In the first half, George Noory welcomed the host of Cinema Insomnia, Mr. Lobo, for a discussion on sci-fi and horror films. Lobo commented on the popularity of his on-demand streaming show, noting 63,000 views have come from George's other home city, St. Louis. He currently produces 10 episodes a year and features comedic and interesting bits about movies such as Plan 9 from Outer Space and other so-called "trashy" films. According to Lobo, a recent study has found people who enjoy such films are highly intelligent. "So we don't have bad taste, we're just really smart," he said.
Lobo reflected on how low budget and abstraction allow an audience to use imagination to fill in missing details or special effects. He talked about writer-director Alfred Hitchcock's dark send of humor and his search for the perfect stabbing sound for the show seen in Psycho (made by plunging a knife into a casaba melon). Lobo shared some of his most beloved horror and sci-fi movies, including Return of the Living Dead, War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, and Forbidden Planet, which he called his favorite. Robby the Robot remains the best robot ever put on screen, he added.
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Open Lines followed in the latter part of the program. Several callers phoned in with their own favorite movies. Don in Bakersfield, California, told George he adored Phantasm, a horror film written and directed by Don Coscarelli. The story involves a mysterious grave robber known as Tall Man and the teenage boy who must face off against him. Gary in Austin, Texas, said he was a fan of Vincent Price in The Abominable Dr. Phibes. Among his favorite scenes is the masquerade ball where a man receives a jeweled frog mask that eventually strangles him as he wears it.
An interesting call came in from Jeff from Culver City, California, who discussed multiple dimensional realms. He suggested other dimensions could be accessed by certain people who have either participated in mind control programs or had spiritual experiences. Jeff likened parallel realities to walking down a mirrored version of a street, where one could also encounter the dead.
News segment guests: Howard Bloom / Jeff Nelken