The Season Begins
The Halloween season here at the Allman Halloween Group began this year as it does every year: with the perfect Halloween movie.
My first ever blog post was a tribute to my definitive Halloween movie - after 40 years and what seems like a zillion sequels and remakes, the original Halloween circa 1978 with Jamie Lee Curtis is still my perfect Halloween movie.
I'm not sure why I love Halloween, but I always have. Maybe it is rooted in childhood memories of birthdays my sister and I had in October that melded with the Halloween festivities. Maybe it was my mother's genius in costume design and her own love for Halloween and horror films. Maybe it was dressing up in monk-style robes to scare our friends, or chasing some legend of a headless Chinese railroad worker with my brothers, or hanging out in cemeteries to scare ourselves. Hell, maybe it was just all of the candy - the glorious contraband of my youth. My siblings, my children, my grandkids, my nieces and nephews are also really into Halloween. So maybe it's simply genetic.
Jamie Lee Curtis made her film debut as a high-school babysitting nerd in Halloween just about the same time that I was a budding high-school nerd myself. Long before reruns or VHS, HBO, DVDs, streaming video or the cloud – we had one chance to see Halloween on the big screen. Larger than life in the theater, it scared the hell out of me. And I am teleported back to autumn in a small town high school every time I see it.
40 years later, I still jump the first time Michael Myers sits up. You do, too. You know you do.
When people learn of my passion for Halloween and horror movies they almost always ask my favorite horror movie – or what I think is the scariest movie. Or both. Usually followed by a discussion about what constitutes a horror movie. Slashers, thrillers, suspense, paranormal, witches and demons, true crime, cult, comedy ... all fair game for horror films. Some are obvious and others, not so much. Halloween isn’t really Halloween without Trick ‘r Treat, is it? And what about the classics – for that matter, what are the classics? Is Nosferatu overrated as a top horror film of all time? What about Night of the Living Dead? Does The Conjuring terrify you as much as it does me? Are you a Bruce Campbell fan? Do Ghostbusters, Jaws, Alien, or Beetlejuice count as horror movies? If so, then what about Godzilla, King Kong, or World War Z? I personally think Manhunter circa 1986 is one of the scariest movies I have ever seen – but I wouldn’t call it horror. Funny Games is disturbing on so many levels but is it horror? Do you sneak Final Destination in on horror night?
None of it matters except whether the film is horror for you - and what film defines the Halloween season for you. So kick back, turn up the volume, and follow along as we enjoy another October of horror movies. You can catch this year’s line-up by clicking the Movie Calendar link, and check out our play by play as we watch a few extras and rate each movie as we see it.
Happy Halloween, the best time of the year.