The Holiday Ying to X-MAS’ Yang, HALLOWEEN is finally once more upon us and if like us, you dig on watching genre films before the parties or
after the parties, you might want to read up on this little story. Find below a list of
HORROR FILMS that would be ideal to watch on HALLOWEEN according to the happy go
drinking AITH STAFF!
Hope some of these help you sway your picks when renting macabre bon-bons for
this unique holiday. Here we go and HAPPY HALLOWEEN mofos and mofetttes!
THE ARROW’S PICK – CEMETERY
MAN
When thinking of an ideal film to
watch on Halloween, CEMETERY MAN came to mind and here’s why! Thought
provokingly existential, somewhat whimsical, deliciously cynical and filled with
endearing bleak humor & out of line violence (loved the Hotel inferno), Cemetery
Man made for a full munch down!
Brilliantly written, with thought provoking and
poetic dialogue, I so warmed up to the many statements on love and death
(synonyms?) that the film put out. As the clock moved forward both themes
compellingly became closer and closer in “make” to pretty much become one in the
end. Genius! Now that’s not to say that the flick was all about “Deep
thoughts by Jack Handy” soliloquies! We also get bombarded with all kinds of
Zombie action, sometimes conveyed in a tongue in cheek manner , others times
played straight.
The gore was plentiful and graphic as well while the polished
Gothic imagery at hand made me want to take a dirt nap in a Graveyard next to
Marylyn Monroe’s corpse. Umm…that means it was good! Visually; color me blue
and call me Papa Smurf, Soavi outdid himself here! The flick did the impossible
in taking a morbid setting and making it look strikingly beautiful via inventive
shots, ably placed slow motion and stylish angles. The flick was poetry in
motion, dread filled poetry, but poetry none the less! A Perfect HALLOWEEN
watch!
ERIC RED’S PICK – EPITAFIOS
“EPITAFIOS” is a cool Latin TV
series about a police hunt for a horrific serial killer produced in Argentina
and shot in Buenos Aires for HBO, now released stateside in a DVD box set. I
found this series a neat surprise, which delivered “SEVEN,” “SAW” and “SILENCE
OF THE LAMBS” style psychological thrills and gruesome splatter in 13 fast-paced
hours.
An ambitious, addictive, blood-drenched, fast-paced and scary horror
television show, I recommend “EPITAFIOS” as quality alternative Halloween
viewing. It has psychological dimension, relentless twists, nudity and gory
enough gruesome kills to compare with any franchise horror film and its sequels. The events in “EPITAFIOS” stem
from an incident where a deranged high school teacher takes four teenage
students hostage and drenches kerosene on them, hideously incinerating everyone
during a botch police rescue. Five years later, a highly intelligent,
unstoppable and bloodthirsty monster of a serial killer is murdering everyone
who was involved in the hostage situation in diabolically horrific and inventive
sadistic methods.
Before each kill, he sends tombstone inscriptions with clues
to the next victims…the epitaphs or “epitafios” of the title. Despite the cops’
best efforts, the killer manages to get to, torture and kill everyone he
targets. It’s a game, but what is he after? Who is he and what he wants is
what we discover out over the course of series.
There is a freshness and sense
of discovery in the casting of Argentinean stars as the primary targets of the
maniac due to their involvement in the deaths of the students. Playing a
hard-nosed and tormented ex-cop who returns to the force on the case, Julio
Chavez gives a sweaty, hard-boiled, chain-smoking and world-weary performance in
classic tough guy mode. His love interest is an attractive female psychiatrist
played by Paola Krum who for some twisted reason the serial killer is forcing
him together with romantically.
As a strange and intuitive homicide detective,
Cecilia Roth gives wonderful earthy, unsettling and magnetic performance,
reminiscent of a Latin Kathleen Turner. Also well played is the psychopath (I
can’t divulge the actor because it would be a spoiler). The serial killer’s
twisted methodology and evil plan in “EPITAFIOS” is frighteningly developed in a
breadth only possible in a TV series.
Good TV compares favorably with
features when it does what films can’t, which is develop interesting and
exciting storylines and characters we can watch for many hours over several
seasons, as opposed to a feature’s time limitation of 90 minutes to 2
hours. This one delivers.
