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Halloween
There isn’t a lot you can say about Halloween that hasn’t been said before, many a time. I think it’s often forgotten how light Halloween is, in terms of plot. It’s been posthumously bogged down in lore by a variety of poor sequels. It’s primarily style and razor sharp execution, Myers having a hype machine in the form of Dr. Loomis, rather than an articulated back-story to convey motive. It’s the perfect movie to watch at Halloween, it’s become intertwined culturally with the season, synonymous with it.
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Halloween II
Halloween II is where they started to flesh out Michael Myers, to provide motive to method. It sadly has a negative effect on the original, the unnerving random acts of violence thematic gone. But by closely following the formula (apparently due to some post production tinkering from Carpenter to Rosenthal’s film) and by directly following on from the events of the original it manages to lumber closer to the original than any subsequent entry would.
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Halloween H20
Halloween H20 has such a bad reputation at present, which is bewildering to me. It was very well received on release, deftly took the Halloween mould and infused it with a self-awareness that aided in revitalising the subgenre thanks to films such as Scream. It’s respectful of the characters and lore of the series, laced with references aimed at subgenre fans, filled with heart and maturity so far beyond anything prior entries could muster. Tapping Steve Miner to direct was a stroke of genius. There’s a gaping Donald Pleasence sized hole, but there isn’t a hell of a lot that can be done there.
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Trick Or Treat
Trick Or Treat is a guilty pleasure. It has a silly premise; a social outcast receives messages from a dead rocker he idolised by playing one of his unreleased records backwards, which brings the dead rocker back to life to wreak havoc. It’s another of those 80s films which overused the smoke machine, had an overabundance of glowing electric effects, and is riotously enjoyable, often for the wrong reasons, but endearingly so. It features a fantastic soundtrack and some scene stealing cameos, particularly Ozzy Osbourne, with tongue firmly planted in cheek.
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Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker
Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker is another of those films whose social values make for curious viewing to a modern audience. The homophobic traits a couple of characters display (most notably Bo Svenson’s Detective Carlson) are a little shocking, particularly the occasional slur, but it draws to a close with a conclusion morally ahead of its time. Susan Tyrrell’s completely over the top, unhinged performance fuses everything together. Boiling over with sexual deviancy, it’s likely tamer in terms of gore than a lot of people remember. The print on the recent Code Red DVD release is revelatory compared to prior VHS releases and bootlegs.
It's been a great Halloween. Managed to hit my target, and been treated to a variety of fantastic films. My highlights, in watched order: Don't Go To The Reunion, The Night Of The Hunter, Death By Invitation, Spirits Of The Dead, Night Of The Creeps, Dead Of Night, Robin Redbreast, my personal trilogy of Halloween (Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween H20; none of the other sequels exist), Trick Or Treat and Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker. A couple of discoveries, a few I haven't seen for such a long time, but most gems I revisit time and time again. Hope you all had a wondeful Halloween. Until next year!
