As we're into October, the leaves are changing and the temps are cooling off, I thought it'd be the perfect time to ask everyone:

1. What do you usually watch each Halloween season? Perennial favorites, specials and the like included...

and

2. Do you have any particular favorite genre soundtracks that you find yourself playing every October?

I have so many, but I tend to whittle it down each year to a few selected personal faves:

Andy's Halloween Favorites

*IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN CHARLIE BROWN: Needless to say, a must-view, between the art direction and Vince Guaraldi's perfect musical accompaniment. An all-time classic that still works each and every year.

*UNIVERSAL '30s & '40s MONSTERS: Bride of Frankenstein in particular, and the first 20 minutes of the '31 Dracula, if I'm short on time. The Legacy Collection DVD box sets have made it even easier to just plop a disc in and enjoy.

*HALLOWEEN (1978): Anchor Bay's original (1998) DVD edition, with the correct color and Alan Howarth's 5.1 remix. Spooky still to this day, with some great atmosphere.

*LADY IN WHITE (1988): I reviewed MGM's new DVD this week. This film has some of the best Halloween "feel" bar none of any picture out there, and remains a beautifully presented work, in spite of some narrative issues.

*GHOST STORY (1981): A slightly flawed movie nearly ruined by extensive post-production tinkering, this is still a guilty pleasure. A routine plot salvaged by a few superb set-pieces, a great Phillipe Sarde score (see below) and vivid Jack Cardiff cinematography. No Special Edition, but I'm hopeful a remake will do more justice to Peter Straub's original novel (one of my favorites!).

*DRACULA (1979): John Badham still retained his "tinted" pseudo-B&W cinematography on the DVD, which is unfortunate, but this version is still worth a look. Excellent cinematography and what a great score by John Williams as well!

Favorite Genre Scores, In No Particular Order

*Chiller (Compilation album by Erich Kunzel and the Cinci Pops) -- Excellent collection of genre-themed orchestral music, both classical and film related...highly recommended!

*Halloween (John Carpenter) & Halloween III (Alan Howarth/Carpenter) -- A pair of early '80s/late '70s movie music staples, both still get my heart pumping for Halloween

*Ghost Story (Sarde): A beautiful score by Sarde with melodic moments, creepy passages, and an evocative sweep. A shame Sarde's American scoring output has been limited in recent years.

*Dracula (Williams): See above. Another classic Williams score.

*The Omen Trilogy (Goldsmith): Perhaps the perfect "Halloween Symphony" if you will. I typically listen to all three scores in chronological order, and it works brilliantly because you hear the development of Goldsmith's music, from exploitation horror overtones in the '76 original to the more evocative, grander scale of "The Final Conflict." While I realize the latter may be the weakest film of the three, I favor Goldsmith's score over the other two, because it has a maturity that makes it stand out and a perfect finale to the whole series.

And there are many more -- but I'm more interested in hearing your favorites![/b]

Great question Andy! I had fun thinking about this....

FAVORITE FILMS:

Every year I watch HALLOWEEN, JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING, and one of the EVIL DEAD films (more often than not it's ARMY OF DARKNESS as that film cracks me up)- without fail. Those are the only consistent ones I watch yearly (and I watch the Charlie Brown special too).

I will usually watch one of the Universal Horror films from the 30s or 40s (the type you listed)- BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN has been a favorite of mine. I also really enjoy Burton's SLEEPY HOLLOW.

In more recent years I have put in SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE, which I think is a solid "horror" film. Sometimes I'll put in THE EXORCIST and THE SHINING as well. With the exception of this year, every year I try to have a 24 hour horror movie marathon at my house. It gives me a chance to go out and rent a bunch of horror movies I didn't see the first time around. That's where I "discovered" THE RING and BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (which I haven't seen since but still believe to be a very solid horror film; loved THE RING as well).

Finally, I prefer nowadays more ghost story oriented films as they are the creepiest- THE RING is a good example. I've always wanted to see LADY IN WHITE- I did like GHOST STORY.


As far as film scores:
HALLOWEEN- it is a must.
THE EXORCIST- I have that Warner Bors. score and it is fantastic.
THE FLY and VIDEODROME- Love Howard Shore.
PSYCHO- maybe a lame choice, but I love it.

Jerry Goldsmith: THE MEPHISTO WALTZ/THE OTHER, THE OMEN TRILOGY (what's Halloween without that??), ALIEN, POLTERGEIST, THE MUMMY, and MAGIC.

THE DEAD ZONE- creepy score
THE FURY- I love this score by Williams.
DRACULA (1979)- I love this one too!
CARRIE
SLEEPY HOLLOW- by Elfman- I enjoy this one
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN by Waxman- a lot of fun

CHILLER (I was happy to see that someone else listens to this! I met Kunzel at a Camelot music store- he was signing autographs for this CD- he pulled up in a stretch limo and I was the ONLY person there who knew who he was and was there for him. I had him autograph the CD compilation FANTASTIC JOURNEY. He was very nice).

