I've never been huge on the horror genre... so in turn, I've never been huge on Halloween. Definitely not to the level my brother-in-law takes it. He's a Halloween nut :) However, every year around the time of All Hallows Eve I do make sure to watch a few choice selections to get into the spirit on some ethereal level. The following are my must watch Halloween films...
(In no particular order)
1. Ghostbusters - This one really doesn't need much introduction. It's GHOSTBUSTERS! One of the all time greatest pieces of American cinema ever created! It's an all year round classic, but it's subject matter gives it a little extra juice around Halloween.
2. The Monster Squad - If you grew up in the 80's, it's a safe bet you know that the Wolfman has nards! Featuring all the classic Universal monsters, Wolfman, The Mummy, Frankenstein, the Creature and Dracula himself, this is a great fun flick if you're a kid or an adult. No Halloween would be complete without it.
3. Vampire Hunter D - An anime created in 1985 that features a dhampir vampire hunter named D, a half-breed child of a vampire father and human mother. He hunts down and kills vampires in a post-apocalyptic future earth. It's a pretty awesome movie as far as monster slaying goes and was one of my "gateway" drugs into the wold of Japanese animation. Probably not for little eyes as it's got some very gory scenes in it.
4. Spaced Invaders - This ridiculous movie holds a special place in my heart even though it's beyond hokey and corny! A group of Martians intercept a broadcast of War of the Worlds on earth and mistake it for the real invasion of the Martian enemy's home world of "Arcturus". So these wayward invaders end up on Earth and hilarity ensues. ;) It's cheesy, but it's tradition, and I get a kick out of it every time!
5. Bubba Ho-Tep - Elvis and JFK do battle with an ancient soul sucking cowboy mummy, seriously, what is not to love about this?! Oh and it's got Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis in it, epic!
6. Blade - What can I say, I like seeing vampires die! :) Marvel's own comic book version of a dhampir vampire hunter was a great sleeper hit in 1998. Vampires not only walk the earth, but they secretly rule (they're the 1% ;) meanwhile Blade, the half-man, half-vampire who has all of a vampire's strengths and none of their weaknesses seeks to eradicate vampires from the face of the planet for what they did to his mother. As far as comic book movies go, this one is one of the better ones and features some pretty cool action scenes.
7. Army of Darkness - "this is my BOOM STICK!" The 3rd installment in the Evil Dead trilogy is easily my favorite and the only one I make sure to watch in the month of October. Again... Bruce Campell, the legend, need we say more? :)
8. The Blair Witch Project - I remember seeing this before it went mainstream at the Angelika on West Houston in the city. Before it blew up, much of the background about how it was real was still preserved so you really didn't know what to expect going into it. The movie as a whole isn't overly creepy or scary, but the final 5 minutes more than make up for it. Interesting factoid, the girl who's in the movie worked at my office and quit to make the movie shortly before I was hired. :P
9. Gremlins - One could argue that this is a Christmas movie, but this movie about little green monsters' rightful home is on All Hallows Eve... much like Ghostbusters, I don't think this one needs much in the way of introduction. Just remember, no bright light... no water... and most important, do NOT feed after midnight!
10. The Burbs - This Tom Hanks cult classic about a quiet neighborhood that suddenly gets very strange new neighbors. I love this movie, it's not your standard Hanks fare, but it's a great addition to any movie collection! Plus it has Halloween perennial... Corey Feldman.
There's a couple others, but we'll stop the list at these 10. If I can manage to watch these 10 and eat some candy, my Halloween happiness has been fulfilled and I'm ready for the Thanksgiving Day Parade! Now, there are two halloween/horror movies that are on the absolute DO NOT WATCH list.
1. The Gate - I'm going to assume that if I watched it now, the movie really wouldn't be all that scary... but the indelible memories scarred upon my psyche from watching this movie in a creaky basement during a sleep over at a friends house when I was 10 years old have removed any and all desire to turn this one on. Freaky story about The Gate, after that horrific night of nightmares and heart palpitations... I never thought about the Gate again. I blocked off that part of my brain and quarantined it. For 12 years it's existence was gone for me, and oddly enough I never heard a reference to it, never saw it on TV, it was literally wiped from existence. Fast forward 12 years, I now a grown man of 22, hanging out late one evening at a friends house. I believe it was close to Halloween actually... anyway, the group of people hanging out started talking about "what's the scariest movie you ever saw" and everyone's throwing in their opinions, your standard Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street answers are there along with some more insidious offerings (Boxing Helena IS f'in scary!). While the majority of the group is deep in debate, one friend's girlfriend is flipping through the channels from the couch. Finally I decide to unlock the quarantine from hell and offer up the one movie that scarred my childhood... "Mine is The Gate... " I say to the group. One girl pipes up, "The Gate! That movie scared the $%^& out of me!" as we both say this, the channel on the TV flips over and what is on!? THE F'IN GATE!!! 12 years of nothing, I mention it's foul darkness and it finds me!! The entire group looked at the television in unison.. you could have heard a pin drop in that room that lasted for what seemed like an hour. After several moments, almost in unison... a collective sigh was released as the girl on the couch clicked off the TV. "Ok, I think it's time to go" we all seemed to say at the same time. One by one we left for the night, but I don't think anyone forgot that creepy evening...
2. Event Horizon - This movie.... if you've seen it, you know. If you haven't seen it... view at your own risk... fist. mouth. w t f!
Happy Halloween everyone!!!
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