Svengoolie (1995– ) User Reviews

Unique but Very Enjoyable

[Tornado_Sam · 10/10 · 27 January 2020]

My family has a long history with this show. My older brothers used to watch it with my dad a long time ago, until we lost the MeTV channel from our TV. None of us had looked at this for years after that, but recently, when we were able to bring it back. Now, every Saturday night, we watch an episode of the show, and it's nice to have something to look forward to after a long week.

"Svengoolie" is basically a show that resurrects old horror, sci-fi, and mystery films from the thirties, forties, fifties, and so on. The host, 'Sven', credited as the "Man in Hat" on the credits (played by Rich Koz), is conceptually creepy but in execution is portrayed as no more than a laughable, pun-loving persona who presents facts about the films, makes ridiculous jokes, and sings absolutely hilarious songs during the intermissions. The movies are about an hour and a half each; the rest of the two-hours is taken up on commercials and Sven's brief commentaries.

The movies, I would say, are quite good for their time period despite the negativity surrounding how bad some of them are. Personally, I quite enjoy them for what they are and despite poor effects and maybe slower pacing, most of them work very well today. I especially enjoy Sven's ridiculous songs that play upon events from the movies - if you like this kind of humor, the show is for you. Of course, this kind of thing is getting harder and harder for most people to appreciate these days, due to the plethora of more fancy, special-effects-based horror movies audiences indulge in now. But this show has an audience, and I'm all for it.

SMSh

[shttrbg27 · 10/10 · 19 September 2021]

To all you haters, this is meant to be a fun show poking fun at horror classics. If you are a horror snob go away. It's meant to be fun, not up to criticism from people who think they know it all.

Surprised at bad reviews, it's a special niche audience

[MiketheWhistle · 10/10 · 16 February 2020]

I was really surprised at the # of negative comments. Is this a great show that shows shows - no but I give it a 10 anyway because it's the kinda of thing I like.

At its core, it's not much different than TCM intro'ing and closing out a movie or MS3K which I also enjoy, but it's uniqueness is what is special.

Are the jokes generally bad - yes, but so bad they're good for those that like that kind of humor. I'd prefer it to have more guests as it's guests are generally really interesting.

So will this appeal to everyone, definitely not. One thing that I think I can safely say is just try and watch one. If you like it, then you'll be generally hooked on the show, but if you don't like it don't try and watch more because you'll not like any others any better.

Could this be one of the longest running concepts on TV?

[matlock-6 · 23 June 2004]

The origin of "Svengoolie" is in a show called "Screaming Yellow Theatre" with Jerry Bishop as the Svengoolie character. When this show was cancelled, his young writer Rich Koz took up the mantle and "Son of Svengoolie" began airing on UHF channel WFLD-32 in Chicago. When WFLD became part of the FOX network in 1986, Son of Svengoolie was deemed "not suitable" and promptly discarded.

Finally, in 1993, after 7 years with FOX (with "The Koz Zone" and in other capacities) Koz resurrected the Svengoolie character and found a new home for the series on WCIU (a small local Chicago cable channel). Now simply called "Svengoolie", the show airs to this day, showing a long list of old science fiction and horror movies (mostly low budget) with gags, cheesy effects and skits thrown in during the segue to and from commercial.

Very funny and original idea which was a major influence on things like Mystery Science Theatre 3000.

Horrific fun!

[pathfinderrusso · 10/10 · 20 August 2018]

Whether it's a horror classic or a bad one, Svengoolie provides great Saturday night entertainment. The show is full of humor and movie trivia! Go Sven!

Best...Show...Ever

[lemans-93020 · 10/10 · 10 March 2018]

Takes me back to my childhood, watching Creature Feature and The Ghoul Show. Keep it going!

Ghoulish Fun

[hellraiser7 · 10/10 · 30 July 2018]

This is my second favorite horror host show, it really was a welcome surprise because I live in the Seattle, Washington, I honestly never knew about this guy and show until we recently had Me TV and saw his show; let alone I never thought I'd ever see another horror host program as it's became sort of a lost practice, which I think sucks, personally I'd like to see more of these kinds of programs again, with the huge amount of horror films we continue to have now why not, seeing this shows it can still be done.

This kind of program was a real treat for me, what really surprised me was its popularity and how long it's been going on. This show was at first localized in the Chicago area which is why I never heard about it, I don't live there, before it became nationalized. This show had some T-Shirts and some cool goodies, there were fans of all ages, even plenty of celebs are fans like Mark Hamell, Robert England knowing that is awesome. There is even a museum display of his show that was put up in the Chicago Museum of Communications (my favorite kind of museum) to commemorate his years on the air, that is double awesome.