And finally, a compilation tape I made back in the days of Laserdisc with stuff from FRIDAY THE 13TH, Bugs Bunny Halloween cartoons, movie clips, and stuff mentioned above.

I'm sure there are some others in there (and I'll think of them as soon as this e-mail gets sent). I reserve the right to write back and include them! I hope others contribute to this list!! I can't wait to see hwat others watch/listen to to get pumped up for Halloween.

Michael,
Ugggh!! I forgot SLEEPY HOLLOW Another one of my favorites (ditto for Elfman's score).

I'll think of more as well -- and by all means follow up with other faves

AndyDursin wrote:Michael,
Ugggh!! I forgot SLEEPY HOLLOW Another one of my favorites (ditto for Elfman's score).

A favorite of mine, as well. Such perfect Halloween "atmosphere", plus violence that's gory, yet not sadistically so. I just wish that there had been some deleted scenes on the DVD.

Every year I see more scary movies that I try to add into my annual October marathon, but the ones that make the cut almost every year include...

-Sleepy Hollow

-From Hell (a Depp double-feature!)

-Christine (not "scary", per se, but a lot of fun)

-Carrie

-Dressed To Kill

-The Fury

-Frailty

-Near Dark

-The Thing (both versions)

-Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (saw all three versions for the first time last year, and will add them into the regular rotation. )

-Alien

-Halloween

-George Romero "Dead" movies.

-The Exorcist

And, on Halloween night itself, a triple-feature of Vincent, Frankenweenie, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

[quote="Monterey Jack
And, on Halloween night itself, a triple-feature of Vincent, Frankenweenie, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. [/quote]

AAAAH! This is great- I rotate that film on an every other year basis- once at Halloween, then the next year at Christmas, as I think it can work for both holidays. Can't believe I forgot that one after talking about SLEEPY HOLLOW....

mkaroly wrote:[quote="Monterey Jack
And, on Halloween night itself, a triple-feature of Vincent, Frankenweenie, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

AAAAH! This is great- I rotate that film on an every other year basis- once at Halloween, then the next year at Christmas, as I think it can work for both holidays. Can't believe I forgot that one after talking about SLEEPY HOLLOW....[/quote]

Interesting! I think of NIGHTMARE as more of a strange, inbetween-Halloween-and-Christmas kind of movie. I guess November would make the most sense since it's inbetween the two!

Elvira - Mistress of the Dark gets a kick out of everyone I show it to. For a more serious scare I guess I pop in the new UK horror hit THE DESCENT, which is coming out ion DVD just in time. So is the marvellous SPHERE box of the 4 Phantasm movies, but I guess I will only pop in Part 2, which is one of my fav horror movies ever. But I guess after Descent a couple of my (girl)friends won't talk to me anymore...

THE GRUDGE (US DC) scared almost everybody I know.

Scorewise... nothing what hasnt been mentioned comes to my mind. Hm maybe COPYCAT by Christopher Young or URBAN LEGEND.

It's the most...wonderful time...of the year...*ding dong* *ding dong*



I don't care if Johnny was singing about Christmas. I friggin' LOVE me some Halloween goodness.

(As a fellow Rhode Islander, I can see why the fall gets Andy's goat. There's no place I'd rather be in the world than Rhode Island in the fall.)

Unlike some of you guys I don't have a set menu of movies I watch every year, except for the HALLOWEEN series. I do have some horror favorites I try to get to, but tends to shift from year to year. To make it up, though, I'm pretty particular about my HALLOWEEN preferences:

HALLOWEEN ('78 ) - No discussion needed.

HALLOWEEN 4 ('88 ) - I make no bones about the soft spot in my heart for this one. Yes, it's a straight remake of the first one with gore in place of suspense, but I don't care.

HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS ('95) - Ditto. Not sure what it says about me that I unabashedly like a film as sadistic as this one, but whatever. And I might be one of the few people who prefers the theatrical cut to the producer's cut.

THE CHANGELING ('80) - THE SIXTH SENSE before THE SIXTH SENSE was THE SIXTH SENSE.

Any FRIDAY THE 13TH movie - Mainly because back in the days when HBO actually showed movies when I was a kid, I saw these a lot.

THE LADY IN WHITE ('88 ) - The rerelease couldn't have come at a better time. I haven't seen this movie in ages.

IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN ('66) - TV nowadays isn't as purposefully seasonal as it used to be. At least not primetime TV. CBS may still show this one; but I don't think so.

Halloween episodes of ROSEANNE and HOME IMPROVEMENT - A weird entry on this list, I know, but there was such a familial feeling about the episodes that I couldn't wait for them every year, even when I got older.

POLTERGEIST ('82) - I know it's not a perfect film, but it's one of those I come back to a lot. For me it's just inherently rewatchable.

