Tag Archives: required halloween viewing

Required Halloween Viewing: Drag Me To Hell (2009)

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A horror film from recent years that always seems to get lost in the shuffle for me is Sam Raimi’s 2009 triumphant return to the genre:  Drag Me To Hell.  It’s fun, a little twisted, has a few good jump scares, and there’s a possessed goat too.  How the hell could a movie with a possessed goat get lost in the shuffle???  I feel somewhat ashamed that I forget about this movie, so what better time to pull it off the shelf than on Halloween night this year.

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Drag Me To Hell, as I previously mentioned, was director Sam Raimi’s comeback horror movie that gave us all a combined feel of his Evil Dead trilogy.  Definitely tongue-in-cheek throughout, I was pretty surprised at how many times I jumped during the movie and loved how Raimi didn’t only go the slapstick route like he did in Army Of Darkness.

I liken the experience I had with Drag Me To Hell to how I felt the first time I saw The Cabin In The Woods.  Both were a breath of fresh air to the horror genre and both enjoyed moderate success as well.  So that’s it.  I’m ending my Drag Me To Hell drought this year on Halloween night and I might even get up and do a little Deadite dance as well.  My apologies to anyone around me at that time who has to witness that.

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Required Halloween Viewing: The Funhouse (1981)

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Sorry to burst your bubble Michael Myers, but you’re not the only required viewing on Halloween night.  Granted, I’ll be watching my fair share of the Halloween franchise leading up to and on October 31st, but it’s not the only game in town that sets the mood for All Hallows’ Eve.  Isn’t that right Tobe Hooper’s 1981 underrated slasher, The Funhouse?

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Easily one of my favorite guilty horror pleasures ever, this movie screams Halloween night viewing.  It even has an opening scene that pays homage to the 1978 John Carpenter classic!  And it’s just as incestuous as well.  But incest aside, The Funhouse is definitely fun.  Sorry for my lazy writing, but it’s Monday so give me a break.  I myself love the old school dark rides that you’d find at amusement parks and creepy small town carnivals, so I was immediately in just based off of that alone.

The Funhouse is definitely a slow burn horror movie, but while it’s burning you get rewarding things like:  actor Kevin Conway taking on three separate roles, a big giant fat laughing lady that sits atop the funhouse attraction, a creepy Frankenstein mask wearing creature that has equally creepy make-up effects underneath that mask courtesy of legendary artist Rick Baker, and four stupid teens who think it’ll be ok to spend the night in a carnival ride.

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At the end of the day, The Funhouse doesn’t reinvent anything when it comes to the horror genre, but in it’s own special way it separates itself from the slasher herd.  The money shot doesn’t disappoint when The Monster reveals himself before strangling the big breasted fortune teller to death – and from there on out it really becomes a nifty little ‘cat and mouse’ game.  A horror movie is usually only as good as it’s villain, and in The Funhouse the combo of The Monster and Funhouse Barker take on that role and satisfy those who watch in the process.  So do yourself a favor this Halloween and give this ‘little slasher movie that could’ a shot.  You could do a lot worse.  Right, Halloween: Resurrection?

FUNHOUSE, THE

Required Halloween Viewing: Pumpkinhead (1988)

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What’s the one thing that is most related to Halloween?  No, not creepy old men who hand out strange candy to kids…..I’m talking about pumpkins!  And what better movie to watch on Halloween night than a movie with the word pumpkin in it.  Sorry Charlie Brown, not talking about you, but about the 1988 Stan Winston directed creature feature:  Pumpkinhead.

I’ve always had a soft spot for this one, mostly due to Stan Winston’s amazing creature effects, but having Lance Henriksen in the movie doesn’t exactly hurt either.  For required viewing on Halloween night, Pumpkinhead is a must. Just the overall feel of the movie, especially when Pumpkinhead himself starts exacting revenge for Ed Harley (Henriksen), perfectly captures that old school horror vibe.  A simpler time before CGI ran rampant in every movie, it reminds me of the Universal Monster era and seems perfect to have on while you’re handing out candy to the little shits knocking at your door.  It’s ok…..I used to be one of those little shits.  So do yourself a favor and snatch Pumpkinhead off the shelf or off Netflix this Halloween and reminisce while sipping on some Pumpkin Ale this year!

