Carpenter (1983-1984)

1983 - Christine - It was definitely a good idea to kick the novel's ghost-former-owner out of the script and just make the car itself the evil entity. Christine is a bit like a steel and glass Jaws; she's a force of nature. This fits in with Carpenter's favorite theme of "evil is an unstoppable part of the Universe." There's more drama in this horror movie than there is horror. It was an interesting change of pace, but I don't know if I liked it. Leigh and Arnie's relationship had some Battered Woman's Syndrome in it.

1984 - Starman - The anti-Thing. I like road trip movies quite a bit, but this one was polluted with a very tired alien plot. When the Starman comments on our species, you can be sure that whatever comes out of his mouth will be clichés seen one thousands times before in the previous 50 years of sci-fi movies, stories and comics. Pretty much a poor adult's version of E.T. Jenny and the Starman's relationship had some Stockholm Syndrome in it.

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Carpenter (1981-1982)

1981 - Escape from New York - An excellent premise populated with awesome characters played by very cool actors saying memorable lines… but, I feel like this movie never really fires on all cylinders. I'm surprised at my reaction; nostalgia had me remembering otherwise. Representative of the flaw I see in the construction of the movie would be the scene at the end when the characters escape over the 69th Street Bridge. This should have been a homerun for Carpenter: Snake racing against the bombs in his neck, the landmines in the bridge, and the Duke pursing. Yet, there's little tension in this sequence. It feels like the Duke is 10 miles behind, that the landmines are only there to pick off Snake's baggage, and the countdown on Snake's wrist will run as slow as the movie requires.

1982 - The Thing - Fighting with Alien for best sci-fi-horror film ever made. This one may have the edge due to a chewier subtext. Alien treads on the familiar territories of corporate greed and tension between classes, whereas The Thing explores multiple themes of isolation as well as people's mistrust of other people. Also, Rob Bottin's masterpieces in the film are exhibit A in the argument for the abolishment of all CGI creature/gore FX.

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Carpenter (1979)

1979 - Elvis - A long sequence of vignettes from Elvis' life stuck in a frame made out of his first '68 comeback performance. Pretty much just 2.5 hours of Elvis from 1945 to 1968 without much of a plot structure backing it up. Kurt Russell makes a good Elvis, but the sound-a-like singer was a disappointment. Carpenter, I'm sad to say, cannot shoot a concert very well. I'm glad he took 14 years off from TV movies after this.

1979 - The Fog - Moody. John Houseman's introductory ghost story, fog horns in the distance, Adrienne Barbeau's sultry voice, Carpenter's brooding score, the fog creeping slowly through town -- all give this film a nice, spooky feel. Jamie Lee is back and wisely plays a character the polar opposite of the virginal Laurie Strode. Carpenter's Evil returns in the form of vengeful ghosts, which makes them less fundamental than the gang in Assault or the boogeyman in Halloween; they're only after folks in a certain town whose ancestors killed them. Nothing for the rest of us to worry about!

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Carpenter (1978)

1978 - Someone's Watching Me! - In a way, a bit of a test run for Halloween. This time, pure evil takes the form of a mostly faceless, electronically-savvy voyeur. Not a particularly enjoyable movie to watch, though I did like - for the most part - Lauren Hutton's moxie-filled character.

1978 - Halloween - Perhaps the perfect horror film. I watch this once a year on its namesake holiday. This time, I noticed the excellent pacing in the movie. This is not a fast-paced movie, yet it is unrelenting. Every few minutes, leading up to Laurie's discovery of Michael, there's a "horror beat" in the film. A credit to John Carpenter's multi-talent, this beat is not always Laurie catching a glimpse of the Shape spying on her; sometimes it's just a revving up of Carpenter's excellent score as Laurie walks down the street. Overall, this builds an impending sense of doom in the first half of the film, which has become a Carpenter movie-making trait ever since.

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SWH: 2004 (week 6)

My Choice

• Someone's Watching Me! (1978)
• Blacula (1972)
• Waxwork (1988)
• The Gate (1987)
• Halloween (1978)

Shorts & Trailers

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
• Tales from the Crapper
• Virgin Witch
• The Simpsons: "Time and Punishmen"
• A Personal Greeting from Mr. Dom DeLuise
• Candy is Delicious Eat Some Every Day
• Erotic Nights of the Living Dead
• King Kong
• Mickey Mouse: "Lonesome Ghosts"
• Hookers Revenge / The Photographer's Model
• Igor and the Maniacs
• Biozombie
• Assault on Precinct 13
• Frankenstein (1910)

Carpenter (1974-1976)

Earlier this year, I completed my Carpenter DVD collection. Now, I'm gonna watch all of his films in chronological order. I only allow myself to watch Halloween on the night of Oct 31st, so I'm just starting my project tonight with his first two films. I'll be posting mini-reviews as I go. Should be good for a couple months of fun.

