Monday, October 31, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 31

Trick 'r' Treat

Trick 'r' Treat, more than any other film, embodies the spirit of Halloween traditions. It's become a modern day cult classic and required Halloween viewing since it's home video release in 2009. Sadly, it was supposed to be a theatrical release in October 2007 and was intended to be the beginnings of a yearly Halloween release but for reasons still unknown Warner Brothers shelved this flick, never giving it a theatrical release. And so, because of this bonehead move, we've only been graced with one entry in this series. But it's cult status has been cemented by these actions and Sam, the spirit of Halloween from the film, has become a cult icon, appearing in commercials for the cable channel FEARnet all year long, counting down the days till their 24 hour Trick 'r' Treat-a-thon today.

For the uninitiated, Trick 'r' Treat is an anthology piece, which tells four macabre tales that are interwoven through various threads. Aside from featuring characters crossing over between stories, there is also the character of Sam, who is the protector of the traditions of Halloween. Sam appears in every tale somewhere and steps in to punish gross tradition violations when needed. The stories are fun and entertaining. This is a horror movie, with plenty of gore and monsters, but it's intention is never to scare you, rather it takes great pains to revel in the spirit and enjoyment of Halloween itself.

It's on FEARNet night now, give it a watch to night while you're giving out candy. You are giving out candy, right? I hope Sam doesn't have to come punish you...

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 30

Halloween

Maybe you thought this would be the film I spotlit for post 31, but while this isn't the best film about the holiday, it is one of most influential horror films of all time. This modestly budgeted film is the father of the modern slasher film and, in a rush to capitalize on a burgeoning craze, ushered in a brand new shift in the horror genre. This is thanks largely to an excellent and tight script, great camera work, a career defining performance from the well established Donald Pleasence and a fortune telling explosion by scream queen to be by Jamie Lee Curtis.

This top grossing independent film of all time is accompanied by director John Carpenter's hypnotic keyboard-synth soundtrack (which just kicked in as I'm writing this) and is the best use of a William Shatner mask ever. You guys know all this, I'm not telling you anything new here.

Halloween has become sacred yearly viewing during the season by horror nerds and has come to be a staple of AMC's Fear Fest. In fact, why are you still reading this? AMC is showing films from the series, starting with the first, all day beginning with the first at 9:30 am.

Start a new tradition or celebrate it again for the 30th time.

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 29

Playing tricks on treaters

I can't be the only person to have disguised themselves as a scarecrow, sat immobile next to the door and waited to scare trick or treating children. Now that I've brought it up, you kinda want to do it too. Be honest. Halloween night is all about the fun you can have. Here are a few cool traditions I celebrate that you might enjoy as well.

As an enormous horror film fan, I'll take any chance I can to expose more folks to the flicks that I love. Luckily, I own an LCD projector. I hang a white bed sheet in my bay window and project films onto it (from the inside). The effect looks really cool and I give any kid who can guess the film double candy. That's the difficult part though, my film selection can't be gory or contain nudity, which in the horror genre ties my hands to mostly black and white features for the 60's on back. Though last year I did show Tremors, which some ghoulish visitor recognized.

Another fun trick to play on treators uses a fog machine to great effect. Take one of your jack o'lanterns, one with a menacing face, and carve an addition hole in the back of it. This hole is to accommodate the fog machine's nozzle. You shoot it as the kids approach for excellent scary effect! One issue may be that this can blow out the candle inside. To combat that use a glow stick instead. Green is especially creepy.

My last tradition is designed to treat the parents in the neighborhood. It's only fair to help them enjoy the evening too. To that end, I hollow out a pumpkin but don't carve a face on it. Instead, I install a small tap in it and fill it with pumpkin beer. Traditionally I fill it with my own homemade pumpkin brew but any you can purchase should have the same effect. It's an excellent treat to offer and most folks are appreciative.

Whatever you particular special Halloween traditions are, celebrate them with gusto!

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 28

Carving Turnips

In keeping with earlier Halloween tradition, as detailed here in our previous day's post, I'm going to hollow out and carve a turnip. If, like me, you've never even seen a turnip before, they're located in the produce section of your grocery store and resemble a fist sized radish, though they're purple and light brown colored. You want a larger rounded one to make for easier carving.

The first thing to do is use a knife to cut the bottom so that it's flat and can sit upright. The cut a flat "lid" off of the top. You'll notice that a turnip is not like a pumpkin inside, in fact it looks more like an onion. For that reason you'll want to carefully use a pairing knife to hollow it out instead of a spoon. Once you've done that, you want to carve a simple traditional pumpkin face onto it. Nothing to complicated since the turnip doesn't have as hardy a surface as a pumpkin and because it's a much smaller canvas.

Place a tea light inside and display your new Jack 'o Lantern with the others. Be prepared to answer questions about as folks might never have seen this specific Halloween tradition before!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 27

The Legend of Stingy Jack

The roots of our modern day tradition of carving Jack 'o Lanterns are buried in the soil of Ireland with the folk tale of Stingy Jack. There is a horror flick staring Kane Hodder and Tiffany Shepis coming out bearing that name this weekend. Rather than discuss that, I'm going to instead recount the folk tale for you here, as I remember it. It's not overly long (I'm transcribing it from memory here) and is perfect to perform on Halloween night. Share it with your friends and family.

The Legend of Stingy Jack
Stingy Jack was a wicked and deceitful man, who lived in a small town in Ireland several hundred years ago. He loved playing spiteful tricks on innocent folks. He loved drinking himself stupid even more than playing his tricks. Jack never worked a day in his foul life. He filled his belly with food and ale through theft and by manipulating innocent folks.

On a Halloween night much like this one, the townsfolk took to the public house as a means to steady themselves against the cold. As was common, Jack was also there and he was deep into his cup. The Devil, envious of the tales' of Jack's silver tongue and evil ways, joined him at the tavern that night intending to punish the foolish man. Ever the quick thinking, Jack asked if he could drink some ale before departing, offering to buy the second and third rounds if the Devil bought the first.

The Devil was impressed by Jack's suggestion and his calm demeanor facing death. He transformed himself into a coin with which to pay the bartender for two tankards of ale. No sooner had the Devil become a sixpence then did Jack snatch up the coin and place it into his pocket, next to a silver cross he had been carrying. The Devil could not change shape thus trapped and Jack refused to let him go until the Devil agreed not to take his soul for ten years. Begrudgingly the devil relented and was freed, promising not to return for ten years.

Now your or I might use that decade to turn from our wicked ways, hoping that we've time to save our souls from hell. Oh but not old Jack. He continued his wicked ways until one night, as he was walking drunkenly down a country road, he came across the devil himself coming to collect what was due him. Appearing to accept his fate, Jack asked the Devil just one favor before accompanying him to the underworld: "May I have an apple for me rumbling belly? The journey to hell is likely long on an empty stomach". Seeing no reason to deny the request, the Devil foolishly climbed a nearby apple tree to pick one. As he climbed, Jack sprung into action, placing crosses around the base of the tree, thus trapping the furious Devil once again.
This time, Jack made the Devil agree to never take his soul into hell. And having no recourse, the Devil agreed and was set free.

