Winter Radio Show-"Snow Shadow Area"

"Vanishing Point", a Canadian radio show from the early 1980's, is perhaps the highest quality OTR show that I have ever heard. Its worth it to visit the Archive and download them all. Each one I have heard distinguishes itself immediately with its lack of bombast, its unusual plot twists, and the dated electronic incidental music.

This episode, "Snow Shadow Area", in hands down the creepiest show I have ever heard. This one is perfect for a dreary evening, but I warn you, it really will frighten you. This isn't the ordinary crime drama you find so often with OTR. Its thoughtful, quiet, and unsettling. Winter is painted in very sinister, disturbing tones. Its very much like "The Shining" in that winter and snow are almost a character in the unfolding nightmare. Surreal and enveloping, unexpected and unsettling. This is not comical or overblown like "Inner Sanctum". It isn't melodramatic. Its like a fever dream. Download it here.

For Halloween- Radio Noir

I adore film noir. Its the closest to German Expressionism that American cinema ever approached. All those big cars sliding down foggy streets, the high contrast, the shadows, the paranoia....

I have also always been a fan of old radio shows, specifically, the suspense and horror ones like "Inner Sanctum" and "Lights Out". Not all of them are frightening, some are just charming- but occasionally, they do manage to give you a good dose of the creeps.

I have been collecting the best for some time and intend on offering many of them on this blog, especially this month due to the impending holiday. This offering contains five shows that I personally found to hit the mark when it came to the uncanny, and all exemplify the same qualities I love in film noir. Hence, Radio Noir.

My favorite, "The Hitchhiker", is missing from this upload, only because I plan on offering an all-Orson-Welles collection in the near future. But I think these will suffice nicely.

There are a couple of selections from Arch Obler's fantastic series "Lights Out", with its wonderful intro of "it...is...later...than...you...think". Always gives me the shivers. My favorite in this upload is from "The Clock", entitled "Nicky", which concerns a moll trying to spring her man from the electric chair. I have listened to this one many times and it just gets better. The acting, the funereal atmosphere....its freaking fabulous. ALL of them are wonderful and worth your time, and perfect for getting into that Halloween mood I personally covet more than any other holiday vibe. You can download it here.

Enjoy, and comments are always welcome.
Also working on a new study based on my favorite film "Performance". Stay tuned.