Here we count down the 31 days of Halloween. A special Halloween-themed movie for each day of October. Some staples. Some randoms. Check our Facebook page for daily posts. And so we begin… (IN NO ORDER)
#1: The Fear: Resurrection (1999)
Bear with me; it’s been a few years. The first Halloween that Joanna and I spent together, we decided to take October and watch every single Halloween-themed movie we could get our hands on. We watched the standards and we watched the randomness (I always love the randomness!). One such randomness was The Fear: Resurrection (my memory completely remembers it being called The Fear: Halloween Night, but IMDB says otherwise). Resurrection is the sequel to The Fear, which I’ve never seen but Joanna has. The trailers I’ve seen for The Fear look to be Christmas-themed…so we’ll get to that one some December night. In Resurrection, as best I can recall—spliced with bits from IMDB—a guy brings his friends to his grandparents’ house for a Halloween party. The partygoers dress as their deepest fear. This totem pole guy shows up (I do not remember from whence he came), and makes sure these cats die by way of their fear. Apparently Betsy Palmer plays the grandmother, but I do not remember that. Also, it should be noted that the guy who directed this picture is named Chris Angel. It does not appear he’s a Mind Freak, but it does appear he directed both Wishmaster 3 and 4. So good on him, I love that franchise. – Johnny
#2: Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
Yesterday’s kickoff flick was random Halloween fun. Today’s flick is a holiday staple. It’s not often that one movie can generate so much spooky nostalgia, originality and excitement that it can legitimately claim the ‘modern day classic’ title. Well, Trick ‘r Treat is one such movie. It’s right up there with Carpenter’s Halloween ’78.
In case you’ve been under a rock for the past few years, here’s the plot… It’s an anthology (YES!) that centers around one small town on Halloween night – and this town really knows how to celebrate this horror holiday! Four (and a half) stories interweave together creating the ultimate Halloween experience. The stories are all different, all interesting and all have something to do with this very special night that is October 31. Our ‘guide’ is Sam, a creepy little costumed character who cameos in each story and caps off the film in the final story where he teaches a non-believer a thing or two about the true meaning of Halloween. In essence, Sam has become a contemporary mascot for the holiday.
Trick ‘r Treat is both a guidebook and love letter to Halloween. For this, it has also become a tradition. A delightful viewing ritual stuffed with costumes, flooded with candy, dripping of blood and radiating the spirit of Halloween! – Joanna
#3: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Halloween Episodes
What can I say about the Buffy Halloween episodes? If you’re a Buffy fan, you know they were some of the best eps of the series. Season Two’s “Halloween” introduced us to Giles’ chaos-obsessed former pal Ethan Rayne (RIP Robin Sachs), who sells the Scoobies costumes that turn them into what they’re dressed as. Season Four’s “Fear Itself” is probably the best ‘Ween celebration. Buffy and the gang attend a Halloween throw down at a frat house where panic and fear are the order of the night. And when told to dress as what scares her the most, Anya shows up dressed like a bunny. Classic. The season six “All the Way” episode is a fun distraction from the darker tone of the season, and it focuses on Dawn and her friend (Amber Tamblyn) hanging out with cute vampire boys (though the Willow/Tara sub-plot would prove to be the most important part, for future episodes). Early on, Giles tells Buffy that Halloween is actually supposed to be a supernaturally quiet night. Clearly that’s not the case in Sunnydale. If it’s Halloween, it must be Buffy. – Johnny
#4: Night of the Demons (1988)
And here’s another Halloween Staple. Angela’s having a party… If you ever hear those words, pretend like you didn’t. See, Angela (Mimi Kincade) is indeed having a little Halloween get together — at Hull House, a well-know local haunt spot. Awesome plan, right? Of course not. Unless you’re a demon. Things go awry when Angela gets possessed and carnage ensues. It’s typical but awesome. Plus, if you’re a fan of one-liners, then you’re in luck. “Run, Judy, run. See Judy run.” “Do you guys have sour balls?” With all that said, Night of the Demons has one of the best/weird special effects scenes I’ve ever seen. You know the one. Lipstick. Boobs. Linnea Quigley. It’s a bit of a brilliant ‘what the fuck’ moment. An entertaining but highly flawed remake was done in 2009. The main reason to watch is Eddie Furlong’s performance, but we’ll get to that later. – Joanna
