October, Shocktober- It’s a Rocky Start with the “Monolith Monsters”- Tonight!

We start off our Halloween month of movies tonight on MeTV with a favorite that has us caught between a rock and a stone face- as  some unearthly meteor fragments petrify people and become towers of destructive terror- beware the "Monolith Monsters"!

An uninvited visitor arrives on earth- a wayward  meteor that  makes a crash-landing in  the arid desert, smashing itself into thousands of shards. When a geologist  stops on a desert road to add water to his radiator, he spots an unusual fragment of stone that he can't identify-and decides to take the mystery rock back to his office for further investigation.  He gets back to his office, and goes to sleep there-only to be awakened in the night by a major storm! Something odd is happening to that unidentified rock sample he has brought back to the office- and he goes to get a closer look...

The next day, the office gets a visit from the head of the federal geology office , Dave- and he is met by a horrible sight- the office looks like it is in the middle of demolition, with hundreds of strange rocks all over the place-and, even worse- he finds his pal the geologist seemingly turned to stone! He's totally at a loss to figure out what has happened- and why a human being transformed into some sort of solid statue!

The office event is only the beginning-as locals discover more destruction, more odd stones- and more victims of strange petrification- and the shocking fact that some people who have had contact with the stones are actually slowly TURNING to stone! It falls to  Dave and  his girlfriend Cathy to enlist his old college professor in solving the riddle of what is happening- and how to stop it! Time is running out, as the meteor rocks multiply, and begin growing - becoming towering stone pillars that grow, and then collapse,  with their massive weight crushing anything in the vicinity-only to have the smashed rubble start growing again, forming more towers that are slowly moving toward the populated areas. Will the monoliths continue to advance, wiping towns and their inhabitants out with pulverizing force?!

Most 1950s science fiction films seem to use atomic radiation as the source of a monstrous menace- but this movie, made in 1957, goes down a slightly different path , with the unique idea of inanimate objects becoming the threat.We’ll fill you in on the cast, which includes some recognizable actors- and rock your world with the usual Sven shtick!

"Monolith Monsters" infests your TV set tonight at 10 pm eastern/pacific, 9 central, or check your local listings (or at www.metv.com) for specific time and channel where you live. Chicago gets  a second tour  of Peter Cushing's "Island of Terror" at 11 am on our sister station, WCIU, the U .

If you read this early enough, and are nearby, I'll be at the Geek'd Con in Rockford today from 1-3 pm! You can also hear me with my pal Nick Digilio on WGN radio (720 AM) on Wednesday night/Thursday morning just after 2 am. then, next weekend, you can join us to do the "Svengoolie Stomp" to benefit Make a Wish at the Chicago Ghost Conference at the Willowbrook Ballroom in Willow Springs- and then , see me at the Pumpkin Patch Fest in Summit, IL! For more information on these events, click on the "appearances" tab here on our site! More Halloween season appearances are scheduled, so check back there often!

Tonight, though, you can bet your last money it's a stone gas, honey- when you find out what ELO meant when they sang about how you could "Turn to Stone"- literally!