As I have touched on before, Halloween is a little different for someone who watches horror films all year long. I fully support the efforts made by others to watch loads of spooky shit during October, but some of us are always kind of doing that, so it doesn't feel as much like a “seasonal” activity. Personally, I use the season to run through all my favorite flicks that pertain to the holiday directly in some way. Luckily for me, the yearly subject is a perfect fit for the genre, so the setting gets used frequently, and I have plenty to go through annually. Last year, around this time, I wrote 5 Movies RevTerry Has to Watch on/around Halloween, and while finishing off with some honorable mentions, I ended up with a list longer than the films in the main article. Every holiday needs a tradition, so in addition to last year's list, I bring you in no particular order:
9(ish) More Films RevTerry Will Most Likely Watch on/around Halloween.
Lady in White (1988)
Honestly, this one should have been on the first list as it's kind of a fucking classic. It manages to include some of that Spielberg/Stephen King nostalgia vibe while still being wonderfully off and entirely its own thing. Actually, I'm surprised it's not more popular as that “coming of age but with supernatural problems” thing is the trend right now in mainstream media. If you haven't seen it, I personally recommend adding it to your holiday horror playlist this year. I'm also under the impression that it's a good one for the less “seasoned” crowd, although I am historically bad at gauging that kind of thing. Gather the folks, and tell your family it’s the Halloween prequel to A Christmas Story, or something (don't do that).
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) and Halloween 5 (1989)
The Halloween series is a “choose your own adventure” of various timelines, all using the first two films as a starting point (or in the case of the latest one, just the first). More accurately, it could be said that viewing a working story, in this case, requires some creative assembly, and there are always pieces left over. The longest running continuous string of cannon to date (comprised of the first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth films in the franchise), introduced us to future genre champion Danielle Harris. Harris would later cement cult status with other films as well, but the role of young Jamie Lloyd (/Strode/Myers) has to be one of history’s least annoying children in a horror film. Arguably, the arch’s belated closing chapter doesn't quite satisfy as much as one would hope,(Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, 1995, I can get down with it sometimes, but I can't help but think of Aliens 3 after the first fifteen minutes), but the original fourth and fifth entries in the twice rebooted (three times if you count the Zombie flicks) series make a nice mini-epic when watched back to back on their own.
Jack-O (1995)
Nothing says Halloween spirit like a killer pumpkin and more Linea Quigley for the yearly marathon. I reviewed this one in full at the start of the month-- check that out HERE.
Ginger Snaps (2000)
A seasonally appropriate, heartwarming tale about high school life, growing up with a close sibling and turning into a werewolf. It has justly earned a pretty hardcore following since its release (from what I understand) and was also followed by one worthwhile sequel (as well as a kind of shitty prequel).
Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)
Are scarecrows like a fall thing? They feel like a fall thing, but I guess farmers and birds can’t disappear sometime in November and lay dormant for a year. Either way, Dark Night of the Scarecrow takes place around Halloween, so it doesn't matter. One of many evil scarecrow films in existence, it features some authentic creepy atmosphere, at times, and plays into the theme with a hearty salt of the earth type grit.
Murder Party (2007)
I found out about this one late and only caught it a few years ago, but it's been a go-to departure from straight attempts at horror in my October line up ever since. I reviewed this one last week, in full. Check that out HERE.
The rest of the Night of the Demons series (1994,1997,2009)
While there's nothing that can top the original (see last years list), the entire NOTD series employs enough haunted, trashy antics to make any Ill-fated party entertaining. Chapters II and III stay pretty true to the spirit of the original to make a clean trilogy, both follow the adventures of Angela as she returns to torment other peoples Halloween parties throughout the years. Even the 2009 reboot makes a pretty solid addition to the group and can be watched back to back without killing the mood. I reviewed the third movie a few weeks ago-- check that out HERE.
Trick or Treat (aka Ragman 1986)
Not the one with the “'r” (that one is on the first list) or the 1988 one with the “s” at the end (Trick or TreatS). This one has Ozzy Osbourne and the creepy dad guy with the ponytail from KISS. Underrated and drenched in 80s hair metal, this ode to the dark forces of music strikes me as what you would get if you mixed a Penelope Spheeris movie with Witchboard (1986). There's a surprisingly engrossing story in there, packed with cornball angst and guitar feedback.
Satan's Little Helper (2004)
I don't know why I want to call a movie where a baby in a stroller gets run over by a speeding shopping cart a word like “cute”, but if I said words like “cute” I think I would, for whatever reason, call this movie a word like that. Silly, but never close to boring, the semi-recent tribute to Halloween and video games feels like something Nickelodeon would make if they had lost their minds in the middle of the 90s. Fuck it-- you know what? That shit’s cute.
Whatever you end up watching on the only holiday worth celebrating this year, I hope your Samhain evening is both safe and spooky as fuck. I also want to remind you to support trick or treating in your neighborhood. It's up to us to keep the one good national tradition involving fictional monsters alive.
Links:
5 Movies RevTerry Has to Watch on/around Halloween! (aka Part 1, posted 10/2017)
Article by RevTerry