#5: Idle Hands (1999)
My favorite Halloween-themed stoner horror comedy. Starring kid-star-that-needs-a-legit-comeback Devon Sawa (trivia: he is in another Halloween movie that will be posted), Jessica Alba, Seth Green, and the great Mighty Duck Elden Henson (FULTON!). – Johnny
#6: The Wickeds (2005)
I always want to like just about every horror movie that is set at Halloween. That’s not always possible, unfortunately. Take John Poague’s The Wickeds. When it first came out, I rented it (not knowing it “took place on Halloween”—I’ll get to that—just thinking it sounded fun) and could barely get through it. A year or two later, I revisited the film as part of an October-long, watch-every-Halloween-themed-horror-movie-I-can-think-of thing. It still sucked; most movies that boast Ron Jeremy as their main draw do. And there is nothing really Halloween about this movie. I think one character one time mentions the fact that it is Halloween. If not for that sentence, you would never even know. A bunch of kids, on that perennial quest for the ultimate party, run afoul of some grave robbers and a bunch of zombies. Some junk happens that is probably not even worth trying to remember. The credits roll, and I curse myself for renting this movie not once, but twice. Random trivia: According to the director’s IMDB page, he played a cop in John Waters’ beloved classic Serial Mom. – Johnny
#7: Fun Size (2012)
About this time last year I freely admitted to looking forward to seeing the then new theatrical release Fun Size, the teen Nickelodeon production starring Nickelodeon star Victoria Justice. A year later and said film has now been watched. And it’s pretty much exactly what you expect (whether you expect to enjoy it or not is, of course, solely dependent on what type of junk you enjoy). The movie is a fun enough trick-or-treat outing, in which Wren (Justice), a high school girl who wants desperately to be popular, gets asked to the cool guy’s Halloween party by the cool guy. Problem is, she’s gotta babysit her little brother that night because Mom (Chelsea Handler, weirdly) is going to a party at her 26-year-old boyfriend’s friend’s parents’ house. After little bro gets lost whilst trick-or-treating, Wren and her BFF (Evil Dead 2013’s Jane Levy) spend the night both looking for him and making it to the cool dude’s party. Everything in the movie is predictable (predictably so), except for the level of adult jokes and situations. I was kinda surprised by the amounts of cursing (no F-bombs), boob jokes and things getting humped. Anyway, it’s very Halloween-y and it’s fun. If you’re the type of person that catches yourself watching (and liking) Nickelodeon fare like iCarly and Victorious, but you also happen to not be a ‘tween…well, you might catch yourself enjoying this movie too. – Johnny
#8: SyFy’s Scarecrow (2013)
The Bloody Popcorn household rarely turns down a made-for-SyFy movie (even before Sharknado). So this past Saturday night, bag o’ candy corn in hand, we settled in to watch Scarecrow, which had the added bonus of being set at Halloween, according to the description. First things first, this is not to be confused with the 2002 Tiffany Shepis DTV flick Scarecrow (which is a really fun, brainless movie too!). But back to Scarecrow 2013. Now, the movie is indeed set at Halloween. But it’s really just one of those circumstantial ‘Ween movies. There are no costumes, parties, trick-or-treaters or any other symbol of the holiday. We just know that it takes place in the last week of October. I really hate when movies do that. That aside, the movie is enjoyable enough. Nothing spectacularly bad or insanely awesome. Middle of the road Lacey Chabert-ness about a group of kids on some sort of all-day detention (no Breakfast Club-esque reasons are given) who are tasked with disassembling a scarecrow that needs to be brought into town for the annual festival. Why the hell does it take six kids, a teacher, Lacy Chabert and another dude named Eddie to disassemble a scarecrow? That seems like a two-person job, max. Probably one person. Anyway. For some reason I’m not entirely clear on this scarecrow who was previously buried by the farm’s owner (who is a descendent of Chabert’s) is now un-buried and out for…revenge? I don’t know. But he doesn’t really look like a scarecrow. He looks more like Venom from Spider-Man 3, only with better CG. Over the course of the movie, the scarecrow dispatches the kids in a number of slashery ways. The thing’s hard to catch ‘cuz it bamfs in and out of places like Nightcrawler. Eventually they kill it, I think—I remember an explosion. I feel like at this point my espresso shot was wearing off so my memory is kinda fuzzy. But yeah. It was okay. – Johnny