AMMON GILBERT’S PICK – SILVER BULLET
What
qualifies a good Halloween movie? Is it the number of scares? Or the subject
matter? Body count? Gore? All of these attributes add to a good Halloween
movie, but actually picking one out to recommend can be quite a challenge. Then
I remembered a flick that I loved watching when I was growing up, and realized
it had all the makings of a good time on Halloween night. Stephen King’s SLIVER
BULLET, one of the best werewolf movies to come out of the 80s. It has
werewolves, gore, creepy music and Garey ‘Substance A-‘Busey!
SILVER BULLET tells the tale of wheelchair-bound Corey Haim and his big sister
in the sleepy town of Tarker’s Mill. It’s your perfect all-American town until
people start dying horribly gruesome deaths, yet no one knows who’s doing it or
why. Once Haim figures out it’s a werewolf doing the killing, it’s up to him,
his sister and his drunk uncle Gary Busey to save the day and kill the
monster… ending with a frightening finale on Halloween night.
Part kids movie, part hard-core horror (it is rated R), SLIVER BULLET is one of
the better Stephen King adaptations (he also wrote the screenplay), and while
it’s not a flawless werewolf adventure, there’s a few sequences of terror that
are extremely well executed- and Haim’s Sliver Bullet wheel chair is also pretty
cool. From the second kill in the movie, to the engrossing finale, SILVER
BULLET bites down and doesn’t let go.
If you
like a good werewolf movie (and who doesn’t), some good ol’ fashion 80s horror
(right down to the rockin’ soundtrack), pre-LOST BOYS Corey Haim, and Gary Busey
doing what he does best (playing a drunk), then SILVER BULLET is your best bet
for a rockin’ good time Halloween night. You might say I have a hard-on for
Stephen King (last year I recommended PET SEMETARY), and I say you’re right-
when King’s done well, no one else brings on the scares like he does.
//-->
JAMES
OSTER’S PICK – THE HAUNTING
“You mustn’t expect every night to be Halloween.” But if
it is, you can’t do much better than the Robert Wise classic film THE HAUNTING.
Made in 1963, this tremendously creepy ghost story still can make you wonder who
or what is moving across the dark when you know nobody is there.
When Dr. Markway invites a small group of possible psychics to study the paranormal in a
house rumored to be haunted, he gets more than he bargained for when the house
finds a kindred spirit in Nell, a frail woman who slowly falls prey to Hill
House. Julie Harris as Nell is a revelation, as is Claire Bloom as Theo, a
lesbian who seems to have an interest in Nell, Russ Tamblyn, a skeptic who
stands to inherit the house and finally Richard Johnson as Dr. Markway. The
chemistry with this cast is spot on and the fantastic script avoids all the
clichés and creates very real characters.
One of the most important elements (aside from the
performances and script) that makes The Haunting work is the skillful direction
of Mr. Wise. When a loud banging sound travels through the long, dark hallways
of Hill House and soon finds its way to Theo’s bedroom, the camera moves against
the door uncovering its design until finally finding its way to the doorknob,
which begins to turn.
The audience can feel the tension that both Theo and Nell
are feeling as they desperately hold each other as the presence gets closer and
closer. And I dare you to not be scared silly when Nell utters the line, “whose
hand was I holding?” This Halloween would be a perfect time to make sure the
pumpkin is carved, the bodies are buried, the popcorn is made and The Haunting
flickers from your television set. Even after all these years, it still stands
as one of the best examples of the horror genre to date. Have a safe and happy
Halloween!
PAT TORFE’S PICK – THE THING
Seeing as I was the only dork
last year to pick a sequel, I thought I’d go the extra mile and choose a remake
for review. Indeed, this is a good
remake. The Thing is loosely based on the
1951
Howard Hawks film
The Thing from Another World, which was in turn based on John W. Campbell’s
short story, Who Goes There? (which Carpenter follows more closely than
Hawks). The film was lambasted in theatres (probably due to some film called E.T.
being released two weeks earlier) and hit hard in reviews (one reviewer called
Carpenter a ‘pornographer of violence’), but received a second life on video in
the 90’s, when people actually sat down to watch the film.
