Halloween Horror Marathon 2019
Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 1:34 pm
Halloween Horror Marathon '12
Halloween Horror Marathon '13
Halloween Horror Marathon '14
Halloween Horror Marathon '15
Halloween Horror Marathon '16
Halloween Horror Marathon '17
Halloween Horror Marathon '18
CHAPTER ONE: BE KIND, PLEASE REWIND
[camera zooms through the "A" in CHAPTER as we fade in to reveal...]
INT: MIKE'S BASEMENT, NIGHT
[title card reads "January 27th, 1985, Hawkins, Indiana"]
[The room is the typical Middle-American subterranean lair you'd expect for a family of five. A washing machine inhabits one shadowy corner, a basket of freshly-laundered unmentionables spilling out of a nearby basket. In another corner, a half-finished game of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS sits, biding its time. On one wall, a tattered but well-loved poster for the motion picture THE THING hangs from thumbtacks pushed into each corner. A rumpled yet comfortably broken-in sofa sits against the wall, facing a 13-inch TUBE TELEVISION SET with a VCR plugged into the back. The floor and end table are strewn with the kinds of detritus (STAR WARS toys, half-finished bags of DORITOS and cans of soda, comic books, a WALKIE-TALKIE set) that strongly indicate that a tween boy is one of the inhabitants of the house above. Cobwebs festoon the darkest corners. Blessed silence prevails, until the overhead lights SNAP ON, casting the winter gloom away.]
MIKE'S MOM; [off-screen] You kids wipe your feet before you even THINK of going downstairs! And be sure to vacuum up any crumbs you leave on the carpet!
MIKE: [off-screen] Okay, mom, jeez...!
[Bounding down the stairs with an adolescent's heedless abandon is MIKE WHEELER, 15, one of the home's inhabitants. Following in rapid order are DUSTIN HENDERSON, also 15 (in fact, all the friends that follow are approximately the same age), LUCAS SINCLAIR and WILL BYERS, Mike's best friends. They're inseparable.]
DUSTIN: [excited] Clear the table, someone...!
[MIKE and LUCAS swipe a scattering of potato chip bags and stray comics off the end table, leaving room for DUSTIN to place a snow-dusted bag in the now-free space. On the side is printed the legend HAWKINS VIDEO. The friends take off their jackets and boots and toss them in a democratic heap near the dryer as DUSTIN removes a handful of VHS TAPES, which he fans out in an attractive display on the end table]
WILL: There's nothing better than an all-night marathon of horror movies, especially when school's cancelled due to a blizzard!
DUSTIN: Especially when you've got an in with the store clerk...all rated "R", baby!
[LUCAS picks up a copy of THE THING with a "BE KIND, PLEASE REWIND" sticker affixed to the corner of the plastic rental case]
LUCAS: We've gotta watch this one first. It's SO much better than the original.
MIKE: Yeah, that one from the 50s is SO old.
WILL: ...and corny!
DUSTIN: Well, *I* like it. I kinda like "old-school" stuff.
LUCAS: You liked eating paste in third grade.
DUSTIN: HEY...!
MIKE: Come on, guys, let's not fight, we've gotta get some snacks together, and figure out what we'll play second.
WILL: [holds up copy of the 1978 INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS] This one's super-creepy.
[LUCAS inspects the back of the case and tosses it onto the couch behind him]
LUCAS: Rated "PG", dude. Don't be a baby.
WILL: Have you actually SEEN it?
LUCAS: No...because I'm no longer five.
DUSTIN: It's got boobs...!
LUCAS: [double-take, reaches behind him to grab the tape and place it back on the end table] Wellll….maybe we can slot it in later.
[Suddenly the DOORBELL RINGS. Mike's mom answers and calls down the stairs]
MIKE'S MOM: [off-screen] MIKE! YOU HAVE COMPANY...!
[Mike looks around, counts on his fingers, frowns theatrically]
MIKE: All present and accounted for, right...?
[Coming down the stairs at a somewhat more sedate pace are MAX MAYFIELD, Lucas' brash squeeze, and ELLE HOPPER, Mike's more reserved, introverted girlfriend. Both girls shrug off their winter coats and toss them on the same pile near the dryer]
MAX: LUCAS! Why didn't you tell me you were watching movies tonight?!
LUCAS: [trying to hide his annoyance at "guys'-only" night being co-opted] Because this is kind of a tradition with us, the first big blizzard of the year, we come down here and watch dumb horror movies.
