24 Hours of Horror Movies for Halloween

A good friend of mine posed this question to me this past weekend: “If you wanted to watch movies for 24 hours on Halloween, what would your list look like?”  For the sake of ease in this, he told me to assume every movie was 2 hours long.

I really loved this question, so I thought I would put together a viewing list for Halloween.  24 hours of horror movies.  What could be better than that?

One note before I dive in: this does not double as my list of favorite horror movies.  Rather, this is a list of movies that put me in the Halloween spirit.  I had to leave plenty of great movies off this list.  Some day, I’ll put together a list of my favorite movies.  This is not that day.

Feel free to add your own viewing lists in the comments.

Halloween

12:00-2:00 AM

What better way to kick off the day than with a viewing of the John Carpenter classic?  Beyond being a perfect way to set the mood, it also gives you a lot of tips of what not to do in case the boogeyman decides to show up in your small, nondescript town.  It also reminds us that everyone – even a cynical old codger like Dr. Loomis – is entitled to one good scare.  Use it wisely.

The Orphanage

2:00-4:00 AM

The atmosphere throughout this entire movie is perfect for late-night (or early-morning) viewing.  It’s a beautiful and spooky little ghost story.  It’s not uncommon for mist to rise around this time of day, which would be the ideal setting to watch this.

Evil Dead [2013]

4:00-6:00 AM

I realize this might seem a bit early for such a gory, intense movie.  But I believe in you.  If you’re willing to watch 24 hours of horror movies, you can deal with watching the insanity that is this movie at 4 in the morning.  I may just end up watching this every morning when I get out of bed.  Better than a cup of coffee.

Anyway, this movie is amazing.

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

6:00-8:00 AM

The sun is starting to come up, so we need to move to some lighter material (mainly because it just doesn’t feel right watching some movies when the sun is out).  This seems like a good way to kick off this portion of the day.  It’s a smart, funny, and perfect deconstruction of the slasher genre, while still managing a few scares.  This is one of my favorite modern horror films.

Drag Me to Hell

8:00-10:00 AM

Sam Raimi’s return to the horror genre is a ton of fun.  Dancing goats and gypsy curses and horrible, horrible things happening to an adorable blonde.  Justin Long is terrific, and David Paymer even makes an appearance.  More like Christine on the hoof, amiright?  Anyone? 

The Monster Squad

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

I hadn’t seen this movie since elementary school, and wondered how well it would hold up.  As it turns out, it holds up wonderfully.  It’s The Goonies with monsters.  It’s funny and odd, and it’s everything I wanted to be a part of as a kid.  And now.  I would totally be in The Monster Squad right now (although it would probably look like Mystery Team at this point).

Return of the Living Dead

12:00-2:00 PM

Crazy, bloody fun, with Linnea Quigley dancing on graves as an added plus.  It’s a fun addition to the zombie genre.  It’s extremely funny, and I find something else to love about it every time I watch it.

It would’ve made sense to watch Night of the Living Dead before watching this, but I just couldn’t find room for it so early in the day.

Ghoulies

2:00-4:00 PM

I don’t know what it is about this movie.  This series doesn’t get overtly goofy until the second movie (and that goofiness really hits hard in the third and fourth), but this movie is pretty unintentionally goofy.  The effects are pretty bad.  The Ghoulies look ridiculous.  But there’s just something I love about this movie.  It doesn’t feel like Halloween until I watch it.

May

4:00-6:00 PM

As we transition to dusk, it’s time to get away from the lighter stuff and back into the darker side of the genre.  May is a perfect fit.  It’s a darkly funny movie, but it has a heavy dose of gore and creepy moments as well.  It’s The Bride of Frankenstein or Pieces, as lived through an awkward girl who wants nothing more than to fit in.  It’s a beautiful and heartbreaking movie.  I’m always left wondering whose side I’m on.

