October Horror

It's Halloween month so that means lots of horror happenings around the city.

It could happen.

Oct 3 -21 Wes Craven's Dreams, Screams, and Nightmares

A retrospective on Wes Craven's oeuvre. Screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Oct 3 - 12 Kite

A live-action adaptation of the controversial and acclaimed anime of the same name. Screening at the *Royal Cinema.

Oct 3 - 9 Inner Demons

A mockumentary made in the style of a reality TV show about interventions. In this "episode," the subject is a girl suffering from drug addictions. Or is it possession? Screens at Yonge-Dundas.

Oct 8 - The Black Museum

Toronto's monthly horror lecture series presents Playtime is Over: Killer Dolls in Horror. The Royal Cinema, 9pm.

Oct 10 - 31 Haunted Streets of Downtown Toronto

Muddy York Walking Tours has nightly ghost walks through downtown. Tours start at 7pm outside the ROM.

Oct 17 - Screamers

Wonderland stays open late between October 17 and November 1. Thrilling rides and haunted houses.

Oct 25 - Zombie Walk

And Halloween Parade! Registration is still open. Walk begins at 3pm at Nathan Phillips Square.

Beginning Oct 31 - Evil Dead the Musical

It's exactly what it sounds like (read: awesome). At the Randolph Theatre. Ends November 9.

Beginning Oct 31 - Stanley Kubric Exhibition and Film Series

An exhibit of props and miniatures from Kubric's films. The exhibition and film series at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Ends January 25.

*The Royal has a great Halloween programme, including Monster Squad, Beetlejuice, and Night of the Creeps.

C'est l'Halloween

Canadians, particularly those in Ontario, are likely to know this song. I learned it in grade 3, as part of my French lessons. Actually, everything was part of my French lessons because I was in the immersion programme. C'est l'Halloween is a fun teaching aide to help kids learn important words in French like "ghosts", "spirits", and "Halloween."

The Halloween Blog Post

I love Halloween.  I love it because it's a time when everyone gets into the horror spirit, and it's not just me staying up late to watch scary movies.  It's a time for parties and dressing up and holiday-appropriate movie marathons.  It's like Christmas but without the forced cheer.

But what's the point of this horror blog blogging some special horror for Halloween? So many other wonderful bloggers have already beaten me to it.  I think instead I'll take the time to reflect on some of my preferred non-horror films.

Zombots! presents movies to help treat the Halloween hangover:

Airplane! and Airplane II: The Sequel

Two of my favourite comedies.  These films epitomize the lost art of literal, visual comedy.  In the first film, which is largely a parody of Zero Hour and Airport, Ted Striker has to overcome his fear and self-doubt to successfully land the plane he's on.  The second movie is pretty much a rehash of the first only this time it's a space shuttle flying to the moon.  The first film gave us "Don't call me Shirley" and the second has one of my favourite sight gags ever.

The Sting

Set in the 1930s, it's about a couple of grifters who undertake an elaborate con to relieve a banker of his overburden of wealth.  The film won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, and a DGA award for outstanding achievement in directing.  You know that thing people do, when they touch their nose to indicate they're down with the plan, it's from this movie.

Miss Congeniality

Sandra Bullock goes undercover as a contestant at the Miss United States Pagent when the FBI finds out that it's been targeted for terrorist attack.  The humour is sharp and intelligent, and the film doesn't pander to the audience (unlike the sequel). 

Sneakers

A heist movie with con elements.  Robert Redford (who also stars in The Sting) heads up a professional hacking company.  But when he's hired by the NSA to steal a newfangled enigma machine, he becomes entangled in a sinister techno-terrorist plot.  Highly underrated, Sneakers doesn't get nearly enough exposure as it should.

Empire Records

A slacker comedy/coming-of-age film about a day in the life of the kids who work at an independent record store.  And what a day it is!  Robberies, in-store signings, love, betrayal, fake funerals, and the expectation that the free-spirited employees will toe the line of the store's new corporate owners.  The film failed to perform at the box office and critics didn't like it, but it gained a cult following in the years after its release.

