DAILY CALL SHEET: MAY 5, 2026

Firestarter (1984) Looking to earn a few bucks, college students Andy and Vicky volunteer to take an experimental drug. The concoction drives many of the other test subjects insane, but Andy and Vicky develop strange mental powers, get married, and have a little girl named Charlie who has the ability to start fires with her mind. This is too good a potential weapon to let hang out in an elementary school, so the secret government organization The Shop eventually comes after Charlie and her family. To gain Charlie's trust while she's in captivity, an assassin named Rainbird poses as a friendly janitor and fills her head full of lies. Will The Shop's scheme work to woo the little girl work, or will Charlie figure out she's being duped and rain hellfire on them all. A bit dated and definitely slow in places, but the performances carry it to the finish line, especially that of the venerable George C. Scott as the cunning custodian with murderous intentions. Also, fans of Stranger Things will quickly notice this movie's DNA running all through the show.

Obviously, lying to a child so you can turn her into a WMD is morally wrong, but are their times you can skate by with a little fib. Strictly speaking, no. According to the Church, lying is "per se malum" meaning it cannot rightly be done even the end result sought is a good one. Of course, as with many such teachings, there are nuances. Playing along with childhood fantasies such as some holiday traditions is usually given a pass as long as the child is told the truth when they ask. And, of course, if a small child asks an age-inappropriate question like where do babies come from, it's perfectly fine to redirect, put off the answer, or not give the full truth. In certain contexts, ambiguity is not considered lying. As it turns out, with both parenting and religion, verbal dexterity can be a huge asset. 

Night of the Ghouls (1959) Tor Johnson, Criswell, and many of the other Ed Wood irregulars return in this semi-sequel to Bride Of The Monster. Setting up operation in the same house where mad scientist Bela Lugosi met his fate in the previous film, conman Dr. Acula holds fake seances to pilfer the purses of the easily duped. However, once a real lady ghost dressed all in black starts murdering people in the woods near the house while a possibly real lady ghost all in white stands there and shrieks, the bumbling Officer Kelton and ghostbusting Detective Bradford are assigned to look into things. Look, it's Ed Wood, so you know exactly what to expect regarding the budget, the acting, and anything else involving general filmmaking skills. That being said, this is probably Wood's most competent outing, so take that for what it's worth.

Okay, so you don't go to Ed Wood for logic, but the simple fact is, there are no ghouls in Night of the Ghouls, at least not in its original sense. Based on Middle-Eastern folklore, a ghoul is a supernatural being who feeds on the flesh of the dead. Basically, they're what we now think of as zombies thanks to George Romero, who really should have called his film Night of the Living Ghouls. But, I digress. The idea of ghouls  brings to mind Ad Resurgendum cum Christo ("To Rise with Christ"), the Church's instructions on the proper handling the dead. The rules and restrictions within the short document are meant to emphasize hope in the resurrection, protect the faith against secular or superstitious attitudes, and generally ensure the deceased are remembered and prayed for in a fitting way. Unsurprisingly, eating the bodies is not allowed.