7: October 2018

Hi All,

The last few weeks have been quite a rush. I went to New York Comic Con last weekend, exhibiting at the Globe Pequot booth, and the prep work for that was, needless to say, time-consuming. Head to my social media channels to see some photos from the con! It was an awesome experience, and I would do it all over again (with the right amount of sleep afterwards, of course).

Every October, I do my best to watch a scary movie a day throughout the month. Now, I say scary, but Halloween-related movies do apply, given the holiday, like The Nightmare Before Christmas, for example. I figured I’d update through my blog what movies I’m watching every day, and I’ll provide some thoughts. There is a special event happening this year, however, and that is the release of Halloween 2018, the sequel to the original 1978 John Carpenter classic. Anyone who knows me knows my love for Halloween, so my excitement for this new installation is through the roof. I’m planning on watching every movie in the series before the new one comes out, save the original (which I save for the 31st, of course!). Now, I am a few days behind because of NYCC, but here is my watch-list thus far:
 
Wishmaster
Wishmaster didn’t age well. I mean, it wasn’t a great movie at all, but it’s one of those that I can watch and laugh at and enjoy. Plus, the design of the Wishmaster himself is great; his voice alone is awesome. Andrew Divoff is perfect as the Djinn. While this film wants so badly to be Hellraiser, it’s still a good time.

Under the Skin
This was a first-time watch for me. The atmosphere of this film had me hooked from the start, and while it does feel like it drags at certain moments, it’s still a beautifully shot movie. Some might argue that this is more of a sci-fi and that it’s not scary at all—sure, I agree with that, but the tone, soundtrack, and imagery definitely have horror elements that I’d still say apply. At least, it still applies to my October marathon! All-in-all, I thought the film was great, save some specific moments that I won’t divulge in this thread. But Scarlett Johanssen’s performance wowed me; she did an excellent job playing this part.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)
It goes without saying that Romero’s classic is just that—a classic. This is one of those films I can watch repeatedly and love even more every time. I love Romero and Russo’s zombies, their exploration of humanity, and the fact that they sparked a trend that still continues to this day. This is a staple of the horror genre, for sure!

The Mummy (1932)
Ok, The Mummy is not the best of the Universal monster classics, but I enjoy the camp, and the set and monster designs are just so cool. Besides, this one is eons better than any other Mummy incarnation we’ve seen since. And Boris Karloff is a champion. I also can’t stop thinking about the scientist at the beginning, who watches the mummy come to life. As he walks off screen, the scientist breaks down into hysterics, laughing maniacally, unable to process what he’d just seen any other way. As goofy as it might seem, I still think it’s such a great scene.

Halloween II (1981)
As I’ve stated, I’m a sucker for the Halloween series. Yes, I know that basically none of the sequels to Carpenter’s original aren’t any good, but I love ‘em. The (first) direct sequel to the original is a close second for me. Sure, the characters are kill-fodder, the absence of a full staff at a hospital (on Halloween night!!) is wonky (like, where are the other patients?), and Michael’s familial relationship with Laurie Strode feels totally shoehorned in, but the movie is what it claims to be: a slasher. We get a guy hacking and slashing his way through helpless victims, and that’s all we need. Forget the fact that Michael is shot several times (again), or that he’s blown up and there are still sequels. He’s a horror icon, and I’ll keep watching until they stop making these movies.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch
This was my first time watching the movie all the way through. I think I agree with most complaints about the film, that it could have been great had it been written better and had it not have been filled with plot holes. This big block of Swiss cheese forgets about the existence of time zones, and it fails to make us care about the characters. But I will say, it goes above and beyond with gore and visuals. So it’s not a complete loss. But in terms of the series, it sticks out like a sore thumb. And Halloween: Resurrection exists (even though I don’t think anything can be worse than that one, here).

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
I’m going to start off with a note-to-self: Ryan, the Myers masks only get worse from here, and you’re aware of that. Pretty sure everyone is. For some reason, I remember this portion of the Halloween series being super scary, as a kid. But re-watching, all I see are scenes filled with the same lines: “Stay with me, I’ll protect you! But while I do, I’m going to need to leave you alone for at least 20 mins of screen-time, because logic is the name of this slasher game.” I love the trope of “one cop is in charge of protecting dumb teenagers from a killer who can unexplainably teleport, even though several cops are involved, and can help at any time.” Sigh. But, again, these movies are just fun. I’m hoping the new installment carries a bit more weight than anything after the first two original films, sans the Zombie remakes, which I don’t necessarily hate!

​That’s as far as I’ve gotten, so I’ll try to post Friday blogs more often this month, as opposed to every other week. October is a good month for Nothing Peak! Stay spooky, friends.
 
- Ryan 
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