*Visine:  It gets the red out, but not the pitchfork*

Required Halloween Viewing: The Conjuring (2013)

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Creepy dolls.  Creepy possessions.  Creepy 70’s clothing.  If that ain’t enough creepy for you, then I don’t know what is!  Time to keep this Halloween required viewing train chugging along, but not before we stop to pick up our next passenger:  2013’s, The Conjuring.

What’s that you say?  A movie from 2013 made the required Halloween viewing list?  Yep.  Yessir.  Yes Ma’am.  And good news is that this nifty little throwback to old school horror comes out on DVD/Bluray on October 22nd, just in time for your Halloween night festivities!  Long story short, I loved The Conjuring and if you want to read all about my gushing, head over to my review HERE.  But I’m strictly talking here about why this movie is required to be viewed on Halloween night.

From the opening title sequence, The Conjuring screams ‘Halloween Night’.  I just love that feeling I get when a horror movie knows what it’s doing and knows how to give an accurate homage.  In fact, I encourage you to do a back-to-back viewing of this and the 1980 ghost story classic, The Changeling. Hmmmm.  I just realized something.  The Conjuring.  The Changeling.  The Conjuring.  The Changeling.  They sound alike!  And it’s a bit of a tongue twister if you say them right after one another really fast.  I’m getting a bit off track here, but the bottom line is that The Conjuring is a textbook spooky story that’s smarter than most movies of it’s kind.

Lots of jump scares and a lot of eye-numbing imagery make this one a must see this Halloween.  Don’t worry, you can still get your fix of The Shape and Dr. Loomis’ trench coat, but in addition to that you need to make sure you give The Conjuring it’s deserved viewing.  If you don’t, I’m going to have that creepy ass doll in the movie come track you down and hop into bed with you. Don’t think I can’t do it?  Try me.

Required Halloween Viewing: Creepshow (1982)

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Throughout the next few weeks, I’ll be giving you some of my personal required Halloween time horror movie viewings.  Bear in mind, this would obviously be in addition to the standards like John Carpenter’s original Halloween and the newest flick that celebrates All Hallow’s Eve in the right way, Trick ‘r Treat.  Speaking of anthology movies, let’s talk about what I consider to be the Granddaddy of them all:  Creepshow.

Let me set a vivid scenario for you:  I’m a young Indiana boy getting home after a pretty successful night of trick or treating, as I dump all of my candy out on the table so Mom & Dad can check and make sure there aren’t any hidden razor blades in the mix.

Side story by the way:  I had a crazy old guy in my neighborhood growing up that used to try and give chocolate covered grasshoppers to kids instead of candy.

But back to the vivid scenario:  As kids are still knocking on our door asking my parents to smell their feet or something, I hear a garbled voice coming from the TV saying “Where’s my cake??”.  My eyes fixate on the screen, the colors popping off in true comic book style form, and I realize that I’m having my first experience with Creepshow.

Creepshow doesn’t have any specific Halloween themes other than a pumpkin in the window during the intro.  There are zombies, a monster in a crate, and a bunch of cockroaches – but none have anything to really do with October 31st. It feels like a bigger Halloween movie though.  It’s fun, scary, it’s just one of those movies that should be either viewed or playing in the background on Halloween night.  And just because there isn’t someone running around in a white William Shatner mask, doesn’t mean that Creepshow can’t earn it’s rightful place in required Halloween time viewing slots.

This movie will always hold a special place in my horror heart for numerous reasons, but I’ll never forget my first time with it.  I was gentle, but not too gentle, and when it was all said and done, I wanted to come back for more. I’m talking about Creepshow in case you forgot.  So when you get ready for your overaged trick or treaters this Halloween or just want to add something new to your movie marathon, don’t forget about the little slice of horror love from 1982, Creepshow.  Now dance for us Ed Harris!