Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!

Today is the big day - Halloween!

Hope you find a scary way to celebrate, whether its online -
find tons to do @ the Countdown to Halloween -
between the covers of a book, on television or DVD,
at a party or out trick-or-treating!

To get you in the mood, here's a great horror movie mash up,
done to the great Michael Jackson classic, Thriller!

Enjoy & Happy Halloween!


Sunday, October 30, 2011

Great Scenes #7 - Dracula


Great Scene #7, the last for the Halloween season,
is from the 1931 classic, Dracula.



What do I like? What don't I like??

From the creepy setting of a decrepit, mysterious, eerie castle
to the general unease Renfield senses, you get the mood of the film and
the charming creepiness of the Count all at once.

Also love Dracula's classic line about the "children of the night"
and when he walks through the spider-web, leaving Renfield quite confused.
An awesome introduction to the Prince of Darkness.

Thanks to — MOVIECLIPS.com

Saturday, October 29, 2011

When Carpenter Met Brown

How awesome is this?


From Bloody Disgusting:

True to the horror icon's spirit, John Carpenter introduces his "first and last appearance on Funny or Die" with a very special Halloween spoof that combines Charlie Brown and All Hallow’s Eve. Entitled "Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge", Carpenter calls the short "Terrifying, terrifyingly disappointing."


Great Scenes #6 - Scream

For the sixth entry in Great Scenes,
we have the "How to Survive a Horror Movie" bit from 1996's Scream.



What do I like? Well, Randy pretty much stands in for all us horror/movie fans who are obsessed with the films we watch again and again. And we are all nodding and agreeing with him, for the most part, when he lists his rules. In this scene, the movie not only addresses horror movie cliches, but it also honors the films that have come before.

And hey, the original Halloween is playing on the TV set the entire time!
What's not to love about that?

Friday, October 28, 2011

Great Scenes #5 - Psycho


For Great Scenes #5, we head back to 1960
and Alfred Hitchcock's classic Psycho.


What do I love? Well, everything.
First off, the acting, writing and directing in this scene is just superb.
All brought their best, and it shows. The dialogue between Norman and Marion is so polite, but also so subtle in its hidden meaning. Norman pretty much spills the truth right here about mother, that she is just like one of his stuffed birds. And he gets riled up at the mention of putting mother in a madhouse. We truly get to see just how unhinged he is. Too bad Marion didn't take the hint and hit the road!


Thanks to -- Movieclips.com

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Great Scenes #4 - Night of the Living Dead

Great Scene #4 is from the beginning of the 1968 George Romero classic,
Night of the Living Dead.


What do I love? Well, the line from Johnny to his sister is a classic, of course: "They're coming to get you, Barbara!" Simple line, but sends shivers down my spine still.

And the fact that the zombie is already there, in the background of the scene, ever so slowly making his way closer and closer to the siblings. Quite creepy!

This zombie is played perfectly, I think. He almost tip-toes on his feet as he stumbles around, like walking is no longer something he does well or with thought. And the way he fights Johnny and attacks the car with Barbara inside. Just not very human-like in his actions, making it unnerving.

We know, from this scene on, that things are never going to be the same in this world.

Thanks to — MOVIECLIPS.com

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Great Scenes #3 - Halloween


For the third Great Scene we go to the true classic,
my favorite film, John Carpenter's Halloween.



What do I like? Well, at this point in the film, we know Michael has escaped. Now we meet Laurie, the sweet, innocent teen walking to school and stopping to run a simple errand for her father. We also meet little Tommy, eager about Halloween and nervous about the old Myers house. And we almost see Michael as he watches them, barely hidden. Very creepy!

I love the subtlety here. And how Michael just chooses Laurie and Tommy to stalk because they just happen to be the ones outside his house that morning.
Remember, Laurie wasn't turned into Michael's sister until Part 2!
Here, it is all just random coincidence.

Very scary.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Halloween (1978) - Watch Now!

Had to post this right now!

John Carpenter's Halloween - the classic - is available to watch right now on Hulu - for free!

And I am embedding it below. Not sure how long it will be up, so watch while you can.

