Invasion of the Life Snatchers
running time: 45 minutes
IotLS was produced during a rather turmoil-filled time and to me this was definitely the darkest material of the Halloween bunch. A local spin on Invasion of the Body Snatchers, it was to some a knock on grunge culture of the 90's.
At this point in time, the 2 lead actors, Bill Flaherty and Josh Russo, who had been great influences on me with the creative programs they had produced years before - the first generation of local producers - had been essentially kicked out of the station due to the politics that were going on there at the time (the dark days as they came to be known as). I had been kicking around the idea to do another Halloween show and having both Bill & Josh, both known primarily for comedic roles, being pitted against each other was an exciting thought. But because of the ongoing politics, it was difficult to maintain a calm balance during the production. There was always a sense of tension whenever I walked into the station to edit or to take out equipment. This tension actually bled into the final product - there's always this anger-under-the-surface vibe going on throughout the show.
Bill later reestablished ties with the station and is still currently active there. Josh had begun work on a black comedy featuring himself in the lead role. Several scenes had been shot but the final product unfortunately never emerged. Ironically and sadly though, Bill & Josh's lifelong friendship ended the following year. To me and for the town, this was like hearing that Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy had parted ways.
It's interesting to note that practically 5 years after the show's premiere,a "concerned citizen" in the town of which it aired called the station and complained that, with all the youth-violence of today, how could something such as this be put on public access. Unfortunately, this individual must have thought that the show was new - reflecting the nation's problem with youth outbursts and bla bla bla... What the person failed to notice was the (c)1995 printed on the end credits. It's always funny how things get misinterpreted...
Classic minor roles from Carol DeMio and Paul Reardon and an excellent stuntfall by Mike Robinson.