1974 - Dark Star - I feel like this is more Dan O'Bannon than John Carpenter. Certainly, the director's cut (AKA the 68-minute "Special Edition") is a much better movie than the tedious theatrical cut (with 16 minutes of added scenes), but neither version really worked for me. The humor didn't tickle my funny bone at all. However, the frozen Commander Powell was very cool and quite disturbing.

1976 - Assault on Precinct 13 - Excellent action movie. I love the faceless, silent gang. They were essentially a Michael Myers split into dozens of bodies, or like a swarm of animals, or just a force of nature; distilled film-evil. I loved the silenced gun battle. I loved the characters, from the cheeky Napoleon to the cool-as-ice Leigh. A thoroughly entertaining film.

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SWH: 2004 (week 5)

Slasher Part Twos

• Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
• Slumber Party Massacre II (1987)
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 (1985)

Shorts & Trailers

• A Personal Greeting from Mr. Dom DeLuise
• Surf Nazis Must Die
• The Simpsons: "The Shinning"
• Freaks
• Monsters Crash the Pajama Party
• Blood Spattered Bride / I Dismember Mama
• The Devil's Rain
• Doctor Mordrid
• Merrie Melodies: "Scaredy Cat"

SWH: 2004 (week 4)

Redneck

• The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
• Deliverance (1972)
• Redneck Zombies (1987)

Shorts & Trailers

• Dagon
• Blood Feast
• The Simpsons: "Homer3"
• Jacktown
• Carnival of Blood / Curse of the Headless Horseman
• Buttcrack
• Frankenpimp
• I Am Weasel: "I Am Vampire"
• Class of Nuke 'Em High

SWH: 2004 (week 3)

Splatter

• Evil Dead II (1987)
• Dead-Alive (1992)

Shorts & Trailers

• The Simpsons: "Clown Without Pity"
• Alien
• The Wicker Man
• Sealab 2021: "Predator"
• Nightbreed
• The Simpsons: "The Thing and I"
• Shrunken Heads

SWH: 2004 (week 2)

Serial Killers

• Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
• American Psycho (2000)
• M (1931)

Shorts & Trailers

• The Simpsons: "Attack of the 50 ft Eyesores"
• God Told Me To
• Basket Case
• Courage the Cowardly Dog: "The Demon in the Mattress"
• Scream Blacula Scream
• The Simpsons: "The Bart Zone"
• Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except

SWH: 2004 (week 1)

Stephen King

• Cat's Eye (1984)
• Maximum Overdrive (1986)
• The Running Man (1987)

Shorts & Trailers

• The Simpsons: "Dial 'Z' for Zombie"
• X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes
• Beetlejuice
• Johnny Bravo: "Bravo Dooby-Doo"
• Zombie Martians from Deep Outer Space
• The Simpsons: "Hungry are the Damned"
• Dracula vs. Frankenstein

Six Weeks of Halloween: 2004

Six Weeks of Halloween
2004

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Six Weekends of Movies: September 24th October 1st October 8th October 15th October 22nd October 31st

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The Plan

Halloween, being just one twenty-four-hour period falling on October thirty-first, is just too damned short. I've decided to celebrate Halloween for six weeks.

On a Friday, Saturday or, possibly, Sunday of each of the weekends listed above, I'm going to watch 3 or 4 horror movies. I will also eat candy and drink beer.

Anyone who comes to partake in the festivities can vote on what to watch, choosing from one of the categories below (more categories to come, maybe).

The actual day of Halloween is the exception. On that day, I will more than likely be watching movies the entire day, choosing whatever I feel like watching.

In addition, I will be continuing my 6-year-long tradition of watching John Carpenter's Halloween on the day of Halloween. This will be a part of my John Carpenter Chronocinethon, so prior to October 31st I will need to watch Dark Star, Assault on Precinct 13 and Someone's Watching Me! This is why there are no Carpenter flicks on the list below.

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1920s | 1930s | 1960s | Ghosts | High Melanin Anti-Heroes | In Space | Italian | Stephen King | Michael Moriarty | Rape-Revenge | Redneck | Robot | Satan | Serial Killers | Slashers Part Two | Splatter | Troma Unwatched | Vampires | Watched

The 3 movies with images are my first choices to watch, but any of them can be swapped for an alternate. Italics means I don't own the movie yet, but it's on the way.

