31 Days of Halloween: Day 1 Halloween (1978)

A movie about a man with a grudge against pumpkins. 

Yes, that's right, I'm starting with it. I want Halloween to be at each end of October! I can't get enough of it. It's the best way I could think to start this undertaking of bringing you a review every single day in the greatest month of the year. I did just say that. Every. Day. 31 reviews for your delight and terror. Halloween is likely my favorite horror film of all time. The total presentation just pulls me in and I can watch it over and over, it never gets stale. It's classic, made with vision and care. So here we go, back before Hollywood decided Michael Myers had to be seven feet tall.

A minimalist and oddly unsettling credits sequence. 

The plot of Halloween is pretty easy to follow. Michael Myers, also known as The Shape in the credits, killed his older sister as a child on Halloween night and was locked away in an institution. Years later though, on Halloween, he escapes to return home. Doctor Loomis (who is played by the incredible Donald Pleasance), Michael's caretaker follows, trying to kill the evil once and for all. The people of Haddonfield will never be the same after evil returns to their little town. Lorie Strode, played by an extremely young Jamie Lee Curtis is terrorized by The Shape while babysitting. It seems cliche, but this is the movie that invented that cliche in the classic American slasher.

Our villain, The Shape! No, really, I'm dead serious. 

Halloween was almost never made and was lucky to get picked up for production. Even then, it was made on a low budget, only 300,000 dollars. So low they couldn't film on location and had to settle for March in Pasadena. So, keep this in mind while you watch. Every single brown leaf you see in Halloween was hand painted by the crew, scattered for scenes and then collected by hand for use later in the movie. This is the kind of work and dedication the crew put in. This is why you get a film that's quality and genuine. Everyone believed in what they were doing. There are many great aspects to Halloween, but the one that means the most to me is camera work. Everything is shot with a lot of thought and images of The Shape fading in and out of shots and lingering just out of sight is chilling. You get the idea that an unseen monster is stalking these hapless young people. It makes you even wonder how often you're watched without knowing. The script writing is top notch too, the characters all sound very real and natural.

Nothing funny here, I just love this shot, it rules.

This is normally the part where I would talk about the kills, the blood, the cgi and all that tasty stuff. But, Halloween is really not all that violent or bloody. I can think of maybe two scenes with blood. A good chunk of the kills are by strangulation. Sure the violence is shocking, seeing someone choked to death isn't exactly ho-hum, but it's very tame when you think of movies going around today. I think where the horror comes from most is the monster stalking the character without their knowledge, it's just right there, if only they could see it. He stalks you in the dark and appears to kill in such an intimate way, with his bare hands, watching the light fade from his victim's eyes. So much more powerful than taking a power drill to someone's forehead in a spray of brain matter. You come for the atmosphere, not for the gore. Trust me, you won't even miss it.

Look at these two getting steamy in the car. 

I realize I could talk and talk about Halloween. I'd be here typing for hours. I'm even on my third viewing with commentary at this moment. There are plenty of other movies I have to get to and Halloween will always be there. Halloween is a treat, a tasteful, patient work of art. I mean, the first on screen kill doesn't come until 45 minutes in. In any other movie there would be a stack of bodies. Everyone should see Halloween, if you're a fan of the genre it's a must see and always great for this time of year. Go see it! Now, with that said, I'm off to the next movie, who knows which it will be off my list of terrors. I hope you enjoyed day 1 and until I return, don't be afraid to be a little scary.

30 days til Halloween, Halloween. 30 days til Halloween. Sil-ver Shamrock!

Creepy For The Kiddies

Well hey there everyone, I know there's been a bit of hiatus on my posts and I apologize. Part of that was gearing up for the next month and making sure I had easy access to enough movies to watch and all that business. I can report that it all went very well. But now I'm here with something for the parents that may happen to read this blog, kid friendly horror movies. Now, when I say kid friendly, you have to remember that the purpose of a scary movie is to be, well, scary. Some of these are more than likely to illicit screams or some nightmares, but I'm sure we all know adults that the same things happen to. I personally used to get super freaked out by horror movies, but here I am now making it a pass time to watch the things. Nothing wrong with getting a little scared here and there. I have a few criteria I tried to stick to with these. 