Now life is not long for someone who lives the hard way as Jack did. After some time, he died. His soul approached the gates of Heaven but he was turned away due to his wicked and sinful ways. Rebuffed and downtrodden, Jack approached the Devil to ask if he might be allowed a place in Hell. The Devil, smiling with gleeful malice, proclaimed that he must fulfill his promise to never take Jack's soul into Hell. "But where will I go?!" asked Jack. To make an example of him and to help him find his way back to Earth in the dark, the Devil tossed Jack a single ember straight from the fires of Hell. Jack place this ember into a hollowed out turnip and was doomed to wander the earth until the end of time, never finding rest, with only his Jack o'Lantern to light his way!

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 26

Halloween is the best time of the year. It's a wonderfully indulgent time, where your inner ghoul is given societal license to be put on display. To celebrate it to it's wicked fullest, the Midnight Cheese will be posting every day in October with excellent ways to enjoy the season. Whether it's horror films, video games, books or activities, check back every day for some new Halloween fun.

While we slammed the Night of the Demons remake in illuminating you about the amazing and little known The Convent, it occurs to me that we've yet to speak on the original. And since it takes place on Halloween there is no better time to tackle it.

Our adventure does take place on All Hallows Eve, where a group of horny teens plan to hold a costume party at Hull House. And what a location it is! It's got the perfect trifecta of "you gonna die" signs, which our intrepid teens completely ignore: 1) Abandoned 2) Former funeral parlor 3) build on "evil" land. Yup, it's going to be a special night. Of course, shit hits the fan when one of the young ladies is possessed by a demon and begins spreading the infection by killing her former friends (and doing a long- drawn out- sexy dance).

As this is the late 80's, there's a good mix of comedy in with the scares and there's also plenty of gore. The kills are creative and, in some cases, hysterical. There's also a really weird scene with Linnea Quigly's boobs which you shouldn't miss. The camp factor adds to the fun with 80's fashions, lingo and musical stylings- part of what should scare you since kids are dressing this way again. Perhaps parents should show their kids 80's horror films as a PSA against wearing mommy jeans? It wasn't cool the first time through, kids.

Anyway, Night of the Demons is a great ride which has everyone covered whether you like gore, cheese, scares, laughs or too much eyeliner. And sex, it's got plenty of sex. Check it out, it's much better than the remake.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 25

Costume Quest

What gives a video game the pedigree to be called the literal embodiment of all things Halloween? Is that even possible to confer upon an interactive experience? If we agree that this is within the realm of possibility, for which of it's qualities did I decided to go in this direction? The sum total of all it's qualities, of course.

Costume Quest was released last Halloween season by developer Double Fine, in a bite sized downloadable format and at a reasonable price ($15). Double Fine is a studio known for their immense wit and eclectic, charming games. In Costume Quest they manage to distill down the childhood wonder of everyone's (who counts) favorite holiday into an interactive journey that anyone could enjoy. By no stretch of the imagination is the combat gameplay overly difficult- it isn't supposed to be- it is engaging though. The narrative and the nostalgia are the main draws here.

The story has you taking on the role of one of two twins, Reynold (a boy) and Wren (a girl). New to the neighborhood, whichever of the siblings you choose is tasked with walking their twin around to trick or treat. You are costumed as a blue cardboard box robot and your sibling is adorned as a giant piece of candy corn. As fate would have it, a group of marauding monsters called "Grubbins" are ransacking homes and stealing all the candy to bring back to their own world. Your brother or sister is mistaken for the biggest piece of candy ever and kidnapped. It's then your mission to save them any way you can (or mom and dad will totally kill you!). In your quest you'll gather a party of likewise costumed children and battle an assortment of villainous monsters across several landscapes.

How can a few kids in rudimentary costumes fight these grubbins? Through the magic of Halloween! When combat commences the costumes transform from crummy arts and crafts to the embodiment of the imaginative creature they represent. So the default cardboard robot costume becomes a 50 foot tall robot warrior, replete with missiles and a rocket powered punch. Each costume has it's own special attack and role in combat, which is turn based and very reminiscent of older (read: better) Final Fantasy games. And there are plenty of monsters/animals/heroes to choose from. In your travels you'll come across costume patterns and must collect the pieces that make them up to unlock them for use.

The overworld which you'll be exploring is a rich tapestry woven with equal parts snark and nostalgia. There are items to collect, kids playing hide and seek to find, houses to trick or treat at (the in game currency is candy) and Halloween festivities to explore. Bobbing for apples is one way to earn experience (xp) and unique items. You can barter your collected candy for battle stamps, which confer special holiday themed benefits in combat. There are also special, Garbage Pail-esk cards which you can collect and trade with other kids.

There's a lot of content here, all of it a loving glance back at the Halloween experiences of your childhood. This game is so excellent that all fans of Halloween need apply. Lucky for you, it's become available on the PC via Steam, so you can experiences it even if you don't have an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. It's not overly long, clocking in between 5-10 hours. You've never played a game that's celebrated the holiday this much. It's a love letter to Halloween and you are missing out if you've never experienced it.

Monday, October 24, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 24

The Hazing

In preparing a list of topics to discuss for this month long count down, I was bound to come across titles which I had just simply missed out on and was unfamiliar with. In googling for films which take place on Halloween, one in particular caught my attention. I don't know what it was about The Hazing that stopped me from passing it by, but if I'm being honest with myself it was likely the hot girl(Nectar Rose) in the playboy bunny costume wielding a chainsaw on the cover.

What I watched was a rough amalgamation between Evil Dead, House on Haunted Hill (1999) and Night of the Demons with a lot of flair and tons of style. Your basic plots follows five pledges, three guys and two girls, who are participating in cross fraternity/sorority scavenger hunt event. The plan is for them to all meet up in the old creepy house with their collected items, where their pledge masters are waiting with a bunch of gimmicky scares. Of course, things go from wacky teenage hijinx to "oh my god is that my spleen?" faster than you can say "oh my god that IS my spleen!".

Tiffany Shepis is excellent as one of the pledges. I get the impression that she was given license to really have a great time with the role and she certain does steal a lot of the scenes she's in, hamming it up. Nectar Rose also shines as another one of the pledges who does not react to shit hitting the fan at all how you would have expected. Most of the male leads are unremarkable, except for Brad Dourif as Professor Kapps, whos research into occult rituals and human sacrifice is what sets our whole ride into motion.

While it is now out of print, you can watch The Hazing (aka Dead Scared) on Netflix's instant streaming service. That's where I came across it. It's hard to find Halloween movies that are this much fun. You'd think there'd be more, given how much horror fans love the holiday. Here's one more, at least, to add to your list.