Night of the Living Dead [1968]

6:00-8:00 PM

This movie may not be as terrifying as it was when it was first released (and violence against women is generally frowned-upon these days, even if they are in a state of hysterics about how the walking dead killed their brother), but it still holds up extremely well.  An air of creepiness surrounds the entire film.  This is still my all-time favorite zombie movie.

Sinister

8:00-10:00 PM

The day is winding down.  It’s time to get uncomfortable.  This movie is less scary than it is deeply unsettling.  It has a great story and atmosphere to it.  And, while there are a handful of moments that I would cut (the “children dancing in the hall” scene was downright laughable), it never quite lost me, and it drew me back in immediately afterwards (this is in stark contrast to Insidious, which lost me fairly early and never regained my trust).  This is a dark, twisted movie that will stay with you for long after the credits have rolled.

Trick R Treat

10:00 PM – 12:00 AM

Our day ends with Trick R Treat, which takes 5 stories (all taking place on Halloween in a small town) and weaves them together through the use of interacting characters and Sam, an undersize pumpkin-man who seems sworn to uphold the ancient traditions of Halloween, enforcing them with swift justice and a sharp lollipop.  There really isn’t a likable character to be found here, but I love the stories and the feel of the movie.  If nothing else, it’s pretty good justification for staying inside on Halloween and watching movies.  It’s better than being a disturbed principal’s human jack-o-lantern.  Just make sure to keep that pumpkin lit.

And there you have it.  Twelve movies to fill up 24 hours of your day on Halloween.  Of course, limiting myself to only twelve movies assures that some terrific options were left off.  Also, in looking at the actual running time, these would not take up the full 24 hours.  So feel free to plug any of these into the list.  They just narrowly missed the cut, anyway.

Psycho [1960]

Cabin in the Woods

Amityville Horror [2005]

The Haunting [1963]

A Nightmare on Elm Street [1984]

The Bride of Frankenstein

Poltergeist

Scream

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [1974 or 2003]

Shaun of the Dead

Final Destination

Paranormal Activity

Halloween

One of my all-time favorite movies.  I end up watching this multiple times a year.  It's a beautifully shot movie, and the soundtrack is incredible.  I love the dialog.  I love how crazed Dr. Loomis is (and the look of joy on his face when he gets in his one good scare).  I love Laurie, Annie and Lynda.  I love Michael Myers dressing up like a ghost and putting on Bob's glasses.  I love everything about this movie.

Halloween, and the Psychological Impact of Surviving a Slasher Film

I have long been fascinated with the idea of what happens after a slasher movie ends.  Not all slasher movies, of course.  With some of them, I like to sit quietly and wonder what decisions in my life have led me to suffer through what I have just seen.

But the good ones leave me wondering what comes next.  What comes after the horror?

Very few films seem to deal with this.  Sure, there are sequels, but those don’t necessarily show the aftermath of the horror.  In some cases (like 1981’s Halloween 2), they pick up exactly where the first movie left off.  But the killer is still on the loose.  Lori is in the hospital, but she has no time to process what has just happened to her, as she is currently in the process of trying to survive once again. 

In a lot of other cases, we don’t see the characters from the first film at all.  Our killer is off to terrorize another group of diverse, sexy co-eds.  We’re never told what happened to the survivors of the previous film, likely because we’re not tuning into a sequel to see those characters.  We’re there to see the killer.

In others (Friday the 13^th Part II, Nightmare on Elm Street 4), we see our survivors from the previous film, only to watch them die this time around.  Sadly, even a Final Girl can’t survive forever.

And finally, in others (Nightmare on Elm Street 5), we see the survivor, but it doesn’t look like anything has changed.  The horror of the previous film seems to have been forgotten.  “All of my friends were killed.  Whatever.  I totally got a boyfriend out of it.”

I find myself thinking about horror movies in real-life terms.  If the events of this movie actually happened, what would the repercussions be?  Would the dead be so easily forgotten?  Or would their loss – as well as the terror they had to endure – leave a lasting scar?

