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The Leftscape Podcast: ‘Samhain Traditions (Episode 22)’

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Our topic at hand for the week of Halloween is a related but different custom — the observation of Samhain. This most sacred and solemn of the Pagan holidays occurs at the time of the traditional Celtic new year, and for Pagans today it is a time to remember those who have died. For many, the day is a time for communing and celebrating with loved ones who have passed and for seeking insight through divination. It is a time for quietude in the dark time of the year in the Northern hemisphere, a time for reassessment, and for looking forward to renewal. Wendy SheridanMary McGinley, and Robin Renée each talk about the Samhain customs that speak to them most and how they navigate enjoying all the fun of the secular version of the celebration, Halloween, in the same time frame. Robin shares a Samhain poem that you can see on her website, and the three co-hosts interpret readings using handmade Viking runes, The Shakespeare Oracle, and The Aquarian Tarot. Wendy gives little-known information about the artist behind the classic Rider-Waite Tarot, Pamela Coleman Smith.

In keeping with the Samhain and Halloween theme, October 31 is also National Magic Day and National Increase Your Psychic Powers Day. It is also Girl Scout Founder’s Day and Knock Knock Joke Day (hence the silly beginning to this episode). In the news, there is “creativity” involved in voter suppression and there are dueling hexes and prayers at work engaging in a political fight in the metaphysical realm. Birthday shout outs go to Peter Jackson, Ethel Waters, Al Paxton, John Candy, Michael Landon, Neal Stephenson, Bernard Edwards, Willow Smith, and Piper Perabo, who Mary is happy to have worked with on a very funny play by George Bernard Shaw.

Before the main discussion gets started, a correction is in order: Mary and Wendy discuss how they were both right in Episode 21 about aspects of the plot of Sophie’s Choice. They each had selective memory, combined with some conflation with Hobson’s Choice.

Blessed Samhain and Happy Halloween!

 The Leftscape – the shape of progressive conversation: “Samhain Traditions (Episode 22).”

 

 

 

 

View story at Medium.com

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Giveaway! Win A Blu-ray of ‘Halloween’ (US Only)

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You can’t kill the Boogeyman and, even forty years later, Michael Myers is still slashing throats and making money at the box office. If you’re a United States resident, you can register to win a Blu-ray copy of David Gordon Green’s Halloween. Cower in fear in the comfort of your own home! Just leave a comment on this article and you’ll be entered for your chance to win!

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Andy B Revisits Rob Zombie’s Halloween – Does He Like What He Sees?

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As an admitted horror fan I’ve made a point of seeing virtually all the Halloween films (I skipped out on Resurrection, and have a feeling I’m the better for it).While I was too young to experience any of them in the theatres, back in the pre-Fox TV days, WUTV, one of the Buffalo stations, made a point of broadcasting Friday night and weekend horror flicks, and I’m fairly certain that’s where I caught the earliest ones in the series, including the original John Carpenter film that introduced Michael Myers. I even recall catching Halloween III: Season Of The Witch on tv and kind of enjoying it. But even with the history, I was never emotionally invested in the series, so when word came out in 2006 that Rob Zombie was directing a remake of the original, I didn’t throw my arms up in disgust like so many other geeks and diehards did. I pretty much figured the worst he’d do is make a bad movie, which in the grand scheme of things doesn’t really matter, since the original will always be available for us to watch (it also seems to be a film that will be endlessly repackaged; a five disc box set is due in stores any day now).

When I watched Rob Zombie’s Halloween in the theaters just about a year ago, I really enjoyed it. I thought it was very stylish, violent but not to the point of gratuitousness (something many would argue is a Zombie-as-director trait). The film is carried by a decent performance from Malcolm McDowell, who stepped into the trench coat of the late Donald Pleasance as Dr. Loomis, the psychiatrist treating the psychotic Michael Myers, played as a adolescent by Daeg Faerch and as an adult by former wrestler Tyler Mane (both actors do good jobs too, though Mane doesn’t have to do to much except hulk around). I walked out thinking that I’d definitely pick up Halloween when it hit DVD, which I did months later when it was released in an “unrated director’s cut” version. For whatever reason, I never got around to watching it until this week, when I decided to revisit the film during the Halloween season and see how it held up.

That may not have been such a good idea.

First the good news: the first half of Halloween really is a reinvention, a prologue where you see the elements that could make a boy become a psychopath, and remains captivating and uncomfortable. It’s totally unique from the original film and it’s where Rob Zombie seems to have put his heart into it. He takes his time and develops both Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis. Fans and critics alike debated whether Zombie should have given his main character any sympathetic traits when he’s supposed to simply be an unstoppable killing machine. Watching Halloween a second time, I think it was a great move on the director’s part. While we do feel bad for young Michael initially, Zombie makes sure there’s no mistaking any lingering innocence in the character with a brutal hospital murder scene that might be the best in the film. It’s certainly one of the most disturbing, in my mind.