The Blues Brothers

Jake and Elwood reassemble their band in order to raise money to pay off a tax debt.  A quasi musical with performances and a dance number, the soundtrack features some excellent tunes.  Perhaps best known for its music, the film is a fantastic showcase of vehicular mayhem.

Death by Chocolate

Halloween is that special time of year when two of my most-loved creations on earth, horror movies and cake, are merged to form some of the most terrifying confections ever conceived by man. Not since Willy Wonka opened his factory to the public, have we ever been in more danger of being destroyed by our candied creations.

If it's good enough for Indiana Jones, eyeball soup is good enough for you.

Not only does this cake let you eat a man, but you have the choice to feast on his decapitated head before moving on to the more meaty arm and shoulder.

Hard to believe this cake only placed 3rd. If first prize wasn't a devil's food Orca being attacked by a marzipan Jaws, then the competition was rigged.

Two more entries in the "eye see you" category. I'm particularly impressed by the one on top because not only can this cake watch you eat it, but it can also hear and feel you devour its soul.

Remember that scene in LOTR? You know, that one with the giant octopus? Have you ever wanted to, like, you know, eat it?

Best. Cupcake. Ever.

Halloween Movie Marathon

Since we're halfway through the month of October, I decided now would be a good time to rip off /r/movies and post a list of movie suggestions for Halloween. Not that it's never a good time to indulge in horror movies.

So here's a list of movies broken down by sub-genre.

Halloween Themed: Trick 'r Treat
Supernatural: Paranormal Activity
Vampire: The Lost Boys
Werewolf: An American Werewolf in London
Zombie/Infection: Slither
Alien: The Thing
Creature Feature: The Host OR Arachnophobia
Witchcraft/Demons/Arcane: Hellraiser
Religion: The Prophecy OR Prince of Darkness
Slasher: Halloween
Homicidal People: Cure
Violence/Gore: The Hills Have Eyes
Comror (comedy-horror): Zombieland
Random Foreign Horror Movie: The Cottage (British comror)

Why I said what I did: I've tried to combine some current movies with what I consider to be horror classics. I've made an effort to list films that scared me/grossed me out/made an impression and tried to think of some titles that maybe don't get enough exposure.

Trick 'r Treat

Sadly, this film got stuck in distribution hell as no one would pick it up for a theatrical release. Now, a year later and after having played very well at festivals, the film is out on DVD.

Trick 'r Treat is a horror anthology but unlike a lot of other anthologies, it's structured differently. Instead of returning to a central place between each new segment, the stories are interwoven as characters move about the town on Halloween; stars of one story appear briefly in others to create an organic whole.

The film begins with a murder and then backtracks a few hours to earlier that night. Since the stories are contemporaneous, they overlap to a certain extent. The first story is about a school principal with a dark secret. The second follows a group of kids who play a cruel prank on one of their peers. The third story tells the tale of a young woman as she searches for a sexual partner, and the final installment is about a man who's haunted by his past.

Though the film is broken down into four distinct stories, all of which take place on the same night, the movie gives the impression as being part of a much larger series of events; it succeeds in creating a believable world in which dark spirits manifest in different and varied ways. The world of Trick 'r Treat is mostly benign but people must follow the rules that govern Halloween in order to survive the night.

Far from being a cautionary tale, Trick 'r Treat's rules ensure that life is properly respected. Karma, or perhaps more appropriately just desserts, guides the events that take place in the film. And the character of Sam, who might be considered the spirit of Halloween, sort of acts as a guide for for this karmic will. Sam appears to each main character, and though they don't know it, he's marked them for destruction or salvation, or both.

Trick 'r Treat is really a great little film. Not terribly scary, the movie is actually pretty light. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Though Halloween is when most film lovers dedicate themselves almost exclusively to horror, there are few good Halloween-themed horror movies out there. Trick 'r Treat's timely, if a year late, release nicely fills that void in our lives.