It's not hard to see why this show is great, Rich Koz as Svengholie is just a fun host he's sort of this undead mad scientist, I think. It doesn't matter, really like the coffin he always comes out of which looks like Greatful Dead cover art. Even like his dungeon set which is cool looking as it looks like a science lab but also looks homey like the kind of cave a horror fan would have as there are some relics from the premiering film.

The character Svenghoulie he's funny he's got some of the best jokes and lines, really like that he makes some jokes on the premering film and gives some commentary about it whether the film is good, bad or so bad it's good. I like it whenever he gives some bad joke or two and suddenly rubber chickens just keep flying at him which is better than rotten vegetables flying at you. He sometimes has a brief back and forth with some mutant chicken puppet, which is funny from how strange it is. And near the end of the movie or after there would be a little skit, those are always hit or miss but that's how it is in sketch comedy.

He shows is a bit educational as he actually presents some historical facts about the film and who was involved, so it shows he knows his stuff. I love it when he would sometimes have some special guest appear which is always a surprise because no one expects it, like in one episode it was Vicki Laurence from "Mama's Family" she was playing the Naomi character as she was in costume and putting on the same persona, that was really funny and shows she hasn't lost it. But the best one was seeing Gilbert Godfred which is awesome because here we have two horror movie hosts together. Really liked the back and forth between the two which was funny and genuine. I also really like it whenever Sven goes outside his dungeon and he goes to certain places which tie in with the movie of the week. Like a car museum in one episode and in some others a horror convention or two. And he would collect some comments from fans and non-fans, some more historical facts or just tell a joke or two. It's just fun seeing this guy engaging outside and show us the sights.

So, if you're a horror movie fan or even a casual fan and you seek out horror movies or horror host TV, Svengoole is your guy, Saturday Nights with him are the night of your life.

Rating: 4 stars

I Stand By All Horror Hosts and Sven Is The Biggest In 2022!

[verbusen · 10/10 · 21 March 2022]

At one time I wasn't as crazy in love as I am now about the Svengoolie show but times have changed and in case you haven't notice it, there are not many Horror Hosts left on cable TV! I can tell you where to find many though on the internet and that's at OSI 74 (my favorite of those is Cinema Insomnia with HH, Mr. Lobo). If you compare them all Svengoolie has the biggest budget, the best budget films (his show can afford to pay for the airing rights vs. Public domain movies), and the best writers, he's at the top of the Horror Host game in 2022. BTW, I usually prefer shows like MST3K and Rifftrax but those are not (IMO) Horror Hosts, they are talking DURING the film making jokes (which I love), where as a Horror Host talks and does skits preceding the film and the commercial breaks, not during the film. Plus a horror host usually gives out some trivia which I also love, riffing shows generally do not. There are ALWAYS people on IMdb who rate shows with a host a 1 because all they want to do is watch the film. Case in point, there are many 1 star reviews for MeTVs morning cartoon show, "Tune In With Me", which has a humorous host and cast (I rate it a 10 as well!). Just filter those cranky crazies out and enjoy Svengoolie because once this show is done there isn't much left in the way of horror host shows to watch other then the riffing shows. 10 out of 10!

Chance meeting with Jerry G. Bishop

[[e-mail] · 10/10 · 11 August 2007]

When Screaming Yellow Threatre was on the air in the early 70's, the identity of Svengoolie was a thinly veiled Secret. Many viewers knew that the part was played by WFLD's main announcer, Jerry G. Bishop. I enjoyed watching the segues into and out of the movies and the commercials. There were loads of cheesy props and rubber chickens and cries of Berwyn! (a Chicago suburb) Once a plywood coffin collapsed amidst the laughter of Svengoolie and stage hands alike and they cut right back to the movie. I ran into Mr. Bishop at a social gathering in the mid-70's, several years after Screaming Yellow Theatre was off the air. I expressed my admiration for his character Svengoolie. He responded, "He's dead, man! Let him Rest in Peace." Berwyn!

The Man

[jhhalcomb0718 · 10/10 · 29 July 2018]

Keeping the dream of movie horror hosts alive... keeping it strong on MeTV.

Saturday Night Fun

[jamesedward-john1 · 10/10 · 26 April 2020]

This nightmare theater is fun. I enjoy everything about that this show. Every part of it is pure entertainment! Reminds me of the fun Friday nights watching Nightmare Theater in the 1970's when I was a kid!

crazy bout crazy!