The above performances are still solid and the film remains stylish, with Zombie giving Halloween’s first half an authentic 70’s vibe with grainy hues and a quintessential soundtrack (cue Kiss and Blue Oyster Cult) while also making generous use of John Carpenter’s original score. As for the scares, they’re still there, and there are scenes that made me jump, even on second viewing. I also noticed a lot more of the cameos throughout (I can’t believe I missed Mickey Dolenz the first time).

Unfortunately, it’s the film’s second half, which strays close to the original that feels by the numbers and just didn’t hold up on second viewing. At no point did I ever care for the nubile teenage girls whose sole purpose seems to be eye candy. There’s no character development at all for them; Scout Taylor-Compton’s Laurie, first essayed in the original by Jamie Lee Curtis, is cute, but her personality never grows with you. But to her credit, Taylor-Compton does have a great final few seconds in the film in her final showdown with “the Shape”. But when you don’t care about the characters and you know what’s coming, it’s hard to feel involved with a film.

The unrated version of Halloween features the addition of a rape scene, first seen in a leaked work print of the film but which was expunged when the film hit theatres Labour Day Weekend 2007. It’s a gratuitous and brutal moment and not one I needed to experience. But with that scene back in the film, Michael’s escape from the psychiatric hospital is much more plausible than in the theatrical version, so its return is a double edged sword.

Upon my return to Rob Zombie’s Halloween, I suppose I was expecting to as impressed as I was when I first saw it in the theaters. But sitting on one’s couch, with the potential of myriad distractions, the film just didn’t hold up or hold me how I’d hoped. It certainly didn’t sully the original, but it didn’t improve upon it either.

Or did it? Find out in the coming days when I revisit the original Halloween 30 years after it first hit theaters.

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Trailer Time: Andy B On Rob Zombie’s H2

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For everyone who loved Rob Zombies’ 2007 film Halloween, you’re likely anxious to check out the sequel H2, which is due in theaters on August 28th. The trailer makes it clear that this film is totally unrelated to the original Halloween sequel. Those that had issues with Zombie’s reimagining be warned – you aren’t going to like what you see. Rather than simply have Michael Myers run rampant after his sister one more, Zombie is going to show us what’s been driving him the whole time. Watching the trailer it’s clear that Michael has mommy issues, which is cool with me because it means more Sherri Moon Zombie.

H2 was a quick shoot, something like 35 days. This trailer leaves me keen to see what Zombie comes up with this time. Get your first taste of H2 here.

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Trailer Time: Halloween II

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We’re less than a week away from the release of Halloween II, Rob Zombie’s follow-up to his 2007 reimagining/remake of the Michael Myers saga. While some loved Zombie’s take on the John Carpenter classic, it seems like most were downright disappointed. Personally, the first time I saw Halloween in the theater I really dug it, but watching the extended director’s cut last year I too was let down. There are many moments of coolness throughout, but the film didn’t hold up for a repeat viewing (you can get more on that here).

Halloween II looks like Zombie’s taken the gloves off. It’s neither a remake or homage to the original sequel, which is a good thing. We’ll find out this Friday. In the meantime, check out the trailer for Halloween II below.

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Halloween Laughs: Andy Burns On Sitcom Spookiness

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imageJust a little under two weeks from now another Halloween will be upon us. I don’t know about you, but this is really one of my favourite times of year. The dress up, the scariness, the appreciation for ghosts and goblins and things that go bump in the night – how you can you go wrong?

Growing up, I watched a lot of television and I always got a kick out of the sitcom episodes that featured a Halloween theme. For starters, situation comedies aren’t typically where you’d find anything particularly horrific so the spookiness was always a change of pace. Then there was the fact that the supernatural elements were always played for laughs, which meant fewer nightmares for me (key word there – fewer).

On that note, today I offer you a look back at some of my favourite spooky sitcom moments. There are lots of them, mind you, including episodes of Kate & Allie and Cheers, but the ones below are episodes that immediately sprang to mind. Some are Halloween themed, but a few get in just because I found them genuinely creepy when I first saw them. Let’s begin, shall we?

ROSEANNE:SEASON 2-8

I don’t think any sitcom celebrated Halloween with more love and fun than Roseanne. Nearly every season of the series had a special theme episode and the entire cast always seemed to have a ball with them. None of them ever sent chills down your spine, but somehow they always captured the spirit of the season. I especially liked the Season 3 episode where Rosie dressed up as a lumberjack and got to experience life as a man. However, like the show itself, by the time we got around to Season 8 with the ghost of Jerry Garcia visiting, the shark had indeed jumped when it came to Roseanne and Halloween.