n
nAnd what a film it was! Great special effects by Rob Bottin (no CGI here, folks) that for the most part would hold up even today, a great cast (Wilford Brimley looks better with his mustache), a great score by the legendary Ennio Morricone (it's all about that one note theme at the start...) and a story that is the ultimate mindf*ck for those involved. Being in an isolated area like the Antarctic, and not knowing if your best bud is now an alien (or if you in turn are the alien) makes for some awesome moments, coupled with surprise scares that grab you by the gonads more than once. A few years back when I wrote Arrow about this film, he said that once he got around to seeing the film, he'd give it a perfect 4, which is exactly what I'd give this film.
n
nRumours have persisted that a prequel/sequel is brewing (the most recent one from Strike Entertainment, the dudes behind Slither and Dawn of the Dead '04), but unfortunately, the closest thing to a sequel was the underrated video game based on the film that cast you as part of a recovery team sent to find out what happened, alongside some comic sequels from Dark Horse. Close, sure, but for those wanting a theatrical answer, keep hoping. In the meantime, pop on over to Blockbuster and rent/buy the awesome DVD from Universal for the film, which contains an hour-long documentary that's worth the price of the DVD alone.
n
n
Pat T.
Be one of the first to try Windows Live Mail.
nn",0]
);
//-->
And what a film it was! Great special effects by Rob
Bottin (no CGI here, folks) that for the most part would hold up even today, a
great cast (Wilford Brimley looks better with his mustache), a great score by
the legendary Ennio Morricone (it’s all about that one note theme at the
start…) and a story that is the ultimate mindf*ck for those involved. Being in
an isolated area like the Antarctic, and not knowing if your best bud is now an
alien (or if you in turn are the alien) makes for some awesome moments, coupled
with surprise scares that grab you by the gonads more than once. A few years
back when I wrote Arrow about this film, he said that once he got around to
seeing the film, he’d give it a perfect 4, which is exactly what I’d give this
film.
Rumours have persisted that a
prequel/sequel is brewing (the most recent one from Strike Entertainment, the
dudes behind Slither and Dawn of the Dead ’04), but unfortunately, the closest
thing to a sequel was the underrated video game based on the film that cast you
as part of a recovery team sent to find out what happened, alongside some comic
sequels from Dark Horse. Close, sure, but for those wanting a theatrical answer,
keep hoping. In the meantime, pop on over to Blockbuster and rent/buy the
awesome DVD from Universal for the film, which contains an hour-long documentary
that’s worth the price of the DVD alone.
ANDRE MANSEAU’S PICK – MONSTER SQUAD
I’ve been agonizing over what
one film to recommend for you horror fans to watch on this season of the witch
(please don’t watch that movie though). I thought about recommending Halloween,
perhaps Wrong Turn, or maybe even the awesome Slither, but you have to have
seeked those out already. What about a less obvious (or perhaps more forgotten)
choice? I’ll tell you what you’ve got to find this Halloween- The Monster
Squad.
This little flick came out in
1987,and features a plot that centers around Dracula himself re-uniting the
world’s most terrifying monsters (Wolfman, The Mummy, The Creature from the
Black Lagoon, and even Frankenstein) to capture an amulet and take over the
world. I don’t think I need to tell you much more than this. It’s a family-sort
of movie, but you will enjoy it thoroughly. It practically screams ‘camp’, and
is genuinely entertaining. Scenes like ‘The Mummy’s in my room’ and Frankenstein
befriending the Monster Squad (the boys who team up to take evil down) are what
good times are made of.
The acting is great (super mad
props go out to Tom Noonan’s Frankenstein and Duncan Regehr’s Dracula), and the
effects are pretty decent too, for a movie as old as this one. Only bummer is
that it’s not out on DVD yet, so you might have to look a little harder to find
a copy of this one. But if you need any encouragement, just remember this great
line from the flick: “Wolfman’s got nards!” Need I say more? Happy treating,
boils and ghouls!