My favorite movie airing here on my little blog? Awesome!

Enjoy!

Great Scenes #2 - Halloween H20

For the second installment of Great Scenes,
I have Halloween H20: 20 Years Later,
when Laurie and Michael come face-to-face again after so many years.



What do I like here? Well, to start, the tension and suspense is great, with Michael in pursuit of the teens, especially the bit where they are trying to get into the courtyard foyer as Michael slowly advances on them. Molly struggles with the keys and John has been stabbed by Michael, which is quite the homage to the first film, where Laurie had been stabbed and was desperately trying to get back into the Doyle's house as Michael slowly crossed the street.

And then Michael and Laurie come face-to-face,
with just a single pane of glass separating them. Chilling.

The one problem I have is the mask Michael wears in this film. It has too much of an "evil expression" on it. I wish they had gone with a simpler mask, like he wore in parts 1 and 2.

Anyway, a great scene that was much anticipated and which delivered on the tension.

Thanks to — MOVIECLIPS.com

Monday, October 24, 2011

Great Scenes #1 - Jeepers Creepers 2

New Feature!

Great Scenes will feature scenes from films I like.
Now, the films they come from might not be Oscar-worthy,
but why hold that against them?
Sometimes, good entertainment is found in strange places.

Anyway, to kick off the first Great Scenes, here is the opening to Jeepers Creepers 2.
Yeah, I know, not the best movie, but it is an okay way to spend some time.
The Creeper is a great horror movie villain, I think, and I'd like to see a part 3, eventually.


What do I love here? Well, to start, the Creeper hiding out in plain sight as a scarecrow? Scary! And then he snatches up the kid and off he goes into the wild, blue... er, gold yonder. Not many mainstream films follow through with something like this, but much like the end of part 1, they don't hold back here. And it sets up the rest of the film, the pursuit of the Creeper by the boy's brother and father. Definitely the better part of the rest of the movie.

Any scenes you'd like to see spotlighted here? Let me know!

Thanks to — MOVIECLIPS.com

Friday, October 21, 2011

Bewitched: The Witches Are Out

Here is a classic first season episode of Bewitched,
the first Halloween-themed episode the series aired,
from October 29, 1964!

The Witches Are Out





Thursday, October 20, 2011

Haunted Mansion

My son gave me the idea of doing a post on Disney's Haunted Mansion,
so here are photos and art concerning the ride, along with a quick
commercial promoting it from a few years back!











We went to Disney World in October a couple of years ago.
Was a fun time to see the park decorate for Halloween,
and visiting The Haunted Mansion then was even creepier!


Grim Grinning Ghosts - Haunted Mansion Theme




Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Which Monster Are You?

AMC is currently running FearFest, 2 weeks of horror movies and TV shows.

On their site, they have some horror-themed games, including:


I was:


Not bad, I can see that. ;)

So, what about you?

Leave your result in the comments after you click below and find out

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Here are some of their other quizzes, with my results:

Friday the 13th Franchise Movie Quiz
I got 69% (9 right, 4 wrong)

Jason Voorhees Ultimate Fan Quiz
I got 100% (10 right)

Halloween Franchise Ultimate Fan Quiz
I got 100% (10 right, 0 wrong)

Halloween Franchise Ultimate Fan Quiz Part II
I got 60% (6 right, 4 wrong)

The Omen Ultimate Fan Quiz
I got 20% (2 right, 8 wrong)

Hannibal Lecter Ultimate Fan Quiz
I got 50% (5 right, 5 wrong)

Alfred Hitchcock Ultimate Fan Quiz
I got 60% (6 right, 4 wrong)

Ghostbusters Ultimate Fan Quiz
I got 30% (3 right, 7 wrong)

Young Frankenstein Ultimate Fan Quiz
I got 40% (4 right, 6 wrong)

Another Skeletons in the Closet Quiz
I got 60% (3 right, 2 wrong)

Dracula Ultimate Fan Quiz
I got 50% (5 right, 5 wrong)

George A. Romero Ultimate Fan Quiz
I got 40% (4 right, 6 wrong)

Movie Were-beasts Ultimate Fan Quiz
I got 70% (7 right, 3 wrong)