DIFFERENT STROKES: HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD

Now, this was not a Halloween episode at all, and there were far scarier episodes of Different Strokes throughout its run (just about every “very special episode” or the one where Sam and Arnold wound up being pseudo-ghostbusters, which was just scary bad). However, Hooray For Hollywood was my first experience with Psycho and Universal studios, a magical place my father would take me too not long after seeing this particular two-part episode. Check out the memorable scene in question, in a slightly different format from how you and I first watched it back in the early 80’s.

THE FACTS OF LIFE: SEVEN LITTLE INDIANS

Did you know that The Facts of Life did multiple Halloween episodes? I had no idea. The only one that’s stuck with me was a great Twilight Zone parody that featured a Rod Serling-esque narrator and the entire post-Mrs. Garret cast getting bumped off, one by one. It’s creepy, kind of kooky and, oh yeah, it’s got George Clooney. And Tootie. Tootie. I just like typing…Tootie.

WEBSTER: MOVING ON

My final selection is once again not a Halloween episode per se, but one that features a fairly creepy scene in a house straight out of The Addams Family (minus Thing Or Lurch). I remember watching this episode of Webster and being absolutely enthralled by the Victorian House that Ma’am, George and Web were looking to move into after their apartment burned up. Hidden passages, ladders, dumbwaiters oh my! But the spooky doll scene below was genuinely eerie, as is the track suit that Emmanuelle Lewis is sporting.

The Leftscape Podcast: ‘A Handmade Halloween Haunt (Episode 62)’

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Joey Schweigert, Halloween MCEvery year just after Christmas, “amateur haunter” Joey Schweigert of Asbury Park, NJ sets out on a mission. He begins his plan to create the best home Halloween experience ever. His Halloween wonderlands for kids are a beloved part of the neighborhood holiday tradition, and they are more of the retro and whimsical variety than the frightening kind. This year’s creation will be a wizard’s den and dragon nursery where each child must pass three (fun and easy) tests before receiving a special handmade gift. Hear him chat with Wendy Sheridan about this year’s adventure as well as previous themes like Mad Scientist Lab, Jurassic Cottage, the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, and Night Circus. Learn how Joey seeks to inspire neighborhood kids, and in case you were wondering, the secret to making gnome toenails and chicken lips!

November begins this week, so naturally the show starts with things to celebrate in the new month: Native American Heritage Month, Adopt a Senior Pet Month, Movember, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), NoSHAVEember, and Vegan Month all happen in November. Daily celebrations and observances this week include National Candy Corn Day (October 30), Halloween, Samhain, and Girl Scout Founder’s Day (October 31), National Author’s Day (November 1), Deviled Egg Day and Bison Day (November 2), and National Chicken Lady Day, which honors Dr. Marthenia “Tina” Dupree. (November 4). Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 3, and in the U.S., state and local elections will be held on Tuesday, November 5. Birthday acknowledgments of the week go to Henry Winkler, Piper Perabo, John Candy, Vanilla Ice, Tim Cook, Nelly, Elizabeth Smart, Adam Ant, and Diddy.

In the All the News We Can Handle segment, Wendy and Robin Renée bid farewell to Rep. Elijah Cummings and discuss the importance of getting informed, voting, and supporting candidates in challenging races around the country. In the Why is this Awesome? segment, Robin asks Wendy for a primer on King Crimson and their classic, In the Court of the Crimson King. Wendy happily shares about one of her favorites.

The Leftscape – the shape of progressive conversation: “A Handmade Halloween Haunt (Episode 62)

 

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Trailer Time: Halloween Kills

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Bad news first.

Halloween Kills has been delayed until October 2021. Considering the state of the world, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody.

Good news.

Our first taste of Halloween Kills has arrived and makes it clear just how Michael Myers will be back to terrorize Laurie Strode and her family yet again.

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31 Days Of Horror 2020 Presents Heroes & Villains: Swamp Thing, Archie Halloween Specials

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October is finally here which means I’ve allowed myself to cannonball right into the deep end of the Halloween pool. Not to oversell it but I’ll be going on a socially distant haunted hayride next week. I think the most frightening part will be having to be around other people for the first time in seven months.

Luckily for this column there are a whole lot of Halloween themed comics hitting the stands this month, so let’s look at some!

LEGEND OF THE SWAMP THING HALLOWEEN SPECTACULAR #1
Various (W/A)
DC Comics

Right off the bat can we just take a moment to appreciate that Swamp Thing had a cartoon in 1990 with a completely ridiculous theme song?

Cool, right?

At the risk of bleeding over into Figure Friday territory, the action figures that the cartoon was trying to sell you were pretty faithful representations of Swampy’s comic book appearance. I had a glow-in-the-dark one, it was awesome, AND it came with a VHS of the pilot episode of the cartoon. I was also just a couple years out from having been given a random Alan Moore issue by an unsuspecting relative that had stuffed one in my Easter basket.

When you also factor in the USA Network’s Swamp Thing TV series to the mix, it’s safe to say my history with the character is widely uneven.