MAX: Cool. [she squeezes into a spot on the couch between Lucas and Dustin] My mom hates this kind of stuff, so I rarely get to watch it at home. [she leans forward to peruse the movie choices as Dustin and Lucas exchange an exasperated glance behind her back]
ELLE: Scary movies...?
WILL: Yeah, the bloodier, the better, with lots of gore and monsters!
[Elle shrinks back slightly, a glimmer of FEAR flickering across her features. Mike witnesses this, and takes her hand]
MIKE: Don't worry, Elle, you can sit on the couch next to me and hold my hand if you get scared.
[Elle visibly relaxes and gives Mike a tentative smile.]
ELLE: Promise...?
MAX: [looks up from her seat] Only room for four on this couch, guys. Sorry!
[Dustin and Lucas share another surreptitious glare at each other.]
MIKE: Don't worry, Elle. [he goes over the pile of finished laundry and starts digging through it] Where is it, where...aha! [he pulls out a couple of PILLOWS and a fluffy COMFORTER, both with that fresh, new-laundry smell. He returns to the couch and sets up a cozy little nest against the couch's bottom. He settles into it and holds out a hand to Elle]
MIKE: See! Snug as a bug in a rug!
[Elle sits down next to Mike and wraps herself in the blanket, then settles against his shoulder with a contented sigh. Meanwhile, Max lightly slaps Lucas' arm and gives him a disapproving look]
MAX: Would YOU have done that for ME...?
LUCAS: You're already ON the COUCH!
MAX: [rolling eyes] What-EV-er…
DUSTIN: [shaking head] Girlfriends. Hope *I* never get one.
WILL: You wish, Dustin...!
[Dustin removes his TRADEMARK HAT and throws it half-heartedly at Will as Elle inspects the LURID COVER ART of the horror movies on display, shivering a bit at the poster art for A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, featuring a burn-faced, razor-fingered killer hovering over a teenage girl cowering in her bed]
ELLE: Scary...?
WILL: Oh yeah, that's a REALLY good one! It's about a dude who can kill people in their dreams! It's totally rad!
[Elle shrinks against Mike, who gives Will a disapproving look]
MIKE: [to Elle] Look, it's all make-believe. Makeup and animatronics and stuff. It can't hurt you.
ELLE: Annie-mah…?
MIKE:...tronics! Like, puppets and stuff.
ELLE: Like...Kermit?
MIKE: Uhhh...sort of. [Lucas and Dustin smirk at each other] The important thing is, these things you watch in movies are just actors pretending. Nothing bad really happens to them.
DUSTIN: Yeah, and besides...we've defeated REAL monsters.
LUCAS: Like the Demogorgon!
WILL: And the...Mind Flayer. [he touches the back of his neck as he says this, an odd look flickering across his face. The other kids don't notice as the conversation continues.]
MIKE: And those Demi-Dogs. Remember when you threw one through the window?
ELLE: Yes. [looks a little more confident]
LUCAS: See? A few silly movie monsters can't compare to those!
[Elle picks up a copy of Stephen King's FIRESTARTER and inspects the cover, seemingly empathizing with the grave young girl printed on the box]
ELLE: Movies. Not real.
DUSTIN: Totally!
[Dustin opens another bag and spreads a repast of KID'S SNACKS across the end table, consisting of a variety POTATO CHIPS, DORITOS, REESE'S PIECES, YODELS and two six-packs of NEW COKE]
MIKE: So, if you get too scared, remember...we're here to keep you safe.
[Elle snuggles against Mike beneath the blanket, who BLUSHES FURIOUSLY.]
ELLE: [sighs] Friends.
DUSTIN: So, can we start already?! It's already getting towards 7:00 PM. If we wanna get these back before the late fees are due, we've gotta get cracking.
WILL: Dude...if school is cancelled tomorrow, do you think the video store will be open?
[Dustin opens his mouth to reply, then snaps it shut abruptly as he thinks.]
DUSTIN: [sighs] Son of a bitch.
[Lucas laughs. Mike snags a can of NEW COKE, cracks it open, takes a sip, and screws his face up as Will grabs a random tape and slams it into the VCR. Max rests her head against Lucas' shoulder as Dustin opens a bag of Doritos and passes it around. Elle looks with a childlike WONDER as the FBI WARNING at the beginning of the tape -- a fuzzy line of static jittering at the bottom of the screen due to the VCR's wonky tracking -- gradually fades away to reveal...the 2019 Halloween Horror Marathon]
Halloween Horror Marathon '13
Halloween Horror Marathon '14
Halloween Horror Marathon '15
Halloween Horror Marathon '16
Halloween Horror Marathon '17
Halloween Horror Marathon '18
CHAPTER ONE: BE KIND, PLEASE REWIND
[camera zooms through the "A" in CHAPTER as we fade in to reveal...]