"Are you sure this stuff is for kids?"

- Light on foul language. There will likely by a little here and there, but it's really not that bad. 

- Minimal blood. You'd actually be surprised how little blood comes up in some horror films. Even Texas Chainsaw Massacre was really low on the gore. Not to say it won't show up, but it won't be a torrent of viscera. 

-No over the top violence. No one is going to get their head chopped off with a weed whacker and get it kicked into an ant hill or any crazy shit like that. Individuals may be stabbed or cut, maybe even strangled, but it's no worse than a prime time show or video game that most kids get their hands on without issue. 

-The last thing, when I say kid, I don't mean much younger than maybe 10. There are a few for the even younger crowd on the list, but not all. 

So, with that said, on with the list!

Hocus Pocus (1993)

These are the villains of the movie and I can't help but smile at their antics!

Easily one of my favorites from childhood until now and good for all ages. Hocus Pocus follows the story of a few young kids who unwittingly release 300 year old bumbling witches on the town of Salem. The witches want to take the souls of children to be immortal and the kids are out to stop them. This is Disney at the top of it's live action game, with wonderful sets, fabulous costumes and even a catchy musical number in the middle. There is enough comedy and fun to keep the kids entertained and a few things sprinkled in for adults to get a laugh. I'd have to say this is a must watch for the kiddos over the month of October. As of typing this, it's easily available in stores and rumors are floating around about a sequel. If it's even close to as good as the first, I'll be very happy. 

Insidious (2010)

Insidious, is made by one of the best horror directors in recent years, James Wan. My favorite thing about Insidious is how conscious the crew was of horror cliches and they go out of their way to avoid them. Insidious is a ghost story with a twist, only one person meets their end in the whole movie and most of the horror comes from strange happenings, ghosts and atmosphere. Insidious is great at getting you worked up for places you think there should be a scare and not delivering. Then the second you relax there is something there. Towards the end it gets pretty scary and has some of the more creative and memorable imagery I've seen in a horror film. This really is one of the gems of PG-13 horror. 

The Conjuring (2013)

Another movie from James Wan, based on "true events". I can say it's not much different than Insidious. A family struggles with a vengeful entity trying to invade their lives just because they moved into the wrong house. It's low on the jump scares but will deliver a few good ones when the time is right. 

Paranormal Activity (2007)

The movie that brought found footage back to the mainstream in a big way and spawned four more installments. The creepy factor and tension created by this movie is very real, because you're just waiting for something to happen. The waiting is what gets to you. Then when something little happens after all the waiting, it's just freaky. Cool thing about Paranormal Activity is that it does everything with no gore, one off screen death and very little in the way of regular horror tropes. 

Halloween (1978)

That time of year again, huh?

A classic of the slasher genre and first film to utilize the steady cam. Halloween has left it's mark on the popular culture in a big way. Watching Halloween now, it's really tame compared to what came after. Michael Myers doesn't tear anyone's head off or anything crazy, yes, he strangles and stabs people to death. But on the scale of how graphic it is, it's really not at all. I can't recall much blood at any point. Halloween really thrives off it's camera work and the creepy idea that the boogeyman could be watching you around the corner and you'd never know. There's a touch of language, a little sexual content and some violence, but it's really nothing wild. 

Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)

"I just hate it when monsters eat kids, know what I mean Vern?"

A kid's movie pure and simple. The lovable character of Ernest trying to save the kids of his small town from an evil troll invasion that he himself let loose by just being a simpleton. But we still love him, because as the town garbage man, he's gonna clean up the mess. Beyond the performance off Jim Varney, Ernest Scared Stupid brings some amazing monster effects and fun characters together to make this a really good time to watch. Even as a kid I thought the trolls were just scary, I'd even swear to you at times they were from a different movie all together. 