Thankfully, the intervening years brought context and I’ve come to see Swamp Thing as one of DC’s flagship horror titles. On stands TODAY is the Legend of The Swamp Thing Halloween Spectacular. Here’s the blurb:

It’s Halloween, and DC invites you to welcome Swamp Thing to your witching-hour festivities. In this 48-page collection of all-new stories, the Guardian of the Green reveals past lives and the unforgettable horrors that befall those who cross his path. From ancient Rome to present day, Swamp Thing stalks these ghostly and ghastly tales-all of which are best read by the light of a jack-o’-lantern!

By and large, DC does horror books right. I’m always glad to see the publisher putting out a new one-shot horror anthology because they really nail the tone necessary for a horror book. Swamp Thing himself grew out of (plant pun!) House of Secrets one of DC’s horror anthology titles of yore, so a book like this one feels like the perfect fit for the character.

I had to jump in the Way Back Machine because I mistakenly thought it was LAST year that I wrote about the DC/Walmart joint venture 100-Page Giant Swamp Thing book. It actually ended up being two years ago and the Walmart exclusive books are now just a distant memory. Who would have thought cramming comics in a place with little to no foot traffic in a store would lure in new readers?

This book is a great start for your October horror reading list, so check it out.

ARCHIE HALLOWEEN SPECTACULAR #1
Various (W/A)
Archie Comics

In what could be described as a complete 180 from the previous title, the Archie Halloween Spectacular is a solid all-ages book that celebrates the spooky season in a way that’s very…Archie.

Just last week I wrote about how titles like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Afterlife With Archie were some of the most surprising horror titles in recent memory. To be clear, this book isn’t that…it’s CLASSIC Archie fare. The kind of stuff that you would find on the spinner rack at the corner drug store or at the supermarket checkout.

Typically, I don’t shy away from all-ages stuff in this column and I think a lot of people interpret “all ages” as meaning “for kids.” That said, if you’ve got a kid around that’s just starting off with comics this is probably an ideal book to send their way. The book focuses mostly on the “Trick” aspect of “Trick or Treat” and leaves the really spooky stuff squarely in the domain of the publisher’s more mature books. Plus, there’s a great Twilight Zone takeoff that caps the book which I absolutely adored.

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Trailer Time: A Final Look at “Halloween Kills”

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It’s almost killing time.

The final trailer for Halloween Kills has arrived, giving us another look at the upcoming direct sequel to 2018’s commercially successful and critically acclaimed Halloween. Believe it or not, Michael Myers is still alive, but this time he’s the hunted.

Halloween Kills arrives in theatres and on Peacock in the US on Friday, October 15th

31 Days of Horror 2021 Guest Post: Drew Edwards Shares Five Fearful Films

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To be a horror fan is to be constantly chasing thrills and chills. It might seem odd to some, but
for me, a good horror film is one of the best cures for my near-constant anxiety. Watching horror
movies allows me not only an entry into a fantasy world but a safe release for that
aforementioned anxiety. The danger is artificial, and I am in the safety of my own home most of
the time. The stress is released through a ritual of fear, and I am able to go about my life.

But the rub of it is, the more horror movies you watch, the harder it is for you to get scared. I’m
not stating this to sound jaded or tough. I LOVE it when a movie gives me the heebie-jeebies.
It’s just a simple fact, hardcore horror junkies can get a little desensitized.

With that in mind, it pays to have a few go-to movies that always hit that horror sweet spot. A
playlist of fright flicks that will get you spooked no matter what. Below is a collection of films that
always manage to frighten me.

Salem’s Lot (1979)

Family traditions can be a little strange. Case in point, there was nearly a five-year streak
during my childhood in which my family would annually rent Tobe Hooper’s epic adaptation of
Stephen King’s seminal vampire novel Salem’s Lot and watch it the day after Thanksgiving
while eating leftovers. I’m not really sure how this began or why it continued, but I do know that
I was enthralled by the film, even though it scared the stuffing out of me.

Modern horror fans will often claim that vampire movies are not scary. I will gladly hold up this
movie as a strong rebuke of that idea. The movie (originally a TV mini-series) expertly sets up
its small-town characters while also giving a real sense of doom and gloom over the
proceedings. The townspeople of Salem’s Lot are damned, and you feel it from frame one.

Then there’s Kurt Barlow, the master vampire. A departure from the smooth amalgamation of
Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee featured in the novel, Hooper’s Barlow is a hissing update of
Nosferatu, with the blue-tinted skin of a corpse and the yellow eyes of a crocodile. This version
of Barlow has become iconic and it’s easy to see why, as the make-up design is so arresting to
look at. And yet, he’s not the scariest thing in the movie.