SERENA WHITNEY’S PICK – VAMP
Ever had one of those nights
where everything goes horribly wrong? Keith and A.J are definitely having one
those nights! Keith (Chris Makepeace) and A.J (Robert “cutie-pie” Rusler) are
college boys desperate to get initiated into a frat house. They decide to go to a
strip club in a seedy part of town in hopes of hiring a stripper for a party so
they can join the fraternity. Unfortunately for them, they have entered a strip
club full of vampires led by the breath taking (I mean that in both the good and
bad way) Katrina, (Grace Jones) and they would kill for new blood.
Vamp was a movie I
watched as a little girl and I had nightmares over it for weeks. Sure, when you
watch it now a lot of the scares seem cheesy and dated, but there is one element
of that film that still remains scary, and that is the one and only, Grace
Jones. I watched this movie last year on Halloween with a few of my friends,
and although they were laughing at the vampire parts, there was one sequence
that silenced them, and that was when Katrina goes onto the stage for her
interpretive striptease. One of my friends even said it was the creepiest sh*t
he had ever seen. To this day, I strongly agree with his statement.
I know I picked a vampire
movie last year as my Halloween pick, but for this season, you need the perfect
amount of monsters, blood, cheesy lines, and 80’s nostalgia for your ultimate
Halloween film experience, and Vamp has all of those elements combined.
Even Quentin Tarantino must have knew how underrated this movie was for he
borrowed ideas from it for his vampire flick, “From Dusk til Dawn.”
So if you’re in the mood to
watch a movie with great looking vampires, (no CGI) eye candy, (Robert Rusler
for the girls, topless strippers for the boys) and Billy Drago as an albino
leader of a killer gang, watch Vamp!
SCOTT CARMICHAEL’S PICK – THE THING
This is a conundrum which lands
in my lap at this time every year, and every year the choice is highly reliant
on several outside factors. This year, however, all these factors have
accumulated into a single film, and that film is John Carpenter’s THE THING.
THE THING? THE THING? Why would
anyone want to watch THE THING on Halloween? It doesn’t have anything to do with
Halloween, no one dresses up like Childs (Keith David) or MacReady (Kurt
Russell) at costume parties, and it’s not traditionally thought of when someone
says horror movie, but if you really think about it, it’s the best choice to be
made.
One of the greatest aspects of
this movie are the amazing special effects that take place, and with all the
special effect talent that was on-board who could be surprised. The effects team
of Rob Bottin (Robocop series, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Total Recall…)
and Stan Winston (Aliens, Predator, Terminator series, Pumpkinhead, Edward
Scissorhands…) are absolutely genius with the way they portray an alien who
really has no form of its own. The special effects are so good that even though
I’ve watched it over a dozen times, the alien still has the ability to make me
jump every time it goes on the prowl.
There are so many reasons this
movie is good that I’ve compiled a list of several of those reasons that you
HAVE to watch this movie this Halloween:
-This film was made before
Carpenter sold out and just started sticking his name on anything. It’s
Carpenter at his best.
-The cast is phenomenal!
Kurt Russell, Keith David, and mother-fuckin Wilford Brimley! The chemistry
amongst this cast was really well done. It’s almost believable that they were
all stranded out in the cold.
-On the DVD extra features
the psychedelic 60’s band THE RESIDENTS can be seen entering the theatre to
watch its release. (This is a more personal reason for enjoyment since THE
RESIDENTS are one of my favorite bands.)
-The hero dies at the end.
If this movie had been made in the last ten years Russell would never had died
in the end. (Carpenter probably would have Vampires come and save him. Fuckin’
Carpenter)
-They made a successful
movie without a single woman in it. I say this not to be sexist, but it just
seems like sex is used to sell a lot of movies nowadays.
-The alien is fucking creepy
and no one really knows if it died. And it could be any one of us.
-The movie keeps you
guessing about who the alien is. You never really know until the end.
I could go on forever, but I
won’t. This movie sells itself. It’s scary on so many levels, that it’s the
perfect horror movie for Halloween. I know a lot of people will want to turn to
the traditional slasher flicks for there Halloween scares but think about it
this way. Many of those slasher flicks are like junk-food for the mind. There
great for what they are, but if you want real horror fulfillment THE THING is
where the action is. It doesn’t try to sellout by using sex or traditional hero
roles. It’s a gritty, scary-ass, movie that you should go watch right now. Go.
Stop reading this.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL
FROM AITH!