Halloween Viewing Thread

[Monterey Jack]

Trying to figure out what to watch next....so many choices, so little time, lol....

I'll probably see Paranomal Activity 2 tomorrow, plus another spooky DVD/Blu title tomorrow night. Then it's my annual viewing of The Nightmare Before Christmas on Sunday to cap off my month-long Halloween marathon.

[Paul MacLean]

This is very definitely one of my all-time favorite Goldsmith scores, and it carries the film at times in a way neither of his previous OMEN scores did...in fact it's like a virtual symphony, more reliant on thematic development, than the kind of one-dimensional (though very effective) "shock" scoring you get in DAMIEN OMEN II and the first film.

I agree on how well-made this film is (and the score is a masterpiece)...but I felt the ending didn't quite work. Damien is stabbed and dies, and then Goldsmith's music gloriously heralds the Second Coming. But at the same time, the kid is still dead, which doesn't make for a very happy ending, and the title cards quoting scripture and Goldsmith's inspiring cantos seem at odds with what's on screen. I almost wonder if the ending wasn't adequately written in the script and Graham Baker had to kind of make it up.

It also strikes me as odd that Christ should reappear in rural England and not Israel!

I also feel Goldsmith, dramatically speaking, actually helped fumble the ending with his end title, which segues from the "Second Coming" theme to a reprise of the sinister "Damien" theme -- and further confuses the viewer as to whether good or evil has actually emerged triumphant. I think he should have developed and extended the Second Coming cue into the end title, both for the sake of dramatic clarity AND to have made a more satisfying piece of music. (Though it is possible he simply didn't have time to write an end title, hence the reprise of the main title).

Oh well, the score is in any case tremendously well-written, and it is clear the assignment was an important one for Goldsmith, as he put more than the usual effort and care into it (which he sketched on 16 staves, whereas he normally wrote 8 or 9-staff sketches).

I also read an interview with Goldsmith which was done at the time he was working on the film, in which he said he hoped an album would be released, because he was so happy with the score (unfortunately the Goldsmith album we got instead that summer was Outland!).

[Paul MacLean]

Double Post!

[Monterey Jack]

-Paranormal Activity 2 (2010): 7/10

Almost as good as the first, with reservations (the stereotypical broken English-speaking, superstitious Mexican maid/nanny? Really...?).

-The Monster Squad (1987): 7.5/10

"Creature stole my Twinkie."



Beautiful transfer on the Blu-Ray.

[AndyDursin]

I love the Goldsmith debate Paul! For me, I don't have those issues with THE FINAL CONFLICT's ending and the scoring of it...I mean, dramatically speaking, the ending IS anti-climactic, and should've been better developed (I always wondered if what was written made more sense, and that Baker failed to execute it properly), but it is pretty obvious God triumphs, and whether or not the boy is resurrected or simply exists as a martyr, is minor IMO to Damien finally dying out. I didn't feel a sense of confusion watching it.

That Goldsmith segues back into his main theme for the film over the end credits -- I can see your point totally, perhaps he should've carried the "Majestic" soaring theme over the titles, but it just seemed to me to be a fitting final statement of the music for the whole series. There's something ominous yet darkly beautiful about that theme, and it ends with a firm, "that's it" flourish...

What I liked so much about THE FINAL CONFLICT was how much more dramatic Goldsmith's music was. It functions in a manner neither of his previous two scores did. Both OMEN and DAMIEN OMEN II feel like "one trick pony" type of "horror genre scores" -- they're outstanding for what they are, yet the music is often utilized almost entirely in response to what's happening (i.e. here comes another murder!).

In THE FINAL CONFLICT, the music has a much more prominent role. It's larger, grander in scope, more substantial and interesting -- it carries sequences, offers more variety in its themes and how it works in conjunction to what's on screen.

It's really the stepping stone for so many great fantasy scores that were to follow for Jerry, IMO, like POLTERGEIST, TWILIGHT ZONE and LEGEND. The way the music works, THE FINAL CONFLICT feels more related to those scores than either of the first two OMEN scores.

At any rate, I find that as time goes on, the film improves with age. Especially compared to all the crap we see today. It is flawed, and it could have been better, but it does a lot of things right and makes for a very interesting conclusion to three movies that -- at least for me -- are kind of a unique series of horror films, especially by Hollywood standards.

[AndyDursin]

One thing that I find interesting also about THE FINAL CONFLICT -- author Gordon McGill wrote not one but two book sequels to it.

The first one, OMEN IV - ARMAGEDDON, had Paul Buhrer (the Robert Foxworth character from DAMIEN OMEN II who was referenced but not seen in III) as its lead role, and was quite entertaining and very effective as a direct sequel to THE FINAL CONFLICT. Some of those issues you were asking about are all resolved in the fourth book in terms of what happened after the fact.

I'm guessing there was never a screen treatment for IV (or at least not this IV -- that later made for TV crap excepted) so McGill must've had free reign to write what he wanted. In that sense he did a fine job, it's a good book and well worth the 10 cents you can find it for on Amazon

[AndyDursin]

I like MONSTER SQUAD also MJ, and it's a great looking BD.

