Tree's a Crowd- When "From Hell It Came"- Tonight!

We know Mother’s Day is often a reason to send a plant- but tonight on MeTV, there’s a plant coming that no member of the family would be delighted to see arriving! Voyage with us to a South Sea island- where the indigenous residents are at odds with each other, and with the Americans sent to give them medical help- and all end up battling a legendary monster of their own making- ultimately proving that “From Hell It Came”!

In this 1957 herbivorous horror film, we see that the young prince of an island tribe, Kimo, is being put to death by the scheming leaders of his own people. His crime? Seeking medical help for his father, the Chief, from the visiting American scientists- after which, the elder died. His dad’s successor and his witch doctor co-hort blame the prince for this and other illnesses of their people ( though the Chief’s death is something they had a hand in)- and condemn him to die by a knife through the heart! Even his wife Korey, who has eyes for the new chief, betrays her husband. Before his sentence is carried out, Kimo vows to return from the grave for vengeance! The deed is done- and Kimo’s body is buried in the local burial ground.

Meanwhile, a flighty woman who runs the local trading post, has  witnessed the killing, which is taboo ( witnessing, not killing, apparently)- and  is almost captured by a tribal member- but is saved by the scientists. Drs. Arnold and Clark discuss all this unrest- they know the natives think the illnesses are due to “death dust” ( radiation) from a nuclear test- but the scientists know better. The radiation level is minimal, and the deaths are due to the plague, which they are fighting – though many of the superstitious natives thwart them. When they send for more help- it comes in the shapely form of Dr. Terry Mason ( yeah, I know…) – an expert trying some experimental drugs to fight illness, and for whom Bill Arnold carries a torch, which she squelches by wanting a career instead of marriage!

At this same time, the new chief and witch doctor are planning ways to kill the doctors who are only there to help. We see that Kimo’s widow, Korey, is being rejected by the chief, in favor of another woman, Naomi! All that betrayal for nothing!

Before long, it appears that Kimo’s vow is coming true- on the spot where he was buried- a weird tree stump begins to rise from the ground! When one of the natives sees the doctor’s sketch of it- he is frightened- it is the exact image of a horrible island  legend- a tree monster known as the Tobanga! The fabled creature of revenge walks the earth and kills its enemies! This leads our medical team to further investigate – and they find the stump has grown considerably, seems to almost have a heart beat, (as well as a skull-handled knife imbedded in its bark) and – hmmm- does it look like it has a scary face? They dig up the now-larger stump, and take it to their lab- where Terry, in an attempt to keep that so-called heartbeat going, uses one of her formulas on it.

The next morning- the Tobanga is gone- and it appears that this walking tree-like creature will carry out Kimo’s vengeance! Both the natives and the doctors must face the wrath of this evil-that appears to be untrappable and unstoppable!

Perhaps a walking tree is an unusual choice for a monster, but the movie is a lot of fun, and definitely has some scary moments! ( And, yes, a famous review of this film used the now immortal line “And to hell it can go!” I don’t think it deserves that!) We’ll talk about the cast, as usual, present a new song, get another visit from a certain tuna who loves toons, have a commercial for a new cup of brew, and – you asked for it- play “Too Drawn Out”!

“From Hell It Came” comes a-walking onto your screen tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central time. We have again been showing up on Twitter when viewers live-Tweet during the show- and you are invited to do the same, using the hashtag #svengoolie ( we see plenty of posts while we’re on where people forget to include that!) This morning on our local main station, CW26, our Chicago area audience can get one more “Atta boy, Luther” in when we encore “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” at 11 am.

As many of you may have read, I have again been honored by the Rondo Awards- both with the award for “favorite horror host of the year” in a field with more hosts than ever this time out, including our friends Joe Bob Briggs and the iconic Elvira- and, also received the great honor of being inducted into the “Monster Kid Hall of Fame”- given for achievement in keeping classic horror alive. Both mean a great deal to me, and I thank all of you who were kind enough to vote for me. David Colton, who runs the Rondos, mentioned that many of our fans actually supplement their votes with stating their feelings about myself and the show, and how much it means to them. I am very grateful for all this- and certainly know that the reason for my success is all of you fans. Thank you once again!

Keep watching our store for that new Sven item- which should be available in time for Father’s Day giving ( sorry, moms!) Speaking of which- happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in our audience!

Come see a tree that’s walking free tonight on Me !