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 23

Hocus Pocus

"I put a spell on you and now you're mine"

This fun Halloween adventure film from Disney put a spell on me as a youth. You could easily write it off for any number of reasons without ever giving it so much as a chance. "It has Bet Midler" in it- so what? She chews up the scenery in such hammy fashion that you could sell her at the deli counter. "It also costars Sarah Jessica Parker"- Yeah but this is before she was annoying and she clearly has an excellent time in her role as the ditsy witch sister. "BUT IT'S FROM DISNEY!" So are Nation Treasure, Sky High and the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Are you done now? Can I stop debunking your doubts and move on to why you should watch Hocus Pocus?

Thanks.

Fun, adventure filled films seem to be a dying breed. Much lauded classics of the genre were a mainstay of the 80's and a holdover in the early 90's. Hocus Pocus came out in 1993 and fused the adventure film with a huge helping of Halloween flavor. It does take the easy road by setting itself in Salem, Massachusetts - but the film makers takes the standard tropes and do an excellent job mixing in some new twists.

The Sanderson sisters (Midler, Parker and Kathy Najimy) are a trio of wicked witches living in a cottage in the woods near in Salem. Our story begins in 1693, with the aged sisters preparing a potion which will restore their youth by stealing it from children. Young Thackery Binx fails to save his sister from this fate and is cursed by the witches into the form of an immortal cat (who can speak). Shortly on the heels of all this spell slinging, the villagers arrive and convict the witches to be hanged. Just before they can be, Winifred (Midler) recites a spell which will allow them to be revived if ever a black candle is lit by a virgin on Halloween.

From here we flash forward to present day, with our protagonist Max, who hates Halloween, is forced to take his sister trick or treating. As you can imagine, in hanging out with the girl he's crushing on at the town's witch museum, Max lights the candle and unknowingly bring the Sanderson Sisters back to life. What follows is a fun chase all around town and the witches need their spell book back to absorb Max's sisters life force before the sun rises. Binx, in cat form, guide the kids in the quest to beat the Sandersons.

There's a lot to love packed in here. The fish out of water nature of witches encountering modern technology and misunderstanding it is hysterical. Watching as Winifred begins to catch on and use the technology to her advantage - specifically the scene where she mixes magic and technology to curse all of the town children's parents to dance until they die - shows that she's not just the one dimensional antagonist that she could have easily been made into. There's a fun zombie played by an unknown Doug Jones (Abe Sapien of Hellboy fame) that's unlike nearly all shambler portrayals as you think of them. Of course, the Salem/witch historical aspect is really cool too, even though it's extremely inaccurate.

Of course the nature of Hocus Pocus means that the perfect time of year to check it out is right around the witching season. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about and if you haven't then drop a few preconceived notions and check it out.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 22

Pumpkin Carving

If you haven't already, your prep for this activity is to read day 19's entry on picking you pumpkins.

Once you have the perfect pumpkins, you'll also need some tools. If you'd prefer to carve the classic way, with simpler shapes, a large kitchen knife is all you may need for the face itself. If you're planning to do a more intricate design then I suggest an inexpensive carving kit which includes a very useful saw. But before we get there, we'll have to hollow that baby out first.

For the hole in the top of you pumpkin, you want to give yourself enough room to work, so plan on a generous circumference. Make sure that you make the cut for the top at a good angle inward, not just up and down, so that when you put the top piece back it rests in place instead of falling through. You're going to want a wide spoon and a bowl for scooping out the guts. The bowl is to separate out the pumpkin seeds, the spoon to assist you is cleaning all the pulp off the inside walls of the pumpkin. You want to be thorough here, don't leave any loose pulp as it could be a fire hazard once it dries out. At the same time, don't scrape away so much that you walls are very thin, it can cause your jack 'o lantern to rot prematurely.

When it comes to the design itself, you've got loads of options. There are complex designs you can print out and trace onto you pumpkin, stencils you can buy or you can freehand it. I prefer to freehand draw whatever spooky face comes to me with a pencil and then carve it out: sort of like Michelangelo letting the marble block tell him what shape is hidden underneath but far less noble and immortal. Once you're finished, pop in a candle, put the top back on and viola!

Don't forget to roast the pumpkin seeds, these delicious and loaded with vitamins. Place them on a baking sheet, sprinkle salt to preference and roast them for 30 minutes at 300 degrees (obviously once you've already cleaned and dried them). They're good for as long as it takes you to enjoy them. Even if you're skeptical, give this a try, I've surprised more than one person which how delicious see are.

Let me know how you fare, I love seeing great Jack 'o Lanterns!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Phases 1-6 Will Leave you Unprepared for Phase 7

I originally posted about Phase 7 back in July. Now that it's been released to DVD, I felt it was a good time to bring it back to your attention. Take a read through my original post. It's a great watch if you're big into the reactions of the humans in a given horror situation - so fans of George Romero take special note. Check out Phase 7 on DVD, it's an excellent time of year to do so.

Before I even talk to you about the new post apocalyptic plague flick, Phase 7, I want to spend a minute directing your attention to the poster for it. It seems like movie poster art has taken a back seat lately, a travesty for which there is no excuse. As a lover of exploitation, the sort of poster style used here is my absolute favorite. Something featuring large and prominently in the top center, in this case the apartment building with "Phase 7" takes center stage in a stylized font. The central characters, facing out from center and overlapping, with more important players featured larger than the supporting cast. Star Wars is a popular example of this poster style, which in itself was a throw back to 50's promotions. Something about this layout just sings "Saturday Afternoon Matinee" to me and this brings me back to the days of my youth, seeing B-Movies at the Devon in Philadelphia, which was a second run movie theater near the house I grew up in.

Flash forward to the present. So here I am now, totally sucked into the film by the promotional art mixed with my own feelings of poster art nostalgia. I haven't read too much about it before hand. Phase 7 is the story of the occupants of an apartment building in Argentina, who have to survive in the aftermath of a plague that decimates humanity. It's at this point that you are probably thinking the same thing that I was: "oh boy, it's zombie time! Muhahaha!". It's true I cackle like a 40's serial villain when it comes to zombies. It's true also that the setup for this film bears a lot of similarities to Rammbock: German Undead, which we took an early look at HERE. Phase 7, however, is not a zombie film.

We follow the journeys of Coco and Pipi, two 20-something's with a bun in the oven (her oven, not his, luckily). They live in an brand new apartment building that only has a few occupants, since it's just finished construction. This excellent decision gives us the opportunity to examine each of the occupants in much greater detail than we would have been able to if there was a much larger pool of characters, such as in [REC]. As luck would have it, our happy couple just returned from a trip to the grocery store as the outbreak began. They are quickly quarantined in their building and told to stay and wait it out. Which they do, maxin' and relaxin' with their plentiful supply of food stuffs.

"Without zombies, what's the point of watching two people wait out a pandemic?" George Romero would be ashamed of you. For decades he has demonstrated that man is the greatest monster of all. So is it true here, where the folks in the building who are running out of supplies begin scheming. It's at this point we meet Horacio.

