Last time I ran off a list of some of my favorite music for the Halloween season, this time I’m going to toss out some film and book goodies for the Season of Dusk. I’ll try not to prattle on so much, but fanboy does as fanboy is, so…
Movies:
JOHN CARPENTER’S HALLOWEEN – Do I even need to explain myself on this one? Thought not, let’s move on.
ROB ZOMBIE’S HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES – I’m always surprised at how many people I meet that don’t like Mr. Z’s flicks, especially this one. Is House derivitive? Sure. Case in point Dr. Satan’s henchman is essentially Dr. Freudstein from Lucio Fulci’s flawed-but-classic HOUSE BY THE CEMETARY. Or maybe easier to nail is the scene pretty much lifted straight from RESERVOIR DOGS, which is undoubtedly lifted from somewhere else. However, who cares? Yeah, Zombie wears his influences on his sleeve, a lot of artists do. It’s essentially the same idea as ‘sampling’ in music. And besides, the overall effect of ‘House’ is diabolically entertaining. I mean really, it has everything one could want in a horror flick – murderous white trash clowns, carnivorous mole people, lumbering giants wearing massive pumpkin heads and the best damn intro to a movie since WAY OF THE GUN.
MIKE MENDEZ’S THE CONVENT – Sort of a new generation’s NIGHT OF THE DEMON, Convent comes off cheesy as hell until you realize it’s meant to be funny. We’re not talking Shakespeare here, but funny, entertaining and generally just charming. The characters get me, Adrienne Barbeau makes an appearance and the make-up effect of Satan’s son birthing is will stay with me until the end of my days. And then there’s Saul and Dickie Boy…
THE EXORCIST – Still the truly ‘scariest’ movie I know of. The last time I watched this I was in a dark room with three or four of my friends and was still afraid to get up to take a leak for fear some little girl might run up and vomit on my shoes. Get’s you looing over your shoulder when you walk out to your car.
Okay, books:
Christopher Wallace’s RESURRECTION CLUB. Don’t even know what to say about this. Takes place in my favorite city, Edinburgh, Scotland (which in and of itself is perfect for Halloween) and contains mad scientists, drugs of a necromantic variety, soul tampering, graveyard mischief and a great, eerie mood. I don’t even remember where the heck I found this book but man, it fits. Not terrifying by any means, but weird and creepy. Any one else read this?
Bret Easton Ellis’ LUNAR PARK – Bret Ellis telling a story about himself. Don’t want to give too much away because it starts in one place and surprised the hell out of me where it went. But it opens with a Halloween party where an uninvited guest appears dressed as Patrick Bateman shows up and goes from there.
BATMAN: GOTHIC – I read this back when it appeared monthly as LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT 6-10 (late 80’s? Early 90’s? Is there a difference?). Years later when I would become a Grant Morrison fanatic I dug this back out and realized, ‘Shit, he wrote this too?’ Why this particular story for Halloween? Batman. Satan. Panicked Mafia. Bubonic Plague infected monks selling their souls. To Satan. Inverted Bat signal. Need I say more?
Anything Howard Phillips Lovecraft ever wrote, especially THE FESTIVAL.
Okay, that’s it. I have a flight to catch in a few hours. Monday I’ll be in transit and so probably won’t have a chance to post until Tuesday, but I hope to make it worth the wait. I plan on having an account of my returning to the Midwest’s most haunted cemetary for Halloween. Let’s just hope the account doesn’t involve the words *police*.