segment, and what I saw has stuck with me these last 35 years.
I never forgot it. I guess there's something about deadly cleaning appliances that have a staying power. Over all these years since, I had it in my head that I had seen a movie but didn't know the title. Every once in a while, I turned to the vast nether regions of the internet to find that "movie" about a possessed vacuum cleaner. It turns out I was wrong. No wonder I never could find any results. For a short while, I thought it might have been Wes Craven's 1986 Sci-Fi horror flick "Deadly Friend." Not even close.
Just a few days ago during a moment in which I was at the height of revelry, when nothing horror related was crossing my mind, did my thoughts suddenly turn to this mysterious flick I had seen on television so long ago.
So, I went to Google once again and searched for "horror movie vacuum cleaner kills people." And the result came back with "Hush." I don't recall ever hitting that result before.
I found the episode free online and watched it for the second time in my life, and in its entirety this time. It was like a little victory was achieved. A small gem in the comprehensive ocean of horror content was rediscovered...by me, no less.
So, I went to Google once again and searched for "horror movie vacuum cleaner kills people." And the result came back with "Hush." I don't recall ever hitting that result before.
I found the episode free online and watched it for the second time in my life, and in its entirety this time. It was like a little victory was achieved. A small gem in the comprehensive ocean of horror content was rediscovered...by me, no less.
The story centers on Jennifer (Nile Lanning) who is hired to babysit a young boy, Buddy (Eric Jason), who's a prodigy and inventor.
Being the bright kid that he is, Buddy invents various gadgets including his latest invention, a "noise eater." This latest invention is a vacuum cleaner repurposed to locate noise and extinguish it by sucking the life out of whatever is making noise. What the hell is wrong with you, Buddy?
And he gave it sharp glistening teeth for some reason?
Another of his inventions accidentally knocks the noise eater controller onto the floor, causing the noise eater to turn on. As the controller makes loud beeping noises, the noise eater sucks the life out of its own controller making the machine unstoppable.
Now, Buddy and Jennifer have to stop his stupid invention before it quiets everything, including them.
The episode is based on a science fiction short story of the same title by Zenna Henderson. I didn't know that until looking more into this segment.
Otherwise, the idea of a noise killing vacuum is imaginative to say the least. Once seen, it can't be unseen.
And that's all this 20-minute segment offers. Like most other TV horror programs, it's a quick horror fix.
I haven't read Henderson's short story but my hats off to her for creating this premise and going with it to the end. A deadly vacuum cleaner is what the horror genre needs!
Funny that I seemed to recall a scene where this vacuum kills a housecat. That doesn't happen, though. Instead, it sucks the life out of a noisy parakeet.
"Tales from the Darkside" is definitely a product of its time. Some stories are memorable, such as this one. Others are loaded with cheese and watered-down horror. It was and still is a way to get a quick scare late in the evening. It's typical prime-time popcorn horror content.
I only mention this particular episode because I was thrilled to find it.
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