I’m a firm believer it would be the latter.

Of all the slashers I have watched, I haven’t seen a series that captures this quite as well as Rob Zombie’s Halloween.  I know they are not widely loved (personally, I liked them pretty well, but I can’t say that I love them.  I find them interesting.  More than anything, they just make me feel kind of dirty), but Zombie certainly tackles the psychological ramifications of surviving a slasher film in Halloween II better than any film I’ve ever seen.

When we first meet Laurie Strode in Halloween, she seems to be a normal high school girl.  By the time the movie has ended, one of her best friends is dead (Laurie came across her dead body in the Myers house), and another was attacked and sliced up. 

Both of their boyfriends were killed. 

Laurie’s parents were murdered. 

The end of the movie finds Laurie trying to escape from the Myers house as Michael is relentlessly pursuing her and stabbing at her. 

That ends with Laurie sitting on Michael’s chest and shooting him – point blank – in the head.

Personally, I have never shot a human being in the head at point-blank range, but I imagine it’s not all sunshine and roses (Maniac tells me that it’s particularly gruesome, and I tend to trust Savini most of the time).  And none of the other stuff Laurie endured that night sounds like a whole lot of fun, either.

Halloween II picks up a year later.  Gone is the happy-go-lucky Laurie Strode from the previous film.  She is an emotional wreck, trying to deal with these past events through therapy, drinking and pill-popping.  Needless to say, it’s not working.  She has pushed away everyone who cares about her.

About halfway through the movie, she finds out that she is Michael Myers’ sister.  Already in an emotional state, this pushes her further to the edge of her sanity.  By the time the movie ends with Laurie in a mental institution, we’re not the least bit surprised.

Seeing it all written out over a couple paragraphs, the journey from “normal girl” to “psych ward” seems pretty sudden.  But, when watching these films, I don’t know where else it could’ve ended.

We see a little bit of this in the original Halloween series as well, but not quite as extreme, and not quite as brutal.  Laurie survives the two initial attacks, and we don’t see her again until H20 (20 years after those events).  We’re not sure the exact path she took, but she has changed her name (to Keri Tate), moved to California, and is the dean of a private school.  She has not told anyone about who she was or where she came from.  Even 20 years later, she is still haunted by the events, to the point where she thinks she sees Michael stalking her on a regular basis.  (Then again, she’s dating Theo Tonin, so we can’t expect her to be very well-adjusted.)

After surviving yet another Myers attack in that film (and chopping off the head of an innocent paramedic), we find Laurie in a mental institution at the beginning of Halloween: Resurrection (a film I hesitate to even mention, because the mere thought of acknowledging its existence makes me gag a little, Starbuck or no Starbuck).

And that is where I believe most slashers would leave the survivors.  Even the strongest, most well-adjusted person would be irrevocably scarred.  The deaths of those who didn’t survive would not be soon forgotten.  The survivors would not recover for a long time, if ever. 

I thought it would be really interesting to follow up a slasher with a drama, but that would end up being box office suicide. 

It is because of this odd obsession that I’ll be starting a new feature here.  I haven’t quite settled on a name yet, but I’m thinking of going with “What Comes Next?” or “Spoiler Corner”, although I’m certainly not married to either of those.  I’ll be taking movies I’ve recently seen and talking about where the logical progression would lead.  My first post should be coming up later this week.  It’s probably going to be Mama, because I can’t stop thinking about that movie.

I’ve toyed with the idea of starting up another blog, but have decided against it.

I'm really excited about this.  I think it's going to be a lot of fun.  If there are any movies you've had this thought about, post them in the comments.

