By Lynn Venhaus

Here’s some things going on now, this week and news in pop culture land.

Movie: Family-friendly Halloween fare?

Here you go. “The Curse of Bridge Hallow” on Netflix.

Starring Marlon Wayans, Kelly Rowland and Priah Ferguson. Supporting roles feature reliable John Michael Higgins as the school principal and Rob Riggle as the neighbor/police officer.

OK, this is average at best but when you need something to pass the time with the kids – particularly something holiday-themed, you can do worse than this amiable comedy-adventure featuring some decent thrills, good production design and well-done visual effects. It’s rated TV-14 and is 1 hour, 29 minutes.

The Plot: A teenage girl accidentally releases an ancient and mischievous spirit on Halloween. It causes decorations to come alive and wreak havoc, so she must team up with the last person she’d want to, to save their town – her father.

Fun Fact: I had the pleasure to interview Marlon Wayans when he was promoting “A Haunted House 2” in 2014, and he was one of the most delightful experiences with a ‘celeb’ that I have had during my writing career. The Belleville News-Democrat article is no longer accessible online.

X cast from A24.

Scary Movie: X

Now available on Showtime or for rental on multiple platforms, Ti West’s “X” is one of the best new horror movies of 2022, according to PopLifeSTL.com reviewer Alex McPherson and my colleague Max Foizey of “Max on Movies” on KTRS Radio.

The film is about the production of an amateur porn movie on a remote farm, where the members of the cast and crew meet a grisly fate. It’s set in 1979 and recalls the slasher films from that era.

Here is Alex’s review:

https://www.poplifestl.com/x-is-soulful-slasher-flick/

Shopping: Sold Out!

Mattel reports that the Tina Turner Barbie Doll that was released Thursday, is now sold out.

“Barbie celebrates the unprecedented music career and journey of Tina Turner. She is a Grammy-winning, chart-topping singer, and one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. This doll commemorates her smash hit “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” and the design is inspired by the iconic outfit Tina wore in the music video.”

Our Tina Turner doll wears a black mini dress paired with a denim jacket, sheer black tights, and black heels. Her signature hairstyle, drop earrings, and a microphone accessory complete her look.

She is the fifth artist to be inducted into the Barbie Signature Music Series, with this sixth overall doll in the collection. Designer is Bill Greening.

The doll normally retails for $55, but indirect websites are selling it for much more.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/15/entertainment/tina-turner-barbie-mattel-trnd

TV: Second Chances on “Jeopardy!”

Starting today and for the next two weeks, 18 contestants return to the long-running game show in a “Second Chance” Tournament. Three semi-final games will lead to a two-day final each week. Both winners of the mini-tournaments will earn a spot in the Tournament of Champions that starts Oct. 31.

Food: Soccer & STL Made

Pork steaks, kebab wraps, burgers, hot dogs and more – including vegan and vegetarian options! City SC today announced five of the 25 restaurants that will serve signature food items at the soccer stadium: Balkan Treat Box in Webster Groves; Beast Craft BBQ Co. of Belleville (also operates Beast Butcher & Block in the Grove), Steve’s Hot Dogs, Brasserie by Niche and Pastaria Deli & Wine, two restaurants from Gerard Craft’s Niche Food Group.

Craft is the Chief Flavor Officer for City. The other restaurants to make up “City Flavor” will be announced later. Centene Stadium has 22,500 seats and will be the home of the Major League Soccer expansion franchise St Louis City SC, which starts play in 2023.

For more info, here is St Louis Magazine article: https://www.stlmag.com/dining/st-louis-city-sc-local-food-concessions-centene-stadium/

There are episodes 1 & 2 about the City Flavor efforts.

Today in St. Louis History:

The syndicated daytime tabloid talk show “The Sally Jessy Raphael Show,” with radio host Sally Jessy Raphael, debuts on KSDK on Oct. 17, 1983.

It would be filmed in St. Louis until summer of 1987, when it moved to New Haven, Conn., and later Manhattan, where it lasted until 2022.

Three years before Oprah, the show, later just called “Sally,” was one of the first audience-participation, issue-driven talk shows hosted by a female.

Playlist: Supergroup

The Traveling Wilburys release debut album “Volume 1”– featuring the single “Handle with Care”; and the band members include Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Tom Petty.

Word: Arthur Miller, who was born on this date in 1915

“We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!”

John Proctor in “The Crucible”

Looking ahead:

On TUESDAY: Baseball Playoffs!

MLB postponed the fifth game of the ALDS because of rain Monday in the Bronx. The Cleveland Guardians will now face the New York Yankees on Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 3 p.m. CST on TBS.

This is the last piece of the puzzle, as the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros have moved on to the league championship series.


‘Tis the Season:

Not-so-scary Halloween celebration “Boo at the Zoo” tickets on sale

Fun for the whole family, including fabulous decorations throughout the St. Louis Zoo –  Skeleton Soiree, Monster Mash, Pirate Pointe, Haunted Harvest, Coachman’s Junction and a giant cauldron photo opportunity in Fragile Forest.

You can view the crawling and slithering animals at the Herpetarium and Insectarium. Enjoy some fall-themed treats at Zoo restaurants, including Halloween-dipped pretzel sticks, apple cider floats and adult ice cream cocktails for those 21 and older. For an additional fee, enjoy a ride on the Zooline Railroad.

Entertainment, including jugglers, magicians, stilt walkers and more will roam Zoo grounds each event night. On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 5:30 p.m., catch live stage shows from local entertainers.

Tickets for Boo at the Zoo are now on sale for Oct. 21-23, 24-27 and 28-30

Free for children under age 2.

Your ticket includes admission into Emerson Dinoroarus, Mary Ann Lee Conservation Carousel, Stingrays at Caribbean Cove presented by SSM Health and “Chaos in Wonderland” at the 4D Theater.