The most unsettling image in Salem’s Lot, a movie filled with unsettling imagery, is the surreal
figure of the undead Ralphie Glick clawing at a second-story window, trying to get in and feed
on his older brother Danny. Glick is a unique-looking movie vampire. He’s a child for one,
decked out in pajamas. His blueish pallor and milky eyes, reminding us that he is the freshly
buried dead. This is also a scene in which not having modern special effects actually benefits it
greatly. Glick is surrounded by fog as he floats around the window like a demonic Peter Pan. It
doesn’t quite look real, but it does look ghostly.

The infamous “window scene” is well remembered for being nightmarish. It encapsulates the
themes of Salem’s Lot nicely, making horror feel both domestic and otherworldly at the same
time. Both King and Hooper are of course well known for bringing terror to America’s backyards
and back roads. But our next film wasn’t content to stay on dry land…

JAWS (1975)

The small Texas town I grew up in was worlds away from Amity Island. Still, it was surrounded
by lakes, swamps, and creeks, so I had a healthy notion that water could hide unseen terrors.
That notion became ironclad when, one fateful weekend, when my parents brought home
Steven Spielberg’s JAWS from the video store.

The movie caused unbridled fear in me. While nearby Possum Kingdom Lake doesn’t have any
giant sharks swimming in its waters, as a kid it was difficult to convince me otherwise. Even as
an adult, JAWS continues to have a singular ability to make me feel powerless. It’s a movie that
grabs hold of you from its first scene and clamps down like the fangs of a great sea monster.

While Spielberg isn’t known to be a master of cinematic horror the same way directors like John
Carpenter are, he has often dabbled in the genre. From his breakout TV movie Duel to the
more gruesome aspects of the Jurassic Park films, Spielberg shows a great understanding of
how to make an audience deeply ill-at-ease. And JAWS is probably his purest exercise in
flexing those muscles.

While the movie has many terrific scares, for my money the most frightening moment is purely
character-driven. Towards the end of the movie, our three heroes get drunk and grizzled shark
hunter Quint explains the origins of his hatred of sharks. Based on a true story, the entire movie
stops so Quint (embodied by Robert Shaw) can tell the tale of the doomed USS Indianapolis.
After delivering the atomic bomb, the ship was torpedoed by a Japanese sub while trying to
return to Allied waters. Amazingly, not all of the sailors died from the ship sinking.
Unfortunately for them, they began to get picked off by hungry sharks– a detail that Quint
delivers with a suitably macabre tone.

It’s the best scene in an amazing film and one that should chill even the bravest of moviegoers.
Reminding us all how vulnerable we are in the water. Our next movie, however, brings horror
home.

The Haunting (1963)

Robert Wise’s adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s classic haunted house novel is often cited as one
of the all-time best horror films. It is easy to see why; the movie is dripping with atmosphere and
manages to spook you silly with barely any special effects. Instead, the movie uses sound
effects to represent its ghosts. Coupling that with an amazing central performance by Julie
Harris as the tormented Eleanor, The Haunting is an experience viewers will never forget.

A perfect example of how the movie mines so much from so little plays out when Eleanor is
sharing a bed with fellow ghost hunter Theo (Claire Bloom). At this stage in the film, the duo is
now afraid to sleep alone– and with good reason, as it turns out.

The scene begins with Eleanor rising from her sleep. The spectral voice of a man rises in the
darkness, seemingly coming from nowhere. Joining in shortly after is malevolent laughter,
becoming a chorus of terrible sounds. Eleanor cries out to Theo, saying she is crushing her
hand in their embrace. A ghostly child joins the chorus, its shrill cries sounding like it is in pain.
This is too much for Eleanor who screams into the night. The spirits silence themselves as
Theo turns on the lights. Yet, the light brings no comfort, as it revealed Eleanor wasn’t in bed
with Theo at all. The scene concludes with one last chill up your spine as Eleanor ponders
“whose hand was I holding?” Other films have to rely on gore for their shocks, but The Haunting does just as much by showing you nothing but the fear on its characters’ faces. And like all great ghost stories, it leaves you something to ponder when you turn out the lights at
night.

TERRIFIED (2017)

I want you to imagine the film Ghostbusters, take out the sci-fi technology and dial the humour
back from a 10 to a 4. That’s Terrified at its core. A group of occult investigators enters a
seemingly haunted Buenos Aires neighbourhood and are systematically destroyed by the evil
that dwells there.

Terrified doesn’t care for explanations, it only wants to make your skin crawl. It never bothers to
pin down what is the root of the haunting. Demons? Ghosts? Lovecraftian monsters? It could
be all of the above or something else entirely. The lack of concrete lore to attach to its
apparitions allows the film to bombard the viewer with weird imagery that shocks and unnerves.

The movie’s creepiest moment is its simplest. Two of our protagonists encounter the corpse of
a child that has been displayed at the dinner table in a macabre parody of a family breakfast.
While the investigators discuss how the boy ended up there, the corpse seems to move subtly
every time they turn away from it. The effect is nothing short of chilling.

