The Great Halloween Horror Fest

Hey all,

...it's that time again...



Sorry I haven't been around; its been kinda crazy 'round these parts. I know I know, when is it not? But bear with me....there will be LOTS to talk about very soon.

In the meantime, it's Halloween Dammit! Time for the ghoulies and ghosties to prowl the streets, time for the girls to justify dressing like creative sluts & time for us all to delve into our favorite horror movies! It's like Christmas morning for our darkest cinematic desires! Since Bri and I are gonna keep it low profile this year and probably stay home, I've already programmed my "Casa De Bunghole" Halloween film festival (heavily influenced by Devin's list over at CHUD...who has AMAZING taste, did I mention that?) and I thought I'd share the playlist with y'all. Maybe it will give you some good suggestions for your own Hallow's Eve Hootenanny.

First up in the player is...



1. Satan's Little Helper - Its nice to see this forgotten/unheard of gem pop up on a few other lists, SATAN'S LITTLE HELPER (awesome title, by the way) is one of those sick, twisted Halloween movies that I always try to push on people looking for something other than HALLOWEEN or BLANKMAN to watch in late October to get in da Spooky Mood. From SQUIRM director Jeff Leiberman, it was one of those DTV films I randomly popped in a few years back, based purely on the fact it was shot on Long Island, and was totally blown away. How does the movie not have a huge cult following?? Any movie that has a serial killer causally walking around a small suburban town killing at will with a small boy (who think's hes a video game character come to life) in tow has my "Obama". it also has one of the stranger supermarket murder sprees and Amanda Plummer....who is F'n awesome in this. A MUST SEE for Halloween.
Here is the trailer:


Next up...



2. Cannibal Holocaust- A gut punch to the senses. Don't know if Bri will be able to handle the footage of animals getting killed so she can probably fall asleep at this point for a bit, but C.A. still delivers in so many ways. Fuck the Blair Witch, tell ole' Cloverfield to take a long walk off a short NYC pier and give QUARANTINE a Dirty Sanchez (tell them REC sent ya)...if you want a true blending of fact and horrifying fiction, this Deodato classic never fails to make a stomach churn and disturb you well past the credits and that unassumingly calm end theme. This is a film that truly does go "All the way!!!" and never looks back...
Here is an old trailer:


...and then there was...



3. Night of the Creeps - "The Good news is your dates are here....The Bad News is...they're dead" S'Nuff said. Oh, and it has one scene where J.C. the crippled kid (a recurring theme this year it seems) records a final, heartfelt message to Chris (a.k.a Rusty Griswald) that still chokes me up. When we saw the flick at the New Bev earlier this year, the crowd was TOTALLY SILENT during the scene, proving it's power over the viewer in what is otherwise a goofy, fun splatter flick with Tom Atkins (another motif of the night)....then right at the end when the kid says "I love you" to his best friend before his brain is totally taken over by space slugs, and some dickweed in the crowd yells "Fag!" and took everyone out of the moment. There always has to be someone, huh?
Check the trailer....Thrill me:


...then, school's in session for...



4. Return to Horror High - Its a crapfest for the most part, but the scene where the school professor gets dissected like a frog in his own lab by the killer (sporting one of the creepiest masks this side of Bill Shatner) set to the cheesy 80's music (the perfectly titled "Greet The Teacher") is one of the most effective "prolonged death" scenes Ive seen, a prelude to the Torture Porn movement, if you will. When I was a kid I was so hooked on this movie, I thought there MUST be a first "Horror High" to return to, right?
Here is the trailer....ah, New World:


...to be followed by...



5. Silver Bullet - A Lynch family classic. We've watched this movie every halloween season without fail, and still gets under my skin. Busey's best role Post-Buddy Holly (and Pre-Celebrity Rehab) and Haim (who SHOULD be on Celebrity Rehab) is great as the crippled kid (BTW-Go Shepis!!). The scene in the veranda haunts me to this day. One of the better werewolf movies out there and a solid Stephen King adaptation.
Witness the Busey here:


...and wrapping it up in November with...



6. Halloween 3 - Thanks to Collins, Im gonna give this flick ONE MORE CHANCE. I dunno why, but that goddamned melting pumpkin mask and the catchy phrase "1 more day till Halloween, Sil-Ver ShamROCK!" is luring me in...wish us luck.
...Silver Shamrock!


Also, Im sure you're sick of these, but here are the Road To FrightFest shorts Green and I did for the UK fans in August. Everyone was so pleased with the final product (even Landis loved them!) that we had to put them online, so...enjoy:

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:


Part 5 (w/ Audience reactions!)


...and of course, no Halloween can be complete without Green's annual Halloween short, which this year is called THE TIVO and is a slice of genius. I can never kick my TiVo again without getting nervous:


So, we'll speak soon, K? K.

Happy Halloween!!!! (thanks to Christel and Ren for the pumpkin pic!)


Staying Scary,
Joe