HALLOWEEN TOP 10: MOVIES IN THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON

This year I've been a tad lazy and decided to just make two Halloween Top 10 list. All work and no play has diminished my time to actually sit down and dig through the range of new favorite characters, inventive costumes or debuting  filmmakers. So I've narrowed it down to two lists; my favorite Halloween jingles and the following - a list of the ten movies which I feel best embody the spirit of Halloween. 

10. Creepshow (1982)
This collaboration between director George A. Romero and author Stephen King brings five tales of terror to the screen, inspired by the E.C Comics of the 1950's (which were also the basis for the popular Tales From the Crypt TV series). The five stories are framed within the pages of a comic book which a young boy's insensitive father has thrown in the garbage, and are linked to each other with animated bridges in the style of the old comics. Romero and King have effectively approached this movie with a combination of thrills and gimmickal humor.

9. Pumpkinhead (1988)
A Ten Little Indians story set in Deliverance outbacks, Pumpkinhead presents a season inspired Boogeyman, conjured by a man whose son is accidentally killed by a group of teenagers who pass across their land. Despite the hollowness of the acting (at times) and the questionable props (mostly the costumes), this is a dark fairy tale that teaches us that vengeance isn't always the best course of action. At its heart this is a tale of morality that stands out from the 80's crowd of low budget horror movies. The design of the monster is a thrilling representation of something vaguely humanoid but at the same time completely alien and foreign.

8. Halloween (2007)
Rob Zombie's resurrection of John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) is one of my few favorites in the modern remake wave. It perfectly balances the brutal gore that can only be produced by Rob Zombie, and the tinkly chilling feel of 70's original. I know most Rob Zombie fans were disappointed after his landmarks House of 1000 Corpses (2003) and The Devil's Rejects (2005), and I can agree to the extent that the little boy who one day snapped and killed his sister for no apparent reason is far more scary than the Michael Myers background story that Zombie presents. However, I adore Rob Zombie's twisted touch, his perfect ear for accompanying butcher scenes with 70's country music and the way he avoided turning it into another high school slasher but instead made it a slaughterhouse stabathon.

7. Scream (1996)
As a half-parody, half-tribute to the "dead teenagers" movies of the 70's and 80's, Scream is the 90's answer to classic slashers which instantly became a success. Though the introduction and the ending are merely simple and bloody roughness, the complicated plot in between skillfully plays with the conventions of horror movies in a clever mix of irony, self-reference and blood spills. With constant references to its classic horror predecessors, Scream pays endless homage while at the same time subverting and adhering to the "rules" of horror films. This is truly the most entertaining fright fest of the 90's.

6. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
For the die hard fans of Michael Myers (myself included) it might be hard to accept the fact that he's not the villain of the third installment of the Halloween franchise. In fact he only appears briefly on a TV screen when the main characters watch a commercial for the first Halloween movie. As a sequel to Halloween and Halloween II this movie plainly sucks. On its on though, Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a perfect little midnight movie for the season, and once I got over the disappointment that Michael Myers has no place on this film, I started to notice the aspects of it that make it such an alluring movie on its own. The key element (which is also its link to the previous movies) is the mask. It holds a gateway to a greater evil that wishes to take the life away from children. As the children put their Halloween masks on they themselves become the boogeyman, the monsters and the ghouls. The trigger of the masks is the Halloween commercial from Silver Shamrock Novelties, which is an effective detail and has become a memorable aspect of the movie.

5. Trick 'r Treat (2007)
This delicious, gleeful anthology intertwines four different Halloween stories in a brilliant way, with each story complimenting the other. It holds a morbidly charming tone through out the movie and with its campfire-tale shivers and surprisingly fresh screenplay it never has a dull moment. With its thick autumnal atmosphere, jack-o-lanterns and bloody tricks, Trick 'r Treat is a full on homage to the Halloween season.

4. Fright Night (1985) 
Along with my top two choices, the original Fright Night has always been my must-see-every-season-movie. Perhaps not a classic, Fright Night still is a spook show of season spirit, wit, charm and the perfect amount of suburban creepiness. The story is simple and believable (if you're a horror-obsessed geek like Charley Brewster) and Chris Sarandon's suspiciously good looks is the perfect mask for the centuries of decay and seduction that this vampire neighbor has hidden in his closet.