For those who don’t normally care for foreign films, I urge you to ignore your biases and give
this Argentinian shocker a chance. It’s one of the most effective contemporary horror flicks I’ve
seen in a good while.

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Sometimes it’s the little things that stay with you the most. John Landis’ An American Werewolf
in Londo
n is considered by many to be the definitive ’80s monster movie, The film has many
standout moments of horror. Well-crafted jump scares, shape-shifting body horror and
character-based existential crisis. But what haunts me about American Werewolf is its final
moments.

I’ve often made the case that despite its witty, comedic, dialogue, that An American Werewolf
in Londo
n is a deeply cynical movie populated by doomed, tragic characters. I back this up
by citing its ending. The film’s hero David has transformed into his hellhound alter-ego one final
time, resulting in a rampage across Piccadilly Circus. David’s love interest, the compassionate
nurse Alex, pushes her way past the heavily armed police. As the werewolf readies to pounce
on her, Alex steadies herself and says firmly “I love you, David,” hoping to reach the man within
the monster. The beast advances on her and is shot down by the cops. As Alex breaks down
while looking down at David’s now-human corpse, The Marcel’s doo-wop take on “Blue Moon”
begins to play abruptly cutting to the ending credits.

The scene encapsulates the tragedy of the Wolf Man mythos. You want these two likeable young
people to have a future together. But they live in an unkind universe that sneers at the idea of
hope. The perfect use of an upbeat song from the early years of rock feels like a slap in the
face. One last cruel joke played on the audience, as the film seemingly dances on the grave of
its hero. An American Werewolf in London is proof a movie need not rely purely on visceral thrills
to frighten you. Sometimes you only have to rip at the viewer’s heartstrings.

So, there you have it. Five movies that never fall to give me the shivers. Fear is, of course,
relative. You might find the above-mentioned fright flicks about as scary as a glass of warm milk.
Still, as the spooky season continues, I urge you to dig deep, reflect on what frightens you, and
seek it out in its cinematic form. After all, it’s the best way to honour Halloween!

Drew Edwards is the writer/creator of the long-running underground comic Halloween Man and its related spin-off Lucy Chaplin: Science Starlet. He is a Ringo nominee and a member of the Pen America Fellowship, and can be heard regularly on the Castle of Horror Podcast. His work is currently published by Comixology: https://www.comixology.com/Sugar-Skull-Media/comics-publisher/5811-0 

31 Days of Horror 2021 Presents Scotty G At The Movies: “Halloween Kills” Shows the Horror of Mob Mentality

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The latest chapter in the Halloween franchise hit theatres this weekend and unfortunately, I left the film feeling indifferent, which is not what you want to feel when you watch a horror film.

Halloween Kills is set moment after 2018’s Halloween, with lots of flashbacks thrown in for good measure. We learn that Michael Myers escaped the fire at Laurie Strode’s house and killed all the fireman trying to put out the blaze. I will say this is probably the most inventive sequence of the film as I liked some of the camera shots and angles, especially when we had a fireman’s fogged up mask POV shot and when Michael walks out of the house with water coming down in the foreground while the flames reach their apex in the background.

The Strode family (Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer and Andi Matichak) are on their way to the hospital to tend to their wounds after their encounter with Michael in the 2018 film and for the most part, that’s where those characters stay throughout the events of Halloween Kills. Michael’s story has him heading home, violently killing anyone who gets in his way. What is interesting about Halloween Kills is the decision that screenwriters Scott Teems, Danny McBride and David Gordon Green made to make this film focus more on the victims from the original 1978 film and how they want their revenge on Michael Myers, instead of the Strode family. It has a mixed effect, because we get a very strong performance from Anthony Michael Hall, who plays Tommy Doyle, but lose interest in the storyline that was setup in the first film with the Strode family. For those of you who have not seen the 1978 original film (like myself) Tommy was one of the kids Laurie Strode babysat. I think for Halloween Kills, it would have definitely helped if I had seen the 1978 film when watching this, which is interesting because I did not feel that way when I saw the 2018 version.

When Doyle finds out that Michael has escaped, he begins to recruit people from the town to come together to stop Michael by any means necessary. This to me was the true horror of the film, seeing people unite because of a singular focus without rationally thinking through that vengeance is not good and it is not ok to take the law into your own hands. When the police lose control and the mob demands justice, it is truly horrifying to watch because of how blinded they are by their hate. In a way, Tommy Doyle became the antagonist in Halloween Kills for me as it was interesting to see his character’s arc progress to one where you sympathize with him at the start to one where you cannot justify his actions.

Other things I liked about Halloween Kill were the fact that the whole film takes place over the course of an evening, so there is no sunlight at all, giving the film a very dark and moody atmosphere. I also have to commend Scott MacArthur and Michael McDonald as they had good chemistry on the screen playing the two John’s. As well, the score is solid throughout.