Do you often sit around, discussing what you would do in the case of a zombie apocalypse, with your friends? Have you written out a list of supplies you would need, where you would loot first and where you would hold up? No? Stop looking at me like that. You know you have. Horacio is you and your weird B-Movie friends come alive. He is Coco's Neighbor who comes equipped with hazmat suit, trip wire stun bombs and enough food and guns to survive well beyond the government and army. He's an Argentinean BURT GUMMER. Seriously, he's a balding, badass, Batman with guns. And you're gonna love him.

So what does Coco do in the face of humans resorting to anything to survive? He puts on a gnarly t-shirt and grows a rockin' facial configuration. Duh.

This SciFi thriller is a cool look at humans being humans in the wake of the end of the world. It's currently making the rounds as a limited release at AMC theaters around the country and will then be available on DVD in the beginning of October. If you're a classic Romero fan, you can't go wrong with Phase 7. With the spate of great horror coming out around the world, I'm surprised Hollywood isn't more paying attention.

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 21

Ghoul A Go-Go

Vlad Tsepis, Creighton, and The Invisible Man

Ghoul A Go-Go describes themselves thusly: "Ghoul A Go-Go is a Monster Musical Kiddie TV Show featuring live rock n' roll, twisting tots, movies, monsters, and mayhem!!!". And that certainly paints a vivid picture. What's under the hood makes this throw back horror trio even cooler than you think. This public access show is a fantastic harkening back to cheesy-creepy horror hosts of yesteryear, with their fun and macabre sense of humor and hip retro styling.

Their Halloween special premiered last evening, but fear not, it is replaying on Sunday at 8pm. If you happen to live in the New York City area, then you can just tune in via your public access channel. If not, no worries, you can watch online via The Monster Channel. They've been a mainstay at Blobfest and their mix-mash of styles and content really excells in an ADHD soaked world.

Here's a good snippet to give you a good feel of the flavor.

It's weird, it's odd, it's eclectic. Yeah. And it absolutely deserves you attention.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 20

The Sixth Sense

What is Halloween without a great ghost story?
Today we're discussing M.Night Shamalamadingdong's The Sixth Sense, which is a fantastic example of a modern urban ghost story. The plot follows the tribulations of a child who can see the spirits of the dead (Haley Joel Osment) and his world weary child psychologist (Bruce Willis) - with personal problems of his own. No one really believes that the dead are seeking out and speaking with Cole (Osment) to help them resolve their corporeal hang ups, except for Dr. Crowe(Willis). The ghost moments are excellently built up to, with tremendous exploitation of the soundtrack and by using less-is-more, corner of your eye flashes of these emanations. When you do finally see them for more than a moment it's really unsettling.

We're also given great insight into the pain of Dr. Crowe's failing marriage. His wife feels that she is second always to his work. Performances such as this one make it clear that Willis has the acting chops that he's so seldom given credit for. And while the resolution of this film might be all over the Internet, we recommend you watch it anyway - perhaps introduce it to some friends who have never seen it. Everyone's life is a little bit better with a good ghost story or two.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 19

Pumpkin Patch Hunting

Perhaps you could consider this part one of a two part piece, the second being centered on carving Jack 'o Lanterns. But before you can stab the hell out of the defenseless cousin of kumquats, you need to first select the perfect one (or more depending on your preference). Certainly you can find a plethora of them at your local super market or even artistically craft frightening faces into special foam pumpkins available at stores like AC Moore. For this we're going more rustic. We're going to pick the pumpkins out ourselves. This isn't so you can live out your Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin fetish (Serious, you need help). It's because all the cool kids are doing it.

So you'll have to fire up your good old web browser. Oh look! You're already here. Google maps should easily be able to direct you to the geographically closest pumpkin patch or pumpkin farmer. For my part, we're lucky in that ours is just down the road and always grows excellent pumpkins. Depending on where you live, you might be able to pick your own pumpkins from the field or simply from where they've been placed on a wagon.

Now with many places like this, there's some gamesmanship involved here. What I mean is that you can purchase a certain number of pumpkins or you can pay one price and get the "all you can carry" deal. I draw specific emphasis to this because, while getting a great deal is important, you never want to over load on pumpkins and kill your back. Two quick tips can maximize your load and save you from a date with our pal Tylenol:

1) Bring someone else to stack the pumpkins into your waiting bear grip.
2) Stretch first and NEVER lean further back to help you hold more weight.

Doing the second one is more idiotic than a cheerleader taking a sexy shower in a summer camp slasher movie. Any it's waaaaaaay less arousing, ya big stud.

When you're selecting pumpkins be sure to check for thick stems, though never carry them around by said stems as they will likely break right off. Check for firmness as well, you don't want a pumpkin that will rot before Halloween (Samhain doesn't look kindly on that). It's also important to choose a few varying sizes which can make for a good variety in styling for your starch filled defenders from spirits.

We'll get into carving soon, likely this weekend. Stay Tuned.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 18

Left 4 Dead 2

It's not often that a horror video game can keep up with it's players. Very often we gamers interact with these virtual realities in different, unpredictable ways. The development teams can't compensate for this and thus an uneven experience in terror is digested with dissatisfaction (and perhaps a Pepcid AC). That mold is broken (and kicked around for good measure) by Left 4 Dead 2 and it's predecessor, Left 4 Dead. And while the first game is also excellent, we're going to focus on the second one today as it triumphantly builds upon what worked well in the first and adds several critical features (such as a full compliment of melee weapon options).

Each level has it's own stylized B-horror poster like this.

Left 4 Dead 2 is a zombie first person shooter. You select one of four survivors to control, ideally teaming up with three competent friends with which to ward off the teeming masses of flesh hungry monsters. If you have no friends, the game does a commendable job of controlling the other three characters in a "playing with your friends-esk manner". Though you really should play with your friends, it's better than ~~playing with yourself~~ on your own. The cooperative component is built into the foundation of the gameplay. If you get knocked down by some of the special infected, only a teammate can help you back up, though in some situations you can continue shooting your pistol as you bleed to death (very heroic).

Children of the ~~rotting~~ corn.

Here's what sets this game far above and beyond others: The Director. The director is the name given to the procedurally generated zombies. What the hell does that mean? This means that unlike nearly all video games with preplaced enemies, in this game the infected are placed randomly around the world. There are also junctions which you'll come to, where the level has been altered from the last time you played FORCING you down an unfamiliar path. If all of this was not enough, the Director is constantly measuring the progress of you and your companions. If it decides you are having too easy of a time slaughtering it's killer denizens, it increases the instances of them and may send difficult to kill, powerful special infected zombies at you. There are subtle musical clues which accompany these events, including "crescendo events" -where you're about to be overwhelmed by dozens to hundreds of the rotting meatbags.