[gravediger-53600 · 9/10 · 11 November 2018]

Every week i look forward to Sat. night frights with sven.& friends,(&)Berwin.. i must survive! just for this.. and next Sat. night! great show.

Chicago's horror host

[Pythe · 7/10 · 6 September 2009]

I'm surprised there aren't more comments here, since probably every horror fan in the suburbs of Chicago grew up aware of Svengoolie. Host Richard Koz employs every trick in the horror host book (and invents a few along the way) to assault the viewer's comic sensibilities between commercial breaks. The humor is terrible and falls along the lines of bad puns, corny song parodies, and rubber chickens catapulted by mysterious off-screen forces. Like all horror hosts worth their salt, Svengoolie seems more satisfied to elicit groans than laughs, but if you're watching movies like Attack of the Puppet People or House of Dracula, you probably don't have enough discretion or self-respect to care anyway. By which I mean, it's all part of the campy charm.

I'm not much a fan of so-bad-they're-good movies, so I tend to watch Svengoolie in thirty-minute increments before losing patience and changing the channel, or leave it on as background ambiance while doing other things, but every so often I get caught up in a film and wind up watching the whole thing. You'd be surprised how good some bad movies actually are, and the movies chosen for the show tend to fall into the category of "misguided" rather than "incompetently made."

My only real complaint about Svengoolie's approach is his extensive use of sound effects (usually audio clips from shows like Animaniacs or The Simpsons) during the film. I find them distracting rather than funny, especially in cases where it takes a moment to determine that they aren't actually part of the film itself. Sometimes the sound effects are kept to a minimum (or not used at all) while in other episodes they splash across the audio landscape with irritating frequency.

But that's a minor complaint. Svengoolie is an interesting Chicagoland curio that keeps alive the schlocky spirit of TV hosts past. Fans of B-grade horror thrills will want to keep an eye on this one.

8.5/10? Seriously?

[gregberne11 · 1/10 · 11 January 2019]

This show is chock full of bad dad jokes and puns and I find it and the host very hacky. This concept has been done to death and he's not nearly as good as say Elvira or Vampira or any other such characters. Maybe it's just a Chicago thing but we find this easily the worst thing on Me TV. I wish they'd run a different show or just more MASH reruns or something because this is just lame. I could even take the bad movies on their own if we got to just watch them uninterrupted and make our own jokes but when this goof keeps popping up all the time with stupid, lame sound effects and jokes from a child's level joke book it just ruins the movie too. Terrible!

Corny movies,bad jokes,rubber chickens,good fun

[DarthVoorhees · 24 December 2005]

Svengoolie is the the local monster movie host from Chicago. Svengoolie hosts horror movies,90% of them are bad.Think of the show as a Mystery Sci-Fi theater in the Chicagoland area. Svengoolie has the corny jokes and his commentaries make the bad movies fun.Occasionly he gets a good film(Nightmare on Elm Street) There are different types of shows,the good,the bad and the so bad that they are terrificly funny and are fun to watch.Svengoolie falls in the third category.Svengoolie relies on an arsenal of cornball jokes,fake horror goodies,and rubber chickens to make his audience laugh.If he was a regular guy he would be booed out off the stage but this is a different kind of entertainment and Svengoolie excels at it. If you are in the Chicagoland area he makes appearances.

Better than MST3K

[isabellacatgirl · 10/10 · 10 January 2022]

Watching Svengoolie every Saturday night has become somewhat of a religion. His show has improved compared to the 80s the "Son of Svengoolie" era. The only thing that's different I noticed watching the 80s reruns he had a Transylvanian accent,but on the modern "Svengoolie" his voice is American. Why is that? Lol Other than that the show has improved due to better special fx and writers. I love how he breaks down the whole movie's detail as it progresses,making fun of it along the way,and the interludes are way cooler and more entertaining than MST3K. The latter is also good but boring compared to Sven. MST3K are just a couple of smartasses sitting in an empty theater inside a spaceship,but no Sven is way more funnier than that,smarter even. I love the touch of movie history ,and Rich Koz is a swell guy in real life. Probably my most favorite horror host next to Elvira,and actually he's a little better than her personally,more funnier. The chicken gags are iconic. Best intro to any show ever.

1/10* = Don't waste your time with this moron, he ruins all the movies!

