NOW ON FAWESOME! I even wonder what I have been smoking as I give my highest recommendation to the unexpectedly astounding indie computer animation gem Horror Tonight!. The CGI-rendered trip was entirely created by the crazy talented filmmaker Paul-Anthony Anselmo.
It’s showtime again for Jimmy “Bones” Carson (Anselmo), who is ready to do his opening monologue for his late-night talk show. Jimmy is a living skeleton, and his sidekick, Jack-O (Anselmo), is a living Halloween pumpkin, as the movie takes place in a spooky monster land reality. For tonight’s show, Jimmy has a very important person as his only audience member: Satan (Anselmo). During the show, Satan keeps blowing people up, but Jimmy is a pro and keeps on trucking.
“For tonight’s show, Jimmy has a very important person as his only audience member: Satan.”
No matter what, Jimmy keeps spinning the big wheel to see what short cartoon is going to be shown next. One involves a madman with multiple personalities pulling off an escape from the asylum. Another deals with the first zombie on the moon. There is even a cartoon starring a flying eyeball with a beanie who loves old horror movies. But will it be enough to amuse the Prince of Darkness and keep Jimmy not only on the air but also continue to breathe it?
I have reviewed a few “one-man show” animated features, where a single filmmaker wears all the hats by doing all the voices and the visuals. While I love the complete creative control of the sole creator factor, many of them end up collapsing somewhere along the line due to the rigors of filling out a full-length movie. So my expectations for Horror Tonight! were below subterranean, as I abandoned all hope upon entering. That is why I am still stunned, as Horror Tonight! is easily the best single creator animated feature I have ever seen.
That is going to be greeted with skepticism, as the first blush will deal with the two biggest sticking points: the primitive CGI animation employed, and that it isn’t very witty. The humor is at the level of a Sid & Marty Krofft Saturday Morning Show, in that it is passable and resembles funny, but is more corny than anything else. But here it seems appropriate, as it helps maintain the feel of a classic TV Halloween special, which seems to be Anselmo’s goal here.
"…rises out of nowhere from the sheer propulsion of the atomic rocket talent the filmmaker possesses."
