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| The witches will be flying soon! |
Most, at least those not living under a
pumpkin or buried in a grave, are familiar with the standard
Halloween film fare featuring Michael Myers and that creepy white
William Shatner mask. Let’s be blunt. Halloween wouldn’t be
Halloween without a reminiscent screening. But, the film is only good
for 91 minutes, which leaves plenty of time to explore other holiday
terrors. These might include Night of the Living Dead, Sleepy
Hollow, The Exorcist, Psycho, The Evil Dead,
House of a Thousand Corpses and many, many more. Too scary you
say? Well the, how about Hocus Pocus, Monster House,
The Addams Family, The Nightmare Before Christmas and
the timeless It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Point
being, either list is virtually endless with plenty to go around. The
choice is yours. However, here at Staying Scared, while we can
appreciate all films enveloping fear, even the less fearful ones, we
prefer to lean tighter against the chilled tombstone and embrace the
more cutting edge. Thus, this time Staying Scared is taking a look at
a few lesser known Halloween based anthologies.
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| Trick 'r Treat (2007) |
In this 2007 film, Sam, short for
Samhain (the old name for Halloween), is introduced early on as the
central character and eventually plays a role. Wearing orange pajamas
and a burlap sack hood with black button eyes, this child-like
character appears more like a scarecrow than anything. But, don’t
let that fool you, for he is truly a wicked one, entrusted to enforce
the universal Halloween rules of…
(1) Always hand out candy to trick or
treaters
(2) Be sure to wear a costume
(3) Never ever, under any
circumstances, let the Jack-O-Lantern’s candle go out before
midnight
With the rules in place, he overlooks
the evening events and lingers over four tales, The Principle,
The School Bus Massacre Revisited, Surprise Party and
Meet Sam, each of which have a specific tie to one single
horrific event.
Full of murder and mayhem, the film,
while not overly terrifying, is entertaining enough and does offer a
Creepshow-like comic strip conclusion that is both satisfying and
sweet. Loaded with typical Halloween clichés, Trick ‘r Treat is a
film worthy of the holiday and if tightly watched, might even teach
some of the lesser known Halloween lore.
All Hallows Eve (2013) and All Hallows
Eve 2 (2015) also feature short Halloween rooted tales that surround
a central plot based on an old vhs tape. In both cases, it is the
babysitter who plays the vital role. Unlike some predecessors, the
films are arguably more frightening and most certainly more grisly.
Let’s take a glance at each.
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| All Hallows Eve (2013) |
In All Hallows Eve, the tape is
found scattered among the trick or treat take and the tales feature a
murderous goon of a clown who is both creepy and demented. Here you
will find witches, the devil, an alien and the standard driving alone
on a desolated highway.
While the acting is far from best,
there is atmosphere, a complimentary soundtrack and gore. Underrated
is one word that immediately comes to mind, especially when
considering effects, creativeness and direction. Yes, the film may be
low budget, but it does have value and should be appreciated for what
it is…a fun creepfest. Strangely freaky and possibly nightmare
inducing, watch All Hallows Eve for the clown alone…he will
get to you.
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| All Hallows Eve 2 (2015) |
All Hallows Eve 2 finds the vhs
tape placed outside on the porch by a Jack-O-Lantern mask wearing
freak who, straight out of a Michael Myers page, can inject fear
simply with standing idly by looking back. Part 2 is more refined,
quick and to the point, not allowing the viewer the time to get bored
and don’t be surprise if you get sucked in on pace alone. Those
familiar with part one can’t deny that the film making team has
learned and from set design to tale quality to FX to acting, this
franchise is growing and someday could have the potential to become a
Halloween staple.
While were on the subject, let me ask
you…you’re a babysitter on Halloween night and find an old vhs
tape either on the porch or in a kid’s trick or treat bag. Would
you watch it? Mwhahahahahaha
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| Tales of Halloween (2015) |
Being a fan of short horror, Staying
Scared could easily appreciate the efforts in the ten films, but that
doesn’t mean they were all liked. Some were good, some were bad and
some were simply mediocre. Led by the radio station narration voice
of Adrienne Barbeau, the long opening credits featuring pure clichés
in pop-up book type format was too long for our taste. We would have
rather saw each tale introduced separately. However, that said, it
doesn’t mean Tales of Halloween is a complete waste either.
On the contrary, the rapid yarns take off quick and an odd
fascination or compulsion clutched, forcing a continuous viewing from
the opening Sweet Tooth to the closing Bad Seed. And,
it was enjoyable. Some of these tales are quite warped and offer
twisted endings. We especially enjoyed Ding Dong, a modern day
Hansel and Gretel piece and couldn’t help but laugh as two
neighbors fought to the bitter end over decor in This Means War.
Trick would give slasher Jason a run for his money and The
Ransom of Rusty Rex harbored one of those twists while featuring
John Landis. While there were a couple we could have did without,
having the Night of the Living Dead and Carnival of Souls
playing in the background of various scenes made up for the slight
downfall. No, this wasn’t Michael Myers, but it was a macabre
Halloween night and we were entertained, which was exactly what was
sought. So, for those with similar mindset, ignore the less than
stellar reviews and give this one a peek. You might be surprised.
Suspension of disbelief is a
requirement for all horror film viewers and is best served with a
hearty appetite of open-mindedness. With the above mentioned films,
the concept remains the same and don’t go into each film with high
expectations. After all, we’re not talking massive budget Spielberg
here. Take them with a grain of salt, or in this case, a drop of
blood, and accept them for what they are, good, campy and creepy fun.
Some are forgettable and some are not and that’s something for you
to decide.
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| Cousin It (yours truly) was in the house for Daytona's Biketoberfest 2015 |
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| Blended in quite nicely I might add |
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| Rockin with the band Hairball |
Stay Scared,
Thomas
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Thanks for taking the time to comment and remember fear is a good thing.
Stay Scared,
Thomas