It’s pretty surprising that Scooby Doo and Courage the Cowardly Dog have never met in the animated medium before. Courage is something of a neo-Scooby Doo for the contemporary Hanna Barbera slate of animated series, and has its devotees. It’s a much more bizarre, spookier, and edgier series that’s even been embraced by the horror community. While it doesn’t make too much sense for them to meet, it also does make a ton of sense which adds to the oddity that’s “Straight Outta Nowhere.”
Tag Archives: Horror
The Five Worst (and Four Best) Scooby-Doo Knock Offs
I guess because it’s written in blood in a contract with some demonic force that every single year, Scooby Doo has to have a new movie released on or around the Halloween season. Truth be told, the movies sell well and Scooby Do around Halloween just makes sense. The long running series from Hanna Barbera has been one of the most influential franchises of all time, even bringing with is a wave of goofy, silly, god awful copy cats. They tried everything to duplicate the success of Scooby from talking mopeds, goofy ghosts, and even miniature detectives.
These are five of the worst Scooby Doo Knock Offs, and Four of the Best.
Bingo Hell (2021)
Oak Springs is seeing changes a lot of neighborhoods have been going through, new coffee shop, new art, new businesses, it’s being gentrified. To Lupita, this is unacceptable as it affects her friends and loved one. After a night of Bingo, it becomes clear that something more is afoot, but she seems to be the only one to see it for now. When a newcomer takes over the bingo hall, she’s ready to fight.
Under Wraps (2021)
I guess the mission statement for Disney lately is to modernize a lot of their classics, no matter how big or small by—copying them to the tee. “Under Wraps” is the much anticipated remake of the original 1997 TV movie that doesn’t realty offer a new angle toward the movie. Even though it’s a perfectly good Halloween treat and solid DCOM, it misses out on emphasizing the more emotional themes the original didn’t.
Under Wraps (1997)
I don’t know why but “Under Wraps” is one of those DCOM’s that slipped right by me as a kid. I loved the DCOM’s when I was a kid and I still watch them to this day if they interest me. Despite having seen most of them, “Under Wraps” never crossed paths with me. That’s a shame since Greg Beeman’s film is pretty much peak Disney Channel TV movie entertainment. There are cameos from Disney channel stars, a reliable child cast, and a lovable monster. There’s also the Halloween back drop that completes the full circle turning the movie in to a mini-Halloween classic.
30 Years Later, I’m Still a Big Fan of “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare”
You could probably make a great argument that the only reason why I love “Freddy’s Dead” is because of the memories attached to it. Back in 1991, Freddy Krueger was still a household name, and him dying on film was a big deal. My dad took my brother and I to see “Freddy’s Dead” when it premiered and it was the first (probably only) 3D movie going experience I’d ever had. We had a great time, and then afterward we went to have pizza and we were allowed to blow quarters on a Simpson arcade in the pizzeria. We then went home to watch “Eerie, Indiana.”
V/H/S/94 (2021)
“V/H/S/94” comes at just the right time in just the right climate. Right now the found footage sub-genre is experiencing a small resurgence, while Analog Horror/ARG’s is all the rage on Youtube right now (e.g. “Local 58”). Horror fans love being immersed in to alternate realities and “V/H/S/94” offers up a bevy of original, creepy, bizarre, and damn scary tales that re-introduces us to a horrifying world where the darkest demons can only be found on VHS. It keeps true to its roots though, bringing back Simon Barrett and Timo Tjahjanto for another great go around.