Unfortunately, there is a lot about Halloween Kills that does not work. The Strode women are wasted and not given a ton to do in the film, because they either argue or get angry at others in the hospital. To be blunt, Halloween Kill drags anytime there is a sequence at the hospital. There is also a minor storyline about an escaped convict that I thought was handled poorly. I found that I didn’t love the flashback sequences as they took away from the momentum of the main story and I actually wished that they changed the start of the film to be when Laurie is being taken to the hospital, Michael escaping from the burning house and then we can get into the flashbacks as a long flashback opens the film.

As most horror film fans know, it is frustrating watching stupid people do stupid things and Halloween Kills has a lot of dumb people. From a man dressed as a doctor going back into a bar to leave his wife alone in a parking lot so he can get his stethoscope, to the decision of a supporting character going into a house alone even though he has people with him, a character seeing Michael coming at her and just letting him stab her without really fighting back to the absolutely terrible accuracy of anyone firing a gun from close range. All of these things are groan inducing. A minor quibble I had at the end of Halloween Kill is that I did not like the edits that happen in the final moments as I literally had to ask my friend where someone was located as the edits were quick.

My final issue with Halloween Kill is something that I don’t like to say about any horror film and that is that it just was not scary. There was one jump scare that got me, which I always enjoy, but the rest of the time, I honestly did not react. I hope this is corrected in Halloween Ends.

An interesting thing for me is that for most of the Halloween films that I have seen, I just look at Michael Myers as a man who just cannot be killed. In the climatic moments of Halloween Kills, I realized my view of him is wrong and that he is actually the purist representation of evil. Evil will always be around and cannot be stopped, no matter how hard anyone tries. That does not mean that we should not try to stop it, but darkness will always be there. It has no emotion, it shows no mercy and leaves many victims in its wake. So having my mindset change was an interesting aspect for my viewing experience.

Although I was disappointed overall with Halloween Kills, I am looking forward to next year when Halloween Ends comes out, as it will be interesting to see where they go next with the story. Again, I hope they can correct some of the mistakes from this film.

Heroes & Villains: Winston Gambro’s “Overflow” and Henson’s Halloween Hangover

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This morning I woke up with a song in my head. It’s not an uncommon experience for me but my brain had decided to go with, what I perceive to be, a deep David Bowie cut which I deemed odd. That’s not to say that I don’t consider myself to be a Bowie fan, I do. In point of fact I’ll bring him up just so I can mention that I saw him on his last full tour of the States. I tend to stick to the shallow waters of the greatest hits collections but also have special places in my heart reserved for Outside and Blackstar, but Station to Station is hard for me to get into.

I don’t think I’m overselling it when I write that the brain is weird. The human brain in general, that is…not just mine. As I was getting ready to log on to work this morning I was trying to unpack the deeper meaning behind why my brain had decided to call up a song I’ve barely ever listened to and drop it in the forefront of my consciousness. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Other times it’s a Thin White Duke.

Who can I be now? Hopefully, the guy that writes about comics today because that’s what I’m supposed to be doing here.

Overflow
Winston Gambro (W/A)

A couple of months ago I put word out on Twitter that I was looking for comics to write about. I get sent stuff from publishers on a regular basis but I have a soft spot for the creators who are out there on the grind, self-publishing, and otherwise making it happen. Very few people produce art with the intention of not sharing it with the general public and it’s a tremendous endeavour to create something. If I can in some small way help some creators reach a wider audience then I’m all for using my platform to amplify those voices.

Here’s the blurb on Overflow:

Overflow is Mr.Robot meets Parasite, an exploration of hacking and class divide and all tied together by a mystery.

Ava Lee, a former cop turned private investigator is forced to prove her brother’s innocence after his military vehicle fires upon a friendly Russian unit, igniting mutually assured destruction.

In the investigation, she finds a group of hackers that attempted to change the world through hacking, fraud and murder. Her life is put at risk as she attempts to expose the truth, all while questioning if this apathy filled world is even worth saving.

One of the first things that struck me about the story in Overflow was that dystopian fiction in recent years only requires a few tweaks to our current society and a couple extremely small jumps in speculation to make for a full-blown and totally believable future. Reading Overflow had me muttering to myself, “Yeah, that could be like five years from now…”

Overflow had a completely engrossing story, art that was very much in line with the book’s cyberpunk tone, and and ending that was a fantastic rug-pull.

Overflow can be purchased at https://gumroad.com/winstongambro or read for free at Overflowcomic.com.

Halloween Hangover

Figurative, not literal.

You know, if not for BBP’s 31 Days of Horror I don’t know how in I would have been to the season this year. It’s a favourite holiday and one to which I can partially jokingly say I owe my existence to, but if it weren’t for my pseudo job here and having the “obligation” to write about Halloween stuff, I don’t know how much time I would have found for it.

