It is once again that special time of year when the spooky and macabre come to the fore for movie fans... and even regular shmoes who still celebrate the Halloween season in one way or another. For me, the days of dress-up and parties are long past, but every single year I have my own traditions. To begin with, I watch a LOT of horror movies throughout October. I also plan for and hold my own little Halloween Eve movie screening. Armed with snacks and beverages, I hunker down for a scary-ish film or two.
This October, I will do the usual and absorb as many horror movies as possible, leading up to a special selection on the final night of the month. Though I have hundreds and hundreds (a bit over a thousand, I'd reckon) of videos on home media at my disposal, I do get stumped sometimes. It can be overwhelming staring at all my shelves full of DVDs and Blu-rays. What will I watch tonight? I mean, I don't own any (or very many, I should say) bad movies, so it's not as though I don't like the stuff I own. It's more like, I've seen pretty much all of these videos dozens of times, maybe more. Depending on the movie, I might need a few years or more to come back around to a burning need to re-view it. But if it's one of my absolute favourites, I might be game to watch it every year. And something relatively new that I might have only seen once or twice could easily merit a re-watch.
In late September I got a start on a movie viewing list for the month of Halloween. I have done this list thing for several years, and it does help me sort through my options. It's a brainstorming method, in a way. I just jot down ideas as they come to me, whether it's film titles, or sub-genres, or directors, actors, or eras. From there I can work from general ideas down to specifics. Are my choices in my collection, or on streaming services like Netflix, Youtube, or on Roku channels? I have often even bought a movie or two for the occasion. I very nearly did not do that this year, but last weekend, after deciding I should revisit The Fog (1980) by director John Carpenter (I last saw that back in the 80's, I think), I simply couldn't find it on any of the streaming services. And so I hunted down a very inexpensive DVD copy on Ebay (cheaper than a streaming rental). It's on the way.
My list so far isn't very big, nor is it even close to carved-in-stone. I'm working on it, and trying to get fresh ideas. Not long ago, I hauled out a case of loose (in plastic sleeves instead of clamshell cases) DVDs and Blu-rays a friend gave me a year or two ago, and discovered a handful of flicks that I either have never seen or hadn't seen in a long, long time. One of those is Strange Invaders from 1983. I'll give that a go soon.
Also in that bunch are The Blob (1958), one or two of Hammer Studios' Mummy series, something called Flesh and Blood, again by Hammer, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, and Scanners.
And on my shelves, there are a few Blu-rays a friend gave me a while back. These are upgrades from the old DVDs I previously owned, but I feel like I could check them out again in newly remastered form. These are Island of Lost Souls, Island of Terror, The Man Who Fell to Earth (technically sci-fi, but I can accept that in the overall fantastical film category), Midnight Special, and the 80's vampire classic Salem's Lot.
I might also re-watch Predators and a couple of the Alien vs Predator movies, which I found for low, low prices a few years ago. Yes, they are shlocky, but the cool creatures are worth the discomfort of terrible acting and flawed stories. Or are they?
Then there are some recommendations I've noted from online movie reviewers, like Candy Corn, The Innkeepers, Killer Crocodile, Great White, and a couple of 70's made-for-TV thrillers I think are on Youtube, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Don't Go To Sleep. I might have even seen those last two back when I was a kid. No recollection, though.
And after slaving over Google and Roku, I realized there was no free streaming of the Alaska-set vampire tale, 30 Days of Night.... so the next best thing was a sale-priced rental on the Cineplex Store. Good enough. I may pop that on this evening, in fact.
Happy Horror-tober!
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