For tickets and more information, visit stlzoo.org/boo.

Thank you to our sponsors: SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, Wells Fargo, Mid America Chevy Dealers, Caleres, Prairie Farms Dairy.

Halloween Costume Policy

– Family-friendly Halloween costumes are encouraged.

– No scary costumes are permitted.

– Costume appropriateness is up to the discretion of the Zoo.


By Alex McPherson

Bolstered by a towering performance from Mia Goth, director Ti West’s “Pearl” is a captivating, upsetting, and idiosyncratic horror drama that rivals the brilliance of “X” while standing on its own as a discomforting character study.

Described as a prequel to West’s “X,” released this spring, “Pearl” takes place in rural Texas during the height of the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic. A young woman named Pearl (Goth) lives on a homestead with her domineering mother, Ruth (Tandi Wright), and her ailing father (Matthew Sunderland), who cannot move or speak and requires constant attention. Pearl’s husband, Howard, is overseas fighting in the first World War, leaving Pearl confined to the farm with only cows, geese, and one very hungry reptile to keep her company. She dreams of becoming a movie star and leaving her former life behind to chase fame and glory, to Ruth’s disdain. 

But all’s not well in paradise. During the film’s hyper-stylized introduction — complete with a sweeping orchestral score, title cards, and camerawork showcasing an idyllic environment bursting with vivid colors with the sun beaming above (the same farm from “X,” in fact, immediately prompting uneasiness) — Pearl dances before an audience of farm animals… only to be interrupted by a goose who waddles into the barn. She calmly stabs it with a pitchfork and feeds it to her “pet” crocodile in the nearby swamp, as one does.

Not allowed to leave the farm, except to pick up medicine for her father, Pearl nevertheless stops by the cinema in town and becomes enraptured by the dancers on screen. She bumps into the charismatic yet manipulative projectionist (David Corenswet), who insists that she’s got what it takes to be up there one day. Pearl’s sister-in-law, Misty (Emma Jenkins-Purro), stops by with her mother to drop off a roast suckling pig — which Ruth refuses to accept, leaving the gnats to consume it on the front porch — and informs Pearl of tryouts for a local dancing troupe, potentially giving her the chance to finally prove her talent. With her heart racing and Ruth growing increasingly hostile, tensions continue to escalate, reaching a fever pitch that results in copious amounts of blood, sweat, and tears, as Pearl most certainly will not take no for an answer. 

Eschewing the throwback ‘70s thrills of “X,” “Pearl” works as a poignant, legitimately disturbing drama, where viewers are encouraged to understand what drives its troubled heroine to murder, all while encountering three-dimensional characters that live and die in shades of gray (and red).

From the very beginning, West establishes an off-kilter world of juxtaposition and the harmless-turned-sinister. “Pearl” resembles a technicolor dreamscape popping with color and warm hues, belying a dark heart — grafting grotesque displays of violence, mental illness, and the absolute darkest humor onto bucolic surroundings. The glossy haze of Old Hollywood combines with sparkles of Pearl’s demented edges — lurid fever-dream hallucinations, victims’ faces reappearing unexpectedly — to chilling effect.

The true star of “Pearl,” though, is Goth (also a producer and co-writer), who imbues a devastating sense of humanity into the character — everything always seems genuine, from heartbreak to fearsome outbursts. Pearl, despite her exaggerated actions, still feels like a grounded human being, held back by her parents and destructive proclivities, attempting to seize a moment to break free from her restrictive world and essentially be reborn. Goth is astonishing, conjuring feelings of sorrow and disquietude in equal measure. One six-minute-plus monologue near the finale, for example, is one of the best acting showcases of 2022 thus far. Viewers witness Pearl experience an unpredictable storm of emotions, emerging as broken and as frightening as ever. Indeed, West isn’t afraid to plant the camera for extended dialogue-driven scenes, where viewers observe her transformation from jovial and upbeat to hurt and volatile first-hand. It’s both dreadfully suspenseful and darkly funny. 

The side characters are also given unexpected depth. Ruth, a German immigrant who’s had to sacrifice to provide for the family (caring for her sick husband, who she can never abandon, and guarding against the virus raging everywhere), is weathered by trauma — projecting her insecurities onto Pearl, while also being unsure how to ultimately keep her under control. One fraught dinner sequence in particular, largely lit by flashes of lightning, positions her as a villain — yet, here, again, “Pearl” eerily subverts expectations by putting us in Pearl’s headspace and breaking with a thornier reality. 

Sunderland does so much with his eyes alone as Pearl’s father — a man imprisoned by illness, unwillingly trapping others to be guardians, and existing at the whims of their crumbling psyches. Jenkins-Purro is similarly strong as Misty, a poor soul too naive and clueless for her own good. Corenswet brings both a charm and sly malevolence to the unnamed projectionist with questionable intentions.

Like with “X,” West interrogates ideas of how ambition, youth, and delusion can warp and fragment, as well as the connection between sex and violence. Sex becomes another facet of Pearl’s extreme rebellion against her “world” and everyone within it, paired with vicious carnage.

Although the last moments leave a few too many unanswered questions, “Pearl” is brilliant for its empathy, scares, stylization, and top-notch acting all around. It’s a different beast than “X,” but even more memorable, and I can’t wait to see how this trilogy concludes.

Mia Goth as “Pearl”

“Pearl” is a 2022 horror movie directed by Ti West and starring Mia Goth, Matthew Sunderland, David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, and Emma Jenkins-Purro. It is rated R for some strong violence, gore, strong sexual content and graphic nudity and runtime is ` hour, 43 minutes. It opened in theaters on Sept. 16. Alex’s Grade: A+