October is here and as the weather cools it is almost time for Halloween again and I thought I would write about my four favorite Halloween themed films and television shows that always come to mind when the spooky time of year comes around.
Halloween (1978):
One of the classic horror films of all time, this film tells the tale of Michael Myers, who returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois to make Halloween night scarier for Laurie Strode and her friends.
One of filmmaker John Carpenter’s best works, its atmosphere and tone are almost out of Hitchcock’s book of film making, especially classics like Psycho. It is what we don’t see that makes it terrifying.
A film that was done simply and perhaps because of that simplicity, still endures and appeals to audiences that appreciate a good scare even today.
Halloween 3- Season of the Witch:
Although this film is the only ‘Halloween’ entry in the franchise not to feature Michael Myers and his stalking ways, it is a really cheesy and corny film about a company that is going to take over the world via a combination of Halloween masks and television…not a plot you see everyday.
It also has a mind numbing tune that will stay in your head for days after you see it, for better or for worse: “Happy happy, Halloween, Halloween, happy happy Halloween, Silver Shamrock.”
Trust me, it’s as ‘hypnotic’ as the film suggests, just don’t forget to wear your masks.
It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown:
Surely as much a staple of Halloween television as the Grinch is for Christmastime, this family classic from the mind of the late great Charles Schultz and his Peanuts gang is a television special that has now delighted generations of children with such iconic scenes as Charlie Brown getting a rock while Trick Or Treating and Linus awaiting the arrival of the Great Pumpkin in the pumpkin patch.
Tales From the Darkside Episode one-Trick or Treat:
Speaking of Christmas, the first episode of eighties horror series Tales From the Darkside was almost a Christmas Carol for the ghostly set. Gideon Hackles runs a store in a small and poor American town where most of the families are indebted to him. Every Halloween he invites the children of the indebted families try to enter his house and find the ‘debt slips’ in his home and eliminate what that family owes.
After scaring a couple kids this year, however, Hackles gets a visitor and learns the ‘true meaning’ of Halloween. This script also stand out by being written by one George Romeo, who took a break from writing about zombies invading shopping malls to write this great Halloween story that kicked off a cult television classic.
Hopefully this list contains either a Halloween favorite of your own or has introduced you to a couple interesting viewing choices for the ghost or goblin in your life.