INT: MIKE'S BASEMENT, NIGHT
[title card reads "January 27th, 1985, Hawkins, Indiana"]
[The room is the typical Middle-American subterranean lair you'd expect for a family of five. A washing machine inhabits one shadowy corner, a basket of freshly-laundered unmentionables spilling out of a nearby basket. In another corner, a half-finished game of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS sits, biding its time. On one wall, a tattered but well-loved poster for the motion picture THE THING hangs from thumbtacks pushed into each corner. A rumpled yet comfortably broken-in sofa sits against the wall, facing a 13-inch TUBE TELEVISION SET with a VCR plugged into the back. The floor and end table are strewn with the kinds of detritus (STAR WARS toys, half-finished bags of DORITOS and cans of soda, comic books, a WALKIE-TALKIE set) that strongly indicate that a tween boy is one of the inhabitants of the house above. Cobwebs festoon the darkest corners. Blessed silence prevails, until the overhead lights SNAP ON, casting the winter gloom away.]
MIKE'S MOM; [off-screen] You kids wipe your feet before you even THINK of going downstairs! And be sure to vacuum up any crumbs you leave on the carpet!
MIKE: [off-screen] Okay, mom, jeez...!
[Bounding down the stairs with an adolescent's heedless abandon is MIKE WHEELER, 15, one of the home's inhabitants. Following in rapid order are DUSTIN HENDERSON, also 15 (in fact, all the friends that follow are approximately the same age), LUCAS SINCLAIR and WILL BYERS, Mike's best friends. They're inseparable.]
DUSTIN: [excited] Clear the table, someone...!
[MIKE and LUCAS swipe a scattering of potato chip bags and stray comics off the end table, leaving room for DUSTIN to place a snow-dusted bag in the now-free space. On the side is printed the legend HAWKINS VIDEO. The friends take off their jackets and boots and toss them in a democratic heap near the dryer as DUSTIN removes a handful of VHS TAPES, which he fans out in an attractive display on the end table]
WILL: There's nothing better than an all-night marathon of horror movies, especially when school's cancelled due to a blizzard!
DUSTIN: Especially when you've got an in with the store clerk...all rated "R", baby!
[LUCAS picks up a copy of THE THING with a "BE KIND, PLEASE REWIND" sticker affixed to the corner of the plastic rental case]
LUCAS: We've gotta watch this one first. It's SO much better than the original.
MIKE: Yeah, that one from the 50s is SO old.
WILL: ...and corny!
DUSTIN: Well, *I* like it. I kinda like "old-school" stuff.
LUCAS: You liked eating paste in third grade.
DUSTIN: HEY...!
MIKE: Come on, guys, let's not fight, we've gotta get some snacks together, and figure out what we'll play second.
WILL: [holds up copy of the 1978 INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS] This one's super-creepy.
[LUCAS inspects the back of the case and tosses it onto the couch behind him]
LUCAS: Rated "PG", dude. Don't be a baby.
WILL: Have you actually SEEN it?
LUCAS: No...because I'm no longer five.
DUSTIN: It's got boobs...!
LUCAS: [double-take, reaches behind him to grab the tape and place it back on the end table] Wellll….maybe we can slot it in later.
[Suddenly the DOORBELL RINGS. Mike's mom answers and calls down the stairs]
MIKE'S MOM: [off-screen] MIKE! YOU HAVE COMPANY...!
[Mike looks around, counts on his fingers, frowns theatrically]
MIKE: All present and accounted for, right...?
[Coming down the stairs at a somewhat more sedate pace are MAX MAYFIELD, Lucas' brash squeeze, and ELLE HOPPER, Mike's more reserved, introverted girlfriend. Both girls shrug off their winter coats and toss them on the same pile near the dryer]
MAX: LUCAS! Why didn't you tell me you were watching movies tonight?!
LUCAS: [trying to hide his annoyance at "guys'-only" night being co-opted] Because this is kind of a tradition with us, the first big blizzard of the year, we come down here and watch dumb horror movies.