The game world itself comes alive with little details. These shine through in helping to create a world of despair, where hope is almost irrelevant. You receive just enough sustenance (ammo, medical supplies, etc) to make seem as though you might just make it. The safe room, momentarily protected respites between levels, offer a canvas for the mythology of this outbreak to germinate in your imagination.

It's the kind of playground that any self respecting horror fan would love to find themselves in. I can't recommend it to you enough. Just writing about it is making we want to go play it again. If it any flaw it's that it cares about ~~killing~~ me too much.

Lock and Load.

Monday, October 17, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 17

The Nightmare Before Christmas

It's pretty late in the day, I bet you think I forgot about you; that I perhaps threw in the towel after making it halfway through the month, celebrating so many things scary and Halloween related. No dice, Sherlock. I simply spent my morning re-watching the premier of The Walking Dead's second season (and it's many abrupt commercial breaks. That's some atrocious pacing, AMC). So strap on your safety helmet and ride the G's cause we're going back in.

The Nightmare Before Christmas got it's genesis in the delightfully twisted mind of Tim Burton. It showed up in the early 90's and let us all know that while CGI was up and coming, stop motion was well worth remembering still. Look, I know that you've seen this wondrous bout of imagination and wicked story telling. Rather than drone on about how it reverently teases all things Halloween (it does), I'm going to have you check out one of the songs from the film.

Below is the opening song, "The is Halloween". This anthem of the season should be near and dear to your heart light, Neil Diamond. Turn it on and enjoy.

(Try not to kill the clerk at Best Buy in your mad rush to purchase a copy and watch it today. Not because I care about Best Buy clerks in particular but more specifically because at this time of year he's liable to come back as a zombie and start the apocalypse, all thanks to your haste)

Sunday, October 16, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 16

The Midnight Hour

Oh yes, it has begun! The temperature has finally gone from closer to summer-esk to delightful fall chill. The TV channels have begun their heavy horror film rotations. I should point out that SyFy, despite how much I hate the name and their normally terrible choice in programing, has done what most channels should have been; that is dedicate the whole month to horror flicks. Nevertheless, it's that time of year, so check your ~~TV Guide~~ cable menu and tag those flicks you love to your DVR.

One of those movie experiences you need to check out is The Midnight Hour, which is especially important to record since it isn't currently available to the home video market. I'd heard a rumor that dream fulfilling Shout! Factory is working on a release of it but until then my Anchor Bay VHS is apparently worth over $100 bucks on EBay. It must be the LaVar Burton star power.

This made for TV movie isn't going to make your gore-o-meter twitch from it's start position but that's no reason not to give it a fair shake. It contain zombies, ghosts, vampires and witches though I wouldn't call it a kitchen sink approach since it all makes sense in context. A group of high schoolers break into their small New England town's museum to steal historical clothing to wear as costumes to their Halloween party, which is later that night. As fate would have it, one of the teens is the great-grand daughter of a witch who cursed the town 300 years earlier. They find a strange scroll in among the possession and she then reads it, in a graveyard, unleashing both zombies and ghosts, along with the witch, who is seemingly now a vampire.

As is par for the course in these situations, no one notices there is a problem early on because it's Halloween. Before you know it, we have a vampire dance number on our hands and this shit just gets real. Built into all of this is an innocent love story and as I mentioned LaVar Burton, of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Reading Rainbow fame. The Midnight Hour is a fun, innocent, Halloween themed romp that you can share with the whole family. Make sure you DVR it if it's gracing your programming line up.

I give The Midnight Hour four LaVar Burtons....out of Five.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 15

Michael Jackson's Thriller

Now we're in it. We're half way to Halloween and it's time to kick this count down into overdrive. There's only one right way to do it proper and that's with the most influential and important music video of all time. I don't care if you absolutely hate Michael Jackson (no one did in 1984), you're gonna put that distaste aside for the next twenty minutes and listen to me. This massively influential achievement deserves your love and you deserve it's spectacle.

Thriller is a collaborative effort between director John Landis (of An American Werewolf in London fame) and The King of Pop, Michael Jackson. The singer contacted the director after watching American Werewolf and quite frankly it couldn't have worked out any better. Thriller is really a short form horror piece with a dance number. It's a love letter to horror films wrapped in expensive paper and accented with a schlocky bow.

The opening is in a 50's timeframe, with Jackson in his varsity jacket and his date in a poodle skirt. An excellent touch to this whole scene, a movie within a video, is that there are film damage pops to give it a more stressed look. After the two exchange a promise ring, Jackson transforms into a werecat, giving Landis the chance to show off some of the effectiveness of his on screen transformations. Here we pan to the audience watching this film, in the 80's, with Jackson noshing on some popcorn and his date disgusted by the werecat attack. She leaves and we're treated to the outside of the beautiful Palace Theater, with Thriller staring Vincent Price on the marquee. As you're watching this part, check out some of the excellent vintage posters in the background.

The walk home is where the actual singing kicks in and really, everything is going fine until they decide to walk past a cemetery shrouded in fog. Wouldn't you know it, Vincent Price is on hand to recite his now famous "rap", to which the zombies emerge to stalk out happy couple. Before you know it, they're surrounded. What follows is the most repeated part of the video, the amazingly choreographed zombie dance sequence. So famous that it's been performed by daring wedding parties, repentant prison inmates and creative protesters alike. Just check out YouTube, there's so many that I'm surprised there hasn't been a reality contest show centered around it. So You Think You Can Thriller. (I want a cut of the profits)

Why am I spending so much time discussing a fourteen minute music video? Believe it or not, Thriller might have had the most impact on me as a child as perhaps any other single piece of media. It came out when I was very young, it was in rapid rotation on an MTV that was only in the business of showcasing videos (it played once every hour for the whole first year after it's release), it scared my sister and I (we would hide behind the recliner in the living room- it had a brown, yellow and orange afghan) and it was fun. Always the most important factor. The truth is that both my sister and I still have a lingering fear and a tremendous love of zombies- our favorite flavor of horror. This isn't an isolated happenstance, it's a culturally ingrained dynamic. It was important to me, it still is.

I'm gonna leave you with a link so you can watch it yourself. It's a Halloween treat and like I said, it kicks our countdown into overdrive. From here on out, everything we showcase will have a sharper Halloween focus. Enjoy.

Friday, October 14, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 14

Zombies!!! the Board Game

A board game? Is Chuck for real?
Yes. This is a table top strategy game. But you control a "shotgun guy". The setting is an overrun town. Zombies are everywhere. This is a fun game to play while watching a horror flick with friends.

You can't tell, but there's a whole mess of zombies in this box

If you aren't familiar with the game Zombies!!!, allow me to elaborate. All players start as "shotgun guys" in the town square. Each turn the players make starts with drawing a placing a tile adjacent to one of the others already on the map. Then they place zombies on that tile. Once all that's in place, they then get to move their character AND move some zombies. So yes, you can actively screw your friends over by moving brain munchers right to them.

