Tag: Halloween

Movies and TV

Halloween: The Complete Collection Box Sets Coming to Blu-Ray!

Halloween Box SetBefore there was Jason, Freddy and Jigsaw there was…Michael Myers.

Last year, the horror film classic “Halloween” celebrated its 35th anniversary. Who could have ever had imagined that what writer/director John Carpenter had envisioned and what Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence helped bring to life in 1978 would go on to become one of the most iconic horror film franchises of all time.

Over the years, audiences have relived the terror of Michael Myers through ten feature films (including various re-edits and alternate versions). Until now, the complete saga of Michael Myers could only be told in pieces — on individual DVD and Blu-ray releases. Through an unprecedented collaboration of rival home entertainment companies, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Scream Factory have announced that “Halloween The Complete Collection” Blu-ray box sets will arrive September 23rd.

For the legions of die-hard Halloween fans, the Deluxe Edition boasts 15 discs containing ALL of the Halloween feature films – Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Halloween H20, Halloween: Resurrection, Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween II.

The set also contains hours of new bonus features, including interviews with cast and crew from the entire franchise! The collectible packaging will include a newly commissioned illustration on the outer case and each film will be in its own black Blu-ray™ case with the original theatrical one sheet as the key art.

There is also a separate 10-disc Edition which includes the original theatrical versions of the Halloween films as well as select bonus features.

For fans of the franchise, these packages are the ultimate must haves for your horror collection.

Childhood Memories, Movie Reviews, Movies and TV

No Trick: Halloween 35th Anniversary Edition A Real Treat!

Halloween35John Carpenter’s Halloween is the scariest movie ever made. I know, that’s a bold statement for someone like me to make, but one that’s nonetheless appropriate.

For those who’ve been living under a rock for the past thirty-five Octobers, Halloween tells the story of Michael Myers; a psychotic murderer whose been institutionalized since childhood for the murder of his sister.

Fifteen years after his initial confinement, Myers manages to escape the institution and begins stalking bookish teenage girl Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends while his doctor Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) chases him through the streets of his hometown.

From the opening credits to the climactic final confrontation between Loomis and Myers, Halloween holds the coveted spot as my greatest horror film of all time and for good reason. Unlike many of today’s horror films which rely heavily upon the use of over the top death scenes and gallons of fake blood and gore to sell its scare, Halloween’s scariness stems from using it’s audiences own imagination to instill that fear upon themselves.

Whether it’s the innocence of Laurie Strode; the subtle, yet highly effective use of camera angles and jump scares; the “shape” standing visible and then suddenly disappearing or the eerie theme music playing at the most (in)appropriate of times, it’s the vulnerability and fear of the unknown that causes us to not only be afraid of the monster, but also to honestly consider whether or not this actually could be happening.

I’ll always remember how excited I was whenever Halloween was coming on, but to this day still find it uncomfortable watching those opening credits (even in broad daylight) and being forced to recall my own childhood fear of the bogeyman and the dark. As a youth, whenever the glowing pumpkin and creepy intro music came on the screen announcing the film was about to begin, that was always my cue to close my eyes and cover my ears until after the credits were over.

In celebration of the film’s 35th anniversary, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Trancas International have just released a special 35th Anniversary Blu-ray version of Halloween. This new 35th Anniversary package includes an all-new HD transfer that was personally supervised by the film’s original cinematographer, Dean Cundey, as well as a new 7.1 audio mix.

But the real “treat” of this package has to be the brand-new, feature-length audio commentary by writer/director John Carpenter and actress Jamie Lee Curtis, discussing the film with fresh perspective all these years later. Available in a collectible limited-edition book-style format, the package also includes 20 pages of archival photos as well as an essay by Halloween historian Stef Hutchinson and specially commissioned cover art by Jay Shaw.

Want my advice? Grab some popcorn, turn down the lights (never completely off, of course) and skip past the opening credits. Because thankfully, modern technology allows us the opportunity to do so. (Five Stars)

five stars

Things I Think

Five Things I Think: The Five Scariest Movies of All Time

I was making plans to see Paranomal Activity 3 this weekend and was heartened to see that it recieved a 77%  rating on RottenTomatoes.com (which qualifies it as “fresh”). I take the “fresh” ratings as a sign that I’ll most likely enjoy the movie and Rotten Tomatoes has never let me down. But then I noticed an article they had. It was for Rotten Tomatoes ranking of the 75 Scariest Horror movies of all time.  After checking out their list and seeing that King Kong was #1 I was not impressed. KING KONG?? Someone is trippin’ at Rotten Tomatoes.

For me, a scary movie is one that scares the crap out of you. One that makes you so scared you couldn’t bear to watch it again but can’t resist. So without further adieu, here you go. My choices for the Top 5 Scariest Movies of All Time.

5. Dracula (1931): It has got to be the original. No phony remakes will do. Since it’s release there hasn’t been a single vampire movie that’s come close to being as scary (and YES that IS a knock on the Twilight series).  Costing only $355,000 to make and at just slightly over an hour in length this eighty-year old film still scares the crap out of me.

 

 

 

 

4. The Exorcist (1973). The pea soup, head spinning around classic. This movie I could never bring myself up to watch. It was so scary that I could only watch it in parts and to this I think I’ve only ever seen it once from start to finish.

 

 

 

 

3. The Sixth Sense (1999) This movie would have placed much higher but the scare factor fell just a bit short. This was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. It’s one of those ones that leads you down a path of thinking one way and then pulls the rug out from under you at the very end. So much so that at the end you’re torn between being scared and pissed off that you didn’t figure it out earlier. Brilliant!

 

 

 

 

2. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984): It took quite a long time for me to work my way up to watching the very first Freddy movie but the whole idea that a monster would get you when you sleep was such a great plot. As usual though, Hollywood ruined it by making a half-dozen sequels. Oh and here’s an interesting fact: did you know that Nightmare on Elm Street was the first movie for a little known actor named Johnny Depp?  Now you do.

 

 

 

 

1. Halloween (1978): This one is FREAKING scary. I remember listening to that creepy intro music and the hairs on my arm would stand up and make me hide my eyes. Just the way that Michael Myers was “there” and then the next time you look he’s “gone” creeped me out.

I remember growing up and watching this movie with my best friend. He was my neighbor who lived down over the hill from me.  I asked him about it not too long ago and this is what  he had to say. Pretty much sums it all up:

 

 

 

I must’ve been like 13 and watched my first “scary movie” up at your place. Halloween …..Of course we didn’t watch it in the middle of the afternoon or anything….We didn’t get done watching that until about midnight…..I ran down that hill to my place in the pitch dark so fast….I think I would’ve beaten Usain Bolt down that hill that night….if I would’ve run into a tree, I would’ve killed myself. Got home, went to bed, laid there looking all over the room for about an hour….couldn’t calm myself down and ran to the bathroom for a puking session….then went to sleep. Ha! They just can’t make movies like that anymore.

When a movie can make you run like hell, keep you awake and make you puke…it’s mission accomplished as far as I’m concerned. And he’s right, they just don’t make movies like that anymore.