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1920s

• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
• The Golem (1920)
• Nosferatu (1922)
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)
• Waxworks (1924)

1930s

• The Mummy (1932)
• The Invisible Man (1933)
• The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
• Dracula (1931)
• Dracula (Spanish) (1931)
• Frankenstein (1931)
• M (1931)
• White Zombie (1932)

1960s

• Psycho (1960)
• Carnival of Souls (1960)
• Dementia 13 (1963)
• The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1960)
• Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
• Bloodlust! (1961)
• Eegah (1962)
• Blood Feast (1963)
• The Crawling Hand (1963)
• The Terror (1963)
• X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes (1963)
• The Creeping Terror (1964)
• Two Thousand Maniacs (1964)
• Color Me Blood Red (1965)
• Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Ghosts

• Poltergeist (1982)
• Poltergeist II (1986)
• Poltergeist III (1988)
• House (1985)
• House II: The Second Story (1987)
• The Sixth Sense (1999)
• The Eye (2002)

High Melanin Anti-Heroes

• Blacula (1972)
• Candyman (1992)
• Blade II (2002)
• Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)
• Blade (1998)
• Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999)

In Space

• Alien (1979)
• Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996)
• Event Horizon (1997)
• Aliens (1986)
• Alien³ (1992)
• Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
• Alien Resurrection (1997)
• Jason X (2002)

Italian

• Suspiria (1977)
• Zombi 2 (1979)
• House by the Cemetery (1981)
• Manhattan Baby (1982)
• The New York Ripper (1982)
• The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)

Stephen King

• Carrie (1976)
• Cat's Eye (1985)
• Maximum Overdrive (1986)
• Salem's Lot (1979)
• The Shining (1980)
• Creepshow (1982)
• Creepshow 2 (1987)
• The Running Man (1987)
• IT (1990)
• Sleepwalkers (1992)

Michael Moriarty

• Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)
• The Stuff (1985)
• Troll (1986)

Rape-Revenge

• The Last House on the Left (1972)
• Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1974)
• I Spit on Your Grave (1978)
• Deliverance (1972)
• Mother's Day (1980)
• Baise-Moi (2000)

Redneck

• Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964)
• The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
• Redneck Zombies (1987)
• Deliverance (1972)
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
• Mother's Day (1980)
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
• Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)
• The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1994)
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1997)
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Robot

• Westworld (1973)
• The Terminator (1984)
• Robocop (1987)
• The Stepford Wives (1974)
• Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

Satan

• The Exorcist (1973)
• The Omen (1976)
• Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
• Damien: Omen II (1978)
• Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981)
• The Exorcist III (1990)
• Omen IV: The Awakening (1991)
• The Prophecy (1995)
• Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)
• Faust: Love of the Damned (2001)

Serial Killer

• Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
• Se7en (1995)
• American Psycho (2000)
• M (1931)
• Psycho (1960)
• Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
• Maniac (1980)
• The New York Ripper (1982)
• The Hitcher (1984)
• Silence of the Lambs (1990)
• The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)

Slasher Part Twos

• Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 (1985)
• Slumber Party Massacre (1987)
• Halloween II (1981)
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
• Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988)
• Sorority House Massacre II (1992)
• Leprechaun 2 (1993)
• Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)
• Scream 2 (1997)
• The Dentist 2 (1998)
• Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies (1999)

Splatter

• Street Trash (1986)
• Evil Dead II (1987)
• Dead-Alive (1992)
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
• Redneck Zombies (1987)
• Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)

Troma Unwatched

• Rabid Grannies (1989)
• Killer Condom (1996)
• Unspeakable (2000)
• The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)

Vampires

• Vampire Hunter D (1985)
• The Lost Boys (1987)
• Interview with the Vampire (1994)
• Nosferatu (1922)
• Dracula (1931)
• Dracula (Spanish) (1931)
• Vampyros Lesbos (1970)
• Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)
• Blacula (1972)
• Rabid (1976)
• Salem's Lot (1979)
• Near Dark (1987)
• Daughter of Darkness (1990)
• Sleepwalkers (1992)
• From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
• Tales from the Crypt: Bordello of Blood (1996)
• Blade (1998)
• From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999)
• From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (2000)
• Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
• Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2001)
• Blade II (2002)

Watched

• Week 1: Stephen King
• Week 2: Serial Killers
• Week 3: Splatter
• Week 4: Redneck
• Week 5: Slasher Part Twos
• Week 6: My Choice