The Problem with H2

You can't pick your family. But you can pick your nose.

I have seen every Rob Zombie film. That's not a badge of honour, just a statement of fact. Has the man improved any over the years? I don't think so. Though H2 is significantly better written than House of 1000 Corpses, it still suffers from the same poor lighting and bad editing that has plagued all of Zombie's films.

I'm a fan of Halloween. It's a great movie and can still scare audiences 30 years later. Zombie's re-visioning of the classic story is drastically different from John Carpenter's original. Where Carpenter was careful to build suspense, Zombie went for the jump scares. Where Carpenter focused on his victims, Zombie told the story from the killer's point of view. These were complaints I lodged after seeing Rob Zombie's Halloween. Now, after having seen H2, I've changed my tune. Somewhat.

I had a hard time finding stills from the movie.

H2 is not terrible. In fact, it's a good deal better than his previous film. Its focus is more evenly split between Michael Meyers, Dr. Loomis, and Lori Strode, and the movie explores the relationship between Michael and Lori. H2 is a sequel in every way, it has the same look and feel as the first and furthers the story, albeit in strange and questionable ways.

Because I didn't hate H2 nearly as much as I thought I would, I figured there has to be a reason why. After much soul searching (I slept on it), I've decided that H2 is a passable movie in its own right. It tells the story of a lunatic murderer who kills his way across Illinois, driven by visions of his dead mother, to find his sister. It's not a bad story. But it suffers from being a Halloween film. Were H2 divorced from the Halloween franchise, were it a separate and independent film I can't say it would have been any better, but it certainly wouldn't have been any worse.

The Shape is less shapely in a long coat.

The Most Holiest of Nights

Halloween

Best poster ever.

It's hard to say which movie John Carpenter is most famous for. I mean, it's hard to say for which film John Carpenter is most famous. Halloween is up there, though. Even for people who don't know who John Carpenter is (they do exist, I've met them and they smell funny) they have still heard of or seen Halloween. Rob Zombie's deplorable remakes has helped to solidify the original Halloween as one of the true horror classics for everyone born after 1990.

In 1963 Michael Meyers killed his sister on Halloween. He was promptly locked away in a psychiatric hospital were he's been studied by Dr. Loomis. Dr. Loomis spends 8 years trying to get to know Michael, and then seven more trying to keep him locked up. On the night of October 30th, 1978, a 23 year-0ld Michael escapes and returns to his home town of Haddonfield. While at home, he spies Lori Strode and marks her for death. And so what had promised to be an extremely boring Halloween for Lori turns out to be the worst night of her life.

What does Shatner wear on Halloween?

I first saw this movie a long time ago, and saw it once more after that. I'll admit to having forgotten some of the details, so when I watched Halloween again for the purposes of this project (and perfectly timed, I might add) I had a hard time trying to separate out Carpenter's possible craziness from my own. Simply put, I got scared. Halloween is, at times, really creepy.

The film suffers from the same odd pacing first experienced in Assault on Precinct 13. I'm talking about the prolonged evening and the very sudden change to nighttime, and I believe this is more a factor of weak scripting and shooting as opposed to craziness on the part of John Carpenter. Additionally, the body count is quite low; recall this film helped launch the slasher. Michael Meyers devotes a lot of screen time to stalking and scaring Lori Strode, and again I don't believe this particular story element is representative of a unhinged personality. Rather, Michael Meyers' psychological assault on Lori is quite brilliant. Where later films feature the stalk 'n slash as a perfunctory series of events to repeated again and again until everyone's dead, Halloween draws out the initial and singular stalking of Lori, punctuating it with moments of violence and murder. This not only sets us on edge as we now know what's in store for poor Lori Strode, but Lori too grows anxious as she waits for her mysterious antagonist to finally make his intentions known.

Huh, maybe you would have be a little nuts to come up with that.

Craze-o-meter: 1, nothing I haven't already thought about

Tall, quiet, strong? Yeah you can give him my number.