Combat is handled with simple dice rolls and there are also event cards, used to simulate either luck for the player or terrible happenstances for their opponents. The objective is to be the first to escape at the helicopter (which is in the bottom half of the tile deck - not even available from the start) or the first to kill twenty-five zombies.

There's a lot of subtle strategies available here, especially when you factor in the special location cards- fire stations, police headquarters, garden stores and hospitals all have either extra life or extra weapon bonus' to be had if you're willing to brave clearing them of shufflers. Some players might choose to combine forces in repelling the undead, only to have one partner turn on the other when the helicopter seems attainable. It's fascinating how well a tile and dice board game can cause zombie aficionados to emulate the worst in human behavior over something so small as a game. I wonder how quickly they'd do the same when the real zombie apocalypse comes calling.

There are also 10 expansions, adding new locales to the game for those who like additional flavors of zombie death. Those expansions include a military base, sewers and subways, a cemetery, a school, a prison, and of course everyone's favorite location, the mall. If your attention span is somewhat lacking, there is a video game version of Zombies!!! available for Windows Phone 7. Of course, that's not going to help most people.

Snag a copy of Zombies!!! the board game, with it's hundreds of little plastic zombie men, today and get your brain-munch on.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 13

The Last Man on Earth

Ah Vincent Price! I could write about the man all day. Previously we gave him some love here. The man was more than a horror icon, he was a force of nature. Today, we're focusing on The Last Man on Earth as part of our Halloween Advent celebration. I hadn't seen this film in years until it came hidden among some dregs and some gems in one of those cheap multipacks containing 50 public domain films.

Man I miss the pure style of these old posters!

This is the first of three films based on the novel I Am Legend by the amazing Richard Matheson. The other two, The Omega Man (1971) and I Am Legend (2007) may both be better remembered and carry more of a cult following, but neither stay as true to source material as Price's original vehicle. He plays the last remaining uninfected human, after the world's population succumbs to a plague which turns them into a form of weakened vampire. His days repeat over and over as he ventures out to find food and fuel during the day and bunkers into his reinforced home at night- when the infected dead surround his house attempting to pound their way inside. This life is clearly wearing on him and he can't seem to kill the sleeping vampires, during his day trips, quickly enough to grant himself some safety (and sanity).

Would you like your steak medium or through the sternum?

No, The Last Man on Earth isn't a big budget actioner. It's just the story of a lonely man trying to persevere and carry on the legacy of mankind. It's a solitary existence and the only moments of joy he might encounter are quickly taken back from him again. Luckily for you, this little thought of gem is available on Netflix for instant streaming. If you don't feel like picking up one of those cheapie 50 horror film packs, chill on the couch and watch a film which had an enormous impact on the genre redefining Night of the Living Dead. (Romero himself claims that he partially ripped of this film and Matheson's source novel). If you're one of the whiny complainers who hass shaken their angry fist at that company's price increase, take comfort- you can also watch The Last Man on Earth (for free and in nice quality) on YouTube Here.

If you're unconvinced, check out the trailer first. I know you won't be able to resist!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

The 31Days of Halloween: Day 12

How to Survive a Horror Movie by Seth Grahame-Smith

Some of you might wonder why I waited this far into October to present the one book which might increase the survival rate of those who have unfortunately become trapped within a horror film. "Don't you want everyone to survive this Halloween season, Chuck?" No. What sort of horror film would this be if everyone made it? Survival of the fittest, which in this case is the horror nerds.

How to Survive a Horror Movie came at the tail end of the "How to Survive ______" crazy of pocket sized books. You might recall every subjected imaginable had one, from college, to marriage, to action movies and more. They were good for a laugh but none of them were important and meaningful in the way this book is. You see, if you've accidentally stepped into the terrorverse (The universe all horror films reside in) your chance to survive is approaching nil.

That's where Seth Grahame-Smith comes in. You might have seen his name attached to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, the latter of which should be required reading for all horror and vampire-o-files. Here he takes you step by step, explaining the rules of the Terrorverse and how to identify if you've become trapped in it. Once you ascertain that, the individual sub-genres are divided into separate chapters. So we get into detail on slasher killers, inanimately evil objects of death, ghosts/zombies/reanimated denizens, out of this world aliens and monstrous beasts(vampires, mummies, wolfmen, Oprah) then we finish up with demons, satanic rituals and the devil.

Each of these topics are handled with such excellent wit, tongue firmly planted in cheek. The situational examples are all from very famous horror films, without calling them out by name. Much of the fun I have is quizzing my wife to see if she can figure out which reference comes from which film. It's blatantly obvious that Mr. Grahame-Smith is an enormous horror nerd himself and he takes great pains to craft a book which we would all love.

Illustrations are peppered throughout, they're fantastic and stylish- contributing to the built in camp factor. If you're looking for an inexpensive Halloween present or a fun book on horror with a lot of mileage, you really need How to Survive a Horror Movie. It's compulsory reading in my household, except for my cats. If they could read it, I'd have to reference chapter 3 and we'd have a problem.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Terror in the Aisles - My Gateway to Modern Horror Movies

I remember it well. It was a sunny day in October 1985. It was a few weeks before Halloween and the leaves had begun to fall. Jacket weather was in full effect. The walks to school in the morning were crisp and refreshing. But on this day I wasn't walking to school. Prone to sinus infections, I caught a cold that quickly turned into a dreaded infection. A visit to the doctor's office the day before had won me a couple of days off from school, a bottle of horse pills and a liquid antibiotic that tasted like pre-chewed bubble gum. So there I was, home in bed on a bright sunny day.

Actually, I wasn't in bed. During the day, I was camped out on the couch watching cartoons and game shows. We had cable on the living room TV so I wasn't going to be stuck all day in my bedroom with a tiny black & white set with poor reception and seven channels. Downstairs there was cable and I was an unsupervised sick kid. What kind of bounties would await me on cable TV? (Author's Note: In the '80s it was okay for working parents to leave their children at home and unattended during daytime hours. They had to work in order to provide for us. They armed us with microwaveable chicken noodle soup and their work numbers in case of emergencies. We were fine and, to be honest, we enjoyed the freedom.) Unfortunately, on this particular day, HBO wasn't showing anything an inquisitive 11-year-old would be interested in. In those days, HBO had a strict "no R-rated movie during the daytime" policy. So unless you loved frequent airings of Irreconcilable Differences or Oh God! You Devil, daytime HBO was usually a crapfest. On the other hand, there was PRSIM.

If you're not from the Philadelphia area (or where born in the late '90s), let me explain. PRISM, which stood for Philadelphia Regional In-Home Sports and Movies, was a cable channel launched by SPECTACOR, the company that, at that time, owned the Philadelphia Flyers and the recently demolished Philadelphia Spectrum. Until it went dark in 1997, PRISM broadcast live Flyers, Phillies and 76ers home games as well as Spectrum-based WWF events, and in-house specials spotlighting local musicians and nightlife. When there were no sports or specials PRISM ran an odd assortment of movies.

