Best and Worst Special Effects on UM

[WishfulDreamer]

This might be a little unfair since the show started in the late 80s, but I thought it would make for a fun thread anyway.

Best:
*Church explosion ep
*The car wreck in the racially motivated hit and run, where one man ran four teenagers off the road.

Worst:
*Tallman garage fire (I know it was late 80s but )
*Some of the later segments were really lazy and if there was a crash or something they would just have the sound rather than showing anything. I recall this from the drunk driving college student ep.
*In one of the miracle segments a guy is hit by a car and flies through the air for a little too long.

[wiseguy182]

I actually prefer the 80's. Best decade ever. I don't enjoy today's overly flashy, in-your-face graphics.

Agree with you on the two you mentioned in the best category.

I know a lot of people trash the Tallman garage fire, but I don't think it was supposed to look real. It was supposed to be a ghostly image of a fire I think, so if it came off as a little fake, that's probably the reason why. I think that entire segment is spooky though.

And the Tallman segment was a good example of how you didn't need to see things to be terrified. We never actually saw any of the ghosts, but it's still probably the creepiest ghost segment ever. The power of suggestion can produce terrifying results. Hitchcock was a master of that. So was UM. So being that we may not have seen re-creations of actual car crashes, didn't mean the audio of it wasn't terrifying. Listen to the Shangri-La's "Leader of the Pack" for another good example of that.

As for additions to the list, I'll have to add Lee Selwyn's bit. We never see his body hit the ground, but the chase, the collision, the bike wheel's spinning and everything combined produce terrifying results.

[MegtheEgg86]

Best:

- the car crash in the Arnold Archambeau and Ruby Brugier segment

- it's absolutely macabre, but the basement scene in the Doreen Picard and Susan Laferte segment. If I knew no better, I would think that was an actual crime scene with the blood.

Worst:

- the glowing ball of "something from the past" in the St James Hotel

- the head in the kitchen of the General Wayne Inn

[WishfulDreamer]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

I actually prefer the 80's. Best decade ever. I don't enjoy today's overly flashy, in-your-face graphics.

No argument here! I just wish I could have experienced it . I really appreciate how a lot of movies had so much effort put into them whereas now CGI is the main focus. While CGI can be cool, it just seems over-the-top now.

I agree with you about the rest of the Tallman segment. Horrifying and way scarier that they left it all to your imagination! I was thinking back to other car crash scenes UM has done where they don't show anything but the aftermath with noise and I think the earlier cases did these very well. Russell Evans, Lee Selwyn, the poor little boy who was hit by Cachimba, etc. I just remember finding the Frederick Russell reenactment to be less well done.

As for more special effects, I really liked the ones in the rainboy episode. Particularly the horizontal water droplet and Don getting thrown back into a wall.

[2xJ]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

- the head in the kitchen of the General Wayne Inn

Haha one of my favorite episodes and the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread! The disembodied head is just so silly looking. Not only do they show it in a far shot but they feel the need (IIRC) to do a close up of it. When I first saw it as a kid, I was freaked out. I rewatched it a couple of years ago and laughed hysterically at how badly it was done.

[RobinW]

The special effects for the UFO in the Allagash Abductions segment are pretty laughable. But it actually provides a neat contrast to the later portion of the segment where the men are describing their abduction. All UM shows are drawings of the aliens, combined with voice-overs of the hypnosis sessions and some creepy-ass music, and the whole thing succeeds at scaring the crap out of you! Sometimes, less is more.

[WishfulDreamer]

Originally Posted by RobinW

The special effects for the UFO in the Allagash Abductions segment are pretty laughable. But it actually provides a neat contrast to the later portion of the segment where the men are describing their abduction. All UM shows are drawings of the aliens, combined with voice-overs of the hypnosis sessions and some creepy-ass music, and the whole thing succeeds at scaring the crap out of you! Sometimes, less is more.

I agree wholeheartedly. When they don't show things, such as in the Missing Time segment, it's WAY creepier. I really liked how they did the abduction in the missing time segment, just by the way the girls were trying to start the car and one girl was crouching down and you don't see anything. Same goes with the story the man told about an alien being in his bedroom. Gave me the creeps even though they show nothing and it's just him talking about it.
I liked when they did this method, like in the Yeti segment. You don't have to see the Yeti to be a little weirded out by the footprints and music.

