Bedtime Story

Came across this on deviantart. Click to see more.

Stellar.

Five & Dime

Picked up this beauty of a coffee mug a couple of weeks ago. I love the simple design of it and the perfect way it fits in my hand. An old-school type of cup, I think the thing I like best about it is the place where I purchased it. Our hometown variety store is a dead ringer for the drug store seen in the 1988 slasher flick: HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS. Haddonfield's little five and dime on main street was where the cool teens all worked (and hung out), and was about the only place in town that actually sold Halloween merchandise - including boogeyman masks! - after the horrific incident ten years prior.

We live in a small midwestern town that's a lot like that doomed, mythical town from the movie in most respects (except for the bloody mayhem that ensues about every ten years or so), and every time I go in to our little store I'm always reminded of that scene where little Jamie Lloyd is trying on her clown costume, only to see her uncle Michael standing in the mirror behind her. I love how a basic, everyday location like a drug store is made menacing - how did The Shape get there in the middle of the day without being seen? Was he even there at all? Was he standing right behind me when I bought my coffee mug? I looked over my shoulder a few times when buying it, making sure the boogeyman wasn't stalking me. Yeah, I'm a dork that way...

Origin

I distinctly remember back in early 1995 seeing the trailer for HALLOWEEN 666: THE ORIGIN OF MICHAEL MYERS on television and seeing trade print advertising in magazines (sure wish I would have kept the mags!) I recall getting excited and talking animatedly about the upcoming film - it had been a long dry spell of a good six years since the dreadful HALLOWEEN 5, so I was enthusiastic to see a new entry in the series. Alas, my friends did not share my sentiment. Can you imagine I got teased for liking a group of films they deemed to be 'from when we were kids?' (But I guess after Part 5, who can blame them, right?) As history has shown, my enthusiasm was dampened when they changed the name (and seemingly the whole movie!) but, being the die-hard fan that I was (am) I dragged my friends there on opening night to prove them wrong.

Boy did I ever get teased...

Thorn In My Side

Had one of those perfect October days this past weekend that reminded me why I love the haunting season so much. Went out for a hearty country breakfast, made a trip to our favorite pumpkin patch to pick out some gourds with the kids (pics to come), ate caramel apples dipped in crushed peanuts, bought some apple cider, worked on the graveyard...and picked up this beauty for a few bucks out of the bargain bin.

Now this might not seem like the highlight of the day - and I would probably tend to agree - I have a definite love/hate relationship with HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS. As a staunch lover of the HALLOWEEN series of films, this one has consistently come in as the worst in the bunch (that is, until HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION was made over a decade later!) The main problem I have with it is the greatness that was HALLOWEEN 4, the shocking, cliff-hanger ending they set-up, and the way the producers of this film dropped the ball in carrying that thrilling conclusion over to this strictly mediocre film (if you want to read my full thoughts on this fun-filled travesty, head on over to Drive-In of the Dead).

Over time, I have grown to - not quite love - but to somewhat 'like' this movie. I can at least appreciate it for what it is; which is a rushed, poorly directed, late '80's slasher with a silly story and lousy acting. It has so much to dislike (like The Shape's horrendous mask, the stuttering kid, the annoying teens and the character of Mikey in particular, etc.) that I've somehow actually ended up liking it for its lameness in a weird, Ed Wood, jr. kind of way. Plus the disk is chock full of behind-the-scenes goodness, where everyone involved pretty much dismisses the film as a missed opportunity whose sole purpose was to cash in on its superior predecessor.

If you're looking for a time machine to 1989, where the hair was high, the jeans were tight, and the music was lousy, this is the movie for you! Hmmm...now that I think about it, maybe the caramel apple with the kids was the highlight of the day...

Pagan Power

Pagan Power
Originally uploaded by claustral

"The horror started on the eve of Samhain, in a foggy vale in northern Ireland, at the dawn of the Celtic race. And once started, it trod the earth forevermore, wreaking its savagery suddenly, swiftly, and with incredible ferocity."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_%28novel%29

Halloween 3-D

Looks like Michael Myers may have finally met his match: Hollywood. What once was my favorite franchise (until around H20 or so...) has been put on the back burner indefinitely for a reboot of 'Hellraiser.' Here's what the website Horrorbid had to say:

"Both Patrick Lussier and Todd Farmer were signed on shortly after Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN 2 (H2) released in 2009 to pen the script for the third installment when production came to a halt. Since that time rumors of the film have swirled from the film being officially "dead in the water" to production starting this year. Sadly for those of you looking forward to a third film it is bad news."

Read more here:http://www.horrorbid.com/blog/blog1.php/2011/01/04/it-s-official-halloween-3d-will-not-begi-2012