After Halloween Special

So... do I suck or do my friends?

Considering I have had to spend Halloween night stuck in on my own I would take both answers at this point.

Fuck them because I got to sit down for a double bill of pure, unbridled terror (as well as all the sweets the kids didn't get.)

Paranormal Activity (2009)
What to say about this film that hasn't been said before? The story, as you may know already, is about a couple, loveable Katie and jerk Micah, who are suddenly dealing with weird phenomena in their house. Katie has dealt with this before but Micah is too excited at the prospect of "documenting" the happenings to show real fear. So, we see a series of nights in which creepy things happen to the pair; things that slowly get worse and worse until a pay off which kinda disappoints.

The other reviewers say that Micah is too unlikeable but I disagree. Sure he does everything in his power to mess with the entity despite being told NOT TO. Sure he brings in a Ouija Board despite being told NOT TO. However there is a realism to him that I can relate to - his first instinct in having a Video Camera? Sex tape.

Both characters are played well and don't suffer the fake/real acting of other fake/real documentary horrors. Katie is so adorable, and according to the internet is too overweight (???), whereas Micah's character undergoes a change that nobody seems to have seen. During the film his initial reactions are cocky and dumb, later he is defensive of his home, then he is protective of his girlfriend. Most people just seem to say "DOUCHE" and leave it there but some of the later scenes where he comforts his woman are quite touching.

Of course the film isn't available in the UK so I got it through ill means. Therefore I got the "original ending" which seems far too Blair Witch for my tastes and droned on too long. Having heard of the differences between this and it's theatrical sibling I can say I will visit the cinema on it's release.

Although hoping the DVD contains the sex tape deleted scene.

SCARE FACTOR NOTES: I stopped this film 5 times. It wasn't as chilling as [REC] but quite a few scenes left me unsettled. Curse my bladder for having no tolerance for energy drinks.

HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH
Thanks to Brad Jones (www.thecinemasnob.com) I decided to hunt down a copy of this movie. A film I haven't seen since the late 80's.

Dr TOM ATKINS witnesses a man immolate himself after murdering one of his patients - a crazy old guy with a Halloween mask. This begins his investigation into Silver Shamrock Novelties who make the masks and have a dark practical joke to play on the children of the world.

Firstly, TOM ATKINS, is the smoothest man in film. He is built like a wall, has the face of a 50 year old (in every film), can make a 'stache work for him, has deep marks on his cheeks and, despite it all, gets the cutest and hottest ladies after him at all times. He bedded Jamie Lee Curtis in The Fog about 5 minutes (TOM ATKINS time) after meeting her and in this movie meets the too cute Stacey Nelkin and beds her in about 7 minutes. I also think he could take Chuck Norris, in fact Chuck would just fall to his knees and propose to TOM.

The real star of this movie is Dan O'Herlihy as the villain and owner of Silver Shamrock Inc. As a kid I would only ever see him playing "The Old Man" in Robocop, spouting some of that films most memorable lines... "Dick, I'm very disappointed".

Here he is the true villain. Asked why he wants to kill the children of (presumably just) America he asks if he NEEDS a reason. Balls on this guy! His telling of the Samhain legend in his native "Oirland" is worthy of a campfire horror story - which in a way is what this film feels like. Everyone knows Halloween 3 was supposed to be a new direction in the franchise, telling different tales of Halloween in each one. Sadly, the flop of the film meant Michael Myers returned in the 4th.

TOM ATKINS (I fear if I don't repeat his name he will find me)

However the 2 things I have remembered with great clarity since my previous viewing are the 2 most gruesome moments - the "misfire" and the scene where we see the REAL Halloween surprise.




(with thanks to English Stan)

You see that? A bloody snake came out of the face!

Oddly enough I classify Season Of The Witch as the best of the Halloween films. It plays out like the urban legend of razor blades in the apples. Michael may have stalked babysitters but this film goes for the gut - It goes after the kids. In fact of the few deaths in the film the biggest one IS a child. It also contains an ending that, while a possible homage, is still as chilling and gripping an ending as you could make.

SCARE FACTOR NOTES: Whilst not "scary" as such the film plays as a creepy, gruesome sci-fi film. The real scares come from well crafted tension building moments and the stingers that occur whenever someone appears slightly from the edge of the screen. This simple action brings a sound like John Carpenter sat on his keyboard. Cheesy? YES! Effective? DAMN YES!

In closing was my Halloween a success?

No I wish I was out getting drunk.