#9: Once Bitten (1985)
Sex-hungry teens. Check. Typical 80s soundtrack. Check. Halloween dance-off. Sure. Lauren Hutton as a virgin craving vampire. Yes! That’s the gist of this goofball romp starring Jim Carrey. It’s ridiculous fun… like a teen sex comedy with vamps. And, it’s only something the 80s can get away with. If you haven’t seen this, do yourself a favor and YouTube the dance-off. – Joanna
#10: Ginger Snaps (2000)
While it isn’t specifically ‘Ween-themed, Ginger Snaps does take place during Halloween, and they do go to a Halloween party. Good enough for me. The Fitzgerald sisters (Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins) are high school outcasts. Until Isabelle contracts The Curse (Read: werewolf bite. Read: puberty). I passed this movie over on the video shelves for a long time, having been bitten (heh) by way too many post-Screams and such. When I finally got around to renting it, based on a trusted recommendation, I loved it. And the sequels (which, heads up, differ drastically from the first). So pop it in, or queue it up, or whatever it is you do with your movies, and sink your teeth into some Snaps. – Johnny
#11 Halloween Resurrection (2002)
Let the Dangertainment begin! Halloween: Resurrection makes most horror fans groan. I, for one, love it, in all its ridiculous glory. Rick Rosenthal makes his return to the Halloween franchise (he directed Halloween II), with a movie that stars the girl from America’s Next Top Model, Kevin from American Pie, Starbuck, the girl that breaks her legs in Bring it On, and of course, Busta Rhymes. In the beginning of the film, Jamie Lee reprises the role of Laurie Strode once again, so they can relay to us the out-there way that Michael Myers survived getting his head axed off at the end of H20. It was the wrong dude! Then Busta Rhymes leads a bunch of kids to the Myers house to spend the night, on film, for a web-based reality show. Awesome! The bad thing though, oh and spoiler alert or whatever, is that Busta Rhymes is the dude that takes Mikey down. Bogus! – Johnny
#12 Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)
After building one cool-ass treehouse with his underage friends, Ernest P. Worrell manages to unleash an evil, kid-hungry troll (AKA Trantor) upon the town – on Halloween (of course)! This set-up makes for a goofy ride complete with the many characters of Jim Varney; gooey-goopy-looking trolls; Eartha Kitt as a crazy old lady; and the origin of Ernest’s stupidity. Spoiler: it’s (literally) a curse! – Joanna
#13: Lady in White (1988)
This little flick genuinely scared the crap out of me as a kid. Set in 1962, a young (and gawky) Lukas Haas is bullied and ends up getting locked in his school classroom’s closet overnight – Halloween night. Already terrified, Haas is forced to witness the murder of a little girl – an incident that occurred many years ago. Now, this movie does not take place entirely during Halloween. In fact, there’s a little Christmas thrown in for good measure. So, why is this on our Halloween movie list? Because ‘Lady in White’ manages to create a vintage Halloween feel so incredibly on point that it emanates the absolute essence of this favorite time of year. Plus, there’s ghosts and shit. Bonus: Katherine Helmond (AKA Mona) co-stars. – Joanna
#14: Satan’s Little Helper (2004)
SLH was bad, but it was even more disappointing for two reasons: 1) At the time of its release, the online horror community was giving the film very favorable reviews (my bad for taking the internet’s word) and 2) Director Jeff Lieberman was behind one of the better lesser-known slashers (1981’s Just Before Dawn) and a couple other cult faves (Squirm and Blue Sunshine). So when we popped in this disc, I wasn’t expecting a movie about the most idiotic kid in all of movie-dom, who is obsessed with a video game where Satan is the main character. He is so in love with this game that when he comes across a maniac dressed as Satan, who intends to kill his family on Halloween, he decides to be his…little helper. Maybe it was an attempt at some sort of commentary on violent video games and desensitization or something? I don’t know. I respect Lieberman as an artist…but this sucked. – Johnny