MAX: Cool. [she squeezes into a spot on the couch between Lucas and Dustin] My mom hates this kind of stuff, so I rarely get to watch it at home. [she leans forward to peruse the movie choices as Dustin and Lucas exchange an exasperated glance behind her back]
ELLE: Scary movies...?
WILL: Yeah, the bloodier, the better, with lots of gore and monsters!
[Elle shrinks back slightly, a glimmer of FEAR flickering across her features. Mike witnesses this, and takes her hand]
MIKE: Don't worry, Elle, you can sit on the couch next to me and hold my hand if you get scared.
[Elle visibly relaxes and gives Mike a tentative smile.]
ELLE: Promise...?
MAX: [looks up from her seat] Only room for four on this couch, guys. Sorry!
[Dustin and Lucas share another surreptitious glare at each other.]
MIKE: Don't worry, Elle. [he goes over the pile of finished laundry and starts digging through it] Where is it, where...aha! [he pulls out a couple of PILLOWS and a fluffy COMFORTER, both with that fresh, new-laundry smell. He returns to the couch and sets up a cozy little nest against the couch's bottom. He settles into it and holds out a hand to Elle]
MIKE: See! Snug as a bug in a rug!
[Elle sits down next to Mike and wraps herself in the blanket, then settles against his shoulder with a contented sigh. Meanwhile, Max lightly slaps Lucas' arm and gives him a disapproving look]
MAX: Would YOU have done that for ME...?
LUCAS: You're already ON the COUCH!
MAX: [rolling eyes] What-EV-er…
DUSTIN: [shaking head] Girlfriends. Hope *I* never get one.
WILL: You wish, Dustin...!
[Dustin removes his TRADEMARK HAT and throws it half-heartedly at Will as Elle inspects the LURID COVER ART of the horror movies on display, shivering a bit at the poster art for A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, featuring a burn-faced, razor-fingered killer hovering over a teenage girl cowering in her bed]
ELLE: Scary...?
WILL: Oh yeah, that's a REALLY good one! It's about a dude who can kill people in their dreams! It's totally rad!
[Elle shrinks against Mike, who gives Will a disapproving look]
MIKE: [to Elle] Look, it's all make-believe. Makeup and animatronics and stuff. It can't hurt you.
ELLE: Annie-mah…?
MIKE:...tronics! Like, puppets and stuff.
ELLE: Like...Kermit?
MIKE: Uhhh...sort of. [Lucas and Dustin smirk at each other] The important thing is, these things you watch in movies are just actors pretending. Nothing bad really happens to them.
DUSTIN: Yeah, and besides...we've defeated REAL monsters.
LUCAS: Like the Demogorgon!
WILL: And the...Mind Flayer. [he touches the back of his neck as he says this, an odd look flickering across his face. The other kids don't notice as the conversation continues.]
MIKE: And those Demi-Dogs. Remember when you threw one through the window?
ELLE: Yes. [looks a little more confident]
LUCAS: See? A few silly movie monsters can't compare to those!
[Elle picks up a copy of Stephen King's FIRESTARTER and inspects the cover, seemingly empathizing with the grave young girl printed on the box]
ELLE: Movies. Not real.
DUSTIN: Totally!
[Dustin opens another bag and spreads a repast of KID'S SNACKS across the end table, consisting of a variety POTATO CHIPS, DORITOS, REESE'S PIECES, YODELS and two six-packs of NEW COKE]
MIKE: So, if you get too scared, remember...we're here to keep you safe.
[Elle snuggles against Mike beneath the blanket, who BLUSHES FURIOUSLY.]
ELLE: [sighs] Friends.
DUSTIN: So, can we start already?! It's already getting towards 7:00 PM. If we wanna get these back before the late fees are due, we've gotta get cracking.
WILL: Dude...if school is cancelled tomorrow, do you think the video store will be open?
[Dustin opens his mouth to reply, then snaps it shut abruptly as he thinks.]
DUSTIN: [sighs] Son of a bitch.
[Lucas laughs. Mike snags a can of NEW COKE, cracks it open, takes a sip, and screws his face up as Will grabs a random tape and slams it into the VCR. Max rests her head against Lucas' shoulder as Dustin opens a bag of Doritos and passes it around. Elle looks with a childlike WONDER as the FBI WARNING at the beginning of the tape -- a fuzzy line of static jittering at the bottom of the screen due to the VCR's wonky tracking -- gradually fades away to reveal...the 2019 Halloween Horror Marathon]