3. The Exorcist (1973)
It really doesn't matter if you're a first time viewer or if you've re-watched this movie since you were too young to see it in the first place; there's no mistaking the gruesome tale and unnerving shocker that is The Exorcist. It's as disturbing today as it was 40 years ago. Few movies have managed to have the same mental impact on me (The Blair Witch Project, The Fourth Kind included) and the beautiful but brutal, yet simple, special effects contribute to the indescribable obscenities. Based on the last documented and known Catholic sanctioned exorcism in the US, The Exorcist displays a journey back in time where religion triumphs modern medicine and shakes the foundation of Christianity, which contributes to the movie's great historical value.

2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Although not a horror movie per se, this low-budget freak show offers an entertaining and bizarre cocktail of musical scores, weird costumes and outrageous characters. The Rocky Horror Picture Show came to be more of a social phenomena than a great picture of cinema. It turned social identification upside down with its fetish-based transsexual love musical. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a cult classic and would best be experienced as a double feature at the drive-in midnight theaters. 

1. Halloween (1978)
Not only my favorite Halloween movie, John Carpenter's Halloween is my all time favorite horror movie. After all these years it remains untouched by the endless numbers of imitations and maniac-on-the-loose suspensers. Halloween is basically the original slasher movie; it came out of nowhere, was filmed in only 20 days and revitalized and patented the whole genre of slashers. With a stunning opening scene (seen from the child-monster's point of view) this suburban horror smash takes a scary stalkerish turn with its murder-incestious plot and twists into the bloody crescendos, which have made it one of the most influential movies ever.

WOMEN IN HORROR RECOGNITION MONTH: WOMEN IN UNIFORMS

Honoring February 2012 as 'Women In Horror Recognition Month', I'm kicking off this month's last week with my first post; a top 3 of women in uniforms.

 
On an almost daily basis I wear a dark blue polyester skirt and jacket with a white cotton shirt underneath, accessorized with black ballerina shoes and a multicolored scarf. The uniform is what you would refer to as 'nice'. I know a thousand ways to make it sassier, sexier and above all fit better, but the airline industry has strict policies on both figure, fabric and colors. So what type of uniform would I wear, if I could choose? Here's three sassy uniforms I wouldn't mind choosing from.

 

"I LOVE A WOMAN IN UNIFORM!" 

 OBS! THIS POST MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS!  

THE CHEERLEADER
I haven't seen much of Megan Fox's earlier work, I must admit. And I never really cared for her role as Mikaela Banes, the love interest of Sam Witwicky, in the first two Transformer-movies (Transformers from 2007 and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen from 2009).

Jennifer in Jennifer's Body (2009)

I did however love the two main characters; Anita 'Needy' Lesnicky and Jennifer Check, in the femslasher Jennifer's Body (2009). This dark comedy horror drama (why stick to one genre?) stars the two BFF's; Needy (Amanda Seyfried) being the impish bookworm Needy and Jennifer (Megan Fox) being the hot cheerleader at school. Their friendship is interpreted by several of their schoolmates as 'lesbian', not the least by Needy's boyfriend Chip (Johnny Simmons).

Moving from the high school pep rally, with Jennifer leading the team in a flag routine, out to a night at the local bar, Needy and Jennifer's life changes over night as Jennifer becomes possessed into a devilish succubus who targets and feeds off of high school boys.

Written by the Oscar winning Diablo Cody, Jennifer's Body isn't scary enough to work as a horror movie. It does however spark some satirical moments and touches on the surface of teen-angst and the ever so debated issue of men's fear of female sexuality. But these elements are left unexplored and as the movie never analyzes the female intuition, the BFF-psychic bond, the angst and the sexuality it point its finger at, we're left with good looking, but only skin deep 102 minutes.

Alternative candidates: Baby Firefly in House of 1000 Corpses (2003), Alison Wentworth in Cheerleader Camp (1988) and Amber in Spirit Camp (2009).

THE FRENCH MAID 

The 1975 film adaption of the British rock musical stageplay The Rocky Horror Show, is a parody of B-movies, science fiction and horror films from the late 1940's through the early 1970's. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the first film from a major Hollywood studio to be in the midnight movie market, and still 36 years after its premiere it has the longest-running theatrical release in film history. 

Magenta in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show soon became one of my top favorite movies after watching it for the first time when I was about 15-16 years old. As mentioned before, I'm a strong advocate for the role of music in movies, believing it plays a significant part when it comes to creating character and atmosphere. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is filled with up-beat, dance-friendly sing-along music and amazingly quirky characters to go with it. My favorite being Magenta - a domestic. 

Played by Patricia Quinn (Mary Horror and the upcoming The Lords of Salem) the Usherette/Magenta is the best Transylvanian maid you could happen to meet on the whole planet of Transsexual! She's fierce, sassy and one hell of a singer/dancer. Being the maid of the castle she wears a black dress, with a white little apron over it and a little white hat.