One thing I noticed while watching the film with a friend a couple of months back -- how much better that movie might've done had it starred a better cast. Those kids aren't especially appealing (none of them went onto have any kind of career really), the adults aren't very interesting and there aren't any names there anywhere in any of the key parts.

I'm not saying THE GOONIES is really that much better of a film, but you look at the casting of that movie -- from Sean Astin to Josh Brolin, Martha Plympton, Kerri Green, etc. -- and you can obviously see such a huge difference there in the juvenile roles. And sure, it didn't have any "stars," but at least the kids had solid character actors like Joey Pants, Robert Davi and Anne Ramsey to play off.

THE MONSTER SQUAD is a nice, likable movie (not a classic), but the casting really held it back, whether it was the kids or the boring guy playing Dracula (and who among the other adult roles does anyone recognize? The old guy from V? lol).

[Monterey Jack]

THE MONSTER SQUAD is a nice, likable movie (not a classic), but the casting really held it back, whether it was the kids or the boring guy playing Dracula (and who among the other adult roles does anyone recognize? The old guy from V? lol).

I liked Tom Noonan as Frankenstein's Monster ("Bo-GUS!").

Agreed that the juvenile performances were merely adequate (R.I.P. "Fat Kid"), yet the film still has that goofy charm that works best if you're approximately the age of the young leads (or at least retain that mentality into your thirties ). One of these days I'll try to introduce it to my 12-year-old nephew, if his parents will let me (the boy gets scared by horror movies pretty easilly).

[Monterey Jack]

And, as always, my Halloween night ritual...

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993): 10/10



Maybe next year, Andy, you could create the Halloween viewing thread a little closer to October 1st.

[AndyDursin]

Yeah for sure MJ, you can start it if I don't recall

[Paul MacLean]

I love the Goldsmith debate Paul! For me, I don't have those issues with THE FINAL CONFLICT's ending and the scoring of it...I mean, dramatically speaking, the ending IS anti-climactic, and should've been better developed (I always wondered if what was written made more sense, and that Baker failed to execute it properly), but it is pretty obvious God triumphs, and whether or not the boy is resurrected or simply exists as a martyr, is minor IMO to Damien finally dying out. I didn't feel a sense of confusion watching it.

I guess it's just the ambiguity of the ending that doesn't completely satisfy me. And while it's common for composers to reprise the "evil" theme in their end titles, in this case I felt that made the ending more confusing.

That said, the film is very well-made, looks great and has a very distinctive "atmosphere" about it. I also love its resourceful use of locations, like Roche Rock in Cornwall, and Fountains Abbey.

What I liked so much about THE FINAL CONFLICT was how much more dramatic Goldsmith's music was. It functions in a manner neither of his previous two scores did. Both OMEN and DAMIEN OMEN II feel like "one trick pony" type of "horror genre scores" -- they're outstanding for what they are, yet the music is often utilized almost entirely in response to what's happening (i.e. here comes another murder!).

True, though I actually like the score for Damien: Omen II better than the first Omen. I feel it has a little more variety (even though it lacks a love theme like the first). But The Final Conflict Stands head and shoulders above the others. It's still appalling to me that no album was released at the time of the film.

[AndyDursin]

I guess it's just the ambiguity of the ending that doesn't completely satisfy me.

I didn't find it ambiguous though. Damien is dead. Whether the kid survives or not -- does anyone really care? lol.

Come on, the Nazarrene won...nothing!!

[Paul MacLean]

Shockingly, dvdbeaver.com had this to say about Goldsmith's Final Conflict score:

Audio & Music: 7/6
By this time, Goldsmith had lost touch with whatever muse he had for the first movie, which is to say that the score works well enough, but is on balance unremarkable and uninspired.

[Monterey Jack]

Thanks for delivering this to me the day after Halloween, Netflix.

-Fright Night (1985): 6.5/10

A little underwhelming, I must say. I never saw this movie back in the day, so there's no childhood nostalgia to latch onto. Fine Richard Edlund F/X and Roddy MacDowell is always a pleasure to watch, but the villian is incredibly bland and unthreatening, and it's tough to get into a movie where the lead couple is played by the guy from Herman's Head and Marcy D'Arcy from Married...With Children. Easy enough to watch, but so 80's it hurts (especially the obligitory nightclub scene with elaborate spotlight and laser patterns all over the place ).

[AndyDursin]

Really? Man, I love FRIGHT NIGHT. One of my favorite genre films of the '80s by a wide margin.

In fact, I'd probably rate it higher than 80% of the movies you gave an 8 or higher to...like THE MONSTER SQUAD??!? LOL, come on, FRIGHT NIGHT is so much better than that film, it's not even close.

Did you see the remake of THE BLOB? That one is actually very good, and has a big-time cult following. And it's an '80s movie, but unlike you, I'd rather sit through an '80s film -- even a dated one -- over the garish, ugly, sadistic and downright gross looking visual genre films we see these days.