Scarecrow's Blog From the Darkside

 I meant for this to be on Letterboxd, but I dunno: I will just leave it here: I did not anticipate just how brutal this film is in terms of just how people act to each other in it. They are wearing disguises, really, to hide who they are and where they are in life, the facade of cool or status, everything that is a microcosm of where we still are today: money, money, money. Frank, Jr, the “patron saint” of Tony’s family decides to leave the priesthood because, unlike others in the film, he doesn’t want to wear the mask, put on the uniform (as he puts it), and pretend to be something or someone he is not. And good for him. Because the parents might thrust on Frank, Jr, what they feel he should represent to make themselves feel, I dunno, important or spiritually uplifted (their dinner table nights together sure seem to indicate otherwise), but he makes a decision for himself while Tony is revived with renewed energy because he’s no longer the black sheep of the family, that for once...

A family sees the ugliness reflected outward in The Masks  I am finishing up marathon views, which are in red, and I have to admit: this year was a bummer. A ton of missed episodes due to so much 4th season episodes, so much real estate taken thanks to the Christmas marathon which had quite a bit of episodes I sadly missed out on. But I'll use both the Christmas and New Year's lists for fun the first part of the year and once again retire them.  All the main primetime episodes of renown popped up tonight, but I hate missing out on The Hitch-Hiker and others. I have my list so maybe I might look at what to pair together later on. Just the same, I've ran out of time, so here is what I was able to see and sadly missed out on: New Year’s Eve "Come Wander with Me" - 5:00 a.m. "The Mirror" - 5:30 a.m.. "Death's Head Revisited" - 6:00 a.m. "The Brain Center at Whipple's" - 6:30 a.m. "The Bewitchin' Pool" - 7:00 a.m. ...

Rod Serling introduces The Mirror  I really wish many of these 4th season episodes had been chosen for the Christmas marathon instead of swallowing up so much time on New Year's Eve and Day. But I noticed on Reddit, there are Zoners who defend the season because some of the stories hit hard (neurodivergent Robert Duvall in The Miniature expected to somehow "become part of the team" or "fit in", instead opting for a life as a doll living with the woman of his dreams; broken Dennis Hopper, in He's Alive , having grown up with an abusive father and mentally ill mother who couldn't protect him, ultimately turning on the Jewish survivor of the Holocaust who lent him a place to stay and heart that cared until he became a pawn of hate; child-like Pat Hingle, in The Incredible World of Horace Ford , wanting to return to his childhood but ultimately realizing he had blacked out the bullying he experienced, equipped to "grow up" thanks to a very patient...