Cult-TV Blogging: Circle of Fear: "Graveyard Shift" (February 16, 1973)

The legendary show-man and producer of Circle of Fear (1973), William Castle (1914-1977) appears in an extended cameo in “Graveyard Shift,” this week’s episode of the disco-decade horror anthology.

As you may remember if you are a horror fan, Mr. Castle was the legendary fellow responsible for theatrical gimmicks as “Emergo” and “Percepto” as well as well-regarded exploitation flicks such as Thirteen Ghosts (1960) and Strait Jacket (1964).  Castle also produced Rosemary’s Baby in 1968.

In “Graveyard Shift” Castle appears as the owner of a horror studio that has fallen on hard times.  In fact, the studio is due to be demolished soon, and Castle’s character, Fillmore, appears there late one night to take a last look around the place.  He doesn’t realize it, but the monsters that were once the bread-and-butter of the studio are still alive after a fashion, and still haunting the studio grounds. 

These monstrous characters are the Wolfman, the Apeman, The Claw, and most terrifying of all, Dr. Death.  

Dr. Death was never particularly popular with audiences, Fillmore tells us because he was just too frightening…

As unlucky security guard Fred Colby (John Astin) learns during his last nights working at Fillmore Studios, these ghoulish creations -- including Dr. Death -- hope to live again in the body of his unborn child.  

The monsters attempt to make Colby’s wife, Linda (Patty Duke Astin) choose which one of them should have the honor of possessing her child, but she resists. 

Meanwhile, Colby -- who once starred in Fillmore’s horror films -- must confront his fears and nightmares, and face the cinematic ghouls come to life.  Though his wife begs him not to fight the monsters, he knows that his son’s very soul is on the line…

Although saddled with the same lethargic pace as most episodes of Ghost Story/Circle of Fear, “Graveyard Shift” is a pretty strong episode in the canon because of the chilling and ominous mood it fosters.  The villains want the same thing that so many of the series villains’ desire -- to possess the living – and yet their precise nature makes them special this time around.  

Specifically, the movie monsters featured in the episode recall an earlier, simpler era in Hollywood history, and “Graveyard Shift” boasts some affection for them and the times from which they hailed.  

Castle has that great cameo half-way through in which he waxes nostalgic for the good old days of horror, and it’s a special moment in the episode. Under the surface, there seems to be an awareness here that the genre was moving away from the “old” boogeyman (like vampires, ghosts and werewolves) and into the more realistic terrain of the 1970s, where slashers, serial killers, and even attacking animals would soon have their day.  It was a shift from artificiality and theatricality, to naturalism.

In a very real way, “Graveyard Shift” also forecasts the 1990s horror trend of post-modern commentary on horror productions, with imagined literary/cinematic monsters coming to life in the flesh.  

This is the same approach later adopted by great films such as In The Mouth of Madness or Wes Craven’s New Nightmare.  Here, the trick to destroying the “real” monsters is to burn the actual films featuring them, so that their creepy souls can’t come to life again. 

The episode generates a nice, creepy atmosphere, in part from the nighttime setting, and in part from the sense of authenticity involving the primary setting.  It really seems like Colby is patrolling the grounds of an old, abandoned studio, and "Graveyard Shift" possesses the anticipatory feeling of a dark past ready to burst upon the present

“Graveyard Shift” also succeeds nicely because of lead actor John Astin, who gives a committed and appealing performance as Colby.  

We know and love Astin from his cult-tv roles on The Addams Family, Batman and other series, and those associations work in the episode's favor.  We like Colby.  There’s something gentle and sweet and retiring about him, and he’s finally roused to action only when he knows his family is on the line.

I must confess, I suspected the episode was going to feature a final jolt involving the Colby baby, but given the sensitive nature of Astin’s performance here, I’m grateful for the happy ending.

Next Week: “Spare Parts.”