Alternative candidates: Moira in American Horror Story (2011).


THE SCHOOL GIRL
And not in a perverse Catholic way. More the prep boarding school way.

On Halloween in 1963, Michael Myers murdered his sister Judith. In 1978, he broke out of the mental institution where he was held to kill his other sister, Laurie Strode. He killed all of her friends, but she managed to escape. A few years later, Laurie fakes her own death to prevent Michael from ever finding her again.

Molly in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)

It's October 1998 in Northern California, where Laurie Strode is living under the assumed name 'Keri Tate', working as the Headmistress at Hillcrest Academy High School. Still haunted by the events 20 years later, 'Keri' is adversely affected professionally, but also personally as a mother to John (Josh Hartnett) and girlfriend to Will (Adam Arkin). Fearing that her dear brother, Michael Myers, is still alive and will return 'Keri' has a hard time letting her son out of her sight, for fear of loosing him. When she finally agrees to let him join the rest of the students for a n from joining the rest of the students for a getaway weekend to Yosemite National Park, for the fear that not having him near during Halloween. When she finally  Instead, John, his girlfriend Molly (Michelle Williams) and a couple of other students stay behind to have an intimate Halloween Party in the school basement.

Michelle Williams is an actress that has been growing on me during the years. From her adolescent appearances as the high school student Jen Lindley in the classic Dawson's Creek (1998) and the college student Ruby in Prozac Nation (2001), to her strong role as Alma in the amazing Brokeback Mountain (2005) and the portrait of female insanity Dolores in Shutter Island 2010), she's bound to make an impressive role in the newly released My Week With Marilyn. In Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, she plays the sweet, but ugly duckling character Molly Cartwell, with her boarding school uniform and her black boots.

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) is the 20th-anniversary sequel to the groundbreaking horror film Halloween (1978) presents some bloody good scares and the impeccable acting skills of Jamie Lee Curtis. One you speculate whether it was a good idea to produce a seventh installment in the Halloween franchise, but ignoring Halloween III: Season of the Witch (since it has no connections to the other films and is not considered to be a part of the Michael Myers-storyline), and skipping Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, this is actually a direct alternate sequel to Halloween II.

Alternative candidates: Bonnie in The Craft (1996) and Tomoko Ôishi in Ringu (1998).

HALLOWEEN TOP 10: MACABRE DANCE NUMBERS

#10 - Cherry gives the dance of death in Planet Terror (2007)

#9 - Kim's frisky dance moves in Prom Night (1980)

#8 - Satanico Pandemonium gives a table dance in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

#7 - Iris starts a rebellious dance in The Ward (2010)

#6 - Violet does a sweet robot dance before getting stabbed to death in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

#5 - Baby Firefly performes 'I wanna be loved by you' in House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

#4 - Arlene gives Stuntman Mike a lap dance in Deathproof (2007)

#3 - One of Leland Palmer's many compulsive dance moves in Twin Peaks (1990)

#2 - Boy in hat does the creepiest dance scene in Insidious (2011)

#1 - The infamous 'Time Warp' dance in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

HALLOWEEN TOP 10: JUICY JINGLES

#10 - Tainted Love by Hannah Peel (American Horror Story 2011)

#9 - Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me by Susan Sarandon (The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975)

#8 - I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Love Someone Like Me by Katie Irving (Carrie 1976) 

#7 - Questions In A World of Blue by Julee Cruise (Fire Walk With Me 1992) 

#6 - Run Baby Run by The Newbeats (The Ward 2010)

#5 - Mr. Sandman by The Chordettes (Halloween 1978)

#4 - It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels by Kitty Wells (The Devil's Rejects 2005)

#3 - The Love You Save by Joe Tex (Death Proof 2007)

#2 - Bleed to Feed by C.C. Adcock & The Lafayette Marquis (True Blood 2008) 

#1 - Tiptoe Through the Tulips by Tiny Tim (Insidious 2010)

 

ROCKY HORROR GLEE SHOW

I really try not to get too attached to Glee, since I haven't really made up my mind about the show. It could be a genius pop culture production, giving life to old, forgotten classics and a new face to the current mainstream. Despite the cheesy factor, I am however an advocate for music and especially interpretations that are both interesting and surprising. ("Unlike you I'm a believer in the arts" Sue Sylvester.)

Last nights show (Season 2, Episode 5) The Rocky Horror Glee Show was the best tribute to the weird and wonderful musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show from 1975 I've ever seen. With clean costumes, doppelgangers, a female dressed as a male transvestite (Big confusion? I know.) and a real Transylvanian twist, the rocking of Rocky couldn't get any more entertaining.