#15: Freddy’s Nightmares, “Freddy’s Tricks and Treats” Episode (1988)
Man, the things we took for granted in the 80’s. Chief among them is a network anthology TV show hosted by and sometimes starring Freddy Krueger. Sure, we’ve got The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, True Blood, Dexter and all other manner of gory-as-hell, over-the-top, legitimately-well-made horror TV in the 21st century. But 1988 had Freddy F’ing Krueger hosting a weekly TV show. And on one night in a late-80’s October (I assume it was all crisp and autumn as a bitch, but I was only 10, so I don’t for sure), the fourth episode of Freddy’s Nightmares aired. It was a ‘Ween-themed ep called “Freddy’s Tricks and Treats”, and it starred Mariska “Lake Placid” Hargitay as a med student who doesn’t believe in ol’ Fred. Well, Freddy, as usual, does not get down with that and intends to set the young Detective Olivia Benson (yeah, I had to look up her name on Law & Order) straight. Little trivia I just read: The character Mark is played by Daniel McDonald. Apparently the actor, who was not in a whole ton, was in a 2001 episode of SVU playing a Dr. Marks (the actor also apparently died in 2007). I’ve only seen a handful of episodes of Freddy’s Nightmares in recent years (though I watched it religiously when it was originally airing), and this, being a Freddy-centric episode, was one of the better installments. Not really surprising, as it was written by Gil Adler and A.L. Katz of Tales from the Crypt fame and directed by Ken “Return of the Living Dead II” Wiederhorn. So hunt down a copy of this diddy and celebrate Halloween on Elm Street. – Johnny
#16: Monster House (2006)
Here’s one for the little ones. Well, kind of. The title pretty much sums it up. It’s about a house that is in fact a monster. It eats things – kids’ toys specifically, i.e. bikes, basketballs, etc. But really, the question is why. So, when DJ’s parents (voiced by Catherine O’Hara and Fred Willard) head out on Halloween Eve, DJ and his friends pounce on the opportunity to ditch the babysitter (voiced by Maggie Gyllenhaal) and investigate this so-called Monster House. And as with many a CGI kiddie flick, in the end, there’s often more heart (than horror, in this case). And I have to say, the opening shot is quite breathtaking. It’s computer generated seasonality at its finest. – Joanna
#17: The Office, Various Episodes (2005 – 2012)
Ah, Dunder Mifflin. I miss you. Not only a great show, but always one you could rely on for some Halloween glitz. In the first themed episode, aptly titled “Halloween,” we see various costumes, including Dorothy Gale, a Sith, a vampire, a hobo and three cats. In the sixth season Halloween ep, “Employee Transfer,” we get another dose of costume overload – including three The Dark Knight-style Jokers, and obviously hilarity ensues. I love TV shows that embrace holiday stories and settings, and “The Office” is no exception. Shows with good re-watch value (like this one) make for great simple doses of holiday – Halloween, in particular – fun. ‘Nuff said. – Joanna
#18: Hocus Pocus (1993)
Another one for the kiddies… it’s not Halloween without the Sanderson Sisters! At least not in my house. It’s early 90s family-friendly goofiness at its best — AND has all the classic Halloween movie staples: it takes place in one night (Halloween, obviously); costumes galore; Halloween party; spooky tunes; evil witches.. and so much more. Bonus: that dude from Eerie Indiana stars and Sarah Jessica Parker sings. – Joanna
#19: Trick or Treat (1986)
Skippy from “Family Ties” headbangs his way through this heavy metal horror romp, including cameos from Ozzy and Gene Simmons. Plot: the devil-worshiping rock star Sammi Curr dies in a hotel fire and it’s up to his biggest fan (Skippy) to bring him back. And, yes, this involves a cursed demo record. Throw your horns up – Sammi Curr lives! – Johnny
#20: Halloween (2007)