Halloween H20 & Resurrection

Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later

Welcome back, Laurie Strode.  In this movie we find her twenty years after the events of the first two movies.  Having faked her death, she is living in California under the name Keri Tate, and being the headmaster for a private high school.  She has a son (played by Josh Hartnett...who has a little of the Michael Myers soulless eyes going on), and he has just turned 17 (the age Laurie was during Michael's first killing spree in Haddonfield).  Of course, Michael finds out where she is (by killing the nurse of the late Dr. Loomis and stealing Laurie's files), shows up, and starts killing.
Really, it's the same formula as all the others, but this one feels more tense.  More well done...less a sequel just to have another movie.  And, of course, it's great to have Laurie back.
It's not as good as the original, but it's still really, really good.

Rating: 4 stars

Unexpected actor sighting: Michelle Williams, Janet Leigh, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Halloween: Resurrection

At the end of H20, we see Laurie chop Michael's head off.  Well, as it turns out, that wasn't Michael...it was a paramedic who Michael knocked unconscious and put his mask on.  Not being able to live with the guilt, she ends up in a mental institution, which is where we find her at the beginning of this movie.  Michael comes back, yada yada, Laurie isn't in the movie anymore.  Sad, really.
This movie follows an online reality show.  They grab a group of college students, put cameras on them, and have them go into the Myers house to find out "what makes a killer tick".  Of course, Michael comes back and starts killing them, but everyone thinks it's a hoax.  At the end, they try to make it some sort of commentary on the downfalls of fame, but it falls a little flat, because no one really cares what a kung-fu obsessed Busta Rhymes thinks.
Not as good at H20, but still enjoyable.

Rating: 3 stars

Unexpected actor sighting: Katee Sackhoff ("Starbuck" from Battlestar Galatica), Busta Rhymes, Tyra Banks

The Zombie Prom is coming up (May 21), and I'm working on remixing some horror movie themes (currently working on Psycho and Nightmare on Elm Street, already have one for Halloween).  Any suggestions for themes to remix?
Also, I've decided to go with the name of DJ Braineater.

Halloween 4-6

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

Dr. Loomis is in this movie, but he's the only one that returns from the previous movies.  And, unless I'm mistaken, they never really talk about how he escaped the explosion in the hospital from the second movie.  Sure, he has some burns, but nothing major.
Anyway, in this movie, Michael returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven year-old niece, Jamie.  Laurie (her mother) is gone...apparently presumed dead (although they never say why).  She is living with her step family. Her step sister is babysitting her, Michael Myers shows up, lots of people die, but a handful (including Jamie, her step sister, and her adoptive mother) escape.  There's kind of a twist at the end, but it wasn't anything major, and it felt pretty forced.
This was pretty boring...nowhere near as good as the first two.

Rating: 2 stars

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers

This takes place a year after the events of Halloween 4.  Jamie is traumatized...she doesn't talk, and she is in a children's mental institution.  She seems to be channeling Michael Myers (by that I mean she draws the things that he is seeing, and she goes into convulsions when he kills).
Basically, this movie is like the fourth one.  Michael comes back to kill his niece.  He stalks and kills her step sister and her friends.  There ends up being a confrontation between Michael and Jamie and Dr. Loomis in the Myers house.  It's hard to keep these two movies straight, but I'm pretty sure there's a scene in this one where Jamie calls Michael "Uncle Michael", and he starts to cry.  It's fairly ridiculous.
Also, there's some weird love story going on with Jamie and her institutionalized friend.  It's very strange.
This is basically the same movie as Halloween 4.

Fun fact: the actress who played Jamie is named Danielle Harris.  She went on to play Marybeth in Hatchet II, and Annie in Rob Zombie's Halloween 1 & 2.