Since sports programming was their bread and butter and because they didn't have the budget or national exposure of an HBO or Showtime, PRISM cobbled together a collection of eclectic movies that no one else seemed interested in. While HBO was touting the upcoming debut of the recent Academy Award winner Amadeus, PRISM was quietly offering the Philly area Nunzio and Americathon. HBO gave children Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock, while PRISM aired The Animalympics. One thing PRISM did have over its giant competitors was the fact that they didn't care about airing adult content during the day. That suited kids just fine. Oh sure, we could have watched Brain Games after we got home from school and learned something from TV. But we just spent all day in a classroom. My friends and I would rather watch Scatman Crothers get eaten by dachshunds dressed as rats in Robert Clouse's Deadly Eyes. After School Specials? Unless they featured a drunken Scott Baio pissing his pants, you could keep 'em. We were too busy cracking up at Kentucky Fried Movie and watching chicks get naked in The Last American Virgin. One of the movies that PRISM aired changed me forever.

On this particular sick day, after watching an episode of Press Your Luck, I got up, pushed the cable box button for PRISM and was greeted with a "The following film is rated R" bumper. Sweet! The Universal logo appeared on the screen and was followed by short scenes from When a Stranger Calls and John Carpenter's Halloween. Then Donald Pleasence appeared as himself, sitting in a darkened, crowded movie theatre. With his super-spooky voice, Pleasence expelled, in great detail, why moviegoers were fascinated with horror movies. Over the course of the next 90 minutes, Pleasence and Nancy Allen led me on a journey through classic and modern horror movies. The journey was called Terror in the Aisles.

When Terror in the Aisles was about to open the year before, local UHF stations bombarded viewers with its TV spots. Those ads scared the crap out of me and my friends. The ad campaign proclaimed that it was the scariest movie ever made featuring clips from all of the best horror movies, most of them too shocking to show on TV! We had never seen most of the movies mentioned in the ads, but we had heard about them from older siblings and friends. The newspaper ad that ran the week before its opening stated that Terror in the Aisles would be playing at the theatre that was a five minute drive from my house (the long-gone Eric Brookhaven Twin, now a beer distributor). My friends and I planned to ride our bikes up to the theatre and sneak in. Before our perfect plan could be executed, the movie was gone. It played one week and then disappeared. As the months passed, our excitement for Terror in the Aisles was replaced by our excitement for upcoming movies like Back to the Future and Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

A year later came that fateful sick day. As soon as the opening credits of Terror in the Aisles rolled, all of the previous year's excitement came back. Wow! I was finally getting to see Terror in the Aisles! And my mom wasn't around! This was awesome! Now I was about to see clips from movies that only played at the Budco theatres in the city like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scanners and Ms. 45, as well as scenes from classics like Jaws, Psycho, Carrie, The Exorcist and the aforementioned Halloween. But there were also clips from a bunch of movies that I had never heard of before. Terror in the Aisles was my introduction to Wait Until Dark, The Fury, The Brood, The Silent Partner and Suspiria. Scene-after-scene I was delightfully terrified. My family didn't own a VCR at the time, but we got one that Christmas. Not long after that I soon began searching the local mom & pop video stores with a list of movies culled from Terror in the Aisles.

I hadn't seen Terror in the Aisles since October 1985, but during that month I watched it every chance I got. Although it was available on VHS, I never rented it. Then it went out of print and was only available as a bootleg. It seemed like Universal would never offer a DVD release due to the nightmare of multiple rights clearances. Earlier this year, when the news hit that the Halloween II blu-ray was going to feature Terror in the Aisles as an extra, I quickly preordered a copy. I figured if it did actually get released, there was a strong chance that it would be quickly pulled from distribution due to some clearance oversight. A couple of days after its street date, the Halloween II blu-ray arrived in the mail. There on the back, in small print, listed in the extras section was Terror in the Aisles. As much as I wanted to tear off the shrink wrap, open it up and immediately watch it, I didn't. I knew that the time wasn't right. In order to properly enjoy it, I needed to wait for the right day.

A week later, on a sunny fall day, I was feeling a little under the weather. After spending most of the day snoozing on the couch with the cat, I decided to pop Terror in the Aisles in the blu-ray player. As soon as it started, all of my memories from that sixth-grade sick day came back. I owe a great debt to Terror in the Aisles. Not only did it kick my love of horror movies into over-drive, it also made me more aware of film making styles and techniques. In between all of the scary clips, filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock offered advice on how to build suspense. Pleasence and Allen talked about horror movie history while shining a light on the stories and concepts that influenced these movies. It made me want to learn more about movies and film making.

Terror in the Aisles is not just a fun walk down memory lane for those of us who grew up on creature features and video stores, it's also a great primer for those just discovering the world of horror movies.

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 11

Poltergeist

Ghosts. Vengeful spirits left behind to wreak havoc. How do they always know that clown dolls are way more terrifying than floating sheets with eye holes? Is there perhaps some guide book they all receive upon graduation from spooky spirit school? "Here's your diploma from Spooky U. Oh! Don't forget to enter through the children's bedroom closet and possess a clown doll if at all possible. They fucking HATE that." This wouldn't surprise me in the least. What else do the dead have to do with their time anyway?

If they're squarely located in the same realm as the film Poltergeist then it seems they have quite a few cool tricks up their inanimate ghostly sleeves. One of them isn't as useful as it was when the film first came out though; with the advent of 24 hour a day television, I can't remember the last time a ghost tried to screw with me via the static left behind when a channel would sign off for the night. I'll admit, as a child, waking up to the static of a TV left on was terrifying. Thanks Poltergeist.

Children's closets are still ridiculously dangerous. Beyond the Sponge Bob stuff and all the other stupid crap that kids get now, the barrier to Hell is thin and easily traipsed in these locations. Kids know this but we never believe them. Go lock one in their closet and see. I'll wait, go on....They screamed their head off to be let out, didn't they? It's because they know that a gateway to the darkside is in there. Kids aren't stupid (yes they are, just not in this example).

Perhaps the biggest impact Poltergeist has had is on the real estate market. Before the film, you had a scientifically proven one in thirteen chance of purchasing a new development home which was actually located on top of a former graveyard. Now that ratio reads one in three hundred thousand. Do you know why that is? Three words: Craig T. Nelson. That's right, no developer would dare invoke the wrath of the former Coach star and thus find plots of land to build on which weren't previously the haunts of the dead.

What I'm getting at is this: watch Poltergeist. It could very well save your life. (And Craig T. Nelson was the bomb in Phantoms yo)

Monday, October 10, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 10

The Monster Squad

I've ridden this Halloween ~~count down~~ celebration as though it were my trusted stallion, Nostalgia. Through the woods of aging and past the fortified walls of adulthood, I've spurred Nostalgia to ride swift and true. Continuing on this joyride through my yearly Halloween indulgences, we have The Monster Squad (1987). Fantastically, Fred Dekker weaves together the back stories of Universal's stable of horror icons; Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, which all come together in this delightful horror/comedy treat.

