Monsters Crash the Pajama Party Spook Show Spectacular extras (Something Weird, 2001). [Category: Outtakes & Obscurities]

When I first saw the spook show trailers on the Hey Folks! It's Intermission Time tapes, I said to myself, "Somebody should write a book about the history of those spook shows. I'd buy it!" Well, leave it up to Something Weird to go one better than that. This DVD, in addition to containing Monsters Crash the Pajama Party and all the other items I've reviewed seperately, also contains a ton of extras, including a gallery of spook show ads and stills with a soundtrack containing spook show radio spots, illustrated essays on how to do various spook show effects, lots of silly/strange movie clips, a short film of a spook house ride, a booklet containing memories of a spook show promoter, and even the full-length feature Tormented. It's all controlled with spooky animated menus designed to give you lots of surprises (Hint: If those menus frustrate you, or you just want to make sure you find everything, try using the numbers on your DVD remote). Altogether, it makes possibly the best ephemera DVD ever made, and certainly one of the best uses of the technology to cover a particular topic. Until the definitive history of spook shows comes out, this DVD is the resource on the subject.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****+. Overall Rating: *****.