[imdb-25288 · 1/10 · 9 February 2020]

What an annoying idiot, and a crappy TV show. All movies are ruined. Son of Kong on now: he put "Saturday Night Fever" song when the movie played and focused on the actor's legs walking. And don't get me started when this idiot sings! Right in the middle of the movie you're trying to watch, he starts singing. Someone tell the moron that HE CAN'T SING! Yet, like Rosie O'Donnell, he does it every week. I quit watching, I actually try to watch a classic movie once in a while and tune in: I invariably end up switching channels.

This crap is UNwatchable. Look, if you don't like movies, if you don't want to show them, then don't. Switch to current movies, they're as crappy as can be. But leave old B&W movies alone! It's bad enough that now NO channels play classic films (if you don't have TCM, you're SOOL now that even AMC has quit what they originally started broadcasting) but this is unbearable. The idiot even inserts himself inside the film images!

Look if you want to be a buffoon, then be a buffoon in your own tiime: show a pre-movie idiotic skit with this Svengoolie POC presenter BEFORE the film (particularly now that MeTV canceled Wonder Woman) and then just show the movie, without your moronic interruptions. Nothing good to say about this idiot, he's a legend in his own mind and now has paid to have his stupid face in comics, which he was showing today. 1 out of 10 stars is way too much here. Who watches this crap through and through?! I know I can't! This is even worse than spoilers. It's a way to ruin a film that is unforgivable. I hope this guy has a heart attack or something and they end the silliness. Corny does not even begin to describe this tripe.

Are These High Ratings Fake?

[RoboGarrett · 19 May 2020]

I'm really suspicious that all of the ratings here are being done by whoever makes this show. There is no way on earth this is an above 8/10 IMDb show.

It's not even a good show.

The host is annoying. He tells really bad jokes and the movie is constantly interrupted by him and terrible, unfunny sound effects. Of all of the many, many other "joke about bad movies" shows out there, this one is easily the worst I've seen, other than amateur YouTube videos.

It's far from the worst thing I've ever seen on TV, but it's definitely more of a 3 or 4 out of 10. It's certainly not as good as "real" 8+/10 shows on IMDb.

Too many commercials

[slayer-3 · 5/10 · 16 May 2021]

How can you follow any movie with this many commercials? Totally unenjoyable. Film Time 1:17. That leaves :43 min of commercials.

Watch Elvira instead.

[drewgillis-66767 · 2/10 · 18 September 2021]

She is so much better at this than Svenghoolie.

That is all.

An idiot

[dejesteel · 1/10 · 19 March 2022]

Why can't svendufus stop what he calls singing. Why do sponsors continue to advertise on his show. We love the movies, svendummy would be ok if he would just not make horrible throat noise.

Lame movies that are further ruined by idiotic and unfunny commentary

[tiffanie_says_stay_in_your_lane · 3/10 · 11 March 2024]

This show isn't my favorite, but somehow, I find myself in my living room every Saturday night, watching more of it than I had wanted to. And then I get up wondering why I always waste my time. It's like I get hypnotized by screens. I think it's the result of having been born in the 90s. My generation engages in media consumption that's often mindless. We're just so used to being in front of a TV or computer, that there's times we're not even giving much thought as to why we're watching something. I did give 3 stars, because I do laugh at Svengoolie's jokes sometimes (I actually find the random sound effects to be much funnier), but it really is a dumb program. They pick the worst old movies they can find - primarily from the horror and sci-fi genre - and then the audience is subjected to his corny, sarcastic, and eye-roll inducing comments that really add nothing to the story. Some of the things he says are inappropriate. Like one of the reviewers pointed out, unless you have TCM, there really aren't any channels that show movies from the Golden Age. I love B&W films, so it's kind of disheartening that the only channel bringing them on (MeTV) chooses ones that are silly and have poor acting. I have to rely on YouTube for old movies, and thankfully, I'm able to discover films that are highly engaging. And they're all B status, but still amazing nonetheless. Svengoolie, on the other hand, is quite pointless. The movies are terrible, and his stand-up routine doesn't make them any better. The final straw for me was when they were showing Flash Gordon, and the whole thing was filled with random voice overs and sounds from different classic TV shows. I thought that was immature and stupid. Even if a person had never seen Flash Gordon before, it's not like this show would encourage them to be interested, because there was no way of knowing what the characters were really saying. I don't know what's happened to MeTV. They used to bring on good shows. I miss Wonder Woman on Saturday night and Columbo on Sunday night. Svengoolie is for kids, or grown-ups who are childish. It's definitely not people who are true fans of Golden Age movies.