How'd They Die? Horror Movie Quiz
I got 100% (5 right, 0 wrong)

Killer Weapons Horror-Movie Photo Quiz
I got 100% (5 right, 0 wrong)

Spot the Vampire Movie Photo Quiz
I got 66% (4 right, 2 wrong)

Vincent Price Ultimate Fan Quiz
I got 50% (5 right, 5 wrong)

Frankenstein Ultimate Fan Quiz
I got 70% (7 right, 3 wrong)

Wes Craven Horror Movie Quiz
I got 50% (3 right, 3 wrong)

Damn, I need to pay more attention!

Let me know what you get!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

LEGO Halloween

I loved LEGOs as a kid, but didn't get serious with them til I was a teen.
I liked the castle/Robin Hood stuff, but if they had had scary/Halloween versions
back then, I would have been all over them.

Here's some pics of what my younger self would have loved:





Monday, October 17, 2011

100 Greatest Scary Movie Moments

Before I get to today's post, I wanted to mention that I am taking part in
The Halloween Fifteen @ the great The Moon is a Dead World blog.

Check it out to read my review of Child's Play 2!

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I loved the horror movie countdown specials from a few years back that aired on Bravo, The 100 Scariest Movie Moments. It was followed up by 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments and then 13 Scarier Movie Moments. I wish it was airing somewhere this year, but many of these can be found on YouTube.

I also found this special on YouTube, one I had not seen before, which appears to pre-date the US versions. Maybe this was the inspiration for them?

From the UK, this is 100 Greatest Scary Moments, from 2003.

 







Thanks to YouTuber faym1982 for posting these!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Halloween/Michael Myers Art

My all-time favorite movie, of any genre, is John Carpenter's Halloween from 1978.

Just love this film, never fails to entertain me, to unnerve me, to impress me.

Instead of writing more on it, I just wanted to share some interesting art I have come across over the years, pieces based on the film, the characters or scenes.

Enjoy!




















Dave Lowe - ParaAbnormal




If anyone knows the artist or site for any pic I have no credit for,
please let me know in the comments.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

The Halloween That Almost Wasn't

From 1979, here is The Halloween That Almost Wasn't,
starring Judd Hirsch as Dracula, Mariette Hartley as the Witch,
John Schuck as Frankenstein's Monster, Jack Riley as Warren the Werewolf,
Henry Gibson as Igor, Robert Fitch as the Mummy
and Josip Elic as Zabaar the Zombie.






Thanks to HalloweenShows.net for the heads up on this oldie but goodie!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Making Friends by Michael Dougherty

Michael Dougherty has a new short, to help promote
Fearnet's 24-hour Halloween day Trick 'r Treat marathon!


There is even a cameo by our good friend Sam in there!

Fun stuff!

And please head over to my son's site
and vote in his Halloween Candy Tournament!

Thanks to Fangoria for the heads up!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Horror Movie Openings

Read a review of Halloween 4 last night, and it mentioned
the very moody, wonderful opening of that film.

I decided to share some favorite horror movie opening scenes today.

~WARNING~
If you don't care for horror films, skip these!

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

Such a love of Autumn and Halloween here. Just great.
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Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Effectively creepy recap of the saga up to that point.
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Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later

This is the credit sequence after the opening scene, but I love the fact that this not only captures the essence of the films with the theme, but it recaps the story, the characters and explains what became of Dr. Loomis. Quite an opening!
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Halloween III: Season of the Witch

This opening grabs you from the get-go, telling you this is going to be a different Halloween movie than any you have seen before. And they aren't kidding!
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Spider Baby

Lon Chaney Jr. narrating in a spoken-word style to the opening theme
with the credits and illustrations of the characters. Fun stuff!
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Ghost Ship

Implausible? Yeah.
Damned great? Hell yeah.
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Scream

One of the best opening scenes.
Just so much unexpected here, and it works.
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Halloween (1978)

Truly the best.
Nothing like a classic.
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Wanted to include A Nightmare on Elm Street,
but Google and YouTube weren't cooperating!
You can view it here, if you'd like.
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011