There are more on the list of course and I'm likely to post a part two, October is a whole month after all. For the parents though, don't just take my advice. Watch the movies yourself first and make sure it fits with what you want for your kids. I'm just a guy on the internet.  

Movie Review: You're Next (2013)

Well vacation is over and it's time to get back to the land of scary. With October drawing near things are just going to ramp up. So for this review I've gone with a movie I've heard about for a while that had an interesting cover, You're Next.

"You think they mean me? Maybe they get the wrong house."

You're next is directed by Adam Wingard, a relative new comer to the horror scene with credits in V/H/S and V/H/S 2 along with The ABCs of Death.  I have to say, I hope the guy sticks around, because so far his work has been solid. You're Next started going around the film festival circuit in 2011 and was picked up for wide distribution to be released in 2013. Off a 1 million dollar budget, the film came away from the box office making 25 million. A pretty big success.

A family fit for the obituary column.

You're next is about a couple that decides to get all their children and their significant others together at their large country home for the weekend. Things take a turn however when a group of masked killers begin stalking the family one by one. Sounds like pretty standard home invasion fodder at first glance, but You're Next steps right out of that box and gives the killers and the audience more than they bargained for. Things turn into an R Rated version of Home Alone with one of the potential victims turning the tables on the attackers and they begin to get picked off.

At least these guys know the difference between "Your" and "You're"

The acting talent in You're Next is well above what you may expect. The characters have good chemistry and distinct personalities that you learn after only a few minutes with them. The family members really are terrible. They are the typical movie rich family with spoiled kids and barely concealed dysfunction. Even in the midst of certain death they have the time to argue with each other and point fingers. You get the stereotype yuppie brother with his wife who looks down on and  torment their weaker family members, the rebellious daughter, the liberal son and the sketchy son with a weird girlfriend. Everyone really owns their part and you manage to feel sympathy for almost all of them.  The killers themselves are very unnerving in their simplicity, dark clothes and blank stares from children's animal masks. They really could be anyone.
You're Next also showcases some pretty good practical effects. The gore is believable and wounds look like you would expect them to. Now at first I was a little shocked and disappointed that we weren't seeing any of the kills, but the movie rewarded me for waiting with some truly good violence. Everything from crossbows to nails make an appearance as a weapon. You get a real sense that some of these characters are desperate and will use anything as a weapon, ANYTHING.  Now the camera does get oddly shaky at times, but it's hardly noticeable. It's more of a slight wobble once or twice and shouldn't do anything to mess with your experience.

Ah shit. Wrong guy.

I've decided not to spoil too much about You're Next, because that would be doing you a disservice. This is probably the best slasher/home invasion movie to come out in the 2000's and very likely one of the best horror movies to come out since then too. As of this typing it's even on Netflix streaming, so if you have the service it doesn't cost anything but time to watch. So in closing, please, go check it out. Should be some fun stuff coming to the blog the next few weeks, so be looking out and don't be afraid to be a little scary.

31 Days of October Review-A-Thon List Revealed

Here it is, the list for the 31 days of October horror review-a-thon. This year's theme will be found footage movies. Just to make sure I don't overdose on the shaky cam some regular films are thrown in.

Paranormal Activity 1-4
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night
The Den
VHS
VHS 2
VHS 3
The Blair Witch Project
Grave Encounters
Grave Encounters: 2
REC
Jeepers Creepers
Fright Night
Halloween
The Thing
The Exorcist
10/5/11 Abandoned Grain Elevator
The Tunnel
Asylum Blackout
Frankenstein's Army
Apollo 18
The Last Exorcism
Lake Mungo
Night of the Demons
The Strangers
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
And a final mystery movie to be decided.

The list is subject to change just in case I can't get my hands on anything in it, though that hasn't been a problem. The list is also not in the order they'll be watched.  I personally can't wait to get started!