MY BEST FRIEND IS A VAMPIRE ('88 ) / THE MONSTER SQUAD ('87) - I'm tempted to add ONCE BITTEN to make this a trilogy but it would be a lie. These two movies, however, I saw many times as a kid. Just think about the Wolfman having nards makes me giddy.

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE ('88 ) - When you're 12 you don't really get schlock, but you sure know it's entertaining.

I could go on (and on and on) but that's probably enough for now.

Mike, some great titles there. I'm with you on HALLOWEEN VI -- I like how the theatrical movie ends with Pleasence left to "take down" Michael...the producer's cut makes more "sense" but it's hardly satisfying. Speaking of which, all the non-Pleasence movies lack his presence and a character like Loomis -- I'm not surprised at all they're thinking of bringing back a Loomis relative in HALLOWEEN IX (as well as Sherriff Brackett from the first two movies!). Without him the Weinstein-era HALLOWEENs feel like mere rip-offs, and I'll say nothing of the last one, which was horrid beyond belief.

I tell you, the HAMMER FRANCHISE COLLECTION from Universal is easily one of the year's must haves. For $20 you get 8 Hammer classics, including BRIDES OF DRACULA, KISS OF THE VAMPIRE, and CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, which are all excellent. A total bargain and ideal for Halloween viewing!!

AndyDursin wrote:Mike, some great titles there. I'm with you on HALLOWEEN VI -- I like how the theatrical movie ends with Pleasence left to "take down" Michael...the producer's cut makes more "sense" but it's hardly satisfying. Speaking of which, all the non-Pleasence movies lack his presence and a character like Loomis -- I'm not surprised at all they're thinking of bringing back a Loomis relative in HALLOWEEN IX (as well as Sherriff Brackett from the first two movies!). Without him the Weinstein-era HALLOWEENs feel like mere rip-offs, and I'll say nothing of the last one, which was horrid beyond belief.

Regarding Part VI, I felt not only that the theatrical cut was leaner and better, but more importantly the bit in the producer's cut with Loomis at the end fundamentally ransacked his character, who I think is one of the best, most likeable lead characters in ANY horror franchise. It just left a bad taste in my mouth, and would've been particularly galling with Part VI being Pleasence's last film.

I mostly agree with your take on the Weinstein era entries (especially RESURRECTION, which is one of the worst movies of any kind I've ever seen), except that even though H20 is slick and manipulative, it works for me. I missed Alan Howarth but I liked how Steve Miner shot it.

I'll have to check out the HAMMER series. Honestly, and I'm ashamed to admit this as a film geek, I'm just not that familiar with them.

MikeSkerritt wrote:

AndyDursin wrote:Mike, some great titles there. I'm with you on HALLOWEEN VI -- I like how the theatrical movie ends with Pleasence left to "take down" Michael...the producer's cut makes more "sense" but it's hardly satisfying. Speaking of which, all the non-Pleasence movies lack his presence and a character like Loomis -- I'm not surprised at all they're thinking of bringing back a Loomis relative in HALLOWEEN IX (as well as Sherriff Brackett from the first two movies!). Without him the Weinstein-era HALLOWEENs feel like mere rip-offs, and I'll say nothing of the last one, which was horrid beyond belief.

Regarding Part VI, I felt not only that the theatrical cut was leaner and better, but more importantly the bit in the producer's cut with Loomis at the end fundamentally ransacked his character, who I think is one of the best, most likeable lead characters in ANY horror franchise. It just left a bad taste in my mouth, and would've been particularly galling with Part VI being Pleasence's last film.

I mostly agree with your take on the Weinstein era entries (especially RESURRECTION, which is one of the worst movies of any kind I've ever seen), except that even though H20 is slick and manipulative, it works for me. I missed Alan Howarth but I liked how Steve Miner shot it.

I'll have to check out the HAMMER series. Honestly, and I'm ashamed to admit this as a film geek, I'm just not that familiar with them.

Mike, check them out. They're more atmosphere than scary, but the good ones are a lot of fun. HORROR OF DRACULA, BRIDES OF DRACULA (in that set), LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES (kung fu vampires AND Peter Cushing!), and DEVIL RIDES OUT being a few of them.

I didn't hate HALLOWEEN H20, but I didn't particularly care for it. Felt too "studio" for me, and didn't have the atmosphere of a "true" HALLOWEEN movie. That score did not help matters, either But I can respect your analysis, no doubt -- one of my friends loved it, in fact.

I also recommend for Halloween viewing (especially for Omen fans):

THE OMEN LEGACY
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 26-9543206

An excellent documentary on the production of the entire OMEN series, narrated by Jack Palance. The DVD also offers trailers from all four Omen films (even though I hesitate to consider OMEN IV part of the series -- it sucks that bad), plus a DAMIEN OMEN II featurette produced at the time of the movie's release.