Bad special effects:
Ok, I guess the UFOs in the Steven Michalak segment are fine for the time period, but the part where he puts on the giant goggles and peeks inside is hilarious!

The comedy store ghosts in the reenactment seemed kind of lame compared to other ghosts shown on the show.

Even though he scares me when he runs to the window, Mothman looked pretty ridiculous. I thought it was way better looking when they just implied he was over the car or showed the reflection of him in the daytime over a windshield.
Good special effects:

The chair in the comedy segment behind Robert Stack

It's been forever since I've seen it, but I remember some of the recreations in the walk-in segment being good, particularly the part where the woman is staring at herself and there's two of them until they pop back together. I'd have to watch again though.

The Heidi Wyrick segment, with the ghosts appearing and the dad getting scratched

I thought some of the UFO segments did a fantastic job showing a giant floating object, particularly the Hudson River valley segment.

Maybe not so special, but when the kid at the bar in the St. James Hotel turns around and his face is blue it still startles me!

[dynoguy88]

Champ, the sea monster in Lake Champlane looked OK for 1991. Seeing it as a kid, I was dumbfounded by how real it looked. Through an adult's eyes, it's less scary but I think it still works somewhat since the Sandra Mansy sighting looks at it from a distance.



Most of the ghosts weren't too bad either. The little boy waking up in the middle of the night to see the ghost of John Harden staring at him from the foot of his bed, now THAT was scary as a kid. And it still looks scary now.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by WishfulDreamer

Ok, I guess the UFOs in the Steven Michalak segment are fine for the time period, but the part where he puts on the giant goggles and peeks inside is hilarious!

I LOVE Steven Michalak. I have to rewind his rendition of the noise the UFO made every time I watch the segment. Gigglidygigglidygigglidy!

I also love the delivery of the reenactment lines: "Hey, Yankee boys! I see you are in trouble!" Priceless.

Maybe not so special, but when the kid at the bar in the St. James Hotel turns around and his face is blue it still startles me!

I have to look away from that one still, haha.

I think the hotel employee's description was much worse, though. If it was a face so hideous you quit work on the spot, you know it had to be bad.

[WishfulDreamer]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

I LOVE Steven Michalak. I have to rewind his rendition of the noise the UFO made every time I watch the segment. Gigglidygigglidygigglidy!

I also love the delivery of the reenactment lines: "Hey, Yankee boys! I see you are in trouble!" Priceless.

YES! There is so much hilarity in the segment, except for him being burned. These include:

1) Him shouting at the UFO in multiple languages.
2) The goggles/inside of the craft
3) The noise you mentioned
4) Him talking about how he said, ''What the hell is that?'' when he saw the UFO
5) The inside of the craft and how it shuts as though the occupants are mad that he looked inside
6) The sound and music when he touches the UFO. I think I find the actor really hysterical for some reason.
7) YANKEE BOYS
8) The actor who plays him shaking his head when he first hears noises or something. Just really over the top.


I actually used to watch this with a friend whenever she would sleep over and we would rewind the part where the UFOs first show up repeatedly! I actually visited for Christmas and we even watched again for old times sake. I think I know what I'm watching when I get home from work now!

[SheRaaa]

I love how the Tallman garage fire is just a snippet of hilarity in an otherwise really scary segment. Definitely agree that the fact that you DON'T see the ghosts makes them much more frightening.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by WishfulDreamer

YES! There is so much hilarity in the segment, except for him being burned. These include:

1) Him shouting at the UFO in multiple languages.
2) The goggles/inside of the craft
3) The noise you mentioned
4) Him talking about how he said, ''What the hell is that?'' when he saw the UFO
5) The inside of the craft and how it shuts as though the occupants are mad that he looked inside
6) The sound and music when he touches the UFO. I think I find the actor really hysterical for some reason.
7) YANKEE BOYS
8) The actor who plays him shaking his head when he first hears noises or something. Just really over the top.


I actually used to watch this with a friend whenever she would sleep over and we would rewind the part where the UFOs first show up repeatedly! I actually visited for Christmas and we even watched again for old times sake. I think I know what I'm watching when I get home from work now!

That's awesome.

[WishfulDreamer]

Just thought of a good one: Jay Durham. They did a really gritty reenactment of the attack and him being pinned to the grill.