Rating: 2 stars

Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers

This one takes place 6 years after the events of Halloween 5.  Dr. Loomis is retired, and Jamie is pregnant.  At the beginning of the movie we see that she has been kidnapped by a group of druids who are helping Michael.  Or something.  Anyway, she escapes and gives birth to the baby...and then she gets killed by Michael.  The baby is found by Tommy Doyle.  In case you don't remember, Tommy is the boy that Laurie was babysitting in the first Halloween.  Now he's older, and he's kind of a freak.  He is also played by Paul Rudd, so that was pretty fun.
Anyway, Tommy lives across from the Myers house, which is now inhabited by the Strodes (Laurie's adoptive parents).  Michael comes back to town looking for the baby (the last of his blood line), and he does what he always does: he kills lots of people.  Tommy - with the help of one of the Strodes - tries to keep the baby safe.  And, of course, Loomis shows up to help.
In the end, we find out that the druids have been controlling Michael all this time, and they've been the ones that have made him kill.  Or something.
In case you couldn't tell, this movie was no better than the last two.

Rating: 2 stars

Here's what I learned about the Halloween movies: if there's no Jamie Lee Curtis, it's not a good movie.

Prom Night, Dog Soldiers, Halloween

Prom Night

Yet another one of those movies that I had heard about, but had never seen.  This was as good a time as any to check it out.

It came out 2 years after Halloween, but it seemed much more dated.  Maybe it was the clothes.  Maybe it was the hair.  Or maybe - just maybe - it was the insanely long prom scene with a ton of loud disco.  Yeah, that was probably it.

I could see what they were going for, and I can see how a lot of modern movies were influenced by this.  As opposed to Halloween, you weren't sure who the killer was (although it was fairly easy to figure it out).  

It was fairly entertaining, but not a great movie.  Nowhere near on the level of Halloween.  However, there are bonus points for the guy who played Lou...the "bad boy" in the movies, and one of the more hideous people I've ever seen.  

Rating: 3 stars

Dog Soldiers

I tend to like monster movies, which means I also tend to like werewolf movies.  I had heard good things about this movie, so I thought I'd check it out.  There were werewolves.  There was blood.  There was a man with his guts held in by hot glue.  There was lots of shooting.  Honestly, this is a problem I have with werewolf movies.  Even after the characters realize that nothing short of silver bullets will kill the werewolf, they still keep shooting them.  I realize that it kind of knocks them back a little, but it does no real damage, and it most cases it does little in the way of slowing them down.  It's not just this movie...it's a lot of werewolf movies.

Anyway, this movie was violent and bloody, and ended with a bunch of guys in an old house, shooting at werewolves.  

I liked it, but I didn't love it.  From everything that I had heard about it, I was expecting to love it.  It was enjoyable, but it didn't blow me away.  Maybe I needed to be in the right mood for it, but, for now, I'll give it a "Liked It".

Rating: 3 stars

Halloween

It's really not fair to review this along with Prom Night and Dog Soldiers.  Those movies were decent.  This movie is amazing.  I've seen it a handful of times, and it only gets better with each viewing.  I would have to rank this movie among my top 5 horror movies of all time (somewhere behind Psycho and Night of the Living Dead).  First of all, it just looks amazing.  The cinematography is terrific.  The soundtrack is perfect.  The character of Michael Myers is terrifying in that he has no back story.  We don't know exactly why he kills...we don't know how or why he got to that point.  We just know that he kills, and that he's relentless in his pursuit, and brutal in his murders.  There's the supernatural aspect to the end (how is he still alive?).  There's the camera itself: sometimes acting as the eyes of Myers...but not always, so it keeps you on your toes.
It's hard to describe all the reasons why I love this movie.  I just know that I do, and I love it more every time.

Rating: 5 stars

After watching Halloween, I realized I had not yet watched the entire series.  So I'm doing that now.  I'm skipping 2 (which I had recently watched) and 3 (because Michael Myers is not in it, and because it's awful). I doubt my reviews of these will be much past, "Stabbing stabbing stabbing," but we'll see.

Zombie Prom Update: The prom will be taking place at the Danville Community Arts Center on May 21, starting at 8pm.  You can visit the page (and buy tickets) here, and you can request songs through the Facebook page.