To the dismay of many, Rob Zombie unleashed his version of John Carpenter’s classic into the world in 2007. While using the same characters and concepts as the original, this vision is completely Zombie’s. A personal point of contention between my wife (the other half of Bloody Popcorn) and I is the inclusion of a fleshed-out back story for Michael Myers. In the RZ ‘Ween, we see Mikey’s home life as a boy, with his stripper mother (Sheri Moon Zombie, of course), his mother’s abusive boyfriend, his tormentor schoolmates (who get their comeuppance in one of the most difficult scenes for me to watch from any movie), and so on. My wife likes this added childhood story, and I really didn’t care for it. Once we fast forward to present day (whatever that translates to in this film—it’s a little vague), I enjoy the movie more. One aspect we both agree on is that Scout Taylor-Compton plays a terrible Laurie Strode. Danielle Harris makes her triumphant return to the Halloween franchise as Annie, and the film is peppered with so many other genre cameos and bit parts, you’d think it was filmed at a horror convention: Leslie Easterbrook, Mickey Dolenz, Dee Wallace, Ken Foree, Brad Douriff, to name a small few. Whether you loved or hated Rob Zombie’s remake, the film is definitely his. And it is definitely better than his Halloween 2. – Johnny
#21: Halloween II (2009)
RZ’s H2 is one of those movies that I watched, really didn’t get into, and promptly forgot most of what happened. Scout is back as Laurie Strode, and that sucked enough to begin with. Now, though, she’s all goth or what this movie passes off as punk or whatever. It’s Halloween, and she and her friends are doing the Rocky Horror thing. Danielle Harris is back too. That’s about all I remember. I kinda remember weird fantasy sequences…maybe Sheri Moon Zombie on a horse, or Pegasus or something? In this sequel Loomis is just another dude trying to make a buck off of a massacre, with his book about the killings. So yeah. This movie was just not that much fun. I definitely think it’s cool when directors working on remakes take things in their own direction, but to a point. This sequel sucks all the life out of JC’s original characters. No fun at all. – Johnny
#22: American Nightmare (2002)
Texas-based director Jon Keeyes directs horror icon Debbie Rochon in this Halloween-themed direct-to-video slash fest. What are you afraid of? Psychopath Jane Toppan intends to find out, and then…kill you…using that way. I rented this title close to ten years ago from a small video store, and it has been a ‘Ween staple ever since. -Johnny
#23: Hallow’s Eve (2013)
As I’ve said before, you set your movie at Halloween and you are guaranteed at least one viewing from the Bloody Popcorn camp. Put a bit of heart into your Halloween movie and your DVD is guaranteed an annual spin. So will we be watching Sean McGarry’s Hallow’s Eve every October? Hell no! But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t at least fun to watch this one time through. Danielle Harris makes her requisite semi-annual Direct-To-Video appearance, so that’s cool and stuff. The little kid from The Lost Boys, the one who hangs around with Starr, he’s in it. The other name of note, especially for us, is Tiffany Shepis, though she has very little screen time (however her “death scene”—I guess she died, it’s a little vague—is pretty funny). The film sees a group of 35-year-old teenagers hanging around a haunted hayride type of deal. It looks like it was probably filmed at a real hayride, because there is no way this movie could’ve afforded to set up their own. These friends are getting unceremoniously off’d as payback for a girl getting disfigured in a cornfield-set Halloween prank a decade prior. There’s nothing remotely new or novel here, and really the only reason to watch it is to make fun of it, but sometimes I think creators of low budget slasher movies have to know that going in to begin with. Though, this movie got really confused when it came to its own title:
#24: “Roseanne” Halloween Episodes (1989 – 1996)
Christmas specials have always been popular… but no one celebrated Halloween like the Conners. Outrageous and clever costumes, parties, pranks, a Scrooge-like visit from the ghosts of Halloween and more. With each season, the Queen of Halloween brought something new to the table. And it was a fun ride. Roseanne once said that the reason the Conners were always so poor was because they spent all their money on Halloween. Now, that’s a good reason to be poor. -Joanna
#25: Night of the Demons (2009)
It’s the 21st century, and Angela wants to have another party. And whoa! Look at this cast: Lil’ Eddie Furlong, Monica Keena, Shannon Elizabeth and scream queen supreme Tiffany Shepis. Should be a fun Halloween night. Well. The movie is fun enough, but it really was a bit of a letdown. Bloody Popcorn, collectively, had been looking forward to this remake. We were excited it was supposed to get a theatrical release. That didn’t happen, but we were still excited when a release date for the DVD was set. Furlong really is the best part of this movie, but more in a Joey-Lawrence-in-Rest Stop-or-Killer Pad kind of way. Cross that with some Devil’s Den Devon Sawa, and you get the picture. You can do worse when it comes to All Hallow’s Eve flicks, but keep your expectations low, your sense of humor high, and your glasses full. Oh, and Linnea Quigley stops by, tutu and all. -Johnny
