Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
It's official. It is 12:00AM EST and that officially makes it Halloween for us on the east coast of the United States. As it hits the midnight mark over here Tim and I are watching Ghostbusters. What an appropriate movie to bring in the new holiday. It's the tail end of the movie now and Tim has this undying pet peeve about product placement. And, "the biggest account of product placement ever," is awarded to Ghostbusters for their Stay Puft man. Can't we all just enjoy a little PP once and awhile? I've found that Wikipedia is a guilty pleasure of mine. I was just on it browsing it's (un)creditable sources about the start of Hallowe'en.

Here's what I got:
The Festival of Halloween is a celebration of the end of the fertile period of the Celtic Goddess Eiseria. It is said that when Eiseria reaches the end of her fertile cycle, the worlds of the dead and the living interlap. This happens on October 31. Masks are worn to show respect for the Goddess Eiseria who, like most Celtic deities, does not wish to be seen with human eyes. The day also precedes All Saints Day, which was, at first, the celebration of the start of a new cycle of fertility for the Celtic Goddess Eiseria. Couples incapable of producing children thus tried their luck on All Saints Day.

So there it is. It's Halloween. Don't forget to go to your local video store and rent some scare-tastic movies tonight.

halloween plugs

I just can't help myself! Who knew starting a blog would turn into an addiction? That's what you get for having a day off. I've been surfing the 'net and checking out ghostly sites. I love reading about what other bloggers have to say about movies.

Here are some articles I've found tonight that are worthy of a gander or two if you aren't too busy:

Top 15 Halloween Movies
Symphonies of Terror: Halloween Movie Soundtracks to Make You Shiver
Movies for Halloween by Frank

it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown

Technorati Profile

How can Izzika and I go on and on about the perfect Halloween movies without mentioning the best one there is: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. I remember watching this movie every Halloween and my dad just told me that he remembers watching it most years as well. I suppose Charlie Brown's Halloween special can't technically be announced as a movie, but it's a timeless classic that I can't believe we almost over looked.

Sally Brown: Am I going to trick-or-treats with you, big brother?
Charlie Brown: Of course, Sally.
Sally Brown: Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! How do you do it?
Lucy Van Pelt: You just go to a house, knock on the door and yell "Tricks or treats!"
Sally Brown: Are you sure it's legal?
Lucy Van Pelt: Of course it's legal.
Sally Brown: I wouldn't want to be accused of taking part in a rumble.

in the spirit -- halloween galore

What a good week to start a blog! Halloween offers so many potential posts and since it is my day off, I just can't help myself. There are a couple things I'm looking forward to tomorrow, though, while at work:

1. Wearing jeans and a tie-dye t-shirt to work because I'm going as a Dead Head
(any excuse to wear jeans to work is A+)
2. I'll be opening so passing out candy to the kidlets tomorrow night will be an all new experience.
3. TAPS will be hosting a live event of their hit show, "Ghost Hunters".
4. I'll be watching The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (aka Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation), which comically stars Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey.

Besides looking forward to those events I've been puttering around the internet trying to both cure my insomnia and my boredom. Doing that has led me to this website: ESplatter - The Guide to Modern Horror Movies. Bam! They instantly have my attention.

I found out that there are potential announcements for upcoming sequels and prequels, and we all know you can always do better than the original. For example: Aliens and Terminator. Dare I put The Rage: Carrie 2 in the list? Ha!

Remakes of Classic Horror films- good or bad?

A list of films that have been re-made and whether or not the new version is worthy of being watched:

1. The Shining- Stanley Kubrick's version, titled "Stanley Kubrick's The Shining" will ALWAYS be the classic and most worth-while of the couple. The USA version titled "Stephen King's 'The Shining'" was not so great. The USA movie was more like the Stephen King novel, however, Stanley Kubrick captures the suspense, the terror, the twisted mind of Jack Torrance. Watch these movies yourself and let me know what you think.

2. Carrie- Brian De Palma vs David Carson : This is almost the same situation as The Shining, but this time I don't think the TV version (by David Carson) wasn't so bad. It goes into Carrie's past more and shows her powers as something to be reckoned with (haha just kidding). The only stipulation I have is the fact that people in the neighborhood saw these powers and yet kept taunting her and I suppose the movie shows that they deserve what they got (if not for how they treated her then for the fact that they knew it was coming!)

3. Halloween- See my comment to Ashley's post about something more to Ponder. Rob Zombie's is amazing, just like the original by John Carpenter. I think both of these should be viewed over and over again. They are fantastic. Carpenter's is amazing because of Jamie Lee Curtis (great horror actress) and Zombie's is great because he goes into Michael's past and he keeps with his habit of including actors from his previous films. Very nicely done, Rob!

Right now I have to run to class, so I can't finish the list now, but feel free to add to the list right now and I will probably put my two cents in after class.

something to ponder part deux

Carrying off what Liz posted about...

At work today I got the delightful task of updating the "Have You Seen" board. Unlike most weeks when we're given a list of 20 movies to pick from, all 12 of our "have you seen?" movies were chosen by myself and another employee. All movies, of course, were Halloween-y. So, I give you...

HAVE YOU SEEN?
1. Monster House
2. An American Werewold in London
3. The Frighteners
4. The Lost Boys
5. The Faculty
6. The Devil's Rejects
7. The Haunting
8. The Nightmare Before Christmas
9. Idle Hands

Unfortuneately I can't seem to remember 10, 11, and 12. Probably because of my insomnia, but they were good choices nevertheless.

I think Halloween might be my favorite holiday. Of course, I'll say that as each holiday creeps around, but Halloween IS fun. You can't help but enjoy the movies, the costumes, the t.v. specials. Most importantly, you can't help but appreciate all that is Halloween by the amount of money dentists will make in the weeks to come.

Genre wise -- HORROR is my favorite. Campy, new-age, bloody, spoof, etc. All of it is awesome. Michael Myers is my favorite, which was why I was so quick to jump on with the fun fact of the day in Izzika's post. I'm looking forward to seeing Rob Zombie's version when it comes to DVD. 'Till then, I'll stick to the classics...

... House of the Dead?

No, not a classic. Funny, though.

Something to Ponder.... for Halloween

Jason Voorhees. There are 11 "Friday the 13th" movies involving Jason. He never dies! Well, correction: he dies, but EVIL lives. The reason why people can never seem to kill him is because evil cannot be destroyed. I think that's what the creator was thinking when shaping these movies, that and the more movies, the more money. He was a little boy who was pushed around by kids at camp and then drowned because of neglect from the lifeguard. His mom killed at first, taking revenge on all the counselors... freaky bitch, but then she died. And then Jason became a monster who waited until he was big and strong to fulfill his vendetta: to KILL. I think that it would be super interesting if he started killing when he was a wee babe; like 6 or 7. that would be seriously twisted. Which brings me to my next topic:


Michael Meyers. There are about 9 "Halloween" movies in the series, but WHY, for the love of horror, is Michael absent in "Halloween 3: The Season of the Witch"? And why, for the love of good movie titles is it "The Season of the Witch"? I ask these because 1. Halloween is synonymous with Michael Meyers, but he is absent in the third installment. Am I missing something? Is there a whole other series of movies with the "Halloween" title from which that third one just slipped out and pushed between the 2nd and 4th during :Michael "Halloween": marathons during October? 2. There are no witches in the film. There is, however, a mask-making company that decides to kill a whole town full of people by creating masks that MELT your face. That's a pretty sweet idea, but I just can come to like the film for the fact that it is so out of place.