Starring Gunther Dedmund Original language(s) English Number of seasons 17 (Seasons, not by year) Language English | Country of origin United States First episode date 13 June 2006 Number of episodes 230 Genres Horror host, Horror, Cult | |
Created by Demolition Kitchen Video Theme music composer Audio Junkfood Recordings Opening theme "The Basement Sublet of Horror" Similar Monster Madhouse Live, Cinema Insomnia, Shock Theater, Creature Features, Chiller Theatre | ||
The Basement Sublet of Horror is a self-produced Public-access television cable TV show by Joel Sanderson. The show uses a tongue-in-cheek approach to screen altered feature films intercut with cartoons, educational and instructional videos in such a way to create a new condensed feature that collages visual puns and humorous subplots. The host of the show is the fictional Gunther Dedmund, played by Joel Sanderson.
Contents
Background
The Basement Sublet of Horror is based on a long tradition of late-night television horror movie hosts that began in the 1950s with Vampira. Wichita, Kansas had its own horror host show, called The Host and Rodney, from the late 1950s through the 1970s starring Tom Lehey. It seems to have been the very first Horror Host show in the country, as it did not carry the "Shock Theater" package common to shows of the time, and was created from scratch by the station.
The Basement Sublet of Horror follows a long history of horror hosts that play horror films on television that have had a nationwide cult following for decades. Several generations of fans have grown up watching late-night Horror Host programs, at once becoming erstwhile film students and cinema aficionados, and also networking with other fans around the country. With the development of the Internet and cable television, horror host shows have seen a revival likened to the drive-in resurgence of indoor theaters that present exploitation and novelty films such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
These Horror Hosts include the likes of Ghoulardi, Elvira, and Joe Bob Briggs, who was the host of "Drive-In Theater" on Showtime, and "MonsterVision" on TNT.
Development
The Basement Sublet of Horror first started screening in June 2006. Prior to that date, Joel Sanderson had been involved in producing live events in the Kansas area for over twenty years. His first film production was the Escape’ Drive-in in 1989, which featured a combination of bad movies and live music. The show moved indoors in 1996 and became the M.T. Pockets Budget Film Festival with a three-year run at the Free state Brewery in Lawrence, Kansas, followed by a six-year run at the Wichita Center for the Arts.
Characters
The host of The Basement Sublet of Horror is Gunther Dedmund, a fictional character played by Joel Sanderson. Richard Wayne, another character in the show, is also played by Joel Sanderson. Several other characters have appeared in the six seasons of the show that have been broadcast so far, including several of Gunther's landlords, his boss Roger Slacks, his neighbor, a rival TV host Rusty Trees, a country western singer named Tex LeBeauf, Jake of "Jake's Mind Repair", an emergency guest host, a grave digger named Mr. Rule, an Italian movie zombie, a UFO Expert, a giant red rabbit named Rapjack Rabbit, Gunther's Aunt Ertha, Gunther's Aunt Bertha, and a ghost named Lester Jenkins.
Gunther Dedmund also likes to bring in special guest hosts that have included Ol’ Flick a classic Wichita, KS. TV host (Jim Erickson), Butch Cleaver host of "Meet Cleaver Theatre" from Cincinnati, and author Scott Phillips.
Publications
In 2012 The Basement Sublet of Horror stepped into the world of publishing with the creation of comic books and a magazine. Both publications are related to the on-air program along with carrying the name Basement Sublet of Horror. A number of established writers and artists have contributed to the publications including Jon Niccum, Scott Philips, Rik 'Mr. Verlin' Livingston, Greg Smallwood, and Bill Goffrier. The magazine has also featured guest appearances by television hosts James ' Ol' Flick' Erickson, Butch R. Cleaver and Crematia Mortem. Later issues featured interviews with artist Bradley Beard, Kansas film maker Lance Hayes, and Lawrence based science fiction author James Gunn. The magazine was published for six issues concluding its publication cycle in 2017 with a tribute issue to director Lance Hayes and two special editions featuring Chamberlain's Guide to Boris Karloff along with The Complete BSOH Collector Card series. Over the course of the magazines run many guest writers contributed to the magazine including Richard Chamberlain, Ben Urish, Dave Toplikar, and Joel Sanderson.