#26: The Worst Witch (1986)
All you really need to know is that it includes this Halloween anthem sung by Tim Curry. With totally rad 80s effects. “Has anybody seen my tambourine…” -Joanna
#27: Freaks and Geeks, “Tricks and Treats” episode (1999)
The third episode of the (waaaay too) short cult fave series Freaks and Geeks has an excellent ‘Ween ep called “Tricks and Treats”. There are two stories here that converge nicely at the end. Sam decides he does not want to let go of his childhood, and he convinces his friends to go trick-or-treating, even though they are clearly too old. Lindsay is feeling the opposite: She wants to shed every bit of childhood Halloween tradition, and play with the big kids. Smashing pumpkins with Desario! The older kids’ night of mischief culminates with Lindsay egging little brother Sam, right after he and his friends have been mocked by adults and had their hard-earned candy snatched. Harris makes a great “guy with a knife through his head”. The only thing that bothers me about this episode is that at one point Lindsay says there’s “a new Friday the 13th movie playing at the drive-in”. Considering the very first Friday the 13th was released only a few months prior to the day this episode is set, she really should have said there was “that new movie called Friday the 13th playing”. Otherwise, perfect seasonal fun! –Johnny
#28: Casper (1995)
Hey, it’s everyone’s favorite, friendly ghost! Casper’s currently ‘living’ in his abandoned spooky mansion with his three trickster uncles (who are also ghosts), when our villain, Ms. Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty), inherits said mansion and is ready to tear it down. At the same time she discovers there may be a hidden treasure, she also discovers the presence of this little ghost family. And it’s not a warm welcome. Ms. Crittenden and her sidekick (Eric Idle) flee the scene and hire paranormal investigator, Dr. Harvey (Bill Pullman) to move in and get rid of the spirits! See, when Dr. Harvey moves in, he brings his daughter, Kat (Christina Ricci)… and Casper’s immediately smitten. It’s kiddie fare – with some slightly scary and depressing bits. But in the end, the bad guys lose and the good guys win. We even get to see a full-flesh version of our friendly spook played by none other than Mr. Teen Heartthrob (for the 90s), Devon Sawa. Look out for some random cameos: Dan Aykroyd, Rodney Dangerfield, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson and the Crypt Keeper! – Joanna
#29: Parks & Recreation, Various Episodes (2009 – 2013)
Today we give some love to the delightful government workers of Pawnee — and their Halloween antics. Costumes, parties, trick or treating, pranks. Each ‘ween story exudes the holiday feel — and Ron’s always a pirate. Time for a rant: this year, we *would* have gotten another superb episode — where Ben and Leslie dress as Westley and Buttercup — but instead we get extra episodes of The Voice and the Halloween ep won’t air until later. Screw that. Oh well, at least we’ll get to celebrate Halloween again for 30 min on November 14. Break out the stale candy and TRICK OR TREAT ‘YO SELF. -Joanna
#30: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
Intended to be part of a Halloween-themed anthology series, with different Halloween stories each year, Halloween III: Season of the Witch was released in theaters on October 22, 1982. To the disappointment of many fans, HIII had nothing to do with Michael Myers or any of the events of the first two installments. Guess what — who cares?? Tom Atkins owns your soul. No other movie exudes Halloween Spirit like this one. With Tommy Lee Wallace in the director’s seat and John Carpenter (with frequent collaborator Alan Howarth) behind the keyboard, Halloween III follows Atkins as he takes down an evil corporation that produces killer Halloween masks. -Johnny
#31: Halloween (1978)
And so it begins with a psychotic killer, a razor-sharp kitchen knife and a William Shatner mask. The Halloween horror movie genre/franchise/phenomena was born with this unprecedented slasher from Master of Horror, John Carpenter. It’s Halloween movie-watching at its finest. (Obviously.) After all these years and viewings, I still get a spine-tingling shiver when I hear Carpenter’s tinkling score. And it makes me smile. -Joanna
Leave a Reply