The story is an inspired take on the Van Helsing/Dracula struggle. One day every century the amulet of good, a supremely powerful artifact which can be used to banish evil beings from the world, is vulnerable to destruction. In the prologue, Van Helsing fails to complete the banishing ritual against Dracula, but his apprentice manages to sneak the amulet to America. Now we're again approaching the special day of vulnerability and it's up to the Monster Squad to prevent Dracula from retrieving the amulet, destroying it and enveloping the world in darkness!

The titular organization is composed of a group of kids who love the classic monsters and monster movies. They come across Van Helsing's diary, discover the truth and must set about stopping the worst from happening. These kids are us. More than many other films, The Monster Squad epitomizes what films are supposed to do: allow the audience to put themselves into the place of the protagonists and "ride along". In this case, these kids are us when we were kids. Think about it: they're unhealthily obsessed with horror films, idolize monsters, know all about their portrayed "weaknesses", constantly discuss all these things and they formed a tree house based club to do so. If this doesn't ring any bells for you, it's entirely likely that you're hopeless.

How does this fit the season? I'm delighted you asked.
For one, it's a perfect flick with which to introduce your wee little ones to monster movies. It's geared as adventure and comedy, rather than gory horror. For anther thing, lets look back at the list of famous monsters contained in the film: Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I've masqueraded as four of those five for various Halloweens in my youth. I suspect you have to some degree as well. Lastly, and for more than any other reason: it's FUN.

Horror can be sinister, it can be frightening, it can be cruel and remorseless but on Halloween it's also mischievous, wicked and delightfully fun. Shine a light on those darkness seeking horrors and enjoy.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 9

Dead Rising

Dead Rising is the first video game we're taking a look at, as part of our 31 Days of Halloween celebration. Released in 2006, this zombie video game takes place completely in a mall, nestled within a small Midwestern town, which has suffered an undead outbreak. You play as dashing photojournalist Frank West (who's been in wars, y'know). He purposefully charters a helicopter to break the government quarantine and expose the story to the outside world. Frank plans to be picked up on the roof in three days time. Interestingly, the game clock runs continuously as you play; plot events don't advance the time.

So you've got a limited time to save people, acquire supplies, fight the undead and get out alive. It's a great tension builder. On the subject of fighting, Dead Rising allows you do use nearly anything, no matter how ineffective, as a weapon. Want to use that mall trash can to fight? Go ahead. Golf clubs, baseball bats, diamonds, shopping carts, lawn mowers, bowling balls, cash registers and way more are available to smash and bash the walking dead. You can even wield garden sprinklers, to gory blood fountain effect. It's all in the name of camp, of cheese, and it's just so much fun.

While the thrust of the game is gleefully slaughtering the aimless, shambling zombies, your most dangerous foe of all are psychopaths, humans gone all different flavors of violent crazy. In many ways such as this, Dead Rising heavily apes from the Romero formula. The game manual even has a disclaimer that it is in no way endorsed by Mr. Romero. However it's clear inspired by it, paying homage to it and giving us license to live out our Dawn of the Dead emergency plan fantasy. Don't be coy, we've all thought about where we'd go in a zombie apocalypse. Well, here's a game that allows you to live it out. I can't think of a better way (at least today) to get into the Halloween spirit. Happy hunting.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 8

Popcorn

"Saturday night at the movies, who cares what we came to see!"

1991's low budget slasher film is actually a brilliant love letter to William Castle-esk gimmickry and 50's giant monster flicks. There's so much to laude and enjoy in Popcorn that it's surprising how little known it actually is. It would help if there was a proper DVD release of it, which there isn't, but you can catch it on Netflix instant streaming. So why should you seek Popcorn out?

It's early Saturday morning so I'm gonna do this list style:

The setting is a classic, old school movie theatre
Really cool gimmicks for the fictional in film movie festival films; Mosquito in Projecto-o-Vision! Attack of the Amazing Electrified man in Shock-o-Scope! And The Stench in Aroma-Rama!
Takes place on Halloween, the Horrorthon staff and attendees are all in costumes.
The kills, while there aren't an over abundance, are all creative and gleefully evil.
Excellent cinematography, great use of the setting, good performance from all the principals.

More than anything, Popcorn takes great pains to revel in it's love of 50's horror tropes; simultaneously it lampoons, emulates and aggrandizes all that made that era great, whilst still forming a successful 80's slasher film. It's a tall task, which most filmmakers would fail at. Check out Popcorn and if you dig it, search for the Kickster program that's currently working to give it the Proper DVD release it deserves.

Friday, October 7, 2011

The 31 Days of Halloween: Day 7

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Yeah, I'm totally going there. I don't want to hear any back sass. Strap on your nostalgia helmet and let's declare this meeting of the Midnight Society open.

Are you Afraid of the Dark was a horror anthology TV series that ran for seven seasons in the 90's on Nickelodeon. It followed the 'Midnight Society, a group of kids who met around a fire in the woods and would take turns telling spooky tales about ghosts, monsters, the undead and more. The tales were a take off of the old EC Comics stories, various Tales from the Crypt sources and urban legends, though toned down for a younger audience. It ran in the late evenings on Saturdays as part of Nickelodeon's "SNICK" lineup.

While the series was released on DVD a few years ago, they're well out of print and selling for ridiculous prices online. However, many of the episodes are available in pieces on YouTube. I was watching a few last week and it felt like a kid all over again. This show was woven into my childhood as an integral dose of horror. Yeah it was fun and goofy, but it was usually good for a scare or two. All of the episodes don't hold as well as some stand outs do (it was early 90's kids' television after all). Below are several episodes that really kept their charm and which I recommend you watch while you rock your Halloween nostalgia vibe.

The Tale of the Midnight Madness
(Link to the fist part)
Why you should watch it: This tale takes place in a turn of the 19th century movie theater that is struggling to stay afloat while competing with new multiplex theaters. One of the employees is passionate about keeping it going, for it's historical significance. He's offered a too good to be true solution in the form of a mysteriously compelling vampire movie from recurring series antagonist, the delightfully evil Dr.Vink.

The Tale of the Dead Man's Float
(Link to the first part)
Why you should watch it: I know; It's a stupid title. Hear me out: Two students find an abandoned swimming pool in their high school that was built on top of a graveyard. How this all happens, no clue, but damn is this a fun episode. It appeals to the kid in me that always hoped I would find some mysteriously abandoned part of my school.

The Tale of Water Demons
(Link to the first part)
Why you should watch it: Excellent episode that was likely inspired by John Carpenter's The Fog. Some kids deliver food to an old man, who stole items from a shipwreck and is haunted by it's victims.

The second and third parts of each episodes will be linked to the right in the "related videos" sections. If you want to search for more episodes to watch, just type "AYAOTD" in YouTube's search field.

I now declare this meeting of the Midnight Society, closed.