Writing this column is also an excuse for me to further delay taking down my Halloween decorations. I went to the trouble of digging them out of my basement a month ago so they should be on display as long as possible. I shan’t be decorating for Christmas so this is my new sideboard table’s time to shine.

This year my “white whale” of decorations was replacing my light-up Jack-o-Lantern that I apparently through in a dumpster last year in a fit of mania brought on by the stress of moving. It was insanely difficult to find a “traditional” scary face light-up pumpkin this year, I don’t know if they just weren’t in vogue or if I should blame the now omnipresent “supply chain issues.” Everywhere I went in my area seemed to be a little anemic when it came to decorations.

As fate would have it, I stopped at a local supermarket on Devil’s Night and was able to secure a plastic pumpkin that was roughly in the ballpark of what I was after. Even better…it was already on clearance. I also picked up an orange lightbulb for my porch light to add to the general vibe and I have resolved that next year I will have lawn decorations AND a smoke machine.

Sadly, my enthusiasm for the day wasn’t quite matched by my neighbours. Very few houses on my street were participating and I ended up with even less trick or treaters then I had anticipated. Still, I was able to provide validation to a kid who dressed up as Coraline by correctly identifying their costume. Apparently, most people thought they were dressed up as Georgie from It. So, net win altogether.

Around 8 pm it started to rain so I opted to call it an evening and retreat inside to watch Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark while enjoying some apple cider purchased from a local cider mill…and maybe a few seasonally appropriate porters after that.

31 Days of Horror 2022 – The Performances That Make Us Scream: “Halloween Ends” (2022)

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I really liked Halloween Ends. Like, I really liked it.

Now, I know there’s a whole lot of hate for the film coming from vocal folks across social media who didn’t like it for many a reason, with a lack of Michael Myers and the introduction of a new character who takes up a lot of scream…I mean, screen time… apparently being the film’s main offences. Of course, a lot of the people complaining haven’t themselves created a piece of art and wouldn’t know the first thing that goes into making a movie.

I can’t stand those people. They’re probably the same ones who watch Halloween III: Season of the Witch and continue to bemoan the lack of connection to the first two movies and miss the fact, yes FACT, that SOTW is one of the greatest films in the entire Halloween franchise, not to mention of the past forty years of horror as well.

In Halloween Ends, director and co-writer David Gordon Green swings for the fences while also trying to do something new with the franchise, and damnit if so many people hate it when a director does that (sorry Rian Johnson, fandom sucks). I’m not saying everyone who doesn’t view Halloween Ends through my eyes is wrong; far from that. Biff Bam Pop!’s Sachin Hingoo didn’t enjoy the film like I did, and while we haven’t gone deep into his reasons, I respect him as a horror fan and cinephile and know they are valid. He’s also not screaming from his social media how awful he thinks the film is, mind you, which is something all of us at Biff Bam Pop! tend to follow when we’re writing for the site. There’s enough negativity out there, so we try to mainly write positive pieces; and when we do share critical words, it’s always keeping in mind that there are artists and creators who have worked hard on what we’re writing about.

That being said, I am glad I enjoyed Halloween Ends, especially because 2021’s Halloween Kills didn’t work for me at all. I walked into this new one with low expectations and sat through it pretty much loving everything I saw on screen. While I personally would have enjoyed a few more jump scares, I did find myself covering my eyes on occasion while also uncomfortably laughing out loud during some fairly vicious kill scenes (the radio station kills are instant classics). The performances in Halloween Ends all worked for me as well, including Jamie Lee Curtis’ older and wiser Laurie, as well as Andi Matichak’s Allyson, who has gone through significant trauma over the last two films and is ready to break out of Haddonfield and her past.

Halloween Ends

The most divisive performance of Halloween Ends, the one that makes me scream, comes from Rohan Campbell, who plays the new character of Corey Cunningham, a victim of psychological abuse and a town that resents and hates him. I don’t want to give too much away about Corey and his arc, but it is hugely significant and takes up a lot of Halloween Ends’ run time. While lots of fans resent Corey’s presence in the movies, I think the character is well-defined and even gives insight into what makes a monster like Michael Myers tick. Campbell’s performance is multifaceted, as he puts both Corey and the audience through the ringer – are we supposed to love or hate this kid? Is he misunderstood and deserving of our sympathy, or is there a darkness in him that’s just been hidden…until it’s not.

Movies and are opinions are subjective, I know that. I’m someone who went from reviling Rob Zombie’s Halloween II to thinking it’s a unique examination of trauma, a revelation that came after watching and rewatching Halloween (2018) and realizing soon after that Zombie was working on the same subject matter. So sitting here, thinking about how much I liked Halloween Ends and the performance by Rohan Campbell, I’m left with the opinion that some day, one day, people will come back to the film and not only acknowledge how unique it is, but that it also contains what could become a classic horror character in Corey Cunningham, who